Language, Culture & Everyday Life

A Language record describes the language itself: sounds, scripts, registers, dialects, naming habits, taboos, gestures, and cultural context. Species and Class records may provide inherited language defaults. A Character stores only learned Languages and personal overrides; the effective list combines personal rows first, Species defaults at Nuanced, and Class defaults at Fluent. Fluency changes through time, practice, teaching, immersion, or meaningful use—not because the plot suddenly needs perfect translation.

Words Only supports recognition and memorized phrases. Basic supports simple needs and familiar exchanges. Conversational supports ordinary back-and-forth with gaps. Fluent supports confident general use. Nuanced supports idiom, layered meaning, specialized registers, humor, and culturally sensitive expression. When a Language has an ordinary written form, fluency includes it at the same tier; note only real script or access exceptions.

Food & Drink records make culture tangible. Meals can reveal climate, trade, faith, class, hospitality, scarcity, taboo, medicine, celebration, and memory. They need not become mechanical bonuses to matter. Everyday scenes—eating, bathing, working, shopping, praying, repairing gear, caring for someone, or simply resting—are legitimate play when they reveal character or change the world.