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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 1922983" data-attributes="member: 15999">Where I'm coming from is that a verbal language necessarily entails a certain combination of sounds.  Because a snake cannot make the same sounds as a human, and yet a druid only capable of making "natural" snake sounds can still cast spells, I assume that spellcasting as done in snake form sounds different than spellcasting in human form.  Because the sounds are so vastly different, the language is different.  In which logical step do you think I am mistaken?  Is it that "language entails a certain combination of sounds"?Now, in regard to Saeviomagy's point about how hard it is to come up with something that is logically consistent but not game-breaking, I would submit that you do in fact need a house rule.  You need some reasonable explanation for how non-spellcasters recognize spellcasting.  I've agreed all along that making druid casters undetectable is bad for balance.  I don't agree that sacrificing internal logic and thematic flavor (making untrained non-spellcasters be able to tell casting from gibberish) is a good solution.  If the rules as written suggest that you should do so, I look forward to the next FAQ addressing this point.  In the meantime, I'd suggest one of the following:1) Actual magic has a manifestation, similar to that attributed to psionic powers.  Visual, audible, olfactory, mental, tactile, or something else that lets people know "magic is afoot here."   This can be generalized (people know something is happening somewhere) or specific (people know that the tall elderly lady is giving them a chill).  OR,2) The Spellcraft skill literally incorporates a quasi-mystical magic-sensing ability.  You can use it to identify casters of any form equally well, and with a high enough skill check you can Detect Magic with it.Under either of these variants, Silent Still spells could still be noticed.Not sure I follow you.  The points about squirrel chatter illustrate why a literalist interpretation of the rules does not make sense in this situation and why an alternative interpretation is more logical.  That is, the rules encounter certain difficulties when applied to game situations.  Is that not an appropriate topic of discussion for the Rules forum?  The game balance implications of the more liberal interpretation in turn necessitate a house rule.  I'm not convinced that this discussion can be entirely classified in one forum or the other.</blockquote>

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