Through a series of strange events my Kalashtar Rogue (lv.5) ended up with a pseudodragon egg about to hatch and the DM will allow him to bond to my character as a sort of familiar. I'd like advice on how to better roleplay and roll-play a character having a familiar. The campaign is balanced in role play and battles so I don't have to go crazy but some pointers would be nice. Thanks.
Note: Unlike the traditional familiars (bat, rat, raven, etc...), Pseudodragon are intelligent. More intelligent than half of the NPCs you'll encounter. While many people treat them like "pets", they are more accurately portrayed as "friends", albiet, with some cat-like tendencies. It will have its own wants and desires, and is subject to leaving, if it doesn't feel properly cared for.
So, with that in mind, for Roleplay, treat it like a best friend. Talk to it, let it make decisions from time to time, and don't forget to share your meals with it.
For roll-play, it will effectively double your perception checks, use the Help action to give you advantage in many situations, and can help with scouting. As the party rogue, having a familiar shouldn't step on anyone else's toes, so you can check two tunnels simultaneously, or leave it behind to communicate with your team, etc...
Familiars have limited combat applications, but for you, it can give you Sneak Attack opportunities when you wouldn't normally have them by being adjacent to your enemies.
Warning: Since you are finding a Psuedodragon in the wild, and not through a class feature, you might not be able to resummon it when it dies, so talk to your DM and/or be very cautious with it.
Through a series of strange events my Kalashtar Rogue (lv.5) ended up with a pseudodragon egg about to hatch and the DM will allow him to bond to my character as a sort of familiar. I'd like advice on how to better roleplay and roll-play a character having a familiar. The campaign is balanced in role play and battles so I don't have to go crazy but some pointers would be nice. Thanks.
Mechanically, how is it going to work? An actual familiar is a completely and totally different experience - both in terms of role and roll - than a pseudodragon using the rules in its MM entry.
Assuming you're using the MM entry, i.e. you have a pseudodragon companion who shares senses and magic resistance with you and can stop doing that at any time, and that's the extent of it, you should be zealously protective of it for both roll and role reasons - it's a sophont in its own right that is with you because it chooses to be, on top of the incredible sensory and defensive benefits it affords you. I would generally keep it safe and close and only let it stop being near me in times of dire need.
Don't just ignore its desires, either. It can and will bail if it decides you're the worst person or you neglect it or whatever.
You need to clear up if it’s a familiar or a pet. It’s only got 7 hp (maybe more if you roll and get lucky).
A familiar is a spirit you can re-summon if they die. Since this is a regular creature, it just dies. You need to find out how carefully you need to play it. And keep in mind, if it’s perched on your shoulder, and you get caught in an AoE, it’s dead, probably even if it makes it’s save.
If you’re not using familiar rules, you might want to talk to your dm about it just being a rp/flavor thing — you don’t use it to help you overcome any challenges, and your dm won’t accidentally kill it the first day.
Generally these kinds of variant familiars are basically NPCs. They like you and tend to follow your orders, but they are independent creatures that are ultimately controlled by the DM who will leave or turn on you if you mistreat them or prove yourself unworthy.
It's perfectly fine to not use your familiar in combat at all. I probably wouldn't with this kind of familiar. They can still be very useful outside of combat.
Instead of it being a familiar, what about making the pseudodragon a sidekick? It qualifies for a warrior and that would make it more durable. Leveling the pseudodragon up can be explained as growing up and maturing after it hatches.
And since gaining a familiar this way, through roleplay, rather than by the spell, means your familiar is not bound by the 'not being able to attack' rule. Or any of the other things the spell allows familiars to do.
But as already mentioned if your familiar dies then it is probably gone for good. There is a rule for exceptional NPCs to make death saves (if they are relevant to your campaign). What could fit this more than a very special familiar found and bonded with in the wild... instead of from a spell.
DM's should feel free to grant some other special benefits besides the magic resistance. Custom tailor something unique (but not too op) for the special bond shared between the two.
The DM and I will discuss the pseudodragon's mechanics this week since it'll be kinda half familiar half just wild creature but I shall endeavor to not be "the worst person" XD
Thanks y'all, I hadn't considered most of the points brought up since I never actually played with a true familiar. I'm sure the rules will be different, the DM let me know it will be a sort of half way between a familiar and an NPC creature. I don't much mind if Cordelia (the pseudodragon) doesn't do much in terms of combat but an occasional RP flavor is what I was mainly after and y'all gave me some good starting points. The sidekick point might work but we'll see what the DM rules her as.
My only contribution to this is I think pseudodragons should have advantage on stealth checks, because originally they had the power to change color and be camouflaged (it was some AD&D rule like "could only be spotted on a 5-6 on a d6" or other old-fashioned, ad-hoc mechanic like they were back in the day.)
My best advice is to avoid involving your Pseudodragon in combat. It can fly 60 feet in a round, so it should be able to avoid combat once it gets going, but since it doesn't benefit from the features of the Find Familiar spell it is very, very easy to kill. It's got a decent sting attack that it can employ in emergencies, but it's not good enough to be worth risking the Pseudodragon's life.
I do love the roleplay opportunity you can get with a Pseudodragon. I don't know how your DM plans to play it, but if players were to raise a Pseudodragon in a game I DM'd I would treat is as essentially an NPC ally traveling with the party rather than a tool of a single player. Depending on the rolls, there's a very decent chance of the Pseudodragon being more intelligent than one or more party member. A Pseudodragon can read... maybe even write. They can perform complicated tasks or assist in ways that a simple Beast familiar simply couldn't.
Hello,
Through a series of strange events my Kalashtar Rogue (lv.5) ended up with a pseudodragon egg about to hatch and the DM will allow him to bond to my character as a sort of familiar. I'd like advice on how to better roleplay and roll-play a character having a familiar. The campaign is balanced in role play and battles so I don't have to go crazy but some pointers would be nice. Thanks.
Note: Unlike the traditional familiars (bat, rat, raven, etc...), Pseudodragon are intelligent. More intelligent than half of the NPCs you'll encounter. While many people treat them like "pets", they are more accurately portrayed as "friends", albiet, with some cat-like tendencies. It will have its own wants and desires, and is subject to leaving, if it doesn't feel properly cared for.
So, with that in mind, for Roleplay, treat it like a best friend. Talk to it, let it make decisions from time to time, and don't forget to share your meals with it.
For roll-play, it will effectively double your perception checks, use the Help action to give you advantage in many situations, and can help with scouting. As the party rogue, having a familiar shouldn't step on anyone else's toes, so you can check two tunnels simultaneously, or leave it behind to communicate with your team, etc...
Familiars have limited combat applications, but for you, it can give you Sneak Attack opportunities when you wouldn't normally have them by being adjacent to your enemies.
Warning: Since you are finding a Psuedodragon in the wild, and not through a class feature, you might not be able to resummon it when it dies, so talk to your DM and/or be very cautious with it.
Mechanically, how is it going to work? An actual familiar is a completely and totally different experience - both in terms of role and roll - than a pseudodragon using the rules in its MM entry.
Assuming you're using the MM entry, i.e. you have a pseudodragon companion who shares senses and magic resistance with you and can stop doing that at any time, and that's the extent of it, you should be zealously protective of it for both roll and role reasons - it's a sophont in its own right that is with you because it chooses to be, on top of the incredible sensory and defensive benefits it affords you. I would generally keep it safe and close and only let it stop being near me in times of dire need.
Don't just ignore its desires, either. It can and will bail if it decides you're the worst person or you neglect it or whatever.
You need to clear up if it’s a familiar or a pet. It’s only got 7 hp (maybe more if you roll and get lucky).
A familiar is a spirit you can re-summon if they die. Since this is a regular creature, it just dies. You need to find out how carefully you need to play it. And keep in mind, if it’s perched on your shoulder, and you get caught in an AoE, it’s dead, probably even if it makes it’s save.
If you’re not using familiar rules, you might want to talk to your dm about it just being a rp/flavor thing — you don’t use it to help you overcome any challenges, and your dm won’t accidentally kill it the first day.
Generally these kinds of variant familiars are basically NPCs. They like you and tend to follow your orders, but they are independent creatures that are ultimately controlled by the DM who will leave or turn on you if you mistreat them or prove yourself unworthy.
It's perfectly fine to not use your familiar in combat at all. I probably wouldn't with this kind of familiar. They can still be very useful outside of combat.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Instead of it being a familiar, what about making the pseudodragon a sidekick? It qualifies for a warrior and that would make it more durable. Leveling the pseudodragon up can be explained as growing up and maturing after it hatches.
And since gaining a familiar this way, through roleplay, rather than by the spell, means your familiar is not bound by the 'not being able to attack' rule. Or any of the other things the spell allows familiars to do.
But as already mentioned if your familiar dies then it is probably gone for good. There is a rule for exceptional NPCs to make death saves (if they are relevant to your campaign). What could fit this more than a very special familiar found and bonded with in the wild... instead of from a spell.
DM's should feel free to grant some other special benefits besides the magic resistance. Custom tailor something unique (but not too op) for the special bond shared between the two.
And above all else, have fun!
The DM and I will discuss the pseudodragon's mechanics this week since it'll be kinda half familiar half just wild creature but I shall endeavor to not be "the worst person" XD
Thanks y'all, I hadn't considered most of the points brought up since I never actually played with a true familiar. I'm sure the rules will be different, the DM let me know it will be a sort of half way between a familiar and an NPC creature. I don't much mind if Cordelia (the pseudodragon) doesn't do much in terms of combat but an occasional RP flavor is what I was mainly after and y'all gave me some good starting points. The sidekick point might work but we'll see what the DM rules her as.
My only contribution to this is I think pseudodragons should have advantage on stealth checks, because originally they had the power to change color and be camouflaged (it was some AD&D rule like "could only be spotted on a 5-6 on a d6" or other old-fashioned, ad-hoc mechanic like they were back in the day.)
My best advice is to avoid involving your Pseudodragon in combat. It can fly 60 feet in a round, so it should be able to avoid combat once it gets going, but since it doesn't benefit from the features of the Find Familiar spell it is very, very easy to kill. It's got a decent sting attack that it can employ in emergencies, but it's not good enough to be worth risking the Pseudodragon's life.
I do love the roleplay opportunity you can get with a Pseudodragon. I don't know how your DM plans to play it, but if players were to raise a Pseudodragon in a game I DM'd I would treat is as essentially an NPC ally traveling with the party rather than a tool of a single player. Depending on the rolls, there's a very decent chance of the Pseudodragon being more intelligent than one or more party member. A Pseudodragon can read... maybe even write. They can perform complicated tasks or assist in ways that a simple Beast familiar simply couldn't.
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