Optional Rules: Language Barriers
Texto
A play group that wishes to mechanically represent language barriers may adopt the guidelines presented here.
A character who is fluent in a language and wishes to communicate at length with a person who is not fluent in that language may make a TN 3 Performance check using the approach that makes the most sense for the method the player describes. Succeeding on the check means the character makes their general meaning known, although specific details may be lost in translation.
Additionally, when a character who is fluent in a language attempts any action against someone who is not fluent in that language, if being understood is an essential component, then the check’s TN increases by 2. This gives a TN to actions that normally do not have one.
Rokugani Dialects
Rokugani has many dialects throughout the Empire. Often an unknown samurai’s clan can be identified simply by that samurai’s lexicon. A single province may have a dozen or more dialects within it. Additionally, certain dialects are associated with wealthy nobility, while others are associated with farmers and other rural folk. Travelers usually take care not to absorb another dialect, lest they return home speaking differently and become regarded as outsiders. Because of their shared linguistic roots, Rokugani speakers can generally communicate regardless of where they are from—although varying lexicons and colloquialisms do cause misunderstandings from time to time.
Courtly/High Rokugani
An ancient and poetic version of the Rokugani language, Courtly Rokugani uses a different alphabet, different conjugations, and more archaic vocabulary than standard Rokugani dialects. As a more complex and grandiose expression of everyday Rokugani, the courtly language is reserved primarily for ceremony, court, and most historical records. It is also prevalent in poetry and somber genres of theater. Speaking anything other than Courtly Rokugani while attending an important court is generally considered a breach of etiquette.
Rokugani Sign Languages
Rokugani sign languages are completely distinct from spoken Rokugani, each having its own syntax and vocabulary. Of Rokugan’s two most prominent sign languages, one is used primarily in the north, the other in the south. Additionally, many clans have developed their own sign languages for soundless communication, and shinobi groups use a flurry of gestures to coordinate while in the field.
Family Ciphers
Most Great Clan families have a unique cipher—written, spoken, or signed—that is carefully guarded from generation to generation. These ciphers are designed to be unrecognizable to those outside the family and, in some cases, may predate the formation of the Empire. In this way, samurai families send communications without risk of interception. Most have stood the test of time, requiring specific instruction to understand.
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Children of the Five Winds · CHAPTER 3: THE GIFTS OF THE WORLD › Language › Optional Rules: Language Barriers · p. 123
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A play group that wishes to mechanically represent language barriers may adopt the guidelines presented here.
A character who is fluent in a language and wishes to communicate at length with a person who is not fluent in that language may make a TN 3 Performance check using the approach that makes the most sense for the method the player describes. Succeeding on the check means the character makes their general meaning known, although specific details may be lost in translation.
Additionally, when a character who is fluent in a language attempts any action against someone who is not fluent in that language, if being understood is an essential component, then the check’s TN increases by 2. This gives a TN to actions that normally do not have one.
Rokugani Dialects
Rokugani has many dialects throughout the Empire. Often an unknown samurai’s clan can be identified simply by that samurai’s lexicon. A single province may have a dozen or more dialects within it. Additionally, certain dialects are associated with wealthy nobility, while others are associated with farmers and other rural folk. Travelers usually take care not to absorb another dialect, lest they return home speaking differently and become regarded as outsiders. Because of their shared linguistic roots, Rokugani speakers can generally communicate regardless of where they are from—although varying lexicons and colloquialisms do cause misunderstandings from time to time.
Courtly/High Rokugani
An ancient and poetic version of the Rokugani language, Courtly Rokugani uses a different alphabet, different conjugations, and more archaic vocabulary than standard Rokugani dialects. As a more complex and grandiose expression of everyday Rokugani, the courtly language is reserved primarily for ceremony, court, and most historical records. It is also prevalent in poetry and somber genres of theater. Speaking anything other than Courtly Rokugani while attending an important court is generally considered a breach of etiquette.
Rokugani Sign Languages
Rokugani sign languages are completely distinct from spoken Rokugani, each having its own syntax and vocabulary. Of Rokugan’s two most prominent sign languages, one is used primarily in the north, the other in the south. Additionally, many clans have developed their own sign languages for soundless communication, and shinobi groups use a flurry of gestures to coordinate while in the field.
Family Ciphers
Most Great Clan families have a unique cipher—written, spoken, or signed—that is carefully guarded from generation to generation. These ciphers are designed to be unrecognizable to those outside the family and, in some cases, may predate the formation of the Empire. In this way, samurai families send communications without risk of interception. Most have stood the test of time, requiring specific instruction to understand.