Post by Admin on Mar 8, 2016 4:08:11 GMT
#1.5
LANGUAGES, or, Could you repeat that in Auld Wormish?
by Lee Gold
June 1976
This article from Dragon magazine is interesting, simply for the fact that it's written by Lee Gold, editor of Alarums && Excursions.
A little off-topic, with regards to languages, but does anyone know if A&&E is still going? It's one of the most legendary fanzines in the history of D&D.
Anyway, with regards to languages in AD&D:
The topic later gets revisited in detail, in Dragon 66.
As well, with regards to the actual construction of fantasy languages, please see Dragon 75.
Here, this article in an indicator of a common pattern in Dragon -- things that were written for OD&D get revisited, at a later time, in more detail, for AD&D.
*Note: I had endeavored to post 1 Dragon article per day, but, I am three days behind (I was stuck & in a slump this weekend). So, I will be posting 3 articles, tonight, to catch up.
Anyway, here's a general question: how do you handle languages in your campaign?
Prespos
Appendix:
Here are some notes about languages in AD&D: they are intended as an extension to the RANDOM LANGUAGE DETERMINATION table on page 102 of the DMG, which needs to be revised.
<
additional languages:
"the rudimentary tongue of carnivorous apes" - MM.53
beholder
blink dog
djinni
"the languages of certain woods animals" - MM, Sylvan Elf
harpy
hippocampus
werebear
wereboar
wererat
weretiger
werewolf
medusa
merman
mimic
otyugh
owl, giant
toad, giant: ice toad ("their own weird language")
treant
unicorn
worg
11* Bullywug
12* Dark Creeper: the race's language is incomprehensible to linguists
13* Dire Corby: "rudimentary language"
14* Lung wang (Sea dragon)
15* Pan lung (Coiled dragon)
16* Shen lung (Spirit dragon) -- language shared with the Pan lung
17* T'ien lung (Celestial dragon)
18* "the silent speech of subterranean creatures"
19* Fog Giant (dialect)
20* Mountain Giant (dialect)
21* The strange subterranean trade language common to most intelligent dwellers in the underworld - kuo-toa
22* The underworld cant (the trade language) - svirfneblin
23* jermlaine ("twittering, squeaking speech")
24* [The religious speech of the kuo-toa] is a corruption of the language used on the Elemental Plane of Water and if a cleric is near it is 75% improbable that any creature from this plane will attack kuo-toans, for the cleric will speak and request that they be spared in the name of Sea Mother (Blibdoolpoolp). <note the lack of the definitive article, twice>
25* Hook horror (clacking)
** Slaad
26* The svirfnebli have their own language, a dialect of of gnomish which a gnormal gnome is 60% likely to understand.
27* All these small creatures can converse with speaking creatures from the Elemental Plane of Earth and it is 90% unlikely that such a creature will harm a svirfneblin,
though the deep gnome might have to pay a heavy bribe in precious metal and gems so to escape.
28* tabaxi
29* xvart
* annis
greenhag (dialect of annis)
* aspis drone
* atomie (a dialect of Sprite)
* banderlog (a simple language)
* the tongue of demons and all demonic creatures (Bodak) [note: this could simply be Demonaic, i.e. the CE alignment tongue]
* "the languages of all felines" (Cat Lord)
* all the languages of the geniekind, the languages of earth elementals (dao: MM.32)
* cloud dragon ("their dialect of draconian speech")
* Mist dragons speak their own dialect of draconian but can converse with virtually all sorts of dragons as well.
* dracolisk ("a very limited type of black dragon language")
* drelb
* duergar
* elfin cat
* firefriend
* Firbolg
* Fomorian giant
* Verbeeg
* giant, common (mentioned at greenhag & annis)
* grig
* hollyphant
* foxwoman
* raven/crow
* lammasu, greater (note the reference to 'root languages')
* seawolf (greater)
* seawolf (lesser)
* wereshark
* modron
* "mongrelman" (pigdin Common, with animal noises)
* moon dog
* muckdweller ("croaking-hissing tongue")
* ogre, aquatic (dialect of Ogre)
* phoenix
* sirine
* xaren
* yuan-ti
UA
They speak elvish, common, treant, and the tongue of woodland mammals (much as gnomes communicate with burrowing mammals), but no other languages to start with.
the language of "undercommon" (a trade language of those who dwell beneath the earth)
OA
Bakemono speak the trade language, the language of humans in the AREA, the language of oni, and their own language (which is similar to that of oni).>
Common oni are able to speak the language of their kind, and the languages of tengu, bakemono, hengeyokai, and the local human population.
Go-zu Oni: They are able to speak all human languages and those of tengu, oni, bakemono, animals, and the Celestial Court.
GHA
Mist wolves have their own rich language consisting of yips, barks, and growls.
LANGUAGES, or, Could you repeat that in Auld Wormish?
by Lee Gold
June 1976
This article from Dragon magazine is interesting, simply for the fact that it's written by Lee Gold, editor of Alarums && Excursions.
A little off-topic, with regards to languages, but does anyone know if A&&E is still going? It's one of the most legendary fanzines in the history of D&D.
Anyway, with regards to languages in AD&D:
The topic later gets revisited in detail, in Dragon 66.
As well, with regards to the actual construction of fantasy languages, please see Dragon 75.
Here, this article in an indicator of a common pattern in Dragon -- things that were written for OD&D get revisited, at a later time, in more detail, for AD&D.
*Note: I had endeavored to post 1 Dragon article per day, but, I am three days behind (I was stuck & in a slump this weekend). So, I will be posting 3 articles, tonight, to catch up.
Anyway, here's a general question: how do you handle languages in your campaign?
Prespos
Appendix:
Here are some notes about languages in AD&D: they are intended as an extension to the RANDOM LANGUAGE DETERMINATION table on page 102 of the DMG, which needs to be revised.
<
additional languages:
"the rudimentary tongue of carnivorous apes" - MM.53
beholder
blink dog
djinni
"the languages of certain woods animals" - MM, Sylvan Elf
harpy
hippocampus
werebear
wereboar
wererat
weretiger
werewolf
medusa
merman
mimic
otyugh
owl, giant
toad, giant: ice toad ("their own weird language")
treant
unicorn
worg
11* Bullywug
12* Dark Creeper: the race's language is incomprehensible to linguists
13* Dire Corby: "rudimentary language"
14* Lung wang (Sea dragon)
15* Pan lung (Coiled dragon)
16* Shen lung (Spirit dragon) -- language shared with the Pan lung
17* T'ien lung (Celestial dragon)
18* "the silent speech of subterranean creatures"
19* Fog Giant (dialect)
20* Mountain Giant (dialect)
21* The strange subterranean trade language common to most intelligent dwellers in the underworld - kuo-toa
22* The underworld cant (the trade language) - svirfneblin
23* jermlaine ("twittering, squeaking speech")
24* [The religious speech of the kuo-toa] is a corruption of the language used on the Elemental Plane of Water and if a cleric is near it is 75% improbable that any creature from this plane will attack kuo-toans, for the cleric will speak and request that they be spared in the name of Sea Mother (Blibdoolpoolp). <note the lack of the definitive article, twice>
25* Hook horror (clacking)
** Slaad
26* The svirfnebli have their own language, a dialect of of gnomish which a gnormal gnome is 60% likely to understand.
27* All these small creatures can converse with speaking creatures from the Elemental Plane of Earth and it is 90% unlikely that such a creature will harm a svirfneblin,
though the deep gnome might have to pay a heavy bribe in precious metal and gems so to escape.
28* tabaxi
29* xvart
* annis
greenhag (dialect of annis)
* aspis drone
* atomie (a dialect of Sprite)
* banderlog (a simple language)
* the tongue of demons and all demonic creatures (Bodak) [note: this could simply be Demonaic, i.e. the CE alignment tongue]
* "the languages of all felines" (Cat Lord)
* all the languages of the geniekind, the languages of earth elementals (dao: MM.32)
* cloud dragon ("their dialect of draconian speech")
* Mist dragons speak their own dialect of draconian but can converse with virtually all sorts of dragons as well.
* dracolisk ("a very limited type of black dragon language")
* drelb
* duergar
* elfin cat
* firefriend
* Firbolg
* Fomorian giant
* Verbeeg
* giant, common (mentioned at greenhag & annis)
* grig
* hollyphant
* foxwoman
* raven/crow
* lammasu, greater (note the reference to 'root languages')
* seawolf (greater)
* seawolf (lesser)
* wereshark
* modron
* "mongrelman" (pigdin Common, with animal noises)
* moon dog
* muckdweller ("croaking-hissing tongue")
* ogre, aquatic (dialect of Ogre)
* phoenix
* sirine
* xaren
* yuan-ti
UA
They speak elvish, common, treant, and the tongue of woodland mammals (much as gnomes communicate with burrowing mammals), but no other languages to start with.
the language of "undercommon" (a trade language of those who dwell beneath the earth)
OA
Bakemono speak the trade language, the language of humans in the AREA, the language of oni, and their own language (which is similar to that of oni).>
Common oni are able to speak the language of their kind, and the languages of tengu, bakemono, hengeyokai, and the local human population.
Go-zu Oni: They are able to speak all human languages and those of tengu, oni, bakemono, animals, and the Celestial Court.
GHA
Mist wolves have their own rich language consisting of yips, barks, and growls.