I made a character, who's background is, be got forced into pit fighting. I used a homebrew background, as the one in the book, seemed to be more of a performance fighter, while mine is more Conan, fighting. The background gives me an extra language. I'm playing a half-orc, so i already have orc. I'm thinking of Draconic (Kobolds, Troglodytes, Lizardfolk, Dragons, Dragonborn) or Goblin (Goblinoids, Hobgoblins, Bugbears)
As an bit of aside, I was struggling to understand why the background would give you a bonus language, as a Half Orc you'd get Common and Orc languages. Common would likely be the language everyone is using for training purposes etc, Orc would be enough for some more intimidating use of language so why would your pit fighter trainers sit you down and teach you another language? If they don't speak Common or Orc then I would assume your bonus langauge should be whatever language the trainers spoke.
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I would say probably either Goblin, Dwarvish, or Giant. Those probably make the most sense to me as people who would be most commonly pressed into slavery as fellow pit fighters.
If they don't speak Common or Orc then I would assume your bonus langauge should be whatever language the trainers spoke.
Making it the language of their trainer(s) would be a nice touch, and from a DMs perspective does provide a story hook
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I made a character, who's background is, be got forced into pit fighting. I used a homebrew background, as the one in the book, seemed to be more of a performance fighter, while mine is more Conan, fighting. The background gives me an extra language. I'm playing a half-orc, so i already have orc. I'm thinking of Draconic (Kobolds, Troglodytes, Lizardfolk, Dragons, Dragonborn) or Goblin (Goblinoids, Hobgoblins, Bugbears)
I would look at what your character has probably interacted with the most - to see if there's something there.
Is a friend of theirs a Lizardfolk, that perhaps he learned their tongue? Is their "manager" at the pit fighting ring a Dragonborn, that he learned the language?
Has he frequently fought Bugbears in the ring, that he eventually learned their language?
I think all the above covers the basics, so just posting a different perspective - you could also choose something entirely unexpected.
Pit fights made their money on spectacle - on constantly presenting not only blood and battle, but also something novel. Seeing as the fighting ring you were in was clearly unscrupulous (they forced you into fighting), they probably were not above kidnapping races from exotic locations and forcing them to fight.
That opens up pretty much every language to you, and also provides the potential for some fun backstory things. “Member of a foreign race who didn’t speak common, was alone and far from home - character met them, and, rather than treat them as alien, befriended them and even learned their language.” Provides a lot of characterisation about what kind of person one is in a few short lines, and gives the DM some plot hooks to work in (meeting that friend; coming across that friend’s race and being able to speak, etc.).
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I made a character, who's background is, be got forced into pit fighting. I used a homebrew background, as the one in the book, seemed to be more of a performance fighter, while mine is more Conan, fighting. The background gives me an extra language. I'm playing a half-orc, so i already have orc. I'm thinking of Draconic (Kobolds, Troglodytes, Lizardfolk, Dragons, Dragonborn) or Goblin (Goblinoids, Hobgoblins, Bugbears)
As an bit of aside, I was struggling to understand why the background would give you a bonus language, as a Half Orc you'd get Common and Orc languages. Common would likely be the language everyone is using for training purposes etc, Orc would be enough for some more intimidating use of language so why would your pit fighter trainers sit you down and teach you another language? If they don't speak Common or Orc then I would assume your bonus langauge should be whatever language the trainers spoke.
I would say probably either Goblin, Dwarvish, or Giant. Those probably make the most sense to me as people who would be most commonly pressed into slavery as fellow pit fighters.
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Making it the language of their trainer(s) would be a nice touch, and from a DMs perspective does provide a story hook
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I would look at what your character has probably interacted with the most - to see if there's something there.
Is a friend of theirs a Lizardfolk, that perhaps he learned their tongue? Is their "manager" at the pit fighting ring a Dragonborn, that he learned the language?
Has he frequently fought Bugbears in the ring, that he eventually learned their language?
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I think all the above covers the basics, so just posting a different perspective - you could also choose something entirely unexpected.
Pit fights made their money on spectacle - on constantly presenting not only blood and battle, but also something novel. Seeing as the fighting ring you were in was clearly unscrupulous (they forced you into fighting), they probably were not above kidnapping races from exotic locations and forcing them to fight.
That opens up pretty much every language to you, and also provides the potential for some fun backstory things. “Member of a foreign race who didn’t speak common, was alone and far from home - character met them, and, rather than treat them as alien, befriended them and even learned their language.” Provides a lot of characterisation about what kind of person one is in a few short lines, and gives the DM some plot hooks to work in (meeting that friend; coming across that friend’s race and being able to speak, etc.).
Thx for the advice. I hadn't thought about the trainer/slaver part