World Of Zardow
Languages
Living Languages
1 - Aven - The second most common language in the Grand Continent, Aven is the native language of Aventaine and a common trade tongue, especially in the Outlying Isles.
2 - Golish - Once the national language of Golinlund, the tongue has accumulated a sinister reputation and occult connotations since the Fall.
3- Bory - Spoken among the urban-dwellers and upper classes of the Borynivkin Tsardom, it is the official language of the realm. The majority of the peasantry in the western reaches of the nation speak it, as well.
4- Pavaerean - The native language of Pavaerea, it is commonly used throughout the Grand Continent. The upper classes of the Five Nations consider it fashionable to know a phrase or two in Pavaeren.
5 - Islander - A loose collection of languages spoken among the archipelagos of the western Outlying Isles, the languages are similar enough to be understood between isles, but each individual island usually speaks their own unique dialect. If speaking a different dialect of Islander, language can still be understood, but all Charisma-based skill checks take a -2 penalty.
6 - Plainsman - A language used in the eastern reaches of the Borynivkin Tsardom and much of the western parts of the Baboti Khanate, Plainsman is a common trade tongue among the diverse peoples of that area.
7 - Imperial - A highly formal version of Plainsman with archaic grammatical rules, used in southern parts of Baboti lands and some easterly Outlying Isles. This is supposedly the preferred language of the Great Khan and his court.
8 - Empyrean - Once a sacred language used only in Masonite ceremonies, Empyrean was adopted as the national language of Onnen and experienced a resurgence. It is used commonly in churches, religious organization, on the island-continent of Onnen, and in the southerly portions of Pavaerea.
9 - Mahuak - The primary language of Cancha and its various vassal islands, it is common enough in the Outlying Isles but pretty much unheard of on the Grand Continent.
10 - Krastavan -The most common language on the Grand Continent, Krastavan is the national language of the Krastavo Commonwealth and spoken by many expatriate Krastavans. It is a common trade tongue, and even distant Baboti villages have a trader or two who can speak a little Krastavan.
11 - Herstellan - Herstellan was once a sacred language used by the Makers, one that has (like Empyrean) bled into everyday usage. Much of the Makertie diaspora makes use of Herstellan, and in certain regions of the Commonwealth it is more frequently used than Krastavan.
12 - Holmic- The most common language used on Avaholm, Holmic is also used by some on the coast of Aventaine, parts of Golinlund, and the northerly Outlying Isles.
Secret Languages
1 - Runic - An ancient writing system used throughout Golinlund, Aventaine and Avaholm centuries ago, knowledge of rune-writing was kept alive as an academic curiosity. Today, adventurers can encounter it with some regularity in ancient ruins or among the grimoires of modern-day occultists. Its traditional spoken form is lost, though there are agreed-upon "modern" pronunciations of the individual characters.
2- Druidic - Druids are religious and political leaders in Avaholm. They speak a unique sacred language that, over time, became a normal spoken tongue and part of the natural linguistic makeup of the island. More recently, it has become fashionable for Aventinian nobles to maintain some knowledge of the tongue, as a way of staying connected to their islander roots. Druidic famously has no alphabet, the druids having religious proscriptions against recording information in written form.
3- Rubedo Cipher - A cipher making heavy use of mathematical and alchemical symbols, the Rubedo Cipher is so named because it is used by and associated with the Rubedo Heresy in Pavaerea. Considered all-but-unbreakable, it long ago surpassed the Shift Cipher in its reputation for inscrutability. As a cipher, it requires knowledge of a base (usually spoken) language to decode at all: you can't decode a message written in Golish and somehow translate it into Aven in the process.
4 - Shift Cipher - A simple substitution cipher that was, for centuries at least, considered unbreakable without a key. Today, cryptographers can circumvent it, but this requires 8 hours of work and an Intelligence check with a threshold determined by the GM dependent on the complexity of the information conveyed. Though now known to be a crack-able code, the Shift Cipher is still in use today as a common fixture in espionage, considered a cheap and effective method for making a missive more secure with little cost or effort required. As a cipher, it requires knowledge of a base (usually spoken) language to decode at all.
5 - Rivai Code - Developed by the University at Rivai, the Rivai Code is a series of numbers, stray Runic characters and magical symbols that can be used to express complex mathematical and magical ideas. Usually expressed in swirling concentric patterns, the Rivai Code is what the Manikin Men use to program their golems. The language has been since deciphered by the Iron Tsar, and many a Golish warlock besides. The Rivai Code, though useful for recording certain types of information, is not really a language intended for human speech. It has difficulty expressing complex ideas succinctly: anything more than a word or two takes a dungeon turn to express in either written or spoken form.
6 - Hussar Hand Signs - A sign language originally developed by deaf citizens of the Krastavo Commonwealth, the so-called "Hussar Hand Signs" gained popularity and notoriety when the Gilded Hussars adopted them as a means of communicating silently on the battlefield. Some adventurers favor the sign language for the same reasons.
7 - Knocker - Probably the first truly "magical" language discovered, at least in the sense that it didn't exist prior to the Fall of Golinlund, Knocker is a coded series of knocks and raps kobolds use to communicate covertly. It has been adopted as a common military code in Krastavo, Aventaine and the Borynivkin Tsardom. Smoke signals and semaphore can replace percussive blows for practiced "Knockers."
8 - Trollic - Some troll communities adopt Aven, Krastavan, or other common languages, but trollic dialects are languages invented by troll tribes. Though each one is unique, the strangely babbling languages seem to follow ingrained linguistic similarities that human linguists can use to quickly learn new versions. How many individual tribes speak a specific dialect of trollic is up to GM discretion, but even isolated tribes speaking a different dialect can be understood and communicated with by a trollic speaker, though at a -2 penalty to Charisma checks.
9 - Sylvan - The first secret language discovered to require an actual magical initiation to properly "learn," Sylvan can only be understood with prolonged exposure to the spell Speak with Animals, intense hallucinatory experiences in natural settings, or (most commonly) both. Some magical creatures, such as spriggans and the hidden folk, speak Sylvan as well. It has no written form, but can be expressed with Runic characters.
10 - The Fans - Originally a fad among the ladies of the Borynivkin court, "fan language" is a means of transmitting covert messages by gesturing with a hand-held paper or fabric fan. It was briefly fashionable among the upper classes, though instead of serving its intended use in courtly intrigue and espionage, it mostly was a generator of slights both perceived and imagined. Somewhere during the fan-language's hey-day, some courtly prostitutes learned of the practice and began teaching it to their friends, family, and criminal associates. Today, "the fans" sees relatively little use among foppish debutantes in garden parties, but is a mainstay of the criminal element of the Grand Continent. The Fans, as it's called, has since been adapted for use with flag semaphore, handkerchiefs, and similar items. Though primarily a code for thieves and ne'er-do-wells, nobles sometimes learn The Fans precisely so they can traffic with those types more effectively.
11 - Colloquy - Colloquy is a telepathic language, perhaps better understood as a "frequency" knowledgeable "speakers" can attune their minds to. Those with knowledge of colloquy can communicate with other colloquy-linguists through direct eye contact and subtle facial expressions, with no speech or sign language necessary. This does, however, require intense focus and concentration, with even brief conversations in colloquy first requiring a few minutes for the conversationalists to reach the appropriate meditative state. The language is taught either through intensive, drug-assisted meditation with a colloquy-fluent teacher, or else the expenditure of reagents and access to the spell Telepathy. This telepathic "language" cannot be used to communicate with those who are not initiated into its mysteries, nor can it be expressed in a written form.
12 - Babbles - A cursed language leaking from Golinlund, anyone who hears or reads Babbles needs to make a Magic saving throw. On a success, they will only learn Babbles if they intentionally choose to, allowing them to communicate with Babbles-speakers safely. Researching the language beforehand also inoculates from its effects. Those who fail their saving throw learn Babbles automatically, but lose knowledge of all other languages. They can only speak with other Babbles-speakers, and their written communique will only be understood by those with knowledge of the contagious tongue. The spell Remove Curse can be used on those who fail their saving throw to return knowledge of previous languages to their mind, but this will also scour away their fluency in Babbles. Some spies and warlocks intentionally expose themselves to the curse to encode their messages or grimoires, but most Babbles speakers are village in remote Golinlund where the entire population has fallen to the curse.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:24, Tue 07 Jan 2020.
