Difference between revisions of "Translate"

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In short: read, write, and speak. For all you cunning linguists out there, the Translate skill brings you what you enjoy most: figuring out all them funny words!  Translate can be used to get the gist of writing or speech that you otherwise don't understand. It is also used to communicate with beings who don't speak or understand your language. Just as [[Discern]] is used to determine intent through behavior, Translate is used to determine intent through communication.
 
In short: read, write, and speak. For all you cunning linguists out there, the Translate skill brings you what you enjoy most: figuring out all them funny words!  Translate can be used to get the gist of writing or speech that you otherwise don't understand. It is also used to communicate with beings who don't speak or understand your language. Just as [[Discern]] is used to determine intent through behavior, Translate is used to determine intent through communication.
  
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Your character starts the game knowing the "Common" language as well as a single language from your homeland. When you buy a rank in Translate, your character gets the added bonus of learning to speak, read, and write in a new language. Talk to your GM about which languages might be available for your character to learn. Here are some examples:
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Your character starts the game knowing the "Common" language as well as a single language from their homeland. When you buy a rank in Translate, your character gets the added bonus of learning to speak, read, and write in a new language. Once you have learned a language, there is no need to roll a Translate check when reading or speaking that language. Talk to your GM about which languages might be available for your character to learn.
  
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* Old Apsaravan
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{{section|Deciphering Text|}}
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* Evengaran (Ancient, Modern)
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You can make a Translate check to decipher the meaning of a passage of text. This could be an old engraving, an ancient moldy scroll, or the sign over a tavern in a distant land. Characters should include ranks from an Occupation which is relevant to the translation (e.g. a scribe perusing an old tome, a diplomat validating treaties, a chemist reading the label on that weird vial of goo you brought back from an adventure). The higher the result, the more accurate your interpretation.
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* Ancient Jureni
 
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* Kulgeric
 
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* Maghashi (Old, Modern)
 
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* Shou
 
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* Gartanian
 
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* Britavyan
 
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* Slendorian
 
  
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{{section|Difficulty|The difficulty for gaining information should be determined on a situational basis by the [[GM]].  Below are a few examples:}}
 
 
{| width="100%"
 
{| width="100%"
−
! Example !! DL
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! Example !! Result
 +
|-
 +
| You're not even close
 +
|align="center"| 5
 +
|-
 +
| You understand a tiny part of it
 +
|align="center"| 10
 
|-
 
|-
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| A conversation or writing from recent years
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| You get a general impression
 +
|align="center"| 15
 +
|-
 +
| You understand most of it, save for some details
 
|align="center"| 20
 
|align="center"| 20
 
|-
 
|-
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| A several hundred year old tablet
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| You understand its correct literal translation, but idioms are lost on you
 
|align="center"| 25
 
|align="center"| 25
 
|-
 
|-
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| Ancient text in a forgotten alphabet
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| You've got it exactly down to the cultural references and word inflection
 
|align="center"| 30
 
|align="center"| 30
−
|-
 
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| Conversation is muffled or text is slightly illegible (smeared, worn)
 
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|align="center"| +5
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
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These are the examples of difficulty for evoking ideas and intents across language barriers.
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If the text is illegible to any degree, or the writing is vastly different from anything you've ever seen before, your GM should give you a penalty on the Translate check. The amount of time it takes to perform the translation certainly depends on the amount of text there is to translate. It takes about 1 minute to translate a page of text verbally and 5–10 minutes to neatly transcribe one.  
  
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{| width="100%"
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{{section|Communicating|}}
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! Example !! DL
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A Translate check comes in handy when you want to convey or interpret a spoken message in a language you don't speak. This involves analyzing or leveraging the tone of voice, body language, pantomime, and even drawings in the dirt. The higher the result, the more accurate your interpretation. The above table lists suitable examples and results for this usage of Translate as well.  
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|-
 
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| Audience speaks or writes in a language similar to your own (Often geographical differences)
 
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|align="center"| 10
 
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|-
 
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| Audience speaks and writes with vastly different characters and patterns than your own (Often racial differences)
 
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|align="center"| 20
 
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|-
 
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| Audience has little to nothing in common with how you communicate (primitive and emotive grunting, exclusively written or signed language, etc.)
 
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|align="center"| 30
 
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|}
 
  
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The [[GM]] might want to roll the Translate check in secret so the player isn't sure what the character interpreted is correct or not.
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Using Translate to communicate verbally could take as much time as needed to get the message across. Combat is not the place to conduct linguistics studies, but simple and important directives can be communicated just as easily as regular speech, and can be done without using AP. Anything complicated or detailed that requires your full attention would require you to spend 4 AP per attempt.
  
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{{section|Time|Translating a full page of text generally takes 5–10 minutes.  Communicating without a common language depends on the complexity of what you are trying to say.  Plus, some people you just can't get through to.}}
 
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
[[Category:Skills]]

Revision as of 23:09, 22 June 2019

Typically used with: Insight.

In short: read, write, and speak. For all you cunning linguists out there, the Translate skill brings you what you enjoy most: figuring out all them funny words! Translate can be used to get the gist of writing or speech that you otherwise don't understand. It is also used to communicate with beings who don't speak or understand your language. Just as Discern is used to determine intent through behavior, Translate is used to determine intent through communication.

Your character starts the game knowing the "Common" language as well as a single language from their homeland. When you buy a rank in Translate, your character gets the added bonus of learning to speak, read, and write in a new language. Once you have learned a language, there is no need to roll a Translate check when reading or speaking that language. Talk to your GM about which languages might be available for your character to learn.

Deciphering Text

You can make a Translate check to decipher the meaning of a passage of text. This could be an old engraving, an ancient moldy scroll, or the sign over a tavern in a distant land. Characters should include ranks from an Occupation which is relevant to the translation (e.g. a scribe perusing an old tome, a diplomat validating treaties, a chemist reading the label on that weird vial of goo you brought back from an adventure). The higher the result, the more accurate your interpretation.

Example Result
You're not even close 5
You understand a tiny part of it 10
You get a general impression 15
You understand most of it, save for some details 20
You understand its correct literal translation, but idioms are lost on you 25
You've got it exactly down to the cultural references and word inflection 30

If the text is illegible to any degree, or the writing is vastly different from anything you've ever seen before, your GM should give you a penalty on the Translate check. The amount of time it takes to perform the translation certainly depends on the amount of text there is to translate. It takes about 1 minute to translate a page of text verbally and 5–10 minutes to neatly transcribe one.

Communicating

A Translate check comes in handy when you want to convey or interpret a spoken message in a language you don't speak. This involves analyzing or leveraging the tone of voice, body language, pantomime, and even drawings in the dirt. The higher the result, the more accurate your interpretation. The above table lists suitable examples and results for this usage of Translate as well.

Using Translate to communicate verbally could take as much time as needed to get the message across. Combat is not the place to conduct linguistics studies, but simple and important directives can be communicated just as easily as regular speech, and can be done without using AP. Anything complicated or detailed that requires your full attention would require you to spend 4 AP per attempt.

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