D&D 5E (2024) Can a Warlock who swaps out Pact of Chain keep his familiar?

[Ralif Redhammer]

I would rule against it - the player is trying to eat his cake and have it too. It also goes against the intent of the invocation, IMO. Plus, allowing it encourages players to shop around for other advantages they can get by swapping around pacts and keeping some of the advantages of the swapped pacts. Do you really want to open that can of worms?

To me, this just seems like a strategy to get a familiar for free before taking the pact they always intended. Had the player started the character at level 5 would you still let them have the familiar if they told you they had swapped pacts as part of their backstory?

Finally, I think the analogy to using a scroll is nonsense.

Edited to replace the word subclass with pact - was tired

Agree with you. To my mind, the pact is the source of the familiar. Without that source, there would be no Quasit.

 

[pukunui]

Remember the familiar isn't actually a quasit, unlike if the character had made an actual deal with a quasit.

If that’s the case, I would rule that the familiar goes poof when the warlock changes the terms of their pact.

 

[TheSword]

I’m with @Clint_L . It stays around and betrays the Warlock viciously at the first opportunity. Any tendency to obedience or loyalty the familiar had is relinquished when the invocation was.

I think you know it’s wrong to keep it as is, which is why you asked the question.