You are skilled at working with language, in both its spoken and written forms. You can speak multiple languages, and can decipher nearly any tongue given enough time. Your skill in writing allows you to create and detect forgeries as well.

Check: You can decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic form. The base DC is 20 for the simplest messages, 25 for standard texts, and 30 or higher for intricate, exotic, or very old writing. If the check succeeds, you understand the general content of a piece of writing about one page long (or the equivalent). If the check fails, make a DC 5 Wisdom check to see if you avoid drawing a false conclusion about the text. (Success means that you do not draw a false conclusion; failure means that you do.)

Both the Linguistics check and (if necessary) the Wisdom check are made secretly by the GM, so that you can't tell whether the conclusion you draw is true or false.

Create or Detect Forgeries: Forgery requires writing materials appropriate to the document being forged. To forge a document on which the handwriting is not specific to a person, you need only to have seen a similar document before, and you gain a +8 bonus on your check. To forge a signature, you need an autograph of that person to copy, and you gain a +4 bonus on the check. To forge a longer document written in the hand of some particular person, a large sample of that person's handwriting is needed.

The Linguistics check is made secretly, so that you're not sure how good your forgery is. As with Disguise, you don't make a check until someone examines the work. Your Linguistics check is opposed by the Linguistics check of the person who examines the document to verify its authenticity. The examiner gains modifiers if any of the conditions are listed on the table above.

Learn a Language: Every 2 ranks, you may increase your fluency stage in one language, or start learning a new language or script at the pidgin or decoding fluency stage. Additionally, you can invest skill points directly into increasing your fluency stage: for each skill point invested in this manner, you can increase your fluency in a single language or script or start learning a new language or script. You may not increase your fluency in a language or script by more than one stage per level.

There are three stages of fluency in a language:

• Pidgin fluency: You can use simple words and short sentences to indicate basic needs, call for help, and to buy or sell things. You take a -8 penalty in Diplomacy and Bluff checks when communicating with someone at this stage of fluency.

• Basic fluency: You can make normal small talk and handle everyday usage, simple tactical information, and simple haggling. You take a -4 penalty in Diplomacy and Bluff checks when communicating with someone at this stage of fluency.

• Native fluency: You can participate in discussions on complex topics, such as trade negotiations, large-scale strategy, or magical phenomenon. Native fluency allows you to attempt to communicate in related languages if a) you have native fluency in a geographically related language (often from a neighbouring area), or b) if you have native fluency in three or more languages from the same language family. The base DC is DC 10 for pidgin fluency stage messages, DC 15 for basic fluency-stage messages, and DC 20 for native fluency-stage messages.

Additionally, there are two stages of fluency in a script:

• Decoding fluency: slowly read glyphs or letter-forms by mentally decoding them, write glyphs and letter-forms with deliberate intent to form the shapes through manual dexterity. Decoding a page of ordinary text takes about one minute. When attempting to decipher a written text in an unfamiliar language but you have decoding fluency in the used script you have a +2 bonus on your Linguistics check.

• Native fluency: read and write glyphs and letter-forms without barrier, interpret artistic renditions and deformed writings, and recognize writing when worked into other shapes. When attempting to decipher a written text in an unfamiliar language but you have native fluency in the used script you have a +4 bonus on your Linguistics check.

Action: Varies. Deciphering a page of ordinary text takes 1 minute (10 consecutive rounds). Creating a forgery can take anywhere from 1 minute to 1d4 minutes per page. Detecting a forgery using Linguistics takes 1 round of examination per page.

Try Again: Yes.

Special: You must be trained to use this skill, but you are always at the native fluency with your native language and script (provided you have an Intelligence of 3 or higher), and you can always attempt to read archaic and strange forms of languages you have native fluency in. In addition, you can also always attempt to detect a forgery.

Additionally, ignore the bonus languages entry of Intelligence in Core, p. 17, and instead use the following:

You apply your character’s Intelligence modifier to:

• The number of additional fluency stages you can select for languages and scripts geographically or linguistically related to your native language. These are in addition to your native language. If you want to select fluency in an unrelated language or script due to extra-curricular training, please consult your GM. If you have a penalty, you can still read and speak your native language unless your Intelligence is lower than 3.