INTRODUCTION

Len Lakofka has been playing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
and ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® games since
there were such things, and this particular contribution to the
game system of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ fantasy world
setting is exceptionally useful for those who have not established a detailed campaign in a specific area of the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK. It is also nearly as useful for those who have such
an established campaign, but who allow “outsiders” to come in
from other parts of the world.

This system allows not only for determination of the birthplace and alignment of a character, but it also provides an
interesting mix of languages known for both humans and demihumans. With these developments comes a greater understanding of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK and its language forms; and
the more highly developed the background for a campaign, the
more easily such a campaign is managed. For these reasons I
am particularly enthusiastic about the treatment Len has provided. I have checked it over for “accuracy,” and a few minor
changes have been made in order to more closely conform with
the actual area. I have also appended a brief description of the
racial types common in the Flanaess. With these additions, we
believe that your campaign on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK will
be greatly enhanced. Experience will, I am sure, prove this
statement to be true.

E. Gary Gygax

Author’s introduction
This article is designed as a supplement to the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK Gazetteer, though some parts of it can stand
alone.
Creating new characters is always fun. The more a player can
identify with a character, the better the play of the character
tends to be. By adding “meat” to a character, the DM increases
interest in that figure.
A character’s place of birth and the language(s) he/she can
use have long been vital aspects of a character’s life history. As I
add scenarios to Lendore Isle (see WORLD OF GREYHAWK,
Spindrift Isles), I am careful to use languages and birthplaces
from the “known world” (as defined in WoG).

A human character’s place of birth

The chart which follows, used to determine the birthplace of
human characters, favors those locations (provinces/countries)
where the “most common alignment(s)” is non-evil. Bands of
adventurers who are evil can be put together, of course, but
since most modules and campaigns are designed for non-evils,
only those locations will be given here.

Place of birth may be important in determining the alignment
of a character, but it will not always absolutely define that
alignment. In cases of apparent conflict, the DM can simply rule
that the family of the character did not practice the predominant
alignment of the area, or perhaps that the family moved to a
locale of suitable alignment soon after the birth of the character.

Characters who are of a class or a race which makes a particular alignment mandatory should not be inhibited by the results
of the chart. It is entirely possible for a character born in UII, for
instance, to grow up to become a paladin. All that is necessary is
for the DM to create a reason why the character is lawful good in
a land of chaotics and neutrals.

On the other hand, if the alignments listed for an area are just
as “good” for the character as any others, one of the given
alignments can be considered a good “random” choice.

Birthplaces for human characters

d% roll	Place of birth	Likely alignments
01-05	The Great Kingdom	Any
06	The Sea Barons	CN
07-08	Lordship of the Isles	LN
09-10	Sunndi	LN, CG, N
11	Idee	N, CN
12	Irongate	LN
13-14	Onnwal	LN
15-17	Almor	LN, LG
18-28	Nyrond	LN, LG, NG, CG
29	Ratik	N, CE, CN
30	Cold Barbarian state	CN
31	Rovers of the Barrens	CN, N
32	Duchy of Tenh	LN, N
33-34	Theocracy of the Pale	LN, LG
35-36	Shield Lands	LG, NG, N
37-41	County/Duchy of Urnst	N, NG
42-44	Greyhawk	Any
45-54	Kingdom of Furyondy	LG, NG, LN
55	Tiger/Wolf Nomads	N, CN
56-57	Ekbir	LN, N
58	Tusmit	N
59-62	Zeif	LN, N
63-64	Paynims	CN, N
65	Ull	CN, N, CE
66	Ket	CN, N
67-69	Perrenland	LN, N, NG
70	Highfolk	CG, N, CN
71-82	Velluna	LG, NG
83-84	March of Bissel	NG, N, LG, LN
85	Gran March	LN
86-87	Duchy of Geoff	CG, CN, NG
88-89	Sterich	CG, CN, N
90-91	The Yeomanry	LG, LN
92-94	Kingdom of Keoland	LN, LG, NG, CG, CN, N
95	Tri-States	LN, LG, CG, N, CN
96-99	Wild Coast	Any
00	Character's choice	Any

Naturally, neither the DM nor players should feel bound by
every birthplace or alignment tendency indicated by the chart.
Some places of birth might not seem logical for a certain class
of character; for instance, if a character rolls the land of the Frost
Barbarians as his place of birth, it is somewhat of a conflict if the
character happens to be a magic-user. (The barbarian races
would produce fighters, if not berserkers, as their major class.) If
a birthplace seems incongruous with the class or other characteristics of a figure, simply re-roll or make a logical selection
from the available choices.

A demi-human character’s place of birth
If a character is of one of the demi-human races, use the table
below to determine birthplace. Half-elves are treated as elves;
half-orcs appear where humans and humanoids (specifically
orcs) reside.

Birthplaces for demi-humans, Main table

Place of birth	Elf	Dwarf	Gnome	Hobbit
Use subtable at top of next column	01-05	01-05	01-05	01-05
Sunndi	06-10	06-12	06-08	-
Irongate	11	13-14	09	06-16
Onnwal	-	15-18	-	-
County of Urnst	-	-	-	17-19
Ratik	-	19-36	10-13	-
Duchy of Urnst	-	37-43	14-17	30-58
Spindrift Isles	12	-	-	-
Highfolk	13-15	-	-	-
Veluna	16-23	-	18-26	-
Duchy of Geoff	24-28	-	-	-
Sterich	-	44-52	-	-
Sea Princes	29	-	-	-
Ulek (all)	30-40	53-72	27-33	59-82
Celene	41-52	-	34-38	-
Wild Coast	53	73-74	39-41	83-88
Dreadwood	54-69	-	42	-
Gnarley Forest	70-74	-	43-46	-
Verbobonc	75-76	-	47-52	-
Grandwood Forest	77-81	-	-	-
Flinty Hills	-	-	53-54	89-95
Gamboge Forest	82-90	-	55-58	-
Stark Mounds	-	-	59-60	-
Kron Hills	-	-	61-89	-
Glorioles	-	75-97	-	-
Menowood	91	-	-	-
Silverwood	92	-	-	-
Vesve Forest	93-99	-	90-98	-
Welkwood	00	98-00	99-00	96-00

Birthplaces for demi-humans, Subtable

Given below are places where "few" or "some" demi-humans
live, according to the WORLD OF GREYHAWK

Place of birth	Elf	Dwarf	Gnome	Halfling
The Great Kingdom	01-03	01-03	01-03	01-03
The Sea Barons	04	04	04	04
Lordship of the Isles	05	05	05	05
Idee	06-08	06-08	06-08	06-08
Almor	09	-	09	09
Frost Barbarians	10	09	10	10
Snow Barbarians	11-13	10-12	11-13	11-13
Ice Barbarians	14	13	14	14
Rovers of the Barrens	15	14	15	15
Duchy of Tenh	16-18	15-17	16-18	16-18
Theocracy of the Pale	19-21	18-20	19-21	19-21
Shield Lands	22	21	22	22
County of Urnst	23	22-23	23-24	-
Greyhawk	24-26	24-27	25-28	23-24
Kingdom of Furyondy	27-29	28-30	29-31	25-28
Wolf Nomads	30	31	32	29
Tiger Nomads	31	32	33	30
Tusmit	32	33	34	31
Spindrift Isles	-	34-36	35-37	32-34
Ket	33	37	38	35
Perrenland	34-36	38-40	39-41	36-38
Highfolk	-	41-43	42-44	39-41
Veluna	-	44-50	-	42-48
March of Bissel	37-39	51-53	45-47	49-51
Gran March	40-42	54-56	48-50	52-54
The Mage	43-49	-	51-58	-
Duchy of Geoff	-	57-59	59-61	55-57
Sterich	-	-	62-68	58-64
Sea Princes	-	60	-	65
Kingdom of Keoland	50-56	-	69-75	66-72
Celene	-	-	-	73-79
Dyvers	57-59	61-63	76-78	80-82
Grandwood	-	64-66	79-81	83-85
Lorridges	-	67-73	82-89	-
Gamboge Forest	-	-	-	86-92
Stark Mounds	-	74-80	-	-
Barrier Peaks	-	81-87	-	-
Axewood	60-67	-	-	-
Fellreev Forest	68-74	-	-	-
Hornwood	75-88	-	-	-
Rieuwood	89-95	-	-	-
Vesve Forest	-	-	-	93-97
Choice of any available, either table	96-00	88-00	90-00	98-00

Breaking language barriers
Once a character’s place of birth and alignment are fixed, it is
time to determine the language(s) the character speaks. Following hereafter is a list of all possible languages and their basic
characteristics, followed by lists to determine the language
spoken by the human occupant of a given region.

Common sense and logic must be used when the lists are
employed. Suloise, for example, is a language of learned men
that is all but forgotten as a primary tongue. It would be silly to
have a fighter of low intelligence speak it as a primary language
just because that was the result produced.

WORLD OF GREYHAWK Languages

Language	Primary or Secondary	Usual speaker
Suloise	Secondary	Scholars, sages, magic-users, illusionists, bards
Flan	Primary	Peasant to king
Baklunish	Primary	Peasant to king
Oeridian	Primary	Peasant to king
Common 1	Primary*	Peasant to king
Ferral 2	Secondary	Learned and ranked characters only
Nyrondese 3	Primary	Peasants and those of little education
Nyrondese 3	Secondary	Educated characters
Cold Tongue (Fruz) 4	Primary	Barbarian races
Velondi 5	Primary	Rural folk, peasants
Keolandish 6	Primary	Peasant to king
Lendorian	Secondary	Educated characters

* Common is known by all adventurers, though
they might not be fluent in it.

1 -- A mixture of Suloise and Oeridian tongues with
some Baklunish admixture.

2 -- Oeridian tribal language.

3 -- High Oeridian dialect of Common.

4 -- Suloise with Flan admixture.
5 -- Oeridian tribal language.

6 -- Old High Oeridian with admixtures.

Languages spoken by human occupants
The following list presents the general locations within the
WORLD OF GREYHAWK, the most common alignment(s)
found therein, and a list of the languages spoken by occupants
of the area. Roll d% to see which language is used by a particular
character. In the “Special” category will be listed a particular
tongue, if at least a 1% probability exists that the language will
be spoken by a character. For regions where a “Special” language is not mentioned, the chance of such an obscure dialect
being used by a character is negligible.
 

The Great Kingdom (Kingdom of Aerdy): chaotic evil, lawful
evil; Oeridian 01-20, Common 21-99, Suloise 00.

Sea Barons: chaotic evil, chaotic neutral; Common 01-94,
Oeridian 95-00.
 

Lordship of the Isles: neutral, chaotic neutral; Oeridian 01-03,
Common 04-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

County of Sunndi: lawful neutral, chaotic good; Oeridian 01-
07, Common 08-99, Special 00 (Ferral).

County of Idee: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common 06-
98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Free City of Irongate: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common
06-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Free State of Onnwal: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-06, Common 07-99, Special 00 (Ferral).

Prelacy of Almor: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian 01-07,
Common 08-00.

Kingdom of Nyrond: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian
01-03, Common 04-85, Suloise 86, Special 87-00 (Nyrondese).

Bone March: chaotic evil; Common 01-00.

Barony of Ratik: neutral; Common 01-00.

Frost Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-06,
Common 07-60, Special 61-00 (Cold Tongue).

Snow Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-05,
Common 06-62, Special 63-00 (Cold Tongue).

Ice Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-04,
Common 05-63, Special 64-00 (Cold Tongue).

Hold of Stonefist: chaotic evil; Flan 01-02, Suloise 03, Common 04-99, Special 00 (Cold Tongue).

Rovers of the Barrens: chaotic neutral, neutral; Flan 01-20,
Baklunish 21-36, Oeridian 37-46, Common 47-99, Suloise 00.

Duchy of Tenh: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-88, Oeridian
89-90, Common 91-00

Theocracy of the Pale: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-05,
Common 06-00.

Bandit Kingdoms: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01-13,
Baklunish 14, Oeridian 15-24, Common 25-00.

Shield Lands: neutral good; Flan 01-02, Baklunish 03, Oeridian 04-18, Common 19-00.

County of Urnst: neutral, neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian
02-07, Common 08-00.

Duchy of Urnst: neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-03, Common
04-00.

Greyhawk: any; Flan 01, Baklunish 02, Suloise 03, Oeridian
04, Common 05-99, Special 00 (Velondi).

Kingdom of Furyondy: lawful good; Flan 01, Baklunish 02,
Suloise 03, Oeridian 04-20, Common 21-85, Special 86-00
(Velondi).

Horned Society: lawful evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-04, Oeridian 05-09, Common 10-00.

Land of luz: chaotic evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-06, Oeridian
07, Common 08-00.

Wolf Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-35, Oeridian 36-80, Common 81-00.

Tiger Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-40, Oeridian 41-85, Common 86-00.
 

Caliphate of Ekbir: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-47, Oeridian
48-53, Common 54-00.

Tusmit: neutral; Baklunish 01-12, Oeridian 13-27, Common
28-00.

Sultanate of Zeif: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-79, Oeridian
80-94, Common 95-00.

Plains of the Paynims: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-92, Oeridian 93-97, Common 98-00.

Ull: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-30, Oeridian 31-51, Common 52-00.

Ket: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-49, Oeridian 50-61, Common 62-00.

Perrenland: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-49, Baklunish 50-
57, Oeridian 58-65, Common 66-00.

Independent Town of Highfolk: neutral, chaotic good; Oeridian 01-07, Common 08-00.

Archclericy of Veluna: lawful good; Suloise 01, Oeridian 02-
24, Common 25-88, Special 89-00 (Velondi).

March of Bissel: neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-19, Common 20-00.

Gran March: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-17, Suloise
18, Common 19-98, Special 99-00 (Keolandish).

Valley of the Mage: lawful neutral; Flan 01-02, Oeridian 03-04,
Common 05-00.

Duchy of Geoff: chaotic good; Flan 01-50, Oeridian 51-57,
Common 58-00.
 

Earldom of Sterich: chaotic good; Flan 01-12, Oeridian 13-60,
Common 61-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish)

Yeomanry: lawful good; Flan 01, Suloise 02-04, Common
05-00.

Hold of the Sea Princes: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01,
Oeridian 02-17, Suloise 18, Common 19-00.

Kingdom of Keoland: chaotic good, neutral good; Flan 01-02,
Oeridian 03-12, Suloise 13, Common 14-80, Special 81-00
(Keolandish).

Tri-States of Ulek <Duchy, Principality>: neutral good, neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian
02-11, Suloise 12, Common 13-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish).

Kingdom of Celene: chaotic good; Oeridian 01-02, Common
03-00.

Wild Coast: any; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-09, Suloise 10, Common
11-00.

The Pomarj: chaotic evil, lawful evil; Oeridian 01-06, Suloise
07, Common 08-00.

The Scarlet Brotherhood: lawful evil; Suloise 01-05, Common
06-00.

Spindrift Isles: lawful neutral; Suloise 01-02, Common 03-75,
Special 76-00 (Lendorian).

Notes on Special languages
In most cases, a “special” language generated from the list
above is simply a dialect of one of the more popular languages.
However, those who speak a dialect will not always automatically understand someone who speaks the native tongue or another dialect of the native tongue.
 

Intelligence is the factor which determines whether a character can understand someone else who is speaking a related
language. The chance of a character’s understanding is equal to
that character’s intelligence times 6% (note exception below
under The Cold Tongue). Missing the desired percentage by
1-20 will yield partial, incomplete understanding, and missing
the desired percentage by 21 or more means that the character
cannot under stand a word the other character is saying. Note
that this “chance to understand” roll only applies to characters
whose languages are related.

Example: A party member with an intelligence of 14 speaks
fluent Common. He comes upon a figure who speaks only Nyrondese, a dialect of Common. There is a chance of 14 x 6% =
84% that the party member will understand the other member. If
an 85 or higher is rolled, it means the party member will be able
to communicate somewhat, but will not fully perceive the other
speaker’s thoughts and intentions through speech alone. In this
case, since the party member’s intelligence was sufficiently
high, there is no chance of him being totally in the dark. Note
that under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a character
of 17 or higher to fail to understand someone speaking a related
language (17 x 6% = 102%).

If the Nyronder in the above example has an intelligence of 11,
there is a 66% chance he will understand the party member.
There will be incomplete understanding on a roll of 67-86, and
no verbal understanding will be possible if the roll is 87 or
higher. This roll should only be made once for each particular
pair of characters.

Following are descriptions of each of the special languages,
including an indication of which languages they have no rela-
tion to, as well as related languages which might allow for
understanding between speakers.
 

Ferral: Originally of Oeridian derivation, this is now a secret
language spoken only by officials of the Iron League. These
officials include high-ranking fighters, clerics, and other persons in a position of authority. Ferral is used only for command
and identification purposes, and is never a primary language. It
can be understood by those speaking Oeridian.

Nyrondese: This is little more than a dialect of Common which
is spoken by residents in some locales of Nyrond. It is a primary
language particularly for peasants, shopkeepers and the like.
Learned persons almost always speak Common as well. It can
be understood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.

The Cold Tongue: Also called “Fruz,” this language is a dialect of Suloise. It is commonly spoken as a primary language
among the Ice, Snow and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to
Common, and even those speaking Suloise find it difficult to
understand (use intelligence x 4% instead of 6% in this case
only). It can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or
Flan.

Velondi: This is a dialect of Old Oeridian spoken primarily in
Veluna and Furyondy. It is the primary language of rural folk on
the common border between the two countries. Those who
speak Common cannot comprehend it at all, but it can be understood by those who speak Oeridian.

Keolandish: This is a widespread dialect of Old High Oeridian
which is a primary language for those of the area in which it is
spoken (Keoland and the surrounding lands). It is old (400+
years) and established; however, learned persons will usually
speak Common and/or Old Oeridian as well. It can be understood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.

Lendorian: This is an obscure dialect of Suloise. It has no
relation whatsoever to Fruz (The Cold Tongue). It is, in all cases,
a second language for those who speak Common. Only characters with an intelligence of 9 or higher can learn Lendorian, and
it can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or
Common.

Number of languages known
Generally, whether a character can know one or more languages depends on the character’s intelligence. There is one
universal rule: Every character knows at least a bit of the Common tongue, even if it is not that character’s primary language. A
character who rolls a language other than Common as a primary
language will still have the ability to communicate in Common
to some degree, and Common will be treated as an “additional
language” even if the character’s intelligence would not normally allow for the knowledge of an additional language. The degree of fluency in Common does vary according to intelligence,
however; a character with intelligence of 7 or less would have at
best a rudimentary knowledge of Common as a secondary
language.

Characters with intelligence of 3-6 are able to speak a given
language. They might know how to read and write very simple
words in their primary language only. The chance to be able to
read and write a primary language is equal to intelligence x 12%
(roll separately for reading and writing), so that a character with
intelligence of 9 or higher will automatically have the ability to
read and write. The chance of being able to read and write a
secondary language is equal to intelligence x 3% (again, roll
separately for each ability).

Characters with intelligence of 7 or less will speak no other
language besides Common, if that is their primary tongue.

Characters with intelligence of 8 or more can speak one additional language, over and above the primary tongue. Up to seven
additional languages are permitted (for a figure of 18 intelligence; see AD&D Players Handbook, page 10). These additional languages can be determined by using the table on page 102
of the Dungeon Masters Guide, with the lists given herein aiding
in the selection of a “Human foreign or other” language. Common is considered an “additional language” for all who do not
use it as a primary tongue.

To determine whether an additional language is known by a
character at this point in time, multiply 13% times the number of
“possible additional languages” of the character (PH, page 10)
as indicated by the character’s intelligence. If the desired
number or less is generated, a character can have a secondary
language at the present time. Make a new roll for each attempt to
know a secondary language, until a roll fails or until a character
has used his maximum number of possibilities. Optional: Add
2% to the chance to know a secondary language for each level of
experience after first level, up to a maximum bonus of 20%.

Example: A character with an intelligence of 15 may be able to
speak as many as four languages in addition to the primary
language. For this example, the character’s place of birth is
Urnst and his primary language is Common. His chance to know
any secondary language at this time is equal to 13% x 4, or 52%.
If a result of 01-52 is obtained on a dice roll, the figure will speak
one additional language and then may roll again, seeking to
again roll 01-52 and obtain a second additional language. The
process is repeated until a result of 53-00 is rolled (which could
be on the first attempt), or until the character has obtained as
many additional languages as possible.

Those characters who don’t know as many additional languages as they possibly could will have the opportunity to learn
them at a later point in the character’s adventuring career.
Learning a language amounts to quite a bit more than simply
sitting around the campfire and memorizing a few more words
each night. Learning requires continual, almost constant use of
the new language, which is best accomplished in the company
of others who speak and write the language fluently, or through
the employment of an instructor.

A learning process like this will take a minimum of two months
of solid work on the character’s part, during which time NO
adventuring may be undertaken by the character. At the end of
two months, roll once to see if fluency has been attained (using
the same percentage as was originally applicable; i.e., 52% in the
above example). Failure means that one more month of study
must be undertaken before another try for fluency can be made.

(Optional: Additional study, if needed, must be undertaken
immediately, with no lapse between the first two months and the
next one, in order to test for fluency without penalty. For every
lapse in learning of one week, the chance for fluency is reduced
by 5% the next time such a check is made. For example, if the
character described above failed on his initial roll to know an
additional language after taking two months of training, he
could train for another month right away and check again at the
same percentage chance (52%). However, if he takes a week off
between the first two months and the next month of training, the
next check for fluency would be made at 47%. Note that the 5%
penalty applies only to the chance to know the particular language for which training was taken. If a character wishes to
begin instruction in a different language, checks for fluency
after the training period would be at 52% as usual.)

Languages for demi-humans and humanoids
The AD&D Players Handbook lists basic languages for demihumans and humanoids, and more language information for
humanoids is found in the Monster Manual. As with humans, the
intelligence of a demi-human or humanoid character has a bearing on which languages he can know— and, as with humans, all
adventurer demi-humans will have at least a rudimentary
knowledge of Common.

To more closely conform with the rest of this system, the
strictures given in the Players Handbook on which languages
(and how many) a demi-human can know should be altered
according to the following specifications and restrictions. Notes
which follow the listing of the demi-human races will give reasons for the differences which are outlined.

Dwarves will always speak dwarven and Common. It is possible for a dwarf to know gnome, goblin, kobold and orcish as
additional languages, with a percentage chance of knowing
each one equal to intelligence x 5%, or intelligence x 8% if
proximity is a factor. A dwarf may know up to two additional
languages regardless of intelligence.

Elves will always know elvish and Common. Possible additional languages include gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin,
orcish and gnoll, with the chance of knowing any one equal to
intelligence x 5% (or x 8% for proximity). Elves with intelligence
of 16-18 may roll for additional languages on the table on page 102 of the DMG,
ignoring a roll if it produces a language already
known but counting it if it produces a language which has been
attempted and failed. The chance of knowing any language
generated from that chart would be 80% for an elf of intelligence
16, 85% for intelligence 17 and 90% for intelligence 18.

Gnomes will always know gnome and Common, and have the
ability to communicate with burrowing animals as described in
the Players Handbook. A gnome has a chance of intelligence x
5% to know dwarven, halfling, goblin, kobold, or 1-2 languages
from the table on page 102 of the DMG, with the same 8%
provision for proximity. The proximity rule would also apply to
local human tongues. (Note that a gnome is not necessarily
limited to two additional languages, as per the PH.)

Half-elves will always know Common, and will know elvish if
raised by one or more elves. Additional languages possible
— only for a character raised by one or more elves — (intelligence x 5%, or 8% for proximity) include gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish and gnoll. Half-elves of intelligence 17
have an 85% chance to know 1 language from page 102 of the
DMG, and those of intelligence 18 have a 90% chance to know
up to two languages from that table.

Halflings will always know halfling and Common. Possible
additional languages include dwarven, gnome, goblin, orcish,
and 1-2 additional languages (page 102, DMG) for those of
intelligence 17 or higher. The proximity rule of intelligence x 8%
applies in all cases except proximity to gnomes, which uses a
figure of intelligence x 10% instead.

Half-orcs will always know Common, and will know orcish if
raised by one or more orcs. Possible additional languages include hobgoblin, goblin, gnoll and kobold, at a chance of intelligence x 5%. The bonus for proximity does not apply to half-orcs.
Those of intelligence 16 or 17 may learn 1-2 additional languages (page 102, DMG) at chances of 80% and 85% respectively.

The changes in this procedure from that outlined in the Players Handbook are designed primarily to account for an individual character’s background and intelligence. Instead of automatically knowing certain languages in addition to Common
and the racial tongue, characters must check against their intelligence to see if they know any additional ones. Also, it is not
automatic for a half-elf or half-orc to know elvish or orcish,
respectively. Only characters who were raised in a group/family
with at least one member of the non-human race can possibly
know that racial language in addition to Common.

The basic chance to know any of the other racial languages is
enhanced for characters who were brought up by members of
one race in proximity to a group of another race. This proximity
bonus applies between races that are non-hostile toward each
other (elves vs. gnomes, for example), but no proximity bonus is
used between races that oppose each other (elves vs. orcs).

It is entirely possible that a demi-human who was brought up
by humans only would not be able to learn all of the racial
tongues listed as possible for that demi-human type. Also, characters raised in towns will have a smaller chance of being able to
know the various racial languages than characters raised in a
rural area or the wilderness.

Using the base chance of intelligence x 5% (or more for proximity), a roll should be made for each character for each racial
language listed. Even if one or more of the dice rolls results in
failure, it is still possible to succeed in knowing another racial
language. This is different from the system used for humans,
where failure on a roll for a secondary language means that no
further attempts may be made without undergoing a learning
process.

APPENDIX
by E. Gary Gygax

Racial types of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK fantasy setting

Baklunish: The Baklunish people have golden-hued skin
tones. Their eyes run from gray to green, although brown is
most common. Their hair color runs from brown to black. Variance is by tribe and nation.

Flannae: The Flannae have bronze-colored skin. Although
some are more coppery, numbers of them are very dark bronze
(deep brown). Eye color tends to brown or black, although some
have a pale amber eye coloration. Hair tends to be dark brown or
black.

Oeridians: The Oeridians are tan- to olive-skinned. Some
tribes are on the fairer side, while others are rather dark. Their
eye color tends to vary to any shade. Hair color runs from dark
blonde to black, but the most common hair color is brown or
reddish brown.

Suloise: The Suloise are very fair-skinned people. Although
some are less fair than others, many are nearly albino. These
people have pale blue eyes, very blonde or platinum-colored
hair. The less fair have normal white skin, blonde or light red
hair, and gray or blue eyes.

The inner mixture of Oeridians with Suloise tends toward a
typical European-mix looking population. However, the original
Flannae stock shows up fairly commonly in just about any society, so that there will be light-bronze to deep-bronze folk intermingled in most populations.
 

The mix of Oeridian and Baklunish brings a fairly light skin —
a real yellowish cast, rather than the vague yellow of the oriental
human.

A cross of Baklunish and Flannae yields a golden-copper skin
color.

In general, the skin color of an individual makes no difference
in many places, although the nobles of the Great Kingdom are
very jealous of being light-skinned, just as the rulers of the
Duchy of Tenh are conscious of the supposed superiority of
their bronze color. In the central south region, from Greyhawk
to the Duchy of Geoff, there is little heed paid to skin color, just
as there is little heed paid to absolute racial type, i.e. human or
demi-human, except perhaps by demi-humans who sometimes
feel superior to humans.