Legal familiars

[stewstew5]

In Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the Gazer is introduced as a possible familiar. How many creatures are there that can serve as familiars?

[Unoriginal]

In Volo’s Guide to Monsters, the Gazer is introduced as a possible familiar. How many creatures are there that can serve as familiars?

Do you mean, which creatures a PC can use as familiar per the rules? Or which creatures can become familiars at all?

[Millstone85]

It depends on the method used to acquire the familiar.

With the find familiar spell: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel.

With the find familiar spell under the Pact of the Chain feature: same as above, plus imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.

With the find familiar spell, if you are an NPC: any creature of size Tiny.

Outside of the find familiar spell, through an encounter: gazer, imp, pseudodragon, or quasit.

[Particle_Man]

Sadly, monodrones don't make the cut.

[Millstone85]

Sadly, monodrones don't make the cut.All the sadder, neither do flumphs.

But eh, demiliches do!

[Max_Killjoy]

I read the thread title and thought of lawyers as familiars... or familiars for lawyers...

[No brains]

Not RAW, but a lenient DM would probably allow a baboon (monkey) or little dog (jackal) familiar. Probably any CR 0 creature could be a balanced familiar, except maybe hyenas, they're a tough 0.

Commoners and shriekers are probably off the table too.

[RogueJK]

It depends on the method used to acquire the familiar.

With the find familiar spell: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel.

With the find familiar spell under the Pact of the Chain feature: same as above, plus imp, pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite.

With the find familiar spell, if you are an NPC: any creature of size Tiny.

Outside of the find familiar spell, through an encounter: gazer, imp, pseudodragon, or quasit.


There are also a few other options for PCs with Find Familiar in various 5e adventures. For example, Storm King's Thunder adds the ability to summon a Tressym familiar, with DM approval. And Tomb of Annihilation adds the ability to summon an Almiraj or Flying Monkey familiar, with DM approval.