Speak With Animals

When the caster invokes this spell, he or she becomes able to communicate with and understand the “speech” of normal animals (with the exception of mindless creatures). While the spell lasts, the animal (and any other animals of the same type in its company) will refrain from attacking, even if they were initially hostile. Depending upon the nature of the conversation, if the animal’s alignment is neutral or of the same tendency as the cleric’s, the animal may be disposed to help the cleric in some manner. It is important to note that the spell does not permit speech with animals of monstrous or unnatural nature; communication with a monster such as a cockatrice, for example, is beyond the spell’s power. Neither does the spell suddenly imbue an animal with intelligence; the observations and opinions of an animal such as a badger will be appropriate to the animal’s own experiences, motives, and intellectual limitations.