Quote from: Christopher Brady;1028675I understand why, but then very few games allow you to pick them up 'organically', requiring you spend a resource.

But doesn't that make sense? You expend a great deal of effort to learn a language, even 'organically'.

Quote from: Omega;1027617Something that doesnt come up often but one I think can be very important in a campaign is PC literacy. Mostly seen , if ever, in Fantasy and Post-Apoc settings. The ability to read and write can be very important. In a fantasy setting it is usually assumed a wizard character at least can read and write. Though in BX D&D that was not necessarily the case as you could roll up a PC with a 3 INT who can neither read nor speak well. "Ogg make Fire!" Characters up to INT 5 were illiterate.

So in a fantasy setting the ability to read can be very important. And going by BXs guidelines a fair chunk of the average populace can read and write at least common. But sometimes you need someone who can read dwarven when you dont have a dwarf on hand. Or some other odd language. Or read at all for that matter. This is something I feel 5e D&D could make use of more.

Post apoc settings can be much the same. Who can read? Who cant?

Which brings us to the question at hand. How literate, or not, do you play your characters? Do you just assume they can read or do you assume they cant? How important, or not, has the ability to read been in the campaigns you've played in or DMed?

I tend to play literate PCs and have sometimes been the only PC in the group able to read at all. Other times theres been one or two others like a cleric or thief in the group that could. I play a PC in two Post-apoc games that cant read and look to others to handle that stuff. Other times I have again been the only one in the group who can read.

As a DM I like to play up this element at times as it adds a bit of lost history or mystery to the setting. Or can be a background element such as those in charge try to keep the populace illiterate as a form of control. Or its just not caught on yet.

It depends on the genre, setting, and character background.
My Traveller character Wan Guiren ended up chargen with EDU=F, which is the maximum any human can get. Read? He basically knows the basics of all sciences that don't require specific skill. And he's better than some professionals as soon as he gets a basic understanding of the matter:)!
OTOH, when playing a Pendragon knight, he might well be unable to read and write, if he's going for martial skill above all.

Quote from: JeremyR;1027628Reading isn't very hard (I mean, children who can barely walk can do it), so IMHO, you need to explain why people would be illiterate.  Is the written language super complex? Is there a monopoly on learning?

The existence of the scribe profession and basically a big chunk of medieval history are proof to the opposite;).

Quote from: Lynn;1028812But doesn't that make sense? You expend a great deal of effort to learn a language, even 'organically'.

It depends on the game system.  For example D&D, you could spend years in a country, learning its language and culture, but if you don't adventure for XP and spend the advancement (assuming that version of the system allows it) you never get the new language.  In games, it's mostly flavour anyway, which is why most fantasy games default to a 'Common' tongue, despite how a plausible country would have a different language system.

I have no problems giving my players languages 'for free' if they spend enough time in a region to learn the language.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;1028675Good times.  Last time I saw one of those, I wasn't banned TBP.

I love languages, and I like it when games use dialects instead of making sure everyone can speak a common tongue.  I understand why, but then very few games allow you to pick them up 'organically', requiring you spend a resource.

In my Albion and L&D campaign you can learn languages by spending enough time studying the language, either immersed or with the help of a tutor.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;1028864In games, it's mostly flavour anyway, which is why most fantasy games default to a 'Common' tongue, despite how a plausible country would have a different language system.

Other than one or two long-ago high-school D&D campaigns that mostly ignored languages, I don't think I've ever seen language treated as solely or even mostly just flavor. But I mostly use systems that have skills, including language skills.

Quote from: Bren;1029188Other than one or two long-ago high-school D&D campaigns that mostly ignored languages, I don't think I've ever seen language treated as solely or even mostly just flavor. But I mostly use systems that have skills, including language skills.

I will point out for historical interest that Middle Earth had a "common tongue."  Even goblins and orcs spoke Westron.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;1029192I will point out for historical interest that Middle Earth had a "common tongue."  Even goblins and orcs spoke Westron.

Point taken, But Middle Earth didn't have any lightning bolt spells and Gandalf's burning pine cones in the Hobbit were a pretty shitty kind of "fireball." In point of fact I wasn't referring to literature, but if you want to get all literary Moorcock's fantasy nearly always ignores or hand waves language differences between humans/humanoids, Burroughs had virtually every intelligent being on the entire planet Mars being able to speak to one another and Tarzan could talk to apes and learned English and French by reading it in books without first knowing how to read or having a teacher. So yeah lots of writers don't want to slow or clutter the bulk of their narrative with translation issues. And most authors aren't James Joyce. We shouldn't be surprised if there are lots of GMs and players who don't want to bother with translation issues either. But in literature there aren't many authors who regularly track how many arrows an archer has, bullets the pulp hero carries, how many torches an explorer uses, or how much food the heroes are carrying. Some game systems (OD&D) expect you to track that shit. Others (BoL) mostly don't. I was merely referring to my experience which is different than that of Chris. I'm pretty fine with people paying attention in gaming to the stuff they find interesting and ignoring the stuff they don't. Heck I've heard some folks do crazy shit like feed their dungeon orcs on takeout from fast food restaurants.