D&D 5E First Time Wizard: Familars

[not-so-newguy]

I made the stupid mistake awesome choice of creating a wizard (variant human/Evoker, fire adept feat) for my second character. I am just starting with 5e and involved with Adventurers League in two stores. Before two weeks ago, I played exclusively at-home games with the same friends and family but rarely visited a hobby store. Last night, I enjoyed an unspoken noob status where my mistakes were forgiven and explained. I'm sure this time will soon pass, probably the next time I play there.

So far I'm having a blast with both my characters (the other is a dex based fighter).

Familiars

I just achieved second level and chose Find Familar and Thunderwave for my spells.

1) Do I need to strictly adhere to the animal list in the PHB? I'd like to use a celestial hummingbird.

2) Can I cast light on my familiar? If not, can I tie a tiny string on its foot and cast light on that?

3) General tips for a first time pet owner?

 

[iserith]

1. Check with your DM who will tell you if it's acceptable or not in accordance with AL guidelines. It may be as simple as "re-skinning" an existing creature.

2. Light may only be cast upon objects, so the string is a good choice.

3. Have it perform the Help action a lot.

 

[Nemio]

You can also cast spells & cantrips with a "touch" range such as shocking grasp through your familiar.

when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it.

http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/50310/using-a-familiar-to-deliver-a-touch-attack

 

[not-so-newguy]

Thanks for the clarification and the suggestions.

The origin of the familiar: celestial, fey, fiend. Should I consider this fluff?

I picked celestial primarily b/c it seemed the most obedient. My wizard is unaligned and pragmatic (and much smarter than me. Which may provide some difficulties.)

 

[iserith]

Thanks for the clarification and the suggestions.

The origin of the familiar: celestial, fey, fiend. Should I consider this fluff?

I picked celestial primarily b/c it seemed the most obedient. My wizard is unaligned and pragmatic (and much smarter than me. Which may provide some difficulties.)

Your familiar is completely under your control, so don't worry about it acting up. As for the origin, this may interact with certain spells and class features such as the paladin's divine sense. Pretty much no big deal, really.

 

[Riley37]

Fluff, but could matter if you have a fine-grain DM. For example, if you ever set foot in the Feywild, a fey familiar might get some "home ground" advantages. There are several spells which can include or exclude celestials, infernals, or fey. Sometimes they mention abyssals; other times, they use "infernals" as if that included abyssals, AFAIK.

I would argue for adding a house-rule Primordial familiar, which could take the usual forms such as bat/cat/rat.

See also, the various flavors of patron for Warlocks. (Wizards, arcane tricksters, eldritch knights, Tome warlocks, and bards, they all get Mew. Chain-pact Warlocks get MewTwo.)

If you want a familiar to appear in one of the pre-determined forms used by Gozor the Traveller, such as a large and moving Torb, or perhaps a Sloar, then those would be Abyssal, I think, or maybe Infernal?

 

[not-so-newguy]

Fluff, but could matter if you have a fine-grain DM. For example, if you ever set foot in the Feywild, a fey familiar might get some "home ground" advantages. There are several spells which can include or exclude celestials, infernals, or fey. Sometimes they mention abyssals; other times, they use "infernals" as if that included abyssals, AFAIK.

I would argue for adding a house-rule Primordial familiar, which could take the usual forms such as bat/cat/rat.

See also, the various flavors of patron for Warlocks. (Wizards, arcane tricksters, eldritch knights, Tome warlocks, and bards, they all get Mew. Chain-pact Warlocks get MewTwo.)

If you want a familiar to appear in one of the pre-determined forms used by Gozor the Traveller, such as a large and moving Torb, or perhaps a Sloar, then those would be Abyssal, I think, or maybe Infernal?

Gozor the Traveller? Please say somebody statted this guy.

I ain't afraid of no ghost.

 

[Herobizkit]

Re-fluffing a bat or some other flying creature as a hummingbird should be easy peasy.

One big tip for owning a Familiar:

It is not a magical extension of your will but a living creature, therefore:

• Keep your pet away from open flame unless it is composed of open flame.
• Do not fully submerge your pet unless it is of an Aquatic nature.
• Do not feed your pet after midnight unless its natural hunting cycle is Nocturnal.

Also of note: Celestial creatures tend to shed light.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Also of note: Celestial creatures tend to shed light.

It's true, they do. And it's a little bit sticky too, so you can't just sweep it up afterwards. Sure, it will evaporate on its own by morning, but the constant shedding does get kinda gross after a while.

Head & Shoulders does nothing to fix this.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

There are several spells which can include or exclude celestials, infernals, or fey. Sometimes they mention abyssals; other times, they use "infernals" as if that included abyssals,

This isn't in the published PHB, MM, or DMG. It's just "fiends" all around. Perhaps you're thinking of something from an alpha playtest or some such? (I don't know, I wasn't involved in those.)