Silent Spell Feat

[lostpike]

How does this work with spells which require you to say something or give a command.

Examples: Suggestion, Hideous laughter

[SlimGauge]

Hideous Laughter is a mind affecting compulsion, but it is not language dependent, so it works just fine. I imagine you just give the subject a look and raise a Spock eyebrow.

Suggestion, however, is a language dependent spell. It can be successfully cast silently, but "If the target cannot understand or hear what the caster of a language-dependent spell says, the spell has no effect, even if the target fails its saving throw."

[Friend of the Dork]

What Slimgauge said. Silent Suggestion can be used covertly though - the target will hear your words, but not spellcasting, so if he can't see your other Components, he can't know he's been cast a spell on.

A Sorcerer, having Eschew Materials, can cast Suggestion in a social setting without anyone seeing anything except him concentrating and talking - which is not unusual in important conversations.

[Azten]

Though strangely enough paizo has said even Silent, Still spells can be identified as they are cast.

[Friend of the Dork]

Azten wrote:

Though strangely enough paizo has said even Silent, Still spells can be identified as they are cast.

Well, it's +10 to spellcraft DC.. or that could be a 3.5 ruling actually. In any case, it's not a long stretch that spellcasting can be hidden, and the rules open for it:

"Identifying a spell as it is being cast requires no action, but you must be able to clearly see the spell as it is being cast, and this incurs the same penalties as a Perception skill check due to distance, poor conditions, and other factors."

So if you can't see the gesticulating, hear the words of the spell, notice any material components used, all you got left is the caster concentrating, staring and being otherwise preoccupied. It pretty much enters the "other factors" territory, which means ad-hoc penalties to Spellcraft, as found in the Perception skill.

Also, if you are sneaking you should be able to cast Silent Spells without being detected, assuming you succeed in your Stealth test. At least, I found no rules saying casting Silent spells automatically breaks stealth. In fact, Stealth doesn't mention spellcasting at all, unless it's an attack. Perception on the other hand mention you can hear the sound of people talking or whispering, so Verbal components with spellcasting is DC 0 (plus modifiers) to detect.

[Zhayne]

I've always interpreted the casting of the spell as separate from the issuing of the command/suggestion.

[Ravingdork]

Friend of the Dork wrote:

What Slimgauge said. Silent Suggestion can be used covertly though - the target will hear your words, but not spellcasting, so if he can't see your other Components, he can't know he's been cast a spell on.

Unless they make their saving throw.

Core Rulebook Magic Chapter Rules Excerpt:

A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack.

Friend of the Dork wrote:

A Sorcerer, having Eschew Materials, can cast Suggestion in a social setting without anyone seeing anything except him concentrating and talking - which is not unusual in important conversations.

Paizo's official stance, is that spells can still be identified with Spellcraft even though there is no observable stimuli (that is, components). That means your above trick will only work when there are no persons knowledgeable about spells about.