Language part 2

[Lockonnow]

I have notes that Priest and paladin dont have a free language like many others wizard have arcane and Druid have have 3 Common Druidic and animal and many others PRC have a free language so i wish that the priest and paladin have a Free language to how about a Latin could tha tnot be a idea?

[CommanderKrieg]

I say give them Lockanese. Lockonnow should write us a new language

[DM Eminence]

Latin is not a FR language. Thorass is probably the closest equivalent and is used in Amn as a legal language (despite that some sources say it is a 'dead' language, there seems to be contradiction on that point).

For good/neutral aligned clerics, favoured souls and paladins, if they have the intelligence modifier for it, we do allow them to pick celestial. Needless to say, since celestial is a 'good' language, evil clergy will rather be looking at infernal or abyssal.

So if you want to RP this aspect of faith, make sure you have a free language slot. Picked something random at the language selector already which makes no sense? We can reset languages for you.

We also allow a free regional language based on the area your character was born/grew up in regardless of intelligence modifier. Celestial, infernal & abyssal are not regional languages and thus require the language slot to learn them.


Feel free to PM the DM team with any language related questions. It can be a fun aspect of RP.

[grymhild]

What are everyone's thoughts on adding the Speak Language skill, so that characters without super high Int can learn new languages?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/speakLanguage.htm

Speak Language (None; Trained Only)

Action: Not applicable.

Try Again: Not applicable. (There are no Speak Language checks to fail.)

The Speak Language skill doesn’t work like other skills. Languages work as follows.

• You start at 1st level knowing one or two languages (based on your race), plus an additional number of languages equal to your starting Intelligence bonus.
• You can purchase Speak Language just like any other skill, but instead of buying a rank in it, you choose a new language that you can speak.
• You don’t make Speak Language checks. You either know a language or you don’t.
• A literate character (anyone but a barbarian who has not spent skill points to become literate) can read and write any language she speaks. Each language has an alphabet, though sometimes several spoken languages share a single alphabet.

My personal feeling is that we should add it with the following caveats:

• Races which on our server are given several free languages, most of which should probably only be available as bonus languages, should be revised to only recieve their racial language for free plus Common or Undercommon - but not both.
  
  (Ex.drow and half-drow should not get Drow Silent Speech and Common for free, but should be able to learn them if they have available language slots. )
• Learning rare or esoteric languages for that character type should still require a player application and DM approval. http://www.bgtscc.net/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5473
• Revise the Tongues spell so that it works as per pnp,-or at the very least, fix the bugs and exploits possible with our current implementarion.
  
  http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/tongues.htm
  Hidden: show

  Tongues
  Divination
  Level: Brd 2, Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 3
  Components: V, M/DF
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Range: Touch
  Target: Creature touched
  Duration: 10 min./level
  Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
  Spell Resistance: No
  
  This spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature, whether it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect. The subject can speak only one language at a time, although it may be able to understand several languages. Tongues does not enable the subject to speak with creatures who don’t speak. The subject can make itself understood as far as its voice carries. This spell does not predispose any creature addressed toward the subject in any way.
  
  Tongues can be made permanent with a permanency spell.
  
  Arcane Material Component
  A small clay model of a ziggurat, which shatters when the verbal component is pronounced.
• increase the duration of Comprehend Languages. 6 seconds per level is probably fine in a turn-based game, but in a real-time game with the delay that typing adds, the spell doesn't last long enough, even with high level casters.

[Lockonnow]

well DM Eminence you know if i pick a race call Aasimar i will get the Celestial language so if iam a elf i will get the elven language and it is the same with dwarf i will get the Dwarven if i play a Tiefling i will get infernal or abyssal cant rememeber which one of them but maybe i have found dead language in the forgotten realms we can use it
but i dont see worng buy use a the Latin after all this world copy ever thing from oure world to other worlds so.. and if i most be so bold to say that forgotten realms do not have england in this world so when we speak english in the common it is notthing else so what is common in the world of forgotten realms?

[Velaris]

If I follow your line of thinking...common isn't english, it's common. It could realistic sound like anything.
(modern english comes from germanic, with latin influences, at least until the US got a hold of it and turned it into something ridiculous)

Having Latin would be pretty useless, since there are no latin based languages in FR settings.
(Have you ever seen any written samples of elvish, or any other languages in the FR setting? They mostly resemble a glyph based language, more like that used by egypt and eastern cultures)

Grymhild I REALLY like your idea, perhaps because I have a high INT wizard who collects the written word like it's ambrosia...let me know if you need someone to campaign for that!
(begins making flyers)

[NeOmega]

For good/neutral aligned clerics, favoured souls and paladins, if they have the intelligence modifier for it, we do allow them to pick celestial. Needless to say, since celestial is a 'good' language, evil clergy will rather be looking at infernal or abyssal.

There is the foreigner background trait one can pick, if they really want the language of their off-beat race. I think that is plenty. I don't think free languages should be given out.

I also do not like a language with each skill point. Maybe more spread out.

[DM Eminence]

NeOmega, only background languages so-named regional languages are given for free under certain conditions. We will post a DM ruling about it soon even if we have practised it for a while, we want it available for all and not just those who happen to know about it.

This is in honour of PnP where a character always knows for example Chondathan if they grew up in Baldur's Gate.

---

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Common

It says what languages Thorass has its roots from.

And here is a picture of Dwarven, Elven and the Thorass (one of the 'base' languages, forming many other human tongues):

Hidden: show

What they sound like though? I imagine something like Latin. We certainly will not introduce Latin as a language on the server (as far as I am concerned, if someone wanted to pretend talk Latin, Thorass is the language they should use).


Btw, I would recommend suggestions to changes to be made in a seperate thread in the appropiate forum which is the Collective Issues, Suggestions, Bug Reports area.

[Lockonnow]

DM Eminence how many dead language is there in the forgotten realms?