What skill imitates animal sounds?


Rules Questions

Lantern Lodge

You might think it would be Knowledge: Nature but just knowing what a coyote sounds like doesn't mean you can imitate it. Or would it be Survival?

Scarab Sages

I would think it to be a Knowledge (nature) to know what you're trying to emulate, then either a Linguistics or Perform (sing) check to actually reproduce it. Or you could use Ghost Sound theoretically.
To me Survival is more used for tracking and foraging/hunting than animal calls, though I suppose an argument could be made.

Lantern Lodge

Would skill ranks in disguise help? Like a synergy bonus?

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

I'd probably allow either Survival (since it's a hunting skill) or Disguise.

Grand Lodge

Would this not be covered in Handle Animal?

Lantern Lodge

I don't see Handle Animal covering this at all, unless you were making the animal itself make noises on command.


Linguistics?


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Bluff or Profession (Hunter).


I could throw profession (hunter) into the discussion. But survival should work, too.

Scarab Sages

Survival, Knowledge: nature, or Profession Hunter for no penalty, or bluff/linguistics at a penalty.

Silver Crusade

I'd go with survival as the go to thing (as someone else mentioned, it's a common hunting technique), with the caveat that any appropriate profession or perform should work too--i.e. singing, hunter, ventriloquist. I'd allow disguise too, since that does include throwing your voice. Linguistics I probably wouldn't go for, but an argument could be made.


I'd rule of thumb it, allow whatever related skill you wished to use. It would be cool if when sitting at the table you broke out a "CAW CAW", or a "YIP YIP YAHOOOO" then made your roll. Course I'm not a DM.


I think it's Disguise.

Liberty's Edge

Making an animal call I would say Survival, Knowledge Nature, or Profession Hunter.


Knowledge Nature all the way. At my local park, the guy who knows all the animal calls is a Naturalist. So he naturally (aha) has several ranks in Knowledge Nature.

Dark Archive

Go with intent. If you are merely trying to make a call perhaps as a signal or to demonstrate what an animal sounds like? Then Nature, Survival, or Hunter should do it. But if you attempting to trick a person or animal into thinking it's an real animals sound, to lure, drop their guard, or to scare something away? Then Bluff.

Liberty's Edge

I disagree, Bluff should have no bearing.

You don't roll Bluff when singing a song to make someone think it is correct (unless you are completely unskilled and trying to fake it), nor when making any other profession check, unless you have no skill and again are trying to , well, Bluff someone.

You might allow a Bluff check if you are making some ridiculous sound and trying to convince someone it is a wild beast of a dragon or something, but bluff should never be a replacement for an actual skill that you can make use of.

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

I agree that Bluff is the wrong way to go. Making an animal call is trying to imitate another creature, which is exactly what Disguise is for. Survival or Knowledge (nature) would work too, since they are relevant to being familiar with the animal sounds in the first place, but not Bluff.

Grand Lodge

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We were at a warehouse on the docks. The PCs had mostly all climbed on the roof while the paladin at the door distracted the guard at the door, trying to get him to leave before combat broke out and the PCs broke into the warehouse. The barbarian climbed down the back of the warehouse near a window where the guy they were looking for was. He asked if he could "somehow make the guy come to the window" I said "how?" and he said "idk, by making an animal noise." So I said, "sure, give me a bluff check." He rolled a 1 and yelled out "I'm a dolphin!" It was great.


You do however use Bluff to attempt to convey a coded-message. If that was the intent, the RAW answer is Bluff. If the intent is demonstration, then a lot of the suggestions above apply.

If the intent is to fool an opponent into thinking a real animal is present, bluff comes into play again.

Bluff wrote:
Secret Messages: You can use Bluff to pass hidden messages along to another character without others understanding your true meaning by using innuendo to cloak your actual message. The DC of this check is 15 for simple messages and 20 for complex messages. If you are successful, the target automatically understands you, assuming you are communicating in a language that it understands. If your check fails by 5 or more, you deliver the wrong message. Other creatures that receive the message can decipher it by succeeding at an opposed Sense Motive check against your Bluff result.


Well, first you would need to know what the animal sounds like (Knowledge Nature, Survival, Profession (farming), or some related skill that would give you access to such knowledge).

Once you have the prerequisite knowledge, this is clearly a disguise check as disguise is specifically used for making your voice sound different than usual.

Lantern Lodge

Bluff uses innuendo. Animal sounds are not innuendo. Based on the description the secret messages you can use Bluff with are clearly meant to be ones using words.

Dark Archive

Bluff is always used if you are trying to trick someone into believing something through auditory means. Disguise is used if you are trying to trick someone into believing something through visual means. These two skills are the only skills used when trying to deceive someone or something.
Now you might require a Nature, Survival, or Huntsman check to see if you even know HOW to mimic those sounds. But to actually perform them as a means of deceiving, it would have to be a bluff.


Perform (Mimicry)?


If you want to imitate a fox, perform sounds great.

Dark Archive

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Randarak wrote:
Perform (Mimicry)?

My next bard is so doing this! Anytime he does a bardic performance he just sits there mimicking random animals.


It seems bluff, perform, survival and even knowledge nature are aappropriate skills.

Bluff- you are making an audible noise, imitating an animal, and are trying to trick someone into believing it really is an animal.

Perform- you are imitating or mimicking an animal, and the better your performance is the more believable your attempt.

Survival and K:Nature- your knowledge of the wilderness allows you to mimic the sounds and calls of common animals..

I would simply allow the players to make an attempt once with which ever skill they have the highest bonus with. :)

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