7

Given that, from Find Familiar:

A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.

Can a Gazer Familiar (VGM, p. 126; WDH, p. 105) use its Eye Rays?

Eye Rays. The gazer shoots two of the following magical eye rays at random (reroll duplicates), choosing one or two targets it can see within 60 feet of it:

The rays aren't listed as attacks, so I lean on "yes, it can". On the other hand, it seems much more powerful than other familiar forms.

I am not sure if the Gazer Variant found in Volo's Guide to Monsters (page 126) behaves the same as the familiar Gazer in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (page 105). If there are differences between them, an ideal answer would cover that as well.

V2Blast
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BlueMoon93
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  • The reason that it is in the W:DH is that the published adventures always add in any monster that is not in the MM, PHB, or DMG. Either new monsters, NPC's, or custome monsters, or monsters from other books. – KorvinStarmast Oct 30 '19 at 11:45

1 Answers1

17

Yes: variant familiars behave as NPCs that serve the caster

A gazer serving as a familiar has the following trait.
Familiar. The gazer can serve another creature as a familiar, forming a telepathic bond with its willing master, provided that the mater{sic} is at least a 3rd level spell caster (VGTM: p. 126)

This familiar is not summoned with a spell, just as other variant familiars are not summoned with a spell, and as such are not bound by the spell's restrictions. As with the pseudodragon and the imp variant familiars, they are more powerful than the summoned ones in a lot of ways, but if they are killed cannot be resummoned with the spell.

Related questions here, and over here.

KorvinStarmast
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