- Casting time
- 1 hour (ritual)
- 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
- School
- Conjuration
- Level
- 1
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.
How Find Familiar plays
An hour-long ritual and 10 gp of incense and herbs burned in a brass brazier get you a familiar: a spirit in the form of a small animal like a cat, owl, raven, bat or spider. It’s a celestial, fey or fiend (your choice) with the animal’s statistics. It obeys you, you can talk to it telepathically within 100 feet, and you can use your action to see and hear through its senses.
It can’t attack, but it can do almost anything else: scout ahead, carry a message, fetch a key, or take the Help action to give an ally advantage. It can also deliver your touch spells from up to 100 feet away. When it drops to 0 hit points it vanishes, and casting the spell again brings it back.
Common questions
Can my familiar attack?
No, a normal familiar can’t attack. It can take other actions, like Help, Dash or Hide. A Pact of the Chain warlock can forgo one of their own attacks to let their familiar attack with its reaction.
What’s the best familiar?
The owl for most wizards: it flies at 60 feet, has 120-foot darkvision, and its Flyby trait lets it Help in combat and get away safely. A cat or spider is better for sneaking; a raven can mimic voices.
Can my familiar deliver Shocking Grasp or Cure Wounds?
It can deliver any spell you cast with a range of touch, using its reaction, while it’s within 100 feet of you. You use your own spell attack modifier. Shocking Grasp is a wizard favorite.
What happens when my familiar dies?
It disappears without a body. Cast the spell again, which takes an hour and another 10 gp of materials, and it returns.
Can I have more than one familiar?
No. Casting the spell again while you have one just lets it take a new form from the list.
What senses do I get through my familiar?
Using your action, you see and hear what it does until the start of your next turn, including special senses like darkvision. While you do, you’re blind and deaf to your own surroundings.
Find Familiar in the 2024 rules
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
Same level, casting time, range, components, duration and dice; the text is reworded for the 2024 rules glossary.
- Casting time
- 1 hour or Ritual
- Range
- 10 feet
- Components
- V, S, M (burning incense worth 10+ GP, which the spell consumes)
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- School
- Conjuration
- Level
- 1
- Classes
- Wizard
- Tags
- ritual
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 (see "Monsters"), 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.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
