Beyond Common: Five Languages for Your Table

Speak it tonight

Your players have walked into an orc war camp, and the warlord wants to know who they are. The rulebook says she speaks Orcish. Now what?

Beyond Common is five pocket-sized books for Orcish, Elvish, Dwarvish, Draconic and Thieves' Cant. Open one at the table, find what you need to say, and say it. Phrases bring together four fields: native script, romanized wording, plain English meaning, and phonetic pronunciation.

Greet a stranger. Bargain for passage. Threaten, lie, apologise, ask the way, read a sign or swear an oath. The phrasebook comes first; the grammar and lore are there when you want to go deeper.

What's inside every book

Each book is approximately 200 pages, 5 × 8 inches, with a black-and-white interior. Each works on its own, with any fantasy roleplaying game.

• Use It Tonight: a one-minute guide, first phrases and a page finder.
• The Phrasebook: twelve sections organised by what you need to do, from first contact to oaths and proverbs.
• The Script and Its Font: the letters, how to write them and how to type them. Font files are included with Enhanced Digital and all physical rewards.
• Building Your Own Lines: practical grammar in plain English.
• Working Vocabulary: words by subject and a two-way dictionary.
• Voices and Dialects: different ways to speak, including voices that break the stereotype.
• Names and Instant NPCs: name tables and characters ready to use.
• At the Table: comprehension and language play without slowing the game.
• The Signature Toolkit: a different play tool at the heart of each language.
• Texts and Scenes: letters, signs, inscriptions and handouts with GM keys.
• Optional 5E Rules: a feat and background using SRD 5.1 terms.

Five languages, five ways of speaking

Orcish: The Tongue of Gashuruk

Spoken from the chest, in short, heavy words. An orc's word is only as good as the deed behind it, and the Boast gives a claim something to stand on. “Ral kal zok!” means “Prove it!”

Elvish: The Sung and the Said

Court Elvish distinguishes personal speech from words placed on the record. The Sung and the Said turns that distinction into a tool for diplomacy, promises and misunderstandings; other voices and dialects give you more ways to play.

Dwarvish: The Speech of Stone and Debt

Cut straight, in runes a chisel can make. The Tally records obligations people accept, with language for witnesses, payment and settling what is owed. “A debt is longer than a dwarf.”

Draconic: The Tongue of the Hoard

Raked in claw marks. Claims, standing and seals shape negotiation. A proposed transfer needs the required participants to seal it before the exchange is complete. “If nobody seals, nobody gives.”

Thieves' Cant: Speaking Crooked

Plain Common with a second conversation beneath it. “Feels like frost” opens the Cant. A guard hears a chat about the weather; your fence hears a price, a time and a way out.

A custom font for every script

Orcish Tusk, Elvish Vine, Dwarvish Stave, Draconic Talon and Cant Crook let you put the scripts into handouts, maps, character sheets and virtual tabletops. Cant also has a style for thieves' chalk marks.

Enhanced Digital and every physical reward include the font files, keyboard charts and an offline browser typing helper. Type the romanized wording and turn it into script. You may use the resulting lettering in your games, streams and published homebrew under the included licence; the font files themselves may not be shared or resold. The $15 PDF Collection contains the books only.

Choose your collection

First 24 hours: PDF Collection $10 (regular $15); Enhanced Digital $20 (regular $25); Paperback Collection $74 (regular $79); Hardcover Collection $114 (regular $119); Deluxe Hardcover Collection $259 (regular $269). Physical rewards add shipping. Choose the matching “First 24 Hours” reward to receive the discount. Contents and delivery targets are the same as the corresponding regular reward.

Every tier contains all five books. Physical rewards include the full Enhanced Digital package, so you can start playing before the books arrive. Unlocked stretch goals go to Enhanced Digital and all physical tiers.

PDF Collection — $15

All five books as bookmarked, linked PDFs. Books only; no fonts, EPUBs, separate print files or stretch goals. No shipping.

Enhanced Digital — $25

All five books as PDFs and EPUBs; custom fonts, keyboard charts and offline typing helpers; every handout and prop as Letter and A4 print files; and every unlocked stretch goal. No shipping.

Paperback Collection — $79 + shipping

Five 5 × 8 inch paperbacks with black-and-white interiors and matte covers, plus everything in Enhanced Digital.

Hardcover Collection — $119 + shipping

Five hardcovers with printed, matte-laminated cases and black-and-white interiors, plus everything in Enhanced Digital.

Deluxe Hardcover Collection — $269 + shipping

Five deluxe hardcovers, each with a gold-foiled dust jacket, gold foil on the case, sprayed page edges, printed endpapers, a red ribbon bookmark, and black-and-red head and tail bands. Includes everything in Enhanced Digital. This is a collection of five books; a printed box is not included. Deluxe books are printed and shipped from the UK. Final foil and edge designs will be shown before printing.

Shipping

Shipping is charged with the pledge. Regional printing will be used where the selected format is available. Deluxe collections ship from the UK.

• United States: Paperback/Hardcover $12; Deluxe $28.
• United Kingdom: Paperback/Hardcover $10; Deluxe $12.
• Canada: Paperback/Hardcover $18; Deluxe $32.
• Australia: Paperback/Hardcover $22; Deluxe $42.
• European Union: Paperback/Hardcover $20; Deluxe $22.
• Rest of the world: Paperback/Hardcover $35; Deluxe $55.

These are the planned campaign rates. Delivery availability, shipping costs and any applicable import charges will be checked before launch.

Add-on: Mind Your Tongue — $39 + shipping

All six one-shots and all five short stories, in one 8.5 × 11 inch, full-colour hardcover with extra art, about 166 pages. Every one of them is in the book, whatever the campaign reaches.

Add it to a Paperback, Hardcover or Deluxe pledge. The adventures and stories are drafted; the book's layout and proof come next. It ships on its own, estimated October 2027, so it has its own shipping:

• United States: $12
• United Kingdom: $10
• Canada: $24
• Australia: $34
• European Union: $18
• Rest of world: $38

Stretch goals

Review builds of the base books exist. Stretch goals fund new material, delivered separately so that this additional work does not hold up the books. All unlocked stretch rewards are digital and included at Enhanced Digital and above.

• $4,000 — Hear It Spoken: audio of every sound in all five languages and the 50 most useful phrases from each book.
• $6,000 — Orcish at the Table: a short story and a one-shot for 3–5 players.
• $8,000 — Elvish at the Table: a short story and a one-shot built around the Sung and the Said.
• $10,000 — Dwarvish at the Table: a short story and a one-shot built around the Tally.
• $12,000 — Draconic at the Table: a short story and a one-shot built around claims and seals.
• $14,000 — Thieves' Cant at the Table: a short story and a one-shot built around the second conversation.
• $16,000 — Voices for the One-Shots: audio of the NPCs' in-language lines.
• $18,000 — Story Readings: audio readings of all five short stories.
• $20,000 — All Five at the Table: a sixth one-shot where orcs, elves, dwarves, a dragon and a thieves' guild meet. Includes letters, signs, a contract and chalk marks in all five scripts, in Letter and A4 with GM keys.

Each one-shot is designed for a one-to-four-hour session. Required phrases are supplied as dialogue and handouts, so no other book is needed to play. Stories are told in English, with translations beside fictional-language dialogue. Audio stretch rewards will use AI-generated voices.

Made for your table

The 5 × 8 format fits beside your dice, goes in a game bag and passes easily to a player. The phrasebooks, scripts and names work with any fantasy game. The optional fifth-edition appendix uses SRD 5.1 terms and can be left out of play.

Planned delivery

• 11 December 2026: campaign ends. Target delivery of base digital files according to your reward: PDFs for the PDF Collection; PDFs, EPUBs, fonts and print files for Enhanced Digital and physical backers.
• December 2026: physical proofs checked; Deluxe foil and edge designs shown.
• 22 January–5 February 2027: planned printing and dispatch of paperbacks and standard hardcovers.
• 19 February–5 March 2027: planned printing and dispatch of Deluxe hardcovers from the UK.
• August 2027: unlocked stretch-goal stories, one-shots and audio delivered.

Physical windows are dispatch estimates; arrival depends on destination. Digital delivery on campaign-end day is a target, subject to final checks and pledge processing. Any change will be explained in an update.

About Penny Blood Adventures

Penny Blood Adventures publishes fantasy roleplaying adventures and supplements. Beyond Common brings the tools we wanted at our own table into a shared five-book design.

We will post an update at least once a month until every reward has shipped.

Happy hunting,
Matthew David, Penny Blood Adventures