Familiars are many and varied, with a smorgasbord of stats and powers. Each is unique and your choice says something about your character. These versatile minions are a simple way to add a little flavor or flair to your game and character. Here then are three creatures to add to your game as familiars. If you have no use for familiars, they would also make good sidekicks or low level foes.

	Burrowing Blaster: This critter is a strange hybrid between burrowing owl and a badger in the vein of the owlbear and other “mad wizard” experiments, but with one critical difference: burrowing blasters love guns! You can hand one a blaster pistol, or a flintlock, or a hand crossbow or anything in between and they instinctively know how to not only hold and fire the weapon but how to reload, and the basics of maintenance and firearm safety! In combat they keep themselves safe with their burrow speed, keeping their distance and popping up to fire at foes when they think they can get away with it.
	Detritus Golem: These creatures are naturally born of the lost and discarded debris that accumulates wherever sentient beings live and work. They are also some of the cheapest and easiest golems for burgeoning young spellcasters to craft, making them an easy first familiar. They are unremarkable in combat, but are surprisingly durable and easy to repair with household junk and a little time. Where the detritus golem really excels is scuttling into the dark cramped places from which they were born and finding things secreted or lost within. They give their owner a bonus to rolls to search or investigate areas when then are allowed to participate, searching nooks and crannies too small for typical investigation.
	Weeping Warbler: These soft semi-amorphous little flesh lumps are native to dark forest mushroom patches, and in their natural environment spend their days cooing and gurgling and watering the nearby flora with their copious tears. Their only natural defense is their soft constant crying that has a semi-hypnotic effect, causing predators a slight enough pause that the weeping warbler can dart into their burrow uneaten. These familiars can be taught to cry only on command, limiting the ill effects of their song. Thus trained, they are prized by enchanters as their hypnotic sobbing gives a bonus to mind-affecting magic.

A note on artwork: Recently I gave an artist the super useful prompt of “Give me 9 monsters.” No direction on style or genre or theme. The art you see here is a selection of what I got back. If you like the style, you can see more of their work on Instagram.