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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jefgorbach" data-source="post: 5223458" data-attributes="member: 28278">Dross, As noted, all OD&D familiars were mundane animals so the issue was moot until 1e added creatures like Imps without addressing the issue of Familar>Master spells/etc. RAW allows such creatures to use their abilities on another within combat range, so its not a question of being able to do so, but rather WHAT can be shared via the link. TSR clearly stated the link was limited to general emotions only, then muddled the waters by allowing Familiars to share their familiarity with a place with their Master -- implying the link is indeed two-way, and CAN share more than general emotions. V3.0 clarified this by allowing the Familiar to share Feats and Skills which again clearly exceed general emotional content. Given this, we can presume either TSR was either uncertain asto the meaning of "empathy" or were simply did an ineligant at expressing their intention. Accepting the latter as more likely, I provided Merriam-Webster's official defination of "empathy" as an accepted independent authority regarding the meaning of words. MW clearifies empathy is the ability to "vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another" - confirming TSR/WOTc's useage as a means of two-way communication. However since further clairification is needed, we can likewise lookup "communication", finding it means "1 : an act or instance of transmitting, 2a : information communicated b : a verbal or written message, 3 : a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior". Its my belief a magical spell/innate spell-like-ability would qualify as communication per either defination #1 or (especially) defination #3 and thus WOULD be shareable via the empathic link.</blockquote>

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