As someone new to D&D, when I was making my first character (a forest gnome ranger) I struggled a bit through the character creation process, following some YouTube tutorials, etc. When I was picking my favored enemy, I decided to choose the option of picking two types of humanoids, but wasn't sure what my options were for humanoid creatures until a few minutes before my first game started, when I talked to some more experienced players.
In a rush, I picked orcs and goblins, but missed the part in the PHB about choosing to learn one language that one of my favored enemies speaks. Now I'm part-way into the campaign and not sure how to proceed.
Do I just add in a language now and pretend like I knew it all along? Or wait for a level up? Or never get one – treating it as a missed opportunity?
What makes it trickier is that by chance I have come across goblins and goblin writing in this campaign, so obviously I want to learn the goblin language. But is that unfair now, since I shouldn't have had that knowledge ahead of time? Or does it work fine since the whole favored enemy system is supposed to be about "reflecting the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures"?
Best Answer
No answer we can give you will help you deal with the real yardstick of “what’s fair” you will need to clear: your DM. Settling this kind of thing is their job anyway, and bypassing them risks making a little nothing into a conflict.
Just ask your DM. “Hey, I’m sorry, I rushed making my PC and never noticed I was supposed to choose a favoured enemy language. Can I do that now? Is it okay if I pick Goblin?”
Just ask, and sort it out so that you and your DM are happy with the result.
Taking the advice of the internet on what to do without involving your DM is just asking for an unhappy DM. They’re your local authority on such things, and they’re also who you have to play with. So demonstrate your respect for their job: invite them to work with you to resolve this, and thereby help run the game well.