Languages

This article complies with version 0.94 of Runarcana RPG

The Importance of Languages

Cultural identity is a complex construction that is formed through the interactions of various elements intensified by the passage of time. One of the most important elements in this cultural construction is the language, which reflects many aspects of its people, whether in its grammatical complexity, the primacy of sounds and even in its relationship with other languages.

A language may arise as a derivation of another, either through a relationship of cultural proximity or even dominance, as normally happens in the history of nations. In other cases, a language may be a way of trying to get closer to an external language, be it a language spoken by deities and spirits or even creatures from another dimension.

Languages ​​in Runeterra

The known history of Runeterra provides information on four primary peoples, the natives of the Freljord, the tribes of Valoran, the first people of Ionia, and the western diaspora, with all known peoples being derived from these four and the interactions between them, though not all interactions are known and recorded.

The peoples who came in the Western diaspora eventually became the Buhru, the Shurimans, Targonians, Helians, and even the reclusive Ixtaelians, while peoples such as the Demacians and Noxians derive from common ancestors with the tribes of Valoran.

When we speak of Piltover, Zaun and Bilgewater, we are also speaking of great cultural melting pots, whether it be the settlement known as Osha Va'Zaun that eventually became Piltover and Zaun, or even Bilgewater itself, where the native Buhru accepted and welcomed the foreign Paylangi.

In each of these nations and regions, different languages ​​emerged, flourished, died or gave birth to new languages, each with its own characteristics and reflections of the cultural identity of these regions. In some cases, these languages ​​developed through interaction with other languages, vernaculars and dialects, each finding its own usefulness and becoming established with its speakers, expressing their ideas and ways of seeing the world.

The 3 Approaches

The languages ​​of Runeterra are varied and although they have not been extensively detailed in the official and canonical material made available, with the information we have we can create a functional structure for RPG adventures based on this canonical information.

For a table, session, campaign or RPG story, Languages ​​can play a very important role, especially in campaigns that seek to interact with different regions and in this process work on this additional layer of realism, where people who do not speak the same languages ​​need to overcome this barrier in a creative way.

In Runarcana, 3 approaches are proposed for the issue of languages, with the most recommended approach being the so-called “fantastic” one, which takes into account characteristics chosen by the characters outside of the combat axis and values ​​the players’ choice to know other languages.

Ideally, the approach should be chosen by the GM before the characters are created, so that during their creation, they can give due importance to the characteristics that add languages.

Simple

This approach, as the name suggests, seeks to simplify the interpretation layer, which is suggested for short stories, inexperienced masters and players, bringing less concern with communication. In this approach there is a “Common” language and all characters can speak this language as well as all non-player characters, although it is actually simpler, this approach has its characteristics that must be respected.

In this approach, the features that provide access to languages ​​are usually little used, usually being directed to exotic or even dead languages.

While all communication is facilitated between players, the same goes for enemies, so an enemy character who hears the players' plans will understand it easily, which would not happen if the language was a natural barrier.

The same goes for players overhearing or gaining access to their enemies' plans, removing additional time that could be spent deciphering messages that are not encrypted but are still in a language unknown to the players.

Fantastic

In the fantasy approach, the “Common” language does not exist, but there is Valorian spoken normally in Demacia, Noxus, Piltover, Zaun, Bilgewater and on the slopes of Ionia as a language close to common, with each region having its own languages, but Valorian being a lingua franca.

This language appears to be a variant of Va-Noxian, the official language of Noxus, which ended up gaining importance and reach precisely because of the Empire's expansionism. In some places it may even be common knowledge, but not used precisely because of its connection to the Noxian Empire and the problems caused by its expansionism.

Valorian ends up being a mercantile language that facilitates negotiations and is used in documents, especially banking documents and letters of credit, for this reason, although it is not the official language of any location, it is spoken by almost all of Runeterra.

Pseudo-Canonical

The pseudo-canonical approach seeks greater proximity to reality and to what has been revealed as canonical, creating some normal complications of a world where different languages ​​are used extensively.

This approach favors the creation of characters that have knowledge of several languages, rewarding players who prioritize a character build with room for characteristics linked to exploration and interpretation.

The Arcane Problem

A abordagem pseudo-canônica é a que se mostra mais próxima do que foi apresentado em todas as obras ligadas a Runeterra, mas gera uma pequena problemática no tangente a Arcane, onde vemos Noxianos e Piltovenses conversando normalmente sem que haja uma barreira linguística. Para isso, é possível assumir que o idioma Piltovense é um idioma relativamente comum justamente pela importância de Piltover como centro tecnológico e comercial de Runeterra. Essa abordagem encontra algumas barreiras como a ausência de um nome canônico para esse idioma, além da complexidade do idioma por precisão histórica ser chamado por padrão de Zaunita, justamente pela herança de Kha'Zhun or Osha Va'Zaun, como essa região era chamada, enquanto parte do império de Shurima. Por essa herança histórica, Piltover e Zaun falam o idioma Zaunita, embora tenham cada um seu dialeto e, por conta das relações de poder, entre os piltovenses o idioma seja chamado de Piltovense também, como forma de elitizar a comunicação e se diferenciar dos “Zaunitas”. O momento histórico da campanha pode influenciar bastante nessas escolhas, por isso é importante escolher com cuidado o mesmo e como ele impacta essa escolha em uma mesa.

Escolhendo Idiomas

Sua Origem indica os idiomas que seu personagem conhece por padrão e seu antecedente talvez conceda acesso a um ou mais idiomas, à sua escolha. Anote-os em sua ficha de personagem.

Escolha seus idiomas da tabela Idiomas Comuns, ou escolha um que seja mais comum na sua campanha. Com a permissão do Mestre, você pode escolher algum idioma da tabela Idiomas Exóticos ou um idioma secreto, como as gírias de ladrão ou Lunari. Alguns desses idiomas são, muitas vezes, famílias de idiomas com muitos dialetos. Por exemplo, o idioma Freljordiano Atual inclui os dialetos Avarosiano, Praeglacius, Garras do Inverno e Lokhfar, um para cada tribo ou região de Freljord. Criaturas que falam diferentes dialetos da mesma língua podem se comunicar entre si.

Idiomas Comuns
Idioma	Falado Em	Dialeto	Falado por
Buhru	Águas De Sentina	-	Humanos Buhrus
Demaciano	Demacia	Dialetos Regionais	Humanos
Freljordiano	Freljord	Dialetos Tribais	Humanos
Ioniano	Ionia	Dialetos Regionais	Humanos e Vastayas
Ixtali	Ixtal	-	Humanos
Minotáurico	Runeterra	-	Minotauros
Noxiano	Noxus	Va-noxiano	Humanos e Minotauros
Sentinense	Águas De Sentina	-	Humanos
Shurimane	Shurima	-	Humanos
Targonense	Monte Targon	Rakkor	Humanos
Vastayês	Ionia	Dialetos Tribais	Vastayas
Yordle	Bandópolis	-	Yordles
Zaunita	Piltover e Zaun	Piltovense	Humanos, Construtos

Alguns Idiomas Exóticos não possuem escrita, são eles: Dracônico, Espiritual, Elemental, Feérico, Ochnun, Primordial, Silvestre, Troll.

Idiomas Exóticos
Idioma	Falado por
Celestial	Celestes
Dracônico	Dragões
Demoníaco	Ínferos, Akana
Espiritual	Espíritos, Kanmei
Elemental	Elementais
Feérico	Fadas
Heliano	Tocados pela Névoa
Icathiano	Humanos
Ochnun	Mortos-vivos
Primordial	-
Rúnico	-
Shurimane Antigo	Humanos
Silvestre	Bestas e Antroplantæ
Troll	Trolls

Idiomas Mortos são aqueles que praticamente nenhuma criatura viva ainda utiliza no seu dia-a-dia.

Idiomas Mortos
Idioma	Falado por
Demaciano Antigo	Demacianos
Vorrijaardiano	Celestiais
Freljordiano Antigo	Humanos, Observadores
Ioniano Antigo	Humanos, Vastayashai’rei, Gigantes
Ur’Nox	Humanos
Vasthayshai’rei	Vastayas
Yeti	Yetis