Sturn said:

Which road is that?

ROFL!!!

'Merukin!!!!

They took our JOBS! DE TUK OUR JUBS!!!! DERPADERRRR!!!!!

Ok, here's my thoughts on the matter. Most characters in Star Wars seem to be multilingual, and only can't speak a language as a plot device (Uncle Owen can't speak Bocce, the heroes can't speak Ewok), so you'll want that starting language count to be fairly high (5+ languages) so it doesn't come up *every* time they meet a new NPC. (Where's the fun in that?)

So, pick a basic limit (e.g.: 3 - 6), add the character's Intellect and/or Knowledge: Xenology, and establish an XP cost (e.g.: 5 or 10) to add a new language to that list. Past that, have the characters make Knowledge: Xenology checks when they run into a language that they don't speak.

• Net Success: You can understand this guy, and he can understand you.
• Net Failure: You think you've made yourself understood, but you wouldn't count on it.
• Net Advantages: The conversation went well.
• Net Disadvantages: The other guy probably thinks you're clueless, or rude, or something like that.
• Triumph: You can speak whale! (You're fluent.)
• Despair: You don't have a stinking clue. Maybe someone else should try telling him to put down that blaster.

I'd rather see a "Knowledge (Languages)" than wrap it in xenology. I know several polylingual types who are completely clueless about cultures… and a couple cultural anthropologists who are essentially monolingual.

And, given the lack of an unskilled penalty, it's perfectly reasonable to use a single skill with task to know a given language.

Ewok should be ◊◊◊◊◊ while Wookie probably ◊◊, and Basic is no roll unless you can't produce it.

aramis said:

Agreed, which was why my suggestions were either to use Education, or just straight Intellect.

I suppose if you really are concerned with tracking what languages a character can speak, a separate Knowledge skill would work, but there's then the question of which careers and specializations get it as a career skill. Or should it just be a "universal skill" that anyone can purchase as though it were a career skill?

The rule I like is, Int x 2 = number of languages the character is fluent in beyond Common (which everyone gets for free). The PCs can fill in what those languages actually are as the game progresses, but each time that decision is made it has to be recorded on the sheet.

Donovan Morningfire said:

I could see Education working, but I went with Xenology as a gut feeling after reading the descriptions. In particular, the first bullet-point and final paragraph speak directly toward communicating with a species and/or culture.

Of course, the game does explicitly 'leave space' for new skills to be added, so creating a Knowledge (Languages) skill is a perfectly reasonable route if it fits your game. (Just be aware of how much extra XP it will cost for your players to buy into a skill that doesn't exist in *any* class or specialization's lists.)

I went into this in detail in the other forum…but basically use Lore: Xenos to determine if a character speaks a newly encountered language…then just record it for future referance.

C3PO is back in business since he would rarely fail this but everyone would know some here and there…

Works like a charm