This is partially inspired by Murkdice’s excellent article on using language as a problem to be solved, the dauntless Prismatic Wasteland’s article on how languages imply setting, and Nova's (of The Idle Digest & Playful Void fame) article on internal conflicts in OSR play
I was just thinking common could be a tongue of diplomacy. Players would have to justify how or why they learned this language and it would allow some commonality without getting rid of the complexity of language. Most people speak the local language and retain the language barrier.
Really great stuff. I had the same thought in my fantasy heartbreaker I've been working on, where the common language(s) are called "Trade" and "Tac".
Trade allows for, well, trade and Tac is more a numerical writing system for tracking business. Neither are good at conveying feelings or complicated concepts. Because the last major power over the continent fell hundreds of years ago, any semblance of "common" tongue has long since disappeared into the fog of the past.
So you'd have folks in bigger cities or who do active mercantile work knowing trade with their bean-counters who know Tac. Characters can begin with either of them (or both) but it says something about a character who knows both Trade and Tac.
I was just thinking common could be a tongue of diplomacy. Players would have to justify how or why they learned this language and it would allow some commonality without getting rid of the complexity of language. Most people speak the local language and retain the language barrier.
Really great stuff. I had the same thought in my fantasy heartbreaker I've been working on, where the common language(s) are called "Trade" and "Tac".
Trade allows for, well, trade and Tac is more a numerical writing system for tracking business. Neither are good at conveying feelings or complicated concepts. Because the last major power over the continent fell hundreds of years ago, any semblance of "common" tongue has long since disappeared into the fog of the past.
So you'd have folks in bigger cities or who do active mercantile work knowing trade with their bean-counters who know Tac. Characters can begin with either of them (or both) but it says something about a character who knows both Trade and Tac.
Great article. Makes you think a little.
Thanks Ivo!
Lots of cool ideas to think about, great post Nate!
Thanks as always!
You're welcome.
Really like the idea of language as a graded skill, which I'm sure I've seen before somewhere.
Right now reading this book on the origins and growth of the Indo-European language family to which English belongs.
https://slate.com/culture/2025/05/english-language-origin-proto-indo-european-laura-spinney.html