Find Familiar & Shocking Grasp

[Starman973]

I was going over the last bit of Find Familiar, because I was determined to not to the Owl with a help action with a familiar trick. I think I noticed a synergy with shocking grasp. It is a touch range spell that you can cast through your familiar.

Finally, when you cast a spell with a range of touch,
your familiar can deliver the spell as if it had cast the
spell. Your familiar must be within 100 feet of you, and
it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast
it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack
modifier for the roll.

Pair it with the fast and stealthy cat familiar and now you got a 9-volt black cat on steroids. So I guess my question is am I reading this right? Does this work as I think it does?

https://images.talkbass.com/attachments/li-2ft0844oa4-vi-2faaaaaaaadi8-2fb6abfgskrsm-2fs1600-2feveready-jpg-ref-https-3a-2f-2fwww-google-jpg.2467510/

[DracoKnight]

This works, yes.

[DarkKnightJin]

That's exactly how it works, yes.

You send your familiar over to give a cuddle, cast Shocking Grasp, let the Familiar deliver it with your modifier, then the Familiar peaces out of there.

Probably knocking something off of the table while it's out there, because cat.

[AttilatheYeon]

I think you have to rub the cats fur with a balloon first. Otherwise yes it works as advertised. I like tp RP my Trassym stalking player characters after and trying to SG them. But not being successful, cuz i didn't actually cast the spell. It's super adorable and slightly assholish, just like a cat.

[DarkKnightJin]

I think you have to rub the cats fur with a balloon first. Otherwise yes it works as advertised. I like tp RP my Trassym stalking player characters after and trying to SG them. But not being successful, cuz i didn't actually cast the spell. It's super adorable and slightly assholish, just like a cat.

So, wait.. Let me get this right..
You, a Wizard, cast Shocking Grasp through the cat Familiar once, and now the cat is trying to do it to other PCs by itself?

Because if so, that is indeed kinda adorable. In the ******* cat kinda way.

[Quoxis]

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/poke5forum/images/3/3e/Ash_pikachu.png/revision/latest?cb=20120203161411&path-prefix=de

[paddyfool]

This exact tactic finished off a wounded umber hulk in a 3.5 game I was in once. (OK, it was a rat familiar delivering the shocking grasp, but otherwise exact).

[Millstone85]

You send your familiar over to give a cuddle, cast Shocking Grasp, let the Familiar deliver it with your modifier, then the Familiar peaces out of there.More precisely, you ready Shocking Grasp (your action), hold on it until it is the familiar's turn (your concentration), then the familiar moves to give the enemy a cuddle (its movement), which is your trigger to release your readied spell (your reaction), which is delivered by the familiar (its reaction), then the familiar disengages (its action) and moves away (its movement).

If Shocking Grasp hits, the familiar doesn't need to disengage.

This is much more expensive than the helping owl maneuver, which the owl can do all by itself.

[DracoKnight]

More precisely, you ready Shocking Grasp (your action), hold on it until it is the familiar's turn (your concentration), then the familiar moves to give the enemy a cuddle (its movement), which is your trigger to release your readied spell (your reaction), which is delivered by the familiar (its reaction), then the familiar disengages (its action) and moves away (its movement).

If Shocking Grasp hits, the familiar doesn't need to disengage.

This is much more expensive than the helping owl maneuver, which the owl can do all by itself.

Nope. On your turn, you can cast the touch spell through your familiar. They spend their reaction to move in and deliver it.

[Millstone85]

Nope. On your turn, you can cast the touch spell through your familiar. They spend their reaction to move in and deliver it.The familiar spends its reaction to deliver the spell. There is nothing about the familiar getting to move out of its turn.

So a hit-and-run takes some synchronization between master and familiar.

[DracoKnight]

The familiar spends its reaction to deliver the spell. There is nothing about the familiar getting to move out of its turn.

So a hit-and-run takes some synchronization between master and familiar.

Ahhhh, okay. That’s a quirk of my group then.

[Chugger]

A lot of DMs fudge the whole fam having its own intitiative thing - because it slows things down.

But the technically correct way to do this is as above, caster has to prep spell and hold it on concent. until fam unleashes it.

This is cool, but I prefer the owl.

Where a familiar and touch spells really rocks is cleric. Cleric's cure wounds now has "range" - and Cleric's "bad touch" (cause wounds, inflict wounds - w/e it is called) has range (it does a lot of damage for a lvl 1 spell, if it hits - of course guiding bolt does almost as much and is arguably a better spell in most cases, as the next person to hit target has advantage - but if you roll well on bad touch you can do crazy good damage - and the d10's are more likely to "swing" than the d6's - though they can swing up or down). Cleric can get a fam through a dip or feats.

[DarkKnightJin]

A lot of DMs fudge the whole fam having its own intitiative thing - because it slows things down.

But the technically correct way to do this is as above, caster has to prep spell and hold it on concent. until fam unleashes it.

This is cool, but I prefer the owl.

Where a familiar and touch spells really rocks is cleric. Cleric's cure wounds now has "range" - and Cleric's "bad touch" (cause wounds, inflict wounds - w/e it is called) has range (it does a lot of damage for a lvl 1 spell, if it hits - of course guiding bolt does almost as much and is arguably a better spell in most cases, as the next person to hit target has advantage - but if you roll well on bad touch you can do crazy good damage - and the d10's are more likely to "swing" than the d6's - though they can swing up or down). Cleric can get a fam through a dip or feats.

...And now you've inspired me to grab MI:Wiz on my Vuman Cleric of Death for an upcoming game, and use my Fam to deliver my Bad Touch Attack to my enemies.

[Willie the Duck]

More precisely, you ready Shocking Grasp (your action), hold on it until...


There is nothing about the familiar getting to move out of its turn.


A lot of DMs fudge the whole fam having its own intitiative thing - because it slows things down.

Or they fudge holding actions. You cannot hold your action, and the familiar doesn't necessarily go on your action, but one of those things would have to be true to allow spell sharing with your familiar. Not the first or last time the rules have had a hiccup like that.