Languages

[GM Note: Nearly every ancestry speaks its own unique dialect of the following languages, which is represented by the ones granted to them at level 1. If your character can speak one of those dialects, they may be able to understand bits and pieces of its parent language in a conversation, but likely can’t read or write in said parent language.]

Mortal Tongues (common)

Common

The universally adopted trade language, which is shared by most inhabitants of the Material Plane and beyond. Present-day Common is an odd mash-up of all other mortal tongues (excluding Gibberish), making it easy to pick up.

Eldrin

Spoken by the elves and by those whose ancestors hail from the nation of Luminor. As the oldest humanoid language, many other cultures across the Material Plane have adopted parts of it into their vernacular, typically as slang.

Gibberish

Spoken by gnomes, goblinoids, and creatures with abnormal physiologies, such as artificial lifeforms created via magic or alchemy. Due to a quirk of the language, it can only be taught verbally and cannot be learned through writing.

Hueyatli

Spoken by nearly all oceanic cultures, from the merfolk of the sunlit shallows to the diluvians of the deep. The diluvians initially devised this conlang to mend the divide between Tezcatl and the other seafaring nations of the Isles.

Janni

Spoken by those who can still trace their lineage back to the deserts of Jannivar, such as the catfolk. It is a mellifluous tongue fit for the long-form poetry of its past speakers; however, it is incredibly difficult to learn, let alone master.

Malkovian

Spoken by the united tribes, nations, and kingdoms of Malkovia, many of which were orcish. At least a fourth of all Malkovian words were derived from Galdric, the tongue of the first northern settlers, which has otherwise been lost.

Tsujin

Spoken by various species of beastfolk, from ratfolk and vanaras to shoonies and tengu. This tongue was an early form of Common used to facilitate trade in the Old World, likely between southern nomads and the cultures of the east.

Uferlosi

Spoken by humans and by a myriad of other races who once called Uferlos home, including dwarves and halflings. According to linguists, this language was likely intended to be a bridge between Eldrin and Jotun, the elder tongues.

Yamakirin

Spoken by the eastern peoples of Yamakiri and their descendants. It originally had over a dozen dialects, each with its own distinct alphabet and lexicon, before they were consolidated into one during the conquest of the Jade Valley.

Zambesti

Spoken by those whose ancestors once migrated across the savannas of Zambesa, such as the kholo. The language makes heavy use of hand signals and clicking consonants, typically made near the back or top of the mouth.

The Nine Realms (uncommon)

Aklo

Spoken by those whose minds have been warped by evil or corrupted by the eldritch forces of the Outer Darkness. Linguists often warn people against learning Aklo, for it is said to make one’s mind more susceptible to madness.

Cimmerian

Spoken by intelligent undead, such as ghouls and vampires, and studied by those who hunt them. Mysteriously, the same unholy magic that reanimates corporeal undead also grants them the ability to comprehend Cimmerian.

Empyreal

Spoken by the innumerable good-aligned inhabitants of Heaven, such as angels and archons. Most, if not all religious texts circulated around the Isles are written in Empyreal because it is believed to bring mortals closer to the gods.

Faerish

Spoken by the capricious natives of the Otherworld and understood by most sentient plants. Perfectly suited for beings as duplicitous as fey, Faerish words often hide double meanings when spoken aloud, but not when written out.

Infernal

Spoken by devils and by souls destined for eternal damnation in Hell. Throughout the history of the Multiverse, more works have been written in Infernal (mostly in the form of diabolic contracts) than in all other languages combined.

Lethean

Spoken by mortal souls who lost their way on the road to the afterlife, such as ghosts and phantoms. Many of the Netherworld’s ethereal denizens, such as psychopomps and incorporeal spirits, speak their own dialect of Lethean.

Logos

Spoken by the aeons and their creations. Mortals are incapable of vocalizing in this tongue, and must use a series of complex formulae that are as mathematically precise as Nexis itself to transcribe it, rather than a traditional script.

Nihilic

Spoken by the daemonic and demonic fiends of Abaddon, and studied by the doomsday cults who worship them. It is a guttural, frenetic language that exists in a constant state of flux, almost as if its very syntax were mutating.

Suli

Spoken by djinn and other elementals. The ability to understand this tongue depends entirely upon who’s speaking it. For example, some intelligent flying creatures can comprehend Suli if it’s being spoken by an air elemental.

Umbral

Spoken by the vast majority of fiends and dark fey in the Nine Realms. Often referred to as “Shadowtongue” by planar explorers, this language is widely considered to be the equivalent of Common for evil extraplanar creatures.

Dead Languages (rare)

Cipactli

Spoken by the tyrannical deep-sea crustaceans of the same name. Though the Cipactin are long gone, diluvian anchorites still study the alien tongue of their creators. Some intelligent marine life may understand spoken Cipactli.

Draconic

Spoken by the once-mighty dragons of the Old World, and understood by many other reptilian creatures. Practitioners of arcane magic, especially elven high wizards, often use the ancient Draconic script to formulate incantations.

Enochian

Spoken by the first mortals in existence, who supposedly hailed from the forgotten city-state of Stethelos. Pre-Syzygy occultists frequently retranslated entire treatises into this obscure language as a way to encipher their contents.

Jotun

Spoken by giants, cyclopes, ogres, and trolls. Dwarven dweomercrafters use the Jotun alphabet to carve runestones, and several of the glyphs that’ve been unearthed from the archaeological digs at Karstos resemble written Jotun.

Yggdrasi

The secret language of the druids. With roots that are believed to predate the founding of civilization, it’s sacrilege for a druid to teach this tongue to an outsider. Some beasts and intelligent animals may understand spoken Yggdrasi.