Languages and Literacy

[The Shadow]

As yet there doesn't seem to be any way to learn other languages. It seems to me that the logical way to do it is via skill training.

In 3e, a language was equivalent to +1 in a single skill. Keeping that idea, one instance of skill training is worth 3 languages. (You can trade in one of your 1st level skills for languages if you wish. Or, if your GM is very kind, you can reduce one of them to +2 to get one language, etc.)

Literacy in a given script counts as a language.

The cleric, wizard, and warlock classes, and the Sage and Priest backgrounds, grant literacy in one script. (This can either be chosen by the player or set by the campaign, depending. ie, perhaps Draconic is the traditional language of magic, and almost all wizards learn it; or clerics of a given god might automatically learn to read the language their scriptures are written in.) Do note that a given script is capable of accommodating most languages, even if it doesn't 'officially'.

Any thoughts?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Language options are needed. I'm OK with either prior method of skill = language or Int bonus = bonus languages.

 

[The Shadow]

Language options are needed. I'm OK with either prior method of skill = language or Int bonus = bonus languages.

I forgot about the Int bonus to languages, that could work too. Int needs more stuff.

 

[Grydan]

I personally prefer to keep language acquisition purely in the role-play department.

It seems awkward and a little silly to me to have characters suddenly acquire complete fluency in multiple languages that they didn't know a word of before level-up. Especially in campaigns where level-ups don't correspond to lengthy down-times.

It also seems silly that characters that spend several months living in say, a dwarven enclave, wouldn't pick up at least a few useful phrases without using up the relatively rare resource that is a feat slot. Especially when some (many?) players are going to pick a Specialty and just take the feats it gives them, rather than pick and choose.

 

[kerleth]

I'm firmly against Intelligence bonus = more languages. It makes no sense to me that every intelligent person is automatically multilingual.

 

[DEFCON 1]

My opinion is that each Background should grant you anywhere from 0 to 2 additional languages based upon what makes the most sense for the Background. And that each Background might only unlock certain languages to be taken, based upon where the person was growing up within the Background.

So that the Soldier background might grant 1 additional language based on where he fought or who he fought with or against. But perhaps Celestial and Abyssal would not be on the allowable list to select from because there wouldn't be a reason why the basic Soldier would have fought in an area or alongside someone who would have reason to know the language. However, the Sage (being the studious Background) perhaps DOES allow Abyssal and Celestial to be on its list, because it makes sense that that character might've spent time learning this obscure language that nobody actually uses or knows (except for the amazing few who actually met an outerplanar entity.)

 

[The Shadow]

My opinion is that each Background should grant you anywhere from 0 to 2 additional languages based upon what makes the most sense for the Background. And that each Background might only unlock certain languages to be taken, based upon where the person was growing up within the Background.

I like it! (Can't XP you yet, but I would.) The rules shouldn't specify what sorts of languages can be learned by which backgrounds, though, that should totally be up to the DM. I mean, one of my campaign worlds had a "Demon War" in the not-so-distant past, in which a soldier might actually have been able to pick up some Abyssal.

Hmm, looking at the list:

Artisan, Commoner, Thief, and Thug probably shouldn't get any bonus languages. If they come from highly cosmopolitan areas, they might be able to pick up an extra language in exchange for... something, I dunno what.

Charlatan, Knight, Noble, and Soldier get 1 - either because they travel a lot, or deal with foreigners, or need to be literate and/or able to read scriptures.

Bounty Hunter, Priest, Sage, and Spy get 2 - Bounty Hunters and Spies because they travel all over the place, and Sages because they're sages. Priests because they could conceivably have to both be literate, and read scriptures in a different language.

I might even be inclined to give Sage 3 languages, just because.

 

[delericho]

The traditional D&D method of handling languages is really not good. The binary on/off decision means that any "language challenge" is either impossible or trivial. Meanwhile, any time the group doesn't have access to the necessary language, suddenly the entire session comes to a screeching halt until such time as the DM decides "that's enough of that," and handwaves the issue away.

I'm reasonably sure that the best way forward is for characters to have a very small number of 'native' languages that they can speak without a roll, plus a Linguistics skill for the rest. On those (preferably rare) occasions where the game requires characters to interact with significantly different language groups (if they get teleported to a far-off land, or whatever), they thus have to rely on that skill to communicate.

Until the end of the adventure, that is, at which point it should be assumed that they learn enough to at least get by without a roll, and things reset.