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Languages of Thesalon

Thesalon has no universal language spoken equally by every person.

The language called Common in Pathfinder 2e represents the shared language most useful in the region where a campaign takes place. For the Marithel starting campaign, Common represents Maritime Common, the widely taught contact language of Marithel’s harbors, sea routes, merchant houses, refugee districts, and international crews.

Maritime Common allows characters from distant communities to conduct ordinary conversation. It does not replace the regional, household, ancestry-associated, professional, sacred, and planar languages used throughout Thesalon.

A person’s ancestry does not determine their first language.

A dwarf raised in Windrider Freeport may speak Maritime Common and Maritheli before learning Dwarven. An orc raised in Estenwatch may speak Caerlish and Estenmark Border Speech without knowing Orcish. A human raised in an Ilyrian lizardfolk household may speak Ilyric and Iruxi. A tengu raised aboard a mixed ship may speak Maritime Common, Tengu, and a shipboard sign language.

Language follows upbringing, education, work, travel, community, and personal history.

On This Page

• Pathfinder 2e Language Rules
• Common in the Marithel Campaign
• Language Rarity and Access
• Master Language Directory
• Regional Languages
• Widespread Ancestry-Associated Languages
• Specialized Ancestry and Community Languages
• Aquatic Languages
• Subterranean and Mountain Languages
• Fey, Spirit, and Shadow Languages
• Elemental Languages
• Planar and Sacred Languages
• Undead and Funerary Languages
• Ancient, Constructed, and Lost Languages
• Signed Languages
• Scripts and Writing
• Languages by Continent
• Languages by Ancestry
• Languages by Profession
• Learning Languages
• Translation and Magical Communication
• Choosing Languages for a Character
• Starting Languages in Windrider Freeport
• What Most People Know
• Related Pages

Pathfinder 2e Language Rules

A character’s ancestry entry states which languages they know at 1st level.

Knowing a language normally means the character can:

• understand it when communicated in a form they can perceive;
• communicate through its ordinary spoken or signed form;
• read and write its standard script, where one exists.

A character with a positive Intelligence modifier gains additional languages as described by the Pathfinder 2e rules.

Additional languages can normally be selected from:

• languages listed by the character’s ancestry;
• common languages;
• regional languages the character has access to;
• uncommon languages granted by their background, upbringing, heritage, or another source.

The Multilingual skill feat and other character options can grant further languages.

Spoken and Signed Forms

A language may have:

• a spoken form;
• a signed form;
• a tactile form;
• an underwater form;
• a light-based form;
• a written form;
• several of these.

Learning one language normally grants practical fluency in the form used by the character’s community. Unusual forms should be recorded on the character sheet when important.

For example:

• a Pearlglass merfolk may know the submerged form of Maritime Common;
• a Highfall strix may know the aerial signaling form of Maritheli;
• a deaf character may use a complete signed form of Caerlish;
• a conrasu may communicate through patterned sound and motion translated as Empyrean.

Literacy

Most player characters are literate in the ordinary script of languages they know unless a character concept, community, disability, or campaign circumstance says otherwise.

Literacy is not uniform across Thesalon. A person may:

• speak but not read a language;
• read an old religious form but not speak it;
• understand a household language but answer in Common;
• know a signed language without knowing its written notation;
• know professional symbols without full language fluency.

Common in the Marithel Campaign

Maritime Common

Pathfinder category: Common.

Primary range: Marithel, Highharbor, Mereth-Kai, Hrafnvik, Selvarin, major sea routes, international ports, and refugee networks.

Common speakers:

• sailors;
• merchants;
• harbor workers;
• pilots;
• diplomats;
• refugees;
• travelers;
• naval personnel;
• people raised in mixed port districts.

Script: Harbor Standard.

Maritime Common developed through sustained contact among Maritheli harbors, Caerlonian western ports, Suthrani Inner Sea cities, Veyrskoldic rescue settlements, Selvarin diplomats, and international ship crews.

It is optimized for:

• ordinary conversation;
• trade;
• directions;
• cargo;
• weather;
• shipboard commands;
• harbor law;
• emergency communication.

It is less precise for:

• local court law;
• theology;
• advanced magic;
• ancestry-specific concepts;
• stewardship relationships;
• complex kinship;
• technical engineering;
• historical documents.

Maritime Common is the default Common language for the Marithel campaign.

A character who knows Common knows Maritime Common unless the campaign begins in another region or the GM approves a different regional form.

Language Rarity and Access

Common Languages

Common languages can normally be selected without special permission.

They are widespread enough that teachers, books, speakers, and practical opportunities to learn them are available in major settlements.

Uncommon Languages

Uncommon languages require an appropriate connection.

Access may come from:

• ancestry;
• homeland;
• household;
• cultural community;
• background;
• profession;
• temple;
• military service;
• planar heritage;
• established study;
• campaign events.

Uncommon does not necessarily mean that few people speak the language. A language can be dominant within one region while remaining uncommon to outsiders.

Rare Languages

Rare languages normally require GM approval or discovery during play.

They may belong to:

• isolated communities;
• ancient civilizations;
• sealed ruins;
• extraterrestrial beings;
• unique magical cultures;
• lost courts;
• exceptionally private peoples.

Secret Languages

Secret languages cannot ordinarily be selected during character creation.

They are learned through:

• membership;
• initiation;
• direct magical experience;
• campaign discovery;
• specific class or character abilities.

Master Language Directory

Core Thesalon Languages

Language	Rarity	Primary speakers or use
Maritime Common	Common	Marithel, international ports, sea routes
Caerlish	Uncommon	Caerlon
Maritheli	Uncommon	Marithel’s established harbor and island cultures
Suthrani	Uncommon	Suthrane
Veyrsk	Uncommon	Veyrskold
Ilyric	Uncommon	Ilyr
Vorraki	Uncommon	Cross-court and foreign-facing use in Vorrak
Selvarin	Uncommon	Selvarin civic and diplomatic life
Dwarven	Common	Dwarven households, holds, engineering communities
Elven	Common	Elven households and long-established forest or court communities
Gnomish	Common	Gnome households, technical and artistic communities
Goblin	Common	Goblin households and mixed work communities
Halfling	Common	Halfling households, agricultural and river communities
Orcish	Common	Orc households and several military, maritime, and mobile communities
Ysoki	Common	Ratfolk households and trade networks
Fey	Common	Fey beings, fey-adjacent communities, Ilyrian and Verdant regions
Draconic	Common	Dragons, dragonets, arcane scholarship, old inscriptions
Jotun	Common	Giants, jotunborn, giant-road communities
Sakvroth	Common	Deep settlements and subterranean trade
Tanuki	Common	Tanuki households and traveling communities
Wayang	Common	Wayang and shadow-connected households
Yaksha	Common	Yaksha, sacred spirits, and spirit-associated communities

Frequently Encountered Uncommon Languages

Language	Primary speakers or use
Amurrun	Catfolk
Anadi	Anadi
Arboreal	Arboreals and some plant beings
Athamaru	Athamaru communities
Azarketi	Azarketi communities
Boggard	Boggards and related wetland communities
Kholo	Kholos
Kitsune	Kitsune
Iruxi	Lizardfolk
Nagaji	Nagaji
Shoony	Shoonies
Strix	Strix
Tengu	Tengu
Tripkee	Tripkees
Vanara	Vanaras
Thalassic	Broad aquatic communication
Tidespeech	Athamaru, merfolk, and some sea creatures
Shadowtongue	Shadow-plane travelers and scholars
Aklo	Occult, strange, or reality-disrupting beings
Necril	Intelligent undead and necromantic scholarship
Requian	Psychopomps and funerary intermediaries
Empyrean	Benevolent and ordered planar beings
Chthonian	Fiendish and lower-planar beings associated with corruption or destruction
Daemonic	Daemons and soul-consuming powers
Diabolic	Devils, contracts, and tyrannical planar powers
Protean	Proteans and beings of cosmic chaos
Utopian	Aeons, archons, and order-aligned planar powers
Pyric	Fire elemental creatures
Sussuran	Air elemental creatures
Petran	Earth elemental creatures
Thalassic	Water elemental and aquatic creatures
Muan	Wood elemental creatures
Talican	Metal elemental creatures
Draconic	Dragons and arcane traditions
Jotun	Giants and giant-associated communities

Rare or Restricted Languages

Language	Thesalon use
Androffan	Androids, ancient technological ruins, sealed machines
Conrasu Pattern-Speech	Conrasu and cosmic manifestations
Goloma	Protected goloma communities
Kashrishi	Kashrishi households and empathic communities
Samsaran	Samsaran spiritual and reincarnation traditions
Shisk	Shisk archives and hidden scholarly communities
Surki	Surki emergence communities
Vishkanyan	Private vishkanya community language
Elder Thing	Ancient nonmortal ruins and hostile cosmic beings
Yithian	Time-displaced or exceptionally ancient intelligences
Mi-Go	Alien biological and occult entities
Formian	Formians and hive polities
Orvian	Deep-world ruins and isolated subterranean cultures
Rasu	Rare cosmic or extraplanar communities
Shae	Rare shadow beings
Wildsong	Secret primal language learned only through specific traditions

Regional Languages

Regional languages represent the major mortal languages connected to Thesalon’s continents and political history.

They are uncommon globally but normally available to characters raised in the appropriate region.

Caerlish

Primary range: Caerlon.

Major speakers:

• Crownward residents;
• Heartplain communities;
• Marchers;
• Torin residents;
• Estenmark households;
• Highharbor residents;
• Caerlonian diaspora communities.

Script: Crownward Letters.

Caerlish is the broad interregional language of Caerlon. Its formal written form developed through Crownward administration, but modern speech contains strong regional variation.

Caerlish is used for:

• continental administration;
• trade;
• military coordination;
• road law;
• reconstruction;
• interregional communication.

Local dialects are covered in regional-languages-and-dialects.md.

Character access: Available to characters from Caerlon, Caerlonian diaspora communities, foreign reconstruction settlements, and institutions that work extensively with Caerlon.

Maritheli

Primary range: Marithel.

Major speakers:

• established harbor families;
• island communities;
• League officials;
• ship households;
• pilots;
• lighthouse workers;
• reef and coastal communities.

Script: Harbor Standard, with numerous local marks.

Maritheli is distinct from Maritime Common. It contains vocabulary for:

• island kinship;
• currents;
• reef conditions;
• fishing;
• household obligations;
• harbor status;
• lighthouse systems;
• hidden waters;
• sea-law distinctions.

A person may speak Maritime Common fluently while missing the social meaning of a Maritheli phrase.

Character access: Available to Maritheli characters, long-term harbor residents, shipborn characters, pilots, and foreign characters raised in Marithel.

Suthrani

Primary range: Suthrane.

Major speakers:

• river communities;
• temple precincts;
• floodplain settlements;
• caravan cities;
• Inner Sea ports;
• mountain gates;
• Suthrani diaspora houses.

Script: River Temple Script.

Suthrani includes terminology for:

• water law;
• temple jurisdiction;
• adoption;
• pilgrimage;
• flood agriculture;
• death and return;
• sacred testimony.

Its formal register is common in temples and river courts.

Character access: Available to Suthrani characters, temple-raised characters, pilgrims, Inner Sea traders, and people raised in Suthrani diaspora communities.

Veyrsk

Primary range: Veyrskold.

Major speakers:

• hold residents;
• hearth communities;
• rescue crews;
• ruin camps;
• giant-road settlements;
• forge workers;
• winter-contract communities.

Script: Hold Runes and Hearth Letters.

Veyrsk contains precise terminology for:

• shelter;
• weather;
• structural danger;
• oath status;
• road condition;
• rescue;
• sealed sites;
• heat and ventilation.

Character access: Available to Veyrskoldic characters, Northfire residents, Hrafnvik-associated sailors, ruin specialists, and foreign workers raised in Veyrskold.

Ilyric

Primary range: Ilyr.

Major speakers:

• canopy communities;
• wetland settlements;
• stewards;
• healers;
• protected-route communities;
• living harbors;
• Ilyrian diaspora houses.

Script: Living Line Script.

Ilyric contains distinctions for:

• permission;
• stewardship;
• ecological relationship;
• living structures;
• healing;
• restricted access;
• sponsorship;
• responsibility to place.

Many concepts do not translate neatly into languages based primarily on ownership.

Character access: Available to Ilyrian characters, Guest Platform residents, stewardship adoptees, healer apprentices, and foreign specialists raised in Ilyr.

Vorraki

Primary range: International markets, mixed subject towns, court-border communities, tribute routes, and foreign-facing institutions in Vorrak.

Script: Court-Market Script.

Vorraki is not the native language of every Vorrakian community. It is a broad contact language created through trade, administration, warfare, tribute, and travel between the Great Seats.

It contains borrowed vocabulary from:

• Great Seat courts;
• Kharruk routes;
• Blackwood communities;
• Gaping Coast broods;
• Dreadshore eyries;
• captured foreign populations.

Character access: Available to Vorrak-born characters, defectors, military specialists, border traders, prisoner descendants, and scholars of Vorrak.

Selvarin

Primary range: Selvarin.

Major speakers:

• municipal residents;
• envoy families;
• translators;
• neutral merchants;
• legal institutions;
• international schools.

Script: Selvarin Civic Hand.

Selvarin was deliberately standardized as a civic language usable without requiring allegiance to a foreign state.

It is strong in:

• diplomatic procedure;
• legal comparison;
• translation terminology;
• treaty status;
• foreign identity;
• civic administration.

Character access: Available to Selvarin-raised characters, diplomats, translators, international legal workers, and long-term residents.

Widespread Ancestry-Associated Languages

These languages are associated with particular ancestries but are not automatically known by every member of that ancestry.

Dwarven

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Silveredge, Veyrskold, Kharad-Sur, Crownward engineering wards, Highharbor, Coinmast, and major subterranean settlements.

Script: Dwarven runic traditions with regional variants.

Dwarven is widely used in:

• engineering;
• masonry;
• hold law;
• mine records;
• craft apprenticeship;
• structural warnings.

Many nondwarves learn it through hold membership or technical work.

Elven

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Ilyr, Verdant Principalities, Blackwood, Crownward, Selvarin, and long-established urban households.

Script: Elven flowing script with local forms.

Elven preserves extensive historical, botanical, magical, diplomatic, and household vocabulary.

Long life does not make Elven unchanging. Ilyrian, Verdant, Blackwood, and urban Elven forms differ substantially.

Gnomish

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Whiteglass, Namarra, Selvarin, Emberdeep, Suthrani temple schools, and technical districts.

Script: Gnomish spiral hand.

Gnomish is common in:

• technical workshops;
• magical theory;
• art;
• theater;
• lensmaking;
• medicine;
• personal correspondence.

Goblin

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Marithel, Caerlon, Vorrak, Veyrskold, trade towns, salvage camps, and reconstruction settlements.

Script: Goblin scratch script and adapted regional scripts.

Goblin is frequently used in:

• work crews;
• salvage;
• repair;
• oral performance;
• camp communities;
• private household communication.

Goblin has many fast-changing local forms.

Halfling

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Heart Plains, Torin, Suthrani river communities, Grainwake, Valenic routes, and agricultural diasporas.

Script: Halfling hearth hand.

Halfling contains detailed vocabulary for:

• family;
• hospitality;
• food;
• agriculture;
• storage;
• local trade;
• domestic agreements.

Orcish

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Vorrak, eastern Caerlon, Marcher settlements, Highharbor, Marithel, and Veyrskold.

Script: Several regional hands rather than one universal script.

Orcish is spoken by many nondorc military, maritime, trade, and mixed households.

No one Orcish dialect represents every orc culture.

Ysoki

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Coinmast, Highharbor, Torinbridge, Osseran, Selvarin, market towns, ports, and caravan routes.

Script: Dense ledger hand.

Ysoki is especially useful for:

• trade;
• kinship networks;
• storage;
• route exchange;
• market information;
• coded family correspondence.

Fey

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Ilyr, Verdant Principalities, Blackwood, enchanted Maritheli islands, spirit communities, and fey crossings.

Script: Varies; many traditions use symbolic or living notation.

Fey is not one mortal ethnic language. It is a broad magical language shared across many fey beings and fey-influenced communities.

Literal wording may carry unusual significance.

Draconic

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Dragons, dragonets, Veyrskold, Drakkar-Grim, Silveredge, arcane schools, old ruins, and magical archives.

Script: Draconic claw script.

Draconic is widely studied because many ancient magical texts use it.

Knowing Draconic does not imply loyalty to dragons.

Jotun

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Giants, jotunborn, Dromgard, Veyrskoldic giant roads, Grimspine, Kharad-Sur, and Silveredge.

Script: Monumental runes.

Jotun can be spoken at several scales. Mortal communities may use reduced-volume forms, speaking platforms, resonant devices, or signed supplements.

Sakvroth

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Deep settlements, subterranean traders, Silveredge, Veyrskold, Ashen territories, and old underground roads.

Script: Deep angular script.

Sakvroth is the most widely used contact language beneath the surface. It does not replace local subterranean languages.

Tanuki

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Windrider, Suthrane, Ilyr, Highharbor, Selvarin, and traveling tanuki households.

Tanuki is rich in:

• hospitality;
• humor;
• shapechanging etiquette;
• trade;
• performance;
• family storytelling.

Wayang

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Mistwell, Long Shadow Court, Varkul-linked regions, Sirenward-adjacent communities, and shadow-touched enclaves.

Wayang contains precise distinctions for:

• shadow;
• reflection;
• concealment;
• altered light;
• overlapping identity;
• planar boundaries.

Yaksha

Rarity: Common.

Primary communities: Ilyr, Suthrani sacred regions, Verdant Principalities, Blackwood, and spirit-associated islands.

Yaksha is used among yakshas and some sacred spirits, shrine custodians, and spiritual intermediaries.

Specialized Ancestry and Community Languages

Amurrun

Speakers: Catfolk and catfolk-centered households.

Primary regions: Ilyr, Suthrane, Marithel, Selvarin, and mobile courier communities.

Access: Catfolk ancestry, catfolk household upbringing, or close community connection.

Anadi

Speakers: Anadi.

Primary regions: Ilyr, Blackwood, Suthrani textile districts, and Windrider.

Anadi has spoken and web-pattern forms. Web arrangement can preserve names, history, directions, and warnings.

Kholo

Speakers: Kholos and some mixed mobile communities.

Primary regions: Red Waste, Sunroad, Heart Plains, Marches, and Maritheli freeports.

Kholo is especially rich in route, scent, family, livestock, and group-position terminology.

Kitsune

Speakers: Kitsune communities.

Primary regions: Ilyr, Suthrane, Verdant regions, Windrider, and Selvarin.

Some Kitsune forms distinguish between statements made in different physical presentations without treating one as inherently more truthful.

Iruxi

Speakers: Lizardfolk.

Primary regions: Saren-Tel, Suthrani rivers, Ilyrian coast, Drowned Reef, Gaping Coast, and Heartplain flood districts.

Iruxi includes spoken, low-frequency, gesture, and environmental forms.

Nagaji

Speakers: Nagaji.

Primary regions: Suthrane, Ilyr, Selvarin, and Maritheli shrine districts.

Nagaji is widely used in sacred law, philosophy, temple custodianship, and healing.

Shoony

Speakers: Shoonies.

Primary regions: Heart Plains, Suthrani rivers, Grainwake, Torin, and Marcher settlements.

Shoony is associated with civic cooperation, farming, household organization, and mutual aid.

Strix

Speakers: Strix.

Primary regions: Veyrskoldic cliffs, Dreadshore, Highfall, storm islands, and Ilyrian plateaus.

Strix can be supplemented by wing, body, distance, and flight-position signals.

Tengu

Speakers: Tengu.

Primary regions: Marithel, Highharbor, Hrafnvik, Mereth-Kai, Dreadshore diasporas, and Selvarin.

Tengu is common among maritime families, collectors, sailors, craftspeople, and travelers.

Tripkee

Speakers: Tripkees.

Primary regions: Ilyr and Suthrane wetlands.

Tripkee includes vocal forms suited to water, rain, reeds, and dense wetland environments.

Vanara

Speakers: Vanaras.

Primary regions: Aelora, Ilyrian canopy settlements, southern Suthrane, tropical Marithel, and Blackwood margins.

Vanara can incorporate posture, tail movement, elevation, and line of sight.

Goloma

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Protected goloma communities.

Primary regions: Ilyrian interior, Blackwood refuges, remote Veyrskoldic valleys, and protected Windrider households.

Learning Goloma normally requires community trust.

Kashrishi

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Kashrishi.

Kashrishi spoken language is often supplemented by empathic context. Nonsensitive speakers can learn it but may miss emotional distinctions.

Samsaran

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Samsaran communities.

Samsaran contains specialized vocabulary for:

• remembered lives;
• uncertain memory;
• spiritual continuity;
• reincarnation;
• inherited experience.

Shisk

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Shisks and associated archive communities.

Shisk is prominent in Quilldeep, Silveredge, Kharad-Sur, and mountain archives.

Surki

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Surki.

Surki is increasingly documented in Emberdeep, Silveredge, Ashen territories, and subterranean Ilyr.

Vishkanyan

Rarity: Rare.

Speakers: Some vishkanya communities.

Vishkanyan is distinct from the broader regional languages spoken by most vishkanyas. It is preserved in family, medical, artistic, and private community settings.

Aquatic Languages

Thalassic

Rarity: Uncommon.

Primary speakers: Water elemental beings, aquatic creatures, and scholars of water magic.

Primary regions: Marithel, Inner Sea, Ilyrian coast, Pearlglass, and elemental sites.

Thalassic is the Pathfinder 2e water-element language.

It is not identical to the languages of every aquatic ancestry.

Tidespeech

Rarity: Uncommon.

Primary speakers: Athamaru, merfolk, cetaceans, and other marine communities.

Primary regions: Marithel, Pearlglass, Drowned Reef, Suthrani Inner Sea, Ilyrian coast, and Broken Chain.

Tidespeech is effective underwater and includes rhythm, current, pressure, and body movement.

Athamaru

Rarity: Uncommon.

Primary speakers: Athamaru communities.

Athamaru includes detailed vocabulary for:

• sea agriculture;
• eel movement;
• reef construction;
• collective spawning grounds;
• water quality;
• underwater territory.

Azarketi

Rarity: Uncommon.

Primary speakers: Azarketi communities.

Azarketi preserves vocabulary connected to:

• submerged ruins;
• lost settlements;
• diving;
• magical water adaptation;
• underwater archives.

Merfolk Languages

Merfolk in Thesalon commonly speak Tidespeech, Thalassic, Maritheli, regional aquatic languages, or a combination.

There is no single mandatory merfolk language shared by all underwater polities.

Underwater Versions of Surface Languages

Pearlglass, Mereth-Kai, Ilyrian living harbors, and other mixed communities maintain underwater forms of:

• Maritime Common;
• Maritheli;
• Suthrani;
• Ilyric;
• harbor sign languages.

These may use:

• hand signs;
• light;
• percussion;
• current movement;
• writing tablets;
• adapted vocalization.

Subterranean and Mountain Languages

Sakvroth

The principal deep-world contact language.

Dwarven

Widely used in holds, mines, archives, and engineering.

Jotun

Used among giants, jotunborn, and giant-road communities.

Shisk

Used in hidden archives and mountain scholarship.

Surki

Used in deep magical communities.

Orcish, Goblin, and Kobold Community Languages

Many subterranean settlements use Orcish, Goblin, regional speech, or local kobold language traditions alongside Sakvroth.

“Kobold” is not maintained as one universal language category in Thesalon. Kobold households usually speak:

• Draconic;
• Sakvroth;
• Dwarven;
• a regional language;
• a local household language.

Deep Technical Registers

Silveredge, Emberdeep, Stonewake, Kharad-Sur, and Ashen territories maintain professional registers for:

• structural warning;
• ventilation;
• mining;
• seals;
• geothermal systems;
• dangerous magical material.

These are registers rather than separate Pathfinder language choices.

Fey, Spirit, and Shadow Languages

Fey

The broad language of many fey beings.

Wayang

A mortal and shadow-connected community language.

Shadowtongue

Rarity: Uncommon.

Primary speakers: Beings native to shadow, planar travelers, occult scholars, and some fetchling or wayang communities.

Shadowtongue differs from Wayang. Wayang is a community language; Shadowtongue is a broader planar language.

Aklo

Rarity: Uncommon.

Aklo is used by beings whose thought and existence do not follow ordinary mortal assumptions.

It appears in:

• occult sites;
• strange dreams;
• ancient nonmortal records;
• reality-distorting rituals;
• alien magical entities.

Knowing Aklo does not make a speaker evil or unstable.

Yaksha

Used among yakshas and sacred spirit communities.

Arboreal

Used by arboreals and some ancient plant beings.

Leshies, ghorans, and plant-bodied people do not automatically know Arboreal.

Wildsong

Rarity: Secret.

Wildsong is a primal communication tradition associated with exceptionally deep participation in the living world.

It cannot ordinarily be selected during character creation.

Elemental Languages

The Remaster elemental languages used in Thesalon are:

Language	Element
Pyric	Fire
Sussuran	Air
Petran	Earth
Thalassic	Water
Muan	Wood
Talican	Metal

These replace older pre-Remaster names where applicable.

Pyric

Common around:

• Emberdeep;
• Ashen territories;
• volcanic Marithel;
• elemental forges;
• fire planar sites.

Sussuran

Common around:

• Highfall;
• Veyrskoldic cliffs;
• storm islands;
• Ilyrian canopy heights;
• air elemental sites.

Petran

Common around:

• Silveredge;
• Kharad-Sur;
• Veyrskold;
• deep Ilyrian mountains;
• earth elemental sites.

Thalassic

Common around aquatic and water-element communities.

Muan

Common among wood elementals, ancient living structures, and some Ilyrian scholars.

Talican

Common among metal elementals, specialized forges, Silveredge scholars, and Ashen researchers.

Planar and Sacred Languages

The planes and planar powers of Thesalon do not use Golarion’s nations or gods. The Pathfinder language names remain mechanical labels for broad kinds of planar speech.

Empyrean

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by benevolent, luminous, or transcendent planar beings and some divine servants.

Empyrean is studied in:

• Suthrani temples;
• Selvarin;
• Crownward theological archives;
• Ilyrian sacred communities;
• planar observatories.

Chthonian

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by destructive, corrupting, or hostile lower-planar beings.

Chthonian appears in:

• forbidden cult records;
• binding texts;
• planar investigations;
• corrupted sites.

Knowing Chthonian does not imply service to such beings.

Diabolic

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by devils and powers associated with tyranny, coercive law, and binding contracts.

It is studied by:

• contract scholars;
• exorcists;
• temple investigators;
• Selvarin legal specialists;
• people dealing with planar bargains.

Daemonic

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by daemons and entities associated with soul destruction, annihilation, and predatory death.

It is restricted in many temples.

Protean

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by beings of cosmic chaos and transformation.

Utopian

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by aeons, archons, coatls, and powers associated with cosmic order.

“Utopian” is a Pathfinder mechanical name. Thesalon scholars often call it the Ordered Tongue in ordinary discussion.

Requian

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by psychopomps and beings responsible for guiding, judging, or protecting the dead.

Requian is especially studied in:

• Suthrane;
• White Cord Houses;
• Varkul investigations;
• Crownward Return Houses;
• Verdant succession courts.

Nephilim Language Access

A nephilim character may have access to a planar language appropriate to their lineage, upbringing, or direct planar influence.

Heritage does not force the character to speak a particular planar language.

Undead and Funerary Languages

Necril

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by intelligent undead, necromancers, funerary scholars, and some death-law institutions.

Necril is encountered in:

• Varkul;
• ancient tombs;
• Suthrani funerary centers;
• Return Houses;
• undead communities;
• restricted temple archives.

A skeleton does not automatically need to prefer Necril over the languages used in life.

Requian

Used by psychopomps and funerary intermediaries.

Varkul Death-Law Register

This is a highly specialized form of Vorraki and Necril used to describe:

• death status;
• body custody;
• inheritance;
• soul claims;
• registry continuity;
• returned identity.

It is a professional register, not a separate language choice.

White Cord Register

A Suthrani funerary register used by White Cord Houses, temples, and missing-person advocates.

Ancient, Constructed, and Lost Languages

Androffan

Rarity: Rare.

Primary use: Androids, ancient machines, technological ruins, sealed devices, and recovered constructs.

Androffan is not connected to a known modern nation in Thesalon.

Characters may gain access through:

• android ancestry;
• recovered archives;
• Stonewake;
• Silveredge;
• ancient ruin study;
• direct campaign discovery.

Ancient Draconic

Ancient forms of Draconic appear in old magical, dragon, and ruin records.

A speaker of modern Draconic may understand the broad structure but still require study.

Old Crownward

The historical administrative and court form of Caerlish.

It is used in:

• royal records;
• old laws;
• succession documents;
• formal histories;
• archive texts.

Old Crownward is a scholarly register rather than a separate Pathfinder language.

Old Harbor Script

An earlier form used in Maritheli lighthouse, shipping, and compact records.

Old Suthrani Temple Hand

A historical sacred and legal register.

Seal Script

A restricted Veyrskoldic and planar notation found at ancient sealed sites.

Knowing Veyrsk does not automatically allow someone to interpret Seal Script.

Ashen Technical Script

A dangerous technical notation combining:

• Vorraki;
• Dwarven;
• Draconic;
• Sakvroth;
• specialized magical symbols.

It is treated as restricted professional knowledge.

Conrasu Pattern-Speech

Rarity: Rare.

Conrasu communication can combine:

• resonant sound;
• geometric movement;
• light;
• spatial relationship;
• translated mortal language.

A mortal can learn a practical version, but some cosmic meaning remains difficult to reproduce.

Poppet and Automaton Designations

Maker codes and construction marks are not full languages by themselves.

They may be written in:

• Androffan;
• Dwarven;
• Draconic;
• Gnomish;
• a regional language;
• a private workshop code.

Lost and Extraworld Languages

The following Pathfinder languages can appear as rare campaign discoveries without importing their original Golarion cultures:

• Elder Thing;
• Yithian;
• Mi-Go;
• Formian;
• Orvian;
• Rasu;
• Shae;
• other rare languages connected to a specific discovered people or site.

They are not ordinarily available at character creation without a specific campaign-approved origin.

Signed Languages

Signed languages are complete languages, not simplified substitutes for speech.

Thesalon contains several major signed traditions.

Harbor Sign

Rarity: Common in maritime communities.

Primary range: Marithel, Highharbor, Mereth-Kai, Hrafnvik, and major ships.

Used for:

• loud docks;
• shipboard work;
• underwater contact;
• rescue;
• mixed-language crews;
• deaf communities.

Harbor Sign can communicate ordinary conversation, though distant ship signals use a restricted operational register.

Crownward Civic Sign

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used in:

• civic offices;
• public hearings;
• archives;
• schools;
• mixed urban communities.

River Sign

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by:

• Suthrani ferries;
• barge crews;
• flood workers;
• river courts;
• deaf Suthrani communities.

Canopy Sign

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used in Aelora and other vertical Ilyrian settlements where distance, wind, height, and quiet movement affect communication.

Cliff Sign

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used by strix, lighthouse workers, aerial communities, and Veyrskoldic or Maritheli cliff settlements.

Deepwork Sign

Rarity: Uncommon.

Used in:

• mines;
• forges;
• loud machinery;
• low-air environments;
• rescue operations;
• mixed subterranean crews.

Mistwell Guide Sign

Rarity: Restricted uncommon.

Used for controlled movement, silence, warning, and protected-route communication.

Learning Signed Languages

A character may learn a signed language as a normal language choice when they have access.

Knowing the spoken form of a regional language does not automatically grant every independent signed language used in the same region.

Scripts and Writing

Several languages may share a script while remaining separate languages.

Major Scripts

Script	Languages commonly written with it
Harbor Standard	Maritime Common, Maritheli, trade records
Crownward Letters	Caerlish, Old Crownward, western legal records
River Temple Script	Suthrani, temple registers, river law
Hold Runes	Veyrsk, Dwarven, engineering marks
Living Line Script	Ilyric, stewardship records, healer texts
Court-Market Script	Vorraki and several court records
Selvarin Civic Hand	Selvarin, diplomatic and translation records
Draconic Claw Script	Draconic and many arcane texts
Deep Angular Script	Sakvroth and underground trade
Monumental Runes	Jotun
Ledger Hand	Ysoki and commercial records
Web Pattern	Anadi
Reef Marking	Aquatic and reef communities
Shadow Hand	Wayang and some Shadowtongue records

Script Does Not Equal Language

A character who reads Crownward Letters does not automatically understand every language written in that script.

Oral and Nonwritten Traditions

Some communities preserve information through:

• song;
• knot;
• web;
• carved mark;
• route pattern;
• body movement;
• memory recitation;
• living growth;
• color;
• object arrangement.

These can record meaningful information without functioning like ordinary alphabetic writing.

Languages by Continent

Caerlon

Most useful languages:

• Caerlish;
• Maritime Common in Highharbor;
• Dwarven;
• Orcish;
• Goblin;
• Halfling;
• Elven;
• Ysoki;
• Vorraki near eastern borders and defector communities.

Regional concentrations:

• Jotun, Shisk, Sakvroth, and Dwarven in Silveredge;
• Fey and Elven in Verdant regions;
• Orcish and Vorraki in Estenmark and the Marches;
• Maritime Common, Tengu, and Harbor Sign in Highharbor;
• Suthrani and Maritheli in refugee and trade districts.

Marithel

Most useful languages:

• Maritime Common;
• Maritheli;
• Tengu;
• Tidespeech;
• Thalassic;
• Ysoki;
• Goblin;
• Dwarven;
• Gnomish;
• Harbor Sign.

Regional concentrations:

• Athamaru, Azarketi, and aquatic languages in Pearlglass and the Drowned Reef;
• Veyrsk in repair wards;
• Caerlish in Refugee Rows and Caerlon Steps;
• Suthrani in temple houses;
• Ilyric in healer enclaves;
• Vorraki in defector communities;
• Wayang and Shadowtongue near shadow- or Sirenward-connected communities.

Suthrane

Most useful languages:

• Suthrani;
• Maritime Common in Inner Sea ports;
• Iruxi;
• Nagaji;
• Halfling;
• Kholo;
• Ysoki;
• temple and funerary registers.

Regional concentrations:

• Tidespeech and Thalassic around Mereth-Kai;
• Dwarven, Jotun, Shisk, and Sakvroth near Kharad-Sur;
• Caerlish at New Ivrath Ford;
• Veyrsk and Maritheli in specialist communities;
• Requian and Necril in funerary institutions;
• Empyrean and other planar languages in major temple centers.

Veyrskold

Most useful languages:

• Veyrsk;
• Dwarven;
• Jotun;
• Sakvroth;
• Draconic;
• Orcish;
• Goblin;
• Deepwork Sign.

Regional concentrations:

• Caerlish in Northfire and the Oar Quarter;
• Maritheli and Tengu in Hrafnvik;
• Androffan and rare scripts near sealed sites;
• Pyric in Emberdeep;
• Sussuran in cliff communities;
• Shisk and Surki in underground settlements.

Ilyr

Most useful languages:

• Ilyric;
• Elven;
• Fey;
• Iruxi;
• Tripkee;
• Vanara;
• Anadi;
• Arboreal;
• Canopy Sign.

Regional concentrations:

• Amurrun and Vanara in Aelora;
• Iruxi and Tripkee in Saren-Tel;
• healer and sacred languages in Namarra;
• Wayang, Shadowtongue, Kitsune, Goloma, and Kashrishi around Mistwell;
• Tidespeech and Thalassic on the coast;
• Caerlish, Maritheli, and Suthrani in foreign specialist communities.

Vorrak

Most useful languages vary by court and region.

Broadly useful languages:

• Vorraki;
• Orcish;
• Goblin;
• Kholo;
• Jotun;
• Draconic;
• Sakvroth;
• Necril;
• Wayang;
• Shadowtongue.

Regional concentrations:

• feast-house and Orcish forms near Kharzug-Maul;
• Necril and death-law registers in Varkul;
• Jotun, Draconic, and Strix in Drakkar-Grim;
• Dwarven, Goblin, Sakvroth, and technical registers in Varkhûl-Ashak;
• Kholo and route languages in the Red Waste;
• Fey, Elven, Anadi, and Arboreal in Blackwood;
• Strix, Tengu, and signal systems in Dreadshore;
• aquatic languages along the Gaping Coast.

Selvarin

Commonly useful languages:

• Selvarin;
• Maritime Common;
• Caerlish;
• Maritheli;
• Suthrani;
• Veyrsk;
• Ilyric;
• Vorraki.

Nearly every ancestry-associated and planar language can be studied in Selvarin, although uncommon and rare languages still require access.

Languages by Ancestry

This table lists common associations, not requirements.

Ancestry	Commonly associated languages in Thesalon
Anadi	Anadi, Ilyric, Fey
Athamaru	Athamaru, Tidespeech, Maritheli
Azarketi	Azarketi, Tidespeech, Thalassic
Catfolk	Amurrun, Ilyric, Suthrani, Maritime Common
Centaur	regional language, Jotun in some communities
Dwarf	Dwarven, regional language, Sakvroth
Elf	Elven, regional language, Fey
Gnome	Gnomish, regional language, Fey
Goblin	Goblin, regional language
Halfling	Halfling, regional language
Hobgoblin	regional language, Orcish, Vorraki
Kholo	Kholo, regional or route language
Kitsune	Kitsune, regional language, Fey or Shadowtongue in some communities
Kobold	regional language, Draconic, Sakvroth, Dwarven
Leshy	regional language, Fey, Arboreal in some communities
Lizardfolk	Iruxi, regional language
Merfolk	Tidespeech, Thalassic, regional aquatic language
Minotaur	regional language, Jotun, Dwarven in some settlements
Nagaji	Nagaji, Suthrani or Ilyric
Orc	Orcish, regional language
Ratfolk	Ysoki, regional or trade language
Samsaran	Samsaran, regional language, Requian in some traditions
Shoony	Shoony, regional language
Strix	Strix, regional language, Cliff Sign
Surki	Surki, Sakvroth, regional language
Tanuki	Tanuki, regional language
Tengu	Tengu, regional or maritime language
Tripkee	Tripkee, Ilyric or Suthrani
Vanara	Vanara, Ilyric or regional language
Vishkanya	regional language, Vishkanyan in some households
Wayang	Wayang, regional language, Shadowtongue
Yaksha	Yaksha, regional language, Empyrean or Fey in some communities

Rare ancestries such as androids, automatons, conrasus, awakened animals, fleshwarps, ghorans, poppets, skeletons, sprites, and yaoguai normally learn the languages of their household, creator community, awakening location, or current society.

Languages by Profession

Profession	Useful languages
Maritheli sailor	Maritime Common, Maritheli, Tengu, Harbor Sign
Pearlglass pilot	Maritheli, Tidespeech, Thalassic, Harbor Sign
Highharbor dockworker	Maritime Common, Caerlish, Maritheli
International merchant	Maritime Common, Selvarin, regional trade language
Crownward archivist	Caerlish, Old Crownward, Selvarin
Vorrak specialist	Vorraki plus court-specific languages
Suthrani priest	Suthrani, regional temple registers, Empyrean or Requian as appropriate
Funerary advocate	Suthrani, Requian, Necril, Varkul register
Silveredge engineer	Dwarven, Caerlish, Sakvroth
Stonewake warden	Veyrsk, Draconic, Androffan or Seal Script as appropriate
Ilyrian healer	Ilyric, regional patient languages
Mistwell guide	Ilyric, Mistwell Guide Sign, relevant protected-community languages
Selvarin diplomat	Selvarin, Maritime Common, represented polity’s language
Translator	Selvarin and two or more relevant regional languages
Hidden Lantern operative	Vorraki, local language, resistance cant
Caravan guide	Suthrani or Vorraki, Kholo, trade language
Shipboard refugee advocate	Maritime Common, Caerlish, Vorraki or Suthrani
Planar scholar	Draconic and appropriate planar languages

Learning Languages

Characters can learn languages through normal Pathfinder options, including the Multilingual feat.

Within the story, learning a language normally requires:

• a teacher;
• a community;
• regular exposure;
• texts or recordings;
• professional training;
• magical assistance;
• direct planar contact.

Language Teachers

Teachers are easiest to find in:

• Selvarin;
• Windrider Freeport;
• Far-Treaty;
• Crownward;
• Highharbor;
• Grand Temple Precincts;
• Aelora Guest Platforms;
• major Veyrskoldic work camps;
• large Vorrakian subject towns.

Rare Language Teachers

Rare-language instruction may require:

• community sponsorship;
• archive access;
• rescue of a speaker;
• recovery of texts;
• temple permission;
• planar contact;
• a specific adventure.

Heritage and Ancestry Access

An ancestry or heritage may grant access to an associated language.

Access allows the character to select the language through the normal rules. It does not always grant the language automatically.

Regional Access

A character raised in a region normally has access to that region’s language.

Diaspora upbringing may grant access to:

• host language;
• household language;
• older homeland language;
• community trade language.

Translation and Magical Communication

Ordinary Interpretation

Interpretation can fail because of:

• unfamiliar dialect;
• technical vocabulary;
• poor sound or visibility;
• several people speaking at once;
• cultural references;
• incomplete language knowledge;
• deliberate ambiguity;
• lack of an equivalent concept.

Literal and Practical Translation

A literal translation reproduces words and structure.

A practical interpretation communicates the intended function.

Legal, religious, magical, and diplomatic situations may require both.

Magical Translation

Magic that allows creatures to understand language does not necessarily provide:

• cultural knowledge;
• legal context;
• hidden implications;
• forgotten history;
• correct interpretation of metaphor;
• authority to speak for a community;
• access to secret codes.

Written Translation

Translating a written document may require:

• knowledge of the language;
• knowledge of the script;
• familiarity with the historical period;
• professional terminology;
• recognition of seals and abbreviations;
• understanding of damaged or altered records.

Planar Languages

Planar speech may communicate emotional, moral, spatial, or metaphysical concepts that mortal translation simplifies.

Underwater Communication

A spell that permits breathing or movement underwater does not automatically solve:

• distorted speech;
• inability to hear;
• incompatible vocal anatomy;
• lack of a shared language.

Choosing Languages for a Character

Step 1: Record Languages Granted by Ancestry

Use the character’s Pathfinder ancestry entry.

Where an entry grants Common, use Maritime Common for the Marithel campaign.

Step 2: Choose the Household Language

What language was used at home?

It might be:

• a regional language;
• an ancestry-associated language;
• a ship language;
• a diaspora language;
• a temple language.

Step 3: Choose the Community Language

What language did neighbors, schools, markets, or local authorities use?

Step 4: Choose the Professional Language

Did the character learn a language through:

• shipping;
• temple service;
• military duty;
• trade;
• stewardship;
• scholarship;
• captivity;
• diplomacy;
• healing?

Step 5: Check Access

Uncommon languages need a plausible source of access.

Rare languages require a specific origin and GM approval.

Step 6: Define Fluency

Consider whether the character:

• speaks and reads fluently;
• speaks but reads poorly;
• reads an older form;
• understands but rarely speaks;
• uses a signed form;
• knows only a professional register.

Rules normally treat the character as knowing the language fully. These distinctions are narrative unless the table decides otherwise.

Starting Languages in Windrider Freeport

Windrider is one of the most multilingual settlements in Thesalon.

Most Useful Choices

• Maritime Common;
• Maritheli;
• Caerlish;
• Vorraki;
• Suthrani;
• Tidespeech;
• Tengu;
• Ysoki;
• Harbor Sign;
• Ilyric.

Useful by Campaign Focus

Harbor and Ship Campaign

• Maritheli;
• Tengu;
• Tidespeech;
• Harbor Sign.

Refugee and Political Campaign

• Caerlish;
• Vorraki;
• Suthrani;
• Selvarin.

Reef and Undersea Campaign

• Tidespeech;
• Thalassic;
• Athamaru;
• Azarketi;
• Iruxi.

Sirenward and Shadow Campaign

• Wayang;
• Shadowtongue;
• Aklo;
• Maritheli.

Vorrak and Broken Chain Campaign

• Vorraki;
• Orcish;
• Goblin;
• Strix;
• Necril;
• relevant court languages.

Planar Campaign

• Draconic;
• Empyrean;
• Requian;
• Protean;
• Utopian;
• appropriate elemental language.

Windrider Language Services

Characters can usually find:

• ordinary interpreters;
• harbor signers;
• Caerlish and Vorraki translators;
• Suthrani temple interpreters;
• aquatic-language speakers;
• document translators;
• foreign envoy staff.

Rare planar, ancient, and secret languages still require specialized contacts.

Golarion Languages and Thesalon Replacements

Pathfinder sources contain many regional languages tied to Golarion’s nations, regions, and historical cultures.

Those setting identities do not exist in Thesalon.

The following principles apply:

1. Common becomes Maritime Common for the Marithel campaign.
2. Golarion regional languages are replaced by Caerlish, Maritheli, Suthrani, Veyrsk, Ilyric, Vorraki, or Selvarin as appropriate.
3. Ancestry-associated languages remain available when the associated people exist in Thesalon.
4. Planar and elemental languages remain mechanically usable but are interpreted through Thesalon’s cosmology.
5. Ancient or rare Golarion-specific languages are not automatically available. A mechanically equivalent language may appear only when connected to a specific Thesalon ruin, people, or campaign discovery.

Examples of Golarion regional languages that should not be selected under their original setting meaning include:

• Taldane;
• Varisian;
• Osiriani;
• Kelish;
• Tien;
• Vudrani;
• Garundi;
• Hallit;
• Skald;
• Shoanti;
• Minkaian;
• Erutaki;
• Varki;
• Azlanti;
• Thassilonian.

A character option that would grant one of these should instead grant an appropriate Thesalon regional language chosen with the GM.

What Most People Know

Most travelers know that Maritime Common is useful but insufficient.

A person who speaks only Maritime Common can usually:

• buy food;
• find lodging;
• ask directions;
• negotiate ordinary passage;
• understand basic ship commands;
• request help.

They may struggle with:

• local legal hearings;
• family obligations;
• sacred rites;
• technical work;
• old records;
• subtle insults;
• jokes;
• poetry;
• political speeches;
• ancestry-specific community discussions.

Most people also know that ancestry does not guarantee language.

A person may speak an ancestry-associated language without belonging to that ancestry. A person may belong to an ancestry without knowing its associated language.

Regional languages remain the strongest markers of upbringing. Professional registers reveal training. Ship and caravan speech reveal repeated routes. Refuge and diaspora dialects preserve movement. Planar languages reveal study, heritage, faith, or direct contact.

Language is not only a character-sheet selection.

It determines:

• who can speak privately;
• which records can be read;
• where a character can work;
• who trusts their interpretation;
• what histories they can access;
• which communities recognize them;
• what parts of a message survive translation.

Related Pages

• Culture Is Not Ancestry
• Ancestries and Species
• Peoples and Cultural Identity
• Diaspora and Mixed Communities
• Refugees, Exiles, and Displaced Peoples
• Names, Identity, and Belonging
• Regional Languages and Dialects
• Trade Languages
• Signs, Codes, Cants, and Nonverbal Communication
• Literacy, Records, and Scribes
• Planes, Demiplanes, and Planar Powers
• Temples, Saints, Cults, and Religious Law