D&D’s Best Unconventional Monster Sidekicks

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is the latest rulebook for Dungeons & Dragons, and it provides rules for sidekick characters, which can be played by a number of the races in the Monster Manual. There are a few obvious choices for sidekicks, like goblins or kobolds, but players should look to more unconventional options for their allies.

The sidekick rules were originally introduced in an Unearthed Arcana article, but they have since been fleshed out and finalized in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Sidekicks are stripped down characters that can be used to supplement a group that is low on players, as they’re easier to control than a full character. They can also be used for younger or inexperienced players, as they don’t have as many abilities to keep track of. There are three sidekick classes in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: the Expert, the Spellcaster, and the Warrior. The Expert is a basic version of the Rogue that lacks the Sneak Attack ability, the Spellcaster can choose a limited number of spells from different class lists, and the Warrior is a streamlined version of the Fighter. What makes sidekicks so interesting is that they can be played by a number of different races out of the box. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything also features new rules for changing D&D racial attributes, which will allow players to customize their sidekicks even further.

The only requirements for turning a monster into a sidekick are that it has to have a CR of 1/2 or lower and it must be friendly with the party. The Expert and Spellcaster sidekicks also need to be able to speak at least one language. This means that there are plenty of options available to the party for crafting their sidekick, and some might look outlandish when hanging out with the group, but their powers more than make up for it.

D&D’s Best Sidekick Choices For Monster Play

The first two Dungeons & Dragons monster sidekick choices can provide coverage for different environment types. Aarakocra are birdlike humanoids with the ability to fly, while Merfolk can breathe underwater. Having access to either of these races as sidekicks in D&D would be extremely helpful out in the wild, regardless of their class. A party with a druid or a ranger could also have a Giant Crab or Giant Frog act as a Warrior sidekick, if aquatic allies are needed.

The fey can provide some incredible sidekicks. Sprites can turn invisible at will and can learn a creature’s alignment in Dungeons & Dragons by touching them, while Pixies can also turn invisible, have magic resistance, and can even cast several spells. No DM would ever allow a Pixie sidekick, as they can cast polymorph once per day, and this was the spell that nearly broke the game. It’s still worth asking, though, and the DM might be fine if the Pixie’s spellcasting abilities were restricted. Sprites and Pixies would make excellent Experts and Spellcasters, but they wouldn’t make very good Warriors.

The fact that Warrior sidekicks don’t have a language restriction means that pretty much all of the animals in the Monster Manual can play one, but the best by a wide margin is the Blink Dog, thanks to its teleportation ability. Blink Dogs can teleport up to 40 feet as an action and can perform a bite attack for free before ending their turn. This move only has a 1/3 chance of recharging, but a single-use can quickly put the Blink Dog within melee range of the enemy, allowing Rogues to get their Sneak Attack damage or putting the pressure on enemy D&D spellcasters. Another great choice for a Warrior sidekick is the Elk, as its charge ability gives it a shot at knocking opponents prone when charging at them.

Two other great choices from the Monster Manual might be a little harder for the party to find, but they are worth the effort in recruiting. Satyrs have decent stats (especially Dexterity) and they possess magic resistance, while Svirfneblin (also known as Deep Gnomes) have advantage on several spell saving throws, have an easier time hiding underground, and can cast several useful spells for free each day. Satyrs and Svirfneblin can work as any of the sidekick classes in Dungeons & Dragons, so long as the party is able to track some down and convince them to join the group. The Monster Manual has a number of options available to the player, and the party should weigh their options carefully before settling on a sidekick.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is available now.

About The Author

Scott Baird
(2509 Articles Published)

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Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

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