Nope. The only guaranteed way to have a pseudodragon familiar is to be a 3rd level Warlock with Pact of the Chain. Anything outside of that is up to the DM.
Stuff like this is always interesting... there's no way to guarantee the ability to start your game with anything beyond the starting equipment of your class and background, but there's also no rule preventing your DM from just giving you one as a pet right off the bat. But a pseudodragon is probably one of the better potential pets to start with... it's sort of like starting the game with a Rare magical item. There's ways to balance it... maybe the DM could say that your pseudodragon is freshly hatched, so it doesn't have access to all of its abilities yet. Or it could be not fully trained yet, so you could have trouble reliably using all of its unique abilities when you want them, or it might even be a potential cause of trouble as it knocks stuff over and steals food off of other customers' plates while you're in the tavern. Either way, it's something worth talking to your DM about... it's nice to have a background and story with interesting elements like this.
For example, in my current home game I've got a Goblin bard who started the game with a pet goat that could dance to his music. A goat's a bit easier to justify, since it's a much more common creature that doesn't necessarily have a lot of useful abilities. But still, it made for an interesting character detail that didn't unbalance the game dramatically, so the DM allowed it to go through. I'd say if your DM either gave you a restricted version of a pseudodragon companion, or gave the other players something of equivalent versatility right off the bat, then that could actually make your game more fun and interesting.
My warlock started with an Imp familiar (or really a homebrew variation of it) but didn't officially get him until 3rd level. In the meantime he was just constantly invisible or polymorphed into a bug. So he was just my invisible friend for 3 levels and had no effect on the world beyond talking to me. That's harder to do with a pseudodragon since they can't turn invisible or shapechange
I'd like to know if it's mechanically possible to start with a pseudodragon companion as a level one bard, or if that'd have to be homebrewed.
Chasing Hymnal - Tabaxi Bard - The Tale of the Pumpkin King
Enzo the Nightmaw - Human Blood Hunter, Order of the Lycan
"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain."
Nope. The only guaranteed way to have a pseudodragon familiar is to be a 3rd level Warlock with Pact of the Chain. Anything outside of that is up to the DM.
Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh, well. Thank you
Chasing Hymnal - Tabaxi Bard - The Tale of the Pumpkin King
Enzo the Nightmaw - Human Blood Hunter, Order of the Lycan
"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain."
Stuff like this is always interesting... there's no way to guarantee the ability to start your game with anything beyond the starting equipment of your class and background, but there's also no rule preventing your DM from just giving you one as a pet right off the bat. But a pseudodragon is probably one of the better potential pets to start with... it's sort of like starting the game with a Rare magical item. There's ways to balance it... maybe the DM could say that your pseudodragon is freshly hatched, so it doesn't have access to all of its abilities yet. Or it could be not fully trained yet, so you could have trouble reliably using all of its unique abilities when you want them, or it might even be a potential cause of trouble as it knocks stuff over and steals food off of other customers' plates while you're in the tavern. Either way, it's something worth talking to your DM about... it's nice to have a background and story with interesting elements like this.
For example, in my current home game I've got a Goblin bard who started the game with a pet goat that could dance to his music. A goat's a bit easier to justify, since it's a much more common creature that doesn't necessarily have a lot of useful abilities. But still, it made for an interesting character detail that didn't unbalance the game dramatically, so the DM allowed it to go through. I'd say if your DM either gave you a restricted version of a pseudodragon companion, or gave the other players something of equivalent versatility right off the bat, then that could actually make your game more fun and interesting.
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My warlock started with an Imp familiar (or really a homebrew variation of it) but didn't officially get him until 3rd level. In the meantime he was just constantly invisible or polymorphed into a bug. So he was just my invisible friend for 3 levels and had no effect on the world beyond talking to me. That's harder to do with a pseudodragon since they can't turn invisible or shapechange
I worked it out with my DM. He's gonna be an NPC until I reach level 10 (7 levels Bard, 3 levels Warlock)
Chasing Hymnal - Tabaxi Bard - The Tale of the Pumpkin King
Enzo the Nightmaw - Human Blood Hunter, Order of the Lycan
"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain."