D&D 5E Interesting Familiars?

[Matita]

A warlock PC of mine was reminiscing on a past Familiar he had through Pact of the Chain a VERY expressive Pixie named Mereth who was beyond fun to play with and Roleplay as I was wondering has anyone else had any fun and interesting Familiars? What were their personalities like what were creative ways you used them through the campaign?

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

There was one campaign that featured a hawk that was particularly prone to snatching any gold coins or other small items made of gold and hiding it in whatever was most equivalent to its "nest" at the time, whether that was the birdcage in it's wizard's dorm room, or her traveling pack with a perch attached. It came up throughout the campaign as both a comic relief "as you count and separate the treasure, Drace starts collecting his share" and as an explanation for where anything small enough and appropriately shiny had ended up if the players couldn't remember where their characters had actually placed it (such as when they couldn't remember who it was that actually had the magic ring they found, and found it in Drace's cage, where he put up a fight to keep it and pouted at losing it for days, inconsolable even by stacks of coin - until there were enough that he could sit surrounded by them as if his entire nest was gold).

There was also an otter, the name of which I forget, that would constantly be darting this way and that, sniffing about frantically as if something tasty might be nearby, and yet always seemed to be chasing down gemstones rather than morsels of food - even if it meant pick-pocketing some character that had no expectation to be "burgled by some manner of weasel" (which is a quote that I can't remember the exact timing of, nor whether it was an NPC or a PC angrily shouting it as an explanation when asked "Why are you so upset?").

Then, there is the cat. I say "the cat" because the reality, unrealized by my players as of yet despite a decade of opportunities, is that it would be more accurate to say that this particular cat has been in the possession of eight wizard familiars (thus far) and visited many different worlds and times than to say that any one of those wizards had this cat as a familiar. His personality and appearance have remained constant, both serving as hints (as of yet un-taken by my players) to the fact of the constantly recurring cat. He is thin, grey, fond of wizards of advanced age because of their proclivity for absent-mindedness necessary for the cat to insinuate himself and be assumed their familiar despite them having not summoned up a familiar (even though that same absent-mindedness irritates him the moment it means that his presence has slipped their mind) , beer, and looks that suggest if the cat could speak it would say something sarcastic, condescending, or both.

Of course, the cat is my personal favorite. The cat's appearance and the manner I describe for the cat are those of a cat I lived with long ago, and I like to imagine that it is that very same cat having gone on to great adventures rather than death. I plan on actually pointing it out to the players, if they haven't caught on as of then, after the ninth time they have met the cat (with different PCs, and accompanied by a different wizard) that this one cat has been all of the cats that showed up accompanying wizards since they met me (twice as familiar to my PC wizard, and six times including our session just last night as companion to an NPC wizard).

 

[ccs]

I haven't used or had a familiar used yet in a 5e game.

But I've had two in PF games.

Game #1: As a Player my Bard/Wizard gained a white pseudo-dragon familiar. It was far more a friend/ally NPC type played by the DM (who loves dragons) than the usual tool/mechanical-extension-of-the-character most treat familiars as.
It also gained class levels etc as well as all the usual D20 advancements for familiars. By the time the game ended it was quite powerful in it's own rite.
Late in the game, now with my familiar a formidable match for a lot of threats, my character became the father of twins. So I'd often leave the pseudo-dragon home as a guardian while I helped save the world.
As the babies became toddlers+ it taught them magic.... Because the havoc 4 yr old spell-casters could cause amused it to no end. Grrr.

Game #2: My friend played an CE orc pirate who dabbled in sorcery. Not enough to be USEFULL, just enough to be amusing. I played as his faithful (?) familiar - an evil meglomaniacal parrot who claimed to be the reincarnation of the Rune-Lord of Greed, Karzouk.
Later, when the orc died? I continued to play the parrot, now advancing as an awakened animal sorcceror. And doing ever more awful things in my quest for wealth & a new humanoid form. (BTW; it's REALLY hard to take over the world when you're a bright green, 16" tall bird. Nobody takes you seriously. And then there's a never ending stream of idiots coming up to you & saying "Polly want a cracker?" They all thought that was hilarious - until I'd light them on fire.)
Most of this was done in humorous fashion.

 

[Matita]

A Sorcerer Parrot. That's amazing XD.
That's probably the best thing I've heard all day wow. That's fantastic you're a legend haha

 

[Reflected_Shadows]

One of my PCs found an infant Manticore cub inside the lair of a Manticore they just killed. So, she kept it, nursed and fed it, and raised it.

Another PC decided he wanted a Displacer Beast instead of a Horse for a mount. So it started as an Animal Companion the size of a cat, and grew to the normal size.

Another PC wanted a baby Beholder so created a "Beheld" that leveled up to become a full master Beholder.

Lastly, another PC played as a ranger with a Dog (Bloodhound) and when the Ranger died in Battle, he assumed the Dog as his main PC.
When he got back to town, he wanted a Henchmen NPC as a new "man companion" for his Dog PC.

Bonus: A dragon PC decided to take humanoids as "Man Companions" and spread the practice as a culture in the kingdom of dragonhaven.

I like to find clever ways to "Yes" everything cool and find immersive ways to include the ideas of other players. So when the dog wanted a man companion, he explained it the opposite of the normal arrangement. The new "owner of the dog" would be more like a White Fang situation or Inspector Gadget situation, where the dog is manipulating/guiding the unwitting NPC (who became the companion of the dog - and the Cohort of another PC at the same time). This caused the dragon player to want a man companion, and rolled a natural 20 to present her man companion "pet arrangement" to the other dragons - who then decided it was a great idea to adapt into an age where the dragons are waning and the humans are rising. Small touches like animal companions or familiars... they are not the fodder of every enemy to kidnap or shoot, they are a device to draw an extra part of the characters personality into the game.