Drood Speak?

[Oximoron]

The Question I have is, wether or not Druids can speak civilized language while in the their animal forms.

Last night I encountered a Night Elf Druid in cat form who would only mew and purr by ways of communication while in that form. I myself was Rping my Tauren Druid and when I took Bear form I didn't even think about the possible language constraints the shifted form might posses. I always assumed Druids retained Civilized Language in animal form just as they retain certain aspects of their race.

((Tauren animal forms are colored more naturally and have horns, Night Elf animal forms have dark purple pelts and pointed ears.))

Thanks for the help.

[Qaza]

I recall some NPCs in the Blade's Edge Mountains that are doing recon. You see a night elf druid in cat form come out of stealth sometimes, and they walk over to another NPC. She asks them a question, and I'm pretty sure all they do is shake their head and stealth again.

I don't recall any other examples of NPC druids being in animal form and being given the opportunity to talk, but I get the impression they don't.

[GaldorXII]

This is a rather good question, I mean, though a druid is in an animal form, the druid's spirit is still retained.

But what about the druid's mental power, the intelligence? If the intelligence were to stay the same as the druid morphs between forms, then the answer to your question would, in fact, be yes.

But even if they do keep the mental power of a aged Night Elf or a summer swept Tauren, maybe it's not their chose to not speak in their own or in any other tongue than the tongue of the wild.

My personal look on the situation is this:

Though the druid's physical form can change as the speak of certain words, his mental abilities do not.

Retaining the intelligence he/she had before the change the druid can still communicate with those of humanoid forms and those of higher intelligence, mainly due to the face that a druid, who is an avid protector-caller, of nature can simply talk to the winds, and the winds can talk to the person they wish to be heard.

But it's the druid's own chose wether or not they wish for another being to hear their voice outside of the animal's dialect.



That's just my opinion.

[Oximoron]

Thanks, wasn't very sure about the subject, and very insightfull Galdor.

However, taking this a step further, can moonkin and treants speak?
During the Druids quest to aquire bear-form the moonkin/owlkin/owlbeast spirit dosn't talk but can communicate via impressing feelings on the person they 'converse' with. Would that be similiar to non-verbal communication in animal form?

[Zanrith]

Hmmm... this is a tough one. Azeroth is quite obviously a mystical place so you may be able to give justification to what I'm going to say:

The only reason animals such as dog's and Cat's can't talk IRL is due to their vocal cords, they simply aren't developed to a point where talking, at least talking a human language impossible.

So if you believe the Druid's organs and such are changed when they morph then I'd say no, they can't talk a humanoid language.

[Aeonar]

Thanks, wasn't very sure about the subject, and very insightfull Galdor.

However, taking this a step further, can moonkin and treants speak?
During the Druids quest to aquire bear-form the moonkin/owlkin/owlbeast spirit dosn't talk but can communicate via impressing feelings on the person they 'converse' with. Would that be similiar to non-verbal communication in animal form?

Every creature has body language. I'm sure if you aren't allowed to speak, you can at least be allowed to convey your feelings through non-verbal actions. Maybe not all this A'dal-esque "You are bathed in light and you feel serenity" stuff, but perhaps actions such as growling, purring, or... Hooting, for you boomkins.

[Killachipmunk]

I agree with Zanrith, to a degree, I don't believe that Druid Forms would be able to talk, unless there is an NPC/Mob in the game that does, as they are using animals with the wrong vocal chords. In the end it's got nothing to do with intelligence, it's simply that animal vocal chord can't form words. With the exception of Parrots.

[Qaza]

Thanks, wasn't very sure about the subject, and very insightfull Galdor.

However, taking this a step further, can moonkin and treants speak?
During the Druids quest to aquire bear-form the moonkin/owlkin/owlbeast spirit dosn't talk but can communicate via impressing feelings on the person they 'converse' with. Would that be similiar to non-verbal communication in animal form?

Every creature has body language. I'm sure if you aren't allowed to speak, you can at least be allowed to convey your feelings through non-verbal actions. Maybe not all this A'dal-esque "You are bathed in light and you feel serenity" stuff, but perhaps actions such as growling, purring, or... Hooting, for you boomkins.

I'll agree with both of these, nicely put. You can tell what mood a dog is in generally, but they can't walk up and say, "Hey, I'm thinking we should have steak today, then roll in the garbage. How 'bout it?"

The language barrier (or semi-barrier, if you go by body language) can be a wonderful, fun addition to RP, and I think I would be very sad if everyone could communicate effectively to everyone else.

[Harmonic]

Eh. I always had Orlan talk in cat and bear form to freak the hell outta people. Hehe.

[Twentilla]

Wouldn't work. Even if say, a cat, had the intelligence to speak, their vocal chords are incapable of most of the sounds.