Rules and Discussion
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:12 pm
Languages
On Drew's advice, I've changed the way acquiring languages works slightly. Normally, a character gets a language for every skill point invested in Linguistics. Tengus possess a racial ability that get them two languages per rank. Things will work a bit differently under this rule.
Each rank in Linguistics gets a character a point towards his next chosen language. The point costs for a given language will be determined by how likely it is for a given character to have exposure to, or materials for, a given language, as follows:
1 POINT
-Racial languages of core races, such as Elven, Dwarven, and Orc.
-Ethnic/national languages tied to a character's origin or journey. For example, an ethnic Garundi from Osirion who went straight to Numeria from his homeland would start with Common/Taldan and Osiriani, and could pay 1 point for Polyglot, Kelish, and Hallit.
-Languages of major (non-planar) regional threats or associations, such as Giant for Varisia or Necril for Ustalav.
2 POINTS
-Ethnic/national languages for distant cultures. For example, the aforementioned Osiriani Garundi would have to spend two points to learn, say, Minkaian.
-Most monstrous languages.
-Languages of major regional threats or associations of extraplanar or otherworldly origins, such as Abyssal for Mendev or the elemental languages for Qadira.
-Well known ancient languages, such as Ancient Osiriani, Azlanti, or Thassilonian.
3 POINTS
-Most planar languages.
-Alien languages.
-Obscure ancient languages, such as Cyclops or Jistka.
Point costs may be reduced by backstory elements or in-game experiences, or a given language being closely related to a character's profession. A cleric, for example, would have an easier time learning Celestial, Abyssal, or Infernal, while someone who somehow has ties to planet Castrovel would have an easier time learning Lashunta or Formian.
Automatic languages are unchanged.
A Tengu's Gifted Linguist racial ability still grants them the ususal +4 bonus on Linguistics checks, but reduces point costs for languages by 1 (minimum 1) instead of its usual effect.
Bonus languages for having a high intelligence score give a character points rather than languages. Use those points to buy languages as described above.
Androffan is a special case. No one may take this language at the start, unless one has the Numerian Archaeologist campaign trait, which gives the language for free. (Said trait implies that one has spent a great deal of time exploring Numerian ruins, and reflects that effort.) Learning the language requires exposure to writing or speech from that language (which you'll encounter soon enough, don't worry), and the use of tongues, comprehend languages, or a successful Linguistics check, at which point I'll make it a 2-pointer for that character. If a character takes the time to learn it from another character who has the language already (through the above means, or the campaign trait), I'll drop it to 1 point.
On Drew's advice, I've changed the way acquiring languages works slightly. Normally, a character gets a language for every skill point invested in Linguistics. Tengus possess a racial ability that get them two languages per rank. Things will work a bit differently under this rule.
Each rank in Linguistics gets a character a point towards his next chosen language. The point costs for a given language will be determined by how likely it is for a given character to have exposure to, or materials for, a given language, as follows:
1 POINT
-Racial languages of core races, such as Elven, Dwarven, and Orc.
-Ethnic/national languages tied to a character's origin or journey. For example, an ethnic Garundi from Osirion who went straight to Numeria from his homeland would start with Common/Taldan and Osiriani, and could pay 1 point for Polyglot, Kelish, and Hallit.
-Languages of major (non-planar) regional threats or associations, such as Giant for Varisia or Necril for Ustalav.
2 POINTS
-Ethnic/national languages for distant cultures. For example, the aforementioned Osiriani Garundi would have to spend two points to learn, say, Minkaian.
-Most monstrous languages.
-Languages of major regional threats or associations of extraplanar or otherworldly origins, such as Abyssal for Mendev or the elemental languages for Qadira.
-Well known ancient languages, such as Ancient Osiriani, Azlanti, or Thassilonian.
3 POINTS
-Most planar languages.
-Alien languages.
-Obscure ancient languages, such as Cyclops or Jistka.
Point costs may be reduced by backstory elements or in-game experiences, or a given language being closely related to a character's profession. A cleric, for example, would have an easier time learning Celestial, Abyssal, or Infernal, while someone who somehow has ties to planet Castrovel would have an easier time learning Lashunta or Formian.
Automatic languages are unchanged.
A Tengu's Gifted Linguist racial ability still grants them the ususal +4 bonus on Linguistics checks, but reduces point costs for languages by 1 (minimum 1) instead of its usual effect.
Bonus languages for having a high intelligence score give a character points rather than languages. Use those points to buy languages as described above.
Androffan is a special case. No one may take this language at the start, unless one has the Numerian Archaeologist campaign trait, which gives the language for free. (Said trait implies that one has spent a great deal of time exploring Numerian ruins, and reflects that effort.) Learning the language requires exposure to writing or speech from that language (which you'll encounter soon enough, don't worry), and the use of tongues, comprehend languages, or a successful Linguistics check, at which point I'll make it a 2-pointer for that character. If a character takes the time to learn it from another character who has the language already (through the above means, or the campaign trait), I'll drop it to 1 point.