The Auditory trait marks actions and effects that depend on sound to function. An action with the auditory trait can be successfully performed only if the creature using the action can speak or otherwise produce the required sounds. A spell or effect with the auditory trait works only if the target can hear it; if the target cannot hear the sound (due to deafness, vacuum, silencing tech, or similar), the sound‑based part of the effect fails against that target.

This applies only to the sound-based portions of an effect, as determined by the GM. It is different from a sonic effect: sonic damage or shockwaves can still affect a target that cannot hear, as long as the effect itself produces sound energy, but auditory effects do nothing to creatures that cannot hear them. Creatures who are deafened critically fail Perception checks that require hearing, are immune to auditory effects, and often must succeed at a flat check to perform unfamiliar actions with an auditory component.

In Starfall terms, the auditory trait is one of the “sense tags” attached to actions, spells, class features, and items to indicate that hearing is a prerequisite sense for them to operate as written.