Question came up in our game tonight, both Speak with Animals and Speech of the Woods specifically say that they allow conversation/communication with beasts. So what is a beast?
I see that there are some creatures specifically designated beast such as an Axe Beak, Wolf, Bear, etc. But is a Unicorn a beast? According to the monster manual it is a celestial.
Am I thinking about this right or am I over thinking?
A beast is anything explicitly classified as a beast, like a wolf, cat, alligator, or any other animal that you would expect to see in a mundane world. Anything beast-like that is unusually powerful or has magical abilities, like a griffon, is going to be a monstrosity, or something else.
Question came up in our game tonight, both Speak with Animals and Speech of the Woods specifically say that they allow conversation/communication with beasts. So what is a beast?
I see that there are some creatures specifically designated beast such as an Axe Beak, Wolf, Bear, etc. But is a Unicorn a beast? According to the monster manual it is a celestial.
Am I thinking about this right or am I over thinking?
You are thinking right. Anything with the creatire type beast qualifies.
Prior editions I believe had a creature type “magical beast,” which bridged that gap between animals, fantastical/magical animals, and true monsters. That granularity is gone in 5E and, as stated Unicorns, Griffons, etc. are just “not Beasts” any more. I don’t think a DM would be out of line to make some case-by-case exceptions and let it work, for the good of the story, but RAW it won’t work.
Question came up in our game tonight, both Speak with Animals and Speech of the Woods specifically say that they allow conversation/communication with beasts. So what is a beast?
I see that there are some creatures specifically designated beast such as an Axe Beak, Wolf, Bear, etc. But is a Unicorn a beast? According to the monster manual it is a celestial.
Am I thinking about this right or am I over thinking?
A beast is anything explicitly classified as a beast, like a wolf, cat, alligator, or any other animal that you would expect to see in a mundane world. Anything beast-like that is unusually powerful or has magical abilities, like a griffon, is going to be a monstrosity, or something else.
A unicorn is not a "beast".
You are thinking right. Anything with the creatire type beast qualifies.
Prior editions I believe had a creature type “magical beast,” which bridged that gap between animals, fantastical/magical animals, and true monsters. That granularity is gone in 5E and, as stated Unicorns, Griffons, etc. are just “not Beasts” any more. I don’t think a DM would be out of line to make some case-by-case exceptions and let it work, for the good of the story, but RAW it won’t work.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Thanks everyone!