So touch range spells can be cast through a familiar. Could a wizard (or whatever) cast tongues through their familiar, posses their familiar and then speak through it?
Spell: Tongues
This spell grants the creature you touch the ability to understand any spoken language it hears. Moreover, when the target speaks, any creature that knows at least one language and can hear the target understands what it says.
While you could cast Tongues and hear and understand the target through your familiar, you couldn't speak through it, only see and hear. If you instead target your familiar, it would only work if the familiar can speak. None of the animal originally allowed can speak, but a Pact of the Chain Warlock could have a familiar that speak for exemple.
Whether your familiar is on your shoulder or 100 ft away, you can cast 1 hour's duration of tongues onto your familiar and then, to the best of its ability, it could translate for you.
Otherwise, you could try giving it a beak holdable pen and paper and attempt a laborious form of writing by using the facilities that "it always obeys your commands" and that "as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears..."
"While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically." If this can be interpreted that it can also communicate with you then you might be able to get the familiar to notify you of a circumstance such as a character saying "go". Similarly, you could instruct the other side with something such as "when the familiar nods its head, go".
I would allow this to work without needing to spend a spell if you have a Raven as a Familiar. That's just me being generous as a DM... the Raven's mimicry ability says that they can replicate "simple sounds", but I think the combination of their ability to mimic speech combined with a telepathic link to the Wizard gives a little more leeway. I'd still probably limit them to simple phrases (so no conveying long, complicated instructions) but as a basic walkie-talkie system I think it makes sense to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
So touch range spells can be cast through a familiar. Could a wizard (or whatever) cast tongues through their familiar, posses their familiar and then speak through it?
Spell: Tongues
This spell grants the creature you touch the ability to understand any spoken language it hears. Moreover, when the target speaks, any creature that knows at least one language and can hear the target understands what it says.
While you could cast Tongues and hear and understand the target through your familiar, you couldn't speak through it, only see and hear. If you instead target your familiar, it would only work if the familiar can speak. None of the animal originally allowed can speak, but a Pact of the Chain Warlock could have a familiar that speak for exemple.
Whether your familiar is on your shoulder or 100 ft away, you can cast 1 hour's duration of tongues onto your familiar and then, to the best of its ability, it could translate for you.
Otherwise, you could try giving it a beak holdable pen and paper and attempt a laborious form of writing by using the facilities that "it always obeys your commands" and that "as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes and hear what it hears..."
"While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically." If this can be interpreted that it can also communicate with you then you might be able to get the familiar to notify you of a circumstance such as a character saying "go". Similarly, you could instruct the other side with something such as "when the familiar nods its head, go".
I would allow this to work without needing to spend a spell if you have a Raven as a Familiar. That's just me being generous as a DM... the Raven's mimicry ability says that they can replicate "simple sounds", but I think the combination of their ability to mimic speech combined with a telepathic link to the Wizard gives a little more leeway. I'd still probably limit them to simple phrases (so no conveying long, complicated instructions) but as a basic walkie-talkie system I think it makes sense to me.
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Sending Stones are a better solution for communication needs in general.