D&D 5E Find Familiar Questions

[PnPgamer]

The thing is that usually knowing what there is doesnt make a difference. If they barge in and see couple of fire salamanders in there, they are not going to use their fire spells on them, be it scouted or not. Most of the actual benefit might be just an illusion to the players, and cause them just to get satisfaction.

 

[Nemio]

It probably won't that big of an issue going forward as shut doors and things like that will prevent the spider from going through but they're heading to Wave Echo Cave next and I was just thinking about what would happen in there. I like the idea of still rolling a perception check and if the monsters pass it, then they do notice something strange about the spider and attack it, otherwise he gets the use of the scout.

Just out of curiosity, how did you handle the same situation against the players? I'm referring to Glasstaff and his rat familiar in the Redbrand Hideout.

You could let other wizards use the same tactic against them too for example.
It might end up in a familiar vs familiar battle.
("I choose you, battle rat!" )

Also, if I remember correctly the wizard can channel touch spells through his familiar.
There are some of those that could be pretty painful

 

[Riley37]

If a druid uses Wild Shape to become a spider, or a mouse, and scouts ahead of the party, crawling under doors, observing, returning and reporting...

...is that any different in terms of how it affects the speed of play?

Even if the information is just "There is a pie in that room, and an orc guarding the pie", that tells you something about how tough the fight will be, which informs decisions about what buffs to use before entering, so I disagree that knowing doesn't make a difference. You can only cast Haste or Bless so many times, and casting just before they're needed is better than casting them just before you spend 10 minutes passing through some empty abandoned warehouse rooms.

 

[Riley37]

the wizard can channel touch spells through his familiar.

Yes, and if the spider familiar has already crawled onto a target's foot/boot, then the spider should get an automatic or near-automatic hit, at whatever moment the wizard thinks tactically optimal. (Possibly: just before the rest of the party opens the door and charges.)