In which I will expound upon my language rules, which begin here.
The rules in the Crown & Valor player’s guide are fine. They’re basic. They give you a rough idea of what languages there are and how you get new ones. Here below are the Referee’s Guide rules. They are optional and more granular than flipping a switch at 18 months.
The following periods presume regular contact with fluent speakers. Without someone in this category, times are doubled, may be limited to reading and writing, and may be impossible entirely.
For languages significantly different from Common (say, Entish,) the Ref may rule that learning the language takes 25% longer, or that some element of it (speech, for instance) is simply impossible.
If your figure has to take a long break between lessons (a week or more,) there may be some atrophy. Just how much is up to the Ref, but I suggest one week lost for every week away from it until fluency (52 weeks.)
Level 1: 4 weeks. Example: Introduce yourself; simple haggling, order a simple meal.
Level 2: 8 weeks. Ask for directions, read a map.
Level 3: 24 weeks. Example: Read fairly well, have decent conversations, tell simple jokes.
Level 4: 52 weeks. Adequate fluency.
Level 5: 78 weeks. Idiomatic fluency.
An INT 14 or better reduces these periods by 25%.
Special Cases:
Special case 1 is Alignment languages. Remember that these languages are bestowed upon a figure by the nature of the Firmament. They are more similar to dialects or pidgin than fully languages; rely heavily on tone, innuendo, special phrases, and hand and body movements. Therefore it takes half the time to learn an alien Alignment language, but a figure absolutely must have a teacher to do so.
Special case 2 is playing a musical instrument or singing at a professional level.
Level 1 takes 1 week;
Level 2 takes 12 weeks:
Level 3 takes 26 weeks and includes sight reading sheet music; similar instruments now at level 1 proficiency (& &c.);
Level 4 requires 2 years of near-daily practice and permits writing sheet music for the figure’s own edification;
and only the most dedicated can reach level 5. Level 5 takes five years of daily practice and continuous daily practice for as long as the musician wishes to play or sing so well, as for a Duke or King.
Music is also unusual because it is a language a low-INT figure can learn. If a figure has an INT of 8 or less, acquisition of conventional languages is beyond his grasp; music is not. However, very low-INT characters (INT 6 or lower) may require an addition 25% time to reach these levels or proficiency.
