Rules for Languages - Mystic Arms Campaign

Languages

In the normal context of Dungeons and Dragons, there are many different languages a character can acquire or learn throughout their adventures - almost as many as their are different races. But in the typical D&D campaign, characters and many creatures are often united by a shared tongue that allows them to easily communicate; Common. This universal tongue is a standard of every player character, and most NPCs, allowing the barrier of communication to be ignored and mostly forgotten, except when there is need for languages to be hidden or obscure.

In the context of this campaign, there is no Common tongue. There is no universally binding language that townspeople are likely to know regardless of where you are in the world. And there is not binding tongue guaranteed to unite the player characters. The barrier of communication is very real in this campaign, and adds a layer of complexity to otherwise simple interactions - even between two player's characters. For this reason, Language plays a much more vital and important role in this campaign.

Each nation has it's own language it has adopted as the Official Language of their state. This means that, typically speaking, most townspeople and NPCs you meet in or from that nation are likely to speak their country's official language. However, there is no guarantee that you'll find someone who can speak a different language. Or, likewise, it might be possible to find someone who doesn't speak the official language

You can check the Character Creation page or the Nations sub pages to find out more about each lands official language. The sections below instead discuss the rules around Language Choice, what is considered a common an frequently used language, as well as some examples of more exotic or foreign langauges.

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Languages Known

As per normal standards, your character usually gets the languages it knows from their race, with the occasional extra language from their background. This is still the case in this campaign, but with Common not existing, it begs the question: what do they get instead? Characters gain a new language, in place of Common as determined by their Nationality. You can find more about Nationality on the Character Creation page.

Additional Languages Known

It is also possible to begin play with additional languages known, beyond those granted by Race, Nationality, or Background. Characters with a Higher Intelligence Score gain additional Languages known. These languages can only be selected from the Standard Languages.

If your character begins play (at level 1) with an Intelligence Score of at least 13, then they gain one additional language known. If they begin play with an Intelligence Score of at least 16, then they instead gain two additional languages known. Or, if their Intelligence Score begins as a 20, they gain instead three additional languages known. If your character's Intelligence Score later increases from feats or Ability Score Improvements, you do NOT gain additional languages known from this increase. Likewise, if your Intelligence Score somehow drops, you also don't lose these languages known.

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Standard Languages

Standard Languages are those that are commonly spoken across The Nine Kingdoms, or at least fairly well known. All of the Official Languages of the world are considered Standard Languages, as are the unique languages of most of the major races.

Language	Origin	Additional Information
Aquan	Elemental Plane of Water	Aquan is the official language of Agual. It is also commonly known and used by most merchants to some extent.
Auran	Elemental Plane of Air	The Orkan Confederacy uses this as their official language.
Dwarven	Dwarves	The language of the dwarves.
Elven	Elves	The language of the elves.
Fulgur	Elemental Plane of Lightning	Spoken in the lands of Arashi no Kuni, Fulgur is one of the most complex and difficult languages to learn as a second language.
Gelugan	Elemental Plane of Ice	despite being spoken in the savage lands of Jukull, Gelugan is often thought to be one of the most beautiful sounding languages.
Giant	Giants	The language of Giants and Ogres.
Gnomish	Gnomes	The language of Gnomes.
Goblin	Goblins	The language of Goblinoids.
Halfling	>Halflings	The language of Halflings.
Ignan	Elemental Plane of Fire	The official languages of Nars, Ignan is often said to sound similar to Thieves Cant, though those fluent in both say they are nothing alike.
Lignan	Elemental Plane of Wood	Spoken commonly in Lusach, Lignan is actually a language almost everybody knows a few words off because most plant's names are spoken in Lignan, regardless of the speakers language.
Noxian	Elemental Plane of Night	Noxian is spoken in the Umbral lands. It is said to be a mixture of Infernal and Abyssal, but the two have been mixed in such a way that, to speakers of those languages, it sounds more like gibberish.
Orc	Orcs	The language of Orcs.
Solis	Elemental Plane of Brilliance	Solis is remarkably close in design and sound to Celestial. Often, someone that knows one can muddle their way through communication with someone that knows the other.
Terran	Elemental Plane of Earth	One of the most common languages in the world, Terran is spoken in the Ironclast Empire. While more people speak this language than any other, it is rarely used outside the Ironclast Empire.

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Exotic Languages

Exotic Languages are languages that are not commonly spoken in the lands of the Nine Nations, or are use commonly by foreign creatures, or non-native creatures stuck in the Material Plane. The below list is far from complete, being a sampling of the more common exotic languages you could come across. But a variety of languages are spoken in foreign lands that are even less common than these.

Language	Origin	Additional Information
Abyssal	The Abyss	Used primarily by demons or other fiends or creatures aligned with demonic forces.
Celestial	The Elysian Planes	The primary languages of the gods. It is often studied by religious scholars and practitioners.
Deep Speech	The Underdark	Deep Speech is a rare language used primarily by intelligent creatures that hide in the depths of the earth.
Draconic	Dragons	The tongue of the dragons, Draconic is also often found mixed into spells or arcane texts.
Drow	Drow	This language is quite similar to Elven, though with enough differences to make it unique. It is the primary language of the Underdark.
Gibbelesh	Foreign Territories	This odd tongue comes from outside The Nine Nations. It is said that in foreign lands, this tongue is known by piratically everyone.
Gith	Gith	The language of the Gith. There are actually three distinct dialects, but they are similar enough to still count as the same language.
Infernal	The Nine Hells	Used primarily by devils or other fiends or creatures aligned with devilish forces.
Primordial	Unknown	Primordial was the first language ever spoken. It is said the root of every other language can be traced back to this one. Despite that, it is a not a dead and unchanging language. It is unique from the Elemental tongues, unlike normal 5th edition rules.
Sylvan	Fey	The language of the Fey creatures of the world. It is the root of Elven, though the two are not distinctly different.

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Secret Languages

These are languages that exist in the world, and are used by a secretive society or group for their own purposes. These languages typically do not have a written format, and are only spoken.

Language	Origin	Additional Information
Druidic	Druids	The secret language of the Druids, Druidic is also occasionally used in Lusach.
Thieves Cant	Unknown	The hidden language of thieves, Thieves Cant is as much a verbal language as it is one that relies on body language and gestures.

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