Understanding your familiar

[Mark Hoover]

So a complaint comes up often about familiars at level 1-2 is that you can't talk to them. However at first level you can command it per others on these boards at least as well or better than a druid does their animal companion or a ranger does a trained animal. Also the starting familiar has an int of 6; about as smart as a human child.

My question is: if you actually WANTED to burn a utility spell at first level, couldn't you just cast Comprehend Languages to understand your familiar? Then you might actually be able to have it scout and return valid info, have it aid you on knowledge skill checks and such, at least until you get the power to understand it?

For this scenario assume you have selected an owl familiar. Your character commands the owl to scout the area out a mile from your campsite, just to make sure you weren't followed. He then casts comp langs on himself. Upon returning the owl tells you what it saw. You SHOULD be able to understand fully right? Your spell tells you the literal translation of its speech while your empathic bond to the creature gives you nuances, tone and inflection.

Am I crazy or does this work?

[Benly]

A low-level familiar doesn't have the ability to speak any languages, which means Comprehend Languages won't help.

[Mark Hoover]

It shares your skills. One of your skills COULD be Linguistics.

Edit: or you could do the same with Speak with Animal?

[Benly]

Speak with Animal should probably work, although technically I think a familiar is a magical beast. I'd allow it but I think it might not quite work by RAW for that reason.

The problem with Linguistics-sharing is that an animal doesn't have the physical ability to speak languages even if it knows them unless it has a special ability allowing it to do so. This is why you can't cast spells with verbal components when you Beast Shape into a dog. By the same token, a dog that understands several languages still can't speak them. A familiar should already know at least one language due to its 6 Int, but that doesn't give it the ability to speak.

The exception is if you have a raven or parrot, which each get the ability to speak one language as their familiar bonus.

[Selgard]

If you have linguistics your pet knows the language you selected- its that simple. This means you can absolutely talk to it.

Your pet is also smart. Now, its not as smart as the smartest guy in town or even the smartest guy in the room- but its no drooling moron either.

You can communicate using simple methods:

Flap your leg/wing for yes your right wing/leg for no".
or, for that matter- if there's some dirt around just have it write it out. Excepting a snake or maybe frog most wouldn't have a huge issue with jotting out something in sand or dirt. (or even on paper if you had ink. finger painting anyone?).

Most familiars can't *talk*. That doesn't mean they can't communicate.

-S