Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Speak with Animals and the Dead

Can we cut down the number of Scrolls, Potions, Amulets and Books that grant these abilities?

I get it, they are cool abilities. You want people to be able to use them. But they are cool class abilities. By effectively letting any peasant talk to all the corpses and squirrels in the world, you remove a cool class ability. An ability that would be worth replaying the game alone for. Just not now because you can do it on any character anyway. I had 11 Potions of Animal Speaking in my inventory from just picking them up here and there. The Amulet of Lost Voices is much worse still, trivializing Speak with the Dead for everyone as early as level 2 with it's infinite casts. As if that somehow wasn't too much already, Scrolls of Speak with the Dead are everywhere, and anyone can use them. It has become a mundane thing, when it could be a unique and exciting perk. Classic Larian I suppose, creating something cool and then overdoing and completely bastardizing it where it's not cool anymore. Surfaces, Shoving, Spell Scrolls.. the lack of restraint.

There are many classes / races that get these abilities. Off the top of my head:

Speak with Animals - Druids, Rangers, Oath of the Ancients Paladins, Forest Gnomes
Speak with the Dead - all Clerics

Why can't these abilities be special and restricted to those classes? You're very likely to cover one or both abilities in a party of 4 already. Unique abilities are what make playing a certain class fun, and also gives them a purpose in a party. Don't bastardize cool unique abilities like this, please.

Bards can also get speak with animals at level one, and you can select a feat called Ritual Caster where you can pick both animal speaking and speak with the dead. But I actually like that these skills are so accessible. It adds a lot to the game.

Honestly... I'd rather they make these skills more relevant...

There's so few situations where they actually make a difference, where you couldn't simply use a Animal Handling skill check or just loot a note that tells you the same as the corpse would...

Also, Wildheart Barbarians get Speak with Animals, Warlocks can get an Eldritch Invocation at level 2 for Speak with Animals and at level 9 for Speak with Dead. Also literally anyone can get Speak with Dead from reading the Necromancy book the first time.

P.s. The Dungeons and Dragons movie actually also featured an amulet that provided infinite uses of Speak with the Dead... So it's not just a Larian thing.



You literally just defeated your own argument.

If you're "Very likely to cover one or both abilities in a party of 4 already" then there's not much replayability is there if you simply already have access to those skills. It's not like these situational, out of combat, skills particularly define gameplay of a class.

What is this, debate class?

No, the argument is that these abilities are already quite common. There's no need to scatter items everywhere to make 110% sure everyone everywhere can use them constantly. They're also not necessary to beat the game so why trivialize them in the first place.

Another argument is that the abilities themselves are devalued if you are expected to be able to use them every single time a target is available, even if you don't have the appropriate classes.

Perhaps most importantly, there's multiplayer where it would be really cool that your PC could contribute something unique to the party. But these class abilities are not flavorful or unique if anyone can just use a scroll or potion to gain them.

The only counter-argument that I can really think of is "they're fun to use, I like that I can use them whenever". Which is valid and fitting for some casual fun gameplay, but completely misses the points I made.

No. It's a forum. Meant for discussion.

However, you assert something, then provide reasons against your own assertion. Which is not a particularly good way to make a case.


So... They're not "Class defining abilities" like your original post was trying to portray them as?

Thus, there's no reason AGAINST making them freely available everywhere?


There's also no need to NOT give items that grant there effects. Given that they're "Already quite common" and "Not necessary to beat the game" there's no harm in scattering a bunch of items to provide their effects.

While their addition helps alleviate any pressure to run specific classes in your party (Much like how that amulet that gives the Guidance cantrip helps remove the need to have a Divine caster/Tome Warlock in the party without losing a fairly useful ability)


That's a weak argument. Especially when they're "Already quite common". The fact that they're Ritual spells means they don't cost anything to use, so you literally can use them "Every single time a target is available" the only thing that the items bypasses is the need to have appropriate classes, but as you already point out they're "Quite common" spells so this is a minor thing.


Yeah... But they're "Already quite common" aren't they? So the likelyhood of your character being the ONLY one to bring the ability is going to be fairly low isn't it?

Like, even if they removed all the items... What are the chances that someone else has picked a class that also gains these abilities? Very high for Speak with Animals. Moderately high for Speak with Dead (Bard is a fairly popular class)


You mean, other than "Well, these abilities are already common enough that most 4 character parties will have access to them so there's no harm in having items provide them for the niche cases where someone manages to make a party that is devoid of these skills and still actually cares about the minor effects they have on the overall game"

Honestly, it feels to me that these items inclusion is more to populate loot tables with junk items (Instead of more valuable Healing Potions and scrolls of spells that are impactful) given how readily available the skills are and how little they provide.

There are many more significant cases of "Class defining features" being devalued than a couple of minor Rituals that provide a handful of extra dialogues. For example, the aforementioned Guidance amulet. Or how anyone can respec into Cleric 10 to get a Divine Intervention and then spec back into their original class. Or how water bottles devalue "Call Water" spells and abilities by not requiring spell slots or rests to replenish etc.

You did forget bards for Speak with Animals and Dead, they are first and second level bard spells. We also can speak with plants, because we are awesome like that
Greetings from a dedicated tabletop bard player

Feel free to discuss the topic then instead of trying to turn it into a pointless argument and "win" on the internet.