Best Familiars In Dungeons & Dragons

In Dungeons & Dragons, familiars are spirits in the service of a given character, most often taking the form of an animal or another small creature. Familiars are most often in the service of spellcasters; namely Wizards, Druids, and Warlocks of the Pact of the Chain, though characters of any class can hypothetically gain a familiar through the Magic Initiate Feat.

While most familiars are unable to use the attack action, they take their own turns in combat and are able to take actions to interact with objects and notably help your allies. As familiars assume a variety of forms, each with their own stats and abilities, they vary in quality through their flexibility and potential uses. So today, let’s examine the most useful types of familiars players can summon in Dungeons & Dragons.

Updated on March 23, 2025, by Alfredo Robelo: The familiars available in Dungeons & Dragons have been updated greatly in both the 2024 Player’s Handbook and the 2025 Monster Manual. We’ve updated this article to include the most recent and varied options, particularly when it comes to Pact of the Chain warlocks.

26

Skeleton

• Perfect soldiers and helpers.

One of the most unexpected familiar options introduced in the 2024 Player’s Handbook is the skeleton, a creature often used for players to fight against, not beside. Exclusive to warlocks, this familiar excels at melee and long-range combat, as well as having a respectable AC of 14.

However, one of the best uses a player will have for this familiar is its medium size. This makes the skeleton capable of performing the most basic tasks a player can; including carrying equipment, moving objects around during a puzzle, and dragging unconscious characters out of harm’s way.

25

Slaad Tadpole

• Burrow speed.
• Great storytelling potential.

Being able to summon a slaad tadpole (or any kind of tadpole for that matter) as a familiar is incredibly odd, which makes it already one of the most unique familiar options out there. When it comes to combat, it isn’t anything special, but it can resist all kinds of damage and even magical effects.

A slaad tadpole found in the wild will often mature in less than 24 hours from hatching, which you can use as a Dungeon Master for all kinds of storytelling purposes. This unassuming familiar could end up transforming into a full-grown blue slaad after a long rest, either antagonizing the party or enticing them with a dangerous quest in Limbo.

24

Sphinx Of Wonder

• Flies and aids on D20 tests.

The sphinx of wonder is another familiar exclusive to warlocks, with the ones with a celestial patron getting the most flavor out of it. This creature can fly, help in combat with radiant damage, and it’s able to resist magical effects cast on it by having advantage on saving throws for them.

The main special ability it has is a reaction, known as Burst of Ingenuity. It can only use it twice per day, but it allows the sphinx of wonder to add a plus two to any ability checks or saving throws happening around it, being a great defensive help not only to its master, but for the entire party.

23

Quipper

• Perfect for underwater adventures.

Quippers are a very interesting familiar choice, as they only function within the water. Outside of it they are easily the most useless familiar option available, since they will quickly suffocate. However, if a campaign or adventure has led itself underwater, they can offer incredible value.

WIth 60 feet of darkvision and a 40-foot swimming speed, Quippers can easily maneuver around a battlefield. They are able to move up to 80 feet in a single turn with the dash action. This makes them one of the most ideal familiar options when traveling underwater.

22

Spider

• Darkvision and a bonus to stealth makes it a great scout.
• Casting the Web spell lets the spider guard for intruders.

Spiders are a niche familiar choice that can be surprisingly effective. With a tiny size and a +4 bonus to stealth checks, Spiders can make for solid scouts, making use of a 30-foot darkvision range.

While Spiders’ ability to ignore the movement restrictions of webs and their ability to automatically detect creatures in webs its touching may seem very niche, Wizards have access to the web spell. This means that the use of the web spell and a Spider familiar can allow a player to quickly find invisible or hiding creatures, a powerful tool to have.

21

Weasel

• Ideal for Perception checks.

For those who want to potentially use their familiars out of combat for scouting or for their senses, Weasels may be a strong choice for you. With +3 perception and +5 stealth, Weasels have some of the best skill utility of any familiar.

Additionally, due to their keen hearing and smell, all perception checks they make that utilize these senses are made at advantage, increasing their consistency. This makes them an excellent choice for those looking for a familiar that can serve as a second set of eyes when searching for clues or hidden details.

20

Cat

Cats are a familiar option that offer a very similar utility to that of weasels. While they maintain keen smell, they don’t have access to keen hearing and also have one less stealth than weasels. However, the tradeoff is one of mobility.

While weasels have thirty feet of movement, Cats have forty, also boasting a useful thirty-fourty climbing speed.

19

Crab

• Blindsight with an amphibious nature.

While they have little to offer in the realm of skills and mobility, the primary selling point of crab familiars is their amphibious nature. For campaigns that are likely going to include a great deal of water, amphibious familiars are a must.

In addition to being able to breathe both air and water, Crabs have access to thirty feet of blindsight which can be useful when trying to determine the location of invisible or hidden foes.

18

Octopus

• Ink-based attack that obscures vision, but only underwater.

Of the familiars available in D&D, some are specifically designed to function in water, rather than on land. While many of these familiars are quite useless in the majority of campaigns, if a player knows that their campaign is going to take place primarily at sea, these familiars can be quite useful.

Of the aquatic familiars, an Octopus notably possesses a unique action it can perform once per short rest, creating a heavily obscured ink cloud within a five-foot radius.

17

Frog

• Amphibious, with darkvision.

While they lack the mobility and additional utility of other entries on this list, Frogs have one major perk that can be quite important in the context of certain campaigns: they’re amphibious. While the majority of familiars can only breathe air or water, Frogs are able to breathe both, allowing them to flexibly function wherever they’re needed.

Additionally, it should be noted that Frogs possess darkvision with a range of thirty feet. As a character with a familiar can temporarily gain their familiar’s senses as an action, Frogs can temporarily provide a character vision in a situation in which they normally wouldn’t be able to see.

16

Bat

• Blindsight, keen senses and flight in a single package.

With a flying speed of thirty feet, Bats are a decently mobile familiar that can usually be where a player needs it to be. However, the primary reasons to pick a Bat as one’s familiar are found within its senses.

While Frogs provide darkvision, Bat’s have access to blindsight with a range of sixty feet. Additionally, Bats have an advantage on all perception checks that involve their hearing, providing a player a great way of seeing invisible foes and overhearing key conversations.

15

Hawk

• Speedy familiar that can fly.

Another flying familiar, Hawks offer great mobility and improved senses that a character can take advantage of.

With sixty feet of movement, Hawks can move twice as far as a Bat each turn, allowing them to easily transport items between party members, and help whoever may need it. Additionally, with their keen sight, Hawks make their sight-based perception checks at advantage, which can be quite useful when examining a new location.

14

Raven

• Flying familiar that can mimic sounds.

Ravens are yet another flying familiar that have access to a fifty-foot flying speed. While this is slower than that of the Hawk, it is more than serviceable and allows the Raven to maneuver around a Battlefield flexibly.

The key reason to take a Raven is its unique utility in the form of its mimicry ability. Ravens are able to imitate simple sounds such as people whispering or babies crying, allowing it to serve as a distraction and opening up additional potential uses for one’s familiar.

13

Owl

• Flies, decent speed, and can’t be targeted by opportunity attacks.

Owls are the most reliable and flexible of the flying familiars available to non-warlocks, combining aspects of several other entries on this list. Boasting the sixty-foot flying speed of a Hawk, Owls possess the flyby ability that prevents them from provoking attacks of opportunity, allowing them to traverse a Battlefield with less risk.

Additionally, not only do Owls possess darkvision of an impressive one-hundred twenty feet, but they make all perception checks based on sight and hearing offering an advantage.

12

Quasit

• Combat-able creature ready to frighten your foes.

Warlocks of the Pact of the Chain have the unique ability to choose from four additional options for their familiar, each toting much more utility than traditional familiars as much as significantly more health.

In addition to having seven HP and one-hundred twenty feet of darkvision, Quasits can polymorph themselves into additional forms to access flying and swimming speeds. Furthermore, Quasits are capable of using their unique scare action to potentially startle foes, and even have the ability to turn invisible.

11

Pest

The Strixhaven Mascot familiar available to those of Witherbloom, Pests are easily the most durable and hard-to-kill familiar option. With an AC of 13 and 22 HP, pests can often take a few hits to put down, unlike the majority of familiars that can be taken care of with a single attack. Most notably, pests regain five hit points at the beginning of their turn, meaning that if they aren’t dealt with quickly, they will be even more tedious for foes to deal with.

Though the Strixhaven Mascot feat can allow a familiar to attack, pests are only capable of dealing 1d4 +2 damage. Additionally, while pests can deal damage to a creature that it’s grappling or that’s grappling it, this is quite niche, especially as a pest’s low strength makes it difficult for it to grapple.

10

Pseudodragon

• One of the best combat options.

Exclusive to Pact of the Chain Warlocks, Pseudodragons are familiars with stellar mobility through their 60-foot flying speed, and they have the ability to contribute more to combat than many other entries on this list.

As familiars of Pact of the Chain Warlocks have the potential to attack, Pseudodragons can access their sting action which can not only potentially poison foes, but cause them to be knocked unconscious.

9

Tressym

• Can see invisible creatures and detect poison.

A Tressym is simple: a cat, with wings! These adorable creatures are found in the Storm King’s Thunder sourcebook as potential familiar. In some places, they’re considered to be a sign of good luck, and who could think otherwise, with a face that cute?

Tressym have several special abilities that will make them invaluable to your team. For example, they can see right through any kind of invisibility! They can also tell when something is poisonous just by smelling or touching it.

8

Sprite

Another Pact of the Chain exclusive, with an AC of fifteen, Sprites have the highest AC of any familiar in all of D&D. Sprites are a kind of fey, and they have the excellent combination of flight and the ability to turn invisible, making them an excellent option for scouting ahead with little to no risk of being detected.

Like Pseudodragons, Sprites are able to poison and potentially knock out foes. However, as Sprites are able to do so using their bows, they are able to assist in this manner from afar, reducing the risk of sustaining damage.

7

Crawling Claw

• Ideal for wizards in the school of necromancy.

Picture Thing from the Addams family, and you know what a Crawling Claw is. This tiny undead familiar appears in Volo’s Guide To Monsters and is available to any magic-user who can summon a familiar!

Needless to say, a constant extra hand is a huge boon in lots of adventuring situations, whether it’s for moving things around, overwhelming an opponent, or keeping you informed of nearby happenings.