Speak with Animals
Level 1 · Divination
- Ritual
Listed under divination, Speak with Animals costs a 1st-level slot for bard, druid, ranger, and warlock casters. Cast time: Action. Range Self, components V/S, duration 10 minutes. Marked ritual. Effect: For the duration, you can comprehend and verbally communicate with Beasts, and you can use any of the Influence action's skill options with them.
Stat Block
- Level
- 1
- School
- Divination
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range / Area
- Self
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- 10 Minutes
- Ritual
- Yes
- Concentration
- No
- Classes
- Bard, Druid, Ranger, Warlock
- Material
- —
Description
For the duration, you can comprehend and verbally communicate with Beasts, and you can use any of the Influence action's skill options with them. Most Beasts have little to say about topics that don't pertain to survival or companionship, but at minimum, a Beast can give you information about nearby locations and monsters, including whatever it has perceived within the past day.
5e (2014) vs 2024 changes
This spell has both a 5e (2014) and 2024 Player's Handbook version. Doungim shows the current 2024 stat block above. Differences between editions typically affect components, range, or scaling — check both source books for the table.
Doungim Lore
School Fit
The school of Divination is the most cerebral of the eight. Its spells deal in knowledge, certainty, and the cost of certainty. What makes Speak with Animals Divination is the spell answers a question the caster could not otherwise reach. The 1st-level slot is the most-cast slot of tier 1 — Speak with Animals earns its place there or somewhere else.
Class Fit
- Bard: Bards rely on Bardic Inspiration for most action-economy boosts; Speak with Animals matters when Inspiration isn't the right tool for the moment.
- Druid: Circle of the Moon Druids spend most of their turns in Wild Shape — Speak with Animals earns its slot only if the build expects to cast in humanoid form.
- Ranger: A Ranger picking Speak with Animals compares it against the class's bread-and-butter Hunter's Mark — the slot economy favors picks that work in more than one terrain.
- Warlock: Pact of the Tome adds cantrips. Pact of the Chain adds a familiar. Pact of the Blade adds a bonded weapon. The Pact choice reshapes what Speak with Animals is worth.
Tactical play (Doungim editorial)
10-minute conversation with any beast. Solves more campaigns than you'd think.
Related Spells
Frequently Asked Questions about Speak with Animals
- What level spell is Speak with Animals?
- Speak with Animals sits at level 1 in the Divination school of magic, prepared by Bard, Druid, Ranger, Warlock.
- What is the range of Speak with Animals?
- The range on Speak with Animals is Self; no other creature can be the target.
- How long does Speak with Animals last?
- Without concentration, Speak with Animals runs for its full 10 minutes duration regardless of what else the caster is doing.
- What components and casting time does Speak with Animals need?
- For Speak with Animals: the spell uses V, S components; on top of that, Speak with Animals can be cast as a ritual: an extra 10 minutes of casting time, no spell slot consumed.