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Message: <blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 8578466" data-attributes="member: 3400">I think the question "do they need to be in the game" is misplaced. There's little that needs to be in the game. Better to approach it from the perspective that they are in the game, now how can they be used?I've had fun with familiars over the years, but it was only in 3e and 5e that I think they come into their own as a resource for PCs. In 1e/2e, you could use them as scouts but they were so fragile (2-4 hp, AC 7) and the penalty for them dying was so high (permanent loss of hit points in 1e, -1 Con and system shock roll to avoid dying in 2e) that it was madness to actually use them that way.In 3e, their durability and cost started to really balance out, as did their general utility because they were smart and had skill ranks. They were a fantastic mage's helper. And if you took a raven, it could talk. This opened up a lot of role playing opportunities. I had a sorcerer character with a raven familiar. The raven would talk sarcastically about the rest of the party while the sorcerer would chide him for being rude. For those of you familiar with the sitcom Soap, it was on the order of Chuck's ventriloquist act with his dummy Bob.In 5e, their durability is way down, as is their general intelligence. But their weakness is offset by the relative cheapness of the cost if they're lost. Some of the warlock's options with Pact of the Chain can be a real benefit depending on the campaign you're playing and your willingness to be creative. In an AL game where I play a Pact of the Chain Warlock, we were on a mission in which our transportation (a ship) had to keep at a distance after we were deposited on an island. Since I could communicate with my familiar anywhere on the plane and talk through him, I left my familiar with the captain of the ship and he was our communication medium. I may have lacked my familiar throughout the rest of the mission, but we knew our ability to request extraction/report completion of the mission was secure.In the end, familiars can add a lot of interesting options that aren't always obvious - from role playing and communications to scouting. Combat is really one of the more limited options for them.</blockquote>

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