Arcane Language

[ZenBear]

Is there a canonical language that spell casters speak when performing the verbal components of spells? Specifically I'm wondering about Forgotten Realms, but I'm also curious about other settings.

In some novels I see them speak Elven, Abyssal or Primordial, other times it's intentionally ambiguous.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I've never heard of one, but if there is, it's probably Primordial.

[Inevitability]

Seconding primordial.

I could see Infernal, Abyssal, or Celestial being used when dealing with extraplanar forces, too.

[Cyan Wisp]

I always thought it was Draconic.

[Chaosvii7]

I always thought it was Draconic.

That's what I'd gathered from hearsay. While I doubt there's a consensus on it, this is the unanimous response I got when asking this question as I started out.

I've had all of my spellcasters know Draconic ever since.

[Tanarii]

Nope. In fact, according to the PHB, the words themselves don't matter at all.

Verbal (V) Most spells require the chanting of mystic words. The words themselves aren’t the source of the spell’s power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.

Note that this can easily be read to mean that they aren't actual words in ANY language. Or that spells can be cast using whatever language you like, so long as you get the right combinations of sounds, pitch and resonance included in them. Although the combination of sounds part would limit the specific words to some unspecified degree obviously. Or the 'particular combination of sounds' might vary based on what language you're using as the base language, if there is one. Also this doesn't indicate that every spellcaster needs to use the same mystic words for the same spell, they might each use their own mystic words for a given spell. Or even different mystic words depending on the specifics of a given casting of a given spell (target, range, etc).

[JumboWheat01]

There is a slight note in the PHB for 3.5...


Bonus Languages: A wizard may substitute Draconic for one of the bonus languages available to the character because of her race (see Chapter 2: Races). Many ancient tomes of magic are written in Draconic, and apprentice wizards often learn it as part of their studies.

From that I can infer that a lot of the magical language is based on draconic, since dragons are the natural magic users (even giving rise to sorcerers down the line.) It may not be standard draconic, maybe a more ancient form, but draconic sounds as good a guess as any to me.

[Tanarii]

There is a slight note in the PHB for 3.5...



From that I can infer that a lot of the magical language is based on draconic, since dragons are the natural magic users (even giving rise to sorcerers down the line.) It may not be standard draconic, maybe a more ancient form, but draconic sounds as good a guess as any to me.
That 3.5 PHB quote implies that written magic can be written in different languages, but that Dragonic is a common one. Although it's possible that Draconic was a default for magic in 3.5. Can't remember.

[Shining Wrath]

I think the races most closely associated with the study of magic are the dragons, the elves, and the gnomes. However, that doesn't mean that all spells are in one of those languages.

I'd rule it that the wizard casts the spell in the language he learned it in; if you find a scroll of Meteor Swarm in Draconic, and you speak Draconic, you aren't going to take the time (and risk) of translating it into Common or whatever. You're copying the Draconic right into your spellbook.

If a wizard wants to write something down so that other wizards can understand it - a scroll meant for sale, say - he's likely to consider his intended audience and write in a language he knows that is commonly spoken. That's not likely to be Primordial.

[JumboWheat01]

That 3.5 PHB quote implies that written magic can be written in different languages, but that Dragonic is a common one. Although it's possible that Draconic was a default for magic in 3.5. Can't remember.

Hence infer rather than prove. Who knows, the arcane language may be Celestial, since Mystra or other gods of magic who manage the Weave are the ones in charge of it, thus it requires their language to manipulate properly. Or maybe it's Infernal or Abysmal, subverting the power of the gods with the power of fiends or demons, allowing one to tap into the Weave and get the power from it that way.

It may even be nothing more than a personal brand of gibberish devised by the original wizards and altered as time went on and other wizards learned their own particular way of somatically and vocally calling forth magic from the Weave.

I just like how the simplistic idea that if Draconic is a particularly good language to grab since many scrolls and the like are written in it, and that dragons themselves are powerful magic users, that the language itself is Draconic.

[Ninja_Prawn]

If you want a more left-field choice, you might consider Dwarvish. I can't remember where, but I'm sure I read somewhere that Dwarvish is the oldest of the common languages (at least in FR) - and it uses the same script as Primordial. I got the impression that Dwarvish is supposed to be the 'purest' language; the one that's closest to the essential, unspeakable truth. All the languages that came after it are woolly abstractions that get further and further away from the truth of things.

[ZenBear]

Verbal (V) Most spells require the chanting of mystic words. The words themselves aren’t the source of the spell’s power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion..

What that sounds like to me is that in one language you might be saying "Meteor Swarm" but when translated to another language the only words that fit end up translating to "Pickled toddler" or something else ridiculous.

Or perhaps all you need to do is shout nonsensically with the right sounds, pitch and resonance, which might sound awful from some or like operah from others.

[Tanarii]

What that sounds like to me is that in one language you might be saying "Meteor Swarm" but when translated to another language the only words that fit end up translating to "Pickled toddler" or something else ridiculous.I'd be okay with shouting PICKLED TODDLERS each time I unleashed fiery meteor death on my foes. :smallcool:

[JackPhoenix]

If it's a language at all and not just a bunch of nonsense, my picks would be draconic, primordial, celestial and infernal (or if you want the first language magic was used in, aboleth). While demons are naturally magically gifted, I can't imagine them creating a codified magical language...they are too chaotic, they propably stole the magic secrets from devils.

In Eberron, I think it would be a lineage of draconic (first mortal users of magic, also, the Progenitor Wyrms) > giant (uplifted and taught magic by dragons) > elven (learned from giants), with possibly gnomish (big emphasis on written word, magically gifted race), abyssal/infernal (Overlords and later fiends...Eberron doesn't have Abyss or Nine Hells, why are those even separate languages anyway?) as a secondary line, with everything else being used less by it's respective speakers (mostly planar languages, but old Sarlonan, dwarven and daelkyr may have been influential too. Other races weren't much for arcane magic)

[DracoKnight]

I believe that there's somewhere in the PHB, or the DMG, it is mentioned that Draconic is the arcane language.

[ZenBear]

I believe that there's somewhere in the PHB, or the DMG, it is mentioned that Draconic is the arcane language.

Of course you would say that, Dracoknight :smallwink:

[M Placeholder]

In Baldurs Gate II - Shadows of Amn, the language used was Latin. Of course, the reason was probably the developers wanted words to mean something instead of the gibberish from the first game, and the game was mostly set in an analogue of 15th century Spain/Portugal.

Abjuration -"Manus, Potentis, Paro" = "A hand, powerful, I prepare"
Transmutation - "Praeses, Alia, Fero" = "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"
Conjuration - "Facio, Voco, Ferre" = "This I do, I call, to bring you forth"
Divination - "Scio, Didici, Pecto" = "I know, for I have studied, with my mind"
Enchantment - "Cupio, Virtus, Licet" = "I want, excellence, allowed to me"
Evocation - "Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio" = "Uncertain, beautiful things, I command"
Illusion - "Veritas, Credo, Oculos" = "The truth, I believe, with my eyes"
Necromancy - "Vita, Mortis, Careo" = "Life, and death, I am without"

As for Toril, other languages for Arcane might be Imaskari (the Imaskar Empire), Ancient Egyptian (the forerunner of the Mulan language used by the ruling class in Thay), Netherese (Ancient Netheril) and Sarrukhar (the language of the Sarrukh, one of the five original progenitor races of Toril).

[rollingForInit]

I've always played that the spells are in some older form of whatever language the spellcaster speaks. If it's an Elf, the spells are in elvish. If it's a dragon sorcerer, the spells are in draconic. If it's a human, they're in some obscure arcane language. Just whatever feels appropriate for the character.

I could easily see druid spells being in fey, and cleric spells in celestial.

[hymer]

I could easily see druid spells being in fey

How about Druidic?

[Ninja_Prawn]

I could easily see druid spells being in fey

I believe it's spelled 'Sylvan'... :smalltongue:

[Arkhios]

In Baldurs Gate II - Shadows of Amn, the language used was Latin. Of course, the reason was probably the developers wanted words to mean something instead of the gibberish from the first game, and the game was mostly set in an analogue of 15th century Spain/Portugal.

Abjuration -"Manus, Potentis, Paro" = "A hand, powerful, I prepare"
Transmutation - "Praeses, Alia, Fero" = "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"
Conjuration - "Facio, Voco, Ferre" = "This I do, I call, to bring you forth"
Divination - "Scio, Didici, Pecto" = "I know, for I have studied, with my mind"
Enchantment - "Cupio, Virtus, Licet" = "I want, excellence, allowed to me"
Evocation - "Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio" = "Uncertain, beautiful things, I command"
Illusion - "Veritas, Credo, Oculos" = "The truth, I believe, with my eyes"
Necromancy - "Vita, Mortis, Careo" = "Life, and death, I am without"

As for Toril, other languages for Arcane might be Imaskari (the Imaskar Empire), Ancient Egyptian (the forerunner of the Mulan language used by the ruling class in Thay), Netherese (Ancient Netheril) and Sarrukhar (the language of the Sarrukh, one of the five original progenitor races of Toril).

Nice! I had always wondered whether it was latin and what they actually meant! I'll have to save this up somewhere, for curiosity's sake only.

For the OP, I had always (from the 3.5) thought that Draconic was the arcane language. In a way it made a lot of sense, as the dragons used to be innately magical creatures, and incredibly ancient ones, too. It's easy to imagine that the most ancient dragons might've taken form of the first mortal races and taught them the use of arcane magic in the first place, and thus the use of Draconic as the written form. However, come to 5th edition, I noticed as well that magic didn't have its own language, but instead it's about tonations.
This actually makes some sense, too. As now you could more easily disguise spellcasting into your speech, and it would require a more learned person to notice the casting of a spell. I'm fairly sure that in fantasy worlds it's intended that magical phrases aren't something that everyone recognises until it's too late, so to speak.

Come to think of it, the character I'm currently playing (oath of the ancients paladin) might actually use a dialect which is a form of language somewhere between druidic and sylvan. The old language of his people, more recognisable as sylvan rather than druidic, as he can't speak or understand druidic (because, well, it's a "secret" language taught only to druids and he ain't one!)

[mrumsey]

I believe it's spelled 'Sylvan'... :smalltongue:

I thought it was 'Druish'. :smallcool:

[Joe the Rat]

Officially, it can be whatever, or nothing. It's just making the cosmic sounds. Somewhere between "Aum" and "Fus Ro Dah"

But for what language magic is written in: Something unintelligible. Wizards are a paranoid lot, and tend to write their spells in code. This is part of why you can't just use another wizard's spellbook: You have to translate their cryptography and weird notation system into something you can use.

Scrolls are apparently spelled out phonetically or something.

My home game: A lot of magic tomes are written in High Imperial, the Ersatz Latin for my setting. Nobody really speaks it, but scholars use it a lot. Transcription is necessary as Wizards have lousy penmanship. Verbal spell components are typically Primordial, as this is the assembler language of the universe. Being fluent in either isn't required for spellcasters, but it helps with research (in the former) or recognizing spells being cast (in the latter).


I thought it was 'Druish'. :smallcool:
That's funny, it doesn't sound Druish.

[Fwiffo86]

Is there a canonical language that spell casters speak when performing the verbal components of spells? Specifically I'm wondering about Forgotten Realms, but I'm also curious about other settings.

In some novels I see them speak Elven, Abyssal or Primordial, other times it's intentionally ambiguous.

I would think that magic is a function of precise movements, language and will. While the language spoken is dependent on the tutelage. Elven mages cast in elven as an example. The language is nothing more than a sharpener for the will needed to thread magic together into a specified action.

This of course, is carryover from old school, where you were required to use Read Magic on any spell your character did not specifically pen themselves.

My vote is No. There is no universal "magic" language.

Side Note:
Once saw a dragon's spell book in one of our games in which it had spells from 1-3 and that was it. But then if you enlarged the book to be the correct size for an adult dragon, spells of 4-7 were written AS the spells of 1-3. Basically... each letter/symbol used for say a level 1 spell, was a spell itself when enlarged. Pretty cool idea I thought.

[Hudsonian]

Nope. In fact, according to the PHB, the words themselves don't matter at all.
*snip*
Note that this can easily be read to mean that they aren't actual words in ANY language. Or that spells can be cast using whatever language you like, so long as you get the right combinations of sounds, pitch and resonance included in them.
*snip*

In a lesser known book I read, the BBEG's sidekick learned how to phrase his conversations such that the sounds were incorporated into his normal sentence. So while his was monologue-ing at the high council of Necromantic Studies (I know, it's a really cool book), he walked over to a troublemaker and disintegrated the surprised Necromancer in passing... It was REALLY cool.

The book is called Birth of Legends by Shaun Thornhill

Starts a little slow, but once the stories start tying together you can't decide which one is your favorite so you just can't put it down.

[Majin]

It doesn't seem to be case in D&D settings, but I like the Dresden Files' justification for magical language: there is no magical language. Wizards associate certain words with certain spells. If they shouted 'fire' when casting fireball, they might accidentally cast the spell in the middle of a conversation, so they use words from foreign languages. One might use latin and another ancient egyptian.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Is there a canonical language that spell casters speak when performing the verbal components of spells? Specifically I'm wondering about Forgotten Realms, but I'm also curious about other settings.

In some novels I see them speak Elven, Abyssal or Primordial, other times it's intentionally ambiguous.

Ask the 3e forums if they know of anything in D&D about this. The 3e forums on this website is typically really good about knowing random stuff like this.

[DizzyWood]

In the homebrew setting I am working on Sorcerers were the first Arcane magic users. Smart people around them started to notice that they made similar gestures and sounds to cast similar spells. After observing Sorcerers for a while and recording these sounds and gestures then some trial and error we got the first wizards. While wizards have been able to create many unique spells that sorcerers can not cast they are the source of mortal magic in an academic sense. This hints at a true magic language that might be, for lack of a better term, the "code" the universe is written in.
Wizards tend to keep company with sorcerer at some point to attempt to gain a more personal understanding of this language.

I feel like this is a bad summary and i am not explaining it well. But my point is in FR and 5e I feel like the language can be what ever you want.

[Trodon]

Dragonlance has it's own language for magic, as in that world the words themselves have part of the power. You can find a fair ammount of it here (http://dragonlancenexus.com/lexicon/index.php?title=Magius_Language), it's what I tend to use with my wizards. Or I just make stuff up because I'm lazy. :smalltongue:

[Vogonjeltz]

Is there a canonical language that spell casters speak when performing the verbal components of spells? Specifically I'm wondering about Forgotten Realms, but I'm also curious about other settings.

In some novels I see them speak Elven, Abyssal or Primordial, other times it's intentionally ambiguous.

No, canonically (Per the PHB description on the verbal components of spells), it's not the words being said, it's their pitch, tone, etc...

It's how you say something, not what you say. That's why it requires training and you can't just learn to do it like learning a language. Otherwise people would be casting constantly just by speaking. And that would get awkward real fast.

I can just imagine it now: "Honey can you get me some milk?" *spouse turns into a newt*


In Baldurs Gate II - Shadows of Amn, the language used was Latin. Of course, the reason was probably the developers wanted words to mean something instead of the gibberish from the first game, and the game was mostly set in an analogue of 15th century Spain/Portugal.

Abjuration -"Manus, Potentis, Paro" = "A hand, powerful, I prepare"
Transmutation - "Praeses, Alia, Fero" = "Protecting, another, I bring this forth"
Conjuration - "Facio, Voco, Ferre" = "This I do, I call, to bring you forth"
Divination - "Scio, Didici, Pecto" = "I know, for I have studied, with my mind"
Enchantment - "Cupio, Virtus, Licet" = "I want, excellence, allowed to me"
Evocation - "Incertus, Pulcher, Imperio" = "Uncertain, beautiful things, I command"
Illusion - "Veritas, Credo, Oculos" = "The truth, I believe, with my eyes"
Necromancy - "Vita, Mortis, Careo" = "Life, and death, I am without"

As for Toril, other languages for Arcane might be Imaskari (the Imaskar Empire), Ancient Egyptian (the forerunner of the Mulan language used by the ruling class in Thay), Netherese (Ancient Netheril) and Sarrukhar (the language of the Sarrukh, one of the five original progenitor races of Toril).

I could have sworn that BG1 and BG2 had the exact same casting vocalization (same as in the Icewind Dale series actually)

Either way, thanks for the translation, I'm totally cribbing this for my next Spellcaster :)

[Nerdynick]

Nope. In fact, according to the PHB, the words themselves don't matter at all.

Verbal (V) Most spells require the chanting of mystic words. The words themselves aren’t the source of the spell’s power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.

Note that this can easily be read to mean that they aren't actual words in ANY language. Or that spells can be cast using whatever language you like, so long as you get the right combinations of sounds, pitch and resonance included in them. Although the combination of sounds part would limit the specific words to some unspecified degree obviously. Or the 'particular combination of sounds' might vary based on what language you're using as the base language, if there is one. Also this doesn't indicate that every spellcaster needs to use the same mystic words for the same spell, they might each use their own mystic words for a given spell. Or even different mystic words depending on the specifics of a given casting of a given spell (target, range, etc).

I can actually see masters teaching their apprentices dead languages in a largely erroneous manner. They teach them the words of the language as a mnemonic device, but the way they teach them to pronounce the words is only correct from an arcane point of view and native speakers would barely recognize the language (especially if they also mucked with the grammar).

An aside; settings with magical languages are stepping into territory dangerously close to truenaming, which makes it confusing if both magical practices coexist. Also, people focus a lot on the language of magic, which sort of devalues the other spell components.

[WarrentheHero]

I've never really seen the words to be terribly important to the casting. To elaborate, I see them as sort of a focusing tool for the caster, not the magic. Like if you say "Fireball," you're forming an extremely clear image in your own head of what you're accomplishing, and magic, being manipulated largely by your willpower alone, can be more easily directed when you have such a clear image in your head.

For me, the verbal component is about knowing exactly what your spell is doing. Therefore, whenever I DM, instead of my spellcasters making "Arcane utterances," they speak in their normal languages and can even make quips instead of doing the 'actual' verbal component. For example, shouting "I don't think so!" while casting Counterspells would be totally valid, because in that moment you have clarity of thought.

In that same way, Silent Spell MM modifies the magic around you to be more easily directed, and therefore doesn't require spoken words.

[ZenBear]

I've never really seen the words to be terribly important to the casting. To elaborate, I see them as sort of a focusing tool for the caster, not the magic. Like if you say "Fireball," you're forming an extremely clear image in your own head of what you're accomplishing, and magic, being manipulated largely by your willpower alone, can be more easily directed when you have such a clear image in your head.

For me, the verbal component is about knowing exactly what your spell is doing. Therefore, whenever I DM, instead of my spellcasters making "Arcane utterances," they speak in their normal languages and can even make quips instead of doing the 'actual' verbal component. For example, shouting "I don't think so!" while casting Counterspells would be totally valid, because in that moment you have clarity of thought.

In that same way, Silent Spell MM modifies the magic around you to be more easily directed, and therefore doesn't require spoken words.

You realize you are now obligated to come up with a funny and/or clever quip for every spell in the game, correct? I shall expect it posted by Monday morning. :smallwink:

[kraftcheese]

You realize you are now obligated to come up with a funny and/or clever quip for every spell in the game, correct? I shall expect it posted by Monday morning. :smallwink:

"Ice to meet you!" is always a classic for a Chill Touch handshake.

[JumboWheat01]

You realize you are now obligated to come up with a funny and/or clever quip for every spell in the game, correct? I shall expect it posted by Monday morning. :smallwink:


"Ice to meet you!" is always a classic for a Chill Touch handshake.

Do your spells get more powerful with better puns? Will they fail if the enemy groans and facepalms?

[JackPhoenix]

Do your spells get more powerful with better puns? Will they fail if the enemy groans and facepalms?

Isn't that how Vicious Mockery works? Except the enemy groans and facepalms when he takes the damage

[Arkhios]

Do your spells get more powerful with better puns? Will they fail if the enemy groans and facepalms?

Maybe the quality of puns correlates with the spell DC :P