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Colmarr
2009-03-31, 10:28 PM
I'm curious about how other playgrounders interpret this ritual:


Battlefield Elocution

With your voice magically amplified, every soul in the army standing before you can hear your words.

Level: 3
Category: Exploration
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: 1 hour
Component Cost: 25 gp
Market Price: 125 gp
Key Skill: Arcana or Religion (no check)

You gain the ability to speak so that all creatures within 100 squares with a DC 0 Perception check can hear you. Only words you desire to be heard so broadly are. You or another creature under this effect can transfer the power to a willing recipient with a touch and a minor action as long as the effect persists. For some ritual casters, this spell makes their voices loud as thunder; others’ voices ring in people’s ears without crossing the intervening space.

I'm specifically interested in the underlined words.

So, a question for you. If 4 creatures are set up as follows, with the cleric having already cast Battlefield Elocution:

Cleric -----> hobgoblin -----> ogre -----> rogue.

can the cleric use the ritual to speak to the rogue without the hobgoblin or ogre hearing.

To re-phrase, do you interpret the bolding text to mean (1) the caster chooses who hears the words, or (2) the caster chooses how far the message travels?

Shadow_Elf
2009-03-31, 10:36 PM
I think it means "you're voice is only really loud when you want it to be, not constantly, for the duration of the ritual", not "you can choose who hears what you say."

RTGoodman
2009-03-31, 10:37 PM
Er... I took that phrase to mean a completely different thing. I thought it was supposed to mean that you can pick and choose what phrases are magnified, so you can give a heroic speech to your army and stop in the middle to tell your adjacent ally how screwed you all are.


EDIT: And I see Shadow_Elf thinks the same, so we've got a slight consensus.

Inyssius Tor
2009-03-31, 10:39 PM
Consensus, I embroaden thee. Thirded.

Townopolis
2009-03-31, 10:40 PM
Er... I took that phrase to mean a completely different thing. I thought it was supposed to mean that you can pick and choose what phrases are magnified, so you can give a heroic speech to your army and stop in the middle to tell your adjacent ally how screwed you all are.


EDIT: And I see Shadow_Elf thinks the same, so we've got a slight consensus.

^ This. mo' text

Studoku
2009-03-31, 10:41 PM
I agree with the above two* posters- it looks like it allows you to choose which words are magnified. This could (or should) potentially lead to comedic "Oh crap, I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet," moments.

*EDIT: four

Inyssius Tor
2009-03-31, 10:47 PM
Above four posters, actually. Typing "me too" doesn't take us much time. :smallcool:

Anyway, "Only words you desire to be heard so broadly are (heard so broadly)" is equivalent to saying "Only words you want amplified are amplified," or "you only amplify the words you want to magically amplify."

RTGoodman
2009-03-31, 10:53 PM
Above four posters, actually. Typing "me too" doesn't take us much time. :smallcool:

Yeah... and this is the fastest posting of the same thing in a row I've seen since that psionics thread where like 10 posters in a row all wrote "YOU CAN'T SPEND MORE POWER POINTS ON A SINGLE POWER THAN YOUR MANIFESTER LEVEL!" :smalltongue:


One thing I'd add, though, is that I think you're basically looking for a combination of battlefield elocution and the (3.x) spell (Rary's) telepathic bond (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/TelepathicBond.htm). I don't think it's been published in 4E yet, but homebrewing it shouldn't be too hard.

Townopolis
2009-03-31, 10:58 PM
There was one thread, where three people in a row said "play a ranger." I mean, those exact three words, verbatim, with nothing else in the post. Three people within four seconds.

Colmarr
2009-03-31, 11:00 PM
I think you're basically looking for a combination of battlefield elocution and the (3.x) spell (Rary's) telepathic bond (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/TelepathicBond.htm). I don't think it's been published in 4E yet, but homebrewing it shouldn't be too hard.

I'm not actively looking for it, but I was curious whether Battlefield Elocution was meant to be it.

My DM came to the same interpretation as the above replies, but then we both wondered whether there was a telepathy effect in 4e yet. I haven't been able to locate one yet.

Inyssius Tor
2009-03-31, 11:04 PM
There's the Battle Standard of Tactics...

"When you plant the battle standard in your space or an adjacent square, it creates a zone in a close burst 10. You and each ally in the zone gain the ability to communicate telepathically, with no chance of foes hearing your thoughts. You and your allies automatically know each other’s positions even if you cannot see one another, and can target one another with powers even without line of sight."

...but that's a level 18 item, and I'm sure there's something closer. Perhaps Fool's Speech, a sixth-level bardic ritual?

"When you finish performing the ritual, you and up to five allies who heard it can use a secret language to communicate with each other. To other creatures, your speech is incomprehensible, a string of nonsense words. Affected characters can speak in Fool’s Speech or another language at their discretion."

Alteran
2009-03-31, 11:09 PM
You could use One Heart, One Mind, a level 6 paladin daily utility.

Until the end of the encounter, targets can communicate telepathically with each other out to a range of 20 squares, and your aid another actions give a +4 bonus instead of +2.

Colmarr
2009-03-31, 11:15 PM
You could use One Heart, One Mind, a level 6 paladin daily utility.

I knew I remembered reading one somewhere!

Unfortunately, we don't have a paladin in the party, and I highly doubt anyone's interested in multiclassing into one.

Oracle_Hunter
2009-03-31, 11:33 PM
Well, Wizards can do one-way communication with Ghost Sound, and Sending Stones (LV 11 Wondrous Item) work like walky-talkies.

But yeah, instant, silent communication is pretty powerful... y'know, if your party actually maintains the IC/OOC knowledge division :smalltongue:

TwystidMynd
2009-03-31, 11:43 PM
Think of it as a giant magic megaphone. You can choose when to speak into it, and when not to, but you can't control who hears it when you do.

Colmarr
2009-03-31, 11:48 PM
[QUOTE=Oracle_Hunter;5943420]Well, Wizards can do one-way communication with Ghost Sound, and Sending Stones (LV 11 Wondrous Item) work like walky-talkies.QUOTE]

Hmm. I'll have to keep them in mind. We're on the cusp of level 5 at the moment, so only three more levels until they can appear on the treasure table (7 + 4).

Thanks

FoE
2009-04-01, 01:05 AM
Battlefield Elocution is practically designed for comedy. :smalltongue:

"DON'T WORRY, MEN, OUR VICTORY IS ASSURED!"

*Crowd cheers*

(Aside to trusted lieutenant) "These poor bastards don't stand a chance. As soon as the front lines engage, we run like hell."