Babbling with "Tongues" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Babbling with "Tongues" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Abelard
03-05-04, 01:11 PM My Bard is about to pick up Tongues, and I'm a little confused by the wording...

from the SRD

This spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature, whether it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect. The subject can speak only one language at a time, although it may be able to understand several languages.

Why the limitation to speaking "only one language at a time"? For all the ettin- or hydra-PC's?:D Seriously, I'm not sure what this is about.

As I understand the spell, I can speak any language during the effect. I can switch the language from sentence to sentence, or even from word to word. Is this the way it works?

And what does it mean to "understand several languages"? I'm presuming it means beyond the ones I understand without the spell effects, of course. If I'm speaking in Dwarven (a language I don't know), and then switch the spell so I can speak Celestial, don't I stop understanding the dwarf standing next to me?
Luminous Crayon
03-05-04, 01:39 PM Speaking: I've always assumed this to mean that if you're talking to a crowd of individuals who all speak different languages, you can't just say what you're saying once and have the tongues spell automatically translate it in the mind of each listener. You have to actually say your speech once in gnomish, once in dwarven, once in elven, and so on. The wording is rather clumsy, though.

Understanding: Tongues works like Comprehend Languages, except that you don't have to touch the creature speaking to you in order to understand them. While the spell's in effect, you can understand any language. This is pretty clear, at least to me, in the first part of the spell description; the second muddies it up a bit.
Seeker95
03-05-04, 02:07 PM If you're speaking to a diverse-language crowd, this spell lets you understand what everyone in the crowd is saying (assuming they do not all speak at once) but that you will have to repeat yourself in each separate language if you want them all to udnerstand you.
Wizard
03-05-04, 02:09 PM Tongues=Temporary infinite ranks in Speak Language.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Abelard 03-05-04, 01:11 PM	My Bard is about to pick up Tongues, and I'm a little confused by the wording... from the SRD This spell grants the creature touched the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature, whether it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect. The subject can speak only one language at a time, although it may be able to understand several languages. Why the limitation to speaking "only one language at a time"? For all the ettin- or hydra-PC's?:D Seriously, I'm not sure what this is about. As I understand the spell, I can speak any language during the effect. I can switch the language from sentence to sentence, or even from word to word. Is this the way it works? And what does it mean to "understand several languages"? I'm presuming it means beyond the ones I understand without the spell effects, of course. If I'm speaking in Dwarven (a language I don't know), and then switch the spell so I can speak Celestial, don't I stop understanding the dwarf standing next to me?
Luminous Crayon 03-05-04, 01:39 PM	Speaking: I've always assumed this to mean that if you're talking to a crowd of individuals who all speak different languages, you can't just say what you're saying once and have the tongues spell automatically translate it in the mind of each listener. You have to actually say your speech once in gnomish, once in dwarven, once in elven, and so on. The wording is rather clumsy, though. Understanding: Tongues works like Comprehend Languages, except that you don't have to touch the creature speaking to you in order to understand them. While the spell's in effect, you can understand any language. This is pretty clear, at least to me, in the first part of the spell description; the second muddies it up a bit.
Seeker95 03-05-04, 02:07 PM	If you're speaking to a diverse-language crowd, this spell lets you understand what everyone in the crowd is saying (assuming they do not all speak at once) but that you will have to repeat yourself in each separate language if you want them all to udnerstand you.
Wizard 03-05-04, 02:09 PM	Tongues=Temporary infinite ranks in Speak Language.