Page 2 of 4

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:09 am
by macbone
All right, a mage! Looking good, /!

Please accept +5 CPs to spend as you wish on your background. For anyone else who wishes to write one up, you can have up to 5 CPs as well.

Yrth human languages are all derived from our languages. Anglish is the common tongue for Megalos, Caithness, and Cardiel.

For your reputation, you can go with Social Prestige if you'd like. Each level is +5 points, and you can choose a specific order.

The Mana level affects how easy it is to cast spells. Most parts of Yrth have normal mana levels, but some places have Low or High Mana levels, and there exist No Mana pockets as well. Taking it would allow you to cast spells no matter where you go, and anyone who knows a spell, not only mages, can cast them. In Normal Mana areas (most places), only mages can cast spells.

With Mana Enhancer 1, if you go into a Low Mana area, you can cast spells as normal. If you go into a No Mana area, you can still cast spells at a -5 to skill. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to keep it or not.

I'll go through the list of spells more thoroughly later, but it's probably a good idea to take at least one non-magic Melee weapon. For instance, you can take Staff and have it enchanted with the Staff spell, letting you extend the reach of your spells to one more yard. You can also use it for Touch spells, and you can carry Melee spells on it. A magic staff costs $40, but any once-living material can have the Staff enchantment.

However, some mages take pride in not using weapons at all, so you don't have to.

Consider taking Invisibility.

You'll need FP or ER to cast spells. Each costs 3 CPs, and you can have +/-30% FP based on your HT score. ER is independent of any score. If your FPs drop to below 1/3, your Dodge is halved, but there's no penalty for low ER. FP regenerates at 1 per 10 minutes with resting normally, and ER regenerates at 1 per 10 minutes, whether you're resting or not. FP can be used to power other things besides spells, like a Feverish Defense (+2 to a defense roll for 1 FP). ER (Magery) can only be used for spells.

Recover Energy lets you regenerate FP once per 5 minutes at level 15 and once per 2 minutes at level 20.

You'll be casting Hard spells at 16, Very Hard at 15.

For your equipment, I'd recommend buying a staff with the Staff enchantment, as I mentioned before. We'll be starting in a city, so you don't necessarily need to buy food now, although if you leave the city you should. You'll get a spell grimoire for free, so maybe a pack or a bag to put it in. I'd buy armor - a leather jacket and leggings at least, but try to keep your encumbrance at None.

Here are some ideas:


Code: Select all
Armor               Location         DR    Cost     Wt.    LC      Notes
Leather Jacket      torso, arms      1     $50      4     4
Leather Gloves      hands            2     $30      neg.   4
Moccasins           feet             1     $40      1      -     
Leather Helm        skull, face      2     $20      0.5    4
Leather Pants       legs, groin      1     $50      4      4


I'd take at least some kind of armor, even if it's cloth. Try to have something for the torso, groin, and skull at least.

Check out the miscellaneous equipment on p. 288 if the group decides to leave the city.

Last, I'd buy a Powerstone. They hold extra FP that can be used to power spells, and they recharge at the rate of 1 FP per day. They won't recharge if they're next to other Powerstones, though.

Costs for Powerstones:

Code: Select all
Capacity       Cost
1              70
2              165
3              280
4              425
5              595
6              790
7              1,000
8              1,300
9              1,550
10             1,900

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:37 pm
by Woodruff
By the way, for purposes of my character's background, will we know each other at all prior to the start of the adventure, or will we be brought together as part of the start of it?

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:18 am
by macbone
I'd prefer at least some of you to know each other.

Here's what our party looks like right now:

  • Dwarf fighter
  • Human mage
  • Gnome thief
  • Talking cat infiltrator

OK, yeah, so the last one's a little weird, but the Banestorm does draw creatures from many different worlds. The problem with our cat character (he's actually called a crat, apparently) is that if other people find out he can talk, he's likely going to end up as part of some carnival sideshow if he can be caught, or worse, so I need one of the other player characters to be our crat's partner.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:41 am
by Woodruff
macbone wrote:[*]Talking cat infiltrator[/list]


I love this! It sort of makes sense for my character to have some comfort level
with his character, unless you have other thoughts. I'd be willing to have already
built a relationship there.

macbone wrote:(he's actually called a crat, apparently)


Now I wanna call him an Aristocat, for some reason...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocats

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:54 am
by Gillipig
Who has the Gnome thief and who has the talking cat? I've only seen /'s mage being posted here.

Edit: I even cleared my foe list to see if there were posts I've missed lol.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:30 am
by Woodruff
Gillipig wrote:Who has the Gnome thief and who has the talking cat? I've only seen /'s mage being posted here.

Edit: I even cleared my foe list to see if there were posts I've missed lol.


(You didn't see me here...)



















(Heh...I've got the gnome thief, although he's still in development so it could change.)

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 4:24 am
by macbone
And MeDeFe has the talking cat. =)

(Now I've got Gaspode from Discworld stuck in my head. (= )

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:29 am
by Gillipig
Eiykur holds a grudge against the Gnome thief! Here's the backstory:

Eiykur's precious ring was stolen while he was at a bar. He was drunk as always and he bumped (at least that's what he thought) into a suspicious looking Gnome on his way to another round of mead.
-Look where you're going he yelled at the Gnome.
It was not until he woke up the day after that he noticed his ring was gone. Eiykur went in his mind through all the possible ways he could've lost his ring, and came to the conclussion that it had to have been stolen. The most likely suspect was the Gnome who was the only one creature he remembers having physical contact with that night (most people steer clear of an grossly obese old dwarf). Eiykur searched through the entire camp without finding the Gnome. And cursed that if he ever found him he'd have his revenge.

I hope this doesn't contradicts something that woodruff has written about his Gnome thief. Note that the story doesn't say anything about if the Gnome actually stole his ring, or if he left the camp. It does say that the Gnome was suspicious looking however. Let me know if that doesn't rime with the character :).

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:52 am
by macbone
Cool story, Gilli. =)

A couple of things, though. Make sure you only describe what your character's doing, not another character. Of course, you haven't said that Woodruff's gnome was the thief, and it's plausible that they did bump into each other at a bar before, but you need to be careful that you're not controlling another player.

And second, you guys are going to need to all need to work together. I'd rather you guys weren't planning revenge on each other even before the game gets off the ground. =)

However, Gilli, might I suggest a change in the thief?

Rather than a gnome thief, how about a human of average height and build who bumped into you at a bar a couple of days ago? He was polite and spoke quietly, but you noticed that he was missing a finger on his left hand.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:50 am
by Drakkon
I only have played D&D 3.5, so I am not sure I will be able to learn an entirely new system. I will keep up with this adventure and maybe I can learn it by seeing it played. If you don't mind people joining later, I may do that. Just too bust at the moment to learn a new system.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:20 pm
by Gillipig
macbone wrote:Cool story, Gilli. =)

A couple of things, though. Make sure you only describe what your character's doing, not another character. Of course, you haven't said that Woodruff's gnome was the thief, and it's plausible that they did bump into each other at a bar before, but you need to be careful that you're not controlling another player.

And second, you guys are going to need to all need to work together. I'd rather you guys weren't planning revenge on each other even before the game gets off the ground. =)

However, Gilli, might I suggest a change in the thief?

Rather than a gnome thief, how about a human of average height and build who bumped into you at a bar a couple of days ago? He was polite and spoke quietly, but you noticed that he was missing a finger on his left hand.

Hm, doesn't sound like someone we've created yet. Is it a character we will bump into later?

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:48 pm
by /
Probably the title character?
one more question before I start revising my character, you said

"Recover Energy lets you regenerate FP once per 5 minutes at level 15 and once per 2 minutes at level 20.

You'll be casting Hard spells at 16, Very Hard at 15."
What does this mean, levels? Points? How can I tell the spell difficulty, and how do I increase whatever I need to cast harder spells?
I'm using that downloadable character sheet maker you posted on the front page btw.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:43 pm
by Woodruff
Gillipig wrote:Eiykur holds a grudge against the Gnome thief! Here's the backstory:

Eiykur's precious ring was stolen while he was at a bar. He was drunk as always and he bumped (at least that's what he thought) into a suspicious looking Gnome on his way to another round of mead.
-Look where you're going he yelled at the Gnome.
It was not until he woke up the day after that he noticed his ring was gone. Eiykur went in his mind through all the possible ways he could've lost his ring, and came to the conclussion that it had to have been stolen. The most likely suspect was the Gnome who was the only one creature he remembers having physical contact with that night (most people steer clear of an grossly obese old dwarf). Eiykur searched through the entire camp without finding the Gnome. And cursed that if he ever found him he'd have his revenge.

I hope this doesn't contradicts something that woodruff has written about his Gnome thief. Note that the story doesn't say anything about if the Gnome actually stole his ring, or if he left the camp. It does say that the Gnome was suspicious looking however. Let me know if that doesn't rime with the character :).


It doesn't contradict...I don't believe I have anything that specific. But I'm curious...is the Gnome thief actually my character, or is it a misidentification? (I don't have any problem with either case...I'm just curious for my planning.)

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:44 pm
by Woodruff
Drakkon wrote:I only have played D&D 3.5, so I am not sure I will be able to learn an entirely new system. I will keep up with this adventure and maybe I can learn it by seeing it played. If you don't mind people joining later, I may do that. Just too bust at the moment to learn a new system.


To be honest, "the new system" is really only "new" as far as creating the character, and macbone has been GREAT about helping me (at least) through that part (I've only played AD&D 3rd Edition previously). Once we start playing, I don't think we'll really see it as a "new system" at all.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:19 pm
by Gillipig
Woodruff wrote:
Gillipig wrote:Eiykur holds a grudge against the Gnome thief! Here's the backstory:

Eiykur's precious ring was stolen while he was at a bar. He was drunk as always and he bumped (at least that's what he thought) into a suspicious looking Gnome on his way to another round of mead.
-Look where you're going he yelled at the Gnome.
It was not until he woke up the day after that he noticed his ring was gone. Eiykur went in his mind through all the possible ways he could've lost his ring, and came to the conclussion that it had to have been stolen. The most likely suspect was the Gnome who was the only one creature he remembers having physical contact with that night (most people steer clear of an grossly obese old dwarf). Eiykur searched through the entire camp without finding the Gnome. And cursed that if he ever found him he'd have his revenge.

I hope this doesn't contradicts something that woodruff has written about his Gnome thief. Note that the story doesn't say anything about if the Gnome actually stole his ring, or if he left the camp. It does say that the Gnome was suspicious looking however. Let me know if that doesn't rime with the character :).


It doesn't contradict...I don't believe I have anything that specific. But I'm curious...is the Gnome thief actually my character, or is it a misidentification? (I don't have any problem with either case...I'm just curious for my planning.)

I was thinking that would be up to you ;). And if it really was your character he might still not be guilty of the crime. Again this would be up to you. I don't want to put words in your mouth, saying your character did this and that.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 1:01 am
by Woodruff
Angus "Mack" Gheever

Physical Description
Mack is a 52-year old male gnome (OOC...puts him at about 25 years old or so in human years). At 4'7" and 180 pounds, he is rather average for his race (OOC...please tell me if that is not accurate). Mack has slate-colored eyes, with brown hair arranged in a very scraggly bowl cut, as if he can't afford or doesn't care to get it cut very often nor very well, yet has no facial hair. As with most gnomes, he is rather short and stout, with a strong center of gravity. Mack's lone outstanding physical feature is his rather bulbous nose, which looks as though it were built to develop and withstand the heartiest of sneezes. Mack tends to quietness, preferring to remain in the background, and generally only makes strong eye contact with those who he trusts a great deal or whom he may be trying to deceive. Mack doesn't care for his first name, and so he often finds himself saying "Just call me Mack".

Mack tends to "dress down", wearing only ordinary clothes and shoes, but carries a small backpack, pouch and wineskin. Unlike most gnomes, Mack appears to carry only a somewhat large, very fancy-looking and oddly-shaped crossbow, which is slung across his left shoulder (he is right-handed) and which he lovingly calls Johnny Rocket. He has a hip quiver on his right hip containing what appears to be an unnecessarily large number of crossbow bolts.

Mack has had a rough life to this point. Having lost both his father and mother to a wasting disease at around the age of 35, just as he was hitting his adulthood, Mack took up an apprenticeship (out of gratitude and a lack of having anything really better to do) with the druid who had tried desperately to save them, who he called Master Fenrir. He lived with, learned from, and came to greatly respect Master Fenrir over the course of the twelve years he spent with him. Mack truly enjoyed the life of caring for a grove and it's inhabitants. Master Fenrir even helped Mack learn how to use a rapier. The great druid considered the rapier to be the perfect weapon, finely balanced, acutely sharp, and always under control. He always said "Unlike a sword or an axe, the rapier does not control your movements, rather you control the movements of the rapier." They spent countless hours in the distraction and intellectual entertainment of rapier techniques.

Unfortunately, that life would come to a sudden end, as Mack made what he considers the greatest mistake he could have made. Mack was on a simple herb-picking errand, gathering rodion, foxglove and luscious mudpuppy berries when he happened across what appeared to be a family of dead squirrels, eight of them. They were all lying there in what seemed to be a rictus state. Recognizing their death and wanting to honor them, Mack found an appropriate burial site, not once wondering why all eight of them might have died so suddenly and in the same place. He built a small cairn as a marker over the grave, and then continued on his errand. As Mack returned to Master Fenrir, he found him to be exceptionally angry that someone had killed eight squirrels by suffocating them, not realizing apparently that Mack was involved. Even Mack, at first, did not put the two situations together in his mind, not noting the coincidence of the same number and same type of animal. So the great druid left to investigate the situation, leaving Mack there to tend to the grove. When Master Fenrir returned, he was no longer as angry as he had been previously, but he was certainly not pleased...and directly displeased with Mack, as it turns out. His investigation had revealed to him that Mack had buried the squirrels alive, effectively suffocating them. He was not at all interested in the explanation that Mack attempted to give him about how they were dead, not alive. The druid banished Mack from the grove. To this day, Mack does not understand what caused the squirrels' "false death", nor does he forgive himself for having killed them. He even has nightmares about the situation (which of course are always far worse than what actually happened), and occasionally a situation will even cause a waking flashback for him. He has been very unhappy since, and this had unfortunately caused him to fall into desperation for a way to survive.

Wanting to avoid nature and the guilty memories it brought back to him, Mack wandered to the nearest city. Unable to find work, as he had no real skills at that time, he fell to running with a group of individuals who could best be described as despicable, under the iron-fisted guidance of the fearsome Viper Overlord and his "Army of God" street rats. Yet they accepted him more than he accepted himself, and so he began to learn their life, finding the distraction from memories to be the only way he could stand to live with himself. Under the care of the "Army of God", he learned how to use a basic shortsword. Though he longed to be able to use a rapier again, he certainly could not afford such an expensive weapon. Amazingly, Mack found that he had a real talent for the things they did, as he quickly gained skills that he would previously have considered to be unworthy. And along the way, he also discovered that he loved to tinker with things...loved to figure out how things worked. At first, it had simply started out as a way to figure out locks and traps, but it developed into almost an obsession, as his natural curiousity and bit of a compulsive nature drove him to go far beyond those simple devices. The intellectual challenge and distraction from memories that technical things seemed to provide him was something that he found it very difficult to turn away from. Thus, his interest in and development of his personal crossbow came about.

Eventually, Mack decided to leave the "Army of God" behind, not being satisfied with the Viper Overlord's ends nor their methods, and strike out on his own again...now much more comfortable with his personal skills and interests. Of course, not having any real or steady employment, he finds himself wandering a great deal, and always with a glance over his shoulder to see if the Viper Overlord or his minions might be lurking there.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:41 am
by tkr4lf
I'm not going to be participating, as I don't really have the time. But I will be paying close attention to this...I'd like to see how it turns out. If it goes well and you guys end up doing another one, I will try to participate in that one.

A question for Woodruff:

I thought Druids couldn't use pointed weapons. Or is that just D&D? I know in D&D they're restricted to blunt weapons only. I was just wondering if that's the case with GURPS as well, since your Druid instructing you in Rapier usage wouldn't make sense if so.

Also, I find it hilarious that you used CC names in your character background.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:40 pm
by Woodruff
tkr4lf wrote:I'm not going to be participating, as I don't really have the time. But I will be paying close attention to this...I'd like to see how it turns out. If it goes well and you guys end up doing another one, I will try to participate in that one.

A question for Woodruff:

I thought Druids couldn't use pointed weapons. Or is that just D&D? I know in D&D they're restricted to blunt weapons only. I was just wondering if that's the case with GURPS as well, since your Druid instructing you in Rapier usage wouldn't make sense if so.


That is absolutely true of a "typical druid" in AD&D (although "slashing" is much worse than "pointed", as "slashing" does more damage to plants). I wanted my character to be nature-oriented, but I also wanted him to be able to use a rapier, so I had to work it in somehow. That was why I included the comments about "perfect balance" and "you control it, it doesn't control you" (which are very important concepts to druids).

tkr4lf wrote:Also, I find it hilarious that you used CC names in your character background.


I can't take real credit, as I stole the idea from Gillipig's dragon's name (which I loved).

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:57 am
by Gillipig
Master Fenrir sounds like a real b*tch! What sort of a animal is he? I pictured Viper as a large overfed snake (jabba the hutt inspired).
Nice story, will be interesting to see how how he gets along with Eiykur lol. How did Mack meet the talking cat?? Or hasn't he met him yet?

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:05 am
by Woodruff
Gillipig wrote:Master Fenrir sounds like a real b*tch! What sort of a animal is he?


I'm not sure I ever knew...I assumed human. And while his reaction is unreasonable, it's not a particularly surprising one, given how druids feel about taking care of nature.

Gillipig wrote:I pictured Viper as a large overfed snake (jabba the hutt inspired).


Heh...that is just the name he goes by. Human as human could be. Just mean. MEEEEEEN.

Gillipig wrote:Nice story, will be interesting to see how how he gets along with Eiykur lol. How did Mack meet the talking cat?? Or hasn't he met him yet?


Hasn't really happened yet.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:23 am
by tkr4lf
Woodruff wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:I'm not going to be participating, as I don't really have the time. But I will be paying close attention to this...I'd like to see how it turns out. If it goes well and you guys end up doing another one, I will try to participate in that one.

A question for Woodruff:

I thought Druids couldn't use pointed weapons. Or is that just D&D? I know in D&D they're restricted to blunt weapons only. I was just wondering if that's the case with GURPS as well, since your Druid instructing you in Rapier usage wouldn't make sense if so.


That is absolutely true of a "typical druid" in AD&D (although "slashing" is much worse than "pointed", as "slashing" does more damage to plants). I wanted my character to be nature-oriented, but I also wanted him to be able to use a rapier, so I had to work it in somehow. That was why I included the comments about "perfect balance" and "you control it, it doesn't control you" (which are very important concepts to druids).

tkr4lf wrote:Also, I find it hilarious that you used CC names in your character background.


I can't take real credit, as I stole the idea from Gillipig's dragon's name (which I loved).

Cool, fair enough. I was just curious about it.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:40 pm
by /
Nevermind my last questions, I think I got it, sent a revised sheet.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:54 am
by macbone
@ Drakkon - feel free to lurk, man! If you'd like me to build a character for you, let me know. The mechanics are pretty basic - roll 3d6 and see if you beat your target score.

@ Gilli - You might possibly bump into this character again. =)

@ / - "Skill level" is whatever number you have for your skill, and usually starts at a default number. For instance, most spells are IQ/Very Hard, so they start out at a level equal to your IQ-3. Each level of Magery increases this level by 1 and is a cheap way to get better at all your spells. If you know Light at Skill 16, for instance, you roll three six-sided dice and try to make or beat a 16. The higher, the better, although an 18 is always a critical failure, no matter what you roll. Range is a factor, too - if you're trying to shoot someone with a crossbow or a Sunbeam spell, there's generally a penalty for distance, so having a higher skill level can help mitigate those penalties.

@ Woodruff - Awesome backstory, man! +5 CPs to spend now or later. =)

@ tkr4lf - Druids and clerics aren't restricted in any way from using any kind of weapon, unless a druid wanted to take some kind of Vow - only use blunt weapons. There's a Barbarian/Druid in a game I play in who's wielding the legendary Blackrazor from the D&D module White Plume Mountain (he took it after defeating Acererack in the Tomb of Horrors - it's really a great game!)

OK, I'm looking at character sheets now. We have one more player who's interested in playing, but after everything's finalized, we can begin play.

Gilli, Woodruff, are you ok with the thief in the story being either Woodruff's character or a similar gnome thief? If Woodruff's ok with it, I'm ok, too.

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 4:51 am
by Woodruff
macbone wrote:Gilli, Woodruff, are you ok with the thief in the story being either Woodruff's character or a similar gnome thief? If Woodruff's ok with it, I'm ok, too.


[OOC]Personally, I favor it not being my character for two reasons:

1. I love the foreshadowing idea of using what appears to be the titular character.
2. Like macbone mentioned earlier, we don't need reasons to be at each others back from the beginning. I've actually been in games where two characters came to severely dislike one another to the point of even trying to sort of take each other out (without it being obvious).

Re: Mordag's Little Finger, a GURPS RPG - Game Info/OOC

PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:23 am
by macbone
Languages

Each character starts with one native language for free. Literacy is common in Yrth; illiteracy is a -3 point disadvantage.

Additional languages can be bought at Broken proficiency for 2 pts, Accented for 4, and Native for 6. In addition, characters may choose to buy Spoken or Written Only for half points. Or you may mix and match - a character may have Accented spoken [2] and Broken written [1] Dwarven for 3 points total.

Major human languages:

Anglish - a language evolved from medieval English with heavy outside influences, particularly Norman-French.

Northland - a language related to Anglish with Germanic features.

Aralaise - a heavily accented version of Anglish spoken by inhabitants of Araterre (a region of people brought from France by the Banestorm in the 16th century).

Old Aralaise - a distinct language resembling 16th-century French.

Some Asian langauges are spoken in outlying island villages, such as Balinese.

Arabic - Because of devout Koranic study, written Arabic is nearly identical to Earth Arabic, although the spoken tongue has drifted.

Latin - medieval church Latin spoken by Christian scholars, clergymen, and some Megalan nobles.

Ladino - a language closely related to Spanish but written in Hebrew characters and spoken by Jews, who also use biblical Hebrew as a liturgical tongue. Both languages were carefully preserved after being brought through the Banestorm.

Border regions have developed simple pidgins. The city of Tredroy, for instance, has a patois that is a mixture of Anglish, Arabic, and various old Earth words. Tredroy is the second-largest city in Ytarria after Megalos and is located where the kingdoms of al-Wazif, al-Haz, and Cardiel meet (each kingdom controls its own region of Tredroy).

Learning other languages

Many languages in Yrth have drifted significantly. Anglish, Northland, and Aralaise are too remote from either modern or medieval Earth languages, although some of the roots and structures can be recognized.

However, a modern French speaker gets Old Aralaise at Broken (spoken and written) for free. Anyone versed in writing Classical Arabic has the same level of literacy in Ytarrian Arabic; anyone with knowledge of spoken Earth Arabic (classical or modern) can speak the Yrth language at one less level of competence for free.

Native-level Anglish or Arailaise gives familiarity with the other language at accented levels.

Anglish or Northland at native levels translates to the other at Broken.

Nonhuman Speech

Only kobolds and orcs lack a written script, although reptile men rarely write anything down. There do exist transcribed written versions of the kobold and orc tongue in Anglish and Arabic scripts.

There is one written form of the elven language, but there are dozens of spoken dialects - these translate to other elven dialects at one lower level. The language humans call "Elvish" is a formal trade/diplomatic language, which most elves themselves only speak at accented levels.

Dwarves speak a single language, but there are regional accents.