Wild shape, wild speech, chalk, and elemental languages

[Undone]

While wild shaped you lose any ability to speak normally. However as an elemental are you able to speak your elemental language? All elementals speak their given elemental language.

Additionally as an elemental you can write with chalk. Does this bypass the need for the wild speech feat?

Last question if a druid has the ghost sound spell can he simply speak through the spell?

Seems silly that a feat would be the same as a trait (Two world magic)

[Ximen Bao]

Ghost sound doesn't let you talk. Part of the illusion rules is that you can't do specific voices unless the spell says so.

Elementals should be able to speak and write. It makes wild-speech only useful if you want to talk in animal/plant forms.

[Quandary]

The general rules for Figments say:

Quote:

A figment that includes audible effects cannot duplicate intelligible speech unless the spell description specifically says it can.

As to Ghost Sound, it says:

Quote:

You choose what type of sound ghost sound creates when casting it and cannot thereafter change the sound's basic character... talking, singing, shouting, walking, marching, or running sounds can be created.

Talking by definition consists of specific words, if you can't make specific words then it just doesn't sound like talking. So I take that as over-riding the general rule for Figments.

I guess it's reasonable to allow changing/choosing specific words from round to round, as long as that is still within the same "basic character" (e.g. talking, shouting, singing), and doing so should be a Free Action... But you can't do that off your turn like normal speech, since this isn't just talking, but controlling a spell. So it can't replace speech 1:1, even if it lets you create words/sounds. Outside of combat, that could become noticeable in a normal conversation setting, although you could play it off as mulling over your words in most cases.

The Polymorph rules never actually DIRECTLY state you can't speak in the chosen form if that creature normally can't speak a language, but that is kind of assumed and implicit in the following:

Polymorph Rules wrote:

While in such a form, you cannot cast any spells that require material components (unless you have the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form you choose has the capability to make such movements or speak, such as a dragon.

Like dragons, Elementals can also speak languages, so they are well able to speak (and Cast Verbal spells), and if you wish they can be humanoid in general form, meaning Somatic spells are just dandy. If a creature has a language that doesn't have some special caveat (like being telepathic, or scent-based), then they have the capacity to speak, and so do you when in their form via Polymorph.