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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 7035861" data-attributes="member: 6677017">The warlock has flexibility with its familiar. It is a spirit (celestial, fiend, or fey) that can change into any of the allowable shapes. "Improved" familiars that anyone with the find familiar spell can gain, as described in the monster manual, are actually the creature listed, with the creatures own type. They shouldn't be allowed to change shape into other creatures.The Dame Flutterbee familiar certificate from the Adventurer's League gives a precedent example of how to interpret the MM rules. Basically, when the creature chooses to become a familiar (and you'll need to use the spell too, per the MM) they gain the benefits of being a familiar, so they can be sent to their pocket dimension, resurrected just by recasting the spell, etc. They really become a familiar, not just a follower who dies the first time someone looks at it crossways. Do be aware though that acquiring these familiar is through role-playing (or certificate if you're doing AL). You can't just declare you get one when you level up. It might take a quest, and they are still an NPC whose disposition towards you needs to remain positive. Out of character, your DM could certainly still decide to treat it as a resource that they take into account for purposes of handing out magic items or whatnot, but I don't see any benefit to complicating the rules and semi-official precedent by requiring higher level spell slots rather than role-playing. Do I have to spend character build resources to hire a mercenary or two? I hope not.While the rules don't explicitly say so, I think it is fair to give warlock familiars the benefits normally granted by certain special familiars in the MM (such as Magic Resistance).Given that warlocks have an invocation or two to let them do extra stuff with their familiars, and the added flexibility of changing its form as they desire, that would seem to make the pact still a worthwhile option without any need to nerf the MM options for other characters with find familiar.That's how I rule it as a DM, and one of the few things I'd probably fight tooth and claw to convince a DM to rule the same way if I were a player in their game. (That, or just not play someone who wanted a special familiar.)[ATTACH]81542[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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