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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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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How do you determine the language a creature is speaking?
okay, so I have a Mute Musician mermaid who speaks canto via castanets. My aboleth masters had taken away my voice and cursed all of my writing to be in the aboleth language before they sent me to the ...
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Are Imps incapable of speech or is my DM messing with me?
So, I am new to DnD and have been having a conversation with my DM about restrictions she is putting on my Warlock (pact of the chain), such as limiting my short rests to only one per day to restrict ...
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Learning new languages
Im building a character and have been going over the races and happened to have a thought while looking at languages. Races tend to have languages they know, and then learn from high int scores. Are ...
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Overcoming language barriers in Starfinder
Since Starfinder has been released I've been interested in using it as a system for an exploratory kind of campaign. Imagine West Marches meets Star Trek. There's a lot I and the people I'm playing ...
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learn the name of an unknown language
In a game I'm in, we have a script written in an unknown language.
We can use comprehend languages to read it.
However, is there a method to learn the name of the language itself?
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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 can I talk to anybody the most easily?
I want to be able to talk to whomever we may come across. Despite keeping Linguistics maxed, I don't know every language out there; enter Tongues.
There are several items which grant Comprehend ...
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Does speaking Giant mean understanding Giant Runes (Storm King's Thunder)
Does a character that speaks giant understand/know the meaning of the Giant runes provided in Storm King's Thunder? My guess would be no - the Giant language is based off of the Dwarvish script (PHB p....
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When you polymorph/wild shape into elementals, can you speak?
Since elementals have languages that can be learned and spoken by anyone, are you able to speak freely with any language you know to fulfill the conditions of spell casting and communication?
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From what language(s) did Common evolve?
According to the Forgotten Realms wiki, the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (3rd edition) material from Wizards of the Coast asserts that Common is only a simple trade language:
Common was little ...
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What does thieves' cant sound like? [closed]
Related but not exactly what I'm asking: Can Thieves' Cant be understood without a level in Rogue?
Also related: Would other PCs eventually notice two rogues talking in Thieves' Cant?
...
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Is drow sign language a language on its own or does my drow get it as a bonus?
I'm new to DnD and my drow character should (if I got that right) know Elven and Common as by the PHB definition of a drow PC. Also, I'd like to take duergar or undercommon as an additional language ...
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What script is Undercommon written in?
What script is Undercommon written in? I think it's supposed to be the common script, but I'm just confirming that.
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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?
user27327
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Do Magicians learn to read all languages they learn to speak, or just those they speak at level 1?
The Languages and Professions line for Level 1 Magician says:
You read all the languages you know how to speak.
Does this mean that the character learns how to read all languages they speak when ...
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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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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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Does the fey summoned by Conjure Animals inherit the language of the beast it resembles?
Background: We wanted to scout an island. To do that we thought about using the Conjure Animals spell to summon a bird that could speak, and using Tongues to communicate with the bird after it had ...
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As a nagaji, what are my starting languages in PFS?
I've created a nagaji character for Pathfinder Society and I'm trying to figure out what languages I start with. There seems to be competing information in different sourcebooks, and PFS documentation ...
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Is there a root language from which multiple Forgotten Realms languages were derived?
I am looking for an analogue to Latin for the world of D&D. To modern English speakers, Latin is not well known, but since it is still taught in some areas and it supplies a lot of vocabulary to ...
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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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Does the tongues spell require the creature to be capable of speaking in the first place?
I have been polymorphed into a squirrel, but thankfully I am under a permanent tongues spell.
Squirrels have no listed language but from personal experience in the real world I know they can make ...
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What happens when a Headband of Vast Intelligence grants ranks in Linguistics?
When a player gains ranks in Linguistics, they learn a language. What exactly happens when a headband of vast intelligence grants ranks in linguistics? Does the wearer gain new languages, just as if ...
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Is there any spell, class ability, etc. that allows one to write in an unfamiliar language?
Comprehend Languages allows you to read and understand spoken language, but not speak or write.
Tongues allows you to speak and comprehend spoken language, but not read or write.
Is there anything (...
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How can the Starter Set's pre-made elf have 5 languages?
So I'm not sure if I'm just missing something but the premade elf in lost mine of Phandelver should only have 4 languages (two from race and two from background) but for one reason it has 5. Can ...
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Can the ability to Speak with Animals be over powered? [closed]
To be specific, I am attempting to create a custom race and it may be on the precipice of "balanced" as it is, though I am trying to keep it underpowered. It being based on a player option from a ...
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Can the spell Tongues be used to speak with most summoned creatures?
In order to make the most effect of something that has been summoned, you need to be able to communicate with it. As there are many summon spells this means there is a large number of languages.
...
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Which script should my character use when writing in druidic?
Which script should my character use when writing in druidic?
Druidic (PHB 66)
You know Druidic, the secret language of druids. You can speak the language and use it to leave hidden messages. ...
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What does the court dialect of Infernal sound like?
I would be interested in how I could imagine speaking infernal-language especially the dialect described as:
The fourth form of Infernal is the court language of Baator, used only by pit fiends and ...
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Is there a comprehensive list of languages?
Is there a more comprehensive list of basic non-Golarian languages in Pathfinder than the one found in the Linguistics skill's description?
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Languages and the Linguistics skill in Pathfinder
I'm running an Eberron campaign using the Pathfinder system.
Suppose a character has several bonus languages from character creation. She is able to read and speak this language, per the Core ...
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Would an elf raised by dwarves still have elvish as a language?
In a Forgotten Realms scenario I'm running, an elven maiden was rescued, but in critical condition, by a dwarven party who happened upon her as her tribe was slaughtered by orcs. She gave birth to her ...
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How can I conveniently roleplay my character switching languages while speaking?
Two PCs of our party, one of them mine, are speakers of a language that's not very common in the setting - a handy way to obfuscate communications when in risk of being overheard. What easy, immersive ...
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Does a level 1 tongues-cursed oracle only add the language to his list of bonus languages?
The oracle curse tongues says, in part, that the oracle that's so cursed must
Pick one of the following languages: Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Ignan, Infernal, or Terran.
Whenever you are ...
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Should a history skill check let a PC identify a language?
I have a player who argues that a History check should allow a PC to identify a language.
In the past I ruled it a hard 'no' but always made an exception if a player can somehow justify it; e.g., "I ...
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Can a Bear with a Belt of Dwarvenkind Speak Dwarvish?
This may well come down to House Rulz, but my druid recently acquired a Belt of Dwarvenkind, and I was wondering if (assuming you would let him wear it in bear shape), you would also let him speak ...
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Do the Gloves of Flame require their user to speak Ignan?
The description of the Gloves of Flame in the Magic Item Compendium 3.5 states:
In addition, five times per day you can utter the word "burn" in lgnnan to generate a flame in the palm of one hand.
...
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What language is reasonable for a Roper to speak or understand?
I'm DMing a published 5e campaign that has a Roper in it. The campaign book tells me...
This seems all well and good, except in the monster's stat block its language is listed as '—', which I always ...
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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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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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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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What is the proper elven name for Wood and Wild Elves?
In the Sword Coast Adventure Guide, both the Wood and Wild elves are said to go by the elvish name of "Sy'Tel'Quessir" (Page 106)
Do they both have the same name? Are Wood elves considered by other ...
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What's the training cost for, and is it still paid if you're being taught for free?
I have a player in my game who wants to learn Draconic from his two party members in their downtime. Something that he was wondering about was why he has to pay 1gp if the party members are freely ...
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Why doesn't the Criminal background give Thieves' Cant?
Is there any reason why the Criminal background in 5th edition D&D does not give you the bonus language of Thieves' Cant? With an admittedly limited understanding of the criminal world, I still ...
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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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Does a Drow character know Undercommon?
I was just creating a Drow Rogue in 5e and I noticed that they know very few languages. With some backgrounds, I have been able to create characters that know as many as 6 languages at level one. ...
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If a skeleton learns a language, can it speak it?
The skeleton description says that while it cannot speak it, it can understand the languages it knew in life. Can it not speak because of its undeath or could it learn to speak a language?
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Where to get fonts for fictional ancient languages? [closed]
I'm starting a Mage: The Awakening chronicle and I would like to present my players with messages and letters occasionally written in ancient scripts (fictional ones, i.e. Lemurean, Atlantean and ...
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Using real-world languages instead of made-up languages [closed]
Let's say you're GMing a game for people who primarily speak English, and you want to have a non-human NPC say something in their native tongue, or a human NPC say something in a secret language. You ...
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