I'm going to add a new druidic spell, Speak with Animals, to the game. The main purpose of adding this spell is the use it will have in the forthcoming Expanded Druid Stronghold's quests. However, it can also be used for talking with other animals (not hostile or summoned animals) during the game.

The specific animals in the new stronghold quests will have their specific and quest-related dialogues, but I also intend to add some interesting dialogues to ordinary animals you can find anywhere in the game and I prefer those dialogues to have some variety depending on the animal type. The animal will naturally talk to you only after casting the new spell.

The result of the dialogue may also be different depending on the area in which you find the animal as well as the caster's intelligence and/or charisma.

If you are willing to participate with writing interesting dialogue lines for different types of animals (cats, rabbits, dogs, lions, etc...) or if you have some novel ideas about the possible results of such communication with animals (ex: perhaps a particular rabbit has found a bottle (healing potion) and can give it to you if you are a kind druid or ranger to defend him against a hunter wolf who lurks nearby), I'll appreciate if you send me a PM.

General comments in this thread are welcome, but don't spoil the fun of your new ideas (by sending too specific details) here in public posts.

Edited for typos

Very interesting. I'm guessing that this would involve the introduction of a lot of neutral animals in the game and all of them will be given a conversation? Rats and Mice in sewers and dungeons, cats and dogs in cities, horses and cows in farmlands.... that's a lot of dialogue.
It could open up a few interesting mini-quests as well.

Sure, but without IA fans' help, I can't write many different good dialogues for all those different animal types (I neither have the creativity nor the time); and will have to confine myself to some general dialogue lines for general animals who are not specifically related to the stronghold's quests. That's why I sent the invitation for participation.

The new spell is created, tested and added. None of the existent spells are replaced with it. It's a new addition to the collection of 2nd level druidic spells.

The invitation to expand the dialogues for non-quest related animals is still valid. Currently, all those animals who are not directly related to the Expanded Druid Stronghold use a general dialogue. What they say is random, but it doesn't vary depending on the animal type.

Any ideas for new mini-quests which will work with using this spell are also welcome. General comments are welcome here in public posts, but for detailed suggestions send me PMs.

Perhaps you could add a dialogue to the cow in the Ogre Tower in the Druid Grove. I imagine we could have something about the Ogre being polymorphed into a cow. Forgive me if some of this is in the vanilla game but we could make it a mini-quest or something to help him.