[RPG] What happens to a familiar if the wizard is unconscious

dnd-5efamiliarsunconscious

Reading over the PHB spell entry for familiars, I don't see anything about what happens to the familiar if its "owner" dies or is unconscious. I'm going to assume if the owner dies, the familiar disappears, but what if the owner is merely knocked out?

Best Answer

Nothing.

There is no current rule that spell effects end when a caster is unconscious or dies unless they are specifically concentration spells.

Thus, since Find Familiar is not a concentration spell, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the familiar stays and is unaffected by the fact that his wizard is unconscious (or dead).

And in fact, the duration of the Find Familiar spell is "instantaneous" meaning that once the familiar is created, it's there, and there is no continuing effect of the spell. It can't even be dispelled.

It's important to note that if your DM wants to rule that current spell effects (like say, spiritual weapon), end when you go unconscious, it would not affect a spell like Find Familiar since again, the duration of that spell is instantaneous.