Languages

Every character begins the game knowing one language, that being the local common tongue. Whenever the character’s intelligence score becomes high enough to permit knowing more languages, the character may study these as if they were one-slot proficiencies. All study times are halved if the student is surrounded by speakers of the new language and doubled if no native speakers are present. Characters cannot rely on luck to use a language until they have heard it spoken for at least one hour. To interpret results from the Learning Table, use the following guidelines.

Partial Success means that the character can converse generally and request basic needs.

Learning means that the character is fluent but has a strong accent which identifies him as foreign.

Insight lets a character pretend to be native by making a successful intelligence check on 1d20.

Great Insight makes the new language sound completely natural.

Characters may travel to learn languages, or they may try to find teachers who come from distant lands. Most teachers of foreign languages will be sailors, pilgrims, scholars, merchants, or foreign exiles taking refuge in a noble’s court. Teachers of non-human languages will be particularly difficult to find. Elves might teach their tongue, but dwarves keep their words secret, and most humanoids are too barbaric to formally exchange knowledge. Characters can only study orc or goblin by living with the foul creatures or by finding some veteran of wars against them who knows their tongue. The DM is always free to decide that a teacher’s knowledge is incomplete, leading to hilarious (or deadly) misunderstandings.