Spells & Languages

[Caliber]

Okay so here is the situation. I play a Wizard, and as such, enemy spell books are my favorite type of loot. But my DM has ruled that the Githyanki spell books I have recently found are written in Githyanki, a language I do not speak.

Yeah I could use Comprehend Languages to translate them, but hey, why not just find a rule saying I shouldn't have to.

So can anyone point out a rule that basicly says a Read Magic is all I need?

This is really troublesome sometimes, because if I do not have a Comprehend Languages prepared he says that I cannot figure out which books are spell books and which aren't.

 

[Li Shenron]

It can be a campaign issue. Usually we tend to say that spellbooks are written in the Wizard's personal "language" made of universal arcane symbols but with the Wiz's personal style. This makes it necessary for another Wizard's effort to decipher it, but does not typically requires to know a specific language, since the writings are not necessary in any spoken language.

I guess you should agree with your DM about how it works in your campaign; you can as well decide that all spellbooks/scrolls writings are heavily language-dependent, or you can make them all written in draconic (another idea we once considered), which will become a must language for all spellcasters.

 

[novyet]

In all campaigns I have run, and played in, spellbooks are language dependent. However we have always allowed a wizard to determine what was a spellbook and what was not by the presence of diagrams and images of spell effects and what not. So even if they can't read it, they can tell by mathmatical formulae or images. Just my thoughts though.

 

[thalmin]

Sorry, Caliber, but if your DM has RULED youy need to speak the language, or at least cast comprehend language, no rule anyone could point out would change that. Rule 0 wins.

 

[Bonedagger]

All found on page 155 in the PHB.

"to decipher an arcane magical writing (Such as a single spell in written form in another's spellbook or on a scroll),"

It also say that arcane magical writings can be understood with a Read Magic (Or a successful spellcraftcheck) and that arcane writings uses the same system no matter language or culture. The arcane languages is something a spellcaster discover, not invent.


This might help your argument.

But that will not help you if your DM tell you otherwise

 

[Caliber]

Thanks Bonedagger. That is exactly what I was looking for.

As for everyone who mentioned rule 0 ... yeah yeah I know.

Really though it was a more on the fly descision. No one knew the rule so we just accepted his interpretation and moved on. If we could show him a rule for it later though, he would change it from then on.

Thanks again.