Mute characters comunicating with spells

[Bront]

Can a mute/unable to speak character use a speak with animals spell like ability? Can they actualy comunicate with it or simply hear what the animal says but not actualy "speak" to it?

Can spells like comprehend language or tongues allow you to speak with/understand a mute character? What about other comunication magic that is not telepathy or anything directly mental?

 

[CronoDekar]

Supposing the character can speak in some sort of sign and isn't deaf, I'm not seeing anything in the spell discription that would prevent animals from understanding you. All it says is "You can comprehend and communicate with animals," and doesn't denote verbal communication. Well, then again there's the verbal component, but I'd say a character who somehow compensates for that would be able to.

Comprehend Languages by a strict reading of the RAW only allows you to understand the spoken words of creatures or read otherwise incomprehensible written messages," but to be honest I believe they just weren't thinking of signs when they wrote this. Similar with Tongues. (Tongues has the line "Tongues does not enable the subject to speak with creatures who don’t speak," but I believe this is meant mainly for animals, not mute humanoids.)

Stuff like Message and Whispering Wind would be a little trickier to justify, but personally I'd be willing to bend the "must whisper" requirement for non-deaf mutes when transmitting messages in a spoken language, since presumably they can understand a spoken language just fine -- plus a mute character who talks to others using spells or special abilities would be a cool concept.

 

[Particle_Man]

I would say that normally, if you are mute you remain mute. But some illusions spells that duplicate sound might be useful here (cast with the Silent Spell feat, of course). Telepathy would still work. But otherwise, I would say that "language magic" only would give you greater understanding, not a) unblock the psychological paralysis that rendered you mute, or b) regrow your tongue (a physical reason for remaining mute).

 

[Len]

Can a mute/unable to speak character use a speak with animals spell like ability? Can they actualy comunicate with it or simply hear what the animal says but not actualy "speak" to it?

Can spells like comprehend language or tongues allow you to speak with/understand a mute character? What about other comunication magic that is not telepathy or anything directly mental?

First of all, if a spell has the descriptor "Language-Dependent" then the caster has to be able to speak the appropriate language. Otherwise, you have to look at the spell description for specific requirements.

Speak with Dead is language-dependent, but Speak with Animals and Speak with Plants are not. Speak with Animals doesn't mention speech specifically so YES a mute character can use it.

Comprehend Languages says "You can understand the spoken words of creatures or read otherwise incomprehensible written messages." So you can use it to understand a mute character's writing only. Sign language is out, by a strict interpretation of the rules.

Tongues is a bit strange. It's not marked Language-Dependent. The description says:

This spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature, whether it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect. The subject can speak only one language at a time, although it may be able to understand several languages. Tongues does not enable the subject to speak with creatures who don’t speak. The subject can make itself understood as far as its voice carries.

So it seems that if you cast it on a mute creature, that creature will be able to speak to you and understand you. But if you cast it on yourself you will not be able to speak to the mute creature, even though that creature isn't deaf! Sounds a bit silly to me.

 

[Bront]

So it seems that if you cast it on a mute creature, that creature will be able to speak to you and understand you. But if you cast it on yourself you will not be able to speak to the mute creature, even though that creature isn't deaf! Sounds a bit silly to me.

Yeah, that seems awfly strange to me.

I'm planning a character who will be mute (no tongue), so trying to figure out if the Speak With Animals ability he'll get later will work. That it will is fantastic, and I guess he can whistle, make other odd sounds with his mouth/vocal chords, just can't shape them into speach normaly, but the spell should allow animals to understand from what I read.

It's an odd subject, because it's not realy covered anywhere.

 

[Thunt]

Mute characters in general make the game more difficult to play. Not just for the player playing the mute, but for everyone else too as they try to communicate with him/her.

I don't allow mute characters to be played anymore in my game.

 

[Bront]

We're trying it in a PbP format, where it might work a bit better. But it's good to know for the occasional Mute NPC though as well.

 

[Ferrix]

Since I'll be the DM for Bront's mute character I think it'll be an interesting challenge. I played a semi-mute character (could only actually speak it's own language, but used sign language) in a game and it worked out pretty well, although being a talking lemur would have been wierd anyways.