Is using a familiar in combat to grant advantage a common tactic?

[UngeheuerLich]

You don't like re-skinning things in your game, or you don't like this in particular re-skinned?

I don't like some uses of reskinning. And this is one use I don't see the point in except powergaming. There is a perfect statblock dor a hawk... why use the owl one?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

An arms race over a familiar's species designation? I'm sorry, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Just kill the damn Owl. Flyby + Help action leaves it a maximum distance away of 60ft, which is well within range of most attack Cantrips and all non-Hand Crossbow, non-Thrown ranged weapons. If the DM pulled a similar stunt with an enemy Wizard, any of the parties I'm in at the moment would kill that familiar within the first round of combat, and the DM should feel free to have the enemies do the same. The thing is, if you did that; if you sent a reskinned Owl against your players, do you think they would complain about how unfair that is? Do you think it would bother them in the slightest, or do you think they could deal with it pretty frickin easily?

No. The particular thing is not totally bad. But its a symptom of eeking out every mechanivmcal advantage. Its an indication of bending the rules for power. Its an indication of powergaming... munchkinism. It starts there.

 

[Mistwell]

I don't like some uses of reskinning. And this is one use I don't see the point in except powergaming. There is a perfect statblock dor a hawk... why use the owl one?

I don't even understand your argument. How is it powergaming? What is gained, beyond role playing fluff, from that change? What meaningful mechanical benefit comes from it?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I don't even understand your argument. How is it powergaming? What is gained, beyond role playing fluff, from that change? What meaningful mechanical benefit comes from it?

If you look at this thread: flyby attack. Which is already dubious.
It is: hey I use find familiar to gain advantage every round of combat. But I don't want to have an owl... i want a hawk instead.
DM but a hawk does not have flyby.
Then I want an owl that looks like a hawk.

Edit: some parts of my post got lost. I post them later.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

No. And this is ok. Because there is no statblock for Xilonen the polyp. A good use of reskinning.

A bad use would be:
A gigantic gelatineous cube like you encountered several times before. Suddenly arms are coming out entangling you and pull you in.
Not too bad. Could be some kind of mimic. No it is a roper. Surprise. Actually that use would not be too bad because it would actually be a mimic functioning similar to a roper and looking like the gelatineous cube.
To make the thing perfect you add the sticky trait which all mimics have...

Ok I think a roper is a good monster that might be used for many things if you slightly alter its traits so that it fits. My problem is when you actually have stats for a monster and then decide to just ignore then using a different statblock. And it is more than dodgy if somehow any familiar ends up having the owl traits. If the intend had been a pet that flies in and out gibibg advantage all the time the spell would have just told you so. No matter what outlook, the familiar has following abilities...

Actually a hawk with flyby attack that is no familar but a ranger's pet would be more comvincing because a real animal can be trained. A familiar not.

Reskinning "because there isn't a stat block for it" is exactly what we are talking about. But there are many different species of bird of prey. A sparrowhawk is very different to a kestrel or a golden eagle, a barn owl is very different to a snowy owl. It's quite ridiculous for an NPC to see a familiar and think "that's an owl, it has flyby attack, I'm going to change my tactics".

Bridgekeeper What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
King Arthur What do you mean? African or European swallow?
Bridgekeeper What? I don’t know that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Reskinning "because there isn't a stat block for it" is exactly what we are talking about. But there are many different species of bird of prey. A sparrowhawk is very different to a kestrel or a golden eagle, a barn owl is very different to a snowy owl. It's quite ridiculous for an NPC to see a familiar and think "that's an owl, it has flyby attack, I'm going to change my tactics".

It gets more and more fiddly. But you have a point. If there is indeed no statblock you can use the closest. But hey... it just happens, that the closest statblock always is the one of the owl...

 

[lingual]

If you look at this thread: flyby attack. Which is already dubious.
It is: hey I use find familiar to gain advantage every round of combat. But I don't want to have an owl... i want a hawk instead.
DM but a hawk does not have flyby.
Then I want an owl that looks like a hawk.

Edit: some parts of my post got lost. I post them later.

That is a pretty lame "reskin". Just get the damn owl if u want to have flyby cheese.

I would allow the owl to be reskinned if there was some sort of creativity involved. For example, a red parrot for a pirate wizard or even a toucan or something.

Imagine a player wanted the 10 foot reach of a bug bear but wanted to play a pretty elf anime girl. Or someone wanting to get the free Variant Human feat but wanted to play a Drizzt clone.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It gets more and more fiddly. But you have a point. If there is indeed no statblock you can use the closest. But hey... it just happens, that the closest statblock always is the one of the owl...

Perhaps because the stat block for the generic hawk is so poor as a familiar? I've seen various birds of prey, and I see no justification in the real world for why an owl would be able to perform a flyby attack but other birds of prey can't. Swivel it's head round, have super-hearing, fly completely silently (barn owl) - these are things I would associate with owls, not "flyby attacking".

 

[Autumn Bask]

No. The particular thing is not totally bad. But its a symptom of eeking out every mechanivmcal advantage. Its an indication of bending the rules for power. Its an indication of powergaming... munchkinism. It starts there.

That's being extremely melodramatic and jumping headlong down the slippery slope.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

That's being extremely melodramatic and jumping headlong down the slippery slope.

Nope. That is what it is. Give me another reason why hawk statblock is not good enough if you want a hawk.
You could just admit it and then it is ok.