Linguistics

You are skilled at working with language, in both its spoken and written forms. You can speak multiple languages, and can decipher nearly any tongue given enough time. Your skill in writing allows you to create and detect forgeries as well.

You can decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic form. The base DC is 20 for the simplest messages, 25 for standard texts, and 30 or higher for intricate, exotic, or very old writing. If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing about one page long (or the equivalent). If the check fails, make a DC 5 Wisdom check to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text. (Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; failure means that you do.)

Both the Linguistics check and (if necessary) the Wisdom check are made secretly by the GM, so that you can’t tell whether the conclusion you draw is true or false.

**Common Uses**

**Learn a Language**

Whenever you put a rank into this skill, you learn to speak and read a new language. Common languages (and their typical speakers) are listed below. All languages from the real world are viable languages here, and with over 6,500 in the world today not all of them can be listed.

**English**

The most universal language, and the default language in international business, tourism, and technology. English is the official language of many countries such as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Canada (Except Quebec), Cayman Islands, Dominica, England, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom, The United States, Vanuatu, Wales, Zambia, and Zimbabwe among other locations.

**Mandarin**

Mandarin is the second most spoken language in the world, however it is the first if only native speakers are taken into account. Mandarin is a set of dialects in the Chinese Language. Mandarin is the main language of Mainland China and Taiwan, it also is an official language in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Tibet, but it is spoken all over the world.

**Hindi**

Hindi, or Modern Standard Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in North and Central India. Hindi is one of the 22 official languages of India, the second most populous country in the world. It is the main language of the Hindi Belt comprised of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya, Oradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Union territory of Chandigarh and Delhi.

**Spanish**

It’s enormous colonial expansion took it not only to America but also to Africa and Asia. Due to migration, The united States is the country with the second largest number of Spanish speakers in the world. Spanish is spoken all over the world but primarily in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain.

**French**

French is a romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the vulgar latin of the roman empire as did all romance languages. French is an official language in 29 countries but spoke in many more. French is an official language in France, Monaco, Algeria, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Comoros, The Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Canada, Haiti, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu.

**Arabic**

A Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. It is the lingua franca of the Arab world and the liturgical language of Islam. There are 32 varieties of Arabic. Arabic is spoken all over the world but sees heavy use in Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

**Bengali**

Also known by it’s endonym Bangla, it’s an Into-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken of the 22 scheduled languages of India. This language is spoken in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, The United States, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain,  and Canada.

**Russian**

Russian is an East Slavic language native to Russia In eastern Europe. It is a part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of three living East Slavic Languages. Russian is the official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and is used widely as a lingua franca through Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to some extent in the Baltic states.

**Portuguese**

A romance language of the Indo-European langiage family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the sole official language of Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and Brazil and is also spoken in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau.

**Indonesian**

The official language of Indonesia, it is a standard variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries.

**Create or Detect Forgeries**

Creating a forgery can take anywhere from 1 minute to 1d4 minutes per page. Detecting a forgery using Linguistics takes 1 round of examination per page.

 Type of document somewhat known to reader
 Type of document well known to reader
 Handwriting not known to reader
 Handwriting somewhat known to reader
 Handwriting intimately known to reader
 Reader only casually reviews the document
 Document contradicts orders or knowledge

Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged. To forge a document on which the handwriting is not specific to a person, you need only to have seen a similar document before, and you gain a +8 bonus on your check. To forge a signature, you need an autograph of that person to copy, and you gain a +4 bonus on the check. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of that person’s handwriting is needed.

The Linguistics check is made secretly, so that you’re not sure how good your forgery is. As with Disguise, you don’t make a check until someone examines the work. Your Linguistics check is opposed by the Linguistics check of the person who examines the document to verify its authenticity. The examiner gains modifiers if any of the conditions are listed on the table above.

**Action**

Varies. Deciphering a page of ordinary text takes 1 minute (10 consecutive rounds). Creating a forgery can take anywhere from 1 minute to 1d4 minutes per page. Detecting a forgery using Linguistics takes 1 round of examination per page.

**Retry?** Yes.

**Modifiers**

* **Trained** You must be trained to use this skill, but you can always attempt to read archaic and strange forms of your own racial bonus languages. In addition, you can also always attempt to detect a forgery.
* **Special** Members of the same organization or cultural group gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Linguistics checks to pass secret messages to each other, and on Sense Motive checks to intercept messages from their allies.
* **Special** A sign language or gestural system can be used as a free action to silently communicate simple concepts to others who know the language or code, so long as those communicating can clearly see each other. More complicated conversations require additional time, just as with verbal speech. Some gestural systems are too simple to communicate more than basic tactical information. Onlookers unfamiliar with the gestures can interpret the secret message with a successful DC 25 Linguistics or Sense Motive check.

**Linguistics Unchained**

Characters who have selected the signature skill feat for Linguistics unlock additional abilities when they attain 5, 10, 15, and 20 ranks in a skill.

With sufficient ranks in Linguistics, you earn the following.

**5 Ranks**: You can use Linguistics instead of Sense Motive to intercept and interpret secret messages (as the Bluff skill). You gain a +1 insight bonus on Perception and Disable Device checks to detect or disarm written magical traps. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 ranks beyond 5 you possess in Linguistics.

**10 Ranks**: If you succeed at a Linguistics check by at least 10 when examining writing, you can learn the precise meaning rather than general content, and you never draw false conclusions on a failed check. A successful DC 30 Linguistics check reveals the general meaning of speech, a successful DC 35 check reveals 1d4 pieces of specific information, and a successful DC 40 check reveals exact meaning.

**15 Ranks**: You can decipher dead languages with little reference material by succeeding at a Linguistics check (DC = 30caster level). This will not tell you exactly what something means, however it can give you a general feel of what it means or it’s purpose.

**20 Ranks**: You can attempt to decipher text at a rate of one page per round. If you instead spend 1 minute per page, roll twice and take the better result.

Any Character may learn to read lips with a rank in Linguistics as if they had learned a new language. When reading the lips of a speaking creature within 10 feet in normal lighting conditions, the reader need not make any skill checks. In situations of dim lighting, extreme distances, or to read the lips of someone trying to hide their words from the reader, the reader must make Perception checks (DC determined by the GM based on the situation). A lip reader may only understand spoken words in a language it knows.