Deepen Your Experiences By Using Languages Effectively in 5E D&D

Languages are staples of human experience. Dungeons & Dragons captures this through the mechanic of languages yet for all of the significance language plays in real life I don’t see languages come up very often in 5E D&D. Over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted talk about special languages in 5E D&D as well from editions past. Secret languages are really languages relegated to specific classes or custom lineages and while the latter can have some elements that entwine in recent hot button debates the former adds some fantastic flavor to your world.

Languages in fantasy

Fantasy languages exist everywhere in the genre. Magical languages are common, as shown in Dragon Age’s Tevene and Elvish. Elven is the language of magic in the Eragon books and prevents direct lying. Beyond these a plethora more examples exist of strictly elf language lore.

Dwarf languages are frequently associated with runes and smithing Dwarvish language into weapons is a trope for enchanting magic into objects. Dwarves are also known for ancient or lost writing, especially in series like the Elder Scrolls with Dwemeris.

Languages can be used to imbue mystery or clues in your 5E D&D game. If an object possesses infernal or demonic writing these can warn the characters about prodding too much lest they invoke some hellish curse. Perhaps an object with celestial writing offers comfort or inspires awe. If the players find Ignan — the writing of flame based creatures in 5E D&D — in the middle of an aquatic dungeon the dissonant nature of the writing may give them pause.

Anytime you need an easy way to hint to players something about history, religion or lore in general then languages are a fantastic way to go. It’s a wonder to me more Dungeon Masters don’t play into this. It’s a convenient shorthand for dumping massive amounts of information.

If the DM doesn’t directly tell the players more than the existence of the language itself this can also let the characters piece together elements on their own and help them feel special. There’s nothing like realizing your character possesses the specific language requirement to solve a key puzzle or mystery.

Different types of languages

In the video Dave talked a bit about Thieves’ Cant and looking for symbols or signage to clue into locations a character might find interesting. Something to keep in mind with languages in 5E D&D is languages themselves are a mechanic of communication, but it doesn’t necessarily work the same as a traditional language would in our world. For example, Thieves’ Cant is specifically related to a hiding your language in code.

Different people groups throughout the ages have made code based languages, from oppressed or marginalized groups to criminal organizations and even religions. As kids we loved making our own languages and secret codes while playing. One could also argue slang is a code language to exclude those who might not be cool or in the know about certain things.

When it comes to Druidic I love the idea it’s the primal language learned by listening to nature itself. I imagine something breathy and abstract where specific thought is difficult to communicate yet emotions and instincts flow. In my own 5E D&D games Druidic is a means for humans and animals to connect through its more instinctually driven aspects.

Other languages could also be made easily enough in your 5E D&D games given specific contexts. For example, movements and gestures made with fans, parasols and gloves were an entire language unto themselves in the Victorian Era. [NERDITOR’S NOTE: A similar communication tool from this era is floriography. Believe it or not the languages of flowers is something we’ve explored here on the site too!]

Sign languages are common among the deaf and hard of hearing communities and Braille is read by the blind. Including such nuance into your games would not only offer inclusion of different groups to deepen your world but these languages can also be used for presenting puzzles and covert communications.

My character Berk from our first season of Dungeons and Delving is a hard of hearing dwelf who speaks sign language and reads lips courtesy of the Observant feat. This feature of his character has come in handy a few times over the course of the season.

One of my favorite episodes of a little known SyFy series called Alphas featured a woman who designed her own language by scraping brushes and other rough surfaces then translating the visually represented wavelengths into English.

Using languages effectively in 5E D&D

Languages have so much potential in our 5E D&D games to deepen worlds. Languages can make our characters so much more than merely another elf or dwarf. They can offer context for their pasts and potentials for their futures. This post barely scratches the surface of potential for using languages effectively in 5E D&D on the whole. Hell (pun intended), I didn’t even cover abyssal, infernal, primordial or any of the other really weird languages.

But what do you think? How do you use languages to effectively develop your 5E D&D characters, setting or plots? Let us know in the comments, by tweeting us @Nerdarchy and connecting with us on Facebook!

*Featured image — Skitterwidgets speak their own simple language, which is composed of high-pitched, vowel-heavy squeals called the language of squeals. If you want to be a 5E D&D hyperpolyglot you may wind up learning unusual languages like this, our own Beardic or our personal favorite — Ice Toad. [Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast]