D&D (2024) Rare Languages

ECMO3

Legend
Hi all,

The 2024 PHB divides languages into standard and rare categories. By default, every PC knows Common plus two other standard languages. None of the 2024 backgrounds or species grant bonus languages, which is fine, but as far as I can tell, there's no way for a PC to learn a rare language. The book says that "some features let a character learn a rare language", but I'm not seeing any. Am I missing something?

Note: When using the 2024 rules in D&D Beyond, the system won't let you choose any of the rare languages at character creation. You have to add them manually from the character sheet.

EDIT: So far we have the following ways in which to learn a rare language using only the options in the 2024 PHB:
  • Take 1 level of druid to get Druidic.
  • Take 1 level of rogue to get Thieves' Cant and any other language of your choice.
  • Take 2 levels of ranger to get any two languages of your choice via Deft Explorer.
Anything else?

You can also train to learn a language.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Osgood

Hero
I thought this was a real head scratcher myself. I would have left Linguist as an Origin feat and included more subclass features that granted rare languages: warlocks getting the language of their patron, clerics getting Celestial, Infernal or Abyssal, Wizard getting a couple of bonus languages because they are the smartest.
 
Last edited:

Remathilis

Legend
Hi all,

The 2024 PHB divides languages into standard and rare categories. By default, every PC knows Common plus two other standard languages. None of the 2024 backgrounds or species grant bonus languages, which is fine, but as far as I can tell, there's no way for a PC to learn a rare language. The book says that "some features let a character learn a rare language", but I'm not seeing any. Am I missing something?

Note: When using the 2024 rules in D&D Beyond, the system won't let you choose any of the rare languages at character creation. You have to add them manually from the character sheet.

EDIT: So far we have the following ways in which to learn a rare language using only the options in the 2024 PHB:
  • Take 1 level of druid to get Druidic.
  • Take 1 level of rogue to get Thieves' Cant and any other language of your choice.
  • Take 2 levels of ranger to get any two languages of your choice via Deft Explorer.
Anything else?
I pointed this out months ago, which just ended up a debate on how D&D languages are useless anyway.

If you are going to house rule stuff, I have some recommendations

  • Thaumaturge (cleric) should grant abyssal, infernal or celestial (chose one)
  • Magician (druid) should grant Sylvan or primordial (choice)
  • Scholar (wizard) should grant one rare language
  • Each warlock subclass should grant an appropriate language (archfey - sylvan, celestial celestial, fiend - infernal or abyssal, GOO - deep speech) upon entry.
  • Species can always take an appropriate language of their species as one of their choices.

The language rules absolutely feel they weren't touched after backgrounds no longer granted a language choice and after they became fixed rather than make your own.
 



Pretty sure they removed things that felt cultural from the species stats. Though I'd be perfectly fine with Aasimar knowing celestial and Tieflings knowing Abyssal or Infernal; the idea of the outsider kid speaking in tongues is real cool.
For some reason, they go out of their way to remove all cultural info from species (except for orcs), then immediately insert a bunch of cultural info into the language rules. The rarity of a language is entirely dependent upon one's culture. (Incidentally, the 2014 PHB claims Common originated in Sigil, where many people speak Abyssal, Celestial, and Infernal. I guess they forgot that detail.)

It's like the 2024 rules are playing whack-a-mole with all of 5e's unnecessary restrictions. "Let's remove the arbitrary ability score modifiers from species... and add them to backgrounds instead. Let's remove setting-specific information from species... and hard-code a bunch of setting-specific information into the language rules." Irritating.
 

Oofta

Legend
Supporter
Thanks all! I have updated my OP with a list.

It just feels a bit odd that aasimar don't get Celestial for free, nor tieflings Abyssal or Infernal. Also, there doesn't seem to be any way for a drow to learn Undercommon without taking a level in rogue or two levels in ranger.


Nope!


It's looking like they've removed diseases from the game. We'll know for sure when the DMG is released.
An aasimar are " ... descended from an angelic being or infused with celestial power" and tieflings may "...have fiendish ancestors who originated there." I have ancestors from Norway, but I don't speak Norwegian.

On the other hand we're just using a custom generic background so people can learn oddball languages if it makes sense for their backstory.
 


Yaarel

🇮🇱He-Mage
Hi all,

The 2024 PHB divides languages into standard and rare categories. By default, every PC knows Common plus two other standard languages. None of the 2024 backgrounds or species grant bonus languages, which is fine, but as far as I can tell, there's no way for a PC to learn a rare language. The book says that "some features let a character learn a rare language", but I'm not seeing any. Am I missing something?

Note: When using the 2024 rules in D&D Beyond, the system won't let you choose any of the rare languages at character creation. You have to add them manually from the character sheet.

EDIT: So far we have the following ways in which to learn a rare language using only the options in the 2024 PHB:
  • Take 1 level of druid to get Druidic.
  • Take 1 level of rogue to get Thieves' Cant and any other language of your choice.
  • Take 2 levels of ranger to get any two languages of your choice via Deft Explorer.
Anything else?
Not sure if canon, but, I go with the following rule of thumb:

Three languages:
• One is the mother tongue for daily speech, typically Common
• One is family, typically one of the cultural languages of a species who is an ancestor
• One is professional, any language, but one that inherently relates to choice of background

The rare languages are available via a family memeber or a profession, such as a Dragonborn or someone marrying a Dragonborn, or a mage studying dragon magic, can choose Draconic.
 
Last edited:

Yaarel

🇮🇱He-Mage
EDIT: So far we have the following ways in which to learn a rare language using only the options in the 2024 PHB:
  • Take 1 level of druid to get Druidic.
  • Take 1 level of rogue to get Thieves' Cant and any other language of your choice.
  • Take 2 levels of ranger to get any two languages of your choice via Deft Explorer.
Anything else?
Per the 2024 rules-as-written, the DM might introduce other backgrounds for the players to choose to from. (Many DMs will add backgrounds to add details to the setting.)

Thus is Core, for the DM to add backgrounds that specify a rare language.
 

Remove ads

Top