Languages, Modern

The character has learned to speak a language of the known world. To do so, there must be a teacher available. This could be another player character, an NPC hireling, or simply a local townsman.

When selecting this proficiency, the player must record a specific topic or area that the proficiency covers.

Languages spoken by human occupants

The following list presents the general locations within the World of Greyhawk, the most common alignment(s) found therein, and a list of the languages spoken by occupants of the area. Roll d00 to see which language is used by a particular character (primarily used for NPC creation, but can be used by players if desired). In the “Special” category will be listed a particular tongue, if at least a 1% probability exists that the language will be spoken by a character. For regions where a “Special” language is not mentioned, the chance of such an obscure dialect being used by a character is negligible.

The Great Kingdom (Kingdom of Aerdy): chaotic evil, lawful evil; Oeridian 01-20, Common 21-99, Suloise 00.

Sea Barons: chaotic evil, chaotic neutral; Common 01-94, Oeridian 95-00.

Lordship of the Isles: neutral, chaotic neutral; Oeridian 01-03, Common 04-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

County of Sunndi: lawful neutral, chaotic good; Oeridian 01-07, Common 08-99, Special 00 (Ferral).

County of Idee: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common 06-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Free City of Irongate: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common 06-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Free State of Onnwal: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-06, Common 07-99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Prelacy of Almor: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian 01-07, Common 08-00.

Kingdom of Nyrond: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian 01-03, Common 04-85, Suloise 86, Special 87-00 (Nyrondese).

Bone March: chaotic evil; Common 01-00.

Barony of Ratik: neutral; Common 01-00.

Frost Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-06, Common 07-60, Special 61-00 (Cold Tongue).

Snow Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-05, Common 06-62, Special 63-00 (Cold Tongue).

Ice Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-04, Common 05-63, Special 64-00 (Cold Tongue).

Hold of Stonefist: chaotic evil; Flan 01-02, Suloise 03, Common 04-99, Special 00 (Cold Tongue).

Rovers of the Barrens: chaotic neutral, neutral; Flan 01-20, Baklunish 21-36, Oeridian 37-46, Common 47-99, Suloise 00.

Duchy of Tenh: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-88, Oeridian 89-90, Common 91-00.

Theocracy of the Pale: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-05, Common 06-00.

Bandit Kingdoms: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01-13, Baklunish 14, Oeridian 15-24, Common 25-00.

Shield Lands: neutral good; Flan 01-02, Baklunish 03, Oeridian 04-18, Common 19-00.

County of Urnst: neutral, neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-07, Common 08-00.

Duchy of Urnst: neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-03, Common 04-00.

Greyhawk: any; Flan 01, Baklunish 02, Suloise 03, Oeridian 04, Common 05-99, Special 00 (Velondi).

Kingdom of Furyondy: lawful good; Flan 01, Baklunish 02, Suloise 03, Oeridian 04-20, Common 21-85, Special 86-00 (Velondi).

Horned Society: lawful evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-04, Oeridian 05-09, Common 10-00.

Land of Iuz: chaotic evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-06, Oeridian 07, Common 08-00.

Wolf Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-35, Oeridian 36-80, Common 81-00.

Tiger Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-40, Oeridian 41-85, Common 86-00.

Caliphate of Ekbir: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-47, Oeridian 48-53, Common 54-00.

Tusmit: neutral; Baklunish 01-12, Oeridian 13-27, Common 28-00.

Sultanate of Zeif: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-79, Oeridian 80-94, Common 95-00.

Plains of the Paynims: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-92, Oeridian 93-97, Common 98-00.

Ull: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-30, Oeridian 31-51, Common 52-00.

Ket: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-49, Oeridian 50-61, Common 62-00.

Perrenland: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-49, Baklunish 50-57, Oeridian 58-65, Common 66-00.

Independent Town of Highfolk: neutral, chaotic good; Oeridian 01-07, Common 08-00.

Archclericy of Veluna: lawful good; Suloise 01, Oeridian 02-24, Common 25-88, Special 89-00 (Velondi).

March of Bissel: neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-19, Common 20-00.

Gran March: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-17, Suloise 18, Common 19-98, Special 99-00 (Keolandish).

Valley of the Mage: lawful neutral; Flan 01-02, Oeridian 03-04, Common 05-00.

Duchy of Geoff: chaotic good; Flan 01-50, Oeridian 51-57, Common 58-00.

Earldom of Sterich: chaotic good; Flan 01-12, Oeridian 13-60, Common 61-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish).

Yeomanry: lawful good; Flan 01, Suloise 02-04, Common 05-00.

Hold of the Sea Princes: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-17, Suloise 18, Common 19-00.

Kingdom of Keoland: chaotic good, neutral good; Flan 01-02, Oeridian 03-12, Suloise 13, Common 14-80, Special 81-00 (Keolandish).

Tri-States of Ulek: neutral good, neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-11, Suloise 12, Common 13-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish).

Kingdom of Celene: chaotic good; Oeridian 01-02, Common 03-00.

Wild Coast: any; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-09, Suloise 10, Common 11-00.

The Pomarj: chaotic evil, lawful evil; Oeridian 01-06, Suloise 07, Common 08-00.

The Scarlet Brotherhood: lawful evil; Suloise 01-05, Common 06-00.

Spindrift Isles: lawful neutral; Suloise 01-02, Common 03-75, Special 76-00 (Lendorian).

Notes on Special languages

In most cases, a “special” language generated from the list above is simply a dialect of one of the more popular languages.However, those who speak a dialect will not always automaticallyunderstand someone who speaks the native tongue or another dialect of the native tongue.

Intelligence is the factor which determines whether a character can understand someone else who is speaking a related language. The chance of a character’s understanding is equal to that character’s intelligence times 6% (note exception below under The Cold Tongue). Missing the desired percentage by 1-20 will yield partial, incomplete understanding, and missing the desired percentage by 21 or more means that the character cannot under stand a word the other character is saying. Note that this “chance to understand” roll only applies to characters whose languages are related.

Example: A party member with an intelligence of 14 speaks fluent Common. He comes upon a figure who speaks only Nyrondese, a dialect of Common. There is a chance of 14 x 6% = 84% that the party member will understand the other member. If an 85 or higher is rolled, it means the party member will be able to communicate somewhat, but will not fully perceive the other speaker’s thoughts and intentions through speech alone. In this case, since the party member’s intelligence was sufficiently high, there is no chance of him being totally in the dark. Note that under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a character of 17 or higher to fail to understand someone speaking a related language (17 x 6% = 102%).

If the Nyronder in the above example has an intelligence of 11, there is a 66% chance he will understand the party member. There will be incomplete understanding on a roll of 67-86, and no verbal understanding will be possible if the roll is 87 or higher. This roll should only be made once for each particular pair of characters.

Following are descriptions of each of the special languages, including an indication of which languages they have no relation to, as well as related languages which might allow for understanding between speakers.

Ferral: Originally of Oeridian derivation, this is now a secret language spoken only by officials of the Iron League. These officials include high-ranking fighters, clerics, and other persons in a position of authority. Ferral is used only for command and identification purposes, and is never a primary language. It can be understood by those speaking Oeridian.

Nyrondese: This is little more than a dialect of Common which is spoken by residents in some locales of Nyrond. It is a primary language particularly for peasants, shopkeepers and the like. Learned persons almost always speak Common as well. It can be understood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.

The Cold Tongue: Also called “Fruz,” this language is a dialect of Suloise. It is commonly spoken as a primary language among the Ice, Snow and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to Common, and even those speaking Suloise find it difficult to understand (use intelligence x 4% instead of 6% in this case only). It can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or Flan.

Velondi: This is a dialect of Old Oeridian spoken primarily in Veluna and Furyondy. It is the primary language of rural folk on the common border between the two countries. Those who speak Common cannot comprehend it at all, but it can be understood by those who speak Oeridian.

Keolandish: This is a widespread dialect of Old High Oeridian which is a primary language for those of the area in which it is spoken (Keoland and the surrounding lands). It is old (400+ years) and established; however, learned persons will usually speak Common and/or Old Oeridian as well. It can be understood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.

Lendorian: This is an obscure dialect of Suloise. It has no relation whatsoever to Fruz (The Cold Tongue). It is, in all cases, a second language for those who speak Common. Only characters with an intelligence of 9 or higher can learn Lendorian, and it can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or Common.

Learning a New Language

Those characters who don’t know as many additional languages as they possibly could will have the opportunity to learn them at a later point in the character’s adventuring career. Learning a language amounts to quite a bit more than simply sitting around the campfire and memorizing a few more words each night, and spending a non-weapon proficiency slot to magically learn the language. Learning requires continual, almost constant use of the new language, which is best accomplished in the company of others who speak and write the language fluently, or through the employment of an instructor.

A learning process like this will take a minimum of two months of solid work on the character’s part, during which time NO adventuring may be undertaken by the character. At the end of two months, roll once to see if fluency has been attained. Failure means that one more month of study must be undertaken before another try for fluency can be made.

To determine whether an additional language has been learned by a character after the requisite time studying, multiply 13% times the number of “bonus non-weapon proficiency slots” of the character as indicated by the character’s intelligence. If the desired number or less is generated, the character has successfully learne dthe language and has become fuent in it. Add 2% to the chance to learn another language for each level of experience after first level, up to a maximum bonus of 20%.

Example, a character with an Intelligence of 15 spends a non-weapon proficiency slot to learn to speak a new language. Thi character gets 4 bonus non-weapon proficiency slots. Multiplying 13% x 4, this gives a character a 52% chance of learning a language. This can be adjusted up by 2% per level, up to 205, or a maximum chance of 72% chance to become fluent in a language.

Additional study, if needed, must be undertaken immediately, with no lapse between the first two months and the next one, in order to test for fluency without penalty. For every lapse in learning of one week, the chance for fluency is reduced by 5% the next time such a check is made. For example, if the character described above failed on his initial roll to know an additional language after taking two months of training, he could train for another month right away and check again at the same percentage chance (52%). However, if he takes a week off between the first two months and the next month of training, the next check for fluency would be made at 47%. Note that the 5% penalty applies only to the chance to know the particular language for which training was taken. If a character wishes to begin instruction in a different language, checks for fluency after the training period would be at 52% as usual.

This procedure is also followed If the character also wishes to learn to read and write this new language, A check is made after two months of immersive reading and writing, followed by additional months as needed.

Languages for demi-humans and humanoids

As with humans, theintelligence of a demi-human or humanoid character has a bearing on which languages he can know— and, as with humans, all adventurer demi-humans will have at least a rudimentary knowledge of Common.

To more closely conform with the rest of this system, the strictures given in the Players Handbook on which languages (and how many) a demi-human can know should be altered according to the following specifications and restrictions. Notes which follow the listing of the demi-human races will give reasons for the differences which are outlined.

Dwarves will always speak dwarven and Common. It is possible for a dwarf to know gnome, goblin, kobold and orcish as additional languages, with a percentage chance of knowing each one equal to intelligence x 5%, or intelligence x 8% if proximity is a factor.

Elves will always know elvish and Common. Possible additional languages include gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish and gnoll, with the chance of knowing any one equal to intelligence x 5% (or x 8% for proximity).

Gnomes will always know gnome and Common, and have the ability to communicate with burrowing animals as described in the Players Handbook. A gnome has a chance of intelligence x 5% to know dwarven, halfling, goblin, kobold.

Half-elves will always know Common, and will know elvish if raised by one or more elves. Additional languages possible — only for a character raised by one or more elves — (intelligence x 5%, or 8% for proximity) include gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish and gnoll.

Halflings will always know halfling and Common. Possible additional languages include dwarven, gnome, goblin, and orcish.

Half-orcs will always know Common, and will know orcish if raised by one or more orcs. Possible additional languages include hobgoblin, goblin, gnoll and kobold, at a chance of intelligence x 5%. The bonus for proximity does not apply to half-orcs.

Demihuman Languages & Dialects

• Dwarven
• Mountain Dwarven
• Hill Dwarven
• Gray Dwarven
• Elven
• Aquatic Elven
• Avariel/Sky Elven
• Dark Elven
• Gray Elven
• High Elven
• Sylvan (Wood) Elven
• Valley Elven
• Wild Elven
• Gnomish
• Forest Gnomish
• Rock Gnomish
• Halfling

Humanoid & Non-Human Languages & Dialects

• Orcish
• Goblin
• Hobgoblin
• Gnoll
• Bugbear
• Kobold
• Ogrish
• Xvart
• Derro
• Norker
• Draconic
• Black Dragon
• Blue Dragon
• Brass Dragon
• Bronze Dragon
• Copper Dragon
• Gold Dragon
• Green Dragon
• Red Dragon
• Silver Dragon
• White Dragon
• Ettin
• Giant
• Cloud Giant
• Fire Giant
• Frost Giant
• Hill Giant
• Stone Giant
• Storm Giant
• Titanic

Faerie Langiuages

Brownie

Centaur

Dryad

Leprechaun

Nixie

Nymph

Pixie

Satyr

Sprite

Sylph

Languages added as they are discovered.

List maintained by Alfred the Cunning Linguist, University of Greyhawk The bulk of this article comes from Dragon Magazine article Adding Depth to the Flanaess by Lenard Lakofka, August 1981. It has been abridged for the needs of this campaign.

[Player's Handbook]