Find the path

[AscendingApe]

So my players have asked a question concerning the material component for find the path, specifically the object from the location you wish to find. What happened was they killed a dragon and it's son that had left their lair. My players want to know if they can use the corpse of the dragon's half breed son who was born on the island as the component, as he is now an object per RAW.

I'm not sure what to say about it, what do you all think?

[NecessaryWeevil]

Hmm! Did the son also live in the lair?

[AscendingApe]

Hmm! Did the son also live in the lair?

Yes, he did. Born and raised there. The thing that my players and I thought of that makes me question it is that he wasn't an object at any point in time before being killed, so does he really count as an object from the lair? Up until his death he was a creature, does being an object now allow him to qualify?

[Contrast]

I mean as far as I can see that part of the material component could be replaced by a focus so...

The spell also calls out having to use a divinatory item one example of which is bones - seems hella cool to cut off a dragon claw and it points you the way.

There is of course the question as to if they are sufficiently familiar with this lair for Find the Path to even work in the first place.

[Keravath]

"This spell allows you to find the shortest, most direct physical route to a specific fixed location that you are familiar with on the same plane of existence."

"an object from the location you wish to find"

"MATERIAL (M)
Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell. lf a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell."

1) the object from the location you wish to find does not have a cost associated with it so a spell casting focus should be usable in place of the material component from the destination in the Find the Path spell. (Make sense? Not really but RAW should be fine).

2) However, the spell only allows you to find a location that you are familiar with.

This is a DM call. Is having heard of the existence of a place sufficient to let you find it? Does knowing that such a place should exist (e.g. of course ALL dragon's have lairs somewhere) considered "familiar with the location"? How you define "familiar with the location" may change the usefulness of find the path. Can you use the spell to find a crypt in an extensive tomb if you have never been there? You could certainly use the spell to find your way out of a maze the way you came but could you use it to find your way to the exit of a maze where you have never been?

Anyway, I don't think the issue here is whether you can use the dragon parts but more whether the lair can be considered in any way familiar to the characters.

If you look up the dictionary definition of familiar it has entries like:
- to know something or someone well
- easy to recognize because of being seen, met, heard, etc. before
- easy to recognize because previously experienced
- frequently seen or experienced : easily recognized
- possibly known but imperfectly remembered

If the characters have never been to or seen the lair then I don't think Find the Path will help them unless they combine it with something like Scrying on a creature in the lair to get a look at the lair then use Find the Path to actually find the location they are now familiar with.