Seeing through a familiar's eyes.

[Setharious]

So with find familiar you can look through your familiars eyes, but this always brought multiple questions to mind for me.

1. When I am looking through my familiar's eyes and make a perception check, do I use my stats, the owls stats, or do we both look so I make a check for each?

2. Could you play a blind character that just constantly looks through the eyes of their familiar by just having it sit on their shoulder/head?

3. On the same idea as 2, could you essentially be a human with darkvision if you use a familiar with darkvision?

and 4. What is your favorite species of familiar? I am partial to the owl.

[Toofey]

You need to use your action and are basically a potato until you stop.

[Zhorn]

In my current campaign a player just started on a blind character using a familiar to see, though to make it work we've applied a few table rulings.
for context: warlock, pact of the chain, voice of the chain master

1. perception checks made while linked use the character's stats with the familiars trait (Keen sight and hearing for advantage on the roll), otherwise it's just the familiars stats block on its own. We're treating it as while linked, the character's brain is processing the information rather than the familiar just communicating what it sees.

2. we do this often, BUT to make it work we treat Voice of the Chain Master as a free action to maintain (RAW it only increases range of the link and the ability to talk through the familiar). Still costs an action to set the link up. Things are RP'd as being a little clumsy since they are viewing their actions from an offset perspective (or if the familiar is off to the side then in third person)

3. Yes, but again it's RP'd as not being easy.

[Chronos]

You can walk around in the dark with a bat perched on your shoulder, but as soon as combat (or any other encounter where you'll want to use your action) starts, you'll want a light source ready.

[Dalebert]

1. When I am looking through my familiar's eyes and make a perception check, do I use my stats, the owls stats, or do we both look so I make a check for each?

You have it's sensory abilities like dark vision or blindsight but you use your own skill for perception.



2. Could you play a blind character that just constantly looks through the eyes of their familiar by just having it sit on their shoulder/head?

For that you'd need a Homonculus, but that's a sixth level spell.



and 4. What is your favorite species of familiar? I am partial to the owl.

Owls for assisting, bats for detecting invisible things trying to ambush you. I'm a fan of Flying snakes for a bit of both and for general coolness factor but they're non-standard and need an exception from the DM.

[CTurbo]

I am currently playing a blind Monk/Fiendlock with an Imp familiar and the Imp "IS" my eyes. I can see through it's eyes full time whether it is near me or not(no action necessary). I was not blind until 3rd level, and I started with the Observant feat, but now that I'm blind, my Imp gets the features of Observant, not me. If I need to make a Perception check relying on site, it has to be my Imp, if it's from smell or hearing, I can make the check as normal.

Yes there was quite a bit of houseruling made to allow this, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun to play.