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[+]Exploration Falls Short For Many Groups, Let’s Talk About It
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<blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 9259196" data-attributes="member: 6879661"><p>Perhaps the wizard did choose Comprehend Languges as one of their precious few starting spells. I think you’re overestimated the power of the spell to say it deciphering languages is a non-issue.</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There are many situations where there isn’t a convenient to take 10 minutes to cast the spell - part of a trap, or changing element of the area. Or perhaps the folks you’re talking to aren’t happy to have a spell cast on them or wait around.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Comprehend languages for written languages only works if you can touch the script. Again plenty of circumstances where that script might not be easily accessible to touch which can be a challenge of itself. High up, huge lettering on the side of a monument, behind glass or in a restricted area like in a museum.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The spell only affects yourself so if there are circumstances where multiple people need to read something in combination.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">it only affects written languages. So glyphs and symbols don’t translate. So those way-markings and trail signs aren’t automatically explained.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">it also only reveal literal meaning so doesn’t reveal codes and implied meaning like Thieves Cant</li> </ul><p>So I respectfully disagree and believe there is a lot of mileage for using language in exploration.</p><p></p><p>Even if they do translate the words. The understanding of that language - who wrote it, why they wrote it, what the society is like that and how they perceive the world is interesting as well. Look at the film Arrival. This takes the concept to the extreme but the principle is that the language should tell you a bit about the place you’re exploring.</p><p></p><p>Expanding this concept I think there is space for languages that change the person that reads them. Languages so evil that they partly corrupt anyone that speaks them. Dark Spech in the Book of Vile Darkness for example or in fictional terms the Black Speech of Mordor. Or for languages that are so pure and holy they require immense energy to read. Aboleth glyphs have meanings that also can have effects on those that read them.</p><p></p><p>The Ravenor trilogy revolves around an ancient speech that formed the original language of the universe. Trying to recover enough words of power to reconstruct a lexicon. We can see similar in spells like the <em>power word</em> spells or <em>divine word</em>.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, understanding the literal meaning of the word doesn’t mean it explains the context and in exploration context is everything. I’ll post a bit later to expand on some of the written elements folks might discover.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheSword, post: 9259196, member: 6879661"] Perhaps the wizard did choose Comprehend Languges as one of their precious few starting spells. I think you’re overestimated the power of the spell to say it deciphering languages is a non-issue. [LIST] [*]There are many situations where there isn’t a convenient to take 10 minutes to cast the spell - part of a trap, or changing element of the area. Or perhaps the folks you’re talking to aren’t happy to have a spell cast on them or wait around. [*]Comprehend languages for written languages only works if you can touch the script. Again plenty of circumstances where that script might not be easily accessible to touch which can be a challenge of itself. High up, huge lettering on the side of a monument, behind glass or in a restricted area like in a museum. [*]The spell only affects yourself so if there are circumstances where multiple people need to read something in combination. [*]it only affects written languages. So glyphs and symbols don’t translate. So those way-markings and trail signs aren’t automatically explained. [*]it also only reveal literal meaning so doesn’t reveal codes and implied meaning like Thieves Cant [/LIST] So I respectfully disagree and believe there is a lot of mileage for using language in exploration. Even if they do translate the words. The understanding of that language - who wrote it, why they wrote it, what the society is like that and how they perceive the world is interesting as well. Look at the film Arrival. This takes the concept to the extreme but the principle is that the language should tell you a bit about the place you’re exploring. Expanding this concept I think there is space for languages that change the person that reads them. Languages so evil that they partly corrupt anyone that speaks them. Dark Spech in the Book of Vile Darkness for example or in fictional terms the Black Speech of Mordor. Or for languages that are so pure and holy they require immense energy to read. Aboleth glyphs have meanings that also can have effects on those that read them. The Ravenor trilogy revolves around an ancient speech that formed the original language of the universe. Trying to recover enough words of power to reconstruct a lexicon. We can see similar in spells like the [I]power word[/I] spells or [I]divine word[/I]. Lastly, understanding the literal meaning of the word doesn’t mean it explains the context and in exploration context is everything. I’ll post a bit later to expand on some of the written elements folks might discover. [/QUOTE]
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