Spirit Shaman should get Sylvan

[whatsittoya]

Isn't it past due that we give Sylvan to Spirit Shamans as an automatic language, under the exact same justification that Clerics are given Celestial as an automatic language?

It ought to be considered an integral component of the class fantasy as far as having the tools necessary to perform its function of engaging with spirits, the most common of which will be fey.

[DaloLorn]

Strangely, there's more precedent to give them Animal Empathy... which they already seem to get, so no problem there!

Clerics in PnP are given Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal as bonus languages (see below for explanation). Spirit Shamans get the Wild Empathy ability, but no bonus languages.

Technically... it looks like our language system might be overly generous, in more ways than one:

• Only Common and your racial language(s) are granted for free. (And Druidic, and technically Animal Empathy as implemented on BG.)
• Character backgrounds should arguably replace your free racial language(s) instead of teaching an extra language.
• Languages gained from INT are based solely on your level 1 INT modifier. You do not qualify for extra languages by increasing your INT modifier, nor can you take extra languages as feats. (On the flip side, Linguistics gives you one language per 5 ranks instead of one language per rank... but is also more commonly available as a class skill than it would be in PnP.)
• Languages gained from INT must be learned from a specific list of "bonus languages", as determined by your race (and optionally modified by your class), instead of being virtually unrestricted.

[whatsittoya]

I was making an argument from the position of doing better than PnP, that the absence of Sylvan in PnP is an egregious oversight that we can correct here.

[DaloLorn]

I mean, I'm not going to go out of my way to oppose it: If the rest of staff leans in favor of making this change, then that's good enough for me. But I don't see any precedent that would convince me to take sides in the matter, so I'm remaining firmly neutral.