Are there any obscure methods to get Find Steed?

Question

I'm playing an Artificer that uses its Steel Defender as a mount and was planning on grabbing the Spellwrought tattoo once able to replicate the higher tier items. But it seems all the Artificer guides on Youtube, let's just say, 'embellished' what Replicate Magic Item can do, as it does not allow replicating any magic item higher than 'common' unless it's specifically listed in the Infusion chart.

Probably out of luck for this character, but can anyone please share any obscure methods that can grab Find Steed without having to dive into Paladin for 5 levels?

I was hoping to make use of the spell sharing portion by infusing the spirit into my Defender.

Answer 1

There is no faster way than Paladin levels to get find steed, and it only can take animal form

You can get find steed from

• 5 levels of Paladin (or two, if you have a spell scroll of find steed, up to your DM)
• 6 levels of Bard (College of Lore) via Additional Magical Secrets
• 10 levels of Bard (any college) via Magical Secrets
• 13 levels of Rogue via Use Magic Device (if you can find it on a spell scroll, up to your DM)
• 17 levels of Wizard by casting wish
• A magic item like a ring of three wishes that allows you to cast wish, up to your DM
• A ring of spell storing with find steed stored [credit to user2754], up to your DM

If you are looking to "dip" into it with your Artificer, the fastest way to do so is Paladin levels, unless your DM is generous with magic items (which in addtion have the shortcoming that re-casting is limited, if the steed dies).

The steed cannot be your Steel Defender. Quoting from the spell:

You summon a spirit that assumes the form of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed (…) Appearing in an unoccupied space within range, the steed takes on a form that you choose: a warhorse, a pony, a camel, an elk, or a mastiff. (Your GM might allow other animals to be summoned as steeds.)

The steed takes the form of an animal. There is nothing in the spell that says you can bind the spirit into animating a construct, so you cannot.

Answer 2

The only ways to get find steed are five levels of Paladin or six levels of Bard (College of Lore).

You know about how paladins get find steed, and the only other way is through the Lore Bard’s 6th level Additional Magical Secrets feature:

At 6th level, you learn two spells of your choice from any class. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Bard table, or a cantrip. The chosen spells count as bard spells for you but don’t count against the number of bard spells you know.

There are no other ways to learn the spell.¹ Spell scrolls may be an option, as details in Keith Curtis’s answer, however, the trouble with spell scrolls is that magic item acquisition is entirely up to the DM. So you would have to have DM buy-in up front for it to work, so it isn’t all that different from asking the DM to house rule that you can just have the spell.

That said, it may be the case that it doesn’t actually do what you’re looking for anyway. In the question you say:

Was hoping to make use of the spell sharing portion by infusing the spirit into my Defender.

I’m not aware of any feature that would do anything like this. There is no way to use your Steel Defender as the spirit steed from find steed.

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^{1 You could also learn the spell by being an even higher level Bard without being College of Lore, but that really misses the point.}

Answer 3

You can have access to the Find Steed spell as a 2nd level paladin or a 13th level thief rogue. You would need to purchase or find the spell on a spell scroll.

The rules for spell scrolls state:

If the spell is on your class's spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine whether you cast it successfully. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level.

The paladin does not get spell casting until 2nd level, but may attempt to cast a higher level spell with the appropriate DC check. It's possible that the DM may rule that even though the paladin does not have spellcasting at level 1, the spell is on their class's spellcasting list, but this would be a per-table judgment.

At 13th level, the thief archetype of the rogue class gets the ability Use Magic Item, which states: By 13th level, you have learned enough about the workings

of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

Sage Advice has clarified that this ability does include spell scrolls:

Does the Thief’s Use Magic Device feature allow them to use spell scrolls?

Yes. The intent is that a Thief can use spell scrolls with Use Magic Device.

The downside of this method would be that if you ever dismissed the steed or let it fall to 0 hit points,you would need another spell scroll to cast it again.

13 levels of rogue is almost certainly too much of a dip, but 2 levels of paladin and a scroll might be justifiable. Also note that magic item acquisition can be up to the DM, so this might require discussion beforehand.

Answer 4

At one point this was possible with a UA feat from UA 2022 Heroes of Krynn (not the revised version):

Adept of the White Robes
Prerequisites: 4th level, initiate of high sorcery feat (which is given by a background), any non-evil alignment

Protective Magic. You learn one 2nd-level spell of your choice. The 2nd-level spell must be from the abjuration or conjuration school of magic. [and more text, and another part I'm omitting]

That includes Find Steed (2nd conjuration).

In UA 2022 Heroes of Krynn Revisited, that feat changed to abjuration or divination, perhaps partly because of Find Steed, or maybe other very good Conjuration spells like Healing Spirit, and Find Familiar for the prerequisite feat/background which allowed a 1st-level abjuration or conjuration spell. It was published in Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen with text matching the "revisited" version.

I mention this only for completeness, not because I expect any DM to allow feats from obsolete UA that's been superseded by later UA and published material with newer versions of the same feats.

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A 3rd-party database of 5e material lists only Paladin and that UA Krynn feat as ways to learn Find Steed, not any subclass or other feat. That doesn't rule out magic items, though.

Answer 5

Ring of Spell Storing.

A paladin or a bard (or a 13th level rogue with a spell scroll) can cast Find Steed into a Ring of Spell Storing and the person attuned to the ring of spell storing can then cast it as if they were the caster. This also works with Find Greater Steed.

Otherwise, the only methods are to be able to cast Wish, be a paladin (5th level, or 2nd+ with a spell scroll), be a Lore Bard of 6th level or higher, any Bard of 10th level or higher, or be a rogue with use magic device and a spell scroll.

As per usual, the DM may allow you to find a similar creature as one granted by the Find Steed spell as the result of a quest, macguffin, or magic item.

It is worth noting that this does not require the caster to remain attuned to the Ring of Spell Storing. Only if the steed dies and needs to be resummoned is the Ring required. Ergo, the use of a Ring of Spell Storing could be rented for the 1 hour and ten minutes required to summon a permanent Steed, and likewise there is no need for the original caster of the spell to remain - thanks to the Ring, the wearer is treated as the original caster and thus the Steed is bound to them and not the paladin or bard or whoever expended the spell slot.