The Tol Haggerun Prophecy 3.5 D&D - [Ended]

[Ferrix]

My character will be a refelian, I will be picking up the trade language as well though.

Need to finish his background, then all else flows from that.

 

[Ferrix]

Being as I'm at home in Maine, I don't have CC 2 on this computer, but I tried downloading the viewer from ProFantasy and for some reason the zip file is corrupt so I'll have to wait till friday or so when I get back to Montreal to view the map.

 

[Insight]

Well, the spot I have marked on the map for my home region is on the Mitea side of the mountains so it would seem a little odd. On the other hand, if you think my character history would fit somewhere in Luiren as well as it would in Mitea, perhaps I could just slide Amberlea to the other side of the mountains somewhere. What do you think? Where exactly on the continent would an isolated halfling farming village with a visiting feudal human knight best fit?

I am considering that the kingdoms in Derev are neither homogenous nor terribly nationalistic. People on the borders are just as likely to speak one language or another. It becomes more about culture and heritage than what side of the border you find yourself. It's entirely possible that the area you chose used to be in Lurien and was conquered. Remember, Lurien and Mitea were at war for a long time (they just agreed to a tenuous peace treaty).

I was wondering about the Trade language. Where did this language come from exactly? Is it like some kind of medieval Esperanto; a fully developed language created and sanctioned by the various nations of world and used almost exlusively by diplomats or is it instead a sort of pidgin that evolved naturally between traveling merchants?

In many of the groups I usually play in (in which we'd prefer not to have one monolithic language that every creature everywhere seems to automatically know) we assume that "common" is the latter. In that sense, the common tongue is known mostly by travelers and merchants and it's a very simple and limited language, only useful for conveying things of general interest to merchants; monetary amounts, exchange rates, taxes, trade commodities, laws, customs, geography, weather, travel hazzards, monsters, wars, ect. The idea is, that while many people can understand and speak common, it's too simple and limited a language to use regularly if you want to speak about anything more complicated than the weather or the quality of livestock. PCs are encouraged to learn and use 'real' languages rather than relying exclusively on a this kind of baby-talk.

What's your take on it?

The Trade Language is relatively new, but has been spreading wildly since its inception. The language itself has probably been around less than a century. Basically, it came about because seafaring merchants needed some way to communicate when visiting foreign ports, and they were too lazy to learn all of the various languages of the region. Consider it an amalgam of Mitean, Luri, Refeli, Shivenic, and Kurstic. It is not very representative of any of them, but gets the idea across to people who are familiar with the derived languages. This is not to say that, for example, a speaker of Kurstic who doesn't know Trade will understand you perfectly, but it helps to alleviate the language barrier.

It is not a fully functional language in all regards, but is developing, mostly through the merchants and sailors who use it. You still have a far better chance getting along in a foreign land (outside of say the port area) if you know the native tongue. People who typically know the Trade Language are sailors, seafaring merchants, traders who deal with sailors or seafaring merchants, and those who travel on a regular basis for other reasons. Other folks just don't have any reason to know it, and so they don't.

BTW, there is a guild of sorts for seafaring merchants and their associates. I'm planning to post a list of organizations at some point, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested in joining a guild or anything of that nature. Those of you interested in Shadowbane should pay particular attention to this information, because you need to join up before taking that PrC.

 

[Insight]

Being as I'm at home in Maine, I don't have CC 2 on this computer, but I tried downloading the viewer from ProFantasy and for some reason the zip file is corrupt so I'll have to wait till friday or so when I get back to Montreal to view the map.

Ferrix,

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the map, or I can email you the jpgs I made for someone else.

 

[Evil Ujio]

Mitra is the capital of Mitea. Lurien is a neighboring kingdom. If she is a Luri, she is probably not from Mitea, although I suppose it's possible. I would like to know specifically which cities in which you plan to start, and you do not need to be in the same cities. I have a plan to get you all together. Please refer to the map files I posted if you're not sure where you want to start off.

Wow I got that confused, I thought Mitra was in Lurien... I really need to see this map lol and Misha is too dumb to know anything else but Lur.

 

[Evil Ujio]

Misha will be from Veltune being Lurien.

 

[James Heard]

BTW, there is a guild of sorts for seafaring merchants and their associates. I'm planning to post a list of organizations at some point, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested in joining a guild or anything of that nature. Those of you interested in Shadowbane should pay particular attention to this information, because you need to join up before taking that PrC.

Hrm, I don't see my character as being a union guy...especially when the union makes me think that part of the dues include swilling grog and talking about "me treasure" and saying "argh" a lot. Ah well. Not a pirate game.*sniff*

It would just be weird. "'Argh! Me patron Bharrai says ye be tah enjoy the glory of nature like tha scurvy dogs ye are! Walk tha plank and ye shall be embraced by tha magnificent kraken of Davy Jones!' And then, I summon some celestials to watch me fix the guys that um, were despoiling the er...waves." *sigh*

 

[Ambrus]

Halflings (not sure what to call them - I'll let you know soon) automatically get the Trade language plus the human language of their region of origin. This is in addition to any bonus languages for intelligence.

People who typically know the Trade Language are sailors, seafaring merchants, traders who deal with sailors or seafaring merchants, and those who travel on a regular basis for other reasons. Other folks just don't have any reason to know it, and so they don't.

Well, considering what you've just said, I don't see how my character would have picked up the trade language while growing up in an issolated rural area. If your intention is to give halflings two free starting languages I'd figure that, being on the border of between Mitea and Lurien, he'd most likely have learned Mitean and Lur.

 

[Insight]

Well, considering what you've just said, I don't see how my character would have picked up the trade language while growing up in an issolated rural area. If your intention is to give halflings two free starting languages I'd figure that, being on the border of between Mitea and Lurien, he'd most likely have learned Mitean and Lur.

Yeah, that's fine if you want to change it. I just figured that Halflings, not having their own racial language, might latch onto something like the Trade Language. But being from a rural area, maybe your particular Halfling might not have it. Perhaps Lur and Mitean?

 

[Ambrus]

Yeah, that's fine if you want to change it. I just figured that Halflings, not having their own racial language, might latch onto something like the Trade Language. But being from a rural area, maybe your particular Halfling might not have it. Perhaps Lur and Mitean?

Okay, done.