Which are more important for your character to know?
I was making a character today, and when choosing what languages I should know, I got struck with this question. While for story and character reasons it would make more sense that I'd know languages like Elvish, Dwarvish, and Gnomish, considering I'm in a party with characters of multiple different races who will already know those languages, wouldn't it be more efficient to know languages like Goblin or Giant, that enemies use, or less common ones, such as Deep Speech or Celestial, in the event we run into an NPC that speaks that language or ruins that have that language written on them?
The only counterargument I could come up with, aside from story/character reasons, is that nearly everything in the game speaks, or at least understands, common.
I feel like knowing common, elvish, dwarvish, and Draconic are pretty helpful.
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All stars fade. Some stars forever fall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Homebrew (Mostly Outdated):Magic Items,Monsters,Spells,Subclasses ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
I read something that suggests Common evolved as a trade language in the D&D lore. I didn't dig further because I like that story. In locales where commerce with others is minimal, it stands to reason that people might not know Common in those areas... if Common is indeed a trade language.
Scholars would likely know the language of cultures they study.
Outside of story and lore, any language can be convenient. Finding a way to make convenience fit into story and lore is a different thing.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
or less common ones, such as Deep Speech or Celestial, in the event we run into an NPC that speaks that language or ruins that have that language written on them?
Concerning exotic languages, unless you automatically gain the language because of your race (i.e., tieflings know infernal) or your class (i.e., dragon blood sorcerers know draconic), the PHB states that you need to have the DM's permission to choose one of these languages. Most DMs allow a player to choose an exotic language, but they aren't commonly spoken or used (at least on the Prime Material)... So, the DM might rule that characters wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to learn Deep Speech or Celestial.
Talk to your DM. In my head canon, certain languages might be regarded as non-native but privileged as a vehicle for scholarship, like Medieval Latin. In my campaigns, you won't often meet a speaker of draconic or celestial, but if you're going to spend a lot of time in libraries or reading holy scripture, they're worth picking up.
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Which are more important for your character to know?
I was making a character today, and when choosing what languages I should know, I got struck with this question. While for story and character reasons it would make more sense that I'd know languages like Elvish, Dwarvish, and Gnomish, considering I'm in a party with characters of multiple different races who will already know those languages, wouldn't it be more efficient to know languages like Goblin or Giant, that enemies use, or less common ones, such as Deep Speech or Celestial, in the event we run into an NPC that speaks that language or ruins that have that language written on them?
The only counterargument I could come up with, aside from story/character reasons, is that nearly everything in the game speaks, or at least understands, common.
I feel like knowing common, elvish, dwarvish, and Draconic are pretty helpful.
All stars fade. Some stars forever fall.
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Homebrew (Mostly Outdated): Magic Items, Monsters, Spells, Subclasses
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If there was no light, people wouldn't fear the dark.
You should probably ask your DM. The best answer will depend a lot on the campaign setting and political factions/races involved.
I read something that suggests Common evolved as a trade language in the D&D lore. I didn't dig further because I like that story. In locales where commerce with others is minimal, it stands to reason that people might not know Common in those areas... if Common is indeed a trade language.
Scholars would likely know the language of cultures they study.
Outside of story and lore, any language can be convenient. Finding a way to make convenience fit into story and lore is a different thing.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
I agree. Before I saw your comment, I just happened to have three friends who are elf, Dragonborn, and dwarf!
Concerning exotic languages, unless you automatically gain the language because of your race (i.e., tieflings know infernal) or your class (i.e., dragon blood sorcerers know draconic), the PHB states that you need to have the DM's permission to choose one of these languages. Most DMs allow a player to choose an exotic language, but they aren't commonly spoken or used (at least on the Prime Material)... So, the DM might rule that characters wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to learn Deep Speech or Celestial.
Talk to your DM. In my head canon, certain languages might be regarded as non-native but privileged as a vehicle for scholarship, like Medieval Latin. In my campaigns, you won't often meet a speaker of draconic or celestial, but if you're going to spend a lot of time in libraries or reading holy scripture, they're worth picking up.