My character was raised by elves and never learned Common language. Throughout his adventures, he had learned some words of Common, here and there, mainly daily words, like "name", greetings, until at least he (I think) should be able to understand conversations and respond well, except complex topic.
My previous AL DM allows me to understand quest briefing, conversation with NPC, without me having the proficiency in Common language. However, as I'm going to try different DMs, I'm unsure that such thing should be allowed: understand a language you're not proficient with.
Is there a rule in the book that supports that PC can understand typical conversation in a language they're not proficient with?
If yes, then what is the point of having language proficiency? (But that might be better for other question)
Best Answer
Normally speaking, no, there are no rules that support that you can understand a language you are not proficient in. You might roll some Intelligence or Wisdom checks to figure out what's going on, but you won't get it.
However, in the specific case of Common, there is also no way within the rules to not speak the language, so it's pretty easy to rule that your PC can understand typical conversation in that language.
After all, going by pure mechanics, especially in AL, you do speak Common, because it's just a thing you get automatically.