Familiars can not interact with objects, open doors, pick up chests etc
So it is not really a replacement for exploration.
In act 1, where we are out in the open, maybe.
But when we arrive at moonrise towers, with more dungeon like areas, or in BG3, with a city obviously, and so many buildings with doors, you can not just scout with your imp everywhere
I hope they don't limit your familiar range. Would be very annoying. I mean, in tabletop, when Astarion is at one part of the map and gets ambushed, and the others are somewhere else, they would not know that either. But as it is, since you are the player, obviously they are going to go to Astarion and help him.
In a way, that is equivalent to the voice of the chain master invocation. Free communication over a distance, BECAUSE IT IS A GAME
