Speak with Animals & Magical Beasts

[Wolfix]

As the title suggests, I would like to know if per the 3.5 RAW you could use the Speak with Animals spell to communicate with a Magical Beast. If not, what other method could one try to communicate with it?

The situation that brought this up is my 3rd level Druid who wants to use Summon Nature's Ally II to summon a Hippogriff. No problems there, but I'd like to have the Hippogriff try to grapple a foe instead of plain attacking it. Therefore I figure I need to be able to communicate with it somehow so I can command it to grapple. Any thoughts as to this question and/or situation?

 

[Hypersmurf]

I would like to know if per the 3.5 RAW you could use the Speak with Animals spell to communicate with a Magical Beast.

'fraid not.

Um... you could play a Wizard or Sorcerer... Summon Monster would get you a Celestial Hippogriff, which understands Common.

Even Tongues won't let you speak with a Hippogriff.

-Hyp.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'd suggest modifying "speak with animals" to "speak with anything that has no language and is kinda like an animal".

Otherwise there's this whole subgroup of things that cannot be communicated with by anyone, just because their "for d&d purposes only" creature type says that they're the wrong type.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Get the party wizard to cast Fox's Cunning on the hippogriff. Then it can understand Common.

-Hyp.

 

[Starglim]

Remind me how that works?

Casting Tongues on the hippogriff would work, and also allow it to speak.


edit: If all Celestial creatures can speak Common then I've been playing Summon Monster very wrongly. I can't see from the SRD that they gain any specific language, including Celestial.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Casting Tongues on the hippogriff would work, and also allow it to speak.

Good point - I was only considering casting Tongues on the Druid, which wouldn't let him communicate with the Hippogriff. Your way works.

edit: If all Celestial creatures can speak Common then I've been playing Summon Monster very wrongly. I can't see from the SRD that they gain any specific language, including Celestial, which they did have in 3.0.

Abilities
Intelligence: A creature can speak all the languages mentioned in its description, plus one additional language per point of Intelligence bonus. Any creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher understands at least one language (Common, unless noted otherwise).


Celestial Creature
Abilities: Same as the base creature, but Intelligence is at least 3.

Neither the Celestial Creature nor the Hippogriff description 'notes otherwise', therefore a Celestial Hippogriff, with an Int of 3, understands Common.

Likewise, a Fox's Cunninged Hippogriff, with an Int of 6, understands Common.

-Hyp.

 

[dcollins]

Boy, if Celestial creatures don't speak Celestial I think something is pretty wrong.

From Speak Language skill:

Language Typical Speakers Alphabet
...
Celestial Good outsiders Celestial

I realize that Celestial creatures are not technically "outsiders", but still.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Boy, if Celestial creatures don't speak Celestial I think something is pretty wrong.

Well, creatures speak the languages mentioned in their descriptions. The 'Celestial Creature' template doesn't reference any languages at all.

-Hyp.

 

[dcollins]

I bet if we asked any designer or Sage on this case they would not rule quite so narrowly. I'd like to say that the very existence of a "Celestial" language counts as "unless noted otherwise".

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I bet if we asked any designer or Sage on this case they would not rule quite so narrowly. I'd like to say that the very existence of a "Celestial" language counts as "unless noted otherwise".

... but you'd be wrong.