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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 4721819" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, I was going to suggest the same thing, but you can certainly present an argument for any knowledge skill to be had without literacy. In fact the PCs seem to have all their knowledge in their heads, generally speaking. One does not require a library to make an Arcana or Nature etc monster knowledge check for instance.Still, it stands to reason that characters with knowledge skills, especially those of formal knowledge, Arcana, History, and Religion, are more educated and more likely to be able to read. Another option is to utilize the linguist feat. It allows understanding of three additional languages. It could alternatively be used to allow understanding of three forms of written language. So if you take linguist you can choose to be able to read say Dwarvish, Elven, and Common, or you could choose to be able to both speak and read Dwarvish and read Common. Characters could also choose to use one of their starting skill slots to learn 3 written languages (since a skill is attainable via a single feat, this just basically allows a starting character to substitute linguist feat for a starting skill). Additionally a character could choose literacy in one language as a starting benefit in lieu of the +2 skill bonus granted by a character background.I think that would work pretty well. At a cost of a +2 background skill bonus you can read one language, at a cost of an entire skill you can read three languages, and any time later in the game that a PC wants to become (more) literate they can use a feat slot to do so. No complex new rules required, nor in fact any significant stretching of existing feat/skill rules, simply a slightly broader interpretation of one feat and an option to trade one skill for the linguist feat.</blockquote>

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