Whistle (item)

Whistles were small wind instruments used to signal danger, give orders, or attract wild animals.

"In all human souls ring the songs of Truth, But their music is muffled by clamorous bells and raucous whistles."

- Gaumahavi, Great Dragon of the Desert Winds

Signal whistles
Signal whistles made a high pitched noise and were used to communicate a message, usually an alarm or an order. Many soldiers and guardsmen used signal whistles as a way to call for backup in case of trouble.

Animal calls
Some whistles were created with the dedicated purpose of attracting or repelling animals. Such instruments affected one specific family of animals such as bats, cats, horses, or even mountain lions.

Construction
Whistles could be made out of many common materials, for example wood  or bone. Other were made of more precious or unusual materials such as ivory or obsidian. They were used by humans and other races, such as hobgoblins and bugbears.

Notable usages

 * The traffic wardens of Waterdeep used whistles and small colored flags to order drovers around.
 * In many goblin tribes, male adults were required to keep a whistle with them at all time. Those were used to communicate across long distances, especially underground.
 * In Ra-Khati, whistles were used alongside gongs, bells and household items to create noise every morning, in a ceremony welcoming the new day.

Spell components
Whistles were necessary to cast various magical spells.
 * The Mordenkainen's faithful hound and call hounds spells required the caster to use a silver whistle.
 * Bird charm I required the caster to carve a whistle out of coral to be used as the spell's material component.
 * Similarly, bird charm II required a whistle make of fine jade.
 * The maztican spell huntsman's call required the caster to use a whistle crafted from the claw of a jaguar.

Notable vendors

 * Whistles designed to attract or repel animals could be purchased from Aurora's Emporium for 1 gp.

Notable whistles

 * The whistle of shrieking was a magical ivory whistle used by Tasloi priests to increase the morale of their allies.
 * The whistle of warning allowed nearby allies to react with unusual swiftness, make a close leap or draw a sword.

Divine gifts
It was said that on occasions, the Lords of the Golden Hills who took a liking to a mortal while traveling the multiverse would offer them a magical golden whistle that could mimic the singing of any bird.

Magical whistles
According to rumors told in the Yawning Portal, magical whistles existed that could grant their users supernatural flying abilities, or the power to animate dead creatures.