Familiar Satchel and common area effect spells

[johnnymac]

Hey gang! Let me thank you in advance for your help.

My question:

Two of my players have familiars tucked away in satchels. Neither is the typical "unseen" familiar - both are very active in helping the players gain advantage in combat. As such, I'm not prone to just waive away any danger they might be in.

A familiar satchel grants total cover to a familiar inside.

The fireball spell is a spread, which "goes around corners" and in some cases ignores cover granted by corners. Would a familiar in a satchel be affected by this spell?

A lightning bolt spell is a line spell, which affects "Every creature inside of that line". Would a familiar in a satchel be affected by this spell?

I know that there are certain rules for equipment, but creatures are clearly not equipment and I dont think they should be treated as such.

Thanks for the thoughts!

John

[dragonhunterq]

Neither of those spells should bypass total cover of the satchel. The thing to remember though is that total cover works both ways. If your players want the familiars tucked safely away in the satchels then others also have total cover from whatever the familiars are trying to do. It's difficult to target someone with a spell or aid another from inside a box.