How do you handle language barriers within the party?

[MonkeySage]

In games I've run, I've often had player characters who don't share any languages. In this case, I've got one player who shares draconic with the wizard, but doesn't speak any other languages in common with the other players. Imperial is the lingua franca, but only for this region.

[Darth Ultron]

Everyone knows common. Kinda the way most fiction does it.

Really to do the whole 'language barriers' is a huge waste of time.

Like person A can only talk to person B, so sure you just say ''oh, they translate all the time''...but if you do why bother?

It might be fun for a minute of two when A and B and C can't talk to each other....but it quickly becomes disruptive in the game.

Worse, of course all the players know what was said, and then they have to 'pretend' they don't know. But off course when it's something important the character will ''understand'' somehow.

Really, it's just a hassle.

[Thrudd]

Yeah, don't do it. There is no practical way to do it. You need to contrive for all characters to speak the same language.

[Telok]

My characters generally just avoided speaking to anyone that they didn't share a language with. When you inevitably got stuck having to work with someone you didn't share a language with it was time to bust out the pantomime and get silly.

These days it's passé, like tracking food, ammo, not fully healing overnight, or identifying magic items.

[MrSandman]

Agreed with the general feeling that it is an unnecessary hassle. The only time I'd bother with it is if finding a way to communicate is part of the adventure. But if it's just a barrier, I go Stargate and assume that people speak English on pretty much every planet.

[Cespenar]

If it's a very open world, character-driven game with enough enthusiastic roleplayers, I could see language barriers be a fun quirk within the group.

In the other 95% of the games, it's a hassle and should be solved with the "Common" tongue.

[Glorthindel]

I've only seen it tried once, and it was an unmitigated disaster. This was the original Star Wars RPG, and I was stupid enough at the time to pick a Wookie. Only one other character could understand me, and even then not 100% of the time. The game rapidly devolved into the majority of dice rolls being language tests, and the "hilarious" (read: not even remotely amusing) miscommunications. We didn't have a second session.

[Bulhakov]

Add me to another vote against it. Language barriers with an NPC can occasionally make for some fun roleplay, but definitely not within the party.

[redwizard007]

Playing on roll20 with a group now and one of the guys doesn't speak common. He uses a Dothraki dictionary when he wants to talk and only ever speaks in character unless we are discussing rules or actions. Eventually we picked up meanings of a few phrases. Danger, ****, here, things like that. It's usually fun, but strategizing for fights is a no-go.

Ironically, we do share at least one language, but still have no reason to think that is the case. Maybe one day we meet a dragon and find out...

[Altair_the_Vexed]

I've only ever done this when a PC from a different game setting arrives - like if I had a pseudo-China and a pseudo-Britain setting, and one character was ported over from the other. This happened a few times as our setting grew and grew over the years.

For the first session, I have the outlander (whoever has the minority language) make skill checks to get over what they want, and role-play the results (good or bad). In Pathfinder for example, that'd be Linguistics, or INT, or maybe CHA.
By the second session, I have to say I fudge it somewhat - the outlander can now use simple words and pointing to make themselves understood. After a few sessions of that, I let the outlander speak with a limited vocab and an accent.

All this is predicated on the idea that they will spend points on learning a common language at the next chance.

Of course, in a typical D&D / Pathfinder game, there are magical communication aids, too.

[Beleriphon]

I've only seen it tried once, and it was an unmitigated disaster. This was the original Star Wars RPG, and I was stupid enough at the time to pick a Wookie. Only one other character could understand me, and even then not 100% of the time. The game rapidly devolved into the majority of dice rolls being language tests, and the "hilarious" (read: not even remotely amusing) miscommunications. We didn't have a second session.

I have to agree here, the wookie is great, but you have to do like the movies. Chewie clearly doesn't speak the same language as everybody else, but he is speaking a language that everybody else understands. Nein Numb does the same thing with Lando in RotJ. Not speaking Standard, but Lando has no trouble understanding him and Nein clearly understands Lando's responses.

[DeTess]

It can be fun if you're in a party of committed RP'ers that enjoy this kind of thing. otherwise just make sure everyone shares at least one language.

Having some members in the party know languages others don't can cause for some interesting situations though. Half of my current party speaks draconic, for example, and because of *circumstances* we've acquired a Kobold army as well as Draconic companions/mounts. The leaders of our army speak common well enough, but the common rank and file and our draconic mounts don't, resulting in some people either having to translate, or deciding not to do that and watching hilarity ensue.

For example, When we got the chance to get our Draconic companions, the rogue and monk managed to get along pretty well, as they could communicate. The Paladin, who couldn't speak Draconic, proceeded to prove that he was the meanest, scariest SoB in the cavern, getting him the respect he needed. The warlock had to resort to a bit of an indy-ploy, and panicked scurrying around, to convince the dragons he was a friend, not food.

Since that encounter, the Paladin got permission from the DM to have the spirit from 'Find Steed' (this is 5e) ride Shotgun on the Dragon and facilitate communication, and the Monk taught the warlock how to say 'Fire'and 'Bite' in draconic.

In other words, language barriers can be fun, but unless your players really enjoy this kind of thing, don't have any barriers between players or between the players and important outside forces for more than a session or so.

[Anonymouswizard]

It's not hard to justify everybody sharing a language.

I once spent a campaign where nobody talked in their native language for the entirity of it. In another we all spoke Dwarven, because the game took place in a dwarf city, and after a while of having to have one character do all the translation a couple of us bought basic proficiency in Skaven as well.

Even if there isn't 'Common' there will normally still be trading powerhouses, everybody should agree to learn the language of one of them.

I'm the rare case somebody intentionally makes a character who can communicate, they will be forced to take basic proficiency in the party language at the first opportunity.

[Nifft]

I handle it briefly.

It's fun to RP miscommunication for a little while.

Then, the PCs pay some game points and all learn each others' language(s).

It's just too frustrating to perpetuate over the long-term -- do keep a few misunderstanding in-jokes, and then carry on with otherwise unhindered communication.

[MonkeySage]

This would be the same in most pathfinder games with this particular character- Even if I had common, this character would need at least 12 int to speak it. The race only speaks Draconic by default.

[Max_Killjoy]

As much as I don't like it, this is one of those areas where pure verisimilitude has to take a back seat to simple practicality at the gaming table.

Unless it's absolutely crucial to a particular character's concept and you're fully confidence that the players can handle it in a fun and productive way, just don't do it. And in general, just don't do it.

Options:

* Give your setting a common/trade/old imperial/whatever language that's widespread enough that all the PCs speak it, even if not literate.
* Make sure all the PCs are from area(s) that have a language in common, and make sure they all speak it.
* Get them all to agree to some sort of language-in-common during "session 0" or other pre-campaign discussion.

[Andor13]

I agree with Nifft. It can be fun to play out for a session. But it's actually unrealistic for language barriers to remain in place for long, barring massive prejudice or something which prevents someone from wanting to communicate with someone else.

And of course, in D&D magic can either band-aid or fix the problem depending on the level.

The whole "common" language thing is a ridiculous band-aid, but having a wide spread language like Latin and French have been and English is, is sensible, and I would expect any player without a language in common with the party to put a rank in at his next level.

[MonkeySage]

Imperial is a widespread language- in a particular region. It's equivalent to Old French in its scope. And i'm not telling the players they can't learn new languages, I'm just saying this player's knowledge of Imperial is dependent on his intelligence and linguistics- he's a lizardfolk and they normally start out speaking only Draconic.

[Thrudd]

Imperial is a widespread language- in a particular region. It's equivalent to Old French in its scope. And i'm not telling the players they can't learn new languages, I'm just saying this player's knowledge of Imperial is dependent on his intelligence and linguistics- he's a lizardfolk and they normally start out speaking only Draconic.

If the game has decided that the character he chose needs to spend resources to be able to communicate with the rest of the party, you have two choices. Require him to spend the resources to do so, since it is likely a balance issue for that race, IE it has advantages in other areas that the designers thought are balanced somewhat by requiring build-points to be devoted to basic communication - that might mean that he must place a minimum score in intelligence so he can have imperial as a language at the outset, even if it means the character isn't as optimized as the player would like. Or, change that rule and give all players the imperial language for free automatically, let them all be at least bilingual.

Not being able to talk to the rest of the players for an extended period of time isn't an option if you want some sort of immersive verisimilitude.

[Nifft]

Imperial is a widespread language- in a particular region. It's equivalent to Old French in its scope. And i'm not telling the players they can't learn new languages, I'm just saying this player's knowledge of Imperial is dependent on his intelligence and linguistics- he's a lizardfolk and they normally start out speaking only Draconic.

Several PCs ought to spend resources to enable all of them to speak to each other, presumably at the next level-up -- unless this Lizardfolk guy is expected to be very temporary.

In general, they each should spend resources to learn something that the rest of the group speaks, and also the whole party should pick at least one mildly obscure language so they can have a more private conversation when necessary.


Here's an example of language barriers done well (and done briefly): the movie Stargate had language barriers, the TV series Stargate SG-1 had all the aliens speaking nice Canadian English. The language barrier was fun once, but they didn't want to deal with it on every new planet, since they went to a new planet roughly once a week. They keep a few alien words knocking around, like "Jaffa kree!" -- and they play that for laughs -- but overall it's just nice & easy Canadian English.

[MoiMagnus]

Are you playing seriously?
+Yes -> Is language really that important for your campaign?
++Yes -> Consider that the PC know each other since enough time to communicate with each others freely. But forbid communication with NPC that do not share language.
++No -> Have a shared language.
+No -> Is the player having an incompatible language good in improvisation or theater, and same for the "translator"?
++Yes -> The player use an "fake language" in RP sequences, and the translator is actually the one choosing what the character says. I had a lot of fun with my translator doing that, but it only worked because me, the translator, and the DM, were ok with it (and experienced enough).
++No ->Have a shared language

If you have a character with low Int, do you take in account he is illiterate (or have difficulty to read), and has difficulties understanding tactics in fight?
If you have a character with low Cha, do you apply a "low Cha" penalty and force the group to ignore its suggestions since he has no charisma?
Sometimes realism is not really improving the game.

[oxybe]

The most i'm willing to suffer is what I call "Wookie with microsoft sam".

Namely that time i played a wookie and no one knew shiryook. So my wookie would go around with a communicator that had a voice app (ie:my cell phone) and would roar for attention and then let the app talk what he wrote.

Outside of that gestures got simple concepts across, as well as simple written notes.

Raw "neither can communicate" scenarios are a dealbreaker. It takes too long to get anything done and grnerally isn't fun to fumble around not socializing in a social game.

[Algeh]

Given the kind of players and game pacing where this works, which I've had once, we handled the logistics of which language was being spoken at any given time by giving each player a set of little signs in their folder, one per language (I give each player a folder to keep their character sheets and other miscellaneous things in). They'd hold up the sign with the language they were using written on it so the whole party knew which language they were speaking and could then determine if they had any idea what they were saying. This worked well to keep people from assuming they could understand what was being said, but of course requires by-in among the players that it would be fun to play a character who does not understand conversations sometimes.

This kind of thing works if your players find the micro-level group interactions of trying to get that one PC to have some idea what the plan is at least as much fun, if not more, than whatever the actual "plot" is, which was definitely fine for that particular group in that particular campaign. (The "plot" at the time was trying to figure out why the Pirate Illuminati had dognapped a chihuahua and dressed it in funny outfits, leading them on a chase across Europe. This was not exactly a "tactics-heavy" campaign where PC death and/or mission failure was likely if someone didn't perfectly understand the group's plans.)