What's are some good Wild Companion options for a Level 2 Druid (any subclass apart from Moon, though I'm personally playing a Shepherd, so primarily interested in that)?
I'm playing a Pokémon trainer-type character, so my druid doesn't use the Wild Shape feature, only Wild Companion, if that makes a difference.
I'm primarily curious about potential companions found outside the core books (Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master's Guide). I was thinking about buying the stat black for a Velociraptor for $2, but if that money is better spent on a different creature, I'm all ears.
The Wild Companion class feature lets you expend a use of Wild Shape to cast Find Familiar without expending any material components and with the restriction that the summoned familiar only lasts half your Druid level rounded down.
Your Wild Companion's form is still limited to those list in the spell Find Familiar. If your DM is allowing your familiar to assume different forms that is their prerogative.
Of the forms listed in Find Familiar my favorite is the Owl. It has a 60ft fly speed, 120ft darkvision, Flyby, and Keen Hearing And Sight. It also has proficiency in Stealth and Perception do its checks aren't completed garbage. This all makes the Owl useful as a forward scout and as a means of delivering touch spells.
Fangeye is absolutely correct on all parts, but I will note that the variety of beasts mentioned in find familiar provide a host of situational options that maybe the owl doesn't always cover. The nice thing about Wild Companion is that you get to choose a new form for a much lower cost than anyone else casting the spell normally with components.
To further jump on the Owl bandwagon, it also has flyby. So it can fly in, deliver the touch spell or use the help action (or whatever else), and fly out without getting attacked by an opportunity attack.
What are your thoughts on allowing a flying snake as a familiar? It does not seem to be much different than an owl, other than having 5 hp. Pretty much the same thing, otherwise. They are described as being used as messenger pets, capable of carrying scrolls. This practically implies they could used as familiars by wizards.
What functional difference are you looking for from the flying snake vs a re-skin of an option that is already available? Flying ability to deliver a worse damage type? Blindsight for 10’?
Did something change since this question was first posed? I see...
"2nd-level druid feature You gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the find familiar spell, without material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level."
This would mean the normal familiar list is not used. In this instance can you pick from the fey table or is it the Fey spirit such as summoned by the summon fey? https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/summon-fey
Did something change since this question was first posed? I see...
"2nd-level druid feature You gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the find familiar spell, without material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level."
This would mean the normal familiar list is not used. In this instance can you pick from the fey table or is it the Fey spirit such as summoned by the summon fey? https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/summon-fey
This is how the feature has always been as far as I am aware.
As the Wild Companion feature says you cast Find Familiar. If your read the spell it says that you summon a spirit that takes the form of one of the explicitly listed beasts.
Additionally the spell says " . . .the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast."
When the Wild Companion says "When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast." This tells us that a Wild Companion is always a Fey, and not a Celestial or Fiend like a normal familiar might be.
I prefer the owl too, but since you can summon it is another form next time, you are not limited to owl. Oh, fey is just the type, but it's still in the form of one of the animals listed in the spell.
Did something change since this question was first posed? I see...
"2nd-level druid feature You gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the find familiar spell, without material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level."
This would mean the normal familiar list is not used. In this instance can you pick from the fey table or is it the Fey spirit such as summoned by the summon fey? https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/summon-fey
This is how the feature has always been as far as I am aware.
As the Wild Companion feature says you cast Find Familiar. If your read the spell it says that you summon a spirit that takes the form of one of the explicitly listed beasts.
Additionally the spell says " . . .the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast."
When the Wild Companion says "When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast." This tells us that a Wild Companion is always a Fey, and not a Celestial or Fiend like a normal familiar might be.
I agree with this interpretation (that the creature *type* is locked to fey, rather than the creature *stats*), but also think that could have been written more clearly in the published material, because it could be interpreted as the creature choice being from a list of fey rather than beasts.
What's are some good Wild Companion options for a Level 2 Druid (any subclass apart from Moon, though I'm personally playing a Shepherd, so primarily interested in that)?
I'm playing a Pokémon trainer-type character, so my druid doesn't use the Wild Shape feature, only Wild Companion, if that makes a difference.
I'm primarily curious about potential companions found outside the core books (Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master's Guide). I was thinking about buying the stat black for a Velociraptor for $2, but if that money is better spent on a different creature, I'm all ears.
The Wild Companion class feature lets you expend a use of Wild Shape to cast Find Familiar without expending any material components and with the restriction that the summoned familiar only lasts half your Druid level rounded down.
Your Wild Companion's form is still limited to those list in the spell Find Familiar. If your DM is allowing your familiar to assume different forms that is their prerogative.
Of the forms listed in Find Familiar my favorite is the Owl. It has a 60ft fly speed, 120ft darkvision, Flyby, and Keen Hearing And Sight. It also has proficiency in Stealth and Perception do its checks aren't completed garbage. This all makes the Owl useful as a forward scout and as a means of delivering touch spells.
Fangeye is absolutely correct on all parts, but I will note that the variety of beasts mentioned in find familiar provide a host of situational options that maybe the owl doesn't always cover. The nice thing about Wild Companion is that you get to choose a new form for a much lower cost than anyone else casting the spell normally with components.
Yeah, nothing beats owl, except in the rare occasions that you need a bat's blindsight or an octopus for underwater things.
To further jump on the Owl bandwagon, it also has flyby. So it can fly in, deliver the touch spell or use the help action (or whatever else), and fly out without getting attacked by an opportunity attack.
What are your thoughts on allowing a flying snake as a familiar? It does not seem to be much different than an owl, other than having 5 hp. Pretty much the same thing, otherwise. They are described as being used as messenger pets, capable of carrying scrolls. This practically implies they could used as familiars by wizards.
What functional difference are you looking for from the flying snake vs a re-skin of an option that is already available? Flying ability to deliver a worse damage type? Blindsight for 10’?
Did something change since this question was first posed? I see...
"2nd-level druid feature
You gain the ability to summon a spirit that assumes an animal form: as an action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape feature to cast the find familiar spell, without material components.
When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level."
This would mean the normal familiar list is not used. In this instance can you pick from the fey table or is it the Fey spirit such as summoned by the summon fey? https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/summon-fey
This is how the feature has always been as far as I am aware.
As the Wild Companion feature says you cast Find Familiar. If your read the spell it says that you summon a spirit that takes the form of one of the explicitly listed beasts.
Additionally the spell says " . . .the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast."
When the Wild Companion says "When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast." This tells us that a Wild Companion is always a Fey, and not a Celestial or Fiend like a normal familiar might be.
I prefer the owl too, but since you can summon it is another form next time, you are not limited to owl. Oh, fey is just the type, but it's still in the form of one of the animals listed in the spell.
Food, Scifi/fantasy, anime, DND 5E/RPG geek.
I agree with this interpretation (that the creature *type* is locked to fey, rather than the creature *stats*), but also think that could have been written more clearly in the published material, because it could be interpreted as the creature choice being from a list of fey rather than beasts.
I made a Wrist Dagger, people seem to like it.
I also operate on Twitter under @SavingThrone.
I’ll take wolf like dogs there the best ruff ruff