My current Mazes & Minotaurs campaign started out with a more-or-less historical ancient world as its setting. Therefore I wanted to include some of the cultural and linguistic background of the ancient world. I ended up dividing up the languages into groups. The grouping is rather broad, but it works in the framework of the game, where the player characters are (mostly) Greek. And I think for a game with this premise it's okay to simplify things and keep the division between "Greeks", "barbarians", and "the East". "Ancient" languages (that is, languages that are "extinct", like Minoan) are not currently accounted for.
This houserule makes languages MATTER, but without bogging down the game with too much extra rules or bookkeeping.
Individual languages aren’t
tracked, but there are three language groups and a catch-all skill for reading
and writing.
Greek. The default
language. All player characters (except Amazons and Barbarians with a negative Wits
modifier) are assumed to know Greek.
Oriental. The languages of
the cultures of the Near East: Egyptian, Akkadian, Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew,
etc. Greeks merchants and sailors learn them by interacting with other nations,
mercenaries serve in the armies of Eastern kings, mystics and scholars search for
wisdom.
Barbaric. All the
languages of the peoples of Europe, Asia Minor and the mountains, steppes and
deserts of Asia and Africa. Examples: Scythian, Cimmerian, Thracian, Pelasgian,
Macedonian, Phrygian, Lydian, Carian, Lemnian, Etruscan, Celtic, Old Latin,
Umbrian, Berberian… and the tongues of sentient wilderness creatures! Greeks learn
these languages if they have dealings with neighboring tribes, or come from a
mixed Greek-Barbaric family.
Literacy. The Greek world
has only recently emerged from the Dark Ages. The Greek alphabet is still under
development, but there are of course many writing systems available. To avoid
complexity, if a character buys this skill, they are considered literate in all
writing systems for the languages they know.
Starting languages:
Characters get a number of “language
points” equal to their Wits modifier. For each point, they can buy one group
from those available for their class (see table below). For example, a Noble
with +2 Wits knows Greek and buys Oriental and Literacy.
Δ = the class starts with this
language.
Δ* = the class starts with this
language if their Wits modifier is zero or positive.
‡ = the class may buy this language with their language
points.
|
Language availability |
|||
Class |
Greek |
Barbaric |
Oriental |
Literacy |
Amazons |
Δ* |
Δ |
|
|
Barbarians |
Δ* |
Δ |
|
|
Centaurs |
Δ* |
Δ |
|
|
Nobles |
Δ |
‡ |
‡ |
‡ |
Spearmen |
Δ |
‡ |
‡ |
|
Elementalists |
Δ |
|
‡ |
‡ |
Lyrists |
Δ |
‡ |
‡ |
|
Nymphs |
Δ |
‡ |
‡ |
|
Priests |
Δ |
|
‡ |
‡ |
Sorcerers |
Δ |
|
‡ |
‡ |
Hunters |
Δ |
‡ |
|
|
Thieves |
Δ |
‡ |
|
|
Leaning new languages:
Characters may learn foreign
words, basic sentences, or even a couple of written signs during the game.
However, they can only buy a new language group or literacy if their Wits
modifier increases through level advancement.
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