I was just watching a random YouTube video about encryption and was thinking...
You could use multiple Animal Messenger to create one encrypted message and one cipher (sent separately) that could only be decrypted on the other side of both messages were received.
Or, you could send the exact message on each, which would make the message more likely to be received but also indicate that there are two identical messages and therefore if only one arrives, the other message was likely intercepted.
Obviously you could do the same with even more complex ciphers and more than two Animal Messengers.
Any other cool ideas with multiple castings of basic spells?
No restriction on multiple castings of Animal Messenger, can be cast as a ritual, no component cost... Yeah, that's a great idea! Whisper one part of your message to two or more animals, give them a specific location where you know your recipient will be (the King's throne within the throne room of Castle X), and then describe the other animal to them as the recipient of the message. They'll both go there, but won't speak until they've both arrived, delivering the complete message or no message at all!!
Of course... that really isn't any more secure than just sending them to the King himself with the full message, either way there's no way for an Animal Messenger to be intercepted and read. What it is useful for is delivering a message to a specific room and not to a specific NPC, such as if you just want them to go to "the guard house" to send for help or something, but don't know any of the guards yet.
You hit the nail on the head about the cipher and all that. If they need the cipher, they need both animals. So your chances of not getting the message through are higher. And the chances of having the message intercepted are also reduced because they need both parts. And so also for sending the message more than once.
I like to ask the DM if there are standard communications networks in the area such as messenger duty to the nearby towns, hawks or carrier pigeons, maybe the local temple has a communications network using magical means? Are there merchants and caravans that might be entrusted with a message? Speak with animals and animal messenger are certainly appropriate, but I look for established communications when they might exist. In my world there are messenger bards that roam the countryside for the Crown. They carry message traffic of an official nature and unofficial if they wish. They memorize the more sensitive messages and don't carry written versions, and they have their own sort of diplomatic script, something like Thieves Cant in a written version that they use to send messages to other bards when the information is sensitive.
I also have stops in civilized areas for travelers to wait at night. So if a path to another town is two days away, there will either be a hamlet, a manor house or a guard outpost a reasonable one day distance from the town. Messages tend to follow along these routes. Unfortunately this is not a secret, so the chances of intercepting a message are high unless precautions are taken.
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I was just watching a random YouTube video about encryption and was thinking...
You could use multiple Animal Messenger to create one encrypted message and one cipher (sent separately) that could only be decrypted on the other side of both messages were received.
Or, you could send the exact message on each, which would make the message more likely to be received but also indicate that there are two identical messages and therefore if only one arrives, the other message was likely intercepted.
Obviously you could do the same with even more complex ciphers and more than two Animal Messengers.
Any other cool ideas with multiple castings of basic spells?
No restriction on multiple castings of Animal Messenger, can be cast as a ritual, no component cost... Yeah, that's a great idea! Whisper one part of your message to two or more animals, give them a specific location where you know your recipient will be (the King's throne within the throne room of Castle X), and then describe the other animal to them as the recipient of the message. They'll both go there, but won't speak until they've both arrived, delivering the complete message or no message at all!!
Of course... that really isn't any more secure than just sending them to the King himself with the full message, either way there's no way for an Animal Messenger to be intercepted and read. What it is useful for is delivering a message to a specific room and not to a specific NPC, such as if you just want them to go to "the guard house" to send for help or something, but don't know any of the guards yet.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
You hit the nail on the head about the cipher and all that. If they need the cipher, they need both animals. So your chances of not getting the message through are higher. And the chances of having the message intercepted are also reduced because they need both parts. And so also for sending the message more than once.
I like to ask the DM if there are standard communications networks in the area such as messenger duty to the nearby towns, hawks or carrier pigeons, maybe the local temple has a communications network using magical means? Are there merchants and caravans that might be entrusted with a message? Speak with animals and animal messenger are certainly appropriate, but I look for established communications when they might exist. In my world there are messenger bards that roam the countryside for the Crown. They carry message traffic of an official nature and unofficial if they wish. They memorize the more sensitive messages and don't carry written versions, and they have their own sort of diplomatic script, something like Thieves Cant in a written version that they use to send messages to other bards when the information is sensitive.
I also have stops in civilized areas for travelers to wait at night. So if a path to another town is two days away, there will either be a hamlet, a manor house or a guard outpost a reasonable one day distance from the town. Messages tend to follow along these routes. Unfortunately this is not a secret, so the chances of intercepting a message are high unless precautions are taken.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt