The native languages spoken by a player character are determined by the character’s class (or their race, if using the advanced character creation method). These typically include the common tongue and an alignment language. Characters with high INT may learn additional languages.
The common tongue (sometimes simply called Common) is a language which is widespread among intelligent species. All player character races—as well as many monsters—are able to speak Common. In some settings, the referee may rule that different cultures in the campaign world have different languages, in which case a particular language must be chosen instead of Common.
Creatures native to the Underworld speak an alternative common tongue known as Deepcommon.
All intelligent beings know a secret, unwritten language of gestures, signs, and code words associated with their alignment. This secret language allows beings of the same alignment to communicate. Beings of another alignment recognise when an alignment language is being used, but cannot understand. It is not possible to learn another alignment language except by changing alignment, in which case the former language is forgotten.
Many demihuman and intelligent monster species have their own language, which player characters may be able to learn. The table below lists common languages which may be chosen by player characters with high Intelligence (at the referee’s discretion).
| Other Languages | |
|---|---|
| d20 | Language |
| 1 | Bugbear |
| 2 | Doppelgänger |
| 3 | Dragon |
| 4 | Dwarvish |
| 5 | Elvish |
| 6 | Gargoyle |
| 7 | Gnoll |
| 8 | Gnomish |
| 9 | Goblin |
| 10 | Halfling |
| 11 | Harpy |
| 12 | Hobgoblin |
| 13 | Kobold |
| 14 | Lizard Man |
| 15 | Medusa |
| 16 | Minotaur |
| 17 | Ogre |
| 18 | Orcish |
| 19 | Pixie |
| 20 | Human Dialects |