[RPG] What happens if you cast Find Familar as a 9th-level spell

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If a wizard were to cast find familiar, a 1st-level spell, in a 9th-level spell slot, would anything different happen to it?

For example, magic missile becomes more powerful the higher the level it is cast at. Would the same be true for find familiar?

This question started out as a joke with a friend, but we just grew curious as the night went on.

Best Answer

The spell effect would be unchanged.

In DnD 5e spells only do what they say that they do or to put it another way - 'there are no secret rules'.

Any spell can be cast using a higher level spell slot than necessary - so you could cast Find Familiar using a ninth level slot. But the Find Familiar spell doesn't tell you that there would be any additional affects from casting at higher levels - so there wouldn't be any.

Contrast that with spells like Magic Missile (as you suggested) which states explicitly:

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one more dart for each slot level above 1st. (SRD p. 161)

If a spell doesn't have this 'At Higher Levels' section then there are no change to the spell effects from casting it at a higher level.

There are, however, a couple of incidental benefits from casting a spell at higher level:

  • Your spell will be harder to counterspell than normal (if cast at level 4 or above).
  • You are still able to cast the spell even if you've run out of low level spell slots.

P.S. The above is the RAW answer to this question and it's what I'd tell my players if they asked.

That said, I have been left pondering if adding some homebrew effects for an NPC villain might be rather fun? You could rule that by casting Find Familiar at ninth level your villain received nine separate standard familairs, or one familiar nine times as strong as usual. Either option could be an interesting character facet for an antagonist.

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