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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5862327" data-attributes="member: 54877">In a D&D-style game where I was going to bother with this, I'd set up some opportunity costs for "social perks" that would include language, but also some other options. Basically, set it up so that you can be:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"Well-traveled" and thus speak several languages well conversationally</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"Well-educated" and thus perhaps speak (or more likely read and write) some more ancient languages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"Socially connected" from having a well-established position in a community</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Maybe a few other related things to round that out, which would tend to reduce opportunities to develop those first three.</li> </ul>Then let each character have several picks, specializing or spreading out as they see fit. If your minor lord has spent his formative years fighting overseas, then his position at home is not as strong as it could be.  Next, to make those choices actually matter without everyone having to do mime, make the languages choices (and other perks, too) as modifiers to social challenges. If you don't speak the language very well, or at all, you've got a substantial diplomacy penalty. OTOH, if you are, say, a prominent wizard in the community, known far and wide, then you've got a bonus to diplomacy with most people familiar with your "reputation" but nothing special to fall back on outside that area. Finally, in a game where you want to allow some people to specialize in being diplomats, let them use other resources to expand those picks, beyond what everyone gets. So a character that grew up trained in local diplomacy can learn languages as they travel. Or if you want a game where everyone has a niche in social settings, don't allow such expanded picks. Now when you go to visit the dwarf earl in his far holding, the fluent but gruff dwarven barbarian may be a better spokesperson for the group.</blockquote>

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