Talking Corpse + Sign Language?

[ellindsey]

Here's a question that came up in my last game session.

Let's say a cleric is casting Talking Corpse to try and communicate with a corpse, but the corpse does not have a working throat and mouth. However, it does have hands, and the corpse when alive knew Sign Language, and so does the caster. Could the corpse answer the cleric's questions with sign language instead of speaking?

I know that by strict rules as written this wouldn't work, as the corpse "must have a throat and mouth to speak at all". But as a GM, I'd be inclined to allow it.

[breithauptclan]

Yeah, I would allow that too.

[Cordell Kintner]

GMs are encouraged to make rules changes if they make sense or if you just want to. Think of the "rules" as more of guidelines.

[Castilliano]

I would for the sense of inclusion IRL, but I don't think the spell would without that because I don't think the spell animates the throat and mouth. I think it uses them as a focus for the spirit (or its residual essence). If the spell does animate the throat and mouth, then yes, I'd lean toward it animating other communicative body parts (if present), though that raises the question of how much of which parts would be necessary. Like can the hands do much without an arm? Etc.
Hmm, that also raises the problem that wouldn't other corpses (even if headless) be able to use body language too? That's a major element of otherwise oral communication. I'd nix that since my reasoning's based on Earth-social rather than Golarion-metaphysical reasoning, but it seems reasonable in world if one's to allow sign language.

I wouldn't let it sidestep say a written adventure where the villain removes the mouth to bypass the spell unless the adventure explicitly mentioned they'd overlooked that workaround. If the villain's familiar with the spell, they'd know to remove the hands too if that was part of the spell's abilities (or if by accident, the writer still intended the spell not to be a route toward solutions, not that many writers include dead NPCs who know sign language).

[breithauptclan]

Castilliano wrote:

I would for the sense of inclusion IRL, but I don't think the spell would without that because I don't think the spell animates the throat and mouth. I think it uses them as a focus for the spirit (or its residual essence).

Just use their hands as a focus for it instead then. :D