I mean, just because you give it an order doesn't mean it magically knows where 100' is, especially if you then go and move. Besides, with a hawk, you might give it an order like "Go circle that lake half a mile away and come back and tell me what you see" just as reasonably as "Go sit on that tree branch nearby and wait to swoop in on my enemy."
"Fly up until you no longer feel my mind touching yours, then descend until you're just close enough to feel that connection again."
There. 100 feet precisely specified using logic based on in game mechanics.
Repeat it enough times with the phrase "This is 100 feet" even a spirit with the intelligence of an animal will eventually learn to associate "100 feet" with "as far as I can go while still feeling the presence of my master's thoughts."
Reference: Animals that can be trained to follow verbal commands.
My point to the OP is that the 100' range for telepathic communication isn't really so much of a limiting factor in the practical way one uses flying familiars, especially out of combat.
We need to remember that these are spirits inhabiting the body of a creature. It is not a pet hawk and a hawk familiar doesn't get extra range bonuses just because it's in a hawk. Whether their physical forms affect their instincts or behavior is up to you, but I'd stop and question what value you're adding to the game by declaring the hawk that just materialized out of the burning blazer is just too much of a hawk to be a properly functioning familiar.
it MUST obey your orders. If you say "don't fly higher than 100 ft" it will be unable to fly higher than 100 ft, whether it even understands that or not.
Seems to me, if you don't want your familiar to fly higher than 100 ft, just don't fly it more than 100 ft high. It's your familiar to control.
it MUST obey your orders. If you say "don't fly higher than 100 ft" it will be unable to fly higher than 100 ft, whether it even understands that or not.
Seems to me, if you don't want your familiar to fly higher than 100 ft, just don't fly it more than 100 ft high. It's your familiar to control.
Exactly.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
A hawk may not know what 100’ is but you do. The telepathic link “translates” the command so it knows what you mean wether it knows what 100’ is or not, so it stays in range.
And as others have pointed out it is a spirit in the form of a hawk so it probably knows things an actual hawk doesn’t.
Kinda incorrect since you can communicate telepathically and it MUST obey your orders. If you say "don't fly higher than 100 ft" it will be unable to fly higher than 100 ft, whether it even understands that or not.
I disagree. It will obey you to the best of its abilities. It doesn't make it omniscient and omnipotent. To use an exaggerated example: If you tell it to destroy the world, that doesn't mean it suddenly gets knowledge of how to best destroy the world just because the phrasing of the spell description leaves no room for error.
If you tell it "don't fly higher than 100ft" it will first need to gain knowledge of what 100ft is. I'd even argue that not even the PC would be able to look up and judge accurately how far 100ft in the air is... Perhaps if there is a reference point, like "fly no higher than the top of these trees", that would work.
Perhaps you can train the familiar to over time learn what 100ft is... I would say that's up to the DM and what the DM thinks an INT 2 creature is capable of.
...ok.
So, you say "Fly up but don't leave our range of telepathy." Since that has a range of 100ft, and the bird'll know where that is, it'll stay within 100ft. Simple.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
If your DM decides a creature with 2 intelligence understands this concept, then rock on. If not, you can always just say, "My character is here, and this is 100 feet away, so I'll move the hawk no further than over here."
it MUST obey your orders. If you say "don't fly higher than 100 ft" it will be unable to fly higher than 100 ft, whether it even understands that or not.
Seems to me, if you don't want your familiar to fly higher than 100 ft, just don't fly it more than 100 ft high. It's your familiar to control.
This isn't entirely true, fyi. The Familiar isn't you, or, even a class feature, it is an NPC that was brought under your service through a spell. So, it is the DM's to control. It just happens to be an NPC which always obeys your commands. This doesn't stop it from being an NPC.
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I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
There's no limit to the range on using Beast Sense to sense through your familiar's eyes (though this probably requires the Ritual Caster feat or Book of Ancient Secrets evocation depending on your character). If you really want to do long range recon with your familiar instead of one of the other options like Arcane Eye, consider adding that spell to your repertoire.
(Whoops, didn't occur to me this post was a bit old, sorry for necro-ing)
"Fly up until you no longer feel my mind touching yours, then descend until you're just close enough to feel that connection again."
There. 100 feet precisely specified using logic based on in game mechanics.
Repeat it enough times with the phrase "This is 100 feet" even a spirit with the intelligence of an animal will eventually learn to associate "100 feet" with "as far as I can go while still feeling the presence of my master's thoughts."
Reference: Animals that can be trained to follow verbal commands.
My point to the OP is that the 100' range for telepathic communication isn't really so much of a limiting factor in the practical way one uses flying familiars, especially out of combat.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
We need to remember that these are spirits inhabiting the body of a creature. It is not a pet hawk and a hawk familiar doesn't get extra range bonuses just because it's in a hawk. Whether their physical forms affect their instincts or behavior is up to you, but I'd stop and question what value you're adding to the game by declaring the hawk that just materialized out of the burning blazer is just too much of a hawk to be a properly functioning familiar.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Seems to me, if you don't want your familiar to fly higher than 100 ft, just don't fly it more than 100 ft high. It's your familiar to control.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Exactly.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
A hawk may not know what 100’ is but you do. The telepathic link “translates” the command so it knows what you mean wether it knows what 100’ is or not, so it stays in range.
And as others have pointed out it is a spirit in the form of a hawk so it probably knows things an actual hawk doesn’t.
Also, it’s magic.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
...ok.
So, you say "Fly up but don't leave our range of telepathy." Since that has a range of 100ft, and the bird'll know where that is, it'll stay within 100ft. Simple.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
If your DM decides a creature with 2 intelligence understands this concept, then rock on. If not, you can always just say, "My character is here, and this is 100 feet away, so I'll move the hawk no further than over here."
"Not all those who wander are lost"
This isn't entirely true, fyi. The Familiar isn't you, or, even a class feature, it is an NPC that was brought under your service through a spell. So, it is the DM's to control. It just happens to be an NPC which always obeys your commands. This doesn't stop it from being an NPC.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
ok fine.
Seems like if you don't want your familiar to fly higher than 100 ft, just don't
fly ittell the DM to fly it for you more than 100 ft high."Not all those who wander are lost"
There's no limit to the range on using Beast Sense to sense through your familiar's eyes (though this probably requires the Ritual Caster feat or Book of Ancient Secrets evocation depending on your character). If you really want to do long range recon with your familiar instead of one of the other options like Arcane Eye, consider adding that spell to your repertoire.
(Whoops, didn't occur to me this post was a bit old, sorry for necro-ing)