User:Spazalicious Chaos/The World of Varanost (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Character Options

To get the really grim and gritty feel of the world and Varanost, it is recommended the following adjustments are applied. If these do not appeal to you, then try to tone it down as much as you are comfortable with.

Varanost Languages and the Speak Language Skill
To fully comprehend the complexity of language, starting languages and Speak Language need to be completely rewritten.

Starting Languages
All character begin play with the listed languages at a Fluency equal to their Intelligence score, with secondary languages taking a -1 penalty for each language after the primary. ''Example: Arian Blade the elven Rogue has 15 Intelligence and Elves begin play with Elven and Common. Thus, Arians Fluency in Elven is the full 15 of her Intelligence, but her Common is only 14 Fluency.'' Each character must also choose a dialect for each language she knows. The Dialect must be consistent with the characters background and upbringing. All characters also have a number of points to spend on other languages equal to their Intelligence modifier, allowing them to start knowing a little bit of other languages. Example: Arian's player wants her to know how to get out of trouble in several languages, and thus spends her extra Intelligence modifier points on one Fluency each of Orc and Dwarven.

To learn what all of this means, see below.

Speak Language
Trained only

Ranks in this skill allow access to Fluency points, which measures how well you can speak a language. These points must be put into a specific dialect, but can be put into different dialects within the same language family (ie you can learn more than one kind of Common, for example.) Fluency is measured on the following scale:

Rank 1-The Few Phrases: Upon gaining your first rank in a languages dialect, you choose any five words you know in that language. They can be singular words (HELP!), short phrases (Fuck your mom!), or one long and useful phrase (Don't shoot! I'm a reporter!). Every rank you buy in the language adds another 5 words to your vocabulary until you gain the Rank 5 mark.

Rank 5- Basic Conversation: At the 5 rank mark, you have a very heavy accent but know enough use common greeting and farewells, understand general directions, and can ask about common times, places, and foods. In addition, by listening to a fluent speaker you can get the gist of what he said on a successful DC 20 Intelligence check. Every additional rank you buy adds another two topics on which you can converse, though you retain the accent until you have gained 10 ranks.

Rank 10- The Native Speaker: At 10 ranks you lose your accent and become perfectly fluent in the language, even to the point of being able to get the gist of related dialects with a DC 20 Intelligence check. However, oh so fluent one, you have yet one more weakness- slang terms. At Fluency 10 you do not understand slang whatsoever, but for every rank you continue to put in you learn the the slang of one subculture in this language. This continues until you gain rank 15.

Rank 15- Well Spoken: At 15 ranks in a language you gain a mastery over speech that few other have, even to the point of speckling your speech with words borrowed from similar languages, gaining the effect of Rank 1 Fluency in related dialects. Every rank you put into the language past 15 gains a +1 synergy bonus on any check where speaking fluidly and well would help. Example: having put one more rank into the Elven Ahavel language (Fluency 16), Arian gained a +1 bonus on her Diplomacy check when appealing for her release in the Elven Court. This continues until Fluency rank 20 is achieved.

Rank 20- High Speech: At 20 ranks you have learned the language families High Speech, the language used for religious rites, formal events, and swearing oaths. There is no dialect for High speech; once you learn High Speech you have learned the same language used by the entire set of dialects. It is for this reason that you are now counted as having Fluency 5 in all related dialects. Every rank past 20 net a +1 synergy bonus on any formal ritual or ceremony. This continues until the epitome of language, rank 30, is achieved.

Rank 30- Ancient Speech: At 30 ranks you can fluently speak the long dead language that gave birth to yours. Like High Speech, Ancient Speech has no dialects, for at this point you have found the root of the language. From this point on, you have a +2 synergy bonus on all checks that relate to anything that ever used this language. You make take 10 on all decipher script checks with any languages that have descended from this language, and you gain a +2 bonus on all Charisma based checks with anything that is old enough to remember this language. ''GMs note: The easy way to find out how old and Ancient language is is to take the maximum age of the race that uses it and multiply it by 10. For Example, Ancient Elven is 7,500 years old, While ancient Common is only 1,100 years old. Reason: almost no one in Varanost lives to be as old as possible. Hell, you're an old timer if you can make into middle age, an too old to work if live to your old age category. Thus, a races maximum age limit is long enough for 10 generations to live and die, and the above formula shows how much a language can change after 100 generations.''

The language families are no different from those in the Players Handbook. However, the dialects are legion. Each culture will have listed with it the dialects used in Races, with even more dialects in Cultures. Below are the exceptions to this rule:
 * Extraplanar Languages have no dialects, as they are manifestations of an energy and therefore are unified in their communication. The Extraplanar Languages are Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Ignan, Infernal, Sylvan and Terran.
 * Druidic is the language that all Bards and Druids gain 6 ranks in upon their first level. They gain one additional rank per Bard or Druid level they take. Only Druids and Bards may take Druidic, and ancient magical forces prevent it from being taught to any non Bard or Druid; the words merely fade from memory one hour after they are memorized.

Other Skills
Here are some other skills/concerns that should be addressed:
 * Knowledge is power: Once per day per knowledge skill, a character can attempt a DC 20 Knowledge check in regard to a particular situation where the knowledge in question would apply. Success grants one of the following benefits as an insight bonus, as the GM sees fit:
 * +1 on attack rolls against a particular target for one minute
 * +2 on damage rolls against a particular target for one minute
 * +1 on one kind of saving throw against one particular effect for one minute
 * +2 on skill rolls to accomplish one task
 * +1 to armor class when attacked by one particular opponent for one minute


 * Challenge Thine Self: By voluntarily increasing the the risk and the DC of a skill roll, the player may attempt to get more bang out of her skill in one of the following ways:
 * Quicken Task- The skill check only takes half the time it normally takes. If the task is a full round action, it becomes a standard action; a standard action takes a move action, a move action becomes a swift action. This increases the DC by 5. Fail penalty- you break all tools used in the endeavor. If tools are not used and the task is a physical one, you instead take 1d6 damage for every point you missed the DC by.
 * Set Up- You take a risk to make one follow-up task easier, for example taking an extra detailed search of a trap to make disarming it easier. You assign the amount you wish to raise the DC by, and if successful to subtract that raise from the DC of the next related task you perform. Fail penalty- the DC of the next task is raised by however much you missed the first check.
 * Multitasking- You may attempt to perform a second skill attempt alongside your current skill attempt. The DC of the second skill attempt is raised by 10, the primary is unaffected. Fail penalty- if one skill attempt fails, both attempts are ruined.