Harold Polk’s Linguistic Espionage Mastery is a unique fusion of his perfect memory and deep understanding of Speech Act Theory, allowing him to communicate in any language with native fluency and cultural precision. Through his flawless recall, Harold has accumulated vast stores of linguistic patterns, dialects, and subtleties, giving him an intuitive grasp of each language’s nuances. He doesn’t merely translate words; he understands their intent, context, and hidden meaning, slipping into conversations as though he were born to each language he speaks.
With Speech Act Theory, Harold imbues his words with layers of meaning and influence, embedding subtle cues to guide others’ perceptions or actions. Every word he speaks carries intent, carefully crafted to either blend into the conversation or gently steer it, as if he were weaving an invisible thread through every interaction. This mastery makes him a linguistic ghost, an agent who can infiltrate through language alone, understanding and subtly shaping discussions to achieve his aims without ever raising suspicion.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may understand and communicate to humans as if you are fluent in a relevant language.
Amy glimpses thousands of possible futures to find where she says the right thing. She simply repeats what she hears, whether it's merely translating a language or saying exactly what someone wants to hear.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action.
You may understand and communicate to humans and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next 30 seconds.
While active and speaking to a single individual, you may choose to use glib tongue. When you do, anything you say to them (even gibberish) will be exactly what they want to hear. You gain no understanding of what that might be.
While this Effect is active, you are at -2 dice to all Actions and cannot Concentrate.
being as tied to nature as she is, Raven can communicate openly with the beasts of the earth.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may understand and communicate to terrestrial animal as if you are fluent in a relevant language.
Once Tara ingests her blood, a shadow of red appears.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Creature or Dead target within 50 feet. For dead targets, you must possess their belonging. You must use up Tara's blood in order to activate this Effect.
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.
When opening this book, the pages are blank when a page is burnt.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.
You may understand and communicate to humans as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.
While active, you may choose to use glib tongue. When you do, anything you say (even gibberish) will be exactly what the target wants to hear. You gain no understanding of what that might be.
“If you use this Effect to spend an hour speaking with a native speaker of a human language you don't know, you may Exert your Mind and roll Intellect + Culture Difficulty 7. With Outcome 4 or higher, you permanently learn that language and accent.
Minerva lets out a breath, closing her eyes for a moment. Her pendant glows, and then her eyes open. One paw in both worlds, she talks to someone in both. In the physical world she still can't understand them, but in the Dreamlands, she can understand them as one does.
The Dreamlands, as always, are somewhat inhospitable. Minerva leans on her pendant to help her make her way though.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. You must actively and obviously use silver fox pendant to activate this Effect.
You may understand and communicate to Creatures, humans, and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.
The beastmaster can speak to and understand any animal.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may understand and communicate to terrestrial animal as if you are fluent in a relevant language.
The Necromancer spits into the mouth of a recently deceased corpse. For the few minutes, the corpse's head comes back to life and speaks to the Necromancer.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Dead target within 50 feet. Dead targets must have died within the past week, and you must have their remains in your possession.
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.