D&D 5E Spell delivery via familiar

[Harzel]

So I have a player whose character is a wizard with an owl familiar. (Some of you may recognize him from another thread.) He has asked me how delivering 'touch' spells via his familiar is supposed to work exactly, that is, what sequence of actions do he and the familiar have to take. To me, the RAW seems fairly clear (and my player agrees), but there is just enough doubt lingering at the edges that I wanted to check here to see if anyone had a different take on it.

My current impression is that there are two basic ways to make this happen

1. On its turn, the familiar moves into melee range of the intended target. Then on the wizard's turn, the wizard casts the spell and it is delivered by the familiar via its reaction.
2. On the wizard's turn, he readies the spell and says the trigger is the familiar getting into melee range of the target. Then on the familiar's turn it flies into melee range of the target. The wizard casts the spell with his reaction, the familiar delivers the spell with its reaction, and the familiar is now free to move out of melee range (because it has fly-by, but provided that it hasn't used up all its movement).

The downside of #1 is that the very fragile familiar must stay in melee range of the target for a round. The downside of #2 is that it uses the wizard's reaction, and there is the potential to lose the spell if his concentration is broken. Are these the choices or is there a different BKM for the wizard?

 

[Lucas Blackstone]

So I have a player whose character is a wizard with an owl familiar. (Some of you may recognize him from another thread.) He has asked me how delivering 'touch' spells via his familiar is supposed to work exactly, that is, what sequence of actions do he and the familiar have to take. To me, the RAW seems fairly clear (and my player agrees), but there is just enough doubt lingering at the edges that I wanted to check here to see if anyone had a different take on it.

My current impression is that there are two basic ways to make this happen

1. On its turn, the familiar moves into melee range of the intended target. Then on the wizard's turn, the wizard casts the spell and it is delivered by the familiar via its reaction.
2. On the wizard's turn, he readies the spell and says the trigger is the familiar getting into melee range of the target. Then on the familiar's turn it flies into melee range of the target. The wizard casts the spell with his reaction, the familiar delivers the spell with its reaction, and the familiar is now free to move out of melee range (because it has fly-by, but provided that it hasn't used up all its movement).

The downside of #1 is that the very fragile familiar must stay in melee range of the target for a round. The downside of #2 is that it uses the wizard's reaction, and there is the potential to lose the spell if his concentration is broken. Are these the choices or is there a different BKM for the wizard?

I think you got it right. I hadn't really thought about other ways to cast touch spells via familiar.

 

[Shiroiken]

#1 is the correct answer IMO, and yes, that makes the familiar bait for attacks. The best response for this should be based on the intelligence of the target. A low Int creature is likely to ignore the familiar for the more dangerous opponents, at least until after the familiar drops a spell on them. A high Int creature may realize the familiar for what it is, and either attack it or just move away (provoking a pathetic OA) to other opponents. When in doubt, have them make an Int (Arcana) check.

 

[pdzoch]

I think you are dead on, or at least, we are playing in the exact same way.

How a wizard intents to use his familiar to cast spells is part of the consideration in choosing a familiar. A wizard with a repertoire of range spells, probably is not going to use his familiar to cast spells often. Is scouting or observation or other information gathering is a primary function, a stealthy or perceptive familiar is the choice. If the familiar intend to aid in combat (grant advantage by helping) then familiars with better dexterity, natural AC, or HP is preferred. If the environment of the campaign is specialized, then familiars suited for those environments (such as swimming and water breathing animals in a water/sea based campaign) is preferred. And if the wizard intends to extend the range of his touch spells, then the familiar that can deliver them safely is the way to go. #2 descriptor above is the preferred method for delivering ranged attacks. Wizards that function that way rely heavily of the survive-ability in combat of the familiar. Losing the familiar for those wizards is like a fighter losing his primary weapon and most his armor. Sure, it does take some setting up to make the attack, but this is no different than the sneak attack feature of the rogue. Players are always manipulating the battlefield to set up conditions to grant advantage to the rogue so the sneak attack can occur.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

So I have a player whose character is a wizard with an owl familiar. (Some of you may recognize him from another thread.) He has asked me how delivering 'touch' spells via his familiar is supposed to work exactly, that is, what sequence of actions do he and the familiar have to take. To me, the RAW seems fairly clear (and my player agrees), but there is just enough doubt lingering at the edges that I wanted to check here to see if anyone had a different take on it.

My current impression is that there are two basic ways to make this happen

1. On its turn, the familiar moves into melee range of the intended target. Then on the wizard's turn, the wizard casts the spell and it is delivered by the familiar via its reaction.
2. On the wizard's turn, he readies the spell and says the trigger is the familiar getting into melee range of the target. Then on the familiar's turn it flies into melee range of the target. The wizard casts the spell with his reaction, the familiar delivers the spell with its reaction, and the familiar is now free to move out of melee range (because it has fly-by, but provided that it hasn't used up all its movement).

The downside of #1 is that the very fragile familiar must stay in melee range of the target for a round. The downside of #2 is that it uses the wizard's reaction, and there is the potential to lose the spell if his concentration is broken. Are these the choices or is there a different BKM for the wizard?

#1 works pretty well if the wizard has a sucker...I mean good friend fighter, paladin, or barbarian making themselves a better target.....I mean also attacking the target, so the enemy won't even notice the familiar.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You can ready your spell to be acst when the familar closes to melee. Both of you use your reactions and then the familiar moves away.
Downside: you can be disrupted during your cast. But if the familiar's turn is shortly behind you in iniative order yoi should be considering that option.