As an amateur linguist, it has always bothered me that there aren't more languages in the Flanaess. Cultures don't just adopt one or two languages across an entire continent. To that end, I have altered the linguistics of the Flanaess to allow for many more languages. Common still exists, but is a relative newcomer. While it is still a free language for PCs, not every NPC speaks Common. While this does cause some minor difficulty in play, especially at low levels, it does increase the utility of the spells comprehend languages and tongues. I give all PCs Common and one native language, plus one language for every point of Intelligence bonus. Many regions and races are multilingual, and I provide guides as to the typical languages spoken. Additionally, there are regional dialects of some languages. While generally comprehensible to speakers of the language, occasional dialectic differences can cause some confusion; an Intelligence check is required in these cases. The languages of the Flanaess fall into several broad language families, based largely on race - Baklunish, Flanae, Oeridian, Suloise, Giantish, Draconic, Elemental, Planar (Celestial, Infernal, Abyssal, etc.), Orcish, Goblin, Dwarvish, Elvish, Gnomish, Halfling, etc. Each of these broad families then breaks down into more specific languages, most based on nation, region, sub-race, or even religion (such as High Church Dwarven). Complex, I know, but I think it adds a level of depth to the various cultures of the Flanaess. _________________ Greyhawk is dead; long live Greyahwk! It is not heresy; I will not recant!
I do something similar, having made up many languages in the same vein as Velondi and Nyrondese. In my view their lack of inclusion in the LGG and other sources doesn't mean they don't exist, they just aren't mentioned in those sources.
I make a distinction between Standard Common, which is spoken throughout the Flanaess and is what most people mean when they say Common, and dialectal varieties of Common which are not always mutually intelligible. For instance IMC Common is the standard language for North Province and Ahlissa but they are dialects derived from Middle Common. PC's from Ahlissa speak Ahlissan Common while a PC's from North Province speak Northern Common. So the two PCs could not communicate with each other very effectively speaking their separate dialects of Common, but since they both know Standard Common (What is known in the game as just plain Common) communication is not a problem.
In Keoland most people speak one of the dialects of Keolandish on an everyday basis, but Standard Common is known to many and is used quite a bit since there is no standardized form of Keolandish.
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