No Common Tongue

[shadow]

Okay, I'm finally getting ready to play my campaign world that I've been planning for some time. Although at the core, the world is the standard D&D fare, I've made a few changes in style. One of the biggest changes is the lack of a common language. As a linguistics major, I hate the idea of a common language with no variation whatsoever. The idea that everyone speaks exactly the same is absurd. So I've created a lot of regional languages and dialects. Obviously speak language will be an important skill. I'm also using the Kalamar language rules (found in the KoK Players Guide). However, I'm becoming a little concerned. One of the players admitted he was a little worried that the game will focus too much on communication. I'm wondering how I can keep languages from bogging down the game play. I've been thinking of some solutions.

1.Have a universal "Trade Language" - This is really an artificial solution. A trade language becomes just like "common" found in most games. However, I do have a language in my setting called Sarynth, which is a dead language used by scholars, the church, and the educated in writing (like Latin in the middle ages), but not everyone speaks it.

2. Just ignore the language problem. Assume the important NPCs speak the PC's languages. Again, a rather artificial solution.

3. Go with the language system as is. The PCs will have to rely heavily on translators and magic. This is my prefered solution. It can lead to some interesting roleplaying opportunities. However, certain players in the group are more interested in action, not role-playing getting a translator.

Has anyone else played a campaign without a common tongue? How did you handle it?

 

[Caliber]

I've never played in a campaign like this but here are a few thoughts ...

There doesn't have to be a "Common" tongue, but it seems logical that the most powerful Empries will have their tongues used more often than the backwater tribes in Tim-Buck-Two. For example, English and French, in the real world, along with Spanish, seem to be pretty commonly encountered.

Secondly, unless the Kalamar rules you are talking about changes this, its pretty easy to learn another language. Just two skill points. Even a Fighter (Hero of the Stupid that he is) can afford to spend a few and pick up an additional language.

Finally, there are plenty of spells that can act as translators. In a world without Common, magical items that grand these spells are probably pretty common ... especially with those who have to travel a lot (merchants, ambassadors, ... adventurers ...)

 

[storyguide3]

I guess the fundamental question here is, will the fun you get as DM and linguistics major outweigh the frustration and unfun that your action-oriented players will experience?

I've been down this road before, but not with language. As a history student and medieval military history junkie, I spent inordinate amounts of time on making certain aspects of a campaign more "realistic" at the expense of playability. The players could not have cared less, got bored with the details, and nobody was happy.

Keep in mind that linguistics is something that turns your crank (I assume it must, you being a major in it and all). If your players are not interested in that aspect of play, then trying to force it on them will not work. Every time that communication becomes an issue, those that were against the idea in the first place will feel the frustration that much more. If it becomes a major focus of the campaign, they will not be happy, and neither will you.

 

[Wombat]

In RuneQuest they had a trade language, Trade Talk, that had a number of limitations. Yes, there were a large number of people who knew it, but not everyone. Equally it was fantastic for doing trade, but was of limited use for science, philosophy, and theology -- it was pretty much a "utilitarian" language, more or less like the origins of Swahili (an amalgamation of several local dialects along with a number of Arabic loan words to facilitate trade). Admittedly, Swahili has blossomed into a full language, but that is beside the point.

You might try something like that -- a "common" tongue that doesn't fulfill every use.

 

[haiiro]

Has anyone else played a campaign without a common tongue? How did you handle it?

The closest I've come is playing in a Twilight 2000 game where not all of the PCs spoke English (mine included -- although he knew a bit of it). We occasionally shot the wrong people and didn't always follow orders from the English-speaking CO -- but that was very appropriate for the game and the setting (Europe in the act of collapsing into anarchy after a limited nuclear exchange).

Sometimes it was frustrating to deal with, but it was also fun to roleplay. Not sure how helpful this is, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[Elf Witch]

I play in a Kalamar game and the language system works well. Kalamar has a merchant's tongue but you have to put points in it. The way it os supposed to work is that major centers of trade will usually have someone who speaks it but get out in the boonies or even the smaller villeges and it can be a problem.

I like the flavor it gives the game that everyone is not speaking the same tongue but it would not be fun if it was to hard to communicate.

 

[Terry Edwards]

Perhaps you could provide a brief overview of the Kalamar language rules so that those of us not in the know can make more useful responses.

 

[Alzrius]

Ravenloft is a case of a world with no Common tongue. What they do is that there are four major languages in the main continent by region (which, coincidentally, is the average party size). Given that, most groups should have enough people that someone can speak the language of the area they are in, unless they head to a remote area. A similar thing might work in your game, since languages in a general area tend to have similarities.

 

[SpringPlum]

The language issue can be fun especially if you work with your players instead of making it a problem. If each character has a smattering of languages, it shouldn't too difficult. Chances could be that in any given situation, one of the characters has the right language. For example, take a game set in a 16th and 17th century Europe like setting. French was the common court language for most countries, so your noble would know French as well as their native language. A trader would also know Spanish and Portugese due to these countries heavy naval presence. Obviously the game won't be set in Europe but this is just a real world example. As the game progresses, your characters will learn more languages and the translation issue will lessen as the your plot progresses. I think this is a neat idea for the start of a campaign.

 

[MadScientist]

I've been in a campaign with no common tongue and it worked pretty well actually. In this campaign there was a dominant political power whos langauge was more common than most others. (It was far from universal however) Roleplaying the translator for party members has been fun when it was necessary.

I would just be sure that most times someone in the group speaks a useful languege where ever they go. Miming everything with NPCs could be fun for a session but more than that will get old quick. The skill cost of new languages is really pretty cheap. It shouldn't be difficult to have a party with a large selection of them.