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)
I think that would be a bit overpowered. (And it’s a subrace, not a subclass)
It works the same.
It can really be anything the DM wants.
So this happened... I sent my raven (IMP) to pursue a hag from a distance, and told him to come back as soon as it could discern where the hag lives... Zel (my imp/raven) went out of my range, and didn't return. Do I know if it "died"? That's it.
I made this thread for anyone looking for a full list of familiar options to them.
I hope this is the correct place to post this. But does anyone know if it is canon or part of the rules that the only familiers allowed in the Descent to Avernus campaign must be imps? Or that once you get to Avernus that whatever familiar you had if forced to become an imp? I have never heard of this and was wondering if I skipped a bit of the lore or if this is my DM house rule.
Not sure if it has been mentioned, but you can do the tressym from Storm King's Thunder (or the [Tooltip Not Found] from Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus)
Obviously since these are not mentioned in the PHB, then they need DM approval.
Since the tressym is mentioned in BG:DIA as being available for find familiar (see previous post), then I can be fairly certain that you can use forms other than the imp, since you can use the tressym.
There's also how you can always use an animal like... an ermine, but use the stats of a weasel, for example. Reskinning. You can have a hummingbird with the stats of an owl, which is what Shakaste uses in Critical Role. You can use the rat's stats to have a squirrel familiar... But that depends on your DM, your DM may say "No, you can't do that" even though it'd be no different (to me) than just deciding you want a poison dart frog instead of a tree frog as your familiar, or deciding you want a silver tabby cat instead of an orange tabby cat. Cuz what it looks like is just flavour for the story; the thing that matters is the stats. So if you use an animal that would be a reasonable swap-in (like how ermines are part of the weasel family, or how squirrels and rats are small rodents) then your variety opens up that way.
So re the "you are blind and deaf to your own surroundings" part, if you're looking through your familiar's eyes can you move around normally while looking through the familiar? And does it count for spells if "a target you can see" is technically being seen by a familiar?
With the ritual caster feat, the magic initiate feat, or as part of your magical secrets feature you get at 10th level (or 6th if you are college of lore). You could also talk with your dm about just adding it as a bard spell.
You should be able to summon and dismiss it. No matter if it is in range or not. If you can't, it is most likely dead.
Thanks, man!
Familiar names. When he's a weasel, I'll call him Pabu. And when he's a spider, Lucas. When he's an owl, Archimedes. When he's a mouse, Fivel (Or Brisby, depends). So many names y'all.
As of time of posting (30 March 2021) the following have been identified as viable familiars with DM permission according to DND beyond - link provided for ease of access and reference.
Default Familiar Options:
bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel
Familiars requiring DM Approval
Almiraj
Anvilwrought Raptor
Imp (Familiar Variant)
Flying Monkey
Gazer Familiar
Pseudodragon (familiar variant)
Quasit (familiar variant)
Tressym (beast)
Tressym (Monstrosity)
Do bat familiars have blindsight if the are submerged?
It's stats are based on the creature and the site allows you to easily check the creatures it lists as options
yes, I recomend going with the hawk for scouting purposes
You can easily find out by dismissing it and having it reappear next to you. if you are unable to do so it is most likely "dead"
As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. 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.
Can you dismiss him to scout : make him reappear the other side of a wall or a door ? Seems to me the caster would need to see the space for it to reappear, but which rule supports that ?Would also be too strong a scout power maybe