[RPG] Can a familiar use a Help action to grant advantage on an attack to a near by ally

attackdnd-5efamiliarshelping

Can a familiar use a Help action to grant advantage on an Attack to a near by ally?

As I understand it, a familiar can aid in any action it can take itself. But by the spell Find Familiar, a normal familiar cannot attack. Is it correct that by extent a familiar thus cannot Help an Attack action?

Superior Warlock familiars (Pact of the Chain) can attack if the Warlock gives up her attack action to grant the familiar an attack.

Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to make one attack of its own with its reaction. (SRD p. 46)

Can a superior familiar Help in an Attack action? If so, would the Warlock be required to use an action to allow the familiar to Help?

Are their any official errata or posts related to the above?

It is commonly explained that the familiar is aiding by distracting an opponent rather than attacking themselves. But I didn't find an explicit answer to this question, so I'm posting it here. Similar questions listed are:

Best Answer

Yes, familiar can be used for gaining advantage for allies.

From Find Familiar spell description (PHB, p240), emphasis mine:

Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. A familiar can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal.

Help is listed as one of the actions that could be taken in combat and is a legitimate option for a familiar.


And it's also logical thing from roleplay point of view. From Help action description:

Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team up to make your ally's attack more effective. if your ally attacks the target before your next turn, the first attack roll is made with advantage.

As you pointed out, even small familiars can distract enemy, which will help ally in their attack.

The Word of Designer also supports this. Jeremy Crawford answered this question in the September 2016 Sage Advice column:

Can the familiar you conjure with the find familiar spell use the Help action to grant you advantage on your attack roll? A familiar can’t attack, but it can take non-attack actions, including Help. As the text of the Help action indicates (PH, 192), the action doesn’t require you to be able to attack; you simply need to be able to provide some sort of distraction.