In 5e you can see through the eyes of your familiar with the find familiar spell.
…as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
Our DM ruled that this feature lasts for the specified duration, meaning our Wizard could not send out the familiar 60 feet around a corner and then effectively communicate with the party around the Wizard. He was blind and deaf with regard to his own senses until the start of his next turn. Our Wizard disagreed. I can see this either way, so I was curious if there was a definite answer.
Can you end this feature of the spell prematurely as is done with concentration spells?
Best Answer
You cannot end the effect early, but this should not prevent the wizard from speaking to the people around him.
The wording of the effect is very clear: until the beginning of your next turn. It is also important to note that the familiar does not move until its own turn, not during the wizard's, thus necessitating the full duration.
The wizard is deaf, but not dumb. Nothing about the spell or the defended condition prevents speech, although volume control would be impaired. The wizard could relay information to his companions, although he could not hear questions from them.
Now, there is one more point to consider. Can a character communicate during another character's turn? The chapter on combat, in the section entitled "Other activity on your turn," it says that you can communicate as you are able "as you take your turn." This does imply that you cannot communicate during any other turn. Since the familiar doesn't move until its own turn, the wizard will not be able to speak until the effect ends anyways. If the familiar is already in position before the wizard's turn in which he activates the effect, the wizard can describe what he sees at that time, although may speak more loudly or quietly than he intends from being deaf.