Common and Archaic Languages

[bwatford]

COMMON AND ARCHAIC LANGUAGES

Many languages are common in Midgard, with the following warranting further description. An educated or well-traveled adventurer might learn any of these languages.

1. Common: The most common language in the Crossroads and the Seven Cities. All characters speak it.
2. Aklo: The language of aboleths, derro, linnorms, gibbering mouthers, and other bizarre creatures of the underworld. Rarely heard on the surface.
3. Ankeshelian: A dead human language, more than 3,000 years old, whose runes and glyphs are still used in magical writing today.
4. Caelmaran: A very rare language, a human dialect of Infernal. Still spoken by the Master of Demon Mountain and a few wizards. Those who speak it gain a +1 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks with devils, demons, or other fiends once per day.
5. Darakhul: The language of the Ghoul Imperium, also called Ghoulish, Charun’s Tongue, or Undercommon, is an offshoot of Common and can be partially understood by surface dwellers who have Intelligence of 15 or higher. It is widely spoken in Morgau and Doresh and by vampires and thus serves as the common tongue of the undead. Those who speak it gain a +1 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks with undead once per day.
6. Draconic or Mharoti: The language of drakes, dragons, and dragonkin in the Mharoti Empire. Rarely spoken by non-scaly races, it grants a +1 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks when communicating with such scaly creatures once per day.
7. Druidic: A degenerate form of Elvish mixed with Common. Rarely used outside religious ceremonies. Druidic can be spoken even when in animal form.
8. Dwarvish: One of the first languages, widely spoken in the Northlands, Krakova, and the Ironcrag Cantons. Older documents are written in a slightly different script called “Anvil Dwarvish” and can be difficult to decipher (typically an easy Intelligence check, depending on the topic and age of the document).
9. Elemental: The language of elemental creatures of fire, water, air, and earth. Related to Draconic.
10. Enochian: The language of the Celestial Sphere, spoken in Ishadia and among the Seven Heavens. Sometimes called Ishadian.
11. Elvish: The language of the Elflands, the River Court, the Grand Duchy’s Court, and elsewhere. Remarkably unchanged over the past 2,000 years. Documents in the precursor language, Old Elvish (also called Thornish), can still be read with some effort by characters with an Intelligence of 15 or higher.
12. Feather Speech (Pinion): The silent language of the ravenfolk, spoken by the ruffling, position, and movement of feathers. Largely impossible for other races to speak unless aided by feathered fans, and even then, the effect is primarily comical.
13. Gnomish: A dialect of Elvish with many words borrowed from Infernal. Those who speak it gain a +1 bonus to the DC of their illusions or enchantment spells once per day.
14. Huginn’s Speech: The spoken language of the ravenfolk. Remarkably constant in the North among the huginn and in the South among the heru. Sometimes used as a thieves’ cant.
15. Illyrian: An archaic language, rarely used outside the court of Illyria and among nobles and now outlawed in the Dragon Empire’s new province of Rumela. Those who speak it gain a +2 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks in the Seven Cities once per day, for it is considered a sign of noble status and personal tragedy.
16. Infernal: A planar language spoken by demons and devils.
17. Kariv: A dialect of Common, flavored with many borrowed words and bits of cant. Those who speak it gain a +2 bonus to Charisma (Persuasion) checks with Kariv wanderers and centaurs once per day.
18. Khandirian: A human dialect related to Enochian, spoken in the East.
19. Khazzaki: An argot of eastern tongues, spoken only among the nomads.
20. Kobold: A somewhat simplified (some might say debased) dialect of Draconic, though most dragons and drakes pretend not to understand it.
21. Minotaur or Rue-Thothka: The language of the minotaurs is complex and resonant and especially favored in the South. Its tones are guttural and dangerous sounding.
22. Morphoi: The language of the Western Ocean and most aquatic races.
23. Northern Tongue: Also called the Rune Tongue or Giantish. A human language deeply related to Dwarvish and sharing many loan words.
24. Nurian or the Southern Tongue: A human corruption of Enochian, the divine language. A great deal of ritual magic is written in Nurian.
25. Trolsung: Related to the language of the giants, Trolsung has a quicker patter but retains the giantish love of riddles, kennings, and wordplay.
26. Umbral: The language of the shadow elves, a dialect of Elvish.
27. Void Speech: The language of the outer darkness, Void dragons, and alien gods, a tongue not meant for humanoid speech at all. It disquiets those who hear it, and adds a +1 bonus to the DC of fear-related spells.
28. Vos’ghaen: An ancient human tongue, related to Ankeshelian. Speakers of Vos’ghaen are often wizards and masters of glyph magic.
29. Whisperium: A silent language common among gnomes and diabolists. If you know Whisperium, you may cast a spell silently once per day.