I have a player who like to use her familiar to keep Watch during her shift at night. If the familiar is killed in an ambush because it failed a perception check would the sleeping player know?
I looked on google and all those had to do with the familiar scouting and dieing. Any help would be appreciated thanks
That may be up to the DM, but I'd say yes, if the familiar died in a conventional way. The caster might feel a final surge of panic before it blips out of existence. That would likely wake the player up, but wouldn't necessarily provide any useful information about what happened.
I have a player who like to use her familiar to keep Watch during her shift at night. If the familiar is killed in an ambush because it failed a perception check would the sleeping player know?
There's no RAW evidence for a continuous awareness of the state of the familiar. If it's not instantly killed it could let out death cry on its mental link, but given that most familiars have 1 hp, instant death is usually what will happen.
In general killing a watcher will make enough noise to at least give everyone a perception roll to wake up, though.
Maybe the squeak of the familiar and a sudden tingly feeling for the caster. If the caster is holding an Arcane focus or something similar then they should definitely wake up.
Rather than outright say yes or no, I'd let the dice (with disadvantage) or passive perception decide as they're not actively listening to their familiar if the PC is sleeping. I'd set the DC for a dice-roll at 10; if they succeed, they're fitful in their sleep, not fully trusting of their familiar to keep watch. Their unease is justified when they feel a psychic yelp, and wake up. If they fail, they're sleeping too deeply to notice this effect. Their passive perception however would have to be quite high for them to notice this, especially depending on how quietly the familiar is subdued.
If the player wants a more reliable alarm, I would suggest the Alarm spell or something similar which in my view is much better suited for this situation.
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
I have a player who like to use her familiar to keep Watch during her shift at night. If the familiar is killed in an ambush because it failed a perception check would the sleeping player know?
I looked on google and all those had to do with the familiar scouting and dieing. Any help would be appreciated thanks
That may be up to the DM, but I'd say yes, if the familiar died in a conventional way. The caster might feel a final surge of panic before it blips out of existence. That would likely wake the player up, but wouldn't necessarily provide any useful information about what happened.
There's no RAW evidence for a continuous awareness of the state of the familiar. If it's not instantly killed it could let out death cry on its mental link, but given that most familiars have 1 hp, instant death is usually what will happen.
In general killing a watcher will make enough noise to at least give everyone a perception roll to wake up, though.
Maybe the squeak of the familiar and a sudden tingly feeling for the caster. If the caster is holding an Arcane focus or something similar then they should definitely wake up.
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
Rather than outright say yes or no, I'd let the dice (with disadvantage) or passive perception decide as they're not actively listening to their familiar if the PC is sleeping. I'd set the DC for a dice-roll at 10; if they succeed, they're fitful in their sleep, not fully trusting of their familiar to keep watch. Their unease is justified when they feel a psychic yelp, and wake up. If they fail, they're sleeping too deeply to notice this effect. Their passive perception however would have to be quite high for them to notice this, especially depending on how quietly the familiar is subdued.
If the player wants a more reliable alarm, I would suggest the Alarm spell or something similar which in my view is much better suited for this situation.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
What?
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
Story wise, I think it would make sense and be cooler if the caster can sense the death of their familiar.
Or just wakes up with a sense of loss - and wait for the PC/player to work out that the familiar is missing.