Which DND Classes Can Have Pets? Our Top 5 DND Pet Builds
Pick your class from among our DND 5e pet builds!
We already shared some ideas for how to have an animal companion in Dungeons & Dragons using a character’s spells, magic items, and skills. But what if you knew you wanted your character to have an animal companion from the very beginning? Then you could create a whole D&D build around having a pet! Your character could specialize in communing with nature, creating arcane constructs, or summoning familiars…there are so many options. We’ve gone through all of them to create this list of the best D&D classes for having a pet!
Note: The ranger, warlock, and wizard builds are created based on the 2024 rules for D&D. As of this writing, the Circle of the Moon druid subclass and the artificer class are not available in the 2024 ruleset, so we have used the 2014 rules. For a better understanding of how the 2014 and 2024 rules do and don’t combine, read our article on the new rules here.
Build an Animal-Loving Druid in D&D
A druid can easily adopt a pet in DND with their innate connection to nature.
Though they're best known for transforming into animals themselves, druids are so deeply in tune with nature that they can befriend animals with their knowledge, skills, and magic. Playing a druid is a great place to start, but there’s even more you can do to create the perfect pet build. To fully customize your druid, we recommend you take the Animal Handling proficiency at Level 1 and the Circle of the Shepherd subclass at Level 3. This subclass is specifically focused on defending and communing with the animals in the natural and magical world. In addition to speaking Sylvan, the language of beasts and fey, these druids can summon nature spirits to help them and their allies – like a bear, a hawk, or even a unicorn. As a Circle of the Shepherd druid gets to higher levels, they can power up their spirits with magical attacks and healing powers, and set Conjure Animals to auto-cast as a 9th-level spell any time they're incapacitated! While you level up your druid, be sure to have them learn the Animal Friendship, Animal Messenger, Beast Bond, Beast Sense, Locate Animals, and Speak with Animals spells to find and befriend animals, and pick your favorites from among Conjure Animals, Conjure Elemental, Conjure Fey, Conjure Woodland Beings, Summon Beast, Summon Draconic Spirit, Summon Elemental, and Summon Fey spells (or go wild and take them all for the ultimate entourage)!
Get An Animal Companion in D&D As A Beast Master
Beast Master rangers are a great way to have an animal companion in DND.
Much like druids, rangers are attuned to nature, calling on the magic of the wild and protecting the natural world – even from itself. To make the ranger character best suited for having a pet, we recommend you have them take the Animal Handling proficiency at Level 1 and the Beast Master subclass at Level 3. Rangers of this subclass are built around having their own beloved animal. But it’s not just a normal bond of friendship – it’s fueled by the power of magic! Beast Master rangers can summon a beast from land, sea, or sky to explore and fight alongside them and their friends. As your ranger levels up, their beast gains increased speed and agility on top of magical attacks and can be brought back to life (quite literally by the magic of friendship). Once they’ve mastered the use of their magic, a Beast Master ranger can share it with their beast friend. We recommend you give them spells they can use to buff themself and their companion: Absorb Elements, Aid, Barkskin, Cure Wounds, Freedom of Movement, Greater/Lesser Restoration, Hunter’s Mark, Jump, Longstrider, Pass without Trace, and Protection from Enemies. Once they hit level 19, have them take the Epic Boon of Spell Recall to give them even more chances to power up their bond!
Inventing Your Own Pets in D&D
You might not think about it, but an artificer is totally a DND class that can have pets!
While druids and rangers are well-suited to befriending and summoning wild creatures, the innate magic of nature is not the only way to find an animal friend in the world of D&D. Enter artificers, clever tinkerers who can harness arcane power with their tools and inventions. They're adept at creating magical items, new technology, and, of course, clockwork creatures. For a companion-based artificer build, start with the Arcana proficiency at Level 1, then take the Homunculus Servant Infusion at level 2 and the Battle Smith subclass at Level 3. Using the Homunculus Servant Infusion, an artificer can craft the body of a tiny little construct around any object they find. Your artificer can choose the appearance of this homunculus, which has the intelligence of an average humanoid, channels artificer spells through its body, and can fly! As a Battle Smith, your artificer can also summon a Steel Defender to protect them and their companions, deflect enemy attacks and fight for them after they fall. These faithful constructs are clever little creatures that are able to repair themselves as they take damage, but, to make sure your artificer’s creations stick around, we recommend you add spells like Aid, Cure Wounds, Freedom of Movement, Greater/Lesser Restoration, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, and Sanctuary (and even Summon Construct if they want a whole army of construct buddies)!
Wizards Can Use Magic to Have A Pet in D&D
Wizards can summon all the best pets in DND.
If artificers combine arcane magic with the power of invention to create their own pets, classes like the warlock, sorcerer, and wizard ditch the tinkering and go all-in on pure arcane magic. Wizards are the classic magic users in Dungeons & Dragons. They are devoted scholars who have studied magic in all its forms to be able to wield its power for themselves. For the perfect pet summoner, we suggest you have your wizard take the Arcana proficiency at level 1, the Illusionist subclass at Level 3, the Find Familiar and the Flock of Familiar spells for their Spell Mastery at Level 18, the Epic Boon of Spell Recall at level 19, and the spells Summon Fey and Summon Shadowspawn as their Signature Spells at level 20. (If you want to maximize your wizard’s summoning ability, they can also take spells like Summon Aberration, Summon Construct, Summon Draconic Spirit, Summon Dragon, Summon Elemental, Summon Fey, Summon Fiend, or Summon Shadowspawn – wizards get all the spells!) Illusionist wizards specialize in summoning convincing images out of thin air. With this subclass, your wizard gets two bonus Illusion spells (we suggest Illusory Dragon and Phantom Steed) and the ability to cast Illusion spells without speaking, the Summon Beast and Summon Fey spells. When they get to higher levels, Illusionist wizards have magic powerful enough to make their illusions into reality!
How Warlocks Can Get A Pet In D&D
The Pact of the Chain Invocation allows warlocks to get a pet in DND.
Rather than spend their days studying, warlocks craft a pact with an otherworldly patron who grants them magic abilities. To build a warlock with a knack for magically summoning a familiar, give them the the Pact of the Chain Invocation at Level 1, the Celestial Patron subclass at level 3, the Investment of the Chain Master Invocation at Level 5, the Summon Fiend spell as their Mystic Arcanum at level 11, and, of course, the Epic Boon of Spell Recall at level 19. The Pact of the Chain Invocation not only lets your warlock cast Find Familiar (without even using a spell slot!), but gives them access to special familiar forms, including a pseudodragon, a skeleton, and a sphinx of wonder. Once your warlock gets Investment of the Chain Master, they can also share some of their magic with their familiar, granting it damage resistance, another attack, the necrotic and radiant damage types, and the ability to fly! (If you want even more summoning powers for your warlock, you could also give them the Flock of Familiars, Summon Aberration, Summon Fey, Summon Fiend, Summon Shadowspawn, or Unseen Servant spells.) By allying with a Celestial Patron, like an empyrean, a couatl, a sphinx, or a unicorn, your warlock will have the Aid, Cure Wounds, and Lesser Restoration spells to help keep their familiar alive. As they level up, they'll also be able to summon a Guardian of Faith, a construct that stays behind to block intruders from entering, the ability to give familiars Temporary Hit Points, and even a ray of radiant vengeance to stop your familiar from dying and damage their attackers instead!
Test Out Your D&D 5e Pet Build
Now that you have a guide to making a D&D character with a pet, it's time for you to create your own unique character and send them off on an epic adventure. If you don't know where to find a group or how to get started, why not try our games? We run online games of Dungeons & Dragons for tweens and teens with professional Dungeon Masters who will show you how to bring your character concept to life, incorporate your favorite fandoms and great ideas, and craft an adventure just for you. And if you're not sure you want to dip your toes in just yet, you can read some animal-themed stories from our sessions to get an idea of what our games are like (and enjoy some laughs along the way).
