Abilities

Various house rules on abilities will be listed here.

Linguistics
The primary language of Kuniumi is simply known as Kunigo, "the language of the country," and is spoken in some form by all of Kuniumi's people. Various dialects of it exist as noted below. These are mutually intelligible, but individual regional dialects tend to put those who speak them at ease with one-another. One is presumed to speak the cosmopolitan common dialect, but may instead choose to speak any of the other regional dialects; this choice is made at character generation and cannot be changed.

Any of the following can be learned with dots in Linguistics. As they are discovered, new languages may be added to this list.

Regional Dialects
These are all mutually intelligible versions of Kunigo, but each has a different cultural flavor.


 * Common Kunigo - Simply referred to as "Kunigo." This is the standard dialect everyone thinks of when referring to the language. It is considered cosmopolitan and cultured to speak it over any of the other regional dialects. It is present in all corners of the Empire.
 * Jimanokunigo - "Jimago"; dialect of the northern islands. Attendant prejudices include easy-going but manipulative, removed from Imperial affairs, grizzled, untrustworthy, thieves; but also, svelte, agile, athletic, skilled, seafarers, quick-witted.
 * Kinokunigo - "Kigo"; dialect of the eastern forests. Attendant prejudices include evasive, insular, prodigious children, partial barbarians, uncultured; but also scouts, rangers, strength, physically robust, valorous, intense.
 * Mizuuminokunigo - "Mizuumigo"; Kunigo dialect of the lakelands. Attendant prejudices include lazy, living an easy life, country bumpkin, all commoners, unskilled; but also charming, sweet, charismatic, forthright.
 * Yamanokunigo - "Yamago"; dialect of Kunigo that tends to crop up in the mountains. Attendant prejudices include secretive, mysterious, people of folk legends, pensive, without family; but also loyal, intelligent, scholastic, endurance, durable, folk skills.

Scholarly Dialects
These are related to Kunigo, but have very specific uses.


 * Oukago - Living language of the High Court, but spoken rarely elsewhere.
 * Tengo - Heavenly high language of the old empire. Most old texts are written in this. Believed to the language of Celestial Kami. Dead language.
 * Hanaigo - Old Imperial common tongue. Rarely written, this language tends to appear in very isolated villages and temples, and is often spoken by ghosts. Dead language.

Other Languages
These share very few similarities with Kunigo and are considered entirely separate languages. An ability to speak any of these is notable, as none of them are common in the Empire.


 * Elemental Languages - Language of the various Elemental Kami, and of humans who live near the various Eternal Pillars. (There are five; one for each element.)
 * Ingo - Trader's cant. A secret language kept quiet between merchants and thieves.
 * Kinnosunago - Spoken to the far west; language of the desert and the civilization within it.
 * Toukunogo - Languages of the far southern Threshold and its barbarians.
 * Tribal Languages - Various. Speak to staff if you'd like to create a tribe and a related language.
 * Yokaigo - Common language of the Yokai; various sub-languages exist unique to each kind of Yokai. This language must be taken before any of the unique versions. (These are just 'language of the Kitsune,' etc.) Until recently, Yokaigo was considered purely a scholarly pursuit; in the present environment, however, it has very practical uses.

Lore
One dot of Lore is required to be able to read and write. This is unchanged from Exalted core rules, we're just re-stating it here so folks don't forget.