Tiefling Wizard Familiar

[Asher5002]

What familiar would you choose for a tiefling wizard? i'm looking for aesthetic rather than functionality.

[Mortheim]

Subrace? Alignment?

Spider, raven, bat, cat, poisonous snake are all good options and suit classical tieflings, as most people see them, very nice.

[Lord8Ball]

I think that using a snake as your familiar would increase the mysticism tone of the character. It is a factor that could lead people to make assumptions about you which could have influenced your character in some way. The snake could also be symbolic of your fiendish heritage. Also, don't forget that you can flavor your tiefling however you want to make things fit your desired theme.

[Unoriginal]

An iguana?

[Lord8Ball]

An iguana?
Behold the mighty iguana familiar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POJENKco9h0

[samcifer]

I tried an owl, but my dm enjoys killing him so far and said he looks forward to seeing how many different ways he can kill him, so not sure if having one is worth it with this dm. :(

[Asmotherion]

Anything as long as you fluff it right. A Black Cat or Raven might be way better than an Imp (in case you dip Warlock), if you are skilled in RP.

Or a controversy perhaps. A Snow White Cat? Perhaps the Wizard's School Specialisation is Divination, and that's more defining in his Character than his Race, so an Eagle would be more Appropriate?

Character Creation is an Art Form. Don't think about "what looks better" or "what is more politically/socially appropriate", rather than, "in the trope I have in my mind, what exactly do I want this one to have as a Fammiliar?".


I tried an owl, but my dm enjoys killing him so far and said he looks forward to seeing how many different ways he can kill him, so not sure if having one is worth it with this dm. :(

How old is your DM exactly?

Are you deliberatelly putting your Owl in dangerous situations, or is he just targeting it on your shoulder, instead of, say, you or any other of the humanoids threatening the enemy?

If the former, sure, Actions have Consequences, so using your Owl for a Help action to distract a goblin has high stakes of getting your owl killed.

If the latter, your DM is just going for some variation of "slapstic comedy" and "running gag" and since you're clearly not amused, discuss with him before it brings passive agressivness to the table. Nobody likes D&D ruined by imature jokes.

[Davrix]

I tried an owl, but my dm enjoys killing him so far and said he looks forward to seeing how many different ways he can kill him, so not sure if having one is worth it with this dm. :(


I would talk to this DM. But first ask yourself are you super cheesing the familiar? Do you use it to get the help action as often as possible, do you always use it for scouting and spells to bypass his stuff. I will say use of a familiar like this is good and proper but if your being heavy handed with it I can see the DM getting annoyed. If your not doing this with it then your DM is being a bit of a **** to you and you need to discuss this with him.

Some things to note from the above statement, the enemies shouldn't be targeting it right of the bat unless they have seen you use it before. Maybe after the first help action it might be seen as a threat and someone could take a pot shot at it. Owl is probably the best one still because of its flyby ability.

[samcifer]

Anything as long as you fluff it right. A Black Cat or Raven might be way better than an Imp (in case you dip Warlock), if you are skilled in RP.

Or a controversy perhaps. A Snow White Cat? Perhaps the Wizard's School Specialisation is Divination, and that's more defining in his Character than his Race, so an Eagle would be more Appropriate?

Character Creation is an Art Form. Don't think about "what looks better" or "what is more politically/socially appropriate", rather than, "in the trope I have in my mind, what exactly do I want this one to have as a Fammiliar?".



How old is your DM exactly?

Are you deliberatelly putting your Owl in dangerous situations, or is he just targeting it on your shoulder, instead of, say, you or any other of the humanoids threatening the enemy?

If the former, sure, Actions have Consequences, so using your Owl for a Help action to distract a goblin has high stakes of getting your owl killed.

If the latter, your DM is just going for some variation of "slapstic comedy" and "running gag" and since you're clearly not amused, discuss with him before it brings passive agressivness to the table. Nobody likes D&D ruined by imature jokes.

So far during the only session we've had in this campaign with these characters (second session will be tonight), we began a battle against two crab bosses at the city docks and I used my first turn to grant my owl lightning-element Dragon's Breath, but the dm had one of the bosses hit us with a ranged water gun that did half-damage on save so my owl died instantly. I brought him back the next day, tried to have him fly up to see if he could spot the tower we were trying to locate, but the dm sicked a hawk on him that he managed to avoid and returned to me too scared to fly anymore. That night we were at a bar, I was drinking and the dm rp-ed that I hugged my owl while drunk and crushed him to death in the process, so I avoided bringing him back for the rest of the session which was the in-game span of the next day.

The dm is in his thirties, but is known to be a jerk. :(

[Mellack]

Since the form is not locked in, change it every time you cast.

[Lord8Ball]

Wow, that is a really horrible way to deal with familiars. Hopefully, this will give you some ideas on how to make your familiar able to survive being focused. You should talk to your DM and see if you can get him to change his viewpoint.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?544827-The-pyromaniac-pixie-w-battlebots

[DeadMech]

I've always liked bats as familiars. Can be cute if you get to know them. Flying is useful. Not as inconspicuous in society as other options but out in the field or in dungeons they tend to blend into the local ecosystem. Has echolocation so it's not bothered by any visibility issues you are likely to face. Nocturnal so it can keep watch when the party is most likely camping. Most likely it's an insect eating variety so easy to feed, just let it go out flying around dawn and dusk.

As for a Tiefling. Well bats too have a reputation that's not entirely fair. Bats actually being dangerous is almost unheard of but many people are afraid of them regardless. The leathery wings reminds people of unholy entities. Much like most of a tiefling's appearance.

[Requilac]

When it comes to familiars I always prefer to think about them symbolically. Animals have always been rather attached to representations of ideals all the time. Snakes are used to represent deception, wolves to represent teamwork, and ravens to represent mysticism, etc. I would choose whichever animal's symbolism makes sense for the character. Especially if your character's ideal is closely related to what that animal represents. This all depends on your character's personality.

[Asmotherion]

So far during the only session we've had in this campaign with these characters (second session will be tonight), we began a battle against two crab bosses at the city docks and I used my first turn to grant my owl lightning-element Dragon's Breath, but the dm had one of the bosses hit us with a ranged water gun that did half-damage on save so my owl died instantly. I brought him back the next day, tried to have him fly up to see if he could spot the tower we were trying to locate, but the dm sicked a hawk on him that he managed to avoid and returned to me too scared to fly anymore. That night we were at a bar, I was drinking and the dm rp-ed that I hugged my owl while drunk and crushed him to death in the process, so I avoided bringing him back for the rest of the session which was the in-game span of the next day.

The dm is in his thirties, but is known to be a jerk. :(

Is that what you call fun? Or appropriate Dm behavior for that matter? Because I don't. I see it as some form of Childish Jokes.

If he doesn't want you to use a fammiliar (or form), the mature thing to do is talk to you about it.

[PhantomSoul]

I tried an owl, but my dm enjoys killing him so far and said he looks forward to seeing how many different ways he can kill him, so not sure if having one is worth it with this dm. :(

Building on others' comments, if you'll use the familiar to cheese the game (e.g. get constant advantage in combat), then (a) it should obviously be a rat, thematically, and (b) it should obviously get targeted like any weak member of that combat. (Similarly, if the familiar gets Dragon Breath and attacks, it should be targeted by opponents; easy way to take less damage.)

That said, it looks like it's not just that, since crushing the owl to death and the hawk attacking it were both done in what seem to be legitimate uses from what you say. (Maybe in the DM's experience abusing familiars is, well, all too familiar!) Either way, having a chat with the DM would be best; you could establish what sorts of roles the familiar should/shouldn't fill, or what sorts of things are expected to lead to the familiar being considered fair game for attack (or maybe just a percentile die for odds of outcomes).