Thinking about languages

[punkorange]

Hey, are there any systems that spring to mind that use language as a skill you can gain ranks in and have to make checks to make sure they understand the language?

If so, how did it work out in game, any humorous situations where the dwarf misunderstood the elf?

 

[Pbartender]

For my latest Iron Heroes game, I changed it to work more like Decipher Script, and then adjusted Decipher Script slightly to match what I came up with for Speak Language...

SPEAK LANGUAGE

(Intelligence; Trained Only)

Skill Groups: Academia

Speak Language is a skill that encompasses a number of different languages, accents and dialects. You can expand the number of languages that you are fluent in by investing skill points to cover new languages.

When you first build your character, you automatically gain fluency in your native language, allowing you to speak that language perfectly without making a Decipher Script check. In addition, you gain a number of literacies or fluencies (see the Decipher Script skill above) equal to your Intelligence bonus. For example, a character with an Intelligance of 14 may choose two bonus literacies, two bonus fluencies, or one bonus literacy and one bonus fluency.

You may become fluent in additional languages by spending 1 skill point for each language. These skill points do not improve your Speak Language ability, they simply grant you additional languages with which you are fluent.

Check: You can interpret speech in an unfamiliar language or dialect or spoken in an incomplete or archaic form. Make a check with DC 20 for unfamiliar dialects of a language you know, DC 25 for forgein languages, and DC 30 or higher for intricate, exotic or very old language.

If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a speech about one paragraph long (or the equivalent). On a failure, make a Wisdom check (DC 5) to see whether you draw a false conclusion about the speech. Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; another failure means that you do.

Both the Speak Language check and (if necessary) the Wisdom check are made secretly, so you can’t tell whether your conclusions are true or false.

Cant: You can create a simple jargon to hide a message’s true meaning. Anyone hearing the message must make a Speak Languages attempt to understand it. Anyone who knows the jargon can understand it automatically, even without the Speak Languages skill.

Action: Interpreting the equivalent of a single paragraph of speech takes one minute (10 consecutive full-round actions).

Try Again: You may attempt a Speak Language check on a particular speech once per hour. If the check fails, you must wait an hour to try again.

Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Speak Language, you get a +2 bonus on Disguise checks that require a specific language, dialect or accent.

Take 10/20: You may take 10 on Speak Language checks, but you cannot take 20 because failure carries a penalty.

Extended Skill Checks: Your DM may rule that complex, long or intricate speeches and conversatons require an extended skill check. In this case, you may make one check per hour to interpret the speech.

Challenges: Speak Language uses the standard challenges given earlier in this chapter.

So, you can either use a skill rank to become perfectly fluent in a single language, or you can increase the skill bonus that lets you be able to puzzle out and understand all languages better.

 

[EricNoah]

I've been toying with using this rule:

1) treat each language as a Knowledge skill, and thus you can spend few or many skill points on each language.

2) if you try to use Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy in a language that's not your native language, your Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy skill ranks are capped at your Knowledge (particular language) ranks. Thus a character with 10 ranks of Diplomacy but only 1 rank of a particular language is treated as having 1 rank of Diplomacy when speaking that language.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

My system doesn't offer the chance for humorous misunderstandings, but each 'language' is a skill that cascades under a 'Culture' heading. It wraps up Know: Local, heraldry, some religion, a little bardic knowledge and language.

There are social skill modifiers based on how well you speak, so a country bumbkin with only 1 rank won't be too good at diplomancy or bluffing while a cultures aristo would gain bonuses.

The cultures are grouped in families so knowledge of one culture can provide virtual ranks in a related culture.

So far this is the second campaign I have used the rules in, and they will be getting a stress test in the coming adentures as the group makes it to a very mixed refugee camp and has some social encounters to deal with. Fortunately for them, the party has a Bard to be primary spokesperson, as the Fighter with 1 rank in Trade really wouldn't fare well on his own

The full rules are posted somewhere in the HR folder, I am being too lazy this morning to pimp my own work

 

[Herobizkit]

I don't know about speak language, but in one fantasy game I ran, I used the real life Inuktitut language to represent the language of a futuristic "angelic" language. It worked well, just so I could have something for players to look at.

 

[DiamondB]

I've been toying with using this rule:

1) treat each language as a Knowledge skill, and thus you can spend few or many skill points on each language.

2) if you try to use Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy in a language that's not your native language, your Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy skill ranks are capped at your Knowledge (particular language) ranks. Thus a character with 10 ranks of Diplomacy but only 1 rank of a particular language is treated as having 1 rank of Diplomacy when speaking that language.

Yoink!

I'm going to implement this into my upcoming homebrew. However, I do have one question, how would you handle a character's native language?

I'm thinking at first level they get 1 + Int bonus in freebie points for Knowledge ("language"). I'd consider Knowledge ("native language") to be classed for all, but would leave Knowledge ("other languages") as classed only for those that originally had Speak Language as class. After the initial free skill points at first level, I'd make PC's have to spend points on their native language just like the rest. Just because you can speak/read your native language doesn't mean you have perfect mastery of it. This may hamper those relying on Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy as it's one more skill they have to improve, so I'll have to see how it works.

 

[EricNoah]

I would just treat a native language as a "gimme" and let them go nuts with it. Their ability to use it effectively would be somewhat governed by Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy and somewhat governed by Intelligence (bonus skill points).

 

[Lord Rasputin]

D&D is very lenient with languages, even for such a blatant gamist game.

I came up with a more realistic system, though I've never tried it, basing it on GURPS 4e, where languages are advantages. In it, Speak Language and Read Language are two separate skills. To speak a language fluently, you invest two skill ranks into Speak Language for it; same story with Read Language. Having only one skill rank in a language means you're proficient, but you need to make a DC 10 Int check to use it (you can take 10 when not in combat), and are at -5 to use Bluff, Diplomacy, Forgery, Gather Information, Intimidate, Perform and Sense Motive when trying to do it in the language that you kinda, sorta know.

 

[Crothian]

Players Guide to Kalamar has a good section on this, but the best I've seen was in a PDF called Ars Lingua by Tangent games.

 

[delericho]

Personally, I've found languages to be nothing but a pain. I've considered dropping all but four languages: Common, Elven, Draconic and the Dark Speech, with all characters getting Common, Elves (and perhaps Half-elves) getting Elven, and arcane casters getting Draconic. Access to new languages would be a feat.

However, I haven't as yet decided whether this is more trouble than it's worth.

For d20 Modern, and other games seeking a more 'realistic' version of language skills, I second Pbartender's suggestion below. Although even there, I'm given to think that perhaps the skill should cover language families, rather than single languages, to avoid making the skill too specific. (That's a hit on realism... but it's no worse than lumping families of musical instruments together.)