Languages

All specialists use Table 4 on page 16 of the Player's Handbook to determine the number of languages they can learn (in addition to their native tongue). Certain types of specialists may be able to exceed these limits. Eligible specialists might include those with exceptionally strong academic backgrounds or those who devote a large amount of their spare time studying new tongues.

The types of effects created by a particular wizard might also suggest an extraordinary aptitude for languages; for example, wizards specializing in Transformation magic might not seem to have any particular affinity for languages, but those specializing in Creation might (since they're involved in producing conditions that didn't previously exist, which could include communication skills).

If a new specialist is to have exceptional language skills, keep the following guidelines in mind.

· A new specialist should not be able to acquire more than one language over the limits given in the Player's Handbook. For instance, a specialist with an Intelligence of 9 should not be able to learn more than three languages.

· The DM should consider limiting extra languages to high-level specialists; level 15 or higher is suggested, but the DM has the final decision. (In other words, our specialist with an Intelligence of 9 cannot learn his third language until he reaches level 15.)

· Learning the extra language should never be automatic. The DM should oblige the specialist to locate a suitable tutor, devote several hours a day to studying difficult texts, or invent some other requirement that emphasizes role-playing. For the transfigurist, nothing about his specialty suggests an exceptional aptitude for languages, so he'll be restricted to the language limits given in the Player's Handbook.

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