In my homebrew campaigns I've always ignored Common in favor of regional or national languages. It seems to add a bit more realism doing it that way. Each of my campaign settings has about a dozen or so regional languages.
I do see a problem with doing it this way in Spelljammer. If I don't use a Common language, communicating with people from different worlds will quickly become a problem. I'm not 100% sure how to handle this.
I've thought about allowing Common again, and just calling it "Trade Tongue" or something like it. But that still presents a problem if I want to allow my players to fly to a world that has never been visited by people from other worlds.
I don't think there is an easy way to handle this without being cheesy and keeping Common as the default language everyone knows.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
It would be interesting to have the players do some charades to get their ideas across. That could be a good thing to practice. However, yes, you probably want to shorten the time it takes to get from "I have no idea what they are saying" to "I can understand most it...except that one word" faster than the time it takes to learn an actual language. I believe the Farscape series used a virus or symbiotic micro-organism injected into the bloodstream to act as a Universal Translator.
Alternatively, you can have an offworlder who happens to be on that new planet act as translator for the party Someone would probably need to pay that creature, though.
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In my homebrew campaigns I've always ignored Common in favor of regional or national languages. It seems to add a bit more realism doing it that way. Each of my campaign settings has about a dozen or so regional languages.
I do see a problem with doing it this way in Spelljammer. If I don't use a Common language, communicating with people from different worlds will quickly become a problem. I'm not 100% sure how to handle this.
I've thought about allowing Common again, and just calling it "Trade Tongue" or something like it. But that still presents a problem if I want to allow my players to fly to a world that has never been visited by people from other worlds.
I don't think there is an easy way to handle this without being cheesy and keeping Common as the default language everyone knows.
Any ideas, my fellow Dungeonmasters?
Dungeonmastering since 1992!
Also, should I have posted this in the Dungeonmasters Only forum?
Dungeonmastering since 1992!
Adding a universal translator of sorts might help.
Two words.
Babel fish.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
It would be interesting to have the players do some charades to get their ideas across. That could be a good thing to practice. However, yes, you probably want to shorten the time it takes to get from "I have no idea what they are saying" to "I can understand most it...except that one word" faster than the time it takes to learn an actual language. I believe the Farscape series used a virus or symbiotic micro-organism injected into the bloodstream to act as a Universal Translator.
Alternatively, you can have an offworlder who happens to be on that new planet act as translator for the party Someone would probably need to pay that creature, though.