Find Familiar

A
Utility

Find Familiar is a Utility spell. Utility spells solve problems outside of combat or provide unique situational advantages.

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spell that
summons a loyal spirit companion

Find Familiar is a Summoning spell. Summoning spells create new allies.

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for scouting and
information gathering

Find Familiar is a Information spell. Information spells provide ways to transmit, perceive, detect, or reveal hidden or unknown information.

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,
while improving your
action economy

Find Familiar is a Action Economy spell. Action Economy spells grant you more choices on future turns.

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.

2024 Rules

Level & School
1st-level conjuration
Casting Time
1 hour or Ritual
Range
10 feet
Components
V, S, M (burning incense worth 10+ GP, which the spell consumes)
Duration
Instantaneous
Classes
Wizard

You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: Bat, Cat, Frog, Hawk, Lizard, Octopus, Owl, Rat, Raven, Spider, Weasel, or another Beast that has a Challenge Rating of 0. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a Celestial, Fey, or Fiend (your choice) instead of a Beast. Your familiar acts independently of you, but it obeys your commands. Telepathic Connection. While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as a Bonus Action, you can see through the familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses it has.

Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the touch. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must take a Reaction to deliver the touch when you cast the spell.

Combat. The familiar is an ally to you and your allies. It rolls its own Initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal. Disappearance of the Familiar. When the familiar drops to 0 Hit Points, it disappears. It reappears after you cast this spell again. As a Magic action, you can temporarily dismiss the familiar to a pocket dimension. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As a Magic action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. Whenever the familiar drops to 0 Hit Points or disappears into the pocket dimension, it leaves behind in its space anything it was wearing or carrying.

One Familiar Only. You can't have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new eligible form.

2014 Rules

Level & School
1st-level conjuration
Casting Time
1 hour
Range
10 feet
Components
V, S, M (10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs that must be consumed by fire in a brass brazier)
Duration
Instantaneous
Classes
Wizard

You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes an animal form you choose: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast.

Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.

When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. It reappears after you cast this spell again.

While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.

As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons. Alternatively, you can dismiss it forever. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.

You can't have more than one familiar at a time. If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, you instead cause it to adopt a new form. Choose one of the forms from the above list. Your familiar transforms into the chosen creature.

Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.

Find Familiar 5.5e 2024 vs. 5e 2014 edition differences

Find Familiar now has the Ritual tag. It can also take any CR 0 Beast form, not just the old fixed list. When it drops to 0 HP or is dismissed, it leaves behind anything it was wearing or carrying. Also, the eye/ear viewing is now a Bonus Action instead of an Action.

Find Familiar popularity

Find Familiar is a commonly chosen level 1 spell. Choosing it adds an established option to your spellbook.

Spells similar to Find Familiar

  • Unseen Servant 1st-level conjuration

    Both create a noncombatant summoned ally that performs tasks and improves your action economy as a utility-focused conjuration.

  • Phantom Steed 3rd-level illusion

    Like this spell, it summons a spirit that takes an animal-like form for the caster and is often used for noncombat utility and mobility; it’s also a ritual and wizard spell.

  • Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound 4th-level conjuration

    This conjuration produces a loyal summoned creature that aids the caster and shapes encounters, making it mechanically and thematically close to a familiar.

  • Deryan's Helpful Homunculi 2nd-level conjuration

    Both are ritual-capable wizard conjurations that grant one or more small summoned helpers to assist with tasks and extend the caster's reach.

  • Beast Sense 2nd-level divination

    It provides sensory access through an animal, matching the familiar’s signature ability to let a caster see and hear via a beast.

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