How do they work?

Hi Endrek03!

They just left that "out of mechanics". People from FFG considered that it wasn't necessary for a cinematic or typical campaign so, feel free to add your own ideas

Personally, I like languages and I will introduce the possibility to purchase them bases on its difficulty. In my main campaign learning a langauge was one of the most important and necessary things. Here are the options:

- 5 XP Common/easy access language: Basic, Mon Calamary

-10 XP Uncommon/hard access language: (Hmm... not enough knowledge about SW XD) Maybe Lekku?

-15 XP Rare/lost language: Sith, Celestian or Rakkata.

Adjust XP cost as you wish to introduce this options to your games if you wish.

Hope I helped you a bit

Hi Endrek03!

They just left that "out of mechanics". People from FFG considered that it wasn't necessary for a cinematic or typical campaign so, feel free to add your own ideas

Personally, I like languages and I will introduce the possibility to purchase them bases on its difficulty. In my main campaign learning a langauge was one of the most important and necessary things. Here are the options:

- 5 XP Common/easy access language: Basic, Mon Calamary

-10 XP Uncommon/hard access language: (Hmm... not enough knowledge about SW XD) Maybe Lekku?

-15 XP Rare/lost language: Sith, Celestian or Rakkata.

Adjust XP cost as you wish to introduce this options to your games if you wish.

Hope I helped you a bit

Certainly. At the very least, you confirmed that I wasn't blind.

We just went ahead with the idea that if it makes sense, you have the language. The only issue that came up is that we have a droid in the group. Granted, he's an escaped Czerka Corporation Assassin Droid (The first of a new kind, his characters name is TEMPLATE), so I could just say that as a combat droid, he doesn't need other languages. Still, Czerka spares no expense.

We have an odd racial mix...

For Chakk, the wookiee, the players uses noises on his Iphone, then writes a note for the droid player, who reads it aloud as his translator. He speaks to me in second person as GM when he tells me what he's doing.

Chewbacca never has speech bubbles and we never know precisely what he's thinking, so this was one way to replicate that.

If it gets annoying, I'll have him speak in second person telling us the gist of what he's trying to say.

He's actually quite wordy and terribly serious, so it's fun watching the sexbot try to translate his high-minded concepts.

One of the other players wants to play a Gand, so god help us if that happens...

If I ever get to play my Space Weasel, all she's ever gonna say is 'Squee!'

We have an odd racial mix...

For Chakk, the wookiee, the players uses noises on his Iphone, then writes a note for the droid player, who reads it aloud as his translator. He speaks to me in second person as GM when he tells me what he's doing.

Chewbacca never has speech bubbles and we never know precisely what he's thinking, so this was one way to replicate that.

I actually like this approach, as unnecessary as it actually might be. It's fun.

A house rule: Language skill. Difficulty depends on how much the language is similar to the Basic. Boost die/setback die can be added for simplified/complicated idea that a character wants to tell/understand. A beginning character starts with languages as in the description plus one additional language for each point in Intelligence above 2.

A house rule: Language skill. Difficulty depends on how much the language is similar to the Basic. Boost die/setback die can be added for simplified/complicated idea that a character wants to tell/understand. A beginning character starts with languages as in the description plus one additional language for each point in Intelligence above 2.

I believe this is covered by Xenology already.

When a character first encounters a member of an unfamiliar race, a Xenology check may be made to identify the typical way to interact with that character socially.

Of course, this is phrased more like, "You know how to not piss them off," but you are still fundamentally trying to ascertain how to communicate effectively with them.

Also, I'm wondering if it might be easier to have language tiers, like presented by Josep, given that there are so many languages in Star Wars that it would both be a big XP sink to learn new ones, and there's a good chance that a lot of your individually picked languages might be useless.

Although I will say that picking individual languages might be preferable for some groups, especially if you have a Scholar in your group who wants to feel handy for being able to talk to more different species than the other players, or something.

A house rule: Language skill. Difficulty depends on how much the language is similar to the Basic. Boost die/setback die can be added for simplified/complicated idea that a character wants to tell/understand. A beginning character starts with languages as in the description plus one additional language for each point in Intelligence above 2.

Pretty good idea too!

Suit more with game mechanics than my own idea.

EDIT: Thanks Otzlowe! I supose that every kind of game have its better options.

Xenology, Language Skill or just buy languages.

I enjoy how there's no hard-coded restriction on language. I rather have my character know any language that makes sense for the character to know. My Human scout spent most of his childhood roaming the streets of Nar Shadaa where the smugglers were dealing either in Basic or Huttese. It would make sense for him to have known those languages. This has no mechanical bearing on the character so it's a bit superfluous to have to spend XP to know it. (Image how much XP 3PO had to invest to learn 6 million forms of communication. No wonder he never shuts up about it).

As a GM I love introducing an NPC that refuses to speak basic.

GM: "So you get the word out that you're looking for a pilot and a ship to get you off the planet. Soon enough you're approached by a 7 foot tall, Wookiee, covered in shaggy brown fur. He growls at you in a distinct manor, obvious using a complex language native to his species"

Player: "Do I understand his language?"

GM: "Well, I don't recall you mentioning anything about Wookiees in your background. I don't think it makes sense that you know their language"

Payer *Flips a lightside destiny point* "I must have forgot to mention that I served with the Wookiees during the Clone Wars, I've picked up the basic form of their language."

GM: "All right, As he talks he uses a few words too complex for you to understand, but it seems that he knows a pilot that can get you off this planet. He'll arrange a meeting with this pilot."

Of course in that example, Wookiees can't speak basic, not that they refuse to. But that's not the point I'm trying to convey.

Those destiny points scream to be used in this way. As long as it's not something unrealistic such as flipping a DP to have known the language of the Ewoks upon first encountering them. The only other time I'll not allow players to flip a DP to know a language is if the I'm using the language barrier as a plot device.

Yes, the languages can pile up (my players never keep track of that so they never remember what languages they would have picked up through destiny points), but I'm a big fan of the KotOR games, and many of the main characters knew way more languages than I would have thought realistically possible.

We have a Wookiee that uses Galactic Basic Sign (GBS) along with his native tongue. In our game GBS was developed for races that can't use spoken Basic.

It is something that I completely hand wave. I've told my players that they can understand each other perfectly. One of them is playing a Jawa and he came up with the idea to use the chopped off head of a protocol droid hanging from his belt as a character defining piece of equipment/quirk.

I also told them that I might use languages as a way to colour the world or as a plot device for NPCs but that language isn't something they need to worry about.

Seems a bit harsh, to me.

I'd hope for Know: Core to understand ubiquitous, civilised species; Know: Rim or Know: Xenology for obscure alien languages; and Know: Lore for dead languages. Secret languages (like the Bothan fur twitch(!)) would be limited to narative law.

It is something that I completely hand wave. I've told my players that they can understand each other perfectly. One of them is playing a Jawa and he came up with the idea to use the chopped off head of a protocol droid hanging from his belt as a character defining piece of equipment/quirk.

I also told them that I might use languages as a way to colour the world or as a plot device for NPCs but that language isn't something they need to worry about.

Sounds like that Lowbacca character, Chewie's nephew, that was a Jedi or something (never read any of those books). He had a droid on his belt that translated everything he said, I think.

Running languages like this;

Each character understands Basic (and speak except known exceptions such as Wookiees etc)

Each character understands the languages of all other party members (and speaks them if biologically able.)

On the odd occasion we met a language not spoken by party, ie Huttese, everyone rolls Xenology. If player get a success they note on character sheet they speak that language. I set the difficulty based on how likely they are to have picked that language up.

For me, it comes down to fun, then plot, then mechanics.

If it's fun for people to pass notes and mess around with not talking, that's cool. If it just gets in the way, and the whole point is to have fun, then I'd just let people talk.

If the language barrier is a plot point, like other's have mentioned, then I'd take it into account. Otherwise, it's probably not a big deal.

Lastly, if you did want to use mechanics, the destiny points and existing knowledge skills should work pretty well. New skills or buying languages can get expensive real fast.

I completely hand wave it. It's just not fun or cinematic in 99% of scenes. Translating an ancient Sith artifact or knowing the native Chiss language, those would probably not be things a normal player would know, but a translator droid might have an edge on. Some players choose not to speak/understand certain languages based on their stories, but none of these languages extend to the player party. I.E. the wookiee player doesn't understand Rodian, but that's mainly for flavor and because there's no Rodian in the party.

I'm fine with plot devices as mentioned, but otherwise there's nothing fun about playing out language barriers.

My rule of thumb is that almost every Sentient that travels space knows basic. if they have only 1 intellect, they often are going to know their own language, and SOME basic. Most merchants will know several languages, or at least able to understand them

Otherwise,case by case basis.

For things like wookies: Wookies outside of Kashyyyk are quite rare. They are notorious, but rare. Usually someone needs to have good reason why they would understand Shyriiwook.

Otherwise it is more about being dramatically appropriate.

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For things like wookies: Wookies outside of Kashyyyk are quite rare. They are notorious, but rare. Usually someone needs to have good reason why they would understand Shyriiwook.

This is something I need to remember as a GM. All my PCs can understand the Wookiee in my party, just for ease of play, but I keep forgetting that my wookiee is speaking another language. As a result, many of my NPCs know Shyriiwook.

well, Han knew Shyriiwook from being around Chewie long enough. if your party's been together awhile, it can work.

also, go back and watch the original cantina scene in New Hope. there are a ton of languages being spoken, and various mismatched groups of aliens understood each other. Like Obi understands Chewie (may have been a jedi thing, though), Han understands Chewie and Greedo, etc.

PC’s all understand each other in my game (and in the rulebook) they do have some difficulty with our R2 unit who speaks way to fast sometimes.

At times they run into NPC’s they don’t quite follow. Last week they met a group of Jawa’s whom they couldn’t understand at all. It was actually a lot of fun!