Starting Languages for Demihumans

Melkor · Post by **Melkor** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:40 pm

How do you guys handle starting languages for Demihumans in C&C ?

Do you give them all of the languages listed for their race, allowing them to take extra languages based on their Intelligence bonus ?

Do you only give them their Racial language, then bonus languages from the list in their race description based on Intelligence ?

How do you guys do it ?

Thanks.

Maliki · Post by **Maliki** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:56 pm

I give thme their racial language, plus common, and an additional languages based on their intelligence modifier.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 5:59 pm

I do it the way it says to on page 123 of the PH second printing.

Melkor · Post by **Melkor** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:28 pm

Treebore wrote:
I do it the way it says to on page 123 of the PH second printing.

Thanks for the page number Treebore - I was only looking at the listing at the beginning of the Racial Descriptions and that was unclear.

I take the text on P.123 to indicate that characters receive all of their listed Racial Languages as well as the 'common' language spoken by the various races throughout the area where the adventure starts.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:37 pm

Within reason of course. A character with a 3 Intelligence probably doesn't speak the languages... though he would recognize them, and have a very limited vocabulary. Anyone with an average intelligence (8+) should be able to be conversant, though the lower the score the more stunted and broken the speech, with a lack of understanding complex issues as well. Oh, and one other thing: I don't assume characters are literate unless there's a very good reason for it (wizards, clerics, and those with decipher script are the only ones that spring to mind.)

Ghul · Post by **Ghul** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:50 pm

I have submited for consideration an article for The Crusader that tackles language, fluency, and literacy for all races. It is, I believe, a simple and intuitive optional rules set. The Trolls have in their claws; hopefully it will one day find its way into the pages of said mag.

--Ghul

DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 8:46 pm

Maliki wrote:
I give thme their racial language, plus common, and an additional languages based on their intelligence modifier.

Thats how I do it, with the additional languages taken from the list given in their race.

Combat_Kyle · Post by **Combat_Kyle** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:31 am

IN my game the demi-humans get all of their listed languages, if their inteligence is below 8, they only understand, not speak other languages (kinda like a wookie in Star Wars). Plus in my campaign world everyone speaks dwarvish as well as common.
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:26 am

As mentioned... I also go with the races getting their racial as well as common. An Int bonus determines extra languages on top of that.

However, I do occasionally acknowledge an imaginative background and recently granted a human character who was raised by gnomes the racial language as a bonus.

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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:35 am

So far, I follow the book, as we don't deal too much with languages and I haven't given it much further thought.
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babbage · Post by **babbage** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:46 am

I assign the common tongue (which in my campaign is 'Hrnic'), and if they are demi-human then they also have their native tongue. Beyond that, it's one per intelligence bonus from the list as given to that race.

rabindranath72 · Post by **rabindranath72** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 11:06 am

I adapted a rule in an old Dragon magazine. The article was quite involved (it was by Len Lakofka, IIRC), but in C&C I resolved it easily:

1) All demihumans get their racial language automatically, plus common if their background warrants it.

2) for the other languages in the race descriptions, I allow them to make an intelligence check (CL0) at character creation for each additional language. If the check succeeds, they learn the language, otherwise not.

3) they can use their int bonus to but other languages, or the ones for which the check failed.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:45 pm

I also do it right out of the book (page 123 style). If the character has a negative INT mod, then the character loses one language that he would normally be allowed to have.

In my world, there are distint developed languages, beyond racial language types. So the postive INT mod helps with knowning other languages as well.

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Dristram · Post by **Dristram** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:58 pm

Here's my "me too" post. I also allow all languages for the race and then give an additional one per Int. mod. I figure the non-humans have been around longer and are raised with the idea of having to know more languages. Sort of like how Europeans generally know more languages than Americans.