D&D General Pet or familiar for a hunter of the undead?

[Baldurs_Underdark]

Hey hive mind,

Say I would make a cleric or paladin who dedicate their lives to hunting down undead. And say that this paladin has a pet or familiar. What creatures (which are at least not evil) are really good at hunting down undead?

Note that these are to be NPCs, and as a DM I can give such an NPC any pet or familiar that I like.

All I came up with so far is monsters that deal bludgeoning damage, which is good against skeletons. I considered angels, but that is overkill, and in that case the Owner-Pet relationship is likely reversed.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Are you asking for a creature more effective fighting undead in combat, or more thematic/flavorful?

For the latter, I'd go with a hyena. Scavengers who can actually eat and digest bone might like corporeal undead giving them a chance to play with their food before eating. Plus, as the paladin would count as an ally, they could use their pack tactics.

 

[Dave Goff]

Might be fun to have something small, like a ferret or weasel, that can sniff out undead when they're around. Utility rather than combat.

 

[DEFCON 1]

In my current campaign the party has rescued a Musteval and one of the characters has taken it on as an NPC companion. Mustevals are the small, mouse-like Guardinal variety of Celestial-- the Neutral Good celestials from Elysium. They don't have any distinct affinity for hunting the undead, but as a Celestial their natural goodness could make them focused in that direction.

If you are looking for a small Lawful Good celestial that might fit the bill... you could also try the Lantern Archon. They are the lowest form of LG celestial and whose form is a 1 to 3 foot ball of light-- which would very much be in line with the idea of helping hunt the darkness for undead. Especially considering that a lantern archon tries to work with others to help those in need so as to exemplify their bravery and be promoted into a more advanced form.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

A Great Dane.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Fu Dog.

See; Mouse, Dresden Files

for a less combat option, a simple cat or raven.

 

[Richards]

I'd imagine a dog would be the obvious choice for attacking skeletons and similar creatures made up of bones - they'd just be mobile chew toys! Against zombies and those undead more on the "rotting corpse" end of the spectrum, I could envision the paladin/cleric training a vulture like one would normally train a hawk.

Johnathan

 

[jgsugden]

I might work with the DM to see if I could come up with an undead creature in my service... sort of an ironic twist.

 

[MiraMels]

Raven.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Get weird, also.
A sentient bell with wings. It's chime does a single target turn effect or a AoE debuff?
A book of the dead. also sentient and flying.
A clay simulacrum of a cat or other creature associated with protection from spirits and the dead.