tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post4710434413699153234..comments2024-03-18T02:49:18.084-05:00Comments on Jeffs Gameblog: Oops! Read Languages.Jeff Rientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493878980535235896noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-71012973991828636672010-05-29T12:12:08.245-05:002010-05-29T12:12:08.245-05:00Being a 1st lvl spell RL is rather literal and mod...Being a 1st lvl spell RL is rather literal and modest in it's power.<br /><br />It does not translate proper nouns into ones familiar to player (lizards know Hobbiton as Dadskmf), words that have no translation are likewise unchanged (applies to magical, extra-planer, high-tech, etc languages.) It does not tell reader anything about the language (if they didn't know scroll was written in Elder Fuhark, they still won't after casting RL)<br /><br />Cypers are not languages. The spell would not decipher them. But, the caster would see and know the characters and have chance to work out it's say rot13.Norman J. Harman Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01319655075997712313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-54596188543477637212010-05-28T06:39:31.500-05:002010-05-28T06:39:31.500-05:00@ Jeff
being wise of all things shatner I am sure ...@ Jeff<br />being wise of all things shatner I am sure you know the details about Shatner's new comedy . . .<br /><br />scroll down here for details<br /><br />http://cinerati.blogspot.com/Clovis Cithoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18208194219083373456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-80025407889134843812010-05-27T18:18:42.876-05:002010-05-27T18:18:42.876-05:00I studied two languages in high school and was ter...I studied two languages in high school and was terrible at both. However, an interest in the animation of a particular culture and a tendencey to date women from said culture during my college years resulted in one of my favorite personal quips...<br /><br />"I took two years of Spanish and two years of French. As a result, I speak a little Japanese."<br /><br />;)<br /><br />Language is a big deal in my campaigns so Read Language is indeed a most powerful tool.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-65092369319695052702010-05-27T15:49:42.893-05:002010-05-27T15:49:42.893-05:00This sort of creates an interesting problem for th...This sort of creates an interesting problem for things like codes. If you use standard characters for a code, but arrange them weirdly, what does Read Languages do? How about if you use a word-substitution code, i.e, "tree" means "orc", "ocean" means "We attack at dawn", etc. (A lot of real world codes use both... you use word substitution, then you apply an encryption algorithm).<br /><br />So if your Wizard intercepts a message, in Common, which reads "My mother is coming for dinner on Tuesday", if he casts Read Languages on it, will he see the message "The orc army is massing in the valley", which is what the intended recipient, with his code book, will know it really means?<br /><br />My personal ruling would be "No". The spell translates the language into words the character can read; it does not reveal any special meaning those words might have to some other third party. (If there's more than one code which uses the words, how does the spell "pick"?)Lizardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612692415592670468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-85364290499277276312010-05-27T14:25:07.423-05:002010-05-27T14:25:07.423-05:00He who can read Voltaire in his mother tongue is a...<b>He who can read Voltaire in his mother tongue is a master indeed!</b><br /><br />Hardly. I had an English translation beside me for vast swaths of it.<br /><br /><b>Apart from that: I have a very pressing problem: Is read languages applicable to aleph or the Ur-language or whatyoucallit, too? Spellweaver cypher?</b><br /><br />I say nay. Otherwise there wouldn't be two different spells.<br /><br /><b>To turn the question and put it on it´s feet: Is the decision to have some ultra-rare languages around that read language doesn´t cover cheating the players or is it reintorducing a layer of mystery and accomplishment the multiverse would otherwise lack?</b><br /><br />I'd call it cheating. Though I think one could pull some cryptological trickery on the low level magic-users. That would eventually lead to a higher level spell called Decode Cipher or some such, no doubt.Jeff Rientshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17493878980535235896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-17324724738298895972010-05-27T14:12:46.965-05:002010-05-27T14:12:46.965-05:00He who can read Voltaire in his mother tongue is a...He who can read Voltaire in his mother tongue is a master indeed!<br /><br />Apart from that: I have a very pressing problem: Is read languages applicable to aleph or the Ur-language or whatyoucallit, too? Spellweaver cypher?<br /><br />To turn the question and put it on it´s feet: Is the decision to have some ultra-rare languages around that read language doesn´t cover cheating the players or is it reintorducing a layer of mystery and accomplishment the multiverse would otherwise lack?Settembrininoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7652921.post-31138462804722276042010-05-27T13:45:32.080-05:002010-05-27T13:45:32.080-05:00I totally agree, especially with the thought of in...I totally agree, especially with the thought of including more opportunities to use read languages. <br /><br />I think it's worth mentioning, that though one can read a text, he doesn't have to understand it. In everyday life, we often forget the importance of cultural reference. A wizard lacking knowledge about the context of a letter or document can get himself into some nasty shit ( all good DM's should apply this to their advantage)squidmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486198900111225929noreply@blogger.com