Sign language in Dnd

[wadledo]

I just saw this:
Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Draconic, Drow Sign Language, Gnome, Goblin. This trait replaces the high elf’s automatic and bonus languages.

It's kind of weird to see the evil elves are basically the only race that I've found to have a sign language.
Were we all wrong about them?
Or do they us it to communicate with prisoners they've turned mute and dumb?
And for my real question: Is that the only sign language in Dnd?

[Indon]

I imagine it's for communication in combat, since you can see sign language clearly with Darkvision.

[DraPrime]

As far as I know it the only official sign language. There's probably different versions of sign language made up by DMs for their campaigns.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

The Underdark is a dangerous place to live and hunt, so it can be very beneficial to be able to communicate silently.

[nagora]

I just saw this:

It's kind of weird to see the evil elves are basically the only race that I've found to have a sign language.
Were we all wrong about them?
Or do they us it to communicate with prisoners they've turned mute and dumb?
And for my real question: Is that the only sign language in Dnd?

I can happily imagine Thieves rogues learning sign language as part of their Thieves Rogues' Cant. Sadly, that's been taken out of the game I see. Oh, well. Feel free to add it back in; thieves really did sometimes have sign languages for "work-related" topics.

[Zim]

I remember reading an old FR novel where a patrol of Drow used sign language to communicate with each other when preparing for a raid. So, the supposition that it's a combat language seems to be correct.

[tainsouvra]

Drow have a silent language because, with the amount of backstabbing, plotting, and ambushing that goes on in a society like that, it's almost a given you'd be talking out of both sides of your mouth--or your mouth and your hand--and say very different things.

[kamikasei]

Drow have a silent language because, with the amount of backstabbing, plotting, and ambushing that goes on in a society like that, it's almost a given you'd be talking out of both sides of your mouth--or your mouth and your hand--and say very different things.

Yup. Think of it like the Atreidies Sign Language from Dune - there are scenes in those books where people carry on two simultaneous conversations, one secretly in sign language, the other publicly for the benefit of eavesdroppers.

[hewhosaysfish]

Given the large quantities of hack'n'slash in the hobby it makes sense that the only form of sign language officially described is a set of military(ish) hand signals. Anything beyond that would have to be homebrewed.

One campaign I played in, the PCs were part of a mercenary company and the DM told us we could learn "Military Sign Language" as a language. Only a couple did, though, making it largely useless for coordinating our actions. Then we got a Mindbender and communicated telepathically.

[Fridesgerte]

As far as I know Drow is the only official sign language in D&D. That doesn't mean you can't work something out with your DM if you need one. For example, mine wouldn't let me find a teacher for my PC (she's mute for the next year or so) but did let me order a book of sign language from some Illumians, that should be ready soon. Meanwhile, our party already had a system of combat signs that we all know. We based ours on military signals.

Having some common set of signs or signals is useful in general. We use ours when we've cast silence spells, for example.

[Sir Jason]

Wait a minute, isn't there a set of guidelines for millitary sign language in Heroes of Battle? I don't have my book with me, but I think there's a skill about it in there somewhere...

[Raolin_Fenix]

It is indeed a tactical thing. R.A. Salvatore talks (in his Dark Elf trilogy) about it: sound carries very, very well in the Underdark, and a lot of predators (such as the Drow, for example) can hunt solely by that sound. So it behooves them to develop a way to communicate without making noise.

[Rachel Lorelei]

I can happily imagine Thieves rogues learning sign language as part of their Thieves Rogues' Cant. Sadly, that's been taken out of the game I see. Oh, well. Feel free to add it back in; thieves really did sometimes have sign languages for "work-related" topics.

While I sometimes have my characters take "thieves' cant" as a language, I occasionally wonder about it--after all, it's not a language, it's a dialect composed of slang and words/phrases with altered meanings. It's like an intentionally difficult to understand regional dialect; really thick accents can be almost completely impenetrable even without altered meanings, but we don't take extra languages for those--the Speak Language skill just isn't that granular.

Knowing "thieves' cant" is something to talk to your DM about--maybe they'll have you take it as a language, and maybe they'll just give it to you for one or more of the languages you speak (since, after all, it's a dialect of another language--taking Thieves' Cant as a language would mean everyone with it from all over the word can understand each other, even though they might have zero actual languages--such as the one the Cant is based on--in common).

[KillianHawkeye]

In 3rd Edition, the old thieves' cant was replaced by a specific use of the Innuendo skill, which was subsumed by Bluff and Sense Motive in 3.5. Check out the section on "Delivering a Secret Message" in the Bluff skill's description. You could probably justify using the same rules to cover simple sign language, and maybe reduce the DC as well.

[Reinboom]

A creature whose brain has been harvested by a brain collector cannot be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected while the brain is in the creature, because the collector preserves and draws upon the soul and basic personality of the creature for as long as it retains the brain. Neh-thalggus’ own language is a silent sign language “spoken” with their writhing head-tentacles. They can also communicate telepathically with any creature that has a language within 100 feet.

This would be a more intriguing one to try and learn - y'know, for all your tentacled heroes out there.

[Aris Katsaris]

In his notes, JRR Tolkien wrote that both the Elves and the Dwarves had developed sign-languages, but for different reasons:

Dwarves developed it for reasons of secrecy.

Elves developed it for communication at a distance -- since elven eye-sight was very keen, you could have e.g. scouts at different hilltops passing messages to each other via sign-language, from distances where shouting would be impractical.

[nagora]

Knowing "thieves' cant" is something to talk to your DM about--maybe they'll have you take it as a language, and maybe they'll just give it to you for one or more of the languages you speak (since, after all, it's a dialect of another language--taking Thieves' Cant as a language would mean everyone with it from all over the word can understand each other, even though they might have zero actual languages--such as the one the Cant is based on--in common).

Interestingly, I have heard of thieves in our world using massively reduced versions of Spanish or other foreign languages (obviously, Spanish thieves probably used something other than Spanish) without any ability to speak "real" Spanish that even a tourest could use to get by with.

[PlatinumJester]

Thieves Cant:

A - Shields Eyes
B - Blusters
C - Coughs
D - Furrows Brow
E - Examines Ground
F - Frowns
G - Glances Up
H - Looks Thoughtful
I - Looks Bored
J - Rubs Chin
K - Scratches Ear
L - Looks Arounds
M - "Mmm Hmm"
N - Nods
O - Grins
P - Smiles
Q - Shivers
R - Rolls Eyes
S - Scratches Nose
T - Turns a Bit
U - Glances Idly
V - Runs Hand Through Hair
W - Waves
X - Stretches
Y - Yawns
Z - shrugs

[Sornjss Lichdom]

It's easy and common place to make a simple sign language for in battle, but the thing about the drow sign is that it's so detailed, you can hold a complete conversation, convaying emotion into your hands and movements. Also it showed be noted that it is so sublt that an onlooker doesn't even realise that theres a converstation happening, thats the best part.