You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast.
Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again. As an action, you can temporarily dismiss the familiar to a pocket dimension. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. Whenever the familiar drops to 0 hit points or disappears into the pocket dimension, it leaves behind in its space anything it was wearing or carrying.
While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
You can't have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form. Choose one of the forms from the above list. Your familiar transforms into the chosen creature.
Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.
* - (10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs that must be consumed by fire in a brass brazier)
Is there any way we could get the spells with a Ritual tag to actually show it on the spell page (like this one) and not just on the list?
Can we also get it so that the Familiars are listed as Items/Equipment similar to the way that Mounts are?
It would be nice to have my Familiar Easily linked to see its Stats.
I like the idea of "equipping" them
Lozerette: They do show that they're ritual spells on the spell page. It's the little R in a book symbol next to the casting time.
Are the animals listed the only options available?
Aside from if you have pact of the chain as a warlock, yes
The descriptions of Pseudodragon and Gazer Familiar each suggest that a Wizard (not just a Pact of the Chain Warlock) can obtain them as a Familiar, but not through the Find Familiar spell.
They do list them on your character sheet. Look for the "Creatures" tab to the right of your "Notes" tab.
Awesome! Thank you!
If you DM allows it you can also use Almiraj and Flying Monkey from Tomb Of Annihilation.
Other options open up if you choose the Pact of the Chain feature. These options are imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.
Also Curse Of Strahd states:
This isn't new familiars to choose from but I thought it was a cool option.
Is there a way a Bard can attain this spell?
Yes. With the Ritual Caster (Wizard) feat.
You can choose this spell to be a part of your Ritual Book given by the feat.
Why dont other classes just have this spell?
This spell should have the "Pact of the Chain" Tag after "Available For:"
Add it as a creature.
For people who have trouble with the brass brazier element of the spell
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/616744564951355392
The Bards' magical secrets let you take spells from other classes at certain levels. The earliest you could take it would level 6 if you take college of lore.
I cannot find the feat "Improved Familiar" has it been cancelled?
Can a familiar use “aid” as an action?
OMG that would be so op