One of, if not the most versatile spell in DnD, Find Familiar provides the caster with a variety of companions that can be used for many different scenarios, aside from combat.
The spell also allows the caster the ability to communicate with the familiar as a wizard and see through their senses telepathically. The potential of the spell is maximized when the right wizard familiar is chosen. These are some of the better options:
Quipper
Quippers are one of the few aquatic wizard familiars available. They are utterly useless outside of water, much like other aquatic familiars. Such wizard familiars should only be chosen when a large part of a campaign or session occurs under or near a large body of water.
The quipper is generally unimpressive, lacking any limbs or unique abilities, but its strength comes from its speed and darkvision. The quipper can move up to 80 feet (using the dash action) in one turn, and its darkvision can make it a valuable tool for scouting deep underwater or at night, considering that light does not pierce the depths of the sea.
Lastly, a quipper is, by all means, an uninteresting sea-faring creature, which allows it to blend in with sea life inconspicuously. A simple yet useful wizard familiar for those rare situations that call for it.
Spider
Spiders are a solid choice for a familiar for wizards with their tiny size and being almost inaudible. They make for great scouts. The spiders can traverse spiderwebs with ease and can also sense any movement on them. These are very niche skills, and when they can be used, they can only provide a bit of information.
They gain most of their use from their size. Most often, they won’t be noticed, and even when they are, they can blend in almost all environments, from caves to homes. This hard-to-notice critter has great potential for scouting and passing through small holes.
Octopus
The octopus is another aquatic familiar. The octopus is slower than the quipper, but it benefits from many other abilities. Firstly, unlike the quipper, the octopus can remain on land even if it is only for 30 minutes.
It also possesses the underwater camouflage ability, which gives it an advantage on stealth checks underwater, making it a perfect candidate for slow and stealthy scouting. And even if it is noticed, the octopus can spew a cloud of ink, which can give it a swift escape.
Aside from the abilities the octopus has, its most important features are its limbs. Very few of the wizard familiars have limbs that can be used to hold items while moving. When speed is not of importance, the octopus is the perfect and most useful of the aquatic familiar wizard.
Weasel
Weasels are very much like cats, with very few differences. While weasels are not too fast nor great at maneuvering around a difficult environment, they excel in scouting. First of all, they have greater stealth and dexterity than cats, already making them better for scouting.
Most importantly, they have the Keen Hearing and Smell ability, which gives the weasel advantage on all perception checks that use these two senses. Since most checks that are made for tracking involve either of these two senses, this ability will most likely come in handy.
The weasel is a very simple and cute wizard familiar with great skills and senses when tracking down a creature. It should be one of the first familiars that come to mind.
Bat
Bats are one of the four flying wizard familiars available within the Find Familiar spell, and perhaps the weakest of them. The bat benefits from flight, which provides great advantages in most situations where scouting is needed. The primary feature that bats have over other creatures is 60 feet of Blindsight.
Along with flight, a bat can serve as a great tool to find invisible or unseen threats. Aside from Blindsight, bats also have an advantage on all Perception checks that use their hearing.
While bats can’t blend in with wildlife in most cases, inside caves bats are not uncommon, and due to this, they can be used to learn the layout of caverns and dungeons without alerting any creatures or triggering traps.
Cat
Cats are definitely the cutest of the familiars a wizard can pick and one of the common creatures within towns and cities. Cats are fast, having a 40ft speed and even the ability to climb, giving them an edge over other non-flying familiars.
Another benefit cats have is their perception and stealth skills, along with their keen smell ability, making them useful for secretly tracking or investigating creatures. A bonus that is often ignored about cats as wizard familiars is how common they are.
Cats can be found in most settlements and even in very random places such as caves. They are also very cute even within the world of the game; a smart wizard could use these two simple qualities to make the perfect spy familiar.
4. Crawling hand
For those who often find themselves in need of an extra hand, the crawling hand is the perfect familiar. The crawling hand, from Volo’s Guide to Monsters, is one of the base familiars available in the Find Familiar spell. While it lacks flight, the hand can move and climb around silently while using Blindsight to sense things. Its size and maneuverability allow it to slip in and out of tight small spaces.
An overlooked use of the crawling hand is overwhelming or confusing opponents. The hand can be used to easily grab items and weapons from an enemy or if used cleverly, even disrupt whole attacks or movements by placing the hand in their way.
Aside from the actual benefits of the hand, it is also one of the most unique-looking familiars and can add a dash of evil to your character’s appearance.
3. Hawk
The hawk, unlike the bat, is a flying familiar that can easily be used outside. Since its natural biome is generally the sky, it can fit into most situations that are not inside caves or dungeons, blending into the environment effortlessly. Being a hunter, the hawk has the Keen Sight feature, which grants it an advantage on Perception checks, making it a perfect aerial scout.
Along with its sight, it has double the movement speed of the bat, traversing much greater distances each turn and giving a larger scouting area within each turn. It can also carry items across vast distances, potentially turning them into a messenger.
Even inside caves and dungeons, the hawk can prove useful. While it does not blend in those environments, it can still provide assistance with its Keen Sight. The hawk is also one of the cooler-looking wizard familiars, fulfilling the common dream of having a pet hawk sitting on your arm.
2. Raven
Ravens are very similar to hawks but lack some of the speed and senses. However, they make up for it with their unique ability: mimicry. Additionally, ravens can blend in with most environments, and their darker colors provide natural cover at night, making them stealthier than hawks. Ravens can rarely be found inside dungeons and caves unless there are plenty of dead bodies around, allowing them to blend in under certain conditions.
The most important part of the raven is its ability to mimic. Ravens have the innate ability to imitate simple sounds, such as baby noises, human whispering, and animal sounds. While they cannot have a full conversation, they can be useful in distracting enemies by moving to an advantageous position and replicating sounds of mumbling speaking or crying to pull attention away, allowing the group to pass with less trouble.
The raven is an all-around great wizard familiar, excelling in most aspects of what a familiar should do. With their mimicry, they can provide new utility to the group.
1. Owl
The last and best of the available flying wizard familiars is the owl. The owl has the speed of a hawk and even greater senses. It has darkvision of 120 feet and a pretty decent perception, and it gains an advantage on all wisdom checks that rely on hearing and sight.
These features cover the most common checks that happen during exploration. While the owl does not possess a unique feature like the raven, it has the Flyby feature, which, while simple, can prove amazingly useful. The Flyby feature allows the owl to be useful both in and out of combat without endangering itself.
It allows the owl to move away from enemy creatures without provoking an opportunity attack, effectively turning the owl into a guerrilla fighter. It can fly in for a weak attack or to drop an item and leave safely.
Additionally, it can be used to share information in the midst of combat, for example, sending the owl out to an allied creature during combat to send a message or call for help. The simplicity of the owl turns it into one of the most versatile familiars for Wizards, limited only by the user.
Conclusion and summary on best wizard familiars in 5e dnd
In conclusion, the article highlights some of the best options for familiars in DnD 5e for wizards based on their abilities and potential. While each familiar for wizards has unique abilities and strengths, I think the Owl and raven as the most useful as wizard familiars in 5e. However, do not underestimate other creatures. The octopus is the perfect aquatic familiar for stealthy scouting, while the weasel excels in tracking and perception. Make sure you also check out Pseudodragon 5e familiars if you want some more spice.
- Choose your familiar based on the scenario.
- Familiars can blend in: Familiars like the spider, cat, and quipper can blend into their environment and go completely unnoticed.
- Perception checks are important: Familiars like the weasel and cat have great hearing and smell, making them perfect for tracking.
- Flight is valuable: Familiars like the bat have blindsight and can fly, making them perfect for scouting in the dark.
- Some familiars have unique abilities: E.g. The crawling hand can move silently, climb, and use blindsight. Use these to your advantage.
- Consider availability: Wizard familiars like cats can be found in most settlements and can even be used as a cute spy.
| Familiar | Description | Advantages | Unique Feature |
| Quipper | Aquatic creature with darkvision | Fast and good for scouting underwater or at night | Lacks limbs or unique abilities |
| Spider | Tiny and silent, can traverse webs and sense movement | Hard to notice, good for gathering information | Niche skills |
| Octopus | Aquatic creature with camouflage and ink cloud abilities | Good for stealth underwater and holding items | Only useful in water |
| Weasel | Agile and stealthy with keen senses | Good at scouting and perception | Not great at maneuvering difficult terrain |
| Bat | Flying familiar with blindsight and hearing-based perception | Versatile for scouting and perception | Weakest of the four flying familiars |
| Cat | Fast and can climb, with keen senses | Common and versatile in many environments | None |
| Crawling Hand | Silent and can slip in and out of tight spaces, with blindsight | Good for stealth and disrupting enemies | Cannot fly, may not be accepted in some settings |
| Hawk | Flying familiar with keen sight and speed, and can carry items | Good for outdoor scouting and transportation | None |
| Raven | Similar to hawk, can mimic sounds and distract enemies | Good for stealth and deception | Can mimic sounds |
| Owl | Fast with senses and darkvision, and Flyby feature | Versatile for scouting and information sharing | Flyby feature |