Linguistics is the mastery of language, including learning new languages and communicating with those who don’t speak your language. It can also be used to understand cryptic, archaic, or incomplete written information.
Learn Language
Each rank in Linguistics allows you to learn one additional language. You must have had some exposure to a language to learn it. You are able to read and write in any language you can speak.
Common Languages
- Aquan: The language of the merfolk and other oceanic races.
- Celestial: The language of the gods and higher planes.
- Common: The trade pidgin of humanoids that has developed into the most commonly used language across the known world.
- Dagr’rune: The language of the dwarves and stoneborn races.
- Draconic: The language of dragons and dragonkin.
- Druidic: The secret language of the druids.
- Goblin: The so-called language of goblins is crude and simplistic.
- Infernal: The language of the damned, fiends, and lower planes.
- Khaakaan: The ancient language of the giantish races.
- Orkan: The language of orcs and ogres.
- Ssaralish: The language of the lizardfolk and saurian races.
- Sylvan: The language of the elves and fey.
- Terran: The ancient language of the stoneborn, said to have been spoken by men with flesh of stone and precious metals.
- Underspeech: A trade pidgin commonly used in the deep places under the earth where Common is rarely spoken.
Communicate Across Language Barrier
Through the use of body language, pantomime, expression, and tone of voice, you are able to make yourself understood even if you do not speak the local language. Simple concepts, such as shouting “Help!” or making a threat with a weapon, can be conveyed almost automatically (DC 5). More complex concepts require two skill checks: One to convey the message and one to understand it.
The DC to understand you is 30 – your Linguistics check. Understanding someone using this ability is an Insight check. You make this check only once per conversation. It is possible to have a situation where only one speaker understands the other.
Decipher Script
You may use Linguistics to decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic form. The base DC is 20 for the simplest messages, 25 for standard texts, and 30 or higher for intricate, exotic, or very old writing.
If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing about one page long. If the check fails, make a DC 8 Wisdom check to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text.
Decipher a Written Spell
You can decipher a written spell (such as a scroll) without using read magic with a successful Linguistics check (DC 25 + spell level). If you can cast spells and the spell is on your spell list, you gain a +5 circumstance bonus on this check.
You may only attempt to decipher a particular scroll once per day. Deciphering a written spell requires 1 minute of concentration.