Languages

The Cantara Player's Compendium    5e Player's Handbook    Additional Character Options      Languages

Listed here are the primary languages spoken in the Cantara Isles. While many are common enough, others are only spoken in the farthest corners or understood by unique individuals. All of these languages can be learned by Player Characters, though selections of the Exotic Languages list may need to be approved by the DM for your character.

Common Languages

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Common

Though Islanders hate to admit it, the Common Tongue was established in the Cantara Isles from the Mainland's influence and managed to become the primary spoken language sometime after the Consequence.

Dwarvish

While sounding harsh to some, the Dwarven language is exceptionally rhythmic, making it sound as though one is speaking to the beating of drums. As a biproduct, Dwarvish makes for some of the best drinking songs.

Elvish

Although there are many varieties of Elves, they all speak using the same poetic language. Elvish could also be considered the primary language of Montipalans as well.

Halfling

The Halfling tongue may technically be considered a dialect of the Common Tongue, but due to an overwhelming amount of slang, conjunctions, colloquialisms, abbreviations, and outright invented words it is by practical means a unique language that needs to be studied and practiced to understand.

Orc

Orcs tend to use their words efficiently and sparingly, and this is reflected in the language. While the spoken vocabulary is rather small, it is made up for with a nuanced vocabulary of grunts that convey meaning and emotion.

Sign Language

In civilized parts of Cantara, humanoids have developed a sign language for those who are hard of hearing or speaking.

Skaldik

The Skaldik language shares some similarity to the Dwarvish tongue in that it is rhythmic and to the Giant language as it often sounds as though it is an unbroken stream of speech.

Tokinan

Just as Tokinan culture is older than most in the Isles, their language is one of the oldest and most unique in Cantara as well.

Exotic Languages

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Abyssal

The cursed language of the Abyss, spoken by Fiends and their followers.

The Infernal language is replaced with Abyssal in this setting, as in the Cantara Isles they are the same thing.

Beladiri

Though it has had many centuries to evolve and change, the Beladiri dialect is theorized to be the only true descendant of the Thelan language that is still spoken today.

Deep Speech

The psionic language of many aberrant creatures, coming from inter-planar and sub-planar beings such as Beholders and Aboliths.

Draconic

The ancient, near primordial tongue of Dragons and their kind. This language is near impossible for most humanoids to properly pronounce so hand gestures are used in conjunction with the verbal parts when speaking Draconic.

Giant

This language was picked up from the titanic giants of ages past. When spoken by a giant, this language comes across not only as a single unbroken word, but is hard to differentiate from an earthquake or thunderstorm.

Goblin

While underappreciated by most just like Goblins themselves, the Goblin tongue is remarkably rich and subtle with a truly bewildering amount of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs allowing for very nuanced speech.

Primordial

Perhaps the oldest living language, Primordial is the tongue of elemental spirits.

Sylvan

Another of the primordial tongues, Sylvan is the language of many Fey folk and is a grandparent of sorts to both Elvish and Goblin.

Thelan

Now considered a dead language, Thelan is the tongue of the empire that crumbled in cataclysm centuries ago. While no one communicates in Thelan anymore, it still survives in rare texts and in tidbits of Cantaran culture.

Undercommon

Many different types of creatures speaking all sorts of tongues inhabit the twisting depths of the Underdark, often in close proximity to each other. This has lead to their own Common language being developed long ago.