Backgrounds (Grisaire Supplement)
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The world of Grisaire, with its many connections, creates more backgrounds that are tied to specific organizations not present in core material. There are a lot of backgrounds that are still generic enough, however, to be used in this setting. You can use any core material backgrounds from the PHB in addition to these options. Generic backgrounds do not necessarily have any special flavor, and can belong in a setting outside of Grisaire easily. They also are not heavily constrained to a very niche idea or profession. Specific backgrounds might have ties to elements unique to Grisaire, or be more exclusive and narrow in concept.
- Generic Backgrounds
- Cook
- Monster Hunter
- Mercenary
- Adopted
- Stranded
- Royal Cavalry for members of organizations like the Crownsguard or other royal guards
- Specific Backgrounds
- Archivist and Chronicler - possible links to Essence Scholars and Secret Keepers
- Executioner and Torturer
- Inventor
- Mage Hunter - In cahoots with the AML
- Shadow Bringer - In cahoots with the Ashen Face
- Shadow-Taken - People corrupted by the Uncreated who live to tell the tale
Languages[edit]
Ultimately, this aspect of most games will be merely background. The usual Common is prevalent throughout Grisaire, though there are different dialects. These dialects are not always the result of different languages mixing in, as sometimes they result from the culture around. They still use the same Common script. The table below shows the most prevalent Common dialect varieties.
Region/Area Dialect | Description |
---|---|
Gigan | Gigan Common is common in south Edim, much of Adum, northwest Zesh, and east Premius. It is a dialect influenced by the language of giants and disseminated further by populations like the goliaths and giant descendants. |
Sampfan | Sampfan Common was once mistaken to be derived from fey creatures. It is actually a dialect unique to those who are versed in the druidic arts and language of nature. This is the primary dialect of Cijel, though it is also found in Adum, Igribus, and Zesh. |
Arcoran | Arcoran Common, also known as High Common, is the "standard" of Common which is held to be the original. It can be found in pretty much all parts of Grisaire. This is the Common that is taught in most universities and used in most scholarly writings. |
Lunan | Lunan Common is primarily found in the populations living in the south (Edim, Kalim, Doru Islands, Khaire). The dialect is coupled with a script which reads from right to left instead of left to right. |
The following are the most common languages in Grisaire, barring Common. Their speakers are generalized in a nation where they have large numbers, but they are not limited to these populations. While the spoken portion is often the most unique, written scripts may overlap in many aspects and thus be legible to someone who does not speak the language. However, the mix of characters will usually prevent complete understanding. For example, while Goblin uses a script alphabet similar to Common, their words remain different. So the word "tree" is written as "reyzak," which only someone who knows Goblin would be able to translate. That is not to say there are not cognates, of course, but the sharing of alphabet should not be assumed to be any ease of communication. A real life example would be how languages like Vietnamese and Polish use largely the same alphabet as English, barring accents, but the words and structures are completely distinct.
Language | Found In | Script |
---|---|---|
Shou | Lozorians | Shou Pictography |
Giant | Hagai | Dwarvish |
Draconic | Khaire, Lozor, Aerzale | Draconic |
Dwarvish | Engal, Premius | Dwarvish |
Gnomish | Engal, Aerzale | Dwarvish |
Elvish | Adum, Zesh | Elvish |
Orc | Adum, Edim | Dwarvish |
Goblin | Doru Islands, Zesh, Adum, Hagai | Common |
Halfling | Premius, Aerzale, Engal | Common |
Uncommon, or exotic, languages are usually known only via association or culture. Outsiders may know them if they are well-read and traveled. However, they do not serve as much purpose as the more common tongues for daily use. Their speakers are restricted here to just groups which speak them. Some of these languages may just exist but are not used at all, or at least barred from players as an option. Spydric, in particular, is an extremely obscure language in which the texts of Resoolt are written. Celestial, Infernal, and Primordial are often the languages among gods and their representatives, though they also speak a tongue unknown to mortals that uses powerful runes even runepriests know only a little of. The Uncreated do not speak a language, instead communicating entirely via telepathy usually. There is a cultish language that supposedly comes from the depths of the planet which some of the Ashen Face have used in ceremony, which is a relative of Deep Speech.
Language | Speakers | Script |
---|---|---|
Shou | Lozorians | Shou Pictography |
Abyssal | Demons | Infernal |
Celestial | Celestials | Celestial |
Infernal | Devils | Infernal |
Primordial | Elementals | Giant, Dwarvish |
Sylvan | Fey | Elvish |
Undercommon | Criminals | Thieves Cant |
Spydric | Resoolt Priests and fanatics | ??? |
- Aberrant Language
The language spoken by creatures from and creatures touched by the distant voids of unknown space like the Astral Sea and Far Realm do exist in Grisaire. There are ideas that the Uncreated originate from such a place. Generally, aberrations display a tendency towards telepathic arts over that of conventional speech and verbal communication. It is considered a more perfect means of communication, where words would muddle. While rare, there was a written form of language that was found in ruins, supposedly in worship to the Uncreated. The script is very strange and consists of glyphs that stretch and contain pod structures in its depictions. Ultimately, it ends up looking like a scrawl of art on a wall. This would be considered the equivalent of Qualith. Even scholars in this area struggle to determine the true meaning. It is said only those with true connections to the Uncreated can decipher what they mean. In general, for normal people, looking at Qualith gives them unnerving sensations and it makes animals uncomfortable.
- The Language of Magic
See Arcanish
Magic runes are their own language. This language is known only to those who have extensively studied such arts. As such, usually only wizards are aware of runes and their effectiveness. Some, like warlocks, may have gleaned this knowledge through their patrons. Learning the language of magic, also known as Arcanish, is the same as mastery of runes. Runes were created by Tribore as another means of solidifying magic's powers solely in symbols. Arcanish is divided into three groups usually: Koubres, Luk ta, and Renr'a. Each one requires a lot of study to understand, even moreso to master, as they are each unique in construction. Renr'a is the most general of the scripts, while Koubres and Luk ta are more specialized.
Grisaire Campaign Settingv | ||||||||
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Players Guide | Races, Backgrounds & Languages, Classes, Spells & Magic, Downtime Activities, Feats | |||||||
World of Grisaire | History, The World, Society, Cosmology, Religion | |||||||
Dungeon Master's Guide | About, Treasure, Bestiary, Tables, Help, Adventures, NPCS, Variant Rules | |||||||
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