tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post2109713609940306926..comments2024-03-28T04:29:32.814-04:00Comments on The Lands of Ara: Alignment Languages Part 2: What To Do NextCarter Soleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01286436801953647693noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post-78639001243904499092011-03-13T22:52:27.298-04:002011-03-13T22:52:27.298-04:00This looks a promising direction to go with, and I...This looks a promising direction to go with, and I think you're right to try to play-test it a bit before tinkering to much more with it.<br /><br />@Carl: I tend to think about common as a lingua franca like Creole, which is commonly held in the Caribbean (though there are French, British and other forms of Creole there) but are "real" languages with consistent grammar rules and are generative.Spawn of Endrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10431848914619887998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post-84272517511173571832011-03-13T19:11:34.797-04:002011-03-13T19:11:34.797-04:00@Jovial: Thank YOU for all the great work you did...@Jovial: Thank YOU for all the great work you did on alignment -- it was incredibly helpful. And while my group is pretty full right now, if you are not averse to Skype gaming, maybe we could find ourselves gaming and adventuring together one day. . . something to keep in mind.<br /><br />@Carl: Yes, your suggestions that evening were most helpful, as you can tell. Thanks! Along this line, I'd love to get a gander at your 4e campaign's language trees sometime, if they are written out somewhere.Carter Soleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01286436801953647693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post-13769074446443227292011-03-13T18:48:18.193-04:002011-03-13T18:48:18.193-04:00Good, I am glad you ran with this. It looks like ...Good, I am glad you ran with this. It looks like that is pretty much what we had hashed out at the table, and it looks like both an easily usable and explainable framework and a cool way to introduce story fragments from long ago.<br /><br />When I asked you if you had thought about the language trees of Ara, and proposed that the ancient language of the first organized government of the region would likely be the antecedent of the languages spoken by lawful civilizations in the present time and proposed Mizarian roots for neutral, I was drawing heavily on my 4e game.<br /><br />I have more or less ditched the standard D&D languages and came up with three language trees and assigned all the languages the PCs would encounter to different positions on those trees. This has made it very easy to give a real sense of history, as the PCs uncover pottery shards with a very early form of a language they have already been encountering, for instance. <br /><br />Fun stuff, and often ignored in RPGs - "common language" as a device is actually a pet peeve of mine. Trade lingoes and common jargons(famously Chinook wawa in our neck of the woods) did exist, but they were of specific and limited utility. They were not true languages.<br /><br />But modern day speakers of a romance language have a real chance of decoding meaning from other romance languages, because of the common heritage; the working model for alignment languages that I proposed at last session.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648499022366444265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post-87721688496349119862011-03-13T18:21:51.577-04:002011-03-13T18:21:51.577-04:00As an added point when you say, "What this te...As an added point when you say, "What this tells me is that the Neutral alignment language should be derived from a group and/or set of historical circumstances that has no direct investment in the ancient struggle between Law and Chaos" and then you go on and explain how the richness of the Lands of Ara campaign world allows you to do just that - I just wish I was playing with you guys/gals. <br /><br />And dragon languages are always cool!The Jovial Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00160018433070823408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8038823840472916624.post-49339588785557568392011-03-13T18:15:05.439-04:002011-03-13T18:15:05.439-04:00I'm glad my alignment post proved of use Carte...I'm glad my alignment post proved of use Carter. The key issues I wished to consider with alignment were:<br />1. A law / chaos war that dominates the religious and cultural campaign world<br />2. I was intrigued by the B/X cleric not getting spells until 2nd level - I wanted to create the feeling that this was a momentous event in the clerics life. <br />3. I wanted alignment to be an active choice, so other characters can choose an alignment only at 3rd level, and gain an advantage.<br />4. I didn't want alignment languages or the spell Know Alignment to prevent infiltration, betrayal and murder!<br /><br />I think what you have created for Ara is very cool and workable. Stuart's idea that one can learn another's alignment language fits with number 4 point, perfectly. <br /><br />Great stuff. Please let us know how the players take to it.The Jovial Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00160018433070823408noreply@blogger.com