Familiar fanatic

[Drakekonik]

I was just wandering what the requirements are to get a familiar and what makes them different from the regular creature like do u summon and dismiss them like guenyvar

[Vaz]

The spell Find Familiar tells you everything you need to know. It is a wizard only spell. You can get it on any class by taking the Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster feats.

[Millstone85]

As Vaz said, the normal way to get a familiar is through the find familiar spell. Once it has been cast, you can indeed summon and dismiss the thing, among other tricks detailled in the spell.

Be aware that some warlocks have a feature, called Pact Boon (Pact of the Chain), that lets them cast find familiar in an enhanced way.

There is also a sidebar in the Monster Manual, page 347, that invites DMs to have their NPCs use find familiar in an even more enhanced way. Very unfair, I know.

You might also hear of some others sidebars, here and there in the Monster Manual, that describe a creature encountering another and entering a kind of familiar contract with it. My advice would be to stay away from those sidebars for now, to avoid confusion.

[chokfull]

There is also a sidebar in the Monster Manual, page 347, that invites DMs to have their NPCs use find familiar in an even more enhanced way. Very unfair, I know.

Especially when, under that rule, an NPC could have a Demilich as a familiar.

[Asmotherion]

-Wizards get Animal Familiars
-Warlocks who receive a Pact of the Chain can get Imp, Quassit, Pseudodragon or Sprite Familiars.

Anyone can take the Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster Feat in order to gain access to the Find Familiar Spell from the Wizard spell list, which is a popular option. Variant Humans can do so from level 1, even if they are not of the Wizard Class (an option to play a non-wizard with a Familiar from level 1).



Especially when, under that rule, an NPC could have a Demilich as a familiar.

In that case, the NPC would probably be the Demilich's familiar, and not the other way around. Dominate Person and stuff. Best case scenario, it may allow the poor fool to think it has authority on it, until it advances it's plans, and disposes of the naive soul. A Demilich is not something to be bossed around, except if we're talking about an other Lich (and the Demilich in question is less powerful), or perhaps a Devil or something.

[SirGraystone]

Guenhwyvar was a special version of the Figurine of wondrous power like the Ebony Fly or the Golden Lions