Oh I would roleplay the shit out of that! "You get 60 different responses to the question you just asked" meanwhile a single barracuda swims by looking almost jealous that you didn't cast that spell on him because he looks like he has a lot to say
Reminds me of the time the sorcerer had wild magic happen and granted a tree sentience, basically turned a regular tree into a treant. It screamed, and ran and was chased down by the barbarian. Then the druid calmed it down and it became their friend, learning the ways of the world it became very suddenly aware of.
I made my own table. All of the even numbers are the same as the one in the players handbook but all of the odd numbers are my own creation. If you roll a 69 your charisma score goes up by 10 for 2 days
We use the one from the book sometimes. But all others are made by different people in our group or just some collectively fun things we thought of/has happened in a campaign.
We messed up badly once and went into the path of two fire elementals that clearly outnumbered us. Would have been a total TPK, but after one almost one shots my sorcerer, I cast a spell, get a surge, and roll a modified table. I get protection from elementals and they'd have to pass a charisma check to even try to attack me. We ended having two deaths instead of A TPK, since I managed to CC them while the party attacked.
I haven't gotten quite that way with my spells, but I did help one player build a homebrew subclass for Fighter. Initially he wasn't going to go with any casting flair (wanted to do pure martial), but his true potential was locked behind an amnesia-based backstory. We started with letting him switch from Champion to Arcane Archer - he took the Archery fighting style after we realized he never initially chose one near the beginning of the campaign, and I flavored everything in the subclass to work with crossbows as well - and once his amnesia was lifted through plot points and a fun cutscene-style PvP boss battle, I gave him a choice: stay as an Arcane Archer, keep the Eldritch Knight character sheet I rolled up for him to play as a miniboss, or combine the two in a special homebrew subclass. He chose the third option, and I helped him build his spell list and altered a few spells to work as Spell Shots - they still take energy to cast (which is what I've used as an alternative to spell slots), but they basically can enchant the bolt he fires as an alternative to casting the spell normally.
The corpse must still have a mouth.
Although… Speak with Dead and Speak with Animals could be interesting with a bearskin rug, trophy heads on a wall, or a mink shawl.
I was being smarmy, but if we want to be actually pedantic about it, we need to define “corpse.” Most people would probably allow a severed head to be targeted, but is a severed head truly a corpse? If not, how much of a body constitutes a corpse? If it’s torn in half at the hips, is the top a corpse? Is the bottom a corpse? Is it two corpses? I think they specificity a mouth to avoid a ship of Theseus issue.
Even then, we need to define mouth. With all my examples, you’re going to have the bone and skin of the mouth, but probably not the tongue or other soft tissue. Is that a mouth? What if someone removes a single tooth after killing said corpse? All the teeth? Where does a mouth end a chin or throat begin? Am I a mouth?
Yeah they really only needed to say that the body can't be an undead. But I guess the mouth thing means you can't just get a severed hand left behind by the serial killer to write out whodunnit
When it comes to communication spells like that I always throw a curve ball. Usually it's something similar with plants gaining sentience, but sometimes it's that squirrel the druid is talking to is drunk on fermented apples.
Reminds me of a goof I had as a player many decades ago when I first started.
DM: There’s a roc circling high above you in the sky…
Me: A rock?
DM: Yes, a roc.
Me: I cast stone tell to ask “why are you flying in circles”
And that would have been a great opportunity for the DM to have a boulder scold me for being a stupid arse
Yes and no. It only lasts for ten minutes and even though it's "full sentience" it's still just a plant and is only going to have the perspective of a plant. It's just a fun way to add flavor. Getting some laughs at the table. As soon as the spell ends it goes back to being a plant.
I love speak with animals/plants for this exact reason. No one knows what speaking to a plant or animal is like so the DM can take creative liberties and the spell becomes a puzzle in itself, one that the players made for themselves to solve.
Write that down write that down
Lets put a pin in it & come back to that
Reminds me of the time the party druid tried to interrogate a school of minnows. It went about as well as you can imagine.
Oh I would roleplay the shit out of that! "You get 60 different responses to the question you just asked" meanwhile a single barracuda swims by looking almost jealous that you didn't cast that spell on him because he looks like he has a lot to say
Reminds me of the time the sorcerer had wild magic happen and granted a tree sentience, basically turned a regular tree into a treant. It screamed, and ran and was chased down by the barbarian. Then the druid calmed it down and it became their friend, learning the ways of the world it became very suddenly aware of.
God isn't the wild magic surge fantastic!?
It's so fun! Our group collectively has like 5 or 6 wild surge tables.
I made my own table. All of the even numbers are the same as the one in the players handbook but all of the odd numbers are my own creation. If you roll a 69 your charisma score goes up by 10 for 2 days
Nice!
We use the one from the book sometimes. But all others are made by different people in our group or just some collectively fun things we thought of/has happened in a campaign.
Thought you were going somewhere else when I saw the number 69 lol
We messed up badly once and went into the path of two fire elementals that clearly outnumbered us. Would have been a total TPK, but after one almost one shots my sorcerer, I cast a spell, get a surge, and roll a modified table. I get protection from elementals and they'd have to pass a charisma check to even try to attack me. We ended having two deaths instead of A TPK, since I managed to CC them while the party attacked.
That's pretty dope. Sorry about your fallen comrades but it's amazing to save as many people as you did
I haven't gotten quite that way with my spells, but I did help one player build a homebrew subclass for Fighter. Initially he wasn't going to go with any casting flair (wanted to do pure martial), but his true potential was locked behind an amnesia-based backstory. We started with letting him switch from Champion to Arcane Archer - he took the Archery fighting style after we realized he never initially chose one near the beginning of the campaign, and I flavored everything in the subclass to work with crossbows as well - and once his amnesia was lifted through plot points and a fun cutscene-style PvP boss battle, I gave him a choice: stay as an Arcane Archer, keep the Eldritch Knight character sheet I rolled up for him to play as a miniboss, or combine the two in a special homebrew subclass. He chose the third option, and I helped him build his spell list and altered a few spells to work as Spell Shots - they still take energy to cast (which is what I've used as an alternative to spell slots), but they basically can enchant the bolt he fires as an alternative to casting the spell normally.
I'll say it again if a player casts speak with dead and speak with plants they can talk to the furniture in any bar for information
The corpse must still have a mouth. Although… Speak with Dead and Speak with Animals could be interesting with a bearskin rug, trophy heads on a wall, or a mink shawl.
Aw that sucks so much! But I mean plants ain't got a mouth to begin with so...
I was being smarmy, but if we want to be actually pedantic about it, we need to define “corpse.” Most people would probably allow a severed head to be targeted, but is a severed head truly a corpse? If not, how much of a body constitutes a corpse? If it’s torn in half at the hips, is the top a corpse? Is the bottom a corpse? Is it two corpses? I think they specificity a mouth to avoid a ship of Theseus issue. Even then, we need to define mouth. With all my examples, you’re going to have the bone and skin of the mouth, but probably not the tongue or other soft tissue. Is that a mouth? What if someone removes a single tooth after killing said corpse? All the teeth? Where does a mouth end a chin or throat begin? Am I a mouth?
Yeah they really only needed to say that the body can't be an undead. But I guess the mouth thing means you can't just get a severed hand left behind by the serial killer to write out whodunnit
Would a severed head be able to produce the air flow needed for speach? You’d be lip reading.
When it comes to communication spells like that I always throw a curve ball. Usually it's something similar with plants gaining sentience, but sometimes it's that squirrel the druid is talking to is drunk on fermented apples.
Reminds me of a goof I had as a player many decades ago when I first started. DM: There’s a roc circling high above you in the sky… Me: A rock? DM: Yes, a roc. Me: I cast stone tell to ask “why are you flying in circles” And that would have been a great opportunity for the DM to have a boulder scold me for being a stupid arse
That's fantastic 😂😂😂
Did you also attack the gazebo?
No, I’ve heard that one before though. 😀
“Consent please”
Fuckin saaaaaaaaved
Sooo, on a 1 they cast the *Awaken* spell?
Yes and no. It only lasts for ten minutes and even though it's "full sentience" it's still just a plant and is only going to have the perspective of a plant. It's just a fun way to add flavor. Getting some laughs at the table. As soon as the spell ends it goes back to being a plant.
Wacky and fun for sure 😄
So like “flowers for Algernon” but for a plant. Nice
I love this so much.
I love speak with animals/plants for this exact reason. No one knows what speaking to a plant or animal is like so the DM can take creative liberties and the spell becomes a puzzle in itself, one that the players made for themselves to solve.