Azzy
ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ
Reading a certain other threadbrought my feeling to the fore of the topic of familiars in 5e.
Now, for the most part, I find 5e's rules for familiars okay. However...
I don't like that the familiar is a spirit rather than a normal creature of its ilk. The spirit thing is neat, but for me it's not as cool as bonding with an actual creature.
I don't like that the familiar can't attack. I know, chainlocks have this as a special ability, but meh—they have access to more powerful familiars early on, and most familiars aren't exactly deadly opponents. Like the above, this is mostly just a "feel" thing.
I don't like that non-chainlocks are limited to familars certain familiars. Sure, I get the chainlock has special access to more powerful critters and that's cool. However, I think that casters of other classes should be able to take more powerful creatures, too, at higher levels (that preserves some of the chainlock's specialness). I mean, why shouldn't a 10th-level wizard have a pseudodragon familiar (like they could in some previous editions)?
Yes, these are just my feelings and, sure, I can houserule to hell and back. But these are things that I find disappointing in an edition that I am mostly satisfied with (there are other small things like this that I can whinge on about, but they're all pretty minor). So, here I am ranting online.
But that brings me to you guys... What are your thoughts and feelings concerning familiars in this edition and how they size up with your experiences and feelings of previous editions and your expectations of how they should work?
Now, for the most part, I find 5e's rules for familiars okay. However...
I don't like that the familiar is a spirit rather than a normal creature of its ilk. The spirit thing is neat, but for me it's not as cool as bonding with an actual creature.
I don't like that the familiar can't attack. I know, chainlocks have this as a special ability, but meh—they have access to more powerful familiars early on, and most familiars aren't exactly deadly opponents. Like the above, this is mostly just a "feel" thing.
I don't like that non-chainlocks are limited to familars certain familiars. Sure, I get the chainlock has special access to more powerful critters and that's cool. However, I think that casters of other classes should be able to take more powerful creatures, too, at higher levels (that preserves some of the chainlock's specialness). I mean, why shouldn't a 10th-level wizard have a pseudodragon familiar (like they could in some previous editions)?
Yes, these are just my feelings and, sure, I can houserule to hell and back. But these are things that I find disappointing in an edition that I am mostly satisfied with (there are other small things like this that I can whinge on about, but they're all pretty minor). So, here I am ranting online.
But that brings me to you guys... What are your thoughts and feelings concerning familiars in this edition and how they size up with your experiences and feelings of previous editions and your expectations of how they should work?