Cloak of manta ray allows casting?

[Dolza]

Some of my players are going on a underwater adventure. they bought a cloak of the manta ray to help them out. What i was wondering is will this cloak allow for spell casting. the description says that you change into a ray similar to the polymorph spell but you can release your arms and fight with a weapon.....if you're polymorphed into a manta ray, can you still cast spells?

 

[ARandomGod]

Some of my players are going on a underwater adventure. they bought a cloak of the manta ray to help them out. What i was wondering is will this cloak allow for spell casting. the description says that you change into a ray similar to the polymorph spell but you can release your arms and fight with a weapon.....if you're polymorphed into a manta ray, can you still cast spells?

Hrmmm...

No, you can't under the poly morph spell, as a manta ray doesn't have arms or mouth to make the appropriate components. You can with wildshaping and the wildspell feat (druidic).

If you can release your arms you can do somatic components. If there's a way that you can make appropriate verbal components you can do that, if the material component is such that it can be used underwater then that's good too. I'd say this cloak allows it within those material component limitations. And so, one without components can be cast with no problems.

 

[Rath the Brown]

emphasis mine

Cloak of the Manta Ray: This cloak appears to be made of leather until the wearer enters salt water. At that time the cloak of the manta ray adheres to the individual, and he appears nearly identical to a manta ray (as the polymorph spell, except that it allows only manta ray form). He gains a +3 natural armor bonus, the ability to breathe underwater, and a swim speed of 60 feet, like a real manta ray.

Although the cloak does not enable the wearer to bite opponents as a manta ray does, it does have a tail spine that can be used to strike at opponents behind the wearer, dealing 1d6 points of damage. This attack can be used in addition to any other attack the character has, using his highest melee attack bonus. The wearer can release his arms from the cloak without sacrificing underwater movement if so desired.

Well, it depends on how much difference you want between your "nearly identical to a manta ray" and a true manta ray to be. Since you can remove your arms from the cloak, there is at least one difference since manta rays do not have arms. If you rule that the character retains mouth and throat features close enough to humanoid to allow speech while using the cloak, then the character should be able to cast spells within the normal limitations for being underwater.

 

[ARandomGod]

emphasis mine



Well, it depends on how much difference you want between your "nearly identical to a manta ray" and a true manta ray to be. Since you can remove your arms from the cloak, there is at least one difference since manta rays do not have arms. If you rule that the character retains mouth and throat features close enough to humanoid to allow speech while using the cloak, then the character should be able to cast spells within the normal limitations for being underwater.

For that matter, the ability to breath underwater seems to me to convey at least some ability to speak underwater... although whether or not the water would distort the sounds to the point of changing the component seems realm for house rules... I do know that sound, if anything, carries better through water than through air.