Comments on: No Common Language http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/ A RPG FANTASY WORLD BLOG Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:39:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Languages in the Sea of Stars and RPGs « Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/comment-page-1/#comment-1223 Languages in the Sea of Stars and RPGs « Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:08:11 +0000 http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/?p=2233#comment-1223 [...] to be much discussed right now, starting with World of Alidor asking if people had tried games with No Common Language.  Oddessy carried on with that theme, discussing ideas about how a campaign with no common [...] [...] to be much discussed right now, starting with World of Alidor asking if people had tried games with No Common Language.  Oddessy carried on with that theme, discussing ideas about how a campaign with no common [...]

]]> By: shent_lodge http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/comment-page-1/#comment-1222 shent_lodge Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:50:41 +0000 http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/?p=2233#comment-1222 @Josh, The percent chance to understand a language is a great idea. Because even if you have a common language you will always get a player that chooses not to take it. Thanks for all great comments and suggestions. Jon @Josh, The percent chance to understand a language is a great idea. Because even if you have a common language you will always get a player that chooses not to take it.

Thanks for all great comments and suggestions.

Jon

]]> By: Mark http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/comment-page-1/#comment-1221 Mark Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:44:42 +0000 http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/?p=2233#comment-1221 The system I wrote has no common language. This has a couple additional implications which dovetail nicely with the way I want the world to work: -it's not high fantasy -languages work like any other skill In high fantasy, it's pretty common to have a PC party with no two players the same race. In low fantasy it isn't or shouldn't be. No common tongue encourages players to pick the same race, and anyone who doesn't has to blow almost 20% of his starting skill points just to be able to communicate with the rest of the group. Since it's only in playtesting, I have yet to see how huge this impact is. I have eight (or nine, depending on how you count) distinct nations or cultural groups, but only seven languages. The shared languages illustrate a shared history, like Germany and Austria. The system I wrote has no common language. This has a couple additional implications which dovetail nicely with the way I want the world to work:
-it’s not high fantasy
-languages work like any other skill
In high fantasy, it’s pretty common to have a PC party with no two players the same race. In low fantasy it isn’t or shouldn’t be. No common tongue encourages players to pick the same race, and anyone who doesn’t has to blow almost 20% of his starting skill points just to be able to communicate with the rest of the group. Since it’s only in playtesting, I have yet to see how huge this impact is.
I have eight (or nine, depending on how you count) distinct nations or cultural groups, but only seven languages. The shared languages illustrate a shared history, like Germany and Austria.

]]> By: Josh http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/comment-page-1/#comment-1220 Josh Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:08:31 +0000 http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/?p=2233#comment-1220 7th Sea is the first thing that came to mind when I saw this, as everyone always wants to play different nationalities and rarely is there 1 common language that the whole party speaks. They also did something pretty interesting to overcome this with mechanics for pidgin languages that were semi-functional mash-ups of two different languages. It was something to the effect that you had an 80% chance to understand the language if it was spoken to you, and a bit lower (maybe 50%) if it was written. More importantly, language barriers are a pain in the butt for GMs and players. 7th Sea is the first thing that came to mind when I saw this, as everyone always wants to play different nationalities and rarely is there 1 common language that the whole party speaks. They also did something pretty interesting to overcome this with mechanics for pidgin languages that were semi-functional mash-ups of two different languages. It was something to the effect that you had an 80% chance to understand the language if it was spoken to you, and a bit lower (maybe 50%) if it was written.

More importantly, language barriers are a pain in the butt for GMs and players.

]]> By: Sean Holland http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/2010/04/27/no-common-language/comment-page-1/#comment-1219 Sean Holland Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:57:53 +0000 http://worldofalidor.com/4th-ed/?p=2233#comment-1219 Once, I did that for a fantasy campaign based on Europe in the Reformation period. It was a huge hassle making sure the various characters could communicate, the French and Latin-equivalents being the most common shared languages, but it was a problem to track especially as the characters traveled. The occasional communication barrier can be fun but when it starts getting in the way of a good adventure, it can be a problem. .-= Sean Holland´s last blog ..<a href="http://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/new-magic-item-strength-of-spring-potion/" rel="nofollow">New Magic Item – Strength of Spring Potion</a> =-. Once, I did that for a fantasy campaign based on Europe in the Reformation period. It was a huge hassle making sure the various characters could communicate, the French and Latin-equivalents being the most common shared languages, but it was a problem to track especially as the characters traveled. The occasional communication barrier can be fun but when it starts getting in the way of a good adventure, it can be a problem.
.-= Sean Holland´s last blog ..New Magic Item – Strength of Spring Potion =-.

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