Pathfinder 1E How can I make an ancient language fun?

[Lord Pendragon]

So I want to have an "ancient language" in my upcoming game that players can gradually learn. It's a dead language, so I am not going to allow them to choose it as a bonus language or drop a single skill point into it and gain total mastery of it.

Also, since nobody alive understands it, it will not be translatable through standard magical means. (My reasoning being that such spells "borrow" understanding of a given language from someone else, and since nobody else knows it, nobody to borrow from. This allows said spells to still function for all the other languages in the campaign world, just not this one.)

Originally, I'd thought that I would make it a skill. A player would get a single skill point in "Ancient Language" whenever they came across a new sample of the language, rather than by spending skill points. So eventually they would become proficient.

My problem with this solution is that I mean it to represent studying the language, but nothing would prevent *every PC* from claiming to be studying it, just so they could also roll. Our group tends to metagame skill rolls outrageously. i.e. when one person gets the idea to roll to spot something, suddenly everyone wants to roll perception for no reason whatsoever, etc.

So I need some way for a player to choose to focus on this language for my idea to work, or come up with some other way to handle the ancient language altogether.

Thoughts?

 

[pogre]

Perhaps too much effort, but here's a thought:

Scatter in lots of handouts with a couple of illustrations written in the ancient language. Make sure these handouts are not crucial to advancing the plot/game. The meaning of the handouts can be deduced by the PCs or become apparent as the adventure unfolds. So, you are actually training your players in the new language a bit at a time. Sidesteps all the skill related issues.

Not perfect for all groups, but my group loves props and I enjoy making handouts. I have not done an entire language, but this has proven effective in introducing ancient symbols to my campaign. My players actually came to dread things that had a seven-pointed star inscription.

 

[MortalPlague]

I'd definitely go for a 'carrot' approach rather than a 'stick' one. Reward the players who focus on the language, but don't punish the ones who ignore it. Being scholarly isn't for everyone.

The way I'd do it is to make all magic items tied to this language. Make all magical command words be of this particular tongue, and all of it is inscribed on the item. So someone who reads the language can identify an item and activate it without any trouble. Additionally, someone who reads the language might be able to de-activate an item wielded by someone else by using a 'counter word'... for instance, if the activation word is 'sear', the counter word might be 'chill'.

Perhaps the language is the divine language of a long-forgotten deity? When the language is spoken, the deity gains power. They may grant blessings to the PCs to encourage them to continue in their efforts.

 

[Herzog]

3.5 had some 'special' languages. Truename magic and dark speach come to mind. Maybe you can use that as a reference or starting point.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Use ancient runes. Or Wingdings.

 

[Storminator]

You could require an INT score (13+ seems standard), and then give out puzzles like tangrams to the player with the smart PC. Each tangram he solves at the table during game time gives a bonus to reading the language.

PS

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

You want a fun suggestion? Only the squirrels remember how to speak it.

This ancient, long dead language has not completely been forgotten, it simply has been remembered and passed down by one species of creature. This could be the Squirrels, the Rust Monsters, the Xorn, the Canaries, whatever ends up being entertaining. When encountering the written text of the language, pictorial symbols of this creature wearing elaborate headdress and depicted in positions of authority (think of Egyptian hieroglyphic images of cats looking like gods) that clues the party that they may want to consult that creature.

The party or individual character needs to find (in the case of a rare monster) and/or befriend (monster or animal) the creature using Wild Empathy/Diplomacy checks plus some roleplaying. Perhaps the player needs to earn the trust of the creature thru food, protection or fighting their ancient nemesis the raccoons.

After earning trust and developing a method of communication between Common and the creature's native tongue (which, if communication is only possible by magic, may be limited to a few minutes per day of communication limited by the spell's duration) the creature travels with the party and gradually teaches the ancient language. This creature refuses to teach them in one sitting, instead bargaining for the right to travel with them and see some of the world in exchange for a gradual teaching of the language. This could mean the player walks around with a squirrel on his shoulder, or you need to explain to the town guard why the Rust Monster is your scholarly tutor and you will take responsibility for it entering the village.

I had run a island hopping campaign where my players, upon being shipwrecked, became aware of elusive natives. A misunderstanding occurred when the natives, a race of anthropomorphic rabbits called the "Bunnions", tried to kill the party because the party had killed some of their children while casually hunting for food- the children go thru a stage of looking like ordinary bunnies before a transformation into adulthood. A strange series of events lead them into the active volcano where they met the Bunnion's "God", an Azer scientist of sorts who was responsible for the experiment of breeding the race for a future, undisclosed purpose.

The party ended up building new ships, gaining new friends and learning a language, "Bunnion" which was a cross between Ignan and bunny squeaks that for the rest of the campaign, they could speak to one another without anyone else in the world having a clue what they were saying.

 

[1of3]

The problem is that the only applicable currency (i.e. skill points) is only available on a level up. You could have them spend experience directly but that was bad in 3.5 to begin with. You could have them do spell research for gold pieces to make their Comprehend Language spells work.

I'd probably go with pogre's idea, but then I am a language nerd.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

How about this.

Each sample of the ancient language that they can learn from is a cryptoquote, like the puzzles they used to have in newspapers. Solving the puzzle will give a point in the skill only to the character of the first player to solve it.

That should mostly take care of the metagaming, and players who aren't into this type of thing can just rely on the ones who want to do it. You generally only need one person to translate anyway. Or the players can collaborate and give the point to whatever PC they deem would be most useful.

For fun, the language was used in a kind of shamanistic magic in ancient days, and the spirits filling the world still remember it. So for each two points learned, the PC gains a cantrip.

 

[gamerprinter]

For around $20 I purchased a custom font creator software (don't remember the name), though there might be free ones out there, but it gives you a blank template for you place any script, hand-drawn lettering, or graphical symbol then assign to an existing keyboard letter like "A". You do this for all the letters of the alphabet. Once complete you can use a word processor or DTP program and choose the custom font as your chosen font then type away. Granted though the letters are different, they represent all the normal letters, so that your final printed page is in English (or whatever you're preferred language is) except its all in some alien script.

I've used that application to create a Gnomic script for a fantasy map project once anyway.

The only other solution (I can think of) is joining one of those Conlang sites - communities dedicated to made-up languages. There are entire communities of mostly RPG gamers that are also into 'conlang'. I know that the development of Dothraki and Valerian in the Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) TV series used an expert Conlanger to create those languages for the show. I'm not really into conlang-ing myself, but that is certainly an alternative.