A Wizard’s Best Friend: The Arcane Drone?

It's Wisdom Wednesday! And today we're talking about the unsung heroes of the party, the wizard's best friend...their made up real imaginary buddy that costs 10 gp and an hour of their time to find. They don't get a share of the loot, they don't get their own room at the inn, and they certainly don't get first choice when the party reaches a fork in the road. They usually have fewer hit points than a wet paper bag and are often the first ones killed by a rogue fireball or slew of arrows. Worse, they're often forgotten until the Wizard suddenly shouts, "Wait! I have an Owl!"

We are talking about Familiars.

In 5th Edition, the Find Familiar spell is a wizard's staple. "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. The familiar appears in an unoccupied space within range and has the statistics of the chosen form, though it's a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast." Boom! Instant friend, pet, movable distraction and easy target…..but that is often the problem. Familiars often become just magical companions that are treated like tactical drones rather than living, breathing (or spirit…spiriting?) creatures.

Let's look at the different ways to run this spell.

The "Help Action"

Let’s be honest. 90% of Familiars are Owls. Why? Because of Flyby. I mean I love Weasels, and rats, but I am going to pick the Owl every time escpecially to when doing this:

The Narrative: When the Wizard's turn arrives at the table, they spring into action with their trusty aerial companion. The Owl, responding to its master's mental command through their mystical bond, swoops gracefully down from its perched position, diving directly toward the towering Orc warrior who stands menacingly before the party. As the bird approaches, it flaps its wings frantically in the Orc's face, pecking at exposed skin and creating just enough of a distraction to draw the creature's attention away from its intended target for a crucial split second. This momentary diversion grants the party's Rogue the tactical opening they desperately needed, providing them with Advantage on their upcoming attack roll as they line up their strike against the now-distracted enemy. Then, utilizing its natural Flyby ability, the Owl quickly banks away from the Orc and glides back to a safe distance without provoking the dangerous attack of opportunity that would surely spell doom for the fragile familiar. The cycle then repeats itself turn after turn, with the Owl performing this same tactical maneuver over and over again throughout the entire combat encounter.

The Feels: It feels like you found the "Power Up" loot crate in a video game, activating a simple but effective boost. Sure, it's tactically sound and mechanically efficient (and arguably represents one of the best possible uses of a valuable 1st level spell slot in terms of action economy and combat effectiveness), but it lacks flavour, personality, and narrative depth. Your Owl isn't portrayed as a mystical spirit creature bonded deeply to your soul through arcane magic and shared experiences; instead, it functions more like a laser pointer that you're shining directly in the enemy's eye, a mere tactical tool rather than a living companion with agency and character.

The Arcane Conduit (A.K.A.: "The Bad Touch")

Here is a concept often overlooked: Delivering Touch Spells. Your familiar can deliver spells like Shocking Grasp or Cure Wounds as if they were the ones casting it. “…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.”

The Narrative: The Fighter has fallen in battle and is now lying on the ground, bleeding out critically, approximately 30 feet away from where you stand. The Cleric, who would normally be the one to rush to the Fighter's aid with healing magic, is currently trapped behind a fallen pillar and completely stuck in close-quarters melee combat with another enemy, unable to break away without risking a devastating attack of opportunity. But here's where the beauty and versatility of the familiar comes into play: the Wizard's familiar suddenly becomes the hero of the moment. This small creature scurries frantically through the thick mud and debris of the battlefield, weaving between the legs of combatants and dodging falling weapons, climbs up onto the fallen Fighter's armored chest with tiny clawed feet, and then ZAP! in a brilliant flash of magical energy, it delivers a Cure Wounds spell directly through its small furry body! (of course…..assuming they’ve cross-classed a bit of cleric…).

The Feels: You're playing three-dimensional chess, coordinating multiple pieces across the battlefield. You're the puppet master, extending your magical reach to affect areas and allies far beyond your personal range, all without risking your vulnerable fragile wizard body in frontline combat. This transforms the Familiar from a passive support mechanism into an active combatant that meaningfully contributes to battle through direct magical intervention. Next time, shocking grasp the monster from afar and show your wizarding prowes!

Form Over Function: The Roleplay Choice

Here at Giants of the North, we challenge you to pick a form that fits your character, not the meta.

The Story: You deliberately choose a Seahorse familiar even though you know full well that your entire adventuring party is currently traveling through an arid, waterless desert environment where a seahorse would be completely out of its element and utterly useless in virtually every conceivable situation. Or perhaps you select a Cat familiar that absolutely refuses to perform any of the helpful tactical functions that familiars are supposedly designed for, instead spending all of its time lounging lazily across the pages of your precious spellbook, napping contentedly and generally behaving like a real cat would behave because any cat will priortize its own comfort and completely ignoring your urgent requests for assistance.

The Feels: This creates wonderful opportunities for conflict, chaos, and comedy at the gaming table! It demonstrates clearly and unmistakably that your character prioritizes and values their personal aesthetic preferences, their emotional connection and bond with their familiar companion, and their individual sense of style far more highly than they care about optimizing for the mathematically superior "Flyby" mechanical advantage that an Owl would provide. This choice sends a powerful and unmistakable signal to everyone sitting around the table that you are present and engaged primarily for the rich narrative experience, the collaborative storytelling, and the character-driven roleplaying opportunities, rather than simply focusing on tactical combat optimization and mechanical efficiency…and who doesn’t love throwing a bit of chaos into the mix!

The Emotional Tax

Finally, we need to address one of the most emotionally charged and psychologically impactful aspects of utilizing familiars in combat situations: the inevitable trauma that occurs when your beloved familiar companion suddenly and violently "pops" out of existence in a small puff of smoke because it unfortunately took just a single measly point of damage from an enemy's attack. When this heartbreaking moment occurs at your gaming table, how exactly do you, as a player, choose to react to this sudden and often unexpected loss?

The Roll Player: "Okay, that's unfortunate but manageable. I'll spend the required 10 gold pieces from my character's inventory and dedicate an hour of in-game time during our next rest period to recast the Find Familiar spell and summon a replacement."

The Role Player: "NO! NOT SIR HOOT-A-LOT! MY PRECIOUS FEATHERED FRIEND! YOU ABSOLUTE MONSTERS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?!"

The Verdict: Treat the death and dismissal of a familiar as a genuinely significant moment of horror, loss, and emotional devastation for your character. Remember that you personally felt that deep psychic connection between your soul and your familiar's essence suddenly and violently snap apart like a broken thread. It absolutely should hurt on an emotional and psychological level (even if not necessarily on a mechanical or hit-point level), and this pain should be acknowledged and roleplayed at the table….and you all know which choice I would be making!

DM’s Wisdom of the Week:

Your Familiar is honestly one of the coolest ways to be in two places at once! Go ahead and use their senses, look through their eyes, and have fun being the ultimate spy. Just remember: curiosity killed the cat (familiar), and it'll cost you an hour to bring your little buddy back.

Here's my advice: treat them like a real character with personality and quirks, and I promise you, when they eventually go "poof" in that heartbreaking little cloud of smoke, your whole table will feel it!

Thanks for dropping in!

Devin