D&D 5E Do you make your familiars into NPCs/sidekicks?

[auburn2]

The RAW on familiars in 5E makes them pretty bland and antisceptic. More useful than previous additions without the penalties for dying but the text makes them sound like just creatures you summon to help you on a given day instead of companions.

A Warlock for a game I DM (and a 1e veteran) wanted an actual specific familiar, like when he casts he gets the same Imp every time, not some random Imp. He asked me to make this sidekick up, just that it be an imp. He gets no extra abilities, he is every bit as weak as a normal imp, but I made up the personality.

It has generated some great roleplay. His Imp's name is Spindley and he is a veteran from the blood war (143rd Air Calvary Regiment, 17th Malbolge light infantry). As such he hates demons and claims he can smell demons (the party is unsure if true or not) ... this is more fun because the Warlock's patron is a demon and the two have traded words and threats a few times (the Patron would obviously destroy the Imp if they fought) and the Warlock has to exercise his power to restrain Spindley whenever the patron shows up (which he can do because despite having a personality the warlock is in complete and utter control of Spindley as a familiar)

The fighter in the party also likes to talk to the imp about the bloodwar too and the imp is happy to oblige staying up during camp to fill him in with stories of his exploits. At first he flat refused to believe that an imp would fight in, let alone survive in, the blood war.

 

[Richards]

Wait, what? In 5th Edition, summoning a familiar is little better than casting a summon monster spell? The familiar doesn't stick with you for potentially the rest of your spellcasting career?

Do not like.

Under those (to me, ridiculous) conditions, if I were running an arcane spellcaster I'd be wanting to do the same thing as your Warlock player. And finding this out is making me glad I stuck with 3.5. But in our 3.5 campaigns, our familiars stick with their masters; so far, we've had (in our four campaigns thus far) two ravens, a fire elemental, an earth elemental, a pseudodragon, and a weasel. (Improved Familiar has been a popular feat for our arcane spellcasters.) But all those familiars have had distinctive personalities and I agree completely with you that running them that way (ditto for animal companions) makes for some great roleplaying opportunities.

Johnathan

 

[Li Shenron]

I have played many Wizards and Sorcerers across editions, though not always with a familiar as I am never a fan of "pets", especially in combat.

At some point in 3e I think I tried to use a familiar in combat but I didn't like doing so, as it complicated the game while not making much of a difference, although I did like the option of delivering touch spells remotely. Mostly, I used to leave the familiars at home and only carry them around on relatively safe errands for some bonuses, or give them tasks such as messaging/delivery or guarding.

I haven't actually tried a familiar in 5e despite having played a few Wizards. I think they are interesting for scouting now because of the ability to see/hear through them (in 3e you had to wait until very high level for scrying on the familiar), but the range is unfortunately very short!

So all in all I would say that I have been using them mainly as companions with occasional utility, certainly not as cannon fodder. Despite the option in 5e to dismiss/summon at will, whenever I'll get a familiar in 5e I will likely continue to narrate it as letting the familiar go back home or into the wild, but be always magically available within a turn when you need it. I like this description much more than the pokemon effect.

Wait, what? In 5th Edition, summoning a familiar is little better than casting a summon monster spell? The familiar doesn't stick with you for potentially the rest of your spellcasting career?

Quite the contrary! The 5e wizard's Find Familiar spells indicates that the normality is to keep your familiar forever. It never really dies ("when the familiar drops to 0hp, it disappears... it reappears after you cast this spell again") and to get a different one requires you to voluntarily dismiss it forever, but if you are simply bored with your current choice you can change its form without dismissing it ("if you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form... your familiar transforms into the chosen creature").

 

[Azuresun]

Wait, what? In 5th Edition, summoning a familiar is little better than casting a summon monster spell? The familiar doesn't stick with you for potentially the rest of your spellcasting career?

Do not like.

Under those (to me, ridiculous) conditions, if I were running an arcane spellcaster I'd be wanting to do the same thing as your Warlock player. And finding this out is making me glad I stuck with 3.5.

Careful there, you might injure your knee from jumping to conclusions so quickly!

 

[Richards]

Quite the contrary! The 5e wizard's Find Familiar spells indicates that the normality is to keep your familiar forever. It never really dies ("when the familiar drops to 0hp, it disappears... it reappears after you cast this spell again") and to get a different one requires you to voluntarily dismiss it forever, but if you are simply bored with your current choice you can change its form without dismissing it ("if you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form... your familiar transforms into the chosen creature").

Oh, good - that's actually a relief to hear. I'd never heard of the "temporary familiar" thing as described in the original post and it seemed a very odd choice. (As you may have guessed, I've never played 5E for myself.)

Careful there, you might injure your knee from jumping to conclusions so quickly!

I didn't jump - I was pushed!

Johnathan

 

[iserith]

My warlock Hex Arcana has an imp warlock named Sh*tshow who is hilarious. He's become an NPC in my subsequent campaign and in other DMs' campaigns. If there any sort of fiendish element in our group's campaigns, you can bet he will turn up.

 

[Richards]

My warlock Hex Arcana....

Nice one - kudos!

Johnathan

 

[DND_Reborn]

FWIW, here is our homebrew for Find Familiar and also the Brownie

 

[Weiley31]

The Familiar and Animal Companion is ALWAYS the same specific one when my character has it.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

The Familiar and Animal Companion is ALWAYS the same specific one when my character has it.

Indeed. I'd think that a temporary familiar that changes every time would better be called an "unfamiliar."