Is This Feasible

[Rev666]

You're sneaking into a nobles house and have knocked his butler out. You cast disguise self to look like the butler and sneak to the nobles bedroom where he has 2 guards outside the door.

Now disguise self doesn't change your voice but Minor Illusion can create a sound (your voice, someone elses).

If you know what the butler sounds like could you set up an ambush by peering round the corner of the hallway, minor illusion the butler's voice calling for help and then ducking back?

[Man_Over_Game]

You're sneaking into a nobles house and have knocked his butler out. You cast disguise self to look like the butler and sneak to the nobles bedroom where he has 2 guards outside the door.

Now disguise self doesn't change your voice but Minor Illusion can create a sound (your voice, someone elses).

If you know what the butler sounds like could you set up an ambush by peering round the corner of the hallway, minor illusion the butler's voice calling for help and then ducking back?

Seems valid to me!

[Abracadangit]

You're sneaking into a nobles house and have knocked his butler out. You cast disguise self to look like the butler and sneak to the nobles bedroom where he has 2 guards outside the door.

Now disguise self doesn't change your voice but Minor Illusion can create a sound (your voice, someone elses).

If you know what the butler sounds like could you set up an ambush by peering round the corner of the hallway, minor illusion the butler's voice calling for help and then ducking back?

Checks out! Bonus points for creativity, too.

[diplomancer]

Yes, I think it works. But you might not even need the spell, just a regular deception or performance check.

[Unoriginal]

You're sneaking into a nobles house and have knocked his butler out. You cast disguise self to look like the butler and sneak to the nobles bedroom where he has 2 guards outside the door.

Now disguise self doesn't change your voice but Minor Illusion can create a sound (your voice, someone elses).

If you know what the butler sounds like could you set up an ambush by peering round the corner of the hallway, minor illusion the butler's voice calling for help and then ducking back?

The spell says:

"If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else's voice, a lion's roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the Duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends."

So you can make a sound, but a sound isn't words. You could use Minor Illusion to make a pained shout or a begging grunt or the like with the butler's voice, but nothing like "Help me!"

Honestly though as a DM I would suggest trying a Charisma (Deception) check to impersonate the butler's voice when talking to the guards.

[Man_Over_Game]

The spell says:

"If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else's voice, a lion's roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the Duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends."

So you can make a sound, but a sound isn't words. You could use Minor Illusion to make a pained shout or a begging grunt or the like with the butler's voice, but nothing like "Help me!"

Honestly though as a DM I would suggest trying a Charisma (Deception) check to impersonate the butler's voice when talking to the guards.

You're not necessarily wrong, but what's funny is that this is used in an official WotC campaign. Princes of the Apocalypse Out of the Abyss (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/a/88886/45619), sorry.

[Abracadangit]

The spell says:

"If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else's voice, a lion's roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the Duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends."

So you can make a sound, but a sound isn't words. You could use Minor Illusion to make a pained shout or a begging grunt or the like with the butler's voice, but nothing like "Help me!"

Honestly though as a DM I would suggest trying a Charisma (Deception) check to impersonate the butler's voice when talking to the guards.

As usual, everything's up to DM discretion and so forth. But one of the D&D honchos weighed in on this and said it's RAI for Minor Illusion to be able to simulate speech:

https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/693193549672636417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[Chronos]

"Any sound", specifically including "another's voice", sure sounds to me like you can make words.

[Valmark]

Plus, discreet sounds does allow you to modulate it to form letters and words and thus a sentence too. When we speak we do make specific sounds.

[Unoriginal]

You're not necessarily wrong, but what's funny is that this is used in an official WotC campaign. Princes of the Apocalypse Out of the Abyss (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/a/88886/45619), sorry.


As usual, everything's up to DM discretion and so forth. But one of the D&D honchos weighed in on this and said it's RAI for Minor Illusion to be able to simulate speech:

https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/693193549672636417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I apologize, then. I got the wrong impression from the text.

[Kurt Kurageous]

All seems legit.

To adjudicate, consider the rules governing the actor feat.

I'd advantage success/disadvantage failure given the exposure to the stimuli. It was just a sound and a brief peek around corner. The deception will likely work until more things happen to change the guard's understanding of the situation.

[JNAProductions]

I'd require a Deception check, made with advantage if you have a relevant spell (such as Minor Illusion).

Probably not a terribly hard one-depends how good the guards are.

[Grogintale]

In my opinion Minor Illusion creates a fairly static effect.
Thus the illusion of the butler croaking out "Help me!" Sure.
Yet all the illusion can do is repeat "Help me!" over and over again.
If the guards do not immediately rush forward, complications could arise.

[Valmark]

In my opinion Minor Illusion creates a fairly static effect.
Thus the illusion of the butler croaking out "Help me!" Sure.
Yet all the illusion can do is repeat "Help me!" over and over again.
If the guards do not immediately rush forward, complications could arise.

Do note that Minor Illusion says that the sound continues repeating OR you can make different sounds are different times, so it's static only if the caster leaves it static.

[nickl_2000]

I would let minor illusion emulate another person's voice. The thing is, Minor Illusion has Material and Somatic components. So, if you cast it within sight of the noble they may wonder why their butler all the sudden is casting magic. If you can go around a corner where they can't see you casting, then certainly I would allow it.

[Grogintale]

Do note that Minor Illusion says that the sound continues repeating OR you can make different sounds are different times, so it's static only if the caster leaves it static.

Yurg! I know I should not wade into a morass of pedantic, semantic balderdash....

Yet here I go...

The word in question is 'discrete'. I interpret this as the caster can start a drum roll, end it and begin again the drum roll within the minute. Not make a different sound of, say, a saxophone.

English is the language that mugged other languages and riffled through their pockets.

[NaughtyTiger]

Actor feat - explicitly gives you the ability to do this....
or
cantrip that does a whole bunch of other things...

[Unoriginal]

Actor feat - explicitly gives you the ability to do this....
or
cantrip that does a whole bunch of other things...

Well as pointed out, the spell as other requirements, like verbal components.

[Valmark]

Yurg! I know I should not wade into a morass of pedantic, semantic balderdash....

Yet here I go...

The word in question is 'discrete'. I interpret this as the caster can start a drum roll, end it and begin again the drum roll within the minute. Not make a different sound of, say, a saxophone.

English is the language that mugged other languages and riffled through their pockets.

Oh. Uhm. That could be.

There again, one can just stop the sound and cast another MI, so the difference is minimal.

That's possible, right?

[NaughtyTiger]

Well as pointed out, the spell as other requirements, like verbal components.

I think you are arguing that the ability to imitate a voice without a somatic component is worthy of a half feat. I disagree.

[Grogintale]

Oh. Uhm. That could be.

There again, one can just stop the sound and cast another MI, so the difference is minimal.

That's possible, right?

I would rule Absolutely! With an Action and whatever somantic, verbal and material requirements to cast a second, separate Cantrip......