Darklords and languages

[TwiceBorn]

Hi folks,

Just wondering... do the DPs grant darklords the ability to understand and communicate in any language?

On the one hand, I think preserving linguistic differences across the setting is important both for reinforcing the cultural flavour of the different realms and for creating that sense of isolation when PCs go to new domains.

On the other hand, whenever they might have that rare encounter with a Darklord, it would be extremely annoying for them to need to communicate via an interpreter... especially if in the heat of battle! A comprehend languages spell wouldn't be that effective, either, as the caster would need to physically touch the DL to understand what s/he is saying. And an encounter where no words are exhanged with the DL would seem kind of... dull.

I've thought of PCs discovering or being rewarded with amulets that allow them to communicate in other languages... but I'm trying to keep magical trinkets at a minimum.

Is there a reference in published sources concerning DLs and languages? If not, what have you done in your campaign to address this issue?

[Tobias Blackburn]

I can't think of any Darklord that was granted the ability to speak in any language without the use of magic. If you like, it's possible that the darklord just happens to have the correct spell or language proficiency to speak with them.

But be careful. If the PC's can't even speak the domain's language, chances are they won't stick around long enough to get involved in the Darklord.

[TwiceBorn]

I can't think of any Darklord that was granted the ability to speak in any language without the use of magic. If you like, it's possible that the darklord just happens to have the correct spell or language proficiency to speak with them.

But be careful. If the PC's can't even speak the domain's language, chances are they won't stick around long enough to get involved in the Darklord.

Thanks for your input, Tobias.

I'm currently DMing a group of "outlander" PCs, who will eventually arrive in Souragne. There will be a handful of people in Souragne with whom they share a common language (the group will come from Oerth, so they will deal with some people who speak Darkonese, and maybe a few others who were brought to Souragne from Oerth long ago via the Mists). Thus, they will have access to translators in the beginning, and might even have the chance to learn enough of the language to get by... it depends on how long they'll remain in the domain.

There might be a chance that the PCs will encounter Mr. Misroi relatively early in the campaign (before they have much opportunity to develop their skills in Souragnien), without knowing that he is a DL... and it's unlikely that any translator will want to venture into the swamp with the party. So...

Anyway, I must admit that this is merely a hypothetical question at this point in time. The PCs are not yet in Ravenloft, I'm not sure that they actually will encounter Misroi, nor how long they will have been in the domain before they possibly encounter him... I just like to think ahead, especially when I see this potentially becoming a recurring problem in other domains they might visit (the number of DL encounters will be minimal, but even 1-2 encounters have the potential to make things problematic).

I guess maybe I just need to ensure that the party stays in one place long enough to acquire basic proficiency in the local tongue, "off screen"...

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

If it's Misroi you're talking about, he might very well speak Darkonese. Souragne is one of the older domains, so he's had plenty of time to pick up other domains' languages from Mist-led Core natives. Heck, spying on and/or messing with Mist-travelers was probably one of his few forms of entertainment, isolated as his domain has been; he wouldn't let a little thing like a language-barrier inhibit that.

[cure]

Mistroi is also supposed to have some (undefined as for as I know) power of gazing through the Mists to see into other lands (the reference being that he did not like what he saw). Perhaps this 'sight' is more than visual and would afford the possibility and/or motive for learning Core languages.

[The Giamarga]

Darkonese should be very similar to Oeridian or Oerth's Common tongue.

OTOH Azalin could communicate normally with Strahd when he arrived in RL, so maybe the mists grant outlanders understanding of a language if it is needed.

There are some outlander NPCs in Souragne as well. From NotWD the Dwarven innkeeper comes to mind, an ex adventurer, and the Priest who being of the church of Ezra now should hail from somewhere in the Core.#

BTW where's the Souragne thread?

[TwiceBorn]

Darkonese should be very similar to Oeridian or Oerth's Common tongue.

Yep, that's why I'll have some NPCs from Darkon who have lived in Souragne for several years on hand shortly after the PCs arrive

OTOH Azalin could communicate normally with Strahd when he arrived in RL, so maybe the mists grant outlanders understanding of a language if it is needed.

As could Lord Soth when he wandered into Barovia and then Gundarak in "Knight of the Black Rose," and Larissa Snowmane when she came to Souragne from Darkon in "Dance of the Dead" etc... it's one of the common flaws in the novels... or, as you suggested Giamarga, a reason for justifying that indeed, the Mists do grant some outlanders the ability to instantly understand the language that darklords and other domain residents speak (and vice versa)???

There are some outlander NPCs in Souragne as well. From NotWD the Dwarven innkeeper comes to mind, an ex adventurer, and the Priest who being of the church of Ezra now should hail from somewhere in the Core.#

I'm going to make the Dwarven shopkeeper (Deruno) and the town's eccentric personality (Mordu) outlanders who came from Oerth decades ago. I've expanded on my reasons for Mordu being a native from Oerth in a dread possibility submitted for the Souragne Gaz, but I don't know if that part will be retained by the editors...

[The Giamarga]

.. if not post it here to the boards, lest it gets lost. Who's Mordu again in NotWD?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

OTOH Azalin could communicate normally with Strahd when he arrived in RL, so maybe the mists grant outlanders understanding of a language if it is needed.

As could Lord Soth when he wandered into Barovia and then Gundarak in "Knight of the Black Rose," and Larissa Snowmane when she came to Souragne from Darkon in "Dance of the Dead" etc... it's one of the common flaws in the novels... or, as you suggested Giamarga, a reason for justifying that indeed, the Mists do grant some outlanders the ability to instantly understand the language that darklords and other domain residents speak (and vice versa)???

Given the precedent of memory-drained foreigners in Darkon (who gain free fluency in Darkonese), there's no question that granting such ability to speak a mutual language -- as well as blotting out newcomers' noticing they're doing so -- is well within the capabilities of the Mists/Dark Powers. Presumably, the DPs brought Soth into Ravenloft by way of Barovia, in the first place, as a way of messing with both him and Strahd; granting him a "freebie" Speak Language (Balok) was a convenience, to ensure they could properly insult one another. Ditto and then some, for Azalin.

The same would apply to all those outlander adventurers who got killed in the original I6 adventure, never noticing that they could mysteriously speak the local language (though, granted, they had more serious things to worry about ). As for Larissa Snowmane specifically, she'd actually been in Souragne before, although she'd been too young to remember it.

[TwiceBorn]

.. if not post it here to the boards, lest it gets lost. Who's Mordu again in NotWD?

Mordu is the "town eccentric" (NotWD, p. 19). "Mordu" in French means "bitten"... which I took as a nickname meaning "bitten by the madness bug."

He owns a collection of books (quite unusual in Souragne, especially for a commoner), has one book in particular on the history of Anton Misroi which he is unable to read (this suggested to me that Mordu was not a native of Souragne), and another on "The Cult of the Swamp God."

Given the 2nd ed. level range of NotWD (levels 1-3) and of the 1st ed. Greyhawk module "Against the Cult of the Reptile God" (which also takes place in a swamp and is for levels 1-3), I thought the title of Mordu's book was a thinly disguised reference to the Oerthian reptile god (which was in fact an ordinary spirit naga masquerading as a god). This assumption in turn made me think that Mordu could originally have come from Oerth... and I liked the idea that my players were going to have to rely on some eccentric madman as their guide and translator in Marais d'Tarascon, since he would be one of the few in the village who would understand the Common tongue of Oerth/Darkonese (as indicated previously in this thread, the party will begin their campaign in Greyhawk).