112
votes
Accepted
Are Imps incapable of speech or is my DM messing with me?
Can Imps talk?
Yes. Yes they can. It's not really very complicated; it says so right there in the rulebooks. They also say how short and long rests work, and even have some recommendations for ...
- 65.8k
67
votes
How do I handle the wizard's familiar invalidating exploration, outshining the rogue, at low to no cost?
Find familiar is not overpowered by itself, you are giving it too much leeway.
Maps
There are 2 ways for a familiar to map an area:
The familiar maps the area, and telepathically relays what it ...
- 9,147
66
votes
Can you train/call a Blink Dog? If so, how?
No
A blink dog is not a dog.
A blink dog is a fey, not a beast. Furthermore, they understand Sylvan language and are as intelligent, wise and charismatic as the average humanoid, if not more.
You ...
- 189k
61
votes
What can a familiar actually do?
As far as actions in combat are concerned, the quote you've included pretty much sums it up. A familiar can take any action that it is capable of other than the Attack action. This includes the Cast A ...
- 141k
55
votes
How do I handle a player exploring the entire dungeon with his familiar?
Take the warlock 'aside', and either narrate the dungeon to him or show him a map of features. If the warlock wants to tell the party what he saw then that's up to him.
I've regularly done this one-on-...
- 657
53
votes
Are Imps incapable of speech or is my DM messing with me?
The find familiar spell allows you to summon a spirit that takes the form of an animal from a list, as a pact of the chain warlock you are allowed to choose the imp form.
An important sentence in the ...
- 17.9k
51
votes
Does a Wizard's Familiar grant advantage on every roll?
Not exactly. The rules on Working Together in order to give advantage are as follows:
A character can only provide help if the task is one that
he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying ...
- 141k
44
votes
What happens if you cast Find Familar as a 9th-level spell?
The spell effect would be unchanged.
In DnD 5e spells only do what they say that they do or to put it another way - 'there are no secret rules'.
Any spell can be cast using a higher level spell slot ...
- 24.5k
43
votes
Accepted
Can I use my familiar from the Find Familiar spell as a safety deposit box?
So, to your first question: The pocket dimension will be unique to your familiar.
While it's difficult to prove this, a dimension that potentially contains the familiars of every spellcaster with the ...
- 141k
43
votes
Accepted
How do I handle a player exploring the entire dungeon with his familiar?
Having an invisible Imp floating through a dungeon is quite an investment for a Warlock character, and have the obvious effect of allowing what you describe. There are other "overpowered", ...
- 462
41
votes
Accepted
Do familiars get death saving throws?
No, they just disappear.
Find familiar states (PHB, pg. 240):
When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again.
...
- 111k
40
votes
Accepted
Can my familiar fly with a small person?
Yes
Yes, a familiar can carry loads if it can properly grip or support them, including a willing creature if they fall within this weight limit. However, a hawk can only carry 37.5 pounds, as it is a ...
- 8,963
40
votes
Who controls a summoned steed’s familiar?
This does not work.
The spell Find Steed allows you to cast a spell and have it also affect your steed.
While mounted on your steed, you can make any spell you cast that
targets only you also ...
- 18.7k
39
votes
How do I go about convincing my DM that their ruling about my familiar is a bit harsh?
Disallowing the help action is Homebrew a house rule
Find familiar states:
A familiar can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal.
Therefore, by RAW, the help action is allowed. Generally, ...
- 10.7k
38
votes
How do I handle a player exploring the entire dungeon with his familiar?
Hand the party a map
You know this is going to happen: prepare a map of everywhere the imp can go before the session and hand it to the party when they get to the dungeon.
I’ve done this for all sorts ...
- 189k
36
votes
Accepted
Clarifying the benefits of the Alert feat over Find Familiar
Alert is always active and infallible. Familiars are not.
Surprise is not always about hiding.
The party can surprise a foe or be surprised by an encounter without the enemies being hidden. E.g. a ...
- 32.2k
36
votes
Accepted
Does a wizard need their hands free in order to cause their familiar from the Find Familiar spell to reappear?
Find Familiar
As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.
This is not casting the spell and so any restriction on ...
- 189k
35
votes
Accepted
How does Find Familiar work with a Ring of Spell Storing?
Specific Overrides General
This is a basic "specific overrides general" situation. The Ring of Spell Storing has specific rules that override the general cases for Find Familiar.
When the ...
- 47.5k
34
votes
Accepted
Can a wizard use his familiar's senses to enlarge his "you can see" area?
Yes, you can teleport to somewhere your familiar sees provided that you are currently seeing through it's eyes.
From the Find Familiar spell:
...as an action, you can see through your familiar's ...
- 102k
34
votes
Accepted
Does a Warlock receive the benefit of their familiar's Magic Resistance trait?
No, a Warlock with the Pact of the Chain feature does not receive Magic Resistance if they choose a Quasit, Imp, or Pseudodragon. In the first place, a variant rule is only in play if the DM chooses. ...
- 141k
34
votes
Accepted
Can a familiar attune and wear or use a magic item?
Yes, familiars are creatures and, as such, can attune to magic items so long as they meet the requirements for attunement (For example, the magic item cannot require the attuner to be of a certain ...
- 18.8k
33
votes
Does the Voice of the Chain Master eldritch invocation let me cast a purely verbal spell through my familiar?
No.
Consider that:
Verbal (V)
...the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.
If you can argue that this is ALL that is ...
- 28.2k
33
votes
Accepted
Can a familiar use a Help action to grant advantage on an attack to a near by ally?
Yes, familiar can be used for gaining advantage for allies.
From Find Familiar spell description (PHB, p240), emphasis mine:
Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always
obeys your ...
- 1,795
33
votes
Accepted
Why can't the "Variant: Imp Familiar" be found with the Find Familiar spell?
Three types of familiars exist. There are pets, companions, steeds, and other animals and constructs. This is just about the animals called familiars in the text.
Find Familiar
The find familiar ...
- 37.9k
33
votes
Accepted
Can a familiar from the Find Familiar spell use the Dragon's Breath spell?
Yes, the familiar can use the effect of dragon's breath
The Find Familiar spell description says "A familiar can’t attack, but it can take other actions as normal". The term "Attack&...
- 61.6k
33
votes
Accepted
Can I cast the "Find Familiar" spell on behalf of another character and would that prevent me from using the find familiar spell on myself?
There is no mechanic to "cast a spell on someone else's behalf". As the spellcaster, "you gain the service of a familiar", not someone else.
However, if your Bard can get their hands on a Ring of ...
- 141k
33
votes
Homunculus: worth its own weight?
A Homunculus offers a primarily utility-focused benefit...but it's big thing is the Telepathic Bond.
With a normal, summoned familiar, you must be within 100 feet of it to communicate with it, and ...
- 60.8k
33
votes
Accepted
Can a familiar use the Help action on an ally within 5 feet without being within 5 feet of the enemy the ally is attacking?
It is not
you can aid a friendly creature [ in attacking a creature ] within 5 feet of you
but
you can aid a friendly creature in attacking [ a creature within 5 feet of you ]
You must be ...
- 60.2k
32
votes
Accepted
What happens to a familiar if the wizard is unconscious?
Nothing.
There is no current rule that spell effects end when a caster is unconscious or dies unless they are specifically concentration spells.
Thus, since Find Familiar is not a concentration ...
- 102k
32
votes
Can a familiar be targeted by the Awaken spell?
A familiar from Find Familiar can't be awakened.
The awaken spell needs to target a beast or plant:
you touch a Huge or smaller beast or plant
However, the familiar from find familiar is not ...
- 35.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible