So my concept for a character starts with gaining as many languages as possible.
This leads me to a gnome for the "gift of tongues" trait. So after starting with at least 3 languages (gnomes start with common , gnome, and sylvan + any bonus languages from int modifier), and every rank I put in linguistics gives me 2 additional languages.
now comes the hard part, what class and build should i look at?
I think the 2 strongest choices are: Wizard, Bard. Mainly due to being 2 of the 4 classes that have linguistics as a class skill.
Is it possible to add this skill w/o multiclassing, with a feat or something?
Anything else I should be looking at? What types of builds should i look into, to actually be a use to the party, besides standing around saying I can understand every enemy and npc we meet.
Seems to me that using all the languages toward some bluff and intimidate shenanygans should be out there somewhere.
While I am a fan of gnome flavor, they are not particularly great at any class, then i throw this restriction on. Am I just a glutton for punishment here? Or should I be satified with a different race resulting in half the languages, but more effective in the party?
Thank you in advance for your contribution!
You can also play a truespeaker Aasimar or a standard Tengu.
what are you hoping to get out of it being a class skill?
that doesn't help you be fluent in more languages...
it gives you a higher check to recognize written documents in languages that you don't understand,
but if your goal is knowing as many languages as possible, that's a tangential benefit,
otherwise it is useful for making forgeries, again tangential to your aim.
you can of course take skill focus for any feat, but it does the same things, no bonus languages.
i think there is a feat cosmopolitan that gives you 2 bonus languages,
but you should quickly be racking up the languages just by putting ranks into it.
being an INT based class, wizard, witch, sage/arcane BL sorceror, or magus, would give you ranks so that you aren't neglecting other skills to do this. also ranger and rogue and bard have many skills so you don't need a high INT with those classes. high INT gives you a higher skill check for the other usages of linguistics, such as recognizing unknown languages and forgery.
it's pretty obvious that this isn't going to help you directly with combat issues (other than communicating with summons if you learn planar languages), comprehend language spells also exist to cover unusual languages, but i understand the flavor attraction here (not depending on a spell).
... it's not really too much of an investment to get the 2 for 1 language deal, i wouldn't bother taking the cosmopolitan feat to gain 2 more, it's not worth the feat. play an INT-based/high-skill class if you want many languages from the beginning.
also maxing out know(geography) and know(local) would seem to make sense for such a character.
perhaps you could also go for disguise/bluff to impersonate being from these other cultures?
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A bard would be useful in many ways. First, they get a lot of skills per level. Second, they get all the knowledge skills as class skills. Third, bardic skills feed off of charisma, something gnomes are good at.
Having a bard with lots of knowledge skills (nature, religion, planes, plus a rank or two in the others) is always extremely useful. Bardic performance + spells is always really nice as well.
I have gnome bard (archivist) with gift of tongues and magical linquist. It works out well, generally. Although I lack much melee punch the spells are nice. The advantage here is I get the equivalent of trapfinding (via archivist), so with right traits I also masquerade as the party rogue. My combined saves vs glyphs is phenomenal.
The downside are: my charisma is only moderate, so spell DC's are low. Also, magical linguist bumps language dependent spells, but the best offensive language dependent spells are actually cleric and inquisitor, not bard.
A language oriented inquisitor might be a fun take - maybe an aggressive grammarian or strict latin teacher? Take the rune or language domain and spells like command and castigate. Just a thought...
A language oriented inquisitor might be a fun take - maybe an aggressive grammarian or strict latin teacher?
...or a lawyer. I have one of those written up, but not yet played. Infiltrator and Preacher archetypes, Conversion Inquisition. Diplomacy and Bluff are +12 at level 1, Intimidate +7, and a pile of other skills, as well. I went human in my build of it, but that only shaves off 2 on Diplo/Bluff vs a Tengu.
Oh yeah, you can really do crazy things with the social skills using an in inquisitor.
Well, here is something I whipped up just now that isn't quite so amazing but playable none-the-less.
Ranged inquisitor with the Rune (Language) domain and a gnome trait (etymologist) that give linguistics as a class skill, as well as a bonus language. Starts off with 7 languages. Gets spell focus from rune domain. Has DC 16 Command spell at his disposal - not too shabby for level one, and the gnome spell-likes give him some flexibility. Alternatively, switch that spell out for any number of language-dependent inquisitor spells. Focuses on monster languages (goblins, giants, aklo).
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Check out the gnome Prankster bard archetype in the Advance Race Guide. You keep most of the core bardic abilities, but give up fascinate and suggestion for mock and punchline. Basically, you insult your enemies early and often - a great use for having lots of languages known!
Here's the thread I started that ended up turning into discussion of my Prankster, who also has Gift of Tongues and 14 int for lots of languages and good bardic knowledge.
WHo gets access to all of the CHA skills...
Linguistics is not a class skill for oracles, so I simply took the Gnome trait: Etymologist.
It seems like some people aren't aware of/aren't accurately characterizing how skills work.
EVERYBODY has access to ALL skills, Class Skills is just a +3 bonus.Class Skill for Linguisitics is irrelevant to speaking languages, which depends on ranks,
the +3 bonus just helps for Forgeries and analyzing written text in languages you don't already understand.
That's true Quandry, but some skills (like Linguistics), are only able to USE trained.
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Is it possible to add this skill w/o multiclassing, with a feat or something?
You don't need to have linguistics as a class skill to get full benefit from the languages selected.
Unless you need to detect forgeries or decipher unknown languages, I would not bother.
Personally, I would go Gnome Wizard. The high intelligence will give additional languages without becoming MAD. Cosmopolitan is still an option for the bonus languages, consider perception as your second skill.
str 8
dex 10
con 16
int 16
wis 10
cha 16
feat: comopolitan (perception/diplomacy)
10 languages, +8 diplomacy, +7 perception at level 1.
Bard methinks
Alternate Class Traits for a gnome bard language master
1) Magical Linguist: Gnomes study languages in both their mundane and supernatural manifestations. Gnomes with this racial trait add +1 to the DC of spells they cast with the language-dependent descriptor or those that create glyphs, symbols, or other magical writings. They gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against such spells. Gnomes with Charisma scores of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—arcane mark, comprehend languages, message, read magic. The caster level for these effects is equal to the gnome's level. This racial trait replaces gnome magic and illusion resistance.
2) Gift of Tongues: Gnomes love languages and learning about those they meet. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill. This racial trait replaces defensive training and hatred.
Trait for Bard Language Master:
1) Etymologist: When you, like all other young gnomes, were taught the hodgepodge Gnome language, you became curious about the original meaning of each word and what language it was derived from. Anytime you come across a new language, you are immediately absorbed by both how it works and what words you can co-opt from it for the Gnome language. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Linguistics checks, and know one additional bonus language, and treat Linguistics as a class skill
Since this all focuses on words and languages, I would look at Sound Striker for the Weird Words ability. Not as impressive as it may look at first glance. . . but thematically appropriate.
That's true Quandry, but some skills (like Linguistics), are only able to USE trained.
Sure, but Class Skill doesn't change that. You can have something as a Class Skill, but if you don't put 1 Rank into it, you're not Trained in it. If you don't have it as a Class Skill, but put 1 Rank into it any ways, you are Trained in it.
I might steer clear of weird words bard archetype due to the variability in rules interpretation: can it affect 1 target or must it be spread out? Always hit or miss at a PFS table.
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Here is something i saw that was not posted about the Cosmopolitan feat, choose two Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills. Those skills always count as class skills for you, in addition to the 2 bonus languages you learn.
So when you get the Cosmopolitan Feat. Use one of those two skills as linguistis, if your playing a class that does not have linguistic as a class skill
It's been repeatedly mentioned that Class Skill in Linguistics is only relevant for Detecting Forgeries and Reading Unknown Languages. If you know a Language, you don't roll Linguistics. The OP has never indicated that Reading Unknown Languages is a focus of theirs.
Spending a Feat to get what you can get with 2 skill Ranks seems wasteful of a Feat (especially when you will still have to put Ranks into Linguistics to even benefit from the Class Skill bonus, and will have to continue investing in it to get it to a good level), but if you really have a low INT and few skill ranks, I suppose it may be the only option. But if that's the case, you will hardly have the skill ranks to invest in Detecting Forgeries/Reading Unknown Languages and the other INT/WIS/CHA skill it makes a Class Skill, not to mention an INT penalty makes you worse at Linguistics checks itself. If your aim was to be good at Detecting Forgeries/Reading Unknown Languages, you should probably have a decent INT and be able to max the skill ranks for it, which will eventually give you tons of languages anyways. I would never take Cosmopolitan for those purposes, it's just OK for characters for whom skill ranks are more rare than Feats, and who want to speak 2 more languages.