How much noise does a lightning bolt make?

[Nazhkandrias]

If you're killing folks who are trying to avoid being killed, the base listen DC is -10.

Don't see why the screams of the dying, clatter of dropped shields and helms, and the shouts of triumph should change in volume.

Well, if you caught them unaware, they'd most likely sizzle before they had a chance to avoid getting killed, thus eliminating that little source of noise. Shouts of triumph are optional, I think, so that's not an issue. Granted, the sound of dropped shields and armor might make a bit of a racket, but it's in a desert. The sand will muffle the sound of anything being dropped. I don't think that you can hear a small "Whumph" through a stone wall.

DC adjustment for a stone wall (of unspecified size) is +15, and the extra 10 ft. is +1, for a total of +16. Two stone walls with a space between them would be +30 (adjusted for the size of the space) -- assuming that path is the "lowest cost" sound path from one place to the other -- for example, a window 30 ft. down the wall would only add +6 to the DC (rather than +15).

I don't follow your logic. Why would two walls spaced apart be harder to hear through than a big honkin' wall of the same width? I think that that distance modifier WOULD apply, but I think that the wall would be more than a +16. Think about it; if you press your ear up to a 5 foot thick stone wall, odds are, you can hear a battle (Listen DC 5). A 10 foot thick stone wall? Sorry, but you aren't going to hear a thing through that (Listen DC SHOULD be 20, even for a battle). A 10 foot thick stone wall is worth more than DC +1 to a 5 foot thick stone wall any way you look at it. We can only assume that the measurement is for a 5 foot thick wall, since a +15 modifier seems to be about right in terms of real life. A 10 foot thick one would be a +31 modifier (+30 for 10 feet of stone, +1 for 10 feet of distance), totalling to a Listen DC of 21. The guards inside are probably taking 10 on their Listen checks, so they wouldn't even hear a battle outside if they tried. I doubt that the average guard has a good Wis score and a lot of ranks in Listen.

Not to mention the verbal components.

I suppose it comes down to not so much whether there is something to hear, as much as whether your DM would require a Spellcraft check to recognize the casting of lightning bolt, versus recognizing something like "BZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNTTZZZZZZ."

Exactly how loud does the verbal component have to be? Not sure if there's a rule for this. I suppose that it could be muttered or whispered, as long as the words get across. Either way, there's still a stone wall to deal with. 10 foot thick? Listen DC of 31. Ouch. Not even a high level PC is going to hear THAT while taking 10.

And even if BZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNTTZZZZZZ counts as a sound as loud as a battle, see above. The way I see it, through a 10 foot stone wall, taking 10 just won't do it.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Exactly how loud does the verbal component have to be? Not sure if there's a rule for this. I suppose that it could be muttered or whispered, as long as the words get across.

As a general rule, no, it can't:
To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice.

-Hyp.

 

[Nazhkandrias]

As a general rule, no, it can't:
To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice.

Ah, I missed that. It's in the PHB, right? Well, gracias, mi amigo. That will help me in the future. Hmm, I wonder why you have to do it like that, though. Probably because a Fireball loses a lot of its dramatic effect if you don't scream some ominous Latin phrase aloud beforehand. Silent Spell would make most Evocations lose a bit of their luster, wouldn't it? Not much point in being an Evoker if you don't Evoke, is there?

Yes, I know that post had no point at all. It's 12:37 AM by my clock and I can't sleep. Wow, I've hit a new level of nerdiness. D&D Forums as a cure for insomnia. To quote Dilbert, I have achieved... Nerdvana. (Did I just quote Dilbert? I'm in deeper than I thought.)

 

[Amitiel]

Electric Arc

This is about what you would get off a Lightning spell. Its noticable noise but not the ionising crack you'd get of a natural lightning bolt.

 

[Storyteller01]

Electric Arc

This is about what you would get off a Lightning spell. Its noticable noise but not the ionising crack you'd get of a natural lightning bolt.

I think that's a bit more than noticable, given how clear it was to hear compared to the yelling technician at the end of the clip.

 

[Nifft]

Well, if you caught them unaware, they'd most likely sizzle before they had a chance to avoid getting killed, thus eliminating that little source of noise. [...] Granted, the sound of dropped shields and armor might make a bit of a racket, but it's in a desert.

But what about the sound of a head popping off a slumbering body, propelling the magnetized helmet loudly into his former comrade's metal shield?

If you can convince your DM that you should get away with it, have fun. I would not let my players get away with it, nor would I try to spring it on them while they were camping. They would get quite cranky at the idea of a Wizard silently killing their guards with a lightning bolt.

BTW, the "quiet environment" (desert) is a double-edged sword. Sure, there's less for the falling guards to clatter on, but there's also less background noise to cover the battle. It's not a net gain.

I don't follow your logic. Why would two walls spaced apart be harder to hear through than a big honkin' wall of the same width?

Ask a physics major if you want a long explanation; basically, transmission through a solid media is less lossy than transmission between media. This is how fiber optics work, for example: same laws, different waveform.

But my answer wasn't based on logic. It was based on rules. A stone wall -- of unspecified size, but clearly thin enough to qualify as a wall rather than a mountain -- adds a specific modifier to the DC. Each 10 ft. gap adds +1; each stone wall adds +15.

Exactly how loud does the verbal component have to be? Not sure if there's a rule for this.

Did someone get this? Yes. "Clear voice" = regular conversation, IMHO. DC 0 (but DC 10 to make out what's being said -- necessary for a Spellcraft check no doubt).

Cheers, -- N

 

[frankthedm]

Ah, I missed that. It's in the PHB, right? Well, gracias, mi amigo. That will help me in the future. Hmm, I wonder why you have to do it like that, though. Probably because a Fireball loses a lot of its dramatic effect if you don't scream some ominous Latin phrase aloud beforehand. Silent Spell would make most Evocations lose a bit of their luster, wouldn't it? Not much point in being an Evoker if you don't Evoke, is there?

Evokes usually provide more than enough noise on thier own.

Now most low level enchanters and illusionist do get hoseded in town since they can't do much without alerting anyone near by. Many folks whine when they realize when you cast those spells, folks know you just did something.

 

[Nazhkandrias]

But what about the sound of a head popping off a slumbering body, propelling the magnetized helmet loudly into his former comrade's metal shield?

That's about as likely as a Druid without Natural Spell. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0354.html)

Ask a physics major if you want a long explanation; basically, transmission through a solid media is less lossy than transmission between media. This is how fiber optics work, for example: same laws, different waveform.

Sorry, Physics was never my favorite subject. I always preferred lunch... Now that I look at it, you're right - but perhaps this is looking too deep into physics for a Fantasy Roleplaying Game. In D&D, all you really have to worry about concerning physics is that gravity pulls down - and sometimes, not even that applies. But just from the perspective of common sense, it's A LOT harder to hear through a wall twice the thickness of another wall, regardless of material. I guess that the precise difficulty to hear something through a stone wall (since rules don't specify size) is really a judgement call up to the DM. I just know that my DM would assign more than a +1 to 5 more feet of stone.

 

[lukelightning]

I say it makes sizzling-cracking noises like when a cartoon character touches a "danger, 20,000 volts" thing. I suppose it would be the same DC to hear as "noise of battle" but that probably also includes the shouts and yells of the people getting zapped.

 

[Scarbonac]

Soundless or quiet lightning?


That's just plain silly.


A lightning bolt would have to be at least as loud as the Emperor's Force Lightning in Return of the Jedi if not louder. I'd be inclined towards louder, such as the phaser cannon in The Menagerie or the lightning bolts in Excalibur (when Merlin's explaining about "The Dragon" to Arthur).