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A rat with a very intelligent and somewhat nervous look on its face.
Time for deception check.
Only if they have significant interaction with the PC/familiar, I'd say.
Otherwise, you're punishing creativity in a way that I don't think anyone would ever try anything of the sort ever again in that game.
Requiring skill checks is fine, and probably expected, but more than the normal number of checks, failing any one of which leaves the PC worse off than if they weren't using up their resources? That seems a bit harsh to me.
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A rat with a very intelligent and somewhat nervous look on its face.
Time for deception check.
Only if they have significant interaction with the PC/familiar, I'd say.
Otherwise, you're punishing creativity in a way that I don't think anyone would ever try anything of the sort ever again in that game.
Requiring skill checks is fine, and probably expected, but more than the normal number of checks, failing any one of which leaves the PC worse off than if they weren't using up their resources? That seems a bit harsh to me.
It isn't more checks than if the player characters did it themselves.
If a Rogue goes sneaking into an enemy camp and fails a stealth check, they get spotted and attacked immediately. If a familiar does it and we are running it the same way, then they would also get spotted, recognized as a familiar rather than a normal rat, and attacked immediately.
Allowing a separate deception check to try to recover - leave without raising alarm - is the reward for the creative play. That isn't a punishment.
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Allowing a separate deception check to try to recover - leave without raising alarm - is the reward for the creative play.
And it parallels the creative play of having the Rogue that gets spotted trying a deception, diplomacy, or intimidation check to try and mitigate the problems that the first failed check caused.
Well...okay then...I guess.
*Sullenly kicks a rock.*
Try Burrower and Tremorsense. Then the only problem is keeping in communication with your familiar long enough to keep them on task.
The Message cantrip might be able to help with that. Though it doesn't have a huge range. 500 feet at most.
Also I would need Speech in order to relay any information back to you or Share Senses if you just want to take a look yourself.
The Message cantrip might be able to help with that. Though it doesn't have a huge range. 500 feet at most.
Also I would need Speech in order to relay any information back to you or Share Senses if you just want to take a look yourself.
If you can get your hands on a Crystal Ball (Peridot), you can have unlimited range telepathy.
As an aside, the only time familiars have come up so far in a game I'm in, it was a kitsune's Star Orb, which she did use for scouting (in an abandoned area, though). So, a mix of both. ;3
As an aside, it is so far the only character that my PC, a low-level Medicine specialist support Cleric, has managed to successfully heal with Treat Wounds. Make of that what you will.
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A rat with a very intelligent and somewhat nervous look on its face.
Time for deception check.
Depends on so many factors that it is time for GM's adjudication.
Is a rat completely out of place ? How common are familiars or shapeshifted casters vs normal rats ? Is the rat acting in decidedly un-rat ways ? Are the people who saw it even aware of familiars or shapeshifted casters (that could call for a magic skill RK check) ? Are the people on high alert, expecting spies or assassins ? Are there guard dogs around ? For the matter, are there predators of rat around ?
There are in fact 2 things : can the rat sneak unseen and are there dangers around for a rat ? And how is it different that this is not a normal rat ?
Maybe watching the rat closely enough to see something odd requires both suspicion (which could come from a critical failure at Stealth) and a Seek action. Which opens the way for a Deception check. Or a Nature check. And it could be opposed by Nature rather than Sense Motive/ Perception.
Really, it's whatever makes sense given the specifics of the situation. So deep in GM's territory.
A proper rule of thumb, as always, is how the GM would adjudicate it fairly if the tactic was used against PCs.