Detecting thoughts in another language

[Sagiro]

Question: If you cast detect thoughts on a creature who's thinking in a language you don't understand, does the spell translate for you?

Argument for yes: Some spells, like command, have the descriptor "language dependent." The fact that detect thoughts doesn't have this descriptor leads one to believe that it is not so dependent.

Argument for no: There's no explicit mention in the spell description that detect thoughts also doubles as a comprehend languages for those thoughts. You'd think they might have mentioned it, if that were an additional power of the spell.

I checked the FAQ but didn't find anything relevant. Does anyone know of an official ruling?

thanks!

-Sagiro

 

[Pielorinho]

Great question! I don't know of an official answer, but here's how I'd handle it:

The spell reads a character's surface thoughts, right? If a character's surface thoughts are basic ("Hate that jerk," "I could go for a peanut-butter sandwich," "Heh heh, gullible moron!"), I'd give them to the caster regardless of language.

If the thoughts are more complex ("Shouldn't Bill be back from the bathroom by now?" "I sure wish that the king had invited me to his banquet instead of snubbing me for that namby-pamby new spellcaster of his," "Heh heh, this fool will never realize that I have actually hidden the artifact of supreme presumptuousness behind the third green curtain in the princess's washroom!"), I'd declare that the thoughts were happening in language, not in images/emotions, and were therefore inscrutable to the caster.

Daniel

 

[Norfleet]

Well, I, personally, usually think in a language. If this is true for everyone else as well, a convincing case can be made that sentient beings with a language think in that language. It is also true that I usually think in the language I most frequently use, rather than a foreign language which I also know, except when attempting to speak or use that language. This may allow thought detection of even surface thoughts to quickly unmask a foreigner, who, even if he speaks fluently in your language, thinks privately in a foreign language. It may also render you unable to decipher what, exactly, he is thinking, without also being able to comprehend languages, unless the thought-reading system specifically provides for this.

 

[Kemrain]

That does work with most inteligent creatures, but many of the dimmer creatures you might be detecting would probably think in emotions or sensory imput. I know I think in words most of the time, and when I read, or type, I think the words as I read/type them, but other times I just feel, in my head.

You could come up with a vast over-arching rule for this, or you could take it on the fly, as it's yet another means to facilitate the Role-Playing aspect of the game. Surface thoughts are comprised of words, feelings, and remembered sensory imput, (especially smells, which we don't seem to have many words to discribe) and if you want to make the game more immersive, reflecting that might be beneficial.

So, yes, this does basically comes down to me rambling on and having no real ruling one way or the other. I'll shut up now. Heh.

- Kemrain the Questioning his Vow of Silence...