scry questions

[Olive]

why is comprehaned languages a spell you can use for scrying, if you can't actually use it (i.e. you can't touch the person/thing you want to understand, so the spell doesn't work)?

and can you talk to someone through the sensor?

 

[shilsen]

Even though that hasn't been errataed, I presume it's an error, since it doesn't work (as you pointed out) and is mostly redundant, since tongues allows the caster to understand any creature seen through the sensor. But since comprehend languages allows you to read writing in an unknown language (tongues does not), I don't think it would be a problem to allow the former to work through a sensor without the touch requirement.

I don't think you can normally speak through a sensor, since there's no mention of it. Presumably that's what the message spell is for.

 

[Olive]

the follow on question is this. you can scry on someone you have no knowledge of. if you were messaged through a scrying, then could you then scry on that person in order to discover who it was? it says you 'must have some connection', and i reckon the scrying is a connection.

 

[dcollins]

it says you 'must have some connection', and i reckon the scrying is a connection.

It's not. The list of scrying connections is in the scrying spell description (PHB p. 248 for me): "Likeness or picture; possession or garment; body part, lock of hair, nail clippings, etc."