I was thinking about the fact familiars, summoned mounts, and some other summoned creatures are described as spirits taking the physical appearance of their respective spells animal or creature. Do spirits give off a scent as the actual animal would? If an imp is invisible and sneaking around, would it give off the smell of brimstone? Sneaking past enemies or PCs with the scent ability might not have advantage if they are using scent to detect them. On the converse, would the lack of scent on a rat familiar be suspicious for the same reason.
Or would a spirit have a scent based on the type of spirit? Say a celestial smells of cookies, fey of berries, and fiend of BBQ.
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IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
I was thinking about the fact familiars, summoned mounts, and some other summoned creatures are described as spirits taking the physical appearance of their respective spells animal or creature. Do spirits give off a scent as the actual animal would? If an imp is invisible and sneaking around, would it give off the smell of brimstone? Sneaking past enemies or PCs with the scent ability might not have advantage if they are using scent to detect them. On the converse, would the lack of scent on a rat familiar be suspicious for the same reason.
Or would a spirit have a scent based on the type of spirit? Say a celestial smells of cookies, fey of berries, and fiend of BBQ.
We have nearly 0 RAW on how scent works in 5E, so all of your questions are firmly in the realm of DM fiat.
Another vote for dm fiat. Your familiar isn’t a cat, it’s a spirit shaped like a cat. Totally up to the DM if they have a scent, and if so, if it’s related more to their form, or being a spirit. And if anyone can smell it is a whole other question.
I was thinking about the fact familiars, summoned mounts, and some other summoned creatures are described as spirits taking the physical appearance of their respective spells animal or creature. Do spirits give off a scent as the actual animal would? If an imp is invisible and sneaking around, would it give off the smell of brimstone? Sneaking past enemies or PCs with the scent ability might not have advantage if they are using scent to detect them. On the converse, would the lack of scent on a rat familiar be suspicious for the same reason.
Or would a spirit have a scent based on the type of spirit? Say a celestial smells of cookies, fey of berries, and fiend of BBQ.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
We have nearly 0 RAW on how scent works in 5E, so all of your questions are firmly in the realm of DM fiat.
What is "scent"? The only sense in 5e is sight and special senses that vaguely function like sight (ie Blindsight and tremorsense).
I guess there is some reference to sound only when something is especially loud or when sound is taken away. But no rules for normal hearing...
I was referencing 'Keen Senses: Smell", sorry for the confusion.
IMHO, Earthdawn is still the best fantasy realm, Shadowrun is the best Sci-Fi realm, and Dark Sun is the best D&D realm.
Another vote for dm fiat. Your familiar isn’t a cat, it’s a spirit shaped like a cat. Totally up to the DM if they have a scent, and if so, if it’s related more to their form, or being a spirit.
And if anyone can smell it is a whole other question.
Anything that hangs around the world picks up scents. Do you know how many sofa's smell of cat or dog?
If the familiar does not have a scent when it is summoned, it surely will an hour later.