Language
n their adventures, the player characters will encounter many different beings and creatures that speak different languages. Languages by Race, Alignment & Class Most races have their own language, and reasonably intelligent creatures that have some form of contact with the human world are likely to speak the common language of humans, which is understood almost everywhere. The common racial languages in OSRIC are those of elves, dwarves, halflings, goblins, gnomes, hobgoblins kobolds, orcs, and gnolls. In addition to the languages of the various races, each of the nine alignments has a related commonly used alignment language. Some classes learn the following secret languages:
Thieves’ Cant — Bard, Thief, Assassin Druidic language — Bard, Druid
Languages during character creation When creating a character, the race you choose determines which languages you start the game with. High intelligence allows you to learn additional languages. Unless otherwise stated, each race speaks the common language of humans, as well as the language of their alignment. The following table lists all other languages with which each species begins the game. Race Language of ... [1] Note [2] Lizardman Lizard people * — Elf Elves *, Gnolls, Gnomes Goblins, Halflings, Hobgoblins & Orcs INT 16+ Gnome Gnomes *, Dwarves, Goblins, Kobolds & Halflings ≤2 Half-elf Elves, Gnolls, Gnomes, Goblins, Halflings, Hobgoblins & Orcs INT 17+ Halfling Halflings *, Dwarves, Gnomes, Goblins & Orcs INT 17+ Half-ogre Ogres ≤2 Half-orc Orcs ≤2 Half-sea elf Elves, Gnolls, Gnomes, Goblins, Halflings, Hobgoblins & Orcs INT 17+ Lokathah Lokathah * — Merman Merpeople * — Person — — Sea elf Elves *, Gnolls, Gnomes, Goblins, Halflings, Hobgoblins & Orcs INT 16+ Dwarf Dwarves *, Gnomes, Goblins, Orcs & Kobolds ≤2 1. ↑ The native language is marked with an asterisk (*). Races without an asterisk typically use the common human language as their native language. 2. ↑ Note: Further restrictions to the maximum additional languages are either a maximum limit of languages that can be learned (e.g. ≤2) regardless of intelligence score or a minimum intelligence score required to learn any additional languages at all. Where a minimum intelligence score is specified, characters can learn an additional language if they reach the threshold and another additional language for each point of intelligence above such threshold. 3. Further considerations Depending on the campaign world, the Game Master may adapt and add more languages to the above. For example, they could add Giant or Draconic, or decide that Common is less common in their world. Languages are essential for communicating, negotiating, and exchanging ideas with other creatures. Some spells based on language, such as command or suggestion, are also dependent on the target understanding the language used by the caster. Language barriers can also be overcome magically, for example by using the spells Comprehend Languages or Tongues. Collapse Note: Learning new languages Depending on intelligence score, a character can learn new languages. To do this, the character must spend up to 1 year in close contact with someone who speaks that language and practice the language to be learned. Each intelligence point above 12 shortens the required time by 1 month.
