Understanding for Ouereans

[ATGiltspire]

Hello! 

During a shift lately, it was pointed out to me that humans from Ouerea, despite being Hegemony citizens, are entirely incapable of comprehending Sinta'Unathi. This strikes me as somewhat strange, since I would expect that they would be taught it during primary education. I spoke with Lent, and he agreed that it would make sense from a lore perspective for Ouerean humans to at least understand Sinta'Unathi, even if they couldn't speak it. I understand that giving access to a race's language may seem a bit insulting, but from a lore perspective, it feels odd for someone who has spend like... Decades among sinta to not be able to understand a single word. 

I do have a minor solution. Adding in a loadout item, a book that teaches the basics of Sinta'Unathi, provided the recipient has a free language slot, to the Xenowear (Unathi) section. Mechanically, while the recipient would be able to speak it due to the game's code, from a roleplay perspective, they could not. The Xenowear (UnathI) section already has the Oueran passcard, so it isn't like some humans aren't able to use it anyways. This also acts as a filter against players just grabbing it for extra languages: If they break the RP rules associated with it, they run the risk of having their entire Unathi WL inspected again. 

From a lore idea, the book would act as a refresher course for those away from home, reminding the user of the language. While not legally required for the human and skrell citizens of Ouerea, it is seen as a sign of respect to learn to understand the language of the Hegemony, showing that they are dedicated to the Izweski nation and her people. Mechanics wise, it would be functionally similar to the martial arts skillbooks, but instead of allowing the player to suplex someone, it would allow them to understand Sinta'Unathi. Sprite-wise, it would be a small book with the original Ouerean flag on it. I could knock that out in about an hour, if needed.


I know this is a super specific suggestion, I just feel like it would fit the lore without giving an unfair advantage by giving the recipient a free language or anything. Thank you for reading my proposal!

[greenjoe]

I believe it can be made so languages can't be spoken by certain species

Could sinta'unathi be made unspeakable by humans so the idea of a load out book for it could then work?

[Evandorf]

I get strong Han and Chewie vibes from this. 

[Carver]

I like this idea, but I dislike the weird gamey use of a book for it. In the past, I had a suggestion that may hold merit here. Said suggestion would give a language ‘exceeding’ the language cap, which I always felt was something fine given one should always have their origin language and human beings can easily learn more than 3 languages with proper exposure and effort.

It didn’t accommodate for a listen-only version, but that’s probably doable by figuring a way to make it so only a certain species can speak X or Y language even if other species can know the language.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Carver

[ATGiltspire]

I mean, I don't want it to feel like they should have extra stuff, either. I think, overall, your idea was really good, and I think that it has a good core. Not sure why it just kind of disappeared and got locked.