Language is a learnt thing, rather than something that should inherit from gaining the body. I understand about how reincarnation works with language because your soul has always been a merian or elfen or viscanti or whatever, so you know your 'real' body's language.

However with a changeling cameo, you are a changeling, not any real race at all. So either:

a) You have your original language. So if you properly incarnate into a merian, then buy a changeling cameo. You keep that merian language no matter what body you take on.

or

b ) Because you're a changeling, your powers give you the ability to speak all languages. For 1000cr, that's not really a bad ask.

Just my thoughts.

I say no. If only because, as an illithoid, I jealously guard my exclusive language omni-knowledge.

I'm sure bookbinders would object too. This isn't like some IRE games where you can just go learn a language if you feel like it, or buy a cheap mage enchant to understand all languages. I like it that way, and I think it gives languages more of a meaning and purpose. Still, if someone pays 1000cr just for an artifact... maybe they can keep their language if they've reincarnated into that race before. I dunno. Maybe if they spend a certain length of time as that race?

I'd love to see Celestian, Magnagoran, Glomdoring, and Serenwilde languages and no common. Thus book binders will be needed as interpreters.

@ Callia's idea: NO.
@ Arin's idea: probably the first idea rather than the second.

Bookbinder here and still don't care if people get to speak their original race's language.

I also agree with Shiri and I would just like to add that Monks should be able to use MagicTome. That is all. Back to the topic at hand.

I wish speaking our language to our related npcs produced something, a smirk, a nod of confirment, anything really.

I think this is debatable. People role play the use of their cameo's differently.

About languages though,

I am not sure why languages are so jealously guarded in Lusternia. We can learn and relearn all sorts of crazy skills at a drop of a hat but lusternian brains have trouble learning a different language even when most races in the same orgs interact together freely. I feel it is just a silly restriction and instead of making people embrace their language, many people just end up speaking common all the time.

I know in Celest if myself and other Dracnari are speaking our languages, people have a fit about it.

Actually, Ialie, I think you're the only one who RPs it as something you found instead of something you were born as and then grew into...

Pretty sure she isn't. (Not that I'm with her on this one, but she's not the only one.)

She's the main one (perhaps Lendren too? Hm), but even so, I think other Changelings could argue that finding the "cursed item" in Ialie's case is what actually released her potential. "She was a changeling to begin with, but like us, it was locked away. Instead of purchasing a Cameo, however, she stumbled upon one-- and chooses to see what occurred to her as a curse instead of the boon it is."

If they really wanted to, at least-- I doubt any of them really care that much.

QFT

They could, but almost every changeling can argue that the others buying a cameo is what gave them the powers rather than having it innately. The fact it only works for that person is easy: it's attuned only to its buyer.

I hate that argument so I got my cameo customised to be something else entirely (telluric dowsing cameo) but a priori the ones arguing the artifact is the one with the power would be right, so it's better if people ignore it and accept each person's story for what it is.

For the record, nope. Lendren's story is because his mom Ialie was a changeling, he was born that way. Built up to that for years. I also got my cameo customized to be a piece of jewelry he wears for an entirely unrelated thing (cameo of the shifting seasons) to support the idea. (In fact, I mainly have it because his background demands it; I rarely use it.) No idea how many people play it which way, though.

And back to the original topic: generally speaking I find the way we handle languages in Lusternia kind of annoyingly arbitrary and inexplicable. That you can't just buy them with lessons not only makes no sense, it makes languages less useful and less interesting. That I can speak one one minute and completely not understand a jot of it the next minute is just icing on the cake. (Also, why is it I can't sing in any language but common?)

We couldn't let people buy languages with lessons without justifiably infuriating the bookbinders. But that just reflects a bad idea having two effects instead of one. Bookbinders should get some other perk in place of languages, plus languages should cost them half as many lessons as they cost the rest of us. Changelings should also have to buy all languages but the one(s) they were "born" with.

Not that that's ever going to happen.

I think the ability to understand all languages wouldn't be the worst thing, You can't speak or write in them them unless you are actually a race that can, which also leaves bookbinders that slim benefit.

Maybe we can find something special for the boobinders to do instead of languages?

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW

the could make books

I agree that you being that race shouldn't necessarily make you know that language, but I also think there should be a way to learn each and every language through study, much like someone can do in the real world.

Since I assume we still can't do that, I'll keep my changeling linguistics power.