Dark Familiar

Tiny incorporeal undead, chaotic evil

Armor Class: 14
Hit Points 15 (6d4)
Speed: 20 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
6 (-2) 12 (+2) 10 (0) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 12 (+1)

Skills: Perception +5, Stealth +5
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Damage Resistances: acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities: cold, necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
Languages: any languages it knew in life
Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

  • Darkness: A dark familiar can create darkness as the spell. It can do this three times, after which it must complete a long rest to regain expended uses of the ability.
  • Ethereal Sight: The dark familiar can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.
  • Incorporeal Movement: The dark familiar can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It cannot use its vampiric touch attack while inside of another creature or object.
  • Turn Resistance: The dark familiar gains advantage on rolls to resist turning by a cleric or other character with the channel divinity class feature or similar special ability.

Actions

  • Etherealness: As a move action, the dread familiar enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
  • Vampiric Touch. Melee Touch Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 plus one point per master’s level necrotic damage

About

The dark familiar is an intelligent, undead, incorporeal familiar. It typically serves evil masters who kill and bestow undeath to the familiars of other casters (or if the GM chooses, any character master that has a living familiar).

The dark familiar is capable of boosting the power of undead created by their necromantic masters.

Dark familiars use their Hide skill and/or incorporeal abilities to surprise opponents and attack them using their vampiric touch.

In order to avoid being struck in combat, the dark familiar often hides inside walls and other material objects.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Familiars & Companions, Copyright 2017, Troll Lord Games; Author Casey Christofferson, Justin Bacon, Tommy Ruteledge, Josh Hubbel, Lance Hawvermile, Luke Johnson, Stephen Vogel and Dave Zenz.