How gamebreaking would it be to allow talking animals?

[Glade Riven]

Like going a bit Narnia up in your D20 - some advanced/magical beasts can talk, letting wildshaped folk speak their regular spoken languages.

I can see it causing some fluff breakage, maybe allow for some rather advantagious roleplaying (or at least interesting when the farmer's wife runs across a talking mouse who claims to be a druid and trys to smash it with her broom). Over all, though, I don't see any inherit mechanical flaws.

 

[Stormonu]

I don't see a problem at all, in fact it emulates many faerie tales, movies and whatnot that litters the fantasy genre.

The only issue you run into is if you let it combine with the abomination of the likes of 3.5E's Natural Spell. When spellcasters can shapeshift into a bear (with all its might) or other such mighty creatures and still cast spells as easily as their humanoid form, who cares about the humanoid form?

 

[Wik]

We once had a horse in the campaign who magically had a permanent Speak With Animals cast upon him. He was a very interesting character.

I'd make sure that you don't make your animals of human intelligence. They might be smarter than the average animals, but if you make them HUMAN in their views on the world, players might forget that it's, in fact, a deer they're talking to. They should always be able to tell the difference between a talking deer, and a druid shapechanged into a deer that's talking.

 

[Gilladian]

I love the idea of talking animals. I need to use more of them in my game. So far, the only ones have been someone who was transformed, or once an Animal Lord.

I've long had the idea that there should be animals of superior intellectual power watching over their lesser brethren and the environments in which they reside. Some would be simple animals with barely more intellect, and others would have progressed or changed to the point where they were smarter than the average human. But their intellects would matter much less than their natures. They'd still have all the impulses and needs and desires of their own species. And few would care much at all about humans.

 

[Raven Crowking]

I used them in one game I ran, and included a system of "racial levels" (ala Monte Cook's AE) that allowed the animal to change.....become more human like, more feral, etc. If I can drag up a copy of the animal level info, I'll post it here if you would like me to. It'll be a week or so, though, as the electronic copy was on an older, and deader, computer.

RC

 

[Umbran]

And few would care much at all about humans.

I think that would depend on the situation. If they're left alone, and humans don't interact with them much, then sure. But if human hunting or agricultural practices are giving their people trouble, expect them to care.

The basic issue with animals smart enough to talk is that implies they are smart enough to think, and to plan. It probably doesn't break the game, rules-wise, so much as break the typical setting, sociologically.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

Regarding Natural Spell, you might disallow that feat, but allow "druid speech" in animal form as a feat that allows druids to speak...and to cast spells with verbal only components (as material components would have shapechanged with them and somatic components are not possible in animal form).

I don't think that would be overpowered.

(and yes, they could also devote 2 more feats...still spell and eschew material components, but again, that's a lot of devotion to casting as an animal).

 

[Glade Riven]

Spellcasting did slip my mind...but there's a quick ad-hoc for that - you can still speak any language you know, but can't cast spells without Natural Spell because shapeshifting alters your voice.

And yes, you WILL have to roleplay speaking in a funny voice when shape-shifted

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

As was said, this wouldn't be game-breaking at all. If some unusual humans can throw fireballs, why wouldn't some unusual animals talk? It could even be on a per-species basis -- the equivalents of extra "humanoid" races that exist alongside the regular versions -- so that you wouldn't have to deal with the random throw of the dice telling you that you now have to deal with an unplanned talking crayfish or something.

In fact, if I were in charge of 5E, talking animals would be on my list -- along with more hags and other fairy tale elements -- that'd I want added to the game.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I have always liked the idea of legendary animals, a select few who back up the druids, or are semi-worshipped by the druids, and who can have expanded abilities, and human-level intelligence and communication abilities.

I think it makes the world a lot more fantastical, and pulls emphasis away from the humanoid groups, which is a good thing in fantasy.