Tongues

[DMFTodd]

"The spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the lanuage of any intelligent creature"

Does the target of the spell have to have an intelligent creature using that language present OR are they allowed to just pick any language they know?

Example: I cast tongues, can I simply say "I speak and understand Russian" or do I have to have someone there speaking Russian that I can then speak to and understand?

I also had it be the latter. The spell lets me communicate with the guy speaking Russian. If there's nobody speaking or that can understand Russian, then I can't use tongues to suddenly speak Russian. I don't see anything in the spell that confirms that.

And what does "speak only one language at a time" mean? Does that mean I have to recast the spell to speak Spanish or can I speak Russian for a minute and then change over to Spanish for five, and then change over to French for a while?

 

[BlackSeed_Vash]

The way I interpet the text is as follows:
1) As long as a language not known by the target of Tongues is being spoken, Tongues translates it into a language that the target does know.
2) Tongues will convert your language into a language known by a single target. If anyone else knows the language your's has been converted to, they also understand what you are saying.
3) If there are two or more creatures without a common language, Tongues will transelate each language as in #1.
4) If there are two or more creatures without a common language, Tongues will only convert your language into one of the known languages known by whichever creature you wish to speak directly to. If you need to tell/ask all creatures present the same information, you are required to repeat yourself for each creature present beyond the first.

In other words, while Tongues is active you will "Know" Spanish and Russian only while there is someone present who knows Spanish and Russian. Also, if both a Russian and a Spanish person do not know each other's language and you wish to talk to both, you can only speak Russian or Spanish. The spell will only convert your words into one language, so you must pick which person you wish to talk to.

 

[Hypersmurf]

And what does "speak only one language at a time" mean? Does that mean I have to recast the spell to speak Spanish or can I speak Russian for a minute and then change over to Spanish for five, and then change over to French for a while?

I believe this means that if you have an orc, a goblin, and an ogre, you can't speak one sentence that all three will understand. But you can speak the sentence three times - once in orc, once in goblin, and once in giant.

Interestingly, let's say you don't know Common for some reason. You can cast Tongues and speak with anyone who speaks Common... but you cannot speak with a Destrachan, who understands Common, because the Destrachan does not speak...

-Hyp.

 

[DMFTodd]

Hm, good point about the Destrachan. So I encounter a giant, cast tongues, and say "Hello, giant!". If the giant can SPEAK, it can understand me. If the giant is mute, it cannot. That's dumb.

Or consider that I'm plane hopping and encounter some alien. I cast tongues and can speak with him. Do I know that I'm speaking "Thudbuttian", the native tongues of the "Thudbutts"? When I get back home, can I cast tongues and speak Thudbuttian just for the fun of it?

 

[BlackSeed_Vash]

They way I see it, no. In your head, you're speaking whichever language is most common to you. However, what is comming out is the most common language to who/whatever you are talking to. The spell does not teach or remember any language you have encountered while under the effects of the spells. So each use only affects you in respect to the creatures around you during the duration of the spell.