NPC Doesn't Speak Your Language, What Do You Do?

[Gale]

This has come up a lot of in my games recently where the party encounters an NPC whom we need to talk to but can't. I've always operated under the advice that most NPCs speak Common and if they don't they are probably an enemy or are otherwise unimportant, but this really hasn't been the case lately.

I'm currently playing a Lore Bard and I elected not to takes Tongues because I figured Comprehend Languages would be good enough. I honestly just couldn't see myself sacrificing one of my known spells for it or ever using a spell slot on it, but I'm really kicking myself now. It's nice being able to understand people but being totally unable to negotiate with them or communicate important ideas is a real struggle, especially when you're supposed to be "the face" of the group. Usually things devolve into a game of charades, aided by spells like Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation, but even with their help the language barrier is still a big issue.

I'm planning on replacing one of my spells known with Tongues once I level up again, but until then I'm stuck without a solution. Does anyone have any clever ideas to make speaking with people who don't share a common language easier? It's a fun problem to work through once or twice but it's starting to get annoying the more times it comes up. I feel like a bit of a dunce never having a good answer for it.

[KorvinStarmast]

NPC Doesn't Speak Your Language, What Do You Do? Not that hard. We resolved this in a ToA campaign using a level 1 spell and a cantrip.

1. Comprehend languages.
2. Minor Illusion.

The one who knows (2) makes pictures/slide show and the one who cast (1) listens to response.

We did it and it worked very well.

[PhoenixPhyre]

This has come up a lot of in my games recently where the party encounters an NPC whom we need to talk to but can't. I've always operated under the advice that most NPCs speak Common and if they don't they are probably an enemy or are otherwise unimportant, but this really hasn't been the case lately.

I'm currently playing a Lore Bard and I elected not to takes Tongues because I figured Comprehend Languages would be good enough. I honestly just couldn't see myself sacrificing one of my known spells for it or ever using a spell slot on it, but I'm really kicking myself now. It's nice being able to understand people but being totally unable to negotiate with them or communicate important ideas is a real struggle, especially when you're supposed to be "the face" of the group. Usually things devolve into a game of charades, aided by spells like Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation, but even with their help the language barrier is still a big issue.

I'm planning on replacing one of my spells known with Tongues once I level up again, but until then I'm stuck without a solution. Does anyone have any clever ideas to make speaking with people who don't share a common language easier? It's a fun problem to work through once or twice but it's starting to get annoying the more times it comes up. I feel like a bit of a dunce never having a good answer for it.

Nonverbal communication (ie gestures) is explicitly a straight INT check.

[Tanarii]

Hire a translator?

[returnToThePast]

Minor Illusion combined with Comprehend Languages is probably your best bet if you are encountering novel languages frequently. You could try making images of a 5' by 5' painting in the style of a comic book to convey more complex actions, though abstract concepts would still be difficult.

If you're encountering a bunch of people speaking the same language that no one in the party knows, it would be worthwhile to try and find an interpreter or someone willing to teach you their language. If not directly, you could bargain for some samples of their writing and gradually learn to speak simple sentences by reverse engineering with Comprehend Languages. For languages which likely share a common root language such as Elven and Sylvan, there may be words which are sufficiently similar to be comprehensible without translation.

[Zhorn]

Sending is my personal favourite; you only need the target to have at least 1 INT to understand the meaning of your message.
They don't need to share a language with you. Heck, they don't even have to have a known language at all, just the minimal INT score and the spell does the rest.

[JackPhoenix]

One level of GOOlock allows you to telepathically talk to anyone who knows at least one language, though they can't talk back (propably). Still, even one-sided communication is a great step up, because you can set up some kind of sign language without guessing what the other person means.

[SociopathFriend]

I'm planning on replacing one of my spells known with Tongues once I level up again, but until then I'm stuck without a solution. Does anyone have any clever ideas to make speaking with people who don't share a common language easier? It's a fun problem to work through once or twice but it's starting to get annoying the more times it comes up. I feel like a bit of a dunce never having a good answer for it.


Remember that not speaking the language doesn't mean you cannot learn certain words.
Start with general words you can use often, like names, and work your way to making limited expressions.

[J.C.]

Anthropologist background is helpful here.

[Gale]

Sending is my personal favourite; you only need the target to have at least 1 INT to understand the meaning of your message.
They don't need to share a language with you. Heck, they don't even have to have a known language at all, just the minimal INT score and the spell does the rest.

I never knew sending worked that way. That's really neat, albeit not super useful if I need to have an extended conversation. Tongues still feels better, but I'll keep that in mind though.



Anthropologist background is helpful here.

Wow, I wasn't aware of the anthropologist background. I don't think I make use of background features nearly enough and this one actually seems really useful. I'm going to try and keep it in mind next time I make a character.

[Democratus]

Anthropologist background is helpful here.

Doesn't anthropologist literally mean "human study"? :smallsmile:

[Luccan]

Doesn't anthropologist literally mean "human study"? :smallsmile:

That's what we get for living on a planet with only one form of culture forming life. There isn't a word for studying humans and also all other things about as smart that the average English speaker would understand.

[Reynaert]

I'm currently playing a Lore Bard and I elected not to takes Tongues because I figured Comprehend Languages would be good enough. I honestly just couldn't see myself sacrificing one of my known spells for it or ever using a spell slot on it, but I'm really kicking myself now. It's nice being able to understand people but being totally unable to negotiate with them or communicate important ideas is a real struggle, especially when you're supposed to be "the face" of the group. Usually things devolve into a game of charades, aided by spells like Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation, but even with their help the language barrier is still a big issue.

I'm positive your DM was very happy when he realised you had not elected to take Tongues, because now he can get some actual roleplay out of NPC's that don't share your language, instead of just pushing the 'solve' button.

I even guess as soon as you learn the tongues spell, the opportunities for using it will dwindle, because there is no narrative benefit anymore to throw strange languages at the party. At best, it will be handwaved away during the bit where it's still relevant, because "I assume you'll just cast tongues again with this next npc".

If all these NPC's share the same language it would probably be better narratively, and also be quite logical, to have your character start learning that language, so after a few dozen encounters you should be able to speak it enough to communicate on a basic level.

[Gale]

I'm positive your DM was very happy when he realised you had not elected to take Tongues, because now he can get some actual roleplay out of NPC's that don't share your language, instead of just pushing the 'solve' button.

I even guess as soon as you learn the tongues spell, the opportunities for using it will dwindle, because there is no narrative benefit anymore to throw strange languages at the party. At best, it will be handwaved away during the bit where it's still relevant, because "I assume you'll just cast tongues again with this next npc".

If all these NPC's share the same language it would probably be better narratively, and also be quite logical, to have your character start learning that language, so after a few dozen encounters you should be able to speak it enough to communicate on a basic level.

I'm conflicted on it personally. Often people say restrictions make people more creative, but I think it's more accurate to say that it forces them to make the best of what they have; which in turn can teach them the true value of things they were previously overlooking. In essence, it can encourage the cultivation of specific, and often atypical talents. But ultimately the less options you have available to you the less creative you can be. If my only drawing utensil is a pencil then all I can create is pencil drawings. But if you give me access to Photoshop then I can potentially create any visual imagery I want.

In this case, being unable to talk to NPCs forces me to reevaluate other methods of communication I hadn't previously been using, such as Minor Illusion or even simple body language and gestures. But ultimately I'm still missing out on the whole world of verbal communication, which I feel has so much depth and subtlety that can't easily be replaced. To me, good roleplay is seeing how characters interact with each other. I love seeing how different personalities clash or mingle, but I feel these interactions are muffled or simply don't happen at all when characters can't talk to one another. I personally feel as if I'm roleplaying far less because my character can't quickly and effectively express themselves. I have to think about everything I want to say, translate that into a form of charade, then have it interpreted by a stranger. It's similar to a game of telephone in that all my communications are distorted.

There is also a distinct power balance in conversations, because in truth I can fully understand everything the NPCs say due to Comprehend Languages but they can't understand any of my words. About three times now in our campaign have we encountered a group of people we really needed to negotiate with but couldn't. In these cases we were outnumbered and outmatched; and they had a significant advantage in our conversation because they were the only ones who could truly speak. I guess I might say it's was similar to a dog being scolded by their owner, or being a part of a debate but never being given time on the mic. I wouldn't say these challenges were inherently bad by any means. But they do become somewhat frustrating to deal with the more I've encountered them.

Ultimately, while I think language barriers can allow for a nice needed break from the typical avenues of talking to and negotiating with NPCs, I feel that too much of it is a bad thing. It doesn't allow for more roleplay in my opinion, but rather it just takes things in a different, more restrictive direction. Being unable to speak to characters is a problem, but it's never the only problem that needs to be solved. Generally speaking there is always a conversation that needs to be had, ideas that need to be communicated, negotiations that need to be settled. There is so much depth and roleplay potential there, but it often can't happen at all if characters simply can't talk to one another. In my experience, being unable speak and be understood has either seemed to prevent roleplay entirely or lead it down predictably avenues, such as with having NPCs dominate discourse. Hence, I don't think Tongues is a solve button at all. It's simply re-enabling roleplay options and restoring power balance to conversations.

[Greywander]

I even guess as soon as you learn the tongues spell, the opportunities for using it will dwindle, because there is no narrative benefit anymore to throw strange languages at the party. At best, it will be handwaved away during the bit where it's still relevant, because "I assume you'll just cast tongues again with this next npc".
Actually, the good DM move might be to throw more people at the party that don't share a language with them. (a) It makes the player feel good about having picked up that particular spell, and (b) it uses up a precious spell slot, which can be used to help wear the party down if they're in a dangerous situation/location and can't reliably get a rest whenever they please.

I know it's common, but it's disheartening to see DMs stop throwing challenges at the party as soon as the party gets a tool to trivialize that challenge. Yes, you don't want to bore them with trivial challenges, but getting the chance to trivialize what was clearly a difficult challenge can feel good and validate your choices as a player. The DM can even play off this with e.g. a rival adventuring party that's racing them to the treasure, and they get stuck on certain challenges that you can trivialize, while trivializing challenges you get stuck on. Another variation on this might be to have a creature you're chasing take a moment to create an obstacle for the party, only for the party to trivialize that obstacle, much to the chagrin of that creature.

[Izodonia]

Nonverbal communication (ie gestures) is explicitly a straight INT check.




I'd give the option of using CHA (Performance) to communicate nonverbally, and WIS (Insight) to understand them.

[ezekielraiden]

Circumlocution is a key skill for any communicator, it's just more complicated when you can't rely on words. Minor illusion is definitely a super useful tool for creating specific images, but IMO it shouldn't be that hard to communicate core ideas even without it. Humans did so for ages IRL.

The key thing is to break down your communications into the simplest possible units of ideas and find gestures, pictograms, diagrams, or sounds that non-verbally communicate that. Making faces, hand-signs, charades, all that sort of stuff is usually quite effective.

And if you're needing to do Proper Negotiation, well, of course you'd want a translator or tongues or a common language. Proper Negotiation means carefully arguing sometimes-subtle points.

Honestly, I don't really quite get why comprehend languages isn't adequate to the task here. Even having only one-way communication makes life ENORMOUSLY easier, because now you have instant feedback on whether your non-verbal message has been understood. Yes, getting across really fine points will be very difficult if you can't speak to them, but you should be able to conclude most ordinary dealing (trade, parley, basic news) purely through understanding what they have to say. If it really is that vital that people understand you, you might even want to consider sinking a feat into it to pick up Linguist. Doubly so if most of the people you encounter speak the same language. Perhaps try to persuade your DM to let you get +1 Cha instead of +1 Int (unless the Int would actually be useful to you, I suppose), reflecting your study of language "as it is lived" rather than a stuffy, academic approach.

[Hopeless]

Has anyone asked if they can use Knowledge of the Ages or was that Blessing of Knowledge to allow the Knowledge domain Cleric the ability to access a skill they're not proficient in the ability to speak and understand a language they aren't proficient in to communicate with this NPC?

[ezekielraiden]

Has anyone asked if they can use Knowledge of the Ages or was that Blessing of Knowledge to allow the Knowledge domain Cleric the ability to access a skill they're not proficient in the ability to speak and understand a language they aren't proficient in to communicate with this NPC?

That would definitely be a houserule. I could see justification for it, but I'd need the player to sell me on it. Knowledge strikes me as more about knowing facts than about necessarily being able to communicate them.

[greenstone]

What do you do? You decide what your character does in the situation (otherwise known as "roleplaying" :-).

Use gestures and drawings?
Use an interpreter?
Go away and come back better prepared (with a magic or mundane way of understanding the language).
Fail the encounter (for whatever "fail" means for the specific situation).

These encounters are great. I like situations that reward players for preparation and thinking ahead.

[Frogreaver]

The obvious solution is to murderhobo anything that doesn't sound like you. DM will realize really soon that it needs to be able to talk to you or you just going to kill it. Problem solved! ;)

[rel]

construct a phrasebook:
come up with a list of common words and phrases, e.g.
Yes
No
I mean no harm
I don't know your language but if you give me 10 minutes I will be able to understand it perfectly
etc.
Then write down each word / phrase in each language you don't know along with a common translation and a pronunciation guide.

When you meet someone who can't speak common you pull out the book and communicate by pointing to the words you want to say in the book and letting the NPC read. Then letting the NPC do the same for you.

[Kurt Kurageous]

As a DM, I would not have given an incommunicado NPC mission critical information for this very reason. If they had such, they would only be one of several ways, one of which was inevitable AND obvious, to get the information.

The murderhobo flow chart and murderhobo suggestion above are both byproducts of this decision to put critical information in a hard to reach place.

How many DMs have watched horrified as PCs bypass areas where they need to go to find "the next step?"

[Sigreid]

I've been in this situation in real life. If you're not talking technical things, you can communicate just fine with what amounts to charades. I'd do it as a straight int check or might allow a wisdom check to get broad ideas across.

A couple of weeks of this and I'd start allowing Xanathar style roles to learn a language.

[LordCdrMilitant]

This has come up a lot of in my games recently where the party encounters an NPC whom we need to talk to but can't. I've always operated under the advice that most NPCs speak Common and if they don't they are probably an enemy or are otherwise unimportant, but this really hasn't been the case lately.

I'm currently playing a Lore Bard and I elected not to takes Tongues because I figured Comprehend Languages would be good enough. I honestly just couldn't see myself sacrificing one of my known spells for it or ever using a spell slot on it, but I'm really kicking myself now. It's nice being able to understand people but being totally unable to negotiate with them or communicate important ideas is a real struggle, especially when you're supposed to be "the face" of the group. Usually things devolve into a game of charades, aided by spells like Minor Illusion and Prestidigitation, but even with their help the language barrier is still a big issue.

I'm planning on replacing one of my spells known with Tongues once I level up again, but until then I'm stuck without a solution. Does anyone have any clever ideas to make speaking with people who don't share a common language easier? It's a fun problem to work through once or twice but it's starting to get annoying the more times it comes up. I feel like a bit of a dunce never having a good answer for it.

Given that I have a propensity for taking ostensibly useless languages like Auran or something instead of something that might be useful like Elvish, I also always make a point to select Comprehend Language and Tongues when I can, or to have them in wands or magic items. Right now, I actually have permanent tongues on my sorceress.

That said, as GM, I often use linguistics as a way to get people who monopolize the game to stop and let other players do their thing. Usually there are some languages that one or two players know that others don't, and that an ideal ones to use so that people stop trying to be a "party face".

[Martin Greywolf]

Invest in a small tablet and chalk, or wax tablet and a stylus. Making stick comics can get you pretty far, especially if you learn punctuation of a given language - that allows you to ask questions and make demands easily. It'll also be pretty fun thing to do at the table.

[Frogreaver]

As a DM, I would not have given an incommunicado NPC mission critical information for this very reason. If they had such, they would only be one of several ways, one of which was inevitable AND obvious, to get the information.

The murderhobo flow chart and murderhobo suggestion above are both byproducts of this decision to put critical information in a hard to reach place.

How many DMs have watched horrified as PCs bypass areas where they need to go to find "the next step?"

Wow. I said that half joking. Players aren’t that passive aggressive usually.

If players enjoy murderhoboing then who am I to judge? As long as the players are engaged and having fun with the impossible to communicate with race then all is well. What usually happens IME is that not everyone is having fun with that and when people get frustrated enough they act. Sometimes they start a fight and sometimes they leave and ignore said races existence, maybe to come back later with the tongues spell.

[Samayu]

Does anyone have any clever ideas to make speaking with people who don't share a common language easier?

Clever ideas? No, but you could try a Rod of Rulership and hand gestures.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Wow. I said that half joking. Players aren’t that passive aggressive usually.

If players enjoy murderhoboing then who am I to judge? As long as the players are engaged and having fun with the impossible to communicate with race then all is well. What usually happens IME is that not everyone is having fun with that and when people get frustrated enough they act. Sometimes they start a fight and sometimes they leave and ignore said races existence, maybe to come back later with the tongues spell.
Exactly. High amounts of frustration at the table leads to incitements. It's not that the players are being passive aggressive as much as they aren't having fun and want to change that.

You are 100% correct that it is all about the (not) fun.