Cyberpunk RED skill
Language
Language is a skill in Cyberpunk RED: Speaking, reading, and understanding one specific language, bought separately from every other tongue.
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Key facts
- Stat
- INT
- Category
- education
Overview
Language is fluency in one particular tongue, bought separately for each. Night City is a port city full of corporations headquartered elsewhere, so the crew regularly runs into documents, conversations, and contacts that do not operate in the language they grew up with. At the table Language is an access skill. It opens communities the crew otherwise cannot approach, makes intercepted documents readable, and turns overheard conversations into intelligence. It also has one unusual mechanical property: it is exempt from the creation cap that holds every other skill at 6, so a character can begin genuinely fluent rather than merely competent. Streetslang is a language in its own right, which matters more in Night City than any national tongue.
How it works
Linked Stat: INT Category: Education Resolution: 1d10 plus INT plus skill level against a DV set by how technical or idiomatic the material is. Ordering food is easy, a legal contract or a specialist argument is not. A natural 10 adds another roll, a natural 1 subtracts one. Per language, and uncapped: Each language is its own skill with its own rank. Language is one of the two exceptions to the rule that no skill may exceed 6 at character creation, the other being your role ability.
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Medias, Execs, and Fixers, plus anyone whose campaign involves corporations from more than one country. Character concepts: An Exec placed by an overseas parent company, a Nomad family that crosses borders, a translator turned edgerunner, a Media covering an immigrant community. Synergies: Lip Reading requires it for any conversation not in a tongue you speak. Library Search reaches sources in other languages, and Conversation only works if the person will talk to you in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
Can Language start above 6?
Yes. The creation cap of 6 applies to ordinary skills, and Language is specifically exempt alongside your role ability, so a native speaker can begin at a genuinely high rank.
Do I need a separate skill for each language?
Yes. Each language is bought and ranked on its own, so a polyglot character spends a meaningful share of the 86 creation skill points to get there.
What about Streetslang?
It is treated as its own language in Cyberpunk RED. In practice it is the one that matters most day to day in Night City, and it is not automatically covered by whatever you speak at home.