Raven — Watchful Scavenger and Familiar
Raven — Scavenger, Watcher and Familiar
A Raven Above the Gatehouse
A raven settles on a gatehouse roof and watches the carts pass below. Its heavy bill, shaggy throat and wedge-shaped tail distinguish it from a crow; its deep, carrying croak can be heard long before the bird is seen. A raven watching people is not necessarily a messenger or an omen.
Ravens often forage alone or in pairs, caching food, watching other animals and following people to camps or kills. Many stay with a mate, and younger birds may gather at a carcass. They investigate unfamiliar objects, but their calls and displays are ordinary animal behaviour, not automatic spellcasting.
Common ravens occur across much of the Northern Hemisphere: woods, sea cliffs, mountains, tundra, farmland and the margins of settlements. They eat carrion, insects, eggs, fruit, small animals and discarded food. The bird belongs where a landscape offers nesting places and a dependable food supply.
A raven may lead a traveller’s eyes to fresh carrion, follow a hunting party, raid food left in an open pack or repeat a sound it heard in a courtyard. It can mimic simple noises under the fifth-edition rules, but that does not give every wild bird the power to understand a conversation or carry a detailed message.
A raven wants food, shelter and a safe nest. An intruder near eggs or young may hear alarm calls and see a bird diving past, but it normally flies from a fight. For a familiar with additional magic or language abilities, use the rules of the relevant edition rather than granting those powers to an ordinary raven.
D&D 5.5e (2024)
D&D 5e (2014)
Pathfinder 1e
D&D 3.5e
Raven
D&D 5.5e (2024) — Raven
Tiny Beast, Unaligned
AC 12; Initiative +2 (12); HP 2 (1d4); Speed 10 ft., Fly 50 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (−4) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) | 5 (−3) | 13 (+1) | 6 (−2) |
Skills Perception +3; Senses Passive Perception 13; Languages None; CR 0 (XP 10; PB +2).
Trait — Mimicry. The raven can imitate simple sounds, such as a whisper or chitter. A hearer can identify the sound as an imitation with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Action — Beak. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1 Piercing damage.
Rules sources: 2014 Raven and 2024 Raven; D&D SRD 5.1 and 5.2.1, Wizards of the Coast, CC BY 4.0. Wild ravens use the standard Mimicry trait and a single beak attack.
D&D 5e (2014) — Raven
Tiny beast, unaligned
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 1 (1d4 − 1)
Speed 10 ft., fly 50 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (−4) | 14 (+2) | 8 (−1) | 2 (−4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (−2) |
Skills Perception +3
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 0 (10 XP; PB +2)
Trait — Mimicry. The raven can imitate simple sounds it has heard, such as a whisper, cry or animal call. A listener can recognize the imitation with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Action — Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.
2014 rules: Raven (2014), D&D SRD 5.1, Wizards of the Coast (CC BY 4.0).
Raven — Pathfinder 1e (Bestiary)
Raven CR 1/6; XP 65; N Tiny animal. Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6.
Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size); hp 3 (1d8−1); Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +2.
Offense
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average); Melee bite +4 (1d3−4; minimum 1 damage); Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 2, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7; Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 6.
Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse; Skills Fly +6, Perception +6.
Ecology and Familiar
Environment any temperate; Organization solitary, pair, flock (3–12), or unkindness (13–100); Treasure none. A wild raven cannot speak a language merely because a trained familiar can.
Pathfinder familiar: A raven familiar grants its master +3 on Appraise checks and can speak one language of its master’s choice as a supernatural ability; other familiar abilities depend on the master’s class level.
Source: Paizo, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, p. 133 — Raven; Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Familiar. Pathfinder First Edition Open Game Content (OGL v1.0a); retain the site’s existing Open Game License notice.
Raven
These glossy black birds are about 2 feet long and have wingspans of about 4 feet. They combine both claws into a single attack.
The statistics presented here can describe most nonpredatory birds of similar size.
| Raven | |
| Tiny animal | |
| Hit Dice | 1/4 d8 (1 hp) |
| Initiative | +2 |
| Speed | 10 ft. (2 squares), Fly 40 ft. (average) |
| Armor Class | 14 (+2 size, +2 Dexterity), touch 14, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +0/-13 |
| Attack | Claws +4 melee (1d2-5) |
| Full Attack | Claws +4 melee (1d2-5) |
| Space/Reach | 2-1/2 ft./0 ft. |
| Special Attacks | – |
| Special Qualities | Low-Light Vision |
| Saves | Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +2 |
| Abilities | Strength 1, Dexterity 15, Constitution 10, Intelligence 2, Wisdom 14, Charisma 6 |
| Skills | Listen +5, Spot +7 |
| Feats | Alertness, Weapon Finesse (bonus) |
| Environment | Temperate forests |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating | 1/6 |
| Advancement | – |
| Level Adjustment | – |
Bonus Feat They gain the bonus feat Weapon Finesse (claw).
Familiar
The master of a raven familiar gains a +3 bonus on Appraise checks.
Sources & Rules Licensing
The fifth-edition statistics above come from the 2014 rules and SRD 5.1 and the 2024 rules and SRD 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC. The applicable SRD material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The two editions are deliberately kept separate.
Pathfinder 1e Raven is from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary (Paizo Publishing, 2009); D&D 3.5e Raven uses the legacy SRD. The familiar features refer to their specific class rules and do not describe every wild bird.
Open Game Content designation: Mechanical rules derived from the Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e SRDs are Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a to the extent that those source rules were released as OGC. Original creature encounter prose, existing artwork, layout and site setting material are excluded from that designation. The full OGL and applicable Section 15 notices follow, collapsed for reading convenience.
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