Your familiar can be a sidekick, because the only limitations on sidekicks are their CR, and find familiar copies the entire statblock except for type (and then it adds abilities). As with all sidekicks, it's up to your DM to allow it or not, and in general, it will nerf your party.
Specific subrulings:
Expert: No. Experts must be able to speak a language; any creature which cannot speak a language cannot be an Expert.
Spellcaster: See Expert.
Warrior: Extremely legal, but as familiars can't attack, you'll pay the standard price for the sidekick (the party's expected CR goes up) without some of the standard benefits centered around contributing to the party's DPR.
Subsubruling: The above is based on the Languages stat in the creature's statblock. Ravens can physically speak, but they don't know any languages, and being a familiar doesn't grant them any - they gain telepathy with you instead. A DM who subverts the meaning of "speaks a language" can shoehorn in Raven experts and spellcasters, which means you need to remember ravens don't have hands, making things like tool use challenging (real-world ravens use tools, but in their beaks, which is much clumsier than even a human hand in a full metal mitten), and most likely S components for spells are right out. Point is, all of that is firmly house rule territory anyway.
So, supposing you choose an owl, one of the most popular familiar shapes, and supposing the party is 4 level 5 PCs, you get this:
Every encounter the party faces is supposed to be rendered 25% more difficult by the DM (may be different if the familiar takes you from 2 party members to 3 or 5 party members to 6).
So for example, the budget for Deadly goes from 4400 to 5500 XP.
These features do nothing:
Improved Critical.
Extra Attack.
At level 20, for an example, the owl goes from 1 hit point to 30-31 (the rules on Sidekicks are written poorly enough that different DMs will interpret how the first Sidekick level works differently) - a big jump, but not that much of a game-changer. At level 2, it jumps from 1 hit point to 3-4. You get the idea - it's never a huge amount of hit points, because Sidekick hit dice is based on their size category, and all familiars are Tiny (1d4).
Actually, with the Warrior class, the player gets to choose what the ASI's go into. An 8th level Warrior Owl with a 12 Con is possible, which will have 33 HP. Now, I would probably put an ASI in Dex, but then again, I refuse to use anything as a player from the abomination that shall not be named, nor allow it in my game as a DM, so I guess the point is moot.
Then again, I guess it is not all bad. Though my players will never be able to use anything from that book, it has given me ideas for horrific minions for BBEG's.
There are monster stats in other official books but another limitation on what can be a sidekick is the stat block has to appear in the Monster Manual.
So only 1/2 CR and from the Monster Manual. Still a lot to choose from.
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"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
The sidekick rules do not limit the choice to the MM.
"A sidekick can be any type of creature with a stat block in the Monster Manualor another D&D book, but the challenge rating in its stat block must be 1/2 or lower."
Serves me right for just looking at the superscript. So any official D&D book?... or another D&D book?
Ultimately it is still up to the DM to determine how to apply the sidekick rules to their game, if at all.
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"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Serves me right for just looking at the superscript. So any official D&D book?... or another D&D book?
Ultimately it is still up to the DM to determine how to apply the sidekick rules to their game, if at all.
I'm pretty sure they are implying only official materials but I don't see why you can't apply it to 3rd party materials like Tome of Beasts.
It's always up to the DM regarding what to include, including letting a familiar level up with the party. Every book outside of the core 3 are optional, and even then sections of the PHB and DMG as well as every monster in the MM are optional too. You want a beefy familiar pulling shenanigans? Go right ahead. You want to ban Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and punish your players for even mentioning the title? No one is stopping you. As long as people still want to sit at your table and have fun it's all good.
Warlocks that go pact of the chain can have special familiars, the Sprite is the only one listed that has a language in it's stat block, so the only listed one that can be an Expert or Spellcaster familiar. The DM may allow other special familiars but this is up to each DM what other things may qualify.
The CR of 1/2 or lower still has to be followed but other than that there are invocations that give other benefits, even an attack as a bonus action. Nevermind that the pact of the chain allows familiars to attack if the warlock gives up one of their attacks.
Even if you don't pick a familiar (or beast companion, or steed from find steed etc.) the sidekick scales in levels as the party does and gains abilities and features that keep it relevant to the party as they advance. This could a way to have a familiar, beast companion, or steed from find steed improve their hp, AC, and other stuff as the party levels up to level 20 and the sidekick mirrors their progress.
Always check with your DM to be sure what is allowed as a sidekick. Clearing it with the other players might also be a good idea. Something to bring up during a session 0 maybe.
Ah, good call. Quasits and Imps speak languages, but their CR is too high to be a Sidekick. A Sprite, though... a Sprite is CR 1/4 and has languages, and its statblock includes weapons, so it's clear it has opposable thumbs. That's huge - no question at all it can perform the S components of spells.
So yeah, a chainlock's Sprite familiar can legally be any of the three Sidekicks, and can even attack. Only downside is, as usual for Sidekicks, they drive up the DM's experience budget for encounters without contributing as much as a full member.
You should consider why you are adding a sidekick to the party. As far as I understand them, they are meant for groups with few or only one player, rather than a 'normal' sized group.
With that in mind, I think it might be just fine to add the sidekick stat block to a familiar, maybe even allowing it to 'speak' though it normally couldn't, just to add to the player's experience.
That should work especially well with younger children.
What rule is being broken? I can’t find a hard and fast rule on this. It seems to just be a matter of individual DM decision. I personally would tend not to allow it but I don’t see a rule that forbids it
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Actually, with the Warrior class, the player gets to choose what the ASI's go into. An 8th level Warrior Owl with a 12 Con is possible, which will have 33 HP. Now, I would probably put an ASI in Dex, but then again, I refuse to use anything as a player from the abomination that shall not be named, nor allow it in my game as a DM, so I guess the point is moot.
Then again, I guess it is not all bad. Though my players will never be able to use anything from that book, it has given me ideas for horrific minions for BBEG's.
There are monster stats in other official books but another limitation on what can be a sidekick is the stat block has to appear in the Monster Manual.
So only 1/2 CR and from the Monster Manual. Still a lot to choose from.
The sidekick rules do not limit the choice to the MM.
"A sidekick can be any type of creature with a stat block in the Monster Manual or another D&D book, but the challenge rating in its stat block must be 1/2 or lower."
Serves me right for just looking at the superscript. So any official D&D book?... or another D&D book?
Ultimately it is still up to the DM to determine how to apply the sidekick rules to their game, if at all.
I'm pretty sure they are implying only official materials but I don't see why you can't apply it to 3rd party materials like Tome of Beasts.
It's always up to the DM regarding what to include, including letting a familiar level up with the party. Every book outside of the core 3 are optional, and even then sections of the PHB and DMG as well as every monster in the MM are optional too. You want a beefy familiar pulling shenanigans? Go right ahead. You want to ban Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and punish your players for even mentioning the title? No one is stopping you. As long as people still want to sit at your table and have fun it's all good.
Ah, good call. Quasits and Imps speak languages, but their CR is too high to be a Sidekick. A Sprite, though... a Sprite is CR 1/4 and has languages, and its statblock includes weapons, so it's clear it has opposable thumbs. That's huge - no question at all it can perform the S components of spells.
So yeah, a chainlock's Sprite familiar can legally be any of the three Sidekicks, and can even attack. Only downside is, as usual for Sidekicks, they drive up the DM's experience budget for encounters without contributing as much as a full member.
You should consider why you are adding a sidekick to the party. As far as I understand them, they are meant for groups with few or only one player, rather than a 'normal' sized group.
With that in mind, I think it might be just fine to add the sidekick stat block to a familiar, maybe even allowing it to 'speak' though it normally couldn't, just to add to the player's experience.
That should work especially well with younger children.
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
An imp couldn’t be a sidekick. Too high a CR
What rule is being broken? I can’t find a hard and fast rule on this. It seems to just be a matter of individual DM decision. I personally would tend not to allow it but I don’t see a rule that forbids it