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21:58, 11th February 2025 (GMT+0)

Expanded Language Group Options.

Posted by bruuuuuu
bruuuuuu
subscriber, 16 posts
Forever GM
BECMI 1/2/3.5/PF, HeroSys
Sat 18 Jan 2025
at 19:50
  • msg #1

Expanded Language Group Options

In the "Private Line / Language Group Names" area under the GM Menu, it would be great if we could have more than 32 languages.  It's probably not common to need more, but I'm a co-GM in a game that has five (5) GMs and covers four (4) game systems (D&D 3.x/Pathfinder/Starfinder/BECMI), in nine (9) different game worlds, all crossing over in an interdimensional/interplanar nexus.

We've run out of open language slots, and we've been through the list several time, weeding out languages no longer in use.

Is this the right place to request this kind of thing?  If not, I'll happily re-post elsewhere (or it would be great if a moderator could just move the post).

Thanks for an awesome site to game on!
This message was last edited by the user at 19:51, Sat 18 Jan.
Ski-Bird
subscriber, 259 posts
Sat 18 Jan 2025
at 21:47
  • msg #2

Expanded Language Group Options

A possible workaround (if there won’t be any more slots forthcoming) would be to ‘double up’ on existing slots.

For example, take two languages that do not exist in the same game … say gnomish from the non sci-fi game and then beep-boorp from the sci-fi game.  Take one of the 32 language slots and name it Gnomish / Beep-Boorp and assign that slot to any character from any game that speaks that speaks either one of the two languages.

A little inelegant I suppose … but definitely doable.

If all 75 languages exist across all 5 games … not as workable, of course.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:48, Sat 18 Jan.
Skald
moderator, 1135 posts
Whatever it is,
I'm against it
Sun 19 Jan 2025
at 03:28
  • msg #3

Expanded Language Group Options

You might want to set up separate games for each system (group them by game name) so you can use the 32 languages slots in each one.

I don't think it was ever envisaged that there's be a need to run a 'game board within a game board', as it where.  <grins>
bruuuuuu
subscriber, 19 posts
Forever GM
BECMI 1/2/3.5/PF, HeroSys
Sun 19 Jan 2025
at 19:37
  • msg #4

Expanded Language Group Options

This is an excellent idea, in principle, but at just shy of 50 thousand posts in the existing multi-world game, I just don't see how we could possibly do it.  The amount of game-to-game crossover and interaction would be really difficult in separate game forums, even if we could somehow break them apart.
silverelf
member, 350 posts
Mon 20 Jan 2025
at 00:25
  • msg #5

Expanded Language Group Options

Sometimes you have to limit it down to what's important. To you as a GM and they as a player. Since there is no easy solution to this.
Skald
moderator, 1136 posts
Whatever it is,
I'm against it
Mon 20 Jan 2025
at 01:49
  • msg #6

Expanded Language Group Options

You'd probably want to make the existing game your meeting hub and as archive for all the existing old game threads, and set up 9 more game threads, one for each actual game, duplicating GMs, players and characters.

Probably keep all the character sheets in the meeting hub as it'd be a pain to coordinate updates.

A bit more navigation as players would have to bounce between different games externally, rather than internally, but that's only a couple of extra clicks, and it'd certainly make it easier to navigate with a particular game world/setting, since each separate games would only contain the relevant threads (ie they wouldn't have to scroll past the other 8 games threads to get to the relevant one for that particular game).

Characters can still interact across different games - Fred the Fighter is still Fred the Fighter and played by the same player, whether he's posting in several threads in one game or in several games.

That might solve other potential problems too - eg as well as your languages issue with private groups, you'd potentially run out of groups to accommodate different threads within the one game (eg where the party splits up).   I'd also be worried that if the database got corrupted (happens occasionally) the way it is now, you could take out 9 games, instead of just one if it was split up.

I think there needs to be some upper limits on groups/private groups ... else what's to stop someone starting 20, 30, 40 and on up separate games within the one 'community thread'.

:>
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