Unseen Servant

[Wippit Guud]

A) Are they literate? Or, at the least write what someone says (saves the writers cramp)

B) What languages would they understand if A applies?

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Technically, I don't believe that they have int at all. So they're not, strictly speaking, literate. However, I would probably rule that, as an extension of the casters' will, they can write things down for him. (Taking dictation would be a reasonable use of the spell).

As precedent for this, consider non-intelligent undead such as skeletons. They have no intelligence however they are able to respond to commands such as "destroy the door on the left" or "kill the man with the wand" or "grapple the warrior on the left with the one-handed axe." All of these commands require a reasonable degree of comprehension (most animals, for instance would not reliably be able to follow any of those commands). The skeleton's lack of intelligence refers to a lack of independent will and tactical ability rather than a lack of perceptual skills or ability to understand orders (indeed, traditionally, skeletons are able to follow reasonably complex orders like "Patrol these halls at a speed of 20 feet counterclockwise until you have circled twice then reverse course and patrol clockwise once then start over; kill anyone who enters this building unless they bear the symbol of the Doombringer, or speak the password [Insert Password Here]; once you have killed them, dump their bodies in a pile in front of the ghoul pit and resume your patrol." Similarly, an unseen servant can be told to dust a room (and knows how to dust), separate every strand of straw in a haystack until it finds a needle (and knows the difference between hay and a needle), etc. It's not unreasonable to assume that it can be told to write and will know how to write (as long as the caster knows).

They couldn't, however, follow written instructions, translate, or do anything that requires independent thought.

 

[dcollins]

I would not allow it.
(1) Writing is not on the defined list of unseen servant capacities.
(2) It would imply that wizards shouldn't ever be at desk with ink-and-quill (I suppose the next question would be: can unseen servants scribe magic scrolls and spellbooks).
(3) In 1st Ed. there was a write spell at the same level that would have been unnecessary if unseen servants could do that.

 

[Li Shenron]

A) Are they literate? Or, at the least write what someone says (saves the writers cramp)

B) What languages would they understand if A applies?

Although it is not explicitly said in the spell description, I would allow the caster to order the unseen servant to write something in a language known by the caster himself. There is a short list of what the US can do, but I think it can be taken as an example: later the spell says that the US cannot perform tasks which require a trained skill or anyway which have a DC higher than 10, but writing is not a skill at all in core D&D.

OTOH, the US is completely mindless, therefore it cannot read or communicate with the caster, only follow orders. It definitely doesn't understand any language and therefore cannot be considered "literate". I would let it write because it could be simply seen as a mechanical action and not an intellectual one; obviously I am talking about copy-writing what the caster intends to be written, but nothing that requires any initiative or knowledge from the US. For example, you couldn't tell the US to "write what you see".

 

[Diirk]

Actually literacy is a skill, and its trained only. Just look at barbarians !

 

[Li Shenron]

Actually literacy is a skill, and its trained only. Just look at barbarians !

I would rather say it isn't a skill, but it only costs skill points.
In any case, I would still allow it.

 

[Ghostknight]

I would go with the unseen servant being able to copy a text quite easily or to write something mundane the caster is able to write. It is a mechanical action, it does not need to understand what it is writing but is simply an extension of the caster. If the US needed to read or understand I would agree that literacy would be an issue, but unlike the barabarian the US does not need to understand what it is doing and from the allowable tasks it arguably has sufficient manual dexterity for the task.

 

[Cor Azer]

I'd say no. Comprehension does not mean literacy, and one needs literacy to write - after all, how is the Unseen Servant to know what the letter 'A' looks like when the dictator says it?

 

[Deset Gled]

You don't need literacy to write. Fun fact, way back in the day there were certain types of monks that would spend long periods of time copying holy scriptures; they were illiterate, but copied the text letter by letter without comprehending its meaning.

Asking an unseen servant to write for you without being literate works in a similar way; they don't know what they're puting down on paper, but know if it looks right or not.

 

[Len]

Wippit was asking if they can "write what someone says", not copy something they can see. So they would have to be literate. I think that's beyond their capabilities, judging by the examples in the spell's description.

How about a new first-level spell, "Unseen Amanuensis", that creates an unseen servant that can only do one thing: take dictation in a language known to the caster.