For those who don't have extra skill points to put in linguistics, how are we supposed to talk to everyone? I'm asking primarily for my Bard and his Suggestion spell and performance shenanigans. But who doesn't want to be in on the conversation?
So what magic items can do this for us?
The Ioun Stone Eastern Star(4000 gold) gives you Comprehend Languages. That's great, but passive- you can't speak or write but only understand the language. The Gold Nodule (5,000 gold) gives you one language mastery. But it's awkward and costly to collect a bunch of those.
The Tongues spell does exactly what you'd like and its on your spell list as a bard.
If you really want it in a magic item, there are three avenues.
The first is a bit of a cheat (since it just devolves into spending skill points). Get a headband with intelligence in it. This will grant you a number of ranks in a skill equal to your level. Put those in linguistics and you're golden.
The second way I know of is to create a custom magic item using the item creation rules (if your GM allows it). It would be based on the Tongues spell. As a continuous effect, it would be priced as 2000 x spell level x caster level. Since Tongues lasts 10 minutes per level, you would also need to multiply by 1.5. So, the cost would be 2000 x 2 x 4 x 1.5 = 24,000 gp for a slotted item. Twice the cost (48,000 gp) for slotless. Very expensive, but allows you to speak and understand any language any time you like.
Lastly, a Helm of Telepathy might work. It would probably allow you to use Suggestion, but probably not performance (depending on what kind of performance it is). Not perfect, but gets you some of what you're looking for.
For those who don't have extra skill points to put in linguistics, how are we supposed to talk to everyone?
Just do what most Americans do when in a foreign country. Speak your own language (common) all the time. If they don't get it, speak louder. Repeat yourself a lot. Look down on them for not speaking a "proper" language. <g>
Really, the time-honored methods are:
- having a high INT
- investing a few skill points (for which having a high INT also helps)
- get a headband that has linguistics as its associated skill
- find a friend who can do one or more of these things instead of you.
At the end of the day, it all depends on your DM. If he never brings up language problems, you can probably ignore the question. It's a common trope in fantasy and science fiction lit - everybody can understand everybody, regardless of race, species or geographical predilection.
Speak Common. Profit.
For 3,500 gp, the Ring of Eloquence gives 4 languages.
Normally the languages are Common, Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome. Less often, such rings are attuned to Giant, Goblin, Orc, and Undercommon, and rings with different sets of languages might also exist.
Cheap, continuous, and works when polymorphed.
The wearer retains the ability to speak in these languages even if she assumes a form normally unable to do so (such as a druid wild shaped into a wolf).
A related item at 3,000 gp, the Spectacles of Understanding are good for reading, and might help if you can lip read.
A similar item for listening instead of reading could be GM approved.
/cevah