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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
NPC Core / Creature Companions

Pets and Familiars

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Pets are Tiny animals, while familiars can be nearly any other similar-sized creature with some magical abilities. A pet makes for a good companion of just about NPC, while familiars should be companions only of spellcasting NPCs. Because of their size, pets and familiars usually wouldn't make significant contributions to most encounters as their own creatures. Therefore, they can be represented by additional abilities used by their NPC owner. If used in this way, pets and familiars can't be targets by Strikes, spells, or other abilities, though they can represent interesting roleplaying opportunities after their NPC owner has been defeated.

Pets and familiars can be broken down into the broad categories below, depending on what kind of ability they grant to their owner.

Aquatic

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Examples fish, octopus, otter, turtle
Splash [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) Requirements The NPC is in water; Effect The NPC commands their companion to splash water on an enemy within 15 feet. That target is dazzled until the beginning of the NPC's next turn.

Burrowing

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Examples fox, giant ant, mole
Churn Earth [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) The NPC commands their companion to burrow through the nearby soil, creating a 10-foot-square area of difficult terrain within 15 feet.

Flying

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Examples bat, parrot, raven
Dive Bomb [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) The NPC commands their companion to fly at an enemy within 30 feet and flap its wings in their face. The target is off-guard until the end of the NPC's turn.

Scent

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Examples cat, compsognathus, dog
Point Out [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) The NPC commands their companion to root out an undetected creature. The NPC gains the benefits of Point Out against an undetected creature within 20 feet.

Toxic

Source NPC Core pg. 216
Examples scorpion, spider, viper
Poison [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) The NPC commands their companion to deliver a dose of its natural venom to an enemy within 15 feet. That target takes 1d4 poison damage. This increases by 1d4 at 5th level and every 4 levels after that.

Other Encounter Abilties

Source NPC Core pg. 216
An NPC with a pet or familiar might also have one of the following abilities, no matter the shape and form of their companion. If an ability mentions a familiar, that NPC must have a familiar and not a pet.

Go Fetch [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) Requirements The NPC has a free hand; Effect The NPC commands their companion to retrieve an item of 1 Bulk or less that is unattended and within 20 feet. The companion places the item in the NPC's free hand.

Spell Courier [one-action] (auditory, concentrate) If the next action the NPC uses is to Cast a Spell with a range of touch, they can command their familiar to deliver that spell to a target within 15 feet. This effectively increases the range of the spell.

Downtime and Exploration Abilities

Source NPC Core pg. 216
A pet or familiar might also grant their NPC aid during downtime and exploration mode. If an ability mentions a familiar, that NPC must have a familiar and not a pet.

Eavesdropper The NPC's familiar can Gather Information through careful positioning and tact. While in a settlement the NPC is familiar with, their familiar can use Gather Information on any topic by eavesdropping in key locations. The NPC can learn about topics that would normally be kept secret, but it must be information someone could reasonably be discussing within the settlement. This takes 1 hour instead of the normal amount of time, and the NPC does not risk alerting others of their intentions and can take other actions during this time.

Ritual Assistant The NPC's companion provides assistance during rituals. The familiar qualifies as a single secondary caster for rituals they cast, though the NPC uses their skill modifiers for any checks. If a ritual does not need secondary casters, the NPC instead gains a +2 circumstance bonus to any skill checks related to casting the ritual.

Suspicious Familiar (misfortune) The NPC's companion has a skeptical nature and can express it. When a creature attempts to Lie to or Make an Impression on the NPC, the creature must roll twice and take the lower of the two results