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Familiars are collectible companions in DragonSword: Awakening. Hound13 has described them as "trusty allies and adorable collectible companions" that aid the Hero on their journey across the Continent of Orbis, and they also serve as the game's mount system. The Hound13 FAQ uses the word Familiar and Mount interchangeably.
What Familiars Do
Follow you on foot. A Familiar trails its Hero in a miniature form while the party is wandering the world.
Ride them. The same Familiar grows to full size when the player chooses to mount up, converting from a tag-along companion into traversal transport.
Reach gated areas. Some regions of Orbis are only reachable by mount.
Aid in combat. Hound13 describes Familiars as "aiding you on your journey." Specific combat numbers are not yet published.
Types of Familiar
The Familiar pool covers a wide range of creature types:
Plants
Beasts
Birds
Insects
Dragons (rideable, covered as a standalone feature under Dragon Riding)
Dragon Riding
Dragon Riding is the top-tier aerial traversal feature built around dragon-type Familiars. Hound13 has publicly said the freedom-of-movement design of Dragon Riding is inspired by The Legend of Zelda series as a design touchstone. See Dragon Riding for the dedicated breakdown.
How You Get Them
Starter mount. Each playable Hero begins with a mount at the start of the game.
Collected through play. Additional Familiars are acquired as the player progresses through the story and the world.
Cosmetic store side. Under the Western release's Buy-to-Play Model, extra Familiars are one of the two categories sold as optional post-launch cosmetics, alongside character costumes.
How Many Familiars
Hound13 has said there are roughly 30 familiars in the game. About two-thirds are obtainable directly through play, while the remaining third are sold as DLC. The split is cosmetic rather than power-based: collecting more familiars of the same species unlocks and strengthens shared abilities, such as jumping while climbing or reduced stamina cost, whether the familiar was earned in-game or purchased. Two familiars have been named through the launch lineup: the Brave Baby Dragon, included with the Deluxe Edition, and the Abyssal Direwolf, which is free for all players from the July 23, 2026 launch through August 31, 2026 before reverting to a paid familiar.
Named Familiars
Familiar | Partnered With | Element | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Sur | Fire | A fox spirit imbued with the power of fire. Sur is the first Familiar to have been publicly named by Hound13. |
Further Familiar names will be announced alongside the remaining Hero reveals ahead of the July 2026 launch.
Most Familiars are collected through gameplay, but Hound13 has said additional Familiars will also be sold as optional paid downloadable content under the game's buy-to-play model, alongside character costumes. They are cosmetic and traversal extras, not power purchases.
How Many There Are, and What is Sold
Hound13 has put the roster at roughly thirty Familiars, with about two thirds of them obtainable directly through play and the remaining third sold as DLC. The studio has been explicit that this is a cosmetic split rather than a power one: paid and free Familiars have no functional difference, and the abilities that matter, such as jumping while climbing or reduced stamina drain, unlock by collecting more Familiars of the same species regardless of how any individual one was obtained.
Traversal handling changed between the demo and the launch build. Familiar stamina was increased, running, swimming, and diving all cost less stamina than they did in the demo, and a ground-based Familiar no longer throws the player off automatically when its stamina runs out.