Communicating with Pseudodragons


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Here's a weird one. Let me get you the relevant text real quick, then my question:

Pseudodragon monster entry: Pseudodragon or the relevant section: Languages Draconic; telepathy (60 ft.)

Telepathy info: Telepathy or quotation: "Telepathy (Su) The creature can mentally communicate with any other creature within a certain range (specified in the creature's entry, usually 100 feet) that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time."

So, here's what I'm wondering: Let's say a spellcaster uses the newly expanded (in Champions of Purity) summoning list to bring in a Pseudodragon. This mage has Common, but not Draconic, for languages.

To what extent can this summoner give orders to the Pseudodragon? Does Telepathy allow the Pseudodragon to start a 'mental conversation' with the summoner and their replies in "Thinking in Common" are both received and 'translated'/understood by the Pseudodragon? Must the summoner think in Draconic instead?

Or is the telepathy one-way and the summoner couldn't "reply by thought" in this case? If so, would they need to talk in Draconic to give it orders?

The way Telepathy is written, I assume mental communication sent by the Pseudodragon is indeed 'automatically translated' by the recipient so long as they have any one language and it doesn't matter which one it is. Am I right in believing that? Or does it 'think in Draconic' and your character must likewise be able to think in that language in order to understand the dragon? (If that's the case, one presumes it was intended to prevent the Pseudodragon from telepathy-linking to animals and such).

Or to put it as plainly as possible: "How much communication, and by what means, can a Pseudodragon with its default languages and a summoning spellcaster that lacks Draconic do?"

Silver Crusade

Celestial Pegasus wrote:


Pseudodragon monster entry: pseudodragon

Telepathy info: telepathy

Silver Crusade

Whoops. Sorry, forgot the tag to make those functional links. Added, and thank you for the reminder!

Silver Crusade

You bet. Some posters here also like the relevant text posted in a 'quote' and/or 'spoiler' tag, so links do not need to be followed.

Silver Crusade

Good point. Tossed that in with an edit too.


We've always played that as long as the creature has a language (basically we read intent to mean that it is capable of communicating) the creature and the telepath can communicate without issue.

It says nothing about sharing a language (which is where you'd run into issues with one way communication), just having a language is enough for them both to communicate with each other.

Silver Crusade

That seems reasonable; thanks for your thoughts Skylancer!

I'll gladly welcome input from others as well, as I want a good range of answers if there isn't anything official on this sort of topic as of yet. It's possible I'll need to go in expecting some table variance though.

Shadow Lodge

Lack of shared language should not be a barrier using telepathy - the ability explicitly says you can communicate with any creature that has a language, any language.

There's a bit of variation on whether and to what extent telepathy allows two-way communication, but I usually assume a telepathic creature can receive any thoughts directed specifically at it, allowing the pseudodragon in this case to take telepathic orders from the summoner, and that thread seems to suggest that's the more common interpretation.

Silver Crusade

Oh hey, that is a nice thread. ...And I think it provides about as good an answer as is possible outside of official response; this makes summoned Pseudodragons a fairly interesting choice. Thanks, Weirdo!

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