Hyborian - Common Language

[rgrove0172]

A fellow forum member and myself have been discussing the use of a Hyborian common language, a 'common tongue' of a sorts, at least in the more civilized Hyborian nations and those they trade with regularly. Im wondering if any of you Conan gamers use something similar, and if not - how do you get around your player-characters having to learn a new language instantly whenever the adventure carries them into new lands? Playing through a period wherein the character has a language barrier is rarely very rewarding and although can certainly create some interesting situations, would seem to be more a hindrance to good gaming than a positive plot element.

 

[Netherek]

I never liked the idea of a "common" tongue. I usually avoid it even in D&D, so I am quite happy with the existing format.

If you don't want to deal with language difficulties, or advancing time forward a month or two, then you could allow intelligence checks to see if one understands the meaning if they know one of the related tongues.

 

[Faraer]

I think the Hyborian languages are similar enough that Hyborians of different nations can communicate, that merchants bordering the Hyborian lands tend to speak the nearest Hyborian tongue, and that far-travelling merchants and adventurers tend to know several languages. I don't think a common tongue is called for -- and it diminishes the strangeness of distant lands. Better to have PCs learn new languages quickly.

 

[argo]

Heck no!

While I'll readily admit that a "common tongue" serves a purpose to facilitate game-play it has always struck me as a particularly stupid bit of abstraction. Besides, I enjoy the posiblity of plot twists inherent in the need for translators ... :twisted:

That being said, IMC if you are in one of the more cosmopolitian areas and can speak the language of the dominant regional power (ie: Aquilonian in western hyboria, Stygian in the northern black kingdoms, etc) or can speak the language of the country-next-door then you will probably be able to muddle by. You will simply be marked as a stranger and cut out of high society... which is a great position to start an adventure in.

And if all else fails there is still the true "common tongue"... hot blood and cold, sharpened steel 8)

Later.

 

[Majestic7]

I've always disliked the thought of "common" as in D&D. In my game, the strong regional powers, such as Aquilonia, have imprinted their language upon their neighbours as a language of trade. Thus, languages of Stygia, Aquilonia, Zamora and Turan are those required for an internation merchant to be succesfull. Of course, knowing the local languages will be even more helpful.

 

[Evil_Trevor]

Given that the hyborian nations have been cut out by a single group of wandering people the hyborians, it would seem likley to me that their languages would be very simmilar as are many european languages and it would be relativly easy for a speaker of one to pick up the others.

 

[vince the french]

All the europeans languages are celtic and latin based, but its very difficult for a spanish too understand a german. The pronunciation first and over contribution (arabian for exemple for spanish) made the languages very different and understandable only for natives.
So hyboria is a kind of europe and i think there's no commun language. Indeed, french and italian are close.
So i prefer the rule of knowing many languages according to the origine of characters than a single language for everybody.

 

[Dpetroc]

Although I agree with the notion that language should be regional without a 'common tongue', it is likely that certain groups would have passing familiarity with the 'lingua franca' of the day, Aquilonian. Shemite and Zingaran merchants would probably have a passable command of Argossean. Nemedians and Aquilonians would probably have many common words and phrases, and the smaller kingdoms would likewise have areas where migrations took early Aquilonians or Shemities into Koth, Ophir and Khoroja.

It would not be out of the realm of possibility for most nobles of all the Hyborian lands to be taught passing familiarity with Aquilonian, Scholars would most likely all know a smattering of Stygian, and the Barachan pirates might even have a separate patois of their own due to the mingling of different cultures.

Knowledge of foreign languages should be predicated on ability to travel or receive education

The common man -- the worker on the street, the farmer, the maid in a merchant household -- would probably only know their birth tongue.

 

[quigs]

If you guys take a peek in the Road of Kings sourcebook, it lists a few languages for each nation as Primary or Secondary languages (IIRC). It also states that any character knowing one or more of these languages can communicate with the majority of the population, but unless they speak the primary languages, they suffer a penalty to most social skills checks.

 

[Bjorn the Barbarian]

Definately no common tongue! 8)

 

[slaughterj]

There's no need for a "common" tongue and here's why:
1. The PCs get plenty of languages to start and quickly thereafter (every odd level).
2. The GM doesn't have to have PCs go to an area where they don't know the language unless the GM wants them to. Sure, some GMs will have their PCs travel the continent between sessions, but that is a minority of them, and if they want the PCs to know the language, then they can. Also, there are some GMs who let the PCs go where they will willy-nilly (which is fine and preferable generally), but they still likely can communicate with people who will know an overlapping language if the GM desires.
3. The GM can use the languages the PCs do not have to keep them in the dark, which can be useful plot devices at times.

 

[Spongly]

We generally assume that all of the Hyborian languages are similar enough that you can just about get by with any of them, at least as far as basic concepts goes.

 

[Ichabod]

I'm also in the camp that finds a D&D style common tongue to be a nonflavorful mechanic. And, I don't see a need for it in Conan where, as mentioned, characters get vast quantities of languages, making communication in many places reliable (a local will know some language that the party can speak in most or all cases as determined by the GM).

That being said, it is frustrating from the PC standpoint to not be able to get "ahead" on languages. You travel to some place you weren't expecting and, depending upon the GM, you have to struggle with communication and/or use up your next language slot (which is only 1/2 levels) on some obscure language you may not care about after a few sessions.

Note that under the assumption that there will be some sort of penalty to social skills for some period, the penalty hits the nonfighty classes the hardest. Nobles in particular, but scholars/anyone trying to get information are hampered.

As the GM can plan all of these things out, it's not a big deal, but it does mean that the GM, who has a lot of other things to worry about, has to plan out how the party will communicate. Just more work.

 

[Spectator]

I always thought the Hyborian tongue similar to the proto-germanic languages or the Scandinavian languages. For example Danish, Swedich and Norwegian are 3 separate languages however with a little concentration each one of the languages can be made to be understood by its speakers if they want to. If they don;t want to be understtod, then they can speak in nuanced laguage, and then the PC must actually learn it if he wants to understand.

Now that's what I think about the Hyborian tongues, obviously the Shemitic tongues, Pictish tongues, and Hyrkanian and Stygian tongues are completely different languages.

So as for the characters staying in the Hyborian realms, they are fine, although I doubt they will be acting as articulate speechwriters.

 

[Hervé]

Even if I don't use a "common tongue", Shemitish has become in my campaign a sort of "Trade Tongue" that most of the civilized kingdoms speak, a bit like english today. For northeners, I'd use Aquilonian instead.

Even though I tend to think that Hyborian languages share common roots, I don't like the fact that characters could speak so many tongues. Most PCs are uncouth and uneducated superstitious savages, not master linguists. Hyboria has a relatively low cultural level and most people cannot even read or write their own native tongue. Even with our high education, I don't know many people today that can speak fluently six or seven different languages, and we're not living in Hyboria!

If a common tongue might seem a bit too much "D&D", I really think that the language rules are not more realistic as they are. A fighter type character with an average INT of 12 can speak 6 different languages at 1st level! And you tell me that a common tongue is not realistic ?

 

[rgrove0172]

Ill agree on most points but have to say there is definitely a need for something - trade languages, wide spread use of a popular tongue etc. The similarity of the Hyborian languages is a step in the right direction, and the use of Shemite as a trade tongue of sorts in the south and Turanian in the distant east. Perhaps a combo of these would fill the need, ease the restrictions of contantly having to learn new languages and allow the language rules to be modified a bit to make them a little more realistic. (ie. fewer languages per character)

 

[Hervé]

I tend to go your way. The idea of an "Hyborian dialect" sounds nice. It's not unrealistic to think that the Hyborian kingdoms could have common language root, a bit like Latin for us southern Europeans. I'll keep Shemitish as my trade tongue for the southern and eastern lands.