How These Props Work
Each prop is 5 lines written in one fictional language, with its decoder key sitting right below it. Nothing is spelled out in English on the printed card itself — the language does the work of making the object feel like it belongs to the world, not to a printer.
Goblin Merchant's Trade Card
Hand this to players when they meet a goblin trader. Read the in-language lines aloud in a sing-song, greedy voice — reveal the English underneath only if the table gets stuck.
Shiny-in shiny-shiny and yooz-pretty gems-y faz sale-in, buddy-buddy!
Good-good grub-grub and fresh-oo drinky-drink, right-y haze-y!
Bestest mine-mine-shiny in whole-in dark-hidey!
Itsy-bitsy sneaky-trinkets, big-big sparky-magic — nope-nope tricky-trick, nope-nope tricky-trick!
Come-come back-in later-later, buddy-buddy, faz maze-iz shiny-in shiny-shiny! Yep-yep!
Reveal English
“Shiny gold and pretty gems for sale, friend!”
“Good food and fresh water, right here.”
“The best treasure in the whole cave.”
“Small trinkets, big magic — no trick, no trick!”
“Come back later, friend, for more shiny gold.”
Decoder key
Goblin decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: tion → shun, ing → in, th → d, er → az, or → az. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like sneaky, itsy, yooz, gobby or an ending like -y, -iz, -oo, -in.
Merchant's Trade Card · Goblin
Goblin Merchant's Trade Card
Shiny-in shiny-shiny and yooz-pretty gems-y faz sale-in, buddy-buddy!
Good-good grub-grub and fresh-oo drinky-drink, right-y haze-y!
Bestest mine-mine-shiny in whole-in dark-hidey!
Itsy-bitsy sneaky-trinkets, big-big sparky-magic — nope-nope tricky-trick, nope-nope tricky-trick!
Come-come back-in later-later, buddy-buddy, faz maze-iz shiny-in shiny-shiny! Yep-yep!
Goblin decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: tion → shun, ing → in, th → d, er → az, or → az. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like sneaky, itsy, yooz, gobby or an ending like -y, -iz, -oo, -in.
| gold | → | shiny-shiny |
| friend | → | buddy-buddy |
| good | → | good-good |
| food | → | grub-grub |
| water | → | drinky-drink |
| best | → | bestest |
| treasure | → | mine-mine-shiny |
| cave | → | dark-hidey |
| small | → | itsy-bitsy |
| big | → | big-big |
| magic | → | sparky-magic |
| no | → | nope-nope |
| trick | → | tricky-trick |
| come | → | come-come |
| later | → | later-later |
Medieval Tavern Menu
Drop this on the table when the party walks into an inn. It reads like a real herald's proclamation of the day's fare — perfect for a game night, a Renaissance faire booth, or a party invitation prop.
Hark, fresh loaf of bread and roasted meat, everyeth the light of day. Prithee — so speaks the herald.
Verily, eth of great renown grand feast awaitsest, noble friendseth. Forsooth — so speaks the herald.
Verily, warming brew oreth herbal herbal decoction, thy choicest, upon mine honor.
Hark, fresh water. Alwayseth freald. Seize somoth — so speaks the herald.
By mine honor, askest the trader. Grand feast tonighteth, upon mine honor.
Reveal English
“Fresh bread and meat, every day.”
“A great feast awaits, noble friends.”
“Warming brew or herbal tea, your choice.”
“Water. Always free. Take some.”
“Ask the merchant. Feast tonight.”
Decoder key
Medieval decoder key
No letters change — Medieval keeps real English spelling. Unfamiliar words also pick up an ending like eth, est, ald, wynne.
Tavern Menu · Medieval
Medieval Tavern Menu
Hark, fresh loaf of bread and roasted meat, everyeth the light of day. Prithee — so speaks the herald.
Verily, eth of great renown grand feast awaitsest, noble friendseth. Forsooth — so speaks the herald.
Verily, warming brew oreth herbal herbal decoction, thy choicest, upon mine honor.
Hark, fresh water. Alwayseth freald. Seize somoth — so speaks the herald.
By mine honor, askest the trader. Grand feast tonighteth, upon mine honor.
Medieval decoder key
No letters change — Medieval keeps real English spelling. Unfamiliar words also pick up an ending like eth, est, ald, wynne.
| bread | → | loaf of bread |
| meat | → | roasted meat |
| day | → | the light of day |
| great | → | of great renown |
| feast | → | grand feast |
| tea | → | herbal decoction |
| your | → | thy |
| water | → | fresh water |
| take | → | seize |
| merchant | → | trader |
Orcish Wanted Poster
Pin this to a tavern wall or hand it to the party as a bounty hook. Short, barked lines — read them loud, the way a warboss would.
Grukwantedaz! Gorrthisok skrag, kromp-done! Nar!
Gorrrewardok: big-grub, strong-glog, big-waaaagh-fame!
Waaaaghcatingrr! Gorrdangerok gorrpreyok!
Gorrthisok warboy, nar warboss-word!
Gorrbringok grukprofaz. Kromp gorrconfirok! WAAAAGH
Reveal English
“Wanted! This enemy, dead.”
“Reward: meat, ale, glory.”
“Caution! Dangerous prey.”
“This warrior, no honor.”
“Bring proof. Kill confirmed.”
Decoder key
Orcish decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: th → z, ing → in, tion → shun, ph → f, ck → k, ce → se. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like gruk, nar, waaaagh, gorr or an ending like az, ugh, grr, ok, ak.
Wanted Poster · Orcish
Orcish Wanted Poster
Grukwantedaz! Gorrthisok skrag, kromp-done! Nar!
Gorrrewardok: big-grub, strong-glog, big-waaaagh-fame!
Waaaaghcatingrr! Gorrdangerok gorrpreyok!
Gorrthisok warboy, nar warboss-word!
Gorrbringok grukprofaz. Kromp gorrconfirok! WAAAAGH
Orcish decoder key
Swap these letters everywhere: th → z, ing → in, tion → shun, ph → f, ck → k, ce → se. Unfamiliar words also pick up a starting sound like gruk, nar, waaaagh, gorr or an ending like az, ugh, grr, ok, ak.
| enemy | → | skrag |
| dead | → | kromp-done |
| meat | → | big-grub |
| ale | → | strong-glog |
| glory | → | big-waaaagh-fame |
| warrior | → | warboy |
| no | → | nar |
| honor | → | warboss-word |
| kill | → | kromp |
Answer key — for whoever is running the scene
Goblin Merchant's Trade Card
| #1 | Shiny gold and pretty gems for sale, friend! |
| #2 | Good food and fresh water, right here. |
| #3 | The best treasure in the whole cave. |
| #4 | Small trinkets, big magic — no trick, no trick! |
| #5 | Come back later, friend, for more shiny gold. |
Medieval Tavern Menu
| #1 | Fresh bread and meat, every day. |
| #2 | A great feast awaits, noble friends. |
| #3 | Warming brew or herbal tea, your choice. |
| #4 | Water. Always free. Take some. |
| #5 | Ask the merchant. Feast tonight. |
Orcish Wanted Poster
| #1 | Wanted! This enemy, dead. |
| #2 | Reward: meat, ale, glory. |
| #3 | Caution! Dangerous prey. |
| #4 | This warrior, no honor. |
| #5 | Bring proof. Kill confirmed. |
Make Your Own Prop
Need a 4th prop, or want one in a different voice? Type a short, simple sentence and translate it into any of this site's 10 fictional languages.
Translation will appear here
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the text on these props a real historical language?
No. Each prop is written in one of this site's original fictional languages — a mix of real vocabulary swaps and consistent sound-shift rules, not a historical language or cipher. It is built for entertainment and tabletop play, and every line is generated the same way any phrase on this site is translated, not typed by hand.
Do I need to print these to use them?
No — printing is optional. The "Print this kit" button formats the three props for paper (with the English hidden, so the language stays a puzzle), but you can just as easily show a phone or tablet screen at the table.
My players can't read the language. How do I use it at the table?
That is the point — hand over the card as an in-world prop and let them work it out, or just read it aloud in character and translate on the fly. The decoder key under each prop (also on its own printed page) is there for whoever is running the scene to reference or hand out once the group is stuck.
Can I make my own trade card, menu or poster in a different language?
Yes — this site has 10 fictional languages in total, and the translator at the bottom of this page works with any of them. Keep custom lines short and simple, the same way the ones above are written, since long or slang-heavy sentences are harder to turn into a clean, readable prop.
Why only these three props — goblin, medieval and orcish?
They cover the three most common tabletop moments — a shady trader, an inn, and a bounty board — in three languages with very different voices (Goblin's sing-song chaos, Medieval's formal herald cadence, Orcish's barked war-camp fragments), so the set demonstrates the range of the translator rather than three variations on the same joke.
Curated by Aster Vale (pseudonym used for this project) · Last reviewed
Every prop above is fictional-language entertainment, not a certified translation. Free to print and reuse at your own table.