[RPG] say out loud what I ask during a suggestion

pathfinder-1espells

The suggestion spell states (emphasis mine):

You influence the actions of the target creature by suggesting a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two). The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the activity sound reasonable.

This formulation, combined with the "language-dependent" tag makes my DM rule that the suggestion must be spelled out loud during the spell casting for the target to hear it (and it is not negated by Silent Spell and makes the spell fail against deaf opponents).

Moreover it means that the target and her friends are actually able to distinctly hear what the caster is asking for, and take that into account. As I read the rules you could just tell some story in the concerned language and don't need to actually formulate the request out loud.

Is there support for my DM interpretation (which he considers to be rules-as-written) or is it a houserule?

Best Answer

Yes, you must speak the suggestion out loud

Suggestion is a [language-dependent] spell. The definition of language-dependent is:

Language-Dependent: A language-dependent spell uses intelligible language as a medium for communication. If the target cannot understand or hear what the caster of a language-dependent spell says, the spell has no effect, even if the target fails its saving throw.

(Emphasis mine, from http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/#TOC-Descriptor-)

Language-depended specifies that the target must be able to hear the suggestion in a way he can understand it - so it must be loud and clear enough to be distinguished by the target.

Only the target needs to distinctly hear the suggestion. If, with the above considerations, you can speak in such a way that the target can hear you clearly, but his friends cannot, you can do so, but the spell itself does not provide for that.