Mute Wizard

[Morithias]

I recently came up with an interesting idea for a character. Basically she's a wizard who is mute, but that got me thinking. Even if you take the silent spell feat, and easy metamagic so it's adjustment is +0, a ton of spells are still reliant on talking.

Enchanters need to talk to people they mind control, conjours need to command their troops, etc.

So I'm wondering, what kind of wizard do you think would be the least harmed by lacking the ability to talk?

Also please avoid telepathy and that kind of stuff, I want the mute part of her to actually be a disability. She can still read and write (obviously), but she cannot talk even though she still has her tongue and such.

The system to my knowledge will be Dnd 3.5, I do not have a level or campaign concept to give anymore details. I apologize for lack of info, this concept just came to me 5 minutes ago, and I have not talked to any of our dms about it.

[Elfinor]

A Transmutation specialist could communicate by changing form (like the Changeling in SilverClawShift's Drifter Campaign).

An evoker or illusionist would be able to communicate in an interesting fashion via flashy symbols and signs. An interesting idea is that she used to be ignored before being trained as a Wizard, so using intimidating evocations is basically the only way she knows how to 'communicate'. You could have her look weak and forlorn but have the personality of a bully, basically.

Druid types are traditionally quite solitary (at least the animals understand me). They could communicate via animal empathy/animal companion.

Beguilers/spellthieves are also traditionally 'silent' magical lines of work.

[Gurgeh]

If you want to cast silently without going down the path of Dragon Magazine cheese, you could always play a Geometer (CAr, 39). Spellglyphs are automatically silent, after all.

As far as school specialisation and spell selection are concerned, abjuration is a solid thematic choice. Evocation and transmutation would also work nicely. Illusion could be used quite effectively to make her spells do all her talking for her; if you want to avoid it completely negating the fact that she can't speak, you could make it so she can only use her illusions to parrot things she's seen or heard, so has to communicate with other people's words.

[Mnemnosyne]

Communication issues are actually rather easily solved with an item of at-will or continuous prestidigitation. Most DM's I'm aware of would agree that creating small floating letters falls under the ability of prestidigitation, but even if they don't, the fact that it can explicitly color items is enough: carry around a blank tablet of some sort and color words into it.

Also, consider Nonverbal Spell (40 Planar Handbook) instead of Silent+Easy metamagic, since that will only cost one feat slot instead of two.

[DigoDragon]

I'm imagining an Illusionist that draws words and pictures in the air to communicate. If it were me, I'd borrow my daughter's Magnadoodle and speak through that all the time.

[Slipperychicken]

Mindbender dip + Mindsight. All day 100ft telepathy.

Continuous/at-will Ghost Sound item for 1,000gp. Make talking sounds, just not with your mouth.

Sign Language (or one of the myriad ways of achieving one-on-one telepathy) + Interpreter Cohort.

Dominate a Commoner. Send messages to it telepathically, commanding it to speak for you.

Have a Cleric cast Miracle or something to restore your voice.

EDIT: Whoops. Just read you didn't want telepathy.

[Telonius]

So I'm wondering, what kind of wizard do you think would be the least harmed by lacking the ability to talk?

Also please avoid telepathy and that kind of stuff, I want the mute part of her to actually be a disability. She can still read and write (obviously), but she cannot talk even though she still has her tongue and such.


Raven Familiar comes to mind. So does learning DSL (Drow Sign Language).

[Kerilstrasz]

heh.. have him get a parrot familiar...
you try to talk through him with that telepathetic bond but here's the catch..
have the parrot speach controlled by the DM... so the parrot can always say smthing else... that s a funny approach :P

[FMArthur]

Easy Metamagic doesn't let you decrease a metamagic feat's adjustment below +1, so your initial idea doesn't work. I think Nonverbal spell is your best bet, having the character make required sounds through some other means, like clapping her hands together at the end of the somatic gesture.

Conjurers don't have to be summoners, by the way. Summoning's useful, but Conjuration is still ridiculously good at battlefield control, blasting and utility purposes without summoning anything. Some summons can just be placed in the midst of your enemies and probably know what you have in mind for them anyway. Just forgoing summoning and enchantment still leaves her with a massive and powerful selection as a wizard. They're not essential and they're not even 'standard' resources that she'd be expected to have as a wizard; Enchantment is a frequently barred school.

[Toliudar]

As a note of caution, I've found genuinely mute characters a royal PITA to play. If you don't have an easy work-around, your inability to share ideas quickly with the rest of the group can become frustrating, both for you and for them. So, if you don't go the familiar/telepathy route, may I suggest something like a permanent prestidigitation, that allows you to instantaneously write on any surface, by selectively changing the colours?

[Morithias]

As a note of caution, I've found genuinely mute characters a royal PITA to play. If you don't have an easy work-around, your inability to share ideas quickly with the rest of the group can become frustrating, both for you and for them. So, if you don't go the familiar/telepathy route, may I suggest something like a permanent prestidigitation, that allows you to instantaneously write on any surface, by selectively changing the colours?

I understand that mute players are suppose to be hard to play a communicate with....but that's kinda why I want to do it. That's why it's called a disability.

I'll probably give her sign language and try to talk another player into also taking it. Maybe do the prestidigitation idea later on when I have no use for zero level spells.

If it doesn't work out, I'll just scrap the character.

[Zombimode]

Be a Psion and wear a pointy hat. Done.

[Darrin]

Some other ideas to consider:

Wu Jen get Spell Secrets, which allows them to permanently apply Silent Spell to one of their spells.

There's a whispercast spell in Lords of Madness that, as a swift action, allows you to ignore the verbal component of the next spell you cast. It was designed to allow Tsochar to cast spells when physically unable to speak (but for some reason still requires "whispering"... which is supposed to be speaking softly, so WTF?)

And then there's Surrogate Spellcasting, similar to Nonverbal/Natural Spell, that allows you to substitute grunts/growls and other non-humanoid movements for verbal/somatic components when you're in an alternate form.

[Ranting Fool]

Easy Metamagic doesn't let you decrease a metamagic feat's adjustment below +1, so your initial idea doesn't work.

+1, all your spells would be a bit harder, but I'd still do it :smallcool:

Sometimes playing a character that has a disadvantage can be great fun :smallsmile: