2

Spells like Mass Suggestion require that the target(s) must be able to hear and understand you.

The Great Old One’s Awakened Mind allows a Warlock to telepathically speak and be understood by anyone that understands at least one language (not necessarely those the Warlock knows).

My question is : within the Awakened Mind’s 30ft radius, can you affect creatures with Mass Suggestion even if their known languages don’t include yours ?

Gael L
  • 28,679
  • 22
  • 138
  • 350

1 Answers1

2

Probably not

This is one of those questions, where you cannot expect much from RAW. Sure, the DM might allow it, or he might not, his call, but:

The Mass Suggestion spell reads:

The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable.

It uses "worded" which to me bars the telepathy, especially when you don't share the language (i.e. you would only transmit concepts, or the idea itself, no wording).

Also the awakened mind feature uses the term "...your telepathic utterances" – again, doesn't sound potent enough to try to persuade someone about some complex situation. So i would rule no.

Finally, the spell needs the creature to hear you. The awakened mind does not specify this, but the telepathy spell allows you to share sounds. That seems allowable as hearing, so I don't see a problem here.

J.E
  • 5,840
  • 1
  • 19
  • 52
  • You might find the clarification here worth a look. – Slagmoth Jul 31 '18 at 13:45
  • @Slagmoth which part do you mean? I don't think the bit about suggestion actually matters for this question. – J.E Jul 31 '18 at 14:02
  • The part where it separates the Verbal component from the actual suggestion. I had thought they were part and parcel but intent says otherwise. Only caveat is that they still have be able to hear you... which simply means they can't be deafened. Personally, I think it is a bit weird but a lot in this system doesn't make sense sometimes. – Slagmoth Jul 31 '18 at 14:21
  • It seems likely that the "must be able to hear and understand you" clause was written without telepathic abilities in mind (no pun intended!) on the assumption the caster would need to speak the suggestion aloud. Hence the confusion in answers. It really depends on how literally you interpret that clause or just go with the (apparent) intent that the caster has to somehow make the target understand his suggestion. – PJRZ Jul 31 '18 at 15:52