would this way of using silence work

[Kimras]

Say I have three to four coins with silence spell put on them when placing the coins around me and another person so the spell is around us but we are not in the spell. Can others hear us or would it be completely silent to those outside the circle and could someone scy this conversation?

[Segev]

A silence spell's AoE doesn't permit sound through it, so you'd be "safe" as long as there was nobody trying to listen via some other less direct means than simply standing nearby. Presumably, since you've got a circle, if it's an open-topped chamber such that sound could go OVER the silence effects, you could be heard that way (albeit at a penalty). Likewise, somebody could try listening through the floor. Or through a ceiling, if one is present. Again, this would be higher-DC than if they could just listen straightforwardly.

Anybody who tried a scrying effect that can hear remotely would be able to listen in if they placed their scrying sensor in your "open" space of non-silence.

It's a good and useful strategy, but it's not impenetrable.

[Geddy2112]

It works, but it requires multiple castings of silence, and silence only lasts 1 round/level, so you gotta have your conversation quick. If you are looking for something a bit simpler(albeit not foolproof) there is silent table (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/silent-table), if your whispering that is a DC35 perception check for anybody within 10 ft of the silent table.

[Flickerdart]

You may wish to have a better way of controlling the shape of the silence - someone above you or below you (burrowing or incorporeal or just in the floorboards) will hear you just fine.

[Segev]

Really, it's probably better to try to get access to Mindlink or a Telepathy special ability. (Psion (Telepath) 1 will get Mindlink, while Telepathy(Su) is available to the mindbender, and through a couple of PF improved familiars.) There's no evesdropping on those.

[Kimras]

well its less I don't want other to know what is being said and more to cover the screams during interrogation while still hearing what he has to say since my character has been lying about the god he follows which is a god of pain and they believe my god is a god of truth and but it is a secret ritual that will get out the truth can only be done from the one casting the ritual and the one being affected

[Geddy2112]

well its less I don't want other to know what is being said and more to cover the screams during interrogation while still hearing what he has to say since my character has been lying about the god he follows which is a god of pain and they believe my god is a god of truth and but it is a secret ritual that will get out the truth can only be done from the one casting the ritual and the one being affected

How fast can you milk information out of a person? At 10th level, each casting of silence will last a minute. It will take a round to cast and place the other objects, leaving you 18-24 seconds into your first silence wearing off. So that gives you 36 seconds to torture somebody to the point that they will confess. If you are less than 4th level, you won't even be able to cast silence fast enough to get around to torturing. If you are higher than 10th level, there is magic that could make people talk. A mechanical barrier or a ball gag might be better. Also, silent table lasts for minutes/level and can be cast on the torture rack/table/wherever the person is bound. Also, punctuation is your friend.

[Kimras]

How fast can you milk information out of a person? At 10th level, each casting of silence will last a minute. It will take a round to cast and place the other objects, leaving you 18-24 seconds into your first silence wearing off. So that gives you 36 seconds to torture somebody to the point that they will confess. If you are less than 4th level, you won't even be able to cast silence fast enough to get around to torturing. If you are higher than 10th level, there is magic that could make people talk. A mechanical barrier or a ball gag might be better. Also, silent table lasts for minutes/level and can be cast on the torture rack/table/wherever the person is bound. Also, punctuation is your friend.

I was thinking if this works I'd have the spell permanently on the coins then get a bag that would be and antimagic field inside to put them in but I do like your ideas

[Segev]

You won't need an AMF; silence is an emanation. If you block line of effect to the coins, their silence field is blocked in that direction, too. In the bag, they won't silence anything but themselves and whatever else is in the bag (which, incidentally, will therefore not clink).

If your allies are not suspicious and thus aren't trying to listen in, just make sure you're secluded enough that screams won't leak out the top and won't be heard faintly through the floor and you should be okay.

[Janthkin]

How fast can you milk information out of a person? At 10th level, each casting of silence will last a minute. Silence is min/CL, not round/CL.

Zone of Silence is a great spell for something like this, as anyone outside can't hear, but it doesn't affect your ability to have a "conversation" inside. If you don't have access to Bard (or Beguiler) spells, simply Sculpting the Silence effect should get you partway there.

There are also a couple of item-based approaches:
*Ring of Communication (MIC 122): get a pair, pre-attune them, and put one on the subject. You should be able to hear him even if he's Silenced, but check w/your DM first.
*(Item name): Somewhere, there is a set of items (rings? Bracelets?) that, when worn, exclude the wearers from your area spells.

[Geddy2112]

Silence is min/CL, not round/CL.

Zone of Silence is a great spell for something like this, as anyone outside can't hear, but it doesn't affect your ability to have a "conversation" inside. If you don't have access to Bard (or Beguiler) spells, simply Sculpting the Silence effect should get you partway there.


It is min/CL in 3.5, they reduced it to round/CL in pathfinder. Good call on Zone of Silence though.

[Psyren]

"no noise whatsoever issues from, enters, or passes through the area."

Yes, your "ring of silence coins" will allow you to have a private conversation if you suspend them in a Dyson Sphere around you. But the amount of effort this would take is amusingly far less than it would take to just learn telepathy, so consider this another recommendation to do exactly that.

[Curmudgeon]

Silence is a 20' radius effect. If the coins are on the ground, the top of the effect will be at 20', and the effect will be closer to the ground everywhere else. Sound will travel through the air where it's not blocked. You'll attenuate the volume of your conversation (boost the Listen DC), but won't be inaudible as you had hoped.

[Janthkin]

Silence is a 20' radius effect. If the coins are on the ground, the top of the effect will only be at 10', and the effect will be closer to the ground everywhere else. Sound will travel through the air where it's not blocked. You'll attenuate the volume of your conversation (boost the Listen DC), but won't be inaudible as you had hoped.20' radius, yes. So it extends 20' in every direction.

If he tried hard enough, he could likely figure out exactly where those (partial) spheres overlapped, leaving a hole just big enough for his victim's torso & his own ears. There are likely better approaches, though.

[Flickerdart]

if you suspend them in a Dyson Sphere around you
Or you can have a stick.

[Curmudgeon]

20' radius, yes. So it extends 20' in every direction.
Right; I'll correct the previous post to allay confusion.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Obviously you need a total of 14 Silenced coins, suspended to form a rough cube shape around yourself and your conversation buddy (ideally you will be extremely close to one another, you will increase the number of coins the further you are apart). Ways to suspend the coins can vary. Being on the top floor of a multi-story building to accommodate the radius of the bottom layer of coins is a good start. Additionally, you can use Immovable Rods or the Telekinesis spell to suspend the rest. Or you can just Bind any Outsider with Telepathy and contract them to keep their dirty mouths shut.

[Curmudgeon]

Being on the top floor of a multi-story building to accommodate the radius of the bottom layer of coins is a good start.
That's only going to work if you have an open lattice rather than a fully constructed building. Walls and floors will only attenuate sound transmission, but they'll completely block an emanation like Silence. You need openings of at least 1 square foot for the magic to get through.

[Janthkin]

That's only going to work if you have an open lattice rather than a fully constructed building. Walls and floors will only attenuate sound transmission, but they'll completely block an emanation like Silence. You need openings of at least 1 square foot for the magic to get through.Put them on the ceiling of the lower floor. That way, they don't cut off your conversation in the room, either. For up to a 28' cube room, you could probably get away with just 6 coins, provided you have external access to all 6 walls (or, if you're on the ground floor and there is no basement, just 5 coins).

Bonus points if you make the coins up as holy symbols of your "god" and claim that you are sanctifying the room. :)

[Psyren]

Note also that both editions have rules for reading lips so this isn't foolproof. Again, telepathy is probably a lot less effort.

[Cruiser1]

Really, it's probably better to try to get access to Mindlink or a Telepathy special ability. There's no evesdropping on those.
Anybody can eavesdrop on telepathy by casting the spell Telepathy Tap (BoED). It's a level 3 Sanctified spell, so any non-evil Cleric can spontaneously cast it even without having it prepared.

[Psyren]

Anybody can eavesdrop on telepathy by casting the spell Telepathy Tap (BoED). It's a level 3 Sanctified spell, so any non-evil Cleric can spontaneously cast it even without having it prepared.

If they're standing 10ft. away, chances are you'll see them there and stare awkwardly at them until they leave :smalltongue:

[Segev]

Given that the reason for the silence is to cover up screams of pain, I imagine he's taking pains (pun unintended, but gleefully exploited) to be out of sight of the rest of the party, at the very least. They're probably NOT within 10 feet of him.

[Urpriest]

Why not just have one Silence effect, and make the guy write it down?

[erok0809]

Why not just have one Silence effect, and make the guy write it down?

Because if he's being tortured for information he probably doesn't have his hands readily available for writing.