Shawn_Kehoe
First Post
Hi,
Since the Summon Monster spell requires the caster to communicate any orders other than "Attack nearest enemy!" I'm trying to determine if Celestial animals automatically understand a language.
The Celestial template raises the minimum INT score to 3, which means the creature is capable of learning rudimentary language, sure. But many creatures in the Monster Manual with INT 3 or higher have no languages listed, including the Gray Render, Grick, Rast and Krenshar. Since the Celestial template doesn't explicitly grant a language, my take is that celestial bison, fire beetles etc do not understand a language.
(This came about because the wizard PC in the campaign I am DMing uses summoned monsters to trigger ambushes, snatch items, and open trapped treasure chests - the versatility seems a bit much for a 1st level spell. Upon rereading the spell description, I think it's time to strictly enforce the language rules.)
Shawn
Since the Summon Monster spell requires the caster to communicate any orders other than "Attack nearest enemy!" I'm trying to determine if Celestial animals automatically understand a language.
The Celestial template raises the minimum INT score to 3, which means the creature is capable of learning rudimentary language, sure. But many creatures in the Monster Manual with INT 3 or higher have no languages listed, including the Gray Render, Grick, Rast and Krenshar. Since the Celestial template doesn't explicitly grant a language, my take is that celestial bison, fire beetles etc do not understand a language.
(This came about because the wizard PC in the campaign I am DMing uses summoned monsters to trigger ambushes, snatch items, and open trapped treasure chests - the versatility seems a bit much for a 1st level spell. Upon rereading the spell description, I think it's time to strictly enforce the language rules.)
Shawn
]
