Find Familiar is a very popular Spell from DND 5d. However, like many other Spells, it has been altered significantly to fit a video game format within Baldur’s Gate 3. Because of the changes, many players are wondering if Find Familiar is worth taking at all, or if they’d be better to invest in other options for their character. Don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to know on the Find Familiar Spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the potential it may or may not have for your build, so follow along below.
How Find Familiar Works in BG3
Find Familiar is a commonly-used Spell in DND 5e, allowing a character to perform a magic ritual to summon a spirit that takes the form of an animal to aid them in many ways, such as providing bonuses to Skill Checks, scouting on behalf of the party, and using the Help action to aid allies in combat or Investigation. Once summoned, the caster can summon and dismiss their familiar to and from the pocket dimension as an action, or choose to have their familiar take a new animal form by re-casting the spell, with fifteen different species to pick from in total, each offering unique perks.
However, in Baldur’s Gate 3, Find Familiar works a little differently. Unlike 5e, where the Spell is a ritual that only needs to be cast once unless a familiar dies, BG3’s variation allows the caster one use of the Level One Spell per Short Rest. Upon casting the Spell, the user can choose to summon one of six different species, each offering a unique perk that can be used to your character’s advantage both inside and outside of battle.
The available familiar species and their perks are as follows:
- Raven: can Blind enemies with its beak
- Rat: has an Infectious bite
- Frog: can spread Bufotoxin to enemies
- Crab: can slow enemies with Crippling Pinch
- Cat: can meow to Distract enemies
- Spider: has a Poisonous bite
Your familiar can die in battle (and probably will at some point). Thankfully, in BG3, you don’t need to worry about collecting materials and Spell Components to bring your beloved pet back to life. In Baldur’s Gate, it is as easy as fulfilling a Short Rest to regain the Spell Slot, and then re-casting the Spell. You can also re-cast the Spell to switch your familiar’s form, which is particularly useful if you’ve got a specific strategy planned out for combat or dungeon delving.
On the side menu bar, each familiar summoned will appear on a ‘Conjured Pet’ profile linked to the summoner within your party, as well as appear right there next to your character at all times, joining your party as you wander through new lands.
Is Find Familiar Worth Including in Your BG3 Character Build? Full Evaluation
Find Familiar is a unique addition for any Magic user, but the full potential of this Spell comes down to your specific character build, class, and playstyle preferences. While some characters may find incredible value from Find Familiar, there are also many characters builds that would benefit very little from this addition depending on how you like to approach the game. I’ll elaborate on this within the examples below, and provide some scenarios where Find Familiar can be found worthwhile.
The first example of how Find Familiar can be useful comes from my experience with my character. Right from the beginning, I had a clear idea of the character I wanted to play in BG3. She is a Tiefling woman with a criminal history who teeters between Chaotic Neutral and Chaotic Evi. While her Class was the easy choice of Rogue, I intended to make her a heavy Melee and Magic user, Subclassing into Arcane Trickster, with the intention of likely Multiclassing into the Fighter’s Eldritch Knight Subclass for more Spell variety while also maintaining strong Melee Skills.
In comparison to the common Rogue priority stats of DEX, CON, and WIS/CHA, with STR at the dump stat, my character’s stats are a little more unusual, instead opting to dump WIS/CHA and prioritize DEX, CON, and INT, as the latter is the Spell Modifier for both Arcane Trickers and Eldritch Knights. While Rogues often utilize Melee and Stealth over Magic, and therefore have very little need for Find Familiar, incorporating the Spell into my Character’s arsenal was a no-brainer, as I was confident it could assist her unorthodox and often questionable Criminal ways.
With Find Familiar, I can use the Cat to distract bystanders while my character steals from locals, the Raven to blind enemies during combat and grant me Advantage on my Sneak Attacks, or scout ahead through dungeons, and the Crab to provide a Slow to opponents, making them more vulnerable to the AOE Spells inherited from the Elritch Knight multiclass. In this situation, Find Familiar enhances the strengths of my character, making it a very valuable asset to her kit.
Here’s a recent example, where I sent my Raven forward to Scout Emerald Grove ahead of the party following some conflict and combat with local guards. Just to make sure nobody was onto us, it never hurts to make a quick check for threats when entering a new location, especially when the we had just finished looting several corpses of the residents. This is also a great way to check an area for more loot or hidden secrets without having the party stray too far from their current locations.
Don’t get me wrong though, Find Familiar can be great for characters with no Criminal background too, especially Warlocks and Spellcasters who can utilize the abilities of these creatures to increase the threat of their Spells, or provide assistance and benefits to their allies. The most important thing to consider with this Spell is if you will use it to assist you, rather than acquiring it for the simple amusement of summoning animals – as this would be occupying one of your limited and very valuable Spell Slots.
Best Classes For Learning & Incorporating Find Familiar
- Warlock
- Ranger
- Spellcaster
- Wizard
- Arcane Trickster
- Eldritch Knight
I also advise against multiclassing or using a Feat purely for access to Find Familiar. If you’re a Magic-oriented build, then it may make a nice addition to your kit. However, If you’re an aggressive Melee-heavy combatant, such as a Barbarian or Paladin, then this Spell will be of little use to you, both because your stats will be aligned and prioritized for your Melee build, and because it’s a waste of a valuable level that you’d be gaining in this Melee Class, enhancing qualities such as your Strength, health and attack power.
To put it simply, taking a dip into a Spell Class will likely weaken you in comparison to other builds when it comes to your primary Class, and extend the time it takes to acquire important Abilities and Feats. if you’re confident that Find Familiar will enhance your playstyle across the board and tie in nicely to your Magic-oriented kit, then committing to the Spell can create a lot of fun and opportunity for you as a player. If you’re uncertain about how frequently you may be able to benefit from this Spell, it’s probably best to give it a miss in favor of something more fitting to your Stats and/or build.
That’s everything you need to know about the Find Familiar Spell in Baldur’s Gate 3, and if it may be a valuable asset to include in your character build. Now that you’ve had a chance to consider the possibility of this Spell, feel free to check out our complete guide covering all Races, Subraces, Classes, and Subclasses within the game, as this may help you gain more clarity on how you want to progress your character.
