Silence and Adept/Spellsword Skills

[beboped]

Can you use Adept or Spellsword Skills while Silenced? Specifically: Enhanced Strike, Combined Strike, United Blow, etc. Silence says that the target "cannot talk, activate magical items, or cast any spell." However, all of the Adept/Spellsword Skills use the text "expend a spell" rather than cast.

My call on the field would likely be that you can use Adept/Spellsword Skills, making those skills clearly superior to the rituals which can create the same effects. But on the other hand, I can see thematically how activating Magisterium Strike, for example, isn't substantially different than casting a signature spell.

 

[Polare]

"Expending a spell" is not "Casting a spell". You should be able to use all the skills listed while Silenced.

Or, to put it another way, if you don't need to (potentially) use the incant, you can probably do it while Silenced. I say "potentially" since you can sometimes omit the incant if you can cast the spell slot, but it's essentially a shortened incant at that point.

 

[Draven]

“Spell Doom” is an OOG verbal and can be done silenced.

“30 Elemental Flame” is the same way.

“Weapon Strike Purify” and “Spellstrike Sleep” and “40 Spellstrike ice” would also be entirely OOG verbals that can be done while silenced.

I can’t think of any purely OOG verbals that can’t be done while silenced. I feel like “Activate” is actually IG.

 

[Polare]

I feel like “Activate” is actually IG.

"Activate" is definitely supposed to indicate that you need to be unSilenced to use it.