Spellcasting Pseudodragons - Your Ruling?

[Slaved]

What would prevent the Spell from being Cast? A Verbal Component is almost never Well Defined for what must be done. In fact under the Bard Description the Verbal Component is described as Singing, Reciting, or Music and any Creature with a Voice of some sort could at least Sing!!!

 

[szilard]

I'd allow it with the use of a feat. For simplicities sake:

FEAT: Pseudodragon Verbal Casting:

Prereq: Must be a pseudodragon
Benefit: Gains the ablity to use verbal components when casting spells. May also form words sufficiently to activate magic items that require command word activation.

I'd go one further with this feat and allow it to add its dragon hit dice as caster levels (as per a weaker form of Practiced Spellcaster).

Feat

Pseudodragon Spellcasting
Prereq: Pseudodragon
Benefit:
You can complete the verbal and somatic components of spells by substituting various noises and gestures for the normal verbal and somatic components of a spell. You may also activate magic items that require command word activation provided that you know the command word. When casting spells spontaneously, you add your racial hit dice (maximum of two) to your caster level.

-Stuart

 

[Wik]

I'm with Slizard on this one. THe feat as proposed is just a further nerf to pseudodragons (I always wanted to play one, BTW!). His feat is actually worthwhile.

Also, yeah, verbal components just mean you need to make a sound. Pseudodragons can do that. However, they cannot activate wands with a command word, and may not be able to read other casters' scrolls (since, presumably, the spell would be cast using verbalized language).

Really, though, I think this is an RP issue, and not a mechanical one.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Well into house rules territory now.

 

[Lord Slaw]

Well into house rules territory now.

You do have a point - I guess I didn't expect so much enthusiasm regarding the little guys! You know, to rectify this, I believe that I'll start a thread detailing options (feats and the like) for Pseudodragons in the House Rules forum. Keep up the debate, though, this is really getting interesting!

 

[Nifft]

You do have a point - I guess I didn't expect so much enthusiasm regarding the little guys!

Pseudodragons are my favorite not-actually-PC race for helpful NPCs. If Faerie Dragons had been in the SRD, I'd be torn.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Shin Okada]

Actually, MM only says

A pseudodragon can communicate telepathically and can also vocalize animal noises.

It does not say that a pseudodragon CANNOT learn or use vocal languages.

 

[Lord Slaw]

Thread for additional homebrew materials is here. Enjoy!

Oh, and I take it that it is the general consensus that the favored class of the Pseudodragon (core classes only, of course) would be the Sorcerer, right?

 

[Artoomis]

Actually, MM only says

It does not say that a pseudodragon CANNOT learn or use vocal languages.

I hope that was facetious.

It does not say a dog cannot learn a language, either, but c'mon, now.

Saying it can "can also vocalize animal noises" without any other explanation pretty clearly implies it does not have the vocal cords to support normal vocal language.

Technicallly, per RAW, you could allow it, I suppose, bit it's ridiculous. As a DM I'd allow a feat to be taken as above. I think I would not allow the racial HD to add to spell casting level, though, unless with a second feat, maybe.

I might also consider a first-level (only) feat to be taken that would allow this PC pseudodragon to have some sort of mutation that allows it to speak normally.

 

[Artoomis]

...Oh, and I take it that it is the general consensus that the favored class of the Pseudodragon (core classes only, of course) would be the Sorcerer, right?

Oh, I don't know. With it's hide and size bonuses, it makes one heck of a fine Rogue.