I've seen this asked in a few much earlier posts that didn't get a lot of responses, but I'd like to nip this before it becomes a point of argument in my VTT groups.
Can a druid who is wildshaped (therefore unable to speak) still perform Handle Animal in order to Handle and/or Push his companion?
My thought is Yes, because the skill does not say it is language dependent. Plus creating the Druid class in such a way that makes one ability shut down another ability would seem to be a poor design. But I was hoping to get others' thoughts and reasons in order to have something concrete to point to when this comes up in my VTT groups.
The rules are silent.
But, you can just get a Ring of Eloquence (3500gp) to speak while wildshaped.
I believe the rules are silent for a reason. Anything that is language dependent or that specifically requires audible or visual components generally makes sure to mention so. Otherwise it is left vague. Does this mean there are some holes? Sure. But it would seem to me that a Druid proficient in changing his shape, can still manage through grunts or gestures to at least Handle if not Push his animal companion. If he couldn't, then we have a class who has a key ability which then disallows another key ability.
This would be the equivalence of saying a Barbarian can't use his Trap Sense or Uncanny Dodge abilities while Raging....which would just be very poor class design if that were the case.
And I failed to mention that these specific VTT groups are running Pathfinder Society CORE games. So no Eloquence ring. :(
No one else has any thoughts on this or hasn't run into this issue?