D&D 5E Why are 5e familiars celestial/fey/fiend instead of beasts?

[Harzel]

And as long as I am on the subject of familiars, why are 5e familiars celestial/fey/fiend instead of beasts? Is there the intention that this provide particular mechanical benefits or drawbacks? I tweeted the question to JC, but got no response. Anybody know?

 

[GX.Sigma]

I think it's to show that they're magical spirits, not normal animals.

 

[pukunui]

I think it's to show that they're magical spirits, not normal animals.

This. Plus, they're immune to any effects that target beasts (and susceptible to any that target celestials, fey, and/or fiends, like protection from evil and good).

 

[Iry]

So there's no animal abuse.

Not that you can't abuse magical spirits, but that's considerably more PC than sending Salem the Lovable Cat to his hideous death.

 

[Croesus]

So there's no animal abuse.

Not that you can't abuse magical spirits, but that's considerably more PC than sending Salem the Lovable Cat to his hideous death.

I don't know if that was a consideration when the 5E rules were finalized, but I really appreciate this. Whenever I tried to play a druid in 3.x, I never could come up with a good RP reason for the druid to be summoning actual beasts to help him in fights. The beasts would be killed, just so the druid could get some XP and treasure. Not every adventure has a good enough reason to risk the very animals the druid is supposed to be protecting. In 5E, the spirits aren't actually killed, so this problem mostly goes away.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

And as long as I am on the subject of familiars, why are 5e familiars celestial/fey/fiend instead of beasts? Is there the intention that this provide particular mechanical benefits or drawbacks? I tweeted the question to JC, but got no response. Anybody know?

It seems that all of the conjuration abilities have gotten away from summoning real animals, and now just do fey.

But for familiars I think the biggest reason is so you can make them go away and come back at will.

 

[Kobold Stew]

[MENTION=6777378]Iry[/MENTION] has it, and I do think it was a conscious choice. As a spirit the familiar can die and be re-cast and come back and be the "same" (or can re-appear as a different species, and be the "same"). There's no cruelty in keeping it dismissed; etc.

I would have preferred familiars to be beasts -- real cats and owls, instead of fey cats and owls.

 

[Lost Soul]

I think they were drawing on old superstitions & lore. Familiars were malevolent spirits, usually in league with the Devil who would assist the caster on his road to damnation. They had to blend in, so they took the forms of mundane animals.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Folklore shmolklore. Just ask Gargamel. Azrael was a real cat.

 

[Valetudo]

So there's no animal abuse.

Not that you can't abuse magical spirits, but that's considerably more PC than sending Salem the Lovable Cat to his hideous death.

Yeah, only rangers abuse their pets in 5th edition.