Speak Language

Advanced
Intelligence
Skill Group: High Gothic, Hive Dialect, Low Gothic, Ship Dialect, Tribal Dialect. Other languages may be available at the GM’s discretion.
The Speak Language skill is used to communicate with others using a common tongue. Although the people of the Imperium are widely scattered, they are united by an official tongue—that of Low Gothic. However, every world has its own local dialects and peculiarities, and sometimes even its own language. Under normal circumstances, Tests are unnecessary if all speakers know the language.
High Gothic: The language of nobility, law and Ecclesiarchy liturgy.
Hive Dialect: A debased form of Low Gothic unique to a given hive.
Low Gothic: The common tongue of the Imperium.
Ship Dialect: Code, slang and idiom unique to a given vessel.
Tribal Dialect: The rough and primitive tongue spoken by the natives of a particular planet.
A Speak Language Test is usually a Free Action.

Understanding Similar Languages

Even if you are not familiar with a particular language or dialect, you may make a Hard (–20) Speak Language Test to attempt to understand a sense of the meaning or intent. If you speak a related language or dialect (such as High Gothic to Low Gothic, Hive Dialect to Low Gothic, and so on) the Difficulty decreases to Difficult (–10).

Crude Ciphers

You can make a Speak Language Test to improvise a crude cipher, a sort of pidgin tongue intended to convey a coded message. If successful, you manage to make a message that makes sense and a Speak Language Test, or an Easy (+10) Logic or Scholastic Lore (Crypography) translates it.

Communicating Without Language

There may be times when communication without a shared language is necessary. In these cases, a character must use pantomime to get his point across. To do so, the character must make a Fellowship Test and the target must make an Intelligence Test. Obviously, phrases such as “he’s behind you” are relatively easy to deliver, whilst more complicated comments might be very difficult, or even impossible to deliver. Each degree of success on the Fellowship Test grants the target a +10 bonus to its Intelligence Test to figure out what the character is saying. A failed Fellowship Test indicates that the message is incomprehensible. A failed Intelligence Test means the wrong message comes across, which may result in unfortunate consequences.