D&D 5E How you want familiars to be in your campaign...

[R_J_K75]

I prefer them to be actual creatures, but that includes fey and fiends IMO. I don't want fey/fiends/etc. in "animal form". I loved familiars in AD&D, where they were a blessing and a curse depending on what happened.

I think making them a "bit" harder to kill later on makes sense if they've been with you from the beginning, but not too much.

They should definitely have personalities of their own instead of just being totally agreeable to the caster.

Here is a revised 5E Find Familiar spells we've used for nearly two years:
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Wheres that brownie from? Ive been looking for one and couldnt find one in official 5E.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Wheres that brownie from? Ive been looking for one and couldnt find one in official 5E.

I made it up based on the AD&D brownie.

 

[Lyxen]

Wheres that brownie from? Ive been looking for one and couldnt find one in official 5E.

No, there isn't one yet, but not hard to create from here (as an example).

 

[R_J_K75]

No, there isn't one yet

Thanks. I didnt think there was but thought perhaps I'd missed it somewhere.

 

[Cadence]

So been doing some reading about familiars and curious to see how DMs have them in their campaigns. Do you play familiars as actual animals, imps/quasits/pseudodragons etc or prefer the idea of energy? Are you happy with easy-killed ones with no consequence or prefer harder to kill ones, possibly with a consequence to the familiar owner. Do you play with some sort of leveling-up of animal familiars? If so, how? Also, do any other classes get familiars in your campaigns and what other non-canon critters do you allow? Also do you have familiars as faithful servants or contrary at times (or split between animals as servile and warlock familiars as strong-willed?) If you do allow other classes/creatures/improvements/any other non-canon alterations, please post as posts below the chat.

Wow, I've found this question to be a lot more thought provoking than I imagined at first.

Mulling it over, I'm currently stuck between what all is needed between the spell storing and important familiar of the PF witch, something that's essentially an animal companion, and the magically summoned thing of 5e. They all have uses I can see wanting... but I don't know if I'd call the later two familiars, and am not sure what I would call them.

 

[AtomicPope]

The way we treated familiars and animal companions is they're not of this world. They're from the Beastlands, Feywild, or Lower Planes. When they die they dissolve and their spirit travels back to their home plane. When you summon another familiar it's the same one. For Warlocks (and summoners in general), that was a way to keep their familiar's special abilities in check. Some familiars have abilities usable 1/day. Summon the same familiar or creature and it still needs a long rest. Since the same creature returns it has memories of what happened, including your awful suggestion that they peek around the corner and see if there's a dragon hiding in there.

Because it was a bit more detrimental to lose a summoned creature, my Warlock took the Inspiring Leader feat to protect his Pact Familiar and summoned creatures. The advanced familiars have no chance of surviving an AOE at higher levels without some big boost. So I'd summon minor elementals or woodland creatures and give them all a boost of temporary hit points. Pact Familiars should have some way to get a boost, even if it's through Invocations.

 

[Lanefan]

I voted for various options in the poll but one I would have voted for isn't provided: drop them entirely.

I've had 1e-style familiars in my game forever, and they just don't work well. My options are twofold: to beef them up a la what 3e did, or to abandon them and delete the spell. Beefing them up is inherently very risky at the design level, as if I blow it I'm probably stuck with that mistake for the duration of the campaign and it'd be very easy to make them way too powerful. So, I'm heavily leaning toward dropping them for my next campaign (whenever that is).

I can't remember the last time someone had a familiar in my game, meaning they'd likely not be missed much if I did drop them.

 

[Casimir Liber]

I voted for various options in the poll but one I would have voted for isn't provided: drop them entirely.

I've had 1e-style familiars in my game forever, and they just don't work well. My options are twofold: to beef them up a la what 3e did, or to abandon them and delete the spell. Beefing them up is inherently very risky at the design level, as if I blow it I'm probably stuck with that mistake for the duration of the campaign and it'd be very easy to make them way too powerful. So, I'm heavily leaning toward dropping them for my next campaign (whenever that is).

I can't remember the last time someone had a familiar in my game, meaning they'd likely not be missed much if I did drop them.

I can understand the dilemma...which is why I created the poll. Yes I should have added that option. So none of your players has been interested in familiars? I find that in a group of players, there's almost always someone who is.

PS: Have added "drop entirely" option to poll...

 

[Lanefan]

I can understand the dilemma...which is why I created the poll. Yes I should have added that option. So none of your players has been interested in familiars? I find that in a group of players, there's almost always someone who is.

If you're not familiar (sorry) with 1e familiars and how they work, let's just say they're in general a high-risk low-benefit proposition most of the time for a field-adventuring mage because when it dies - and it will, guaranteed! - the caster permanently loses hit points* equal to what the familiar had. They are, however, a great thing for a stay-at-home mage type who never puts the familiar in danger, as while alive the familiar gives you enhanced sense(s) and adds its hit point total to your own maximum.

In general, once the players realize the long-term risk involved familiars come off the table real fast.

* - how the hit point thing works: if a mage with 14 h.p. casts FF and gets a 4 h.p. familiar the mage's max h.p. becomes 18. However, when the familiar dies (unless it dies of old age) the mage's max h.p. drops to 10 - you lose what the familiar gave you plus the same again

PS: Have added "drop entirely" option to poll...

Thanks! Vote amended.

 

[Cruentus]

I can understand the dilemma...which is why I created the poll. Yes I should have added that option. So none of your players has been interested in familiars? I find that in a group of players, there's almost always someone who is.

PS: Have added "drop entirely" option to poll...

I've only had a player interested in familiars when it gave them a huge mechanical advantage: Pact of the Chain Warlock with Imp (Invisible, fly, etc.) who did all the scout work for the party, got killed as much as was feasible in game (without me over planning for it), and that synergized with the Genie Patron and the "ring of let me hide and have my invisible familiar fly off with the ring to save me" along with his "Devilsight combined with darkness spell." So, never for story reasons, always for power reasons. And with Patrons being what they are in the rules, ie nothing, there you have it. But I'm not bitter