Amalthea is home to hundreds, if not thousands, of different languages, dialects, pidgins, and creoles. Below are some of the commonly known languages in the world, most of which can be divided into three categories: ethnic languages, planar languages, and dead languages.
For gameplay purposes, all characters begin speaking two languages, plus a number of other languages equal to their Intelligence modifier. Human, orc, and beastfolk characters may additionally speak a tribal language that is known only by people of their tribe for purely roleplay purposes, as long as it is logical for the character's background. For gameplay convenience, it is strongly encouraged that all characters speak Valdoran, which is the Common tongue of the setting.
Monstrous Languages: In Amalthea, monstrous creatures that are capable of speech, such as giants, monstrous humanoids, and intelligent magical beasts, usually speak their own racial language not shared with humanoids or other monsters. For instance, ogres speak Ogre, harpies speak Harpy, and manticores speak Manticore. Exceptions do exist, such as sphinxes, who learn one or more humanoid languages in order to pose their riddles, but these are rare and only apply to monsters who regularly socialize with humanoids. Knowledge of monstrous languages is very rare among humanoids, so they're not comprehensively listed here, but players can select monstrous languages with permission if it fits their backstory.
Ethnic Languages
Ethnic languages are most commonly spoken by mortals based on their ethnic group and region of birth. Most of these languages originate from cultures founded on the Material Plane, although some of them may have roots in the languages of immortal or extraplanar beings. Ethnic languages can usually be learned by all intelligent humanoids, although some might contain unique syllables that require specific physiologies to pronounce.
The following ethnic languages are available to player characters, listed in order from most to least popular.
Valdoran (Common)
In the Pact of Valdoro, the most widely spoken language is Valdoran, the native language of the humans and dwarves that make up the majority of the region's population. Due to Valdoro's importance to international trade in Amalthea, the Valdoran language is on its way to becoming the most popular language in the world, and thus it's also sometimes referred to as Common. Valdoran has also been adopted by many people from remote places as a lingua franca, as their native languages are not mutually intelligible.
Modern Valdoran resembles several Romance languages, particularly Italian or Spanish, as well as Esperanto. For roleplaying purposes, simply use whatever dialect of modern English you're most familiar with.
Ancient Valdoran is a language that's still used for religious purposes by the Sybilite Church, and resembles Latin.
Velthirian Elvish
Velthirian Elvish is the national language of Velthiria, spoken by both elves and humans originating from that nation. In Tisoria, it was once the official language used in all governmental communications, but since Tisoria's independence and induction into the Pact of Valdoro, Valdoran has replaced it in all official capacities. Velthirian Elvish is still favored by Tisoria's elf-blooded upper classes, and fluency in this language is a marker of high social status.
Velthirian Elvish resembles a mixture of Tolkien Elvish (particularly Quenya), French, and Middle English. In roleplay, Early Modern (ie. Shakespearean) English can be used to represent a character speaking with a heavy Velthirian accent, particularly if the character is meant to be overly posh, pompous, or pretentious, although doing so is not necessary.
Tolthari (Dwarvish)
The national language of the Tolthar Hegemony, Tolthari is the oldest form of Dwarvish still in use, and has changed very little from the ancestral tongue of all dwarves. As a result, the language is often simply referred to as "Dwarvish". Not all dwarves speak it, however, as dwarves native to Valdoro or the Far North rarely grow up with significant contact with their kin in the Spine of the World.
Tolthari resembles ancient Germanic langauges, particularly Old Norse and Old German.
Talandran
The national language of the Empire of Talandra, the Talandran language is taught to all peoples of Talandra as part of mandatory education. Most Talandrans are bilingual, speaking both Talandran and the native language of their tribe or region. Talandran is also sometimes used as verbal components in the rituals of the Elder Faith, and is typically associated with esoteric (or even heretical) magic due to Talandra's reputation as an empire of dark mages.
Talandran sounds the most similar to Indo-Aryan languages, especially Sanskrit.
Low Draconic
Low Draconic is a bastardization of High Draconic, the language of true dragons. Millennia of linguistic drift has made Low Draconic much easier to pronounce by humanoid lips. The language is spoken by the dragonkin and kobold populations of Valdoro. Outside of archaeological contexts, Low Draconic is simply referred to as Draconic, due to the extreme rarity of High Draconic.
Low Draconic sounds similar to the Valyrian language constructed for the Game of Thrones series, and also resembles Greek to some degree.
Sylvan Languages
The various tribal languages of Luir Brennath and the Gleaming Weald belong to the Sylvan language family, although they are not mutually intelligible. Educated people from a culture that speaks a Sylvan-derived language usually speaks Sylvan as well. The following distinct Sylvan-derived languages are commonly used:
- Sylvan Elvish is spoken in Luir Brennath by its wood elves. It diverged from their ancient Elvish roots by incorporating Sylvan elements. Sometimes, the language used instead of Sylvan as a lingua franca by the diverse tribes of humans and beastfolk in Luir Brennath.
- Duskwood Elvish is further descended from Sylvan Elvish by incorporating elements of Aklo, and is spoken by the drow of the Duskwood.
- Beastfolk Tribal Tongues are spoken by beastfolk native to both Luir Brennath and the Gleaming Weald. These languages diverged from Sylvan through the incorporation of sounds that require animal physiology to speak, and are usually not mutually intelligible to each other. All beastfolk characters can speak the language of their own tribe regardless of which form they take, and this language does not cost a language slot. Sylvan itself is generally used by these tribes to communicate across tribal lines.
- Gnomish, the national language of Delverne, is another language in the Sylvan family.
Sylvan-derived languages spoken by humans, elves, and gnomes sound similar to Celtic languages. Those spoken by beastfolk, meanwhile, sound significantly different from any language spoken in real life, particularly if animal vocalizations are used.
Halfling Creole
Halflings in Paracia had their own language a long time ago, but thousands of years of nomadic life and integration into foreign cultures have replaced most of the tongue's unique volcabulary with borrowed words from other common languges, and only the original grammatical structure remains. All halflings raised by their own race speak Halfling Creole.
Halfling Creole resembles many real life creole languages. It is also similar to the Belter Creole language found in the Expanse series, although without words that referenece science fiction elements.
Kuma
The ancient Kuma people are the ancestors of nearly all humanity, and their language have similarly survived for thousands of years. Modern Kuma evolved from a language that's as much sung as it is spoken, as the ancient Kuma people are nomadic horse-riders whose voices often needed to carry across far distances. Today, the Kuma language is heavily associated with epic myths passed down through oral traditions, as well as bardic magic.
The Kuma language sounds like Sumerian.
Narbovian
Narbovian is the language spoken by the humans, dwarves, and bearfolk of Narbovia. The Narbovian language is rare outside its native region, and has plenty of little-known dialects and derived languages.
Narbovian closely resembles real world Slavic languages.
Markish
Markish is spoken by the humans and dwarves native to Marklund. The Markish are the sole human ethnicity in Paracia that trace no descent from the Kuma, and the ancient roots of their language has long been lost to time, although mutual influences with Tolthari dwarvish is quite evident.
Markish sounds like Scandinavian languages.
Cerlanian Languages
The continent of Cerlania is composed of thousands of islands, each speaking its own native language, sometimes more than one. As a result, the humans, halflings, and beastfolk of Cerlania tend to learn one or more planar language, usually Auran or Aquan, as a lingua franca. One Cerlanian tongue widely found outside of the continent is Shan, spoken in the monastic colony of Shan-Kuo, and also by the pirates of the Silksail Dynasty.
Cerlanian langauges sound like any number of East and Southeast Asian languages, especially those spoken by coastal or island peoples. Shan resembles Mandarin Chinese.
Orcish Languages
The tundra orcs of Okkurn speak a diverse family of tribal languages not mutually intelligible with each other, so most of them also learn a pidgin tongue with simplified grammar and volcabulary, called Orcish, in order to communicate across tribal lines. This language is not spoken by any other orc ethnicity, and is typically considered to be harsh, crude, and barbaric.
Orcish, as well as most tribal languages spoken by tundra orcs, sound similar to the Klingon language from Star Trek.
Zaharran
Perora is home to a large number of languages, but the most commonly spoken is Zaharran, the national language of Zaharrah and the official language used by the clergy of the Sublime Mechanism in religious documents. Astrologians in Paracia also sometimes learn Zaharran in order to read some of the most advanced treatises on the planes in their original langauge.
Zaharran sounds similar to Persian.
Sudejan
An incredibly rare language spoken by the people of Sudeja, Sudejan is fairly difficult to learn for outsiders, as it contains complex references to spiritual and magical concepts unique to Sudejan culture.
Sudejan is most similar to Inuit and Algonquian languages.
Deep Dwarvish
Deep Dwarvish is spoken by the duergar of Durgrimmar. It is an offshoot of Tolthari that has developed into a completely different language through significant Aklo influences, and it has its own writing system and pronunciations.
While Deep Dwarvish also resembles ancient Germanic langauges, but often with unusual spellings conventions.
Planar Languages
Amalthea's planar inhabitants have their own languages. In their most authentic forms, most of these languages are extremely difficult for humanoids to speak without external help, although dialects exist on the Material Plane that are modified for ease of pronounciation.
Due to the migration of extradimensional beings across the planes, some planes have a single unified language that originated from the plane itself, while others contain mixtures of languages with different origins. Regardless of planar origin, however, all gods that inhabit the planes, no matter how weak, possess Truespeech.
Abyssal
Abyssal is spoken by demons, both those that inhabit the numerous abyssal demiplanes of the Aether, and the demonic hordes that swarm the plane of Valkyon. Abyssal is a violent and crude language with more expressions for such concepts as hatred, pain, and killing than any other. It also contains a huge number of colorful curses and insults.
Aklo
Spoken by the aberrant horrors of the Far Realms as well as corrupted fey, Aklo in its original form is almost impossible to pronounce with humanoid physiology, as it contains bizarre sounds made by fleshy organs not possessed by any living, natural being. Mortal dialects of Aklo are spoken by goblins, and are also used by Great Old One cultists to commune with their masters.
Aquan
Aquan is spoken by beings of elemental water hailing from the plane of Acamari. Aquan is guttural and throaty, with vibrations designed to carry through water in its authentic form. The language also has bizarre verb tenses that reflect the non-linear nature of time on Acamari.
Dialects of Aquan can also be found on the planes of Khiritan and Saphril, where the language lost its grammatical expressions of non-linear time in favor of more conventional sentence structures.
Auran
Auran is spoken by beings of elemental air native to the plane of Alleras. Auran is soft, breathy, and full of whistles and chirps, which can be replicated by humanoid lips. However, the tonal inflections of the language often require the aid of fans to fully replicate.
A dialect of Auran is also spoken by the creatures of elemental lightning found on Surocael, which incorporates the sparks and cracks of electricity.
Celestial
This language is spoken by the angels and archons that inhabit the Ilion, as well as the agathions and azatas that inhabit Vardath. Celestial carries inherent moral weight when spoken. Words that have positive meanings feel good to say, while cruel words can make the speaker uncomfortable by merely uttering them.
Glacian
This language is spoken by the beings of elemental ice that inhabit the plane of Zugora. Glacian is an extremely slow language that takes a lot of patience to speak, and its authentic form is supposedly impossible to tell lies in. However, due to that version of the language containing sounds of cracking ice impossible to replicate by mortals without magic or tools, that claim has yet to be verified.
Ignan
Ignan is spoken by creatures of elemental fire inhabiting the plane of Imrath. Ignan is a quick, percussive language with sounds that emulate the cracking and popping of a fire or the hiss of smoke. Most humanoids have trouble speaking it without the assisstance of a flame.
Infernal
Infernal is the language of devils, both those that inhabit the numerous infernal demiplanes of the Aether, and the diabolic armies of Valkyon. Infernal is a tricky language for mortals to learn, as it is filled with double meanings and conditional modifiers, as if designed from the ground up to trick and ensare the unsuspecting into unfair contracts.
Protean
Spoken by the chaotic natives of Surocael, Protean is an ever-evolving language where the meanings of words change unpredictably with the speaker's mood and disposition. The language also includes a variety of noises that sound almost randomly inserted, meant to reflect the infinite tonal nuances of a single word.
Requian
Spoken by the psychopomps of Vethuna, authentic Requian is a supernatural language that does not require air to speak, yet is not telepathic. Requian is calming and pleasant to the ear, but speaking it out loud always feels a little wrong, like disturbing the silence of the grave, and thus mortal speakers tend to silently mouth its words, or whisper it.
Shadowtongue
The original language of negative energy beings from the Shadowfell, Shadowtongue is also spoken by many undead on the Material Plane as a secret language, as well as an unholy language used in religious rituals dedicated to Vanthus. Shadowtongue is simultaneously sibilant and gutteral, and often has a gurgling quality to it when pronounced by rotted throats.
Sylvan
The original langauge of the Fey, Sylvan is perhaps the easiest of planar languages for humanoids to learn, and indeed it has a large number of mortal offshoots that bear little semblance to each other.
Terran
Terran is spoken by the earth elementals and axiomites of Khalamil. Terran contains many sounds that can only be produced by grinding, clicking, slicing, or clanking hard stones or metals, and its grammar and vocabulary is extremely precise with no room for implications or misunderstanding.
A dialect of Terran is spoken on Khiritan, which sounds unrhythmic and dissonant, and loses much of its linguistic precision.
Dead Languages
The following languages have no more native speakers, although they are still commonly studied for scholarly purposes.
Nephilim
Thanks to the immortality of ancient giants, the Exalted Empire did not experience linguistic drift in its existence. What little remains of the language spoken by ancient giants has largely been decrypted by modern linguists, but there's much more of the language that was lost with the Exalted Empire's fall.
Nephilim is somewhat similar to the ancient Semitic languages of the real world, such as Biblical Hebrew. Tolkien's Dwarvish (Khuzdul) is an adequate representation. The languages spoken by modern giants bear very little semblance to this language, and may belong to separate linguistic lineages.
High Draconic
High Draconic is generally classified as a dead language with no native speakers left, due to the (believed) extinction of true dragons after the Draconic Crusade. High Draconic is of great archaeological importance, however, especially for historians of magic. Therefore, the language is understood by a large number of academics, although almost no one knows how to accurately pronounce High Draconic words, and speak the language with Low Draconic pronunciation instead. Remnants of High Draconic can also be heard in the broken, guttural speech of drakes, wyverns, and other draconic beasts.
High Draconic bears little resemblence to any real world language, although most popular depictions of Draconic languages in D&D or Pathfinder should suffice.
Other Languages
Druidic
Druidic is a magical language that is literally impossible to learn without full initiation into druidic traditions. A druid learns this language by opening their mind to the spirits of the natural world and listening to its rhythms. Speakers of the language describe its grammatical structure and volcabulary as similar to Sylvan, but pronunciation wise, it sounds far more like imitating the sounds of nature than speaking any mortal language. Many druids believe that Druidic is the sacred language spoken by Selara to mortals before her death.
