Questions tagged [languages]
For questions relating to setting-specific use of language in RPGs. Questions about real-world languages should be tagged with the specific language instead (e.g. [french]).
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Is language tied to statistics, ability scores, and/or skill proficiencies according to the rules?
While reading this answer to whether or not a druid knows the languages of his/her chosen form, I began to wonder, "What is a language exactly?" Please allow me to walk you through my thought process. ...
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How many languages is it possible to learn?
If I want to roleplay an interpreter, is there a max number of languages I can learn? Standard human, plan to get 18 INT.
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What are the official languages available to players?
The D&D 5th Edition Player's Handbook lists some languages on page 123, giving players with characters who can choose a language a number of choices.
There are other sources of player-choosable ...
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Can a Druid understand a new form's languages only while Wildshaped into it?
One of my players' characters, a Circle of the Moon druid (PHB, p. 69), recently got to level 6; she can now use Wild Shape to turn into a Giant Elk.
The description of the giant elk says that it can ...
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Communicating with Conjured Creatures
This question seems to come up in every edition of D&D and this version does not seem to really clarify the situation.
All of the spells of the type Conjure X (Animals, Celestials, Elementals, ...
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Does Comprehend Languages let you understand secret languages?
We came to a point where one of my teammates cast Comprehend languages, but I still spoke in Druidic (actually just for the lolz, but it still raised the question):
Does Comprehend languages allow ...
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Can Thieves' Cant be understood without a level in Rogue?
The Player's Basic Rules and Player's Handbook describe the Thieves' Cant class feature as:
... a secret mix of dialect, jargon and code allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. ...
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Does Comprehend Languages allow one to understand Thieves' Cant?
Would someone under the effects of comprehend languages understand Thieves' Cant? Specifically, would they understand the meaning of what the person was saying and not just the words?
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Does knowing Primordial mean you understand all the different languages of elementals?
I'm wondering if knowing the language Primordial means that you understand all different languages of elementals?
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How can one establish communication with intelligent creatures lacking language?
The ice toad (Frostburn 140-1) is a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 6 yet no language. Beyond being conceptually annoying and making me feel bad for the handful of aberrant genius ice ...
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What would a Warlock understand from written spells outside of their class, via Eyes of the Rune Keeper?
This related question asks if you could transcribe a ritual spell to the warlock book via the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation regardless of spell lists, and the answers were generally "yes, but you ...
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Does Shapechange allow you to speak a language you don't already know?
The 9th level spell Shapechange gives you many of the traits of the creature who's form you assume:
... You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those ...
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Can a Monk "turn off" the Tongue of the Sun and Moon feature?
The description of the monk's Tongue of the Sun and Moon feature states:
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so
that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, ...
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Can Thieves' Cant be used across languages?
In this question, it is established that Thieves' Cant is more of an encoding system built on top of a language than a language in its own right.
According to the Basic Rules, Thieves' Cant is:
...a ...
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Can Warlock's Eyes of the Rune Keeper decipher written code?
I have a Warlock in the party, and the party came across a message on a fallen enemy. It was written in draconic, and in code.
The Eyes of the Rune Keeper allows the Warlock to read the draconic, But ...
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Perfect Deceit with Tongues
I would like to play a character who excels in impersonating people. Of course, a high Deception skill comes in handy. But what if I want to impersonate an elf, a dragonborn or an orc? (Alter Self, a ...
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What does a Kenku's speech sound like?
Introduced in Volo's Guide to Monsters, Kenku can only speak by imitating sounds they've heard — they're unable to speak with their own voices (p. 110):
Although unable to speak in their own voices,...
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Can a character know Druidic without having any levels of druid?
Related to my answer here.
Druidic is a special language in that no race can take it as a bonus language (even those who can choose any language specifically say except Druidic) and cannot be learned ...
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Except for PC Rogues, who else knows thieves’ cant?
The Thieves’ Cant feature lets you hide a message in a conversation, providing the person you are talking to also knows thieves’ cant:
During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret ...
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How to roleplay languages that none of the player characters know?
Imagine a Dwarf meets an Elf. Both speak common, but the Elf doesn't speak Dwarven and the Dwarf doesn't speak Elvish. The Elf is in a bad mood and decides to speak to the Dwarf only in Elvish instead ...
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What does Drow Speech sound like?
I am about to play a Drow Rogue-Fighter and I want to roleplay my character well, and this includes doing a voice. What is the proper voice for a [charismatic] Drow [Rogue-Fighter]? I was thinking ...
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If a Ranger chooses "fey" as their Favored Enemy, what languages can they choose from?
The ranger's Favored Enemy feature description says:
When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all
I am ...
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Would other PCs eventually notice two rogues talking in Thieves' Cant?
I have two PCs in the party that know Thieves' Cant and they constantly talk to each other and pass secrete messages to each other via Thieves' Cant. Another player thought that because Thieves' Cant ...
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Can the Balhannoth speak?
From Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes comes the Balhannoth (p. 119). In the Languages part of its statblock, it says:
Languages understands Deep Speech, telepathy 1 mile
Normally when a creature speaks ...
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Is there a spell or magic item that allows a character to speak Orcish?
I have a player at my table that wants to use the spells disguise self and comprehend languages to pass herself off as an Orc so she can walk through a vast war encampment, which sounds great to me.
...
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Does the Detect Thoughts spell work against an Intellect Devourer?
The spell Detect Thoughts has the following limitation on potential targets:
You can't detect a creature with an Intelligence of 3 or lower or one that doesn't speak any language.
An Intellect ...
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Can I exclude characters from understanding my magically understandable speech from the monk's Tongue of the Sun and Moon feature?
The rules for the monk ability Tongue of the Sun and Moon state:
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature ...
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What's the mechanism for magically understood speech from the monk's Tongue of the Sun and Moon feature?
The rules for the monk ability Tongue of the Sun and Moon state:
Starting at 13th level, you learn to touch the ki of other minds so that you understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature ...
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Can a customized background provide two exotic languages in AL?
When customizing a background, you can choose a combination of 2 languages or tool proficiencies. Is it AL-legal to pick 2 exotic languages as your background languages? I'm asking this since I don't ...
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Do either Speak with Animals or Awakened Mind let me use Command on animals?
The spell Command states the following:
You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next turn. ...
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Does casting Tongues on the tarrasque (a language-less monstrosity) let it understand language?
Tongues description:
This spell grants the creature you touch the
ability to understand any spoken language it hears. Moreover, when the
target speaks, any creature that knows at least one ...
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Does using the Speak with Animals spell with the ghostwise halfling's Silent Speech trait allow speaking telepathically to animals?
(My question was inspired by this question: Can the Ghostwise Halfling's Silent Speech be used to telepathically intimidate using growls?)
The ghostwise halfling, a halfling subrace in the Sword ...
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Can Awakened Mind let you affect creatures that don’t share your language with spells that require them to understand you? [duplicate]
Spells like Mass Suggestion require that the target(s) must be able to hear and understand you.
The Great Old One’s Awakened Mind allows a Warlock to telepathically speak and be understood by anyone ...
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What's the deal with alignment languages?
In early D&D, there was the concept of an "alignment language."
The original "little brown book" D&D says only:
Law, Chaos and Neutrality also have common languages spoken by each ...
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How can we make overcoming a language problem interesting?
I am currently involved in a game of Fate Accelerated, and one of our goals is learning the system and experimenting with it. In this game, two characters may have a language barrier to overcome. One ...
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How to have a realistic set of languages without making adventuring prohibitively difficult?
"Do you speak Common?" "Of course I do! Everyone speaks Common..."
My group is starting a somewhat experimental campaign. We're using a setting that is neither canon (e.g. described in a book) nor ...
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How do you pronounce “svirfneblin”?
In a campaign I'm writing, an aged sage sends my party to the Underdark to aid Deep Gnomes against a Drow takeover. The group that will be playing this has read R.A Salvatore's books and knows both ...
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Is there an alternative word to be used in place of Humanoid?
I find the term Humanoid to be (obviously) human centric, and am looking for a more generic term to use in place of it to define all intelligent creatures that exist in standard society of these ...
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Why aren't the languages Auran/Aquan/Ignan/Terran listed as choices in the PHB?
It seems to indicate that Primordial is actually the language of elementals in 5E, but the Monster Manual seems to suggest otherwise by listing Auran as the language of Air Elementals, Aquan for Water ...
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Can a druid Wild-Shaped into a raven speak using the Mimicry trait?
The description of the druid's Wild Shape feature says, in part (PHB, p. 67):
You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of ...
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Is a shared language required to understand the thoughts of a target of Detect Thoughts?
Detect Thoughts allows you to "know the surface thoughts" of another creature. If both creatures do not share a language, will the caster be able to understand the surface thoughts of the target?
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Are there any other rule mechanics that could grant Thieves' Cant?
Thieves' Cant is a class feature of Rogues in 5e.
As it is a method of communication, can it be taken as a language? If not, is it mechanically equivalent to something that can be swapped so that ...
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What is the script for the Aarakocra language?
I have been unable to find this anywhere and was curious about it. I've found the relationship between all other languages and which script, if any, they have. The Aarakocra language seems to have a ...
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Is Thieves' Cant a language?
In a recent question there was some confusion as to whether or not Thieves' Cant is a language, a class feature, or both.
Which is it?
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What does Deep Speech look/sound like?
My character picked up the Deep Sage feat, so he can now speak, read and write Deep Speech. But I haven't been able to find any published examples of what it may look like when written or sound like ...
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Can a character read a unknown language if it shares script with one they know?
There is a character (Classic Half Orc Barbarian) in my group that can read, write and speak Orcish but in the PHB Page 123 (Language) it shows the Orcish script is Dwarvish.
Can the player also ...
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Why are starting languages restricted? [closed]
In Pathfinder, each race starts with some given languages, usually Common and its own racial language. Characters with more Intelligence can have additional starting languages, but only taken from a ...
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Can a Kenku with Wind Speaker speak Primordial without using their Mimicry trait?
Okay so the Language entry on the Kenku states
You can read and write Common and Auran, but you can speak only by using your Mimicry trait. (VGM, 111)
and I know there's the whole race background ...
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Languages and Knowledges
We were running our Dungeon World campaign, and the time came to confront the goblins about their evil ways and interrogate them for what they knew. At this point, we hit a snag; how can we know if ...
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Every language character optimization
I've been theory crafting how to design a linguist character who is able to read and speak every language. I managed to accomplish this with a level 20 wizard who takes Signature Spells on tongues and ...
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