D&D 5E Is Find Familiar essentially "gain Advantage on all skill checks and attacks"?

[FormerlyHemlock]

But it's moot because the Owl cannot attack unless the Wizard uses his Action to direct him to attack. Leaving the Wizard with no Actions left with which to attack (except for in some edge cases.)

Got that? Read that last paragraph again. That explains why you can't use your familiar to "Help" you on your attack rolls.

I think you are misreading PHB 192. I explained why in post #33. You haven't addressed that argument so I assume you didn't notice it, or you wouldn't be repeating yourself here.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Yet another reason why Inspiring Leader is a fantastic feat. There's a world of difference between an Owl with 1 HP and an Owl with 1 HP + 25 temp HP.

I don't agree with the interpretation that thinks that the "Working together" restriction on PHB 175 also applies to the "Help Action" text on PHB 192. The description on PHB 192 makes it clear that "feinting" and "distracting" is sufficient to grant your ally advantage, and furthermore, applying the "Working together" restriction to this action would make it extremely narrow--I can't Help someone hit with a longbow unless I also have a longbow? Finally, the Help text on page 192 makes it clear that you can EITHER help another creature with a "task" (same language as PHB 175, and I would apply the same restrictions) OR "Alternatively" you can help a friendly creature attack a creature within 5 feet of you (even if the friendly creature is not within five feet of you).

(Incidentally, in a low-level party with a Sharpshooter, there's a good chance that Helping the Sharpshooter land a shot against e.g. an orc will turn out to increase party effectiveness significantly more than making your own little weak shortsword attack for 5 points of damage on a hit. It's too bad that Help loses steam at higher levels.)

Final thought: my ruling on Help is that you get advantage, but you use the lower creature's bonus. E.g. two PCs with +4 and +5 on Survival respectively are trying to navigate the Underdark with a DC 10 Survival check. You can either roll at +5, roll at +4, roll both and just argue it out as to who to follow, or put your heads together and cooperate to get a +4 roll with advantage. Your familiar could try to Help you navigate but you're probably looking at +1 at advantage instead of your own +X so it's fairly pointless unless you're a real dunce.

Huh. I've been using the "can't Help on an Action unless you could have performed that Action yourself" ruling for so long that I thought that language was in RAW somewhere. (DMG, maybe?)

So I take it back, sorta. It's not RAW.

But...using the "RAI by inference" argument, Advantage on every attack is too much for a level 1 ritual, and qualifies as abuse of mechanics to try it. If a player actually tried to argue this one with me, I'd just have the annoyed monsters target his familiar every time. Not vindictively, of course, but with the rationale that "logically there must be a cost associated with something that potent, and the cost is that your familiar gets targeted."

Maybe if they used it very sparingly, in emergencies, I'd think otherwise.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Huh. I've been using the "can't Help on an Action unless you could have performed that Action yourself" ruling for so long that I thought that language was in RAW somewhere. (DMG, maybe?)

So I take it back, sorta. It's not RAW.

It is in RAW w/rt ability checks. As mentioned in post #33, the section you're looking for is "Working Together" on PHB 175, and it is one of the two options for using your Help action in combat. The other is to Help an ally distract an enemy, and it is not subject to Working Together restrictions as far as I can see.

I honestly wouldn't care if the monsters tried to target the familiar every time. I mean, obviously I would adapt and change the way the familiar operates (use more cover, or possibly leave the owl out of ranged combats and easy combats), but if monsters are wasting their time chasing an owl all over the place in tough fights, I am perfectly happy to let them do so, e.g. to lure them into traps. If they Ready their action to smash the owl when it flies by, then it doesn't flyby and the monster wastes its turn. Predictability can always be exploited.

 

[Guest 6801328]

It is in RAW w/rt ability checks. As mentioned in post #33, the section you're looking for is "Working Together" on PHB 175, and it is one of the two options for using your Help action in combat. The other is to Help an ally distract an enemy, and it is not subject to Working Together restrictions as far as I can see.

I honestly wouldn't care if the monsters tried to target the familiar every time. I mean, obviously I would adapt and change the way the familiar operates (use more cover, or possibly leave the owl out of ranged combats and easy combats), but if monsters are wasting their time chasing an owl all over the place in tough fights, I am perfectly happy to let them do so, e.g. to lure them into traps. If they Ready their action to smash the owl when it flies by, then it doesn't flyby and the monster wastes its turn. Predictability can always be exploited.

Ah! There it is. Thank you.

 

[RobotElder]

Only if the Warlock uses his Action to direct the familiar to do so, meaning that the Warlock himself can't attack. The familiar and the warlock cannot both attack on the same turn, therefore the familiar cannot Help the warlock.

This is not true. The familiar has its own action, which it can use to Help. Then the Warlock attacks. The warlock does not need to spend an action to give the familiar an action, he/she only needs to spend an action to allow the familiar to attack.

Note that only chain pact warlocks can grant an attack to their familiar, not anyone else who happens to have a familiar

 

[Panartias]

The find familiar spell is awesome and flavorful – but it was never intended to help attacking an opponent!

In 2nd ed the spell cost 1000 gold pieces and could be performed only once per year. The death of familiar lowered the constitution of the mage permanently by one point and he had to pass a system-shock-survival roll or die too. And last but not least, causing the death of your familiar would invoke the wraith of certain higher powers…

So directly attacking / targeting the familiar of an enemy wizard was the best move back in the day. Consequently nearly no one used the spell, because it made you so vulnerable.

I understand they gave the spell fewer drawbacks so it would finally see some use. But after reading your discussion, I think they went overboard. They could have left the once per year limitation (and probably the price as well, since the summoning of his familiar was often a parting gift from the spell casters master / the DM so it wouldn’t count against the 1st level wealth)

On the plus side, familiars used to have 2-4 HP + 1 HP per level of the mage. And Imps / Quasits were even more powerful because they would grant their 25% magic resistance to the mage (plus having cold, fire and electricity immunity + invisibility at will, some polymorph self ability and their powerful poison)

So the mage gets a personal spy, gains his extraordinary senses (resulting in a bonus at surprise-rolls) plus a telepathic bond with this ritual – not a bad deal at all!