D&D 5E Aspect of the Eagle and Observant

[Ganymede81]

The Eagle Totem benefit of a Barbarian's Aspect of the Beast allows a Barbarian to see clearly up to a mile away as if he was only 100 feet away.

The Observant feat allows you to read someone's lips if you can see his or her mouth.



So can an Aspect of the Eagle Barbarian read lips from a mile away? Would you allow a non-Barbarian with the Observant feat to read lips from 100 feet away?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Yep. It's a hell of a tactical advantage on a battlefield, under proper circumstances.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

100 feet is a relatively significant distance for seeing something like mouth movements in enough detail to tell the words being mouthed.

For some general reference, that's nearly half a block down the road, or someone on the sixth or seventh floor of a building while you are looking at them from the ground, or just slightly more than the end-to-end length of a basketball court.

My hypothesis is that it isn't actually that doable at such a distance, but that may very well be my bias as a person of mildly impaired sight.

 

[Unwise]

Sounds pretty cool, but could you lipread somebody 30 meters away? I wouldn't think so. That being said, I wonder if the 30 meter thing is only for when the person is a mile away. If they are 800m away, then would they count as about 15m away?

I would give the PC the benefit of the doubt and say that the eagle visions effective range of 100' goes up exponentially, so if the person is half a mile away, it is like they were right near you, at about a KM away it is like they are 10m away etc.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think you totally can. My house is 100' on one side. I can totally see the mouth movements of a person that far away, and often can read the lips, even though I can't read lip in general

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

My house is 100' on one side.

Must be luxuriously spacious... unless it's vary narrow on the other side.

 

[Kobold Stew]

So can an Aspect of the Eagle Barbarian read lips from a mile away? Would you allow a non-Barbarian with the Observant feat to read lips from 100 feet away?

I think it makes sense to treat these in reverse order. How far away can you lip read? I would say 30' -- it's an established range (the distance most characters travel in a combat turn) and is tied to various ranged weapons. 100 feet away is triple that, and so I (as DM) would say no, that's too far to lip read under normal circumstances.

That said, Beckett's play Not I is just a mouth, and I've seen it in a theatre at a greater distance than 30', and I imagine I'd have been able to read its lips if I were a lip reader.

Now to the first question, where I think (clearly) these two abilities are meant to interact. Very roughly, Eyes of the Eagle is giving the character a vision range magnifier of 50x (100>5280)

So having said I'd be fine at 30', going to 1500 feet without difficulty (which is 2-3 times the extreme range of a longbow!). And I'm clearly prepared to expand that if there are extenuating circumstances.

Cool!

 

[Sacrosanct]

Must be luxuriously spacious... unless it's vary narrow on the other side.

Doh, I mean my property line in the front. The lot size is 100' on a side. But my point still stands, as I have found it pretty easy to see facial features from that distance.

 

[Ganymede81]

that may very well be my bias as a person of mildly impaired sight.

That does make a big difference. I only have minor nearsightedness at 20/30, but putting on my contacts make me feel like I have superpowers.

 

[jaelis]

I did find this, for a realistic take on it.

http://www.lipreadingtranslation.com/faq.htm

If you're at a restaurant, can you lip read the people at the next table?[ show/hide ]

Maybe, maybe not. Lip reading in profile is usually only effective in close proximity, and with full knowledge of the subject matter. In live situations, even a little distance and facial obscurity, coupled with ignorance of the subject matter, will most likely render lip reading ineffective.

Seems to suggest that even 30 ft is pretty generous. But I'd let the barbarian do it, these are heroes!