Pseudodragon 5e: Stats, Sleep Poison and Familiar Rules

A pseudodragon is a CR 1/4 Tiny dragon the size of a cat, with AC 13, 7 hit points, a 60-foot fly speed and a Sting that can knock a creature unconscious for an hour. It is neutral good, understands Common and Draconic but can't speak, and has Magic Resistance. Players can also gain one as a familiar: in the SRD, only a Warlock with Pact of the Chain can choose a pseudodragon through Find Familiar. The 2024 version (SRD 5.2.1) is tougher (AC 14, 10 HP, two Bites per turn), turns its Sting into a DC 12 saving throw with no attack roll, and drops Keen Senses and Limited Telepathy.

Table of Contents

• •Pseudodragon Stat Block (2014)
• •Pseudodragon in the 2024 Rules
• •How Pseudodragons Fight
• •The Pseudodragon as a Familiar
• •Running a Pseudodragon Encounter
• •How Players Beat Pseudodragons
• •Pseudodragon Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Pseudodragon Stat Block (2014)

This is the pseudodragon from SRD 5.1, matching the 2014 Monster Manual.

Its traits matter more than its damage:

• •Keen Senses gives it Advantage on Perception checks that use sight, hearing or smell. Under the 2014 passive-check rule (add 5 for Advantage), its listed passive Perception of 13 is really 18 for anything it could see, hear or smell. Few low-level rogues sneak past that.
• •Magic Resistance gives it Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
• •Limited Telepathy lets it send simple ideas, emotions and images to any creature within 100 feet that understands a language. It can't speak, but it can "talk" to the whole party this way, not just to one master.
• •Sting is a +4 melee attack for 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing. The target then makes a DC 11 Constitution save or is poisoned for 1 hour. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target falls unconscious for the same hour, until it takes damage or someone uses an action to shake it awake.

It has no Multiattack. Each turn it either Bites or Stings, and it almost always Stings.

Pseudodragon in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 pseudodragon is the same creature with sturdier numbers, a better poison and fewer traits.

The changes that matter in play:

• •The Sting no longer misses. In 2014 the pseudodragon had to hit AC first. In 2024 it just forces a DC 12 Constitution save on one creature it can see within 5 feet. The damage only happens on a failed save, but so does the poison, so the save is the whole fight.
• •Knockouts are nearly twice as likely. Against a wizard with AC 12 and Constitution +1, the 2014 Sting knocks them out about 16% of the time (65% to hit, then 25% to fail the DC 11 save by 5 or more, which takes a d20 roll of 5 or lower). The 2024 Sting does it 30% of the time, because failing DC 12 by 5 or more takes a roll of 6 or lower and there's no attack roll to miss first.
• •Two Bites when it wants damage. Two +4 Bites against AC 15 average 4 damage a round. That's still low, but it gives a 2024 pseudodragon a reason to Bite a creature that is already Poisoned.
• •No telepathy. The 2024 pseudodragon can only communicate the way any animal can, unless it's a familiar (the spell gives its master telepathy with it).
• •Lower perception ceiling. Passive 15 instead of an effective 18. A rogue with Stealth +7 beats it on an 8 or higher (65%) instead of an 11 or higher (50%).

How Pseudodragons Fight

A neutral good pseudodragon doesn't want to kill anyone. When it fights, it's usually protecting something, and its best weapon puts people to sleep.

Sting, then leave. With a 60-foot fly speed and a 15-foot walk speed, it should never be on the ground. It flies in, Stings the most dangerous-looking creature, and flies out of reach. Leaving melee provokes an opportunity attack, so put it somewhere it can approach from above (a high shelf, a rafter, an opening in the ceiling) and accept the risk; at AC 13 or 14 a single opportunity attack from a fighter hits more often than not.

Sleep is a strong result, even without damage. An unconscious character drops what they're holding, falls prone and stays out until someone spends an action to wake them or they take damage. If the pseudodragon is guarding something, one knockout often ends the confrontation: the party has to choose between carrying a sleeping friend and pressing on.

The Poisoned condition does work too. Any failed save leaves the target with Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks for an hour. In 2024, a Constitution +1 target fails DC 12 half the time (a d20 roll of 10 or lower): 30% of Stings knock them out and another 20% leave them awake but Poisoned. A poisoned archer is a much smaller threat to a creature with AC 14.

Stealth and senses first. Stealth +4 and Tiny size let it hide in places nothing else fits. Combined with blindsight 10 feet and darkvision 60 feet, it usually knows the party is coming long before they know it's there. Let it watch and decide whether to fight at all.

It runs at half hit points. It has no reason to die for a stranger. Have it flee, then come back later with friends or with what it learned about the party.

The Pseudodragon as a Familiar

Who can have one (SRD rules only):

• •Find Familiar alone doesn't allow it. The 2014 spell lists specific animal forms (bat, cat, crab, frog, hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, quipper, rat, raven, sea horse, spider, weasel). The 2024 spell allows its listed animals or another Beast of CR 0. A pseudodragon is a CR 1/4 Dragon, so neither version qualifies.
• •Pact of the Chain does. In 2014, a Warlock who picks Pact of the Chain at 3rd level learns Find Familiar and can choose an imp, pseudodragon, quasit or sprite. In 2024, Pact of the Chain is an Eldritch Invocation that lets the Warlock cast Find Familiar as a Magic action without a spell slot and adds Imp, Pseudodragon, Quasit, Skeleton, Sphinx of Wonder, Sprite and Venomous Snake to the choices.
• •Any other route (a wizard who befriends one, a pseudodragon "companion" from a background) is a DM decision, not an SRD rule.

What it does as a familiar:

• •It acts on its own Initiative, obeys your commands and can't attack, but it can take other actions, including Help to give an ally Advantage.
• •It delivers your touch-range spells with its Reaction while within 100 feet of you.
• •You can see through its eyes and hear what it hears (2014: an action, you're blind and deaf to your own senses meanwhile; 2024: a Bonus Action). You get its darkvision 60 feet and blindsight 10 feet while you do.
• •It's the fastest of the Pact of the Chain flyers: 60 feet against the imp's and sprite's 40. It can't turn invisible like the imp, quasit or sprite, so it scouts with speed, size and senses instead.

Attacking with it. Pact of the Chain (both editions) lets you give up one of your own attacks when you take the Attack action so the familiar can make one attack with its Reaction.

• •2014: the Sting is an attack, so the familiar can Sting. The save DC is the pseudodragon's own DC 11.
• •2024: the Bite is an attack roll; the Sting is a saving-throw effect with no attack roll. So the reaction attack from Pact of the Chain is a Bite. The Sting cuts the other way: the spell says a familiar "can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal," and in the 2024 rules an attack means an attack roll, so a strict reading lets any 2024 pseudodragon familiar use the Sting as its action on its own turn. Allowing it is a DM ruling, not something the rules text settles, so decide before it comes up. If the Sting is allowed, the level 5+ invocation Investment of the Chain Master makes any save the familiar forces use your spell save DC (14 or 15 for a level 5 Warlock with Charisma +3 or +4). The same invocation lets you command it to take the Attack action as a Bonus Action (that's a Bite, not the Multiattack) and lets you change its Piercing damage to Necrotic or Radiant.

Keeping it alive. It drops at 7 hit points (10 in 2024), and a familiar that drops to 0 disappears until you cast Find Familiar again. Magic Resistance helps against spells that hinge on a save, but a fireball kills it even on a successful save. Keep it out of area spells and at range, and use Investment of the Chain Master's Reaction to give it Resistance when something big lands.

Running a Pseudodragon Encounter

A pseudodragon is worth 50 XP. Against four characters, the 2024 SRD budgets are 200 XP (Low), 300 (Moderate) and 400 (High) at level 1, and 400, 600 and 800 at level 2. Four pseudodragons fill a level 1 Low budget, and eight fill a High one.

The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (which our encounter calculator uses) apply a ×2 multiplier to groups of 3 to 6. Three pseudodragons are 150 XP, adjusted to 300, which is Hard for four level 1 characters (Hard threshold 300). That overstates the danger in damage terms and understates it in knockouts. Three Stings a round can put two characters to sleep in a bad round.

Use pseudodragons in these roles:

• •A non-lethal ambush. One to three pseudodragons that knock out a sentry or a scout. Good for a level 1-3 party when you want consequences without deaths.
• •A guardian for something bigger. A pseudodragon on watch for a druid or a mage raises the alarm (in 2014, telepathically) and Stings whoever tries to sneak past.
• •A social encounter. Being good-aligned and unable to speak, a pseudodragon makes a memorable ally, informant or would-be familiar. This is often its best use.

How Players Beat Pseudodragons

Pseudodragons are fragile. The problem is reaching them and staying awake.

• •Hit it once. 7 hit points (10 in 2024) means one solid hit or one Magic Missile cast (three darts, about 10 force damage, no attack roll and no save) drops it. Magic Resistance does nothing against a spell that doesn't call for a save.
• •Wake each other up. An unconscious ally wakes up when a creature takes an action to wake them (2014: shake awake; 2024: any creature within 5 feet) or when they take damage. Keep people paired up so someone is always close enough.
• •Don't rely on save spells. Magic Resistance gives it Advantage on every save against spells and magical effects. Hold Person can't target it at all, because it's a Dragon, not a Humanoid.
• •Talk to it. It understands Common. A party that lowers weapons and explains itself often ends the fight. In the 2014 rules it can answer back telepathically.
• •Strong Constitution helps. Characters with high Constitution or proficiency in Constitution saves almost never fail the Sting by 5. Put them in front.

Pseudodragon Encounter Ideas

The caged "dragon whelps." A traveling merchant sells drugged pseudodragons in small cages as "baby red dragons, guaranteed to grow." One of them is awake. In the 2014 rules it sends the party images of the cage and the merchant's dose bottle telepathically; in 2024 rules it watches one character and taps the bars in a pattern. Freeing them means crossing the merchant's two thugs. A Warlock with Pact of the Chain who helps might find a willing new form for their familiar.

The watch that won't wake up. For three nights, a caravan's night guards have been found asleep at their posts with a small puncture on the neck, and the honey stores keep shrinking. Nobody has been hurt. The culprit is a single pseudodragon living in the cart canopy, and the caravan master wants it dead. The party can catch it (it's fast and hides well) or work out what it actually wants.

The yes-or-no guardian. A dead scholar's library is guarded by a pseudodragon perched above the only door. It understands Common and Draconic but can't speak, and it Stings anyone who enters without the passphrase. The party can learn the passphrase by asking it questions it can answer with a nod or a head shake. Characters who try to rush past meet the Sting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you have a pseudodragon familiar in 5e?

Yes, through the Warlock's Pact of the Chain, which adds the pseudodragon as a special familiar form in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. The regular Find Familiar spell doesn't allow it; any other access is a DM's decision.

What CR is a pseudodragon?

A pseudodragon is CR 1/4 and worth 50 XP in both editions. The 2014 version has AC 13 and 7 hit points; the 2024 version has AC 14 and 10 hit points.

How does the pseudodragon's sting work?

In 2014 it's a +4 attack for 4 piercing damage, followed by a DC 11 Constitution save against being poisoned for 1 hour, and unconsciousness if the save fails by 5 or more. In 2024 it's a DC 12 Constitution save with no attack roll that deals 5 (2d4) poison damage on a failure with the same poison and sleep effects.

Can a pseudodragon talk?

No. It understands Common and Draconic but can't speak. The 2014 pseudodragon has Limited Telepathy and can send simple ideas, emotions and images to creatures within 100 feet; the 2024 version doesn't have that trait.

What's the difference between a pseudodragon and a real dragon?

A pseudodragon is a Tiny CR 1/4 Dragon with no breath weapon, a poison Sting and a good alignment. True dragons such as the red dragon grow from Medium wyrmlings to Gargantuan ancients and have breath weapons. If you need names for either, the dragonborn name generator works for draconic ones, and Loreify can record the session so the party's new familiar's name doesn't get lost.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.