Find Familiar
Level 1 · Conjuration
- Ritual
- Summon
Find Familiar (wizard) casts from a 1st-level slot in the conjuration school. Cast time: 1 Hour. Range 10 feet, components V/S/M, duration instantaneous. Material: burning incense worth 10+ GP, which the spell consumes. Marked ritual. Effect: 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.
Stat Block
- Level
- 1
- School
- Conjuration
- Casting Time
- 1 Hour
- Range / Area
- 10 feet
- Components
- V, S, M
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Ritual
- Yes
- Concentration
- No
- Classes
- Wizard
- Material
- burning incense worth 10+ GP, which the spell consumes
Description
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, 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.
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.
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.
5e (2014) vs 2024 changes
This spell has both a 5e (2014) and 2024 Player's Handbook version. Doungim shows the current 2024 stat block above. Differences between editions typically affect components, range, or scaling — check both source books for the table.
Doungim Lore
School Fit
Find Familiar is Conjuration — the spell summons a spirit that takes the form of a tiny creature (cat, owl, raven, etc.). The familiar is a separate creature mechanically, but its existence depends on the caster's spell — Conjuration is the school of summoning, and Find Familiar is the school's permanent companion-summon at level 1.
Class Fit
- Wizard: Wizards cast Find Familiar at level 1 as a one-time-per-campaign ritual. The familiar provides scouting, Help action for advantage on attack rolls, item delivery, and can be re-summoned at no cost if killed. Pact of the Chain Warlocks have their own version of the spell with stronger familiar options.
Tactical play (Doungim editorial)
Ritual at level 1; a scout, Help-action engine, and 30-foot delivery service for touch spells. Owl is the default — flyby, no opportunity attacks.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Find Familiar
- What level spell is Find Familiar?
- Find Familiar sits at level 1 in the Conjuration school of magic, prepared by Wizard.
- What is the range of Find Familiar?
- The range on Find Familiar is 10 feet — far enough that most casters can stay clear of the front line.
- What components and casting time does Find Familiar need?
- The spell uses v, s, m components. The other notable details — Material component: burning incense worth 10+ GP, which the spell consumes; Find Familiar can be cast as a ritual: an extra 10 minutes of casting time, no spell slot consumed; the casting time is 1 hour (not a standard Action).