Familiars and Language

[Laughingman]

So I was trying to look this up out of curiosity. Does anyone know if Familiars can speak common?

[grymhild]

short answer, probably not (except a raven)

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/sorce ... #familiars

Speak with Master (Ex)
If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Other creatures do not understand the communication without magical help.

Speak with Animals of Its Kind (Ex)
If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties): bats with bats, rats with rodents, cats with felines, hawks and owls and ravens with birds, lizards and snakes with reptiles, toads with amphibians, weasels with similar creatures (weasels, minks, polecats, ermines, skunks, wolverines, and badgers). Such communication is limited by the intelligence of the conversing creatures.

A raven familiar can speak one language of its master’s choice as a supernatural ability.

familiars are fairly smart, they start out at Int 6, and gain +1 Intelligence every odd level of Wizard or Sorcerer until 15 at level 19-20. (I'm not sure if this continues after level 20)

this means that they can probably communicate in other ways, even if they can't talk.

[Planehopper]

On my phone sitting in a parking lot (#dadlife) but I found this..

http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp? ... /20050906a

[Laughingman]

I saw those two pages when looking it up but they are both 5.0 and non faerun specific. Every time I try to look up 3.5 I find homebrew rules only.

[grymhild]

the SRD is official 3.5, it's not home brew. if you want to look up the information in the 3.5 PHB its the same.

normally 3.5 mechanics rules apply unless overridden by specific Forgotten Realms rules.

i don't know of specific FR rules regarding familiars except for added creatures for Improved Familiar

[Wolfrayne]

As far as i know Raven is the only one that can speak common, it would be safe to assume that they could speak any native language they would know. Animals can not speak.

[Blackman D]

whats in the PBH (SRD is a mix of 3.5 PBH/DMG info) is the base rules for familiars

familiars can only talk to their masters in any language the master picks

can speak with other animals of their kind; a familiar -was- an animal but once they are called they turn into magical beasts

only creatures specified as being able to speak as an animal, as in before its called, can speak common - and the only real examples that i know of off the top of my head is the raven as mention and all almost all dragon types (some of telepathic and cant speak common but can invade your mind like illithids)

[Laughingman]

So aside from pseudo dragon in game we shouldn't be running around talking to people with our familiars according to lore. I presume that we would be using the familiar scrying ability or something to listen in on conversations though?

[Deathgrowl]

So aside from pseudo dragon in game we shouldn't be running around talking to people with our familiars according to lore. I presume that we would be using the familiar scrying ability or something to listen in on conversations though?

Pseudodragon can't talk. It understands various languages, but it can only make animal sounds. It can communicate telepathically, however, according to Monster Manual.

Faerie Dragon, on the other hand, can talk! (So sayeth Draconomicon, where they are introduced to 3.5)

Don't know about the rest of the new familiars.

[Planehopper]

I am 95% certain that mephits speak a language and would be capable of common if not spoken already. They have hilarious naming conventions, where they give themselves long, impossible, titles like 'Methyx the Terrible, Slayer of Pixies, Strongest on all the Planes' and the like.

A Quasit probably does, too.. but I am not real certain.

[Deathgrowl]

According to Monster Manual, Mephits speak common and their elemental language.

Quasit speak common and abyssal, being demons.

[dedude]

No one interested in what the pig speaks? What does the monsters manual say?

[Planehopper]

eythay eakspay Pig Latin ofyay oursecay.

[Deathgrowl]

Pig isn't in the monster manual. Evidently, pigs aren't monsters.

[chad878262]

And yet a Mastiff, Owl, Mule and Pony (among others) ARE in the Monster Manual (at least the 5e one has them...)


Sorry PIG, you just are not as scary as a pony.