Familiars are most commonly associated with and found in the company of wizards, as Find Familiar is a spell which requires some study of the wizard’s understanding of magic to cast. But there are other ways to obtain a familiar. Warlocks who choose to take up a certain pact with their patron are granted the ability to summon a familiar without the long hours of study that wizards must undertake to learn the Find Familiar spell. While the act of summoning still requires an hour’s time as it does for wizards, the spell is different in its method for warlocks. Rather than calling to a spirit from another plane and using their own magical power to give it shape and substance, warlocks simply commune with their patron, who then sends a servant spirit directly to them. (Incense is still typically burned during the spell, in this case as an offering to the patron.) This makes Find Familiar essentially a ‘free’ spell for warlocks, as they do not need to devote their time and mental energy to learning and remembering the skill of casting it, although it does still take some magical effort on their part.
Once summoned, warlock familiars are similar to wizard familiars, but differ in a few key ways. A warlock’s familiar can take forms that a wizard’s familiar cannot, such as a quasit, imp, pseudodragon, or sprite, forms which have their own magical abilities that they can use freely. Such familiars can also assert themselves more strongly in the material plane, giving them limited ability to attack and harm other creatures, something a wizard’s familiar is not able to do at all. The warlock is not limited to picking such a creature and might also have a familiar of any shape that a wizard’s familiar can take, although not all warlocks are given a choice in the matter; some patrons choose the form for the warlock before the familiar is even summoned.
Like all aspects of a warlock’s power, this familiar is the result of a bargain struck, and the additional power therefore comes at a price. Warlock familiars still obey the warlock, but their greater loyalty ultimately lies with the patron that sent them. Consequently they can be much more strong-minded and independent. A warlock must work harder to earn and keep the respect and loyalty of their familiar than a wizard; if they succeed at doing so, they may well have no problems, but a familiar that does not get along with their warlock may be rude, argumentative, or even outright hostile, putting only as much effort into following the warlock’s orders as they are forced to by the bonds of the spell. This also means that a warlock’s familiar can be recalled by the patron if the warlock falls into disfavor, something the familiar is very well aware of and may remind the warlock of if they don’t like them. Some warlock familiars are spirits that have been sent to many other warlocks in the service of their patron before, and a warlock who has not earned the respect of such a familiar may find themselves constantly being unfavorably compared to that familiar’s previous masters.
Warlock familiars that take one of the aforementioned special forms are easy to distinguish from a wizard’s familiar by that alone, but even those who take a more common animal form often have a distinguishing feature that shows their connection to their patron. Depending on the patron, such a mark could range from something as minor as being a slightly odd color to having extra eyes, small horns or patches of scales on creatures not normally known to have them, or having a tendency to secrete a substance like slime, ash, or tree sap. Some familiars may have no obvious physical markers, but may cause those who look at them to develop a headache, feeling of uneasiness, or other such effects.
By nature of their chosen path in life, most warlocks tend to be independently-minded people who are willing to disregard at least some amount of social norms to achieve what they want. Many magical traditions scorn warlocks outright, viewing them as dangerously immoral and self-interested, or at best as misguided, hasty fools looking for an easy path to power. For these reasons, warlocks rarely engage in the same kinds of traditions regarding familiars that wizards do. Some who come from magical backgrounds may attempt to emulate such traditions as best as they are able under their circumstances, but others may choose to openly flaunt those traditions by disregarding them completely. Others simply haven’t spent any time in established magical circles and may be unaware that such traditions exist at all.
Not all cultures are so dismissive of warlocks, though. In drow society, for example, warlocks are rarer than wizards but no less respected. In fact they are often more highly respected, being seen as conduits for honored patron spirits of houses or cities to enact their will. The familiars of such warlocks are given special insignia to wear so that all may know of their higher status. Orc warlocks are also not uncommon; since orcish spirituality is structured around the idea of working with powerful and revered spirits rather than worshiping gods, the idea of serving such an entity as a warlock is not inherently taboo in orc society, so long as one has chosen an appropriate patron. Orc warlocks often observe similar customs with their familiars as orc wizards do, although they are less likely to change the form of their familiars often or at all, as they typically align themselves strongly with a particular spirit rather than seeking the favor of different ones throughout their daily lives as other orcs do.
