_Compiled by Archivist Meriel of the Alexandrian Guild of Lorekeepers, Year 874 A.R._
> “Words are the bones of magic — they outlive empires, outlast kings, and whisper through the planes long after the last bell tolls.”
---
## 🌍 The Core Tongues of the World
### At-a-glance Catalogue
|Language|Script|Family|Typical Speakers|Difficulty (1–10)|Where You Hear It|
|---|---|---|---|--:|---|
|**Common**|Common|Mortal (Trade)|Most civilised folk|1|Cities, ports, roads, guildhalls|
|**Dwarvish**|Dethek|Mortal (Stone)|Dwarves|5|Holds, mines, forges, old roads|
|**Elvish**|Espruar|Mortal (Fey-root)|Elves, half-elves|4|Courts, ruins, songs, ancient texts|
|**Giant**|Dwarvish (Dethek)|Mortal (Titanic)|Giants, goliaths|6|High passes, runestones, old cairns|
|**Gnomish**|Dwarvish (Dethek)|Mortal (Craft)|Gnomes|4|Workshops, diagrams, hidden burrows|
|**Goblin**|Dwarvish (Dethek, var.)|Mortal (Goblinoid)|Goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears|3|Warbands, caves, scavenger markets|
|**Halfling**|Common|Mortal (River-trade)|Halflings|2|Inns, caravans, family ledgers|
|**Orc**|Dwarvish (Dethek, var.)|Mortal (War-cant)|Orcs|4|War camps, scars, boast-songs|
|**Abyssal**|Infernal (broken)|Planar (Chaos)|Demons, cultists|9|Curses, profanities, blood-rites|
|**Celestial**|Celestial|Planar (Upper)|Angels, aasimar, scholars|6|Sanctums, hymns, holy seals|
|**Draconic**|Iokharic|Planar (Ancient)|Dragons, dragonborn, wizards|7|Arcane texts, oaths, old empires|
|**Deep Speech**|None (telepathic)|Far Realm (Aberrant)|Aberrations|10|The Underdark’s wrong places|
|**Infernal**|Infernal|Planar (Law)|Devils, warlocks, lawyers|8|Contracts, bindings, hell-forged writs|
|**Primordial**|Barazhad|Planar (Elemental)|Elementals, genasi|7|Temples of the elements, storm-sites|
|**Sylvan**|Espruar (var.)|Fey|Fey, dryads, satyrs|4|Fey crossings, glades, old rings|
|**Undercommon**|Elvish (simplified)|Mortal (Underworld)|Drow, duergar, traders|5|Underdark markets, tunnels, smugglers|
|**Druidic**|Secret (Sigils)|Secret|Druids|7|Cairns, trees, standing stones|
|**Thieves’ Cant**|Marks / Oral code|Secret|Rogues, smugglers|5|Alleys, docks, black markets|
---
## 🧠The Linguistic Family Web
```mermaid
graph TD
A[Mortal Tongues] --> B[Common]
A --> C[Elvish]
A --> D[Dwarvish]
A --> E[Gnomish]
A --> F[Halfling]
A --> G[Goblin]
A --> H[Orc]
A --> I[Undercommon]
A --> J[Giant]
```
```mermaid
graph TD
K[Planar Tongues] --> L[Draconic]
K --> M[Celestial]
K --> N[Infernal]
K --> O[Abyssal]
K --> P[Primordial]
K --> Q[Sylvan]
```
---
```mermaid
graph TD
R[Far Realm] --> S[Deep Speech]
T[Secret Codes] --> U[Thieves' Cant]
T --> V[Druidic]
```
## đź”® Comprehension, Translation, and Magic
Most translation magic “gets meaning”, not **culture**.
### What the spells actually do (useful at table)
- **Comprehend Languages**: you understand the **literal meaning** of spoken/written language, but you don’t automatically grasp:
- **legal loopholes** (Infernal),
- **poetic double-meaning** (Elvish/Sylvan),
- **ritual subtext** (Celestial),
- **coded social signals** (Thieves’ Cant),
- or the “pressure in the mind” of **Deep Speech** (you understand it… and still feel wrong).
- **Tongues**: lets you **speak** and be understood, but it won’t grant:
- correct **accent**, honorifics, taboo avoidance,
- knowledge of **proper names**, or
- the cultural power behind a phrase (e.g., a dwarven oath).
### A DM rule of thumb (simple and consistent)
- Translation magic gives **truth of meaning**.
- Culture, code, and consequences still belong to the world.
---
# đź“š Language Dossiers
Each entry has: **Voice**, **Script**, **Structure**, **Common usage**, **Example phrases**, and **DM hooks**.
---
## Common
**Voice:** practical, clipped in cities; long and lilting in rural dialects.
**Script:** Common (alphabet varies by region; standardised by trade).
**Structure:** simple grammar, many loanwords; accent carries social class.
**Used for:** commerce, law, guild records, tavern talk, signposts.
**Common phrases**
- “By salt and stone.” (an Alexandrian dock oath)
- “Fair coin for fair work.”
- “Mind the Watch.”
**DM hooks**
- Common changes fastest: slang dates a letter, a phrase reveals a city, a misspelling reveals a forger.
---
## Dwarvish (Dethek)
**Voice:** heavy consonants, deliberate cadence; sounds like chisels and hammers.
**Script:** **Dethek** (angular runes made to be carved).
**Structure:** oath-heavy; nouns stack like masonry (long compound words).
**Used for:** engineering notes, clan ledgers, oaths, epitaphs, forge-litanies.
**Cultural rules**
- To speak an oath is to place weight on your soul.
- “False boast” is a serious insult; “false oath” is unforgivable.
**Example phrases**
- “Stone remembers.” (oaths endure)
- “Pay the measure.” (pay what you owe, exactly)
- “Name your witness.” (formal challenge)
**DM hooks**
- A dwarven contract might be _perfectly_ clear… and still contain a trap in what it refuses to promise.
---
## Elvish (Espruar)
**Voice:** musical, breathy consonants, careful vowels; meaning hides in rhythm.
**Script:** **Espruar** (flowing, elegant; written like calligraphy).
**Structure:** layered meaning; metaphor is not decoration, it’s precision.
**Used for:** history, poetry, diplomacy, ancient inscriptions, family trees.
**Cultural rules**
- Names are _stories_, not labels.
- Direct speech can be seen as rude; they often “offer the path” rather than “give the order”.
**Example phrases**
- “The stars keep counsel.” (the past is watching)
- “May your steps fall true.” (blessing before travel)
- “Speak softly; the world listens.” (Fey-root superstition)
**DM hooks**
- Elvish inscriptions often read like poems; the _literal_ translation is accurate but incomplete unless you catch the metaphor.
---
## Sylvan (Espruar variant)
**Voice:** laughter and threat in the same sentence; quick tempo, playful cruelty.
**Script:** Espruar (older letterforms; “decorations” matter).
**Structure:** implication-heavy; the _tone_ changes the meaning.
**Used for:** bargains, riddles, true names of Fey places, invitations, curses that sound like compliments.
**Cultural rules**
- “Invitation” is power. “Permission” is law.
- Promises are binding even when made “as a joke”.
**Example phrases**
- “Come as you are, and be as you seem.” (a trap disguised as courtesy)
- “A gift for a gift.” (always, always)
**DM hooks**
- A Sylvan note can be both a love letter and a summoning circle, depending on how it’s read aloud.
---
## Halfling (Common script)
**Voice:** warm, quick, full of idioms; stories fold into everyday speech.
**Script:** Common.
**Structure:** simple grammar, dense idiom; family terms are elaborate.
**Used for:** trade routes, hospitality, genealogies, cooking notes, caravan codes.
**Example phrases**
- “A chair and a bowl.” (you are welcome)
- “Don’t count the road, count the friends.” (traveller wisdom)
**DM hooks**
- Halfling ledgers are honest—but can hide smuggling in plain sight using idioms outsiders dismiss as “folksy talk”.
---
## Giant (Dethek)
**Voice:** slow thunder; every sentence sounds like it should be carved into stone.
**Script:** Dethek (often monumental).
**Structure:** formal; lots of titles; insults are mythic, not personal.
**Used for:** runestones, old treaties, clan boasts, geographic naming.
**Example phrases**
- “Sky witnesses.” (we swear before the storm)
- “Hold the height.” (defend the pass)
- “Small, but unbroken.” (respectful acknowledgement of smaller folk)
**DM hooks**
- Giant runes are often visible from far away—messages meant to be read across valleys.
---
## Gnomish (Dethek, technical)
**Voice:** bright, precise; it “clicks” with lists and asides.
**Script:** Dethek (adapted with extra marks for measurements).
**Structure:** loves parentheticals, footnotes, and exact numbers.
**Used for:** schematics, formulae, lab journals, prank-poems with dangerous punchlines.
**Example phrases**
- “Measure twice, sing once.” (craft maxim)
- “If it works, write it down.” (gnome creed)
**DM hooks**
- A gnomish note can be a diary entry that’s secretly an instruction manual.
---
## Goblin (Dethek variant)
**Voice:** fast, sharp, practical; lots of nicknames and status words.
**Script:** Dethek variant (simplified; often scratched).
**Structure:** short clauses; meaning relies on context and hierarchy.
**Used for:** raid plans, warnings, territory marks, bargaining.
**Example phrases**
- “No light. No eyes.” (stay dark)
- “Food now, talk later.” (goblin diplomacy)
**DM hooks**
- Goblin writing on walls is usually **directional** (where to go, what to avoid), not decorative.
---
## Orc (Dethek variant)
**Voice:** rhythmic, chant-like; strong stress patterns; boasts are formal.
**Script:** Dethek variant (bold, often carved or burned).
**Structure:** titles matter; “who you are” is spoken before “what you want”.
**Used for:** war songs, lineage chants, scars-as-records, territorial law.
**Cultural rules**
- A boast is a **pledge** to be tested.
- To deny someone’s title is to invite blood.
**Example phrases**
- “Speak your strength.” (announce yourself)
- “Iron finds truth.” (trial by combat / ordeal)
**DM hooks**
- Orc phrases often sound like threats in Common, but in Orc they can be formal courtesy.
---
## Undercommon (simplified Elvish script)
**Voice:** quiet, economical; meant to carry in tunnels without echoing too far.
**Script:** simplified Elvish letterforms.
**Structure:** trade-focused; lots of words for routes, debts, and dangers.
**Used for:** Underdark markets, drow/duergar trade, smugglers, prisoners.
**Example phrases**
- “Coin first, names later.”
- “The tunnel remembers.” (someone’s watching / traps exist)
**DM hooks**
- Undercommon often includes hand signs mid-sentence to clarify meaning in darkness.
---
## Draconic (Iokharic)
**Voice:** commanding, measured; consonants like claws on stone.
**Script:** **Iokharic** (ancient, complex; “true forms” are hard to forge).
**Structure:** name-centric; ownership and hierarchy are baked into grammar.
**Used for:** arcane theory, wards, binding circles, old empire records, dragon oaths.
**Cultural rules**
- Names have weight. A “true name” is a treasure.
- To speak a dragon’s name aloud can be provocation.
**Example phrases**
- “Guard the name.” (protect identity, protect power)
- “By scale and fire.” (draconic oath)
**DM hooks**
- Draconic appears in spellbooks not because it’s “magic”, but because it is **precise** enough to survive copying without losing meaning.
---
## Celestial
**Voice:** resonant; sounds like choir tones layered under speech.
**Script:** Celestial (geometric elegance; often in circles and radiants).
**Structure:** formal; many words for light, duty, witness, mercy.
**Used for:** blessings, holy seals, scripture margins, angelic names, consecration rites.
**Cultural rules**
- “Witness” is sacred. To lie while invoking witness is spiritually dangerous.
**Example phrases**
- “Let truth stand.” (invocation)
- “Mercy is strength.” (doctrine)
- “By the Witnessed Light.” (oath)
**DM hooks**
- Celestial text can act like a **moral filter**: the same line reads colder to the cruel, warmer to the kind.
---
## Infernal
**Voice:** crisp and exact; every sentence sounds like it’s already in court.
**Script:** Infernal (sharp, legal glyphs).
**Structure:** definitions inside definitions; ambiguity is a weapon.
**Used for:** contracts, binding circles, devil bargains, infernal bureaucracy.
**Cultural rules**
- Nothing is “implied” unless it is defined.
- Courtesy words can be clauses.
**Example phrases**
- “Terms acknowledged.” (acceptance)
- “Consideration received.” (payment taken)
- “Default shall be collected.” (threat)
**DM hooks**
- When a devil says “I promise,” that’s theatre. When it says “I stipulate,” that’s the knife.
---
## Abyssal
**Voice:** harsh, jagged, laughing; cadence breaks unexpectedly.
**Script:** usually Infernal letterforms corrupted, or scrawled pictographs.
**Structure:** emotional intensity carries meaning; contradiction is normal.
**Used for:** curses, cult graffiti, demon names, battle howls.
**Cultural rules**
- Abyssal is not designed to be stable. It mutates.
**Example phrases**
- “Break the chain.” (destroy law/order)
- “Bleed the sky.” (blasphemous invocation)
**DM hooks**
- Abyssal writing often looks like it’s _moving_ if stared at too long—great for tone, without needing mechanical effects.
---
## Primordial (Barazhad) + Dialects
**Voice:** raw, elemental; each dialect “feels” like its element.
**Script:** **Barazhad** (bold, rune-like, built for carving and etching).
**Structure:** direct; many verbs for movement and change.
**Used for:** elemental pacts, storm-call rites, genasi heritage, ancient ruins.
### The Four Common Dialects
- **Aquan** (water): flowing, whispery; lots of words for currents, depth, pressure.
- **Auran** (air): light consonants; sentence order shifts like wind.
- **Ignan** (fire): rapid, sharp; emphasis changes meaning.
- **Terran** (earth): slow, heavy; repetition strengthens statements.
**Example phrases**
- Primordial: “As the world turns.” (inevitable change)
- Aquan: “Depth keeps secrets.”
- Ignan: “Feed the flame.”
- Terran: “Hold. Endure. Remain.”
**DM hooks**
- A Primordial inscription might be readable, but only **safely spoken** in the matching environment (Ignan in rain sputters; Auran in a sealed tomb chokes).
---
## Deep Speech
**Voice:** mostly not spoken—**impressed** into the mind; when voiced, it sounds like wrong geometry.
**Script:** none safely standardised; diagrams are dangerous approximations.
**Structure:** concepts stack beyond mortal grammar.
**Used for:** aberrant commands, eldritch formulae, thoughts that aren’t yours.
**Example “phrases” (translated effects, not words)**
- “You are seen from inside.” (paranoia-inducing concept)
- “Open the angle.” (a door that isn’t a door)
**DM hooks**
- Even with translation magic, Deep Speech can leave a “taste”: copper, static, vertigo. Let players feel the alienness without forcing mechanics.
---
## Thieves’ Cant
**Voice:** ordinary speech with hidden meaning; half in gesture, half in timing.
**Script:** chalk marks, scratches, knot-codes, coin placement, “accidental” graffiti.
**Structure:** layered: the surface sentence is harmless; the real sentence rides underneath.
**Used for:** warnings, meet points, prices, “safe house” signs, identifying allies.
**Sample marks (table-friendly)**
- **Circle + dot**: “Someone useful here”
- **Two slashes**: “Watch nearby”
- **Broken triangle**: “Bad deal / traitor”
**DM hooks**
- Cant is best played as: “You understand there’s a second meaning.” Then hand the rogue a short secret note.
---
## Druidic
**Voice:** rarely spoken aloud; more often sung, breathed, or tapped into wood/stone.
**Script:** knots, spirals, leaf-veins, carved crescents—**not** a public alphabet.
**Structure:** location-based meaning: the same sign on oak vs stone means different things.
**Used for:** trail signs, warding stones, circles, warnings, sacred histories.
**Example meanings**
- Spiral on bark: “Safe rest”
- Three cuts on stone: “Hunter nearby”
- Knot-sigil: “Circle boundary — do not cross”
**DM hooks**
- Druidic is perfect for “soft gating”: the druid can find safe routes, hidden groves, and avoid natural hazards.
---
# 🪶 Scholar’s Notes (Cross-language Truths)
- **Scripts travel easier than languages.** That’s why Dethek shows up in Dwarvish, Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Gnomish.
- **Planar tongues do not “evolve” like mortal ones.** They are tied to cosmic principles (Law, Chaos, Element, Radiance).
- **Undercommon is a marketplace language.** It’s less “drow language” and more “the tongue you need to survive down there”.
- **Draconic is the spine of arcane notation** because it is **stable**, not because it is “more magical”.
---
# ✨ Optional Appendices for Your Setting
These are great—just keep them as **local variants** so players don’t confuse them with the core list.
## Appendix A — Kalteo Cant (Local Underworld Code)
**Family:** Mortal / Secret. **Script:** Hybrid (Common + Dethek marks).
Used by **Syndicate agents**, smugglers, and fixers. Mechanically: treat as **Thieves’ Cant** plus local signs/phrases unique to Kalteo.
## Appendix B — Amethyst Draconic (Scholarly Variant)
A draconic _register_ used by scholars of Visidera: same base as Draconic, but with additional **arcane diacritics** for psionic/astral concepts. Mechanically: counts as **Draconic**, but grants advantage on a DM-chosen subset of lore checks involving **gem dragons / psionics**.
---