Can a Familiar Use Caltrops? A Comprehensive Guide
The short answer is yes, a familiar can use caltrops. While the Find Familiar spell doesn’t explicitly grant your familiar proficiency with weapons or tools, it allows them to take actions. Deploying caltrops is generally considered an action that doesn’t require proficiency and fits within the context of a familiar manipulating objects. However, the practical applications and limitations of this action are often debated. This article explores the question in-depth and answers a host of related questions about familiar actions and capabilities.
Familiars and Action Economy
Understanding Familiar Actions
A familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. This means that on your turn, you can direct your familiar to take an action, a bonus action, or move. The types of actions available to a familiar are not explicitly listed within the Find Familiar spell description itself; rather, they are derived from the general rules governing actions within 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Familiars, therefore, have the same basic capacity for actions as any creature.
Caltrops as an Action
Caltrops are typically used as a hazard, spread on the ground to impede movement. The act of placing caltrops doesn’t require a specialized skill or proficiency in most interpretations. It is a straightforward action of manipulating an object. Therefore, a familiar, under your direction, can take its action to place caltrops. This provides a tactical advantage by creating difficult terrain and potentially slowing or damaging enemies who traverse the area.
Practical Application
Your familiar can be particularly effective at placing caltrops in strategic locations. Imagine your familiar, a raven, dropping caltrops directly in front of an advancing enemy. This can hinder their movement, possibly preventing them from reaching you or your allies. Similarly, a cat could strategically drop caltrops in a narrow doorway, creating a choke point and slowing enemy movement. This tactical advantage can be very helpful for classes that prefer ranged or spell-based combat, enabling you to control the battlefield.
FAQs: Exploring Familiar Capabilities
Here are 15 frequently asked questions to provide a deeper understanding of familiar actions, abilities, and limitations:
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Can a familiar use a healer’s kit?
Yes, a familiar can use a healer’s kit. Using a healer’s kit to stabilize a dying creature is an action, and familiars, acting under direction, can take this action. This is a valuable way to contribute to the party’s survival in combat scenarios. -
Can a familiar stabilize an unconscious creature?
Yes. A familiar can attempt to stabilize an unconscious creature by administering first aid, which requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check. The master does not make the check; the familiar makes its own check. -
Can a familiar deliver touch spells?
Absolutely. When you cast a spell with a range of touch, your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast it. The familiar must be within 100 feet of you and use its reaction when you cast the spell. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll. This makes familiars very useful for spells such as Shocking Grasp or Cure Wounds. -
Can a familiar use the Help action?
Yes, a familiar can use the Help action in combat. This allows your familiar to grant advantage on the next attack roll against a creature it distracts, which is incredibly useful for setting up powerful attacks from your allies. The familiar must be within 5 feet of the target to assist. -
Can familiars use magic items?
Yes, familiars can use magic items. They are considered creatures and can attune to magic items if they meet the requirements for attunement. This opens up a wide array of possible item enhancements, allowing you to use a magic ring or necklace to help your familiar. -
Can a familiar use weapons?
While familiars are capable of making melee attacks, they typically lack the proficiency to use weapons effectively. Generally, they are better suited to using their natural attacks or performing actions that don’t require specific proficiencies, such as placing caltrops, using a healer’s kit, or taking the help action. -
Can a familiar flank an enemy?
Yes, a familiar can flank an enemy to provide combat advantage if it is in the right position with another ally. The familiar must be on an opposite side of the enemy relative to another ally, and it is considered to be armed (can use a melee attack). -
Can a familiar become a sidekick?
Yes, with your DM’s approval, a familiar can potentially become a sidekick. However, this may require applying sidekick classes from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, which can alter their abilities and potential power. In general, it is up to the DM’s discretion whether to allow familiars as sidekicks, as this can potentially nerf the party. -
What forms can familiars take?
The forms a familiar can take are defined in the Find Familiar spell. Options typically include: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel. These forms have different capabilities, as an owl can fly, a crab can move underwater, etc.. -
Can a rogue get a familiar?
Yes, any class can get a familiar. While the Find Familiar spell is a wizard spell, any character can access it through means like the Magic Initiate feat, the Ritual Caster feat, or other features. This allows any class to gain access to the benefits of having a familiar. -
Can a familiar use a scroll?
No, a familiar cannot use a spell scroll. Spell scrolls can only be read and cast by a creature that has the spell on its class’s spell list. Since familiars do not possess class features or spellcasting abilities, they cannot use spell scrolls. -
How intelligent is a familiar?
Normal familiars have an Intelligence of 2, which means they aren’t very intelligent on their own. They rely on your direction and telepathic communication to carry out your commands. Although they aren’t intelligent, they can share your senses, allowing you to see, hear, and smell from their position. -
Can a familiar be polymorphed?
Yes, a familiar can be targeted by the Polymorph spell, but it can only be transformed into a creature of the same challenge rating (CR) or less. Most familiars have a CR of 0. This can be a fun, although temporary, means to change their abilities. -
Can you have multiple familiars?
No, you cannot have more than one familiar at a time. Casting the Find Familiar spell when you already have a familiar will cause it to adopt a new form, replacing its previous one. -
Are familiars considered allies?
Yes, familiars are considered your allies. They are friendly to you, and their presence can trigger special abilities or sneak attacks. For example, a rogue can use the presence of their familiar to gain sneak attack damage, and certain spells may be more effective if a character has an ally nearby.
Conclusion
A familiar using caltrops represents a small but significant aspect of their versatile role. They are not only valuable scouts and spell deliverers, but also tactical tools capable of manipulating their environment and contributing to battlefield control. By understanding the full scope of a familiar’s abilities, including their capacity to use caltrops, players can unlock new tactical options and strategies, adding depth and enjoyment to their D&D sessions.