PDA

View Full Version : Common Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Terms



Pages : [1] 2

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 02:51 AM
This thread includes a number of abbreviations, acronyms, and terms commonly or uncommonly used on these boards that may not be common knowledge. This list is by no means exhaustive; if you see an error or have something that should be added, feel free to bring it up. Please note that this thread assumes a working knowledge of tabletop gaming, particularly RPGs, and is not useful as a primer for those completely new to the hobby.

I made this thread because sometimes posts end up looking like alphabet soup, and decoding all the esoteric jargon we use can be intimidating for newcomers. I hope this helps clear up some confusion.

Recent updates and changes in blue.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

D&D Books:
1 A 3.0 book.
2 Significant portions may be found in the SRD.

Core
- PhB2: Players Hand Book
- DMG2: Dungeon Master's Guide
- MM or MM12: Monster Manual
- PsiHB1: Psionics Handbook
- XPH2: Expanded Psionics Handbook

Expansions to the Core
- A&E, AEG, AEq, A&Eq, or A&EG1: Arms and Equipment Guide
- BoC1: Book of Challenges
- BoED: Book of Exalted Deeds
- BoVD1: Book of Vile Darkness
- DD, DDG, or D&DG1: Deities and Demigods
- DMGII or DMG2: Dungeon Master’s Guide II
- DrM or DraMa: Dragon Magic
- E&A1: Enemies and Allies
- ELH1: Epic Level Handbook
- FF: Fiend Folio
- HBG1: Hero Builders Guidebook
- LGG1: Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
- MH: Minatures Handbook
- MM2 or MMII1: Monster Manual II
- MM3 or MMIII: Monster Manual III
- MM4 or MMIV: Monster Manual IV
- MM5 or MMV: Monster Manual V
- MoI: Magic of Incarnum
- MotP1: Manual of the Planes
- OA1: Oriental Adventures
- PHBII or PHB2: Player's Handbook II
- PlH: Planar Handbook
- SBG or SHBG1: Stronghold Builders Guidebook
- SavS or SS1: Savage Species. The latter can be confused with Song & Silence (below).
- ToB or Bo9S: Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords
- ToM: Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic
- UA2: Unearthed Arcana
- WoL: Weapons of Legacy

Class Books
- CAd or CV: Complete Adventurer
- CAr or CA: Complete Arcane
- CC or CCham: Complete Champion
- CD: Complete Divine
- CM: Complete Mage
- CP or CPsi: Complete Psionics
- CS or CScn: Complete Scoundrel
- CW: Complete Warrior
- DotF1: Defenders of the Faith
- MotW1: Masters of the Wild
- S&F1: Sword and Fist
- S&S or SS1: Song and Silence
- T&B1: Tome and Blood

Race Books
- RoD: Races of Destiny
- RotD: Races of the Dragon
- RoS: Races of Stone
- RotW: Races of the Wild

Heroes Books
- HoB: Heroes of Battle
- HoH: Heroes of Horror

Monster Books
- DotU: Drow of the Underdark
- LM or LiMo: Libris Mortis
- LoM or LoMad: Lords of Madness
- FC1: Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
- FC2: Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells

Compendium Books
- MiC: Magic Item Compendium
- RC or RuC: Rules Compendium
- SC or SpC: Spell Compendium

Eberron Books
- 5N: Five Nations
- CoS or CoSR: City of Stormreach
- DoE: Dragons of Eberron (ECS)
- ECS: Eberron Campaign Setting
- EHB: Explorer’s Handbook
- FoE: Faiths of Eberron
- FoW or tFoW: The Forge of War
- MoE: Magic of Eberron
- PGtE or PGE: Player's Guide to Eberron
- RoE: Races of Eberron
- SCT, S:CT, or S:CoT: Sharn: City of Towers
- SoS: Secrets of Sarlona (ECS)
- SoX: Secrets of Xen'drik

FR (Forgotten Realms) Books
- A:tEoS: Anauroch: The Empire of Sand
- CoR: Champions of Ruin
- CoV: Champions of Valor (FR)
- CotSQ1: City of the Spider Queen
- DoF or DoFR1: Dragons of Faerûn
- F&P1: Faiths and Pantheons
- FRCS1: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
- LEF or LEoF: Lost Empires of Faerûn
- LoD1: Lords of Darkness
- MaF or MaFR1: Magic of Faerûn
- MoF or MoFR1: Monsters of Faerûn
- MoM or MotM: Mysteries of the Moon Sea
- PGtF or PGFR: Player's Guide to Faerûn
- PoF: Power of Faerûn
- RoF or RaFR1: Races of Faerûn
- SK: Serpent Kingdoms
- SM1: Silver Marches
- UE1: Unapproachable East
- UND: Underdark

DL (DragonLance) Books
- AoM: Age of Mortals
- BoK: Bestiary of Krynn
- DLCS: DragonLance Campaign Setting
- THoS or THS: Towers of High Sorcery
- WotL: War of the Lance

Adventures
- RttToEE or RToEE1: Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. A very large adventure for 3.0 that is a sequel to a famous AD&D adventure.

D&D Books not yet published:
4E

D&D Versions:
- 1e: Usually the first edition of AD&D
- 2e: The second edition of AD&D.
- 2.5e: Term sometimes used to indicate AD&D games that used the later rules supplements (“Skills and Powers,” “Combat and Tactics,” “Spells and Magic,” etc.).
- 3.0 or 3e: Third edition or original d20 D&D.
- 3.5: The revised version of 3e or original d20 D&D.
- 3.x: Refers to 3rd edition and 3.5/original d20 D&D collectively.
- 4E: Fourth edition D&D, system apparently based of the original d20 system from 3.x but subtantially updated. Core books to be released June 2008.
- AD&D: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons; official name for editions that preceded 3rd edition but after the original D&D. The "A" was dropped for 3rd because it seemed superfluous and was thought to potentially confuse or intimidate new players (as in, if there's an Advanced version, where do I find the basic version?)
- D&D: Dungeons and Dragons. Can refer to all versions of the RPG inclusive, or to the d20 version specifically. Each version has its proponents and detractors; arguments over the “superiority” of one version over the others is a hot button issue.
- OD&D: Original (or "Old") Dungeons and Dragons. First version of the game. Properly called Dungeons and Dragons, but OD&D keeps it from being confused with 3.0/3.5.

D&D Terms:
- AC: Armor Class
- AMF: Anti-Magic Field
- AoE: Area of Effect*; can refer to the area affected by a spell, or as a generic designator for spells (especially damaging spells) that affect an area rather than a single target (ie. fireball's AoE is a 20ft radius; fireball is an AoE spell)
- AoO: Attack of Opportunity
- atk: Attack
- BAB: Base Attack Bonus
- BBEG: Big Bad Evil Guy. The main (or at least a very major) villain in a campaign. Xykon from the OotS comic would be an example of a BBEG.
- Bbn: Barbarian
- Bg or bg: Background, particularly a write-up of one for a character.
- Brd: Bard
- CdG: Coup de Grace
- CE: Chaotic Evil
- CG: Chaotic Good
- Cha: Charisma
- Clr: Cleric. Also sometimes seen as Cle.
- CLW: Cure Light Wounds. A basic healing spell.
- CMW: Cure Moderate Wounds. A basic healing spell.
- CN: Chaotic Neutral
- Con: Constitution
- cp: Copper pieces (Saying “Just my 2cp” is analogous to saying “Just my two cents.”)
- CR: Challenge Rating
- CSW: Cure Serious Wounds. A strong healing spell.
- DC: Difficulty Class
- Dex: Dexterity
- DM: Dungeon Master
- dmg: Damage. Usually the amount an attack or spell deals, or the amount taken by a creature.
- DoT: Damage over Time*; refers to effects that do damage over several rounds, or as a generic designator for a spell that deals damage over several round (eg. Melf's acid arrow is a DoT spell)
- DR: Damage Reduction
- Drd: Druid
- DvR: Divine Rank
- ECL: Effective Character Level
- EL: Encounter Level
- Fort: Fortitude Save
- Ftr: Fighter
- GP: Gold pieces
- HP: Hit Points
- Int: Intelligence
- IOTSOV: Initiate of the Seven Veils. A PrC from CAr. An abjuration specialist that can set up different warding "veils" keyed to seven colors of the rainbow.
- LA: Level Adjustment
- LE: Lawful Evil
- LG: Lawful Good
- LN: Lawful Neutral
- MAD: Multiple Attribute/Ability Dependency. In 3.0, refers to psionic casting, in which the ability score connected to manifesting a power changed depending on the discipline of the power. For example, metacreative powers were based off of Int, while telepathic powers were based off of Cha. In 3.5, refers to a group of caster classes that base different casting modifiers off different attributes. For example, the spirit shaman bases bonus spells per day off of Wis but spell DC off of Cha. Also occasionally used in reference to classes that are felt to require several above average ability scores to be effective, such as the monk.
- Mnk: Monk
- N, NN, or TN: Neutral, or True Neutral. Neutral on both alignment axes.
- NE: Neutral Evil
- NG: Neutral Good
- Pal: Paladin
- PaO: Polymorph Any Object. A sor/wiz spell that can turn one thing into another; considered to be very powerful and/or broken.
- PBS: Point Blank Shot
- pp: Platinum pieces
- PP: Power points
- PrC: Prestige Class
- Psi: Psion
- PvE: Player versus Environment.* Refers to when the players combat NPC opponents primarily. Compare PvP.
- PvP: Player versus Player.* Refers to when the players combat other players. Compare PvE.
- PW: Psychic Warrior
- RAW: Rules as Written
- Ref: Reflex Save
- Rgr: Ranger
- Rog: Rogue
- SK: Soulknife
- Sor: Sorcerer
- SP: Silver pieces
- SR: Spell Resistance
- Stats: The statistical representation of a character, or more specifically a set of ability scores.
- Str: Strength
- THAC0: To Hit AC Zero. A pre-3/3.5 term that refers to how the probability of a creature hitting its target with an attack was figured. In this case, each class granted a base To Hit number, modified by Str or Dex depending on the attack type, magic, and other factors. Then it has the AC of the target subtracted from it to determine the actual To Hit number for a specific AC. The attacker has to roll higher than the final number. AC 0 does not modify the final To Hit number, so it is easy to use this number to figure other To Hit numbers from THAC0. THAC0 is roughly analagous to BAB.
- TPK: Total Party Kill
- TWF: Two-Weapon Fighting
- UMD: Use Magic Device
- WBL: Wealth by level (guidelines). Refers to a chart in the DMG listing the approximate value of gear and treasure a character is assumed/expected to have by a certain character level.
- Will: Will, or Willpower, Save
- Wis: Wisdom
- Wiz: Wizard
- Wld: Wilder
- XP: Experience Points

*These terms are most often associated with and used regarding MMORPGs, but have begun to cross over into tabletop terminology.

Dice:
- d[X]: A die of [X] sides; for example, a 20 sided die is d20. A standard set of polyhedral dice contains a d4, one to three d6s, a d8, two d10s (one usually a different color or numbered 00-90 for use as a d%), a d12, and a d20. Typical non-standard types include the d16, d24, and d32. Unusual variants such as the d5 and d7 also known to exist. With the advent of dice rolling software, [X] can potentially be any whole number. Commonly encountered but unusual dice types listed below.
- d2: Two sided die, usually "rolled" by either flipping a coin or using a d4 and counting a 3 as a 1 and a 4 as a 2.
- d3: Three sided die, rolled similarly to a d2, but in this case with a d6 (4 becomes 1, 5 becomes 2, 6 becomes 3). Some examples of "true" d3s do exist.
- d% or d100: One hundred sided die. Some actual d100s exist, but usually rolled using two d10s of different colors (one as the 10s the other as the 1s). By convention, double 0 is 100. d% sometimes also refers to a d10 numbered by 10s (00-90) specifically for rolling these checks. A triple zero result with this die is 100.

Other Gaming Related:
- CCG: Collectible Card Game
- CoC: Call of Cthulhu, refers to any version of the game.
- CoCd20: Call of Cthulhu d20
- d20M: d20 Modern. d20F refers to the d20 Future supplement, and games utilizing it.
- FASA: Fredonian Aeronautics and Space Administration. The company that originally published BattleTech and Shadowrun, among other RPG, miniature, and board games. The name is a joke referencing a made up country featured in Marx Brothers’ skits. Most of their best known licenses have been acquired by WizKids, who has licensed Catalyst Games (previously they were with FanPro) to publish a few of them, specifically Shadowrun and Classic BattleTech.
- FLGS: Friendly Local Gaming Store
- FRPG: Fantasy Role-Playing Game. Perhaps the most common genre of RPG.
- GM: Game Master
- GSL: Game Systems License. The successor to OGL for 4th Edition D&D. Full details not yet released.
- IK: Iron Kingdoms. A d20 FRPG (the ruleset is a highly variant version of D&D 3.5) published by Privateer Press and set in the same world as that company's Warmachine miniatures game.
- L5R: Legend of the Five Rings. Often used to refer to the series of games and novels set in the oriental fantasy world of Rokugan, but can also mean a specific game, depending on context.
- L5RCCG: Refers to the card game that originated the L5R series
- L5Rd10: The original L5R RPG.
- L5Rd20: The newer version of the L5R RPG, originally found in OA. Greatly disliked by those who prefer the d10 version; the feeling of L5Rd20 players is generally mutual. A hot button issue.
- LGS: Local Gaming Store; same as FLGS, except most commonly used to indicate stores that aren't as friendly or well liked (ie, "I buy from Amazon instead of my LGS because they charge more and often don't have what I'm looking for. Plus, the owner is a jerk.")
- Mini: Plural minis; a miniature figurine representing a character or unit, or a game that specifically focuses on combat using minis (as opposed to a RPG that uses minis in combat, but does not focus on them primarily). Also a synonym for miniatures wargaming.
- M:tG: Magic: The Gathering
- nWoD: New World of Darkness. A major revision of WW's main line of horror RPGs. Includes Vampire: the Requiem, Werewolf: the Forsaken, and Mage: the Awakening.
- OGC: Open Gaming Content. Material published under the OGL.
- OGL: Open Gaming License. An "open source" concept for d20 rules that allows them to be used and published by third party sources. Not all d20 material is OGL; generally, only hard stats are OGL, and occasionally not even that for certain products.
- oWoD: Old (or Original) World of Darkness. Original version of WW's signature line of RPGs. The main products included Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Hunter: the Reckoning, Mage: the Ascension, and Changeling: the Dreaming.
- RPG: Roleplaying Game
- RPGA: Roleplaying Games Association. Nationwide group run by WotC to organize and run ongoing shared campaign worlds, especially at conventions.
- SR: ShadowRun. A cyberpunk/fantasy RPG originally created by FASA, now owned by WizKids and published by FanPro Catalyst Games.
- SR3: ShadowRun 3rd Edition, the last edition published by FASA. Recently replaced as the most current by SR4.
- SR4: Refers to ShadowRun 4th Edition, the recently released current version of the game.
- SRD: System Reference Document. The SRD refers to the 3.x D&D SRD; other SRDs prefixed by the name of the game (ie. d20M SRD, aka MSRD).
- SWd20: Star Wars d20 from WotC.
- SWd6 or WEGSW: The original SWRPG version published by WEG. As with L5R, players of one version of the SWRPG usually dislike the other version to some degree. Also a hot button issue.
- SWRPG: Star Wars Roleplaying Game, refers to any version.
- SWS or SWSaga: Star Wars Saga edition. Uses 4E type ruleset.
- TCG: Trading Card Game; generally understood as a synonym for CCG
- TSR: Tactical Studies Rules. Original publishers of D&D, purchased by and absorbed into WotC.
- V:tM: Vampire: the Masquerade
- V:DA: Vampire: Dark Ages
- V:tR: Vampire: the Requiem
- W:tA: Werewolf: the Apocalypse. Usually seen simply as Werewolf.
- W:tF: Werewolf: the Forsaken; considered amusing due to closeness to a profane Internet abbreviation
- WEG: West End Games. Published the version of Star Wars RPG that preceded SWd20.
- WH or WHF: Warhammer Fantasy, a popular game setting created by Games Workshop. Known for being especially dark and gothic in style. Primarily known for the Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WHFB) miniatures game; when one refers to WHF, it is often assumed to be a reference to the miniatures game. There is also an RPG, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game (WHFRP or WHFRPG), associated with the setting.
- WH40k: Warhammer 40,000, a science-fantasy miniatures game published by Game Workshop sharing many themes and some backstory with WHF. Also noted for its dark, gritty, and gothic themes. Associated with the popular Dawn of War (DoW) real-time strategy computer game series.
- WoD: World of Darkness. The shared universe of most WW games. Sometimes referred to pejoratively as Monster: the Angst or Monster: the Something, playing off the names of the games in this line. Uses the Storyteller rules (a d10 based system).
- WotC: Wizards of Wizards of the Coast, publishers of D&D and other d20 games, plus a little card game called Magic: the Gathering, among other things.
- WW: White Wolf, publishers of the World of Darkness or Storyteller games and Exalted.

Giant in the Playground Forum & General Internet:
(Note: Most internet abbreviations can appear without capitalization, or with alternate capitalization, and mean the same thing.)
- 5FS: Five Foot Steps. Rich’s other comic, appeared in the RPGA newsletter.
- AFK*: Away from keyboard. Can be used like BRB, or when one expects to be gone longer
- ATM: At the Moment
- B*: Back. Used after BRB. Rarely used, especially on a message board, also seen as BAK (Back At Keyboard) occasionally, especially after AFK.
- BBIAB*: Be back in a bit. Used like BRB, but when you expect to be gone longer.
- BBL*: Be back later. Used like BRB, but when you expect to be gone longer. Can be used in place of BBIAB, or for an even longer period of absence.
- BG: Blue Guy or Blue Gal, a character who followed the OotS around in order to execute them for supposed crimes. Later comics revealed her name to be Miko, rendering this term defunct.
- BRB*: Be right back. Rarely used on a message board.
- BTW:By the way
- EOM*: End of message. Usually used to indicate the end of a message that exceeded the maximum characters allowed by a chat or instant message program for a single send.
- FB: Friendly Banter
- FTW! or FTW: For the win! It basically is used to say &quot;that one is the best!&quot; Probably derives from the game show “Hollywood Squares,” which is essentially a game of tic-tac-toe. A celebrity in a booth (there’s a stack of them set up like a tic-tac-toe board) states a “fact,” which the player agrees or disagrees with, depending on if they think the fact was true or not. If the player guesses correctly, they get the square. If the player was about to get a win (three in a row/column/diagonal), they would say "<celebrity's name> for the win!"
- FTL: 1. Faster Than Light. Refers to anything - but usually modes of travel, communication, or detection - that operates at greater than light speed, either in actual fact or from the reference point of a theoretical observer. Commonly used in science fiction/fantasy. 2. For the lose. The opposite of FTW.
- FUBAR: Fracked Up Beyond All (or Any) Recognition. Originates with military usage. When things have gotten completely out of control. Can be used as a verb or adverb. Compare SNAFU.
- FWIW: For what it’s worth
- FYI: For your information. Usually not used in the sarcastic or defensive manner the full phrase is, but to alert the person its directed at to a piece of important information they might otherwise be unaware of.
- GitP: Giant in the Playground. Also sometimes refers to Rich Burlew, the Giant himself.
- GK: Gorbash Kazdar, a moderator on the forum.
- GW: Grey Watcher, a moderator on the forum.
- IC: In Character. Anything said in a PbP in the manner your character would say it. Also the Play board.
- IIRC: If I Recall Correctly
- IMHO: In My Humble Opinion. Occasionally IM(NS)HO (In My (Not So) Humble Opinion), or IMO (In My Opinion).
- IRC: Internet Relay Chat. A venerable real-time chat protocol that is non-proprietary and can be accessed by a number of client programs.
- L: Laugh. Displays mirth at something mildly amusing. Rare.
- LG: Linear Guild, the OotS’s nemeses.
- LOL: Laugh out loud. Displays mirth at something amusing to the poster. Most common variant.
- MitD: Monster in the Darkness. Refers to the enigmatic and child-like monster that serves Xykon and Redcloak in the OotS comic. So called because it has thus far spent the entire comic lurking in the shadows.
- MMORPG: Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Refers to a type of computer game in which you connect to an online, persistent world and play a character in that world. These games usually have a monthly fee. These games include Everquest (EQ), Everquest 2 (EQ2), World of Warcraft (WoW), Star Wars Galaxies (SWG), Guild Wars, and numerous others.
- Mod: Moderator
- NSFW: Not Safe for Work. Refers to a site with content one would not want on screen at work (generally adult content). Indicates a basic level of acceptability; NSFW content is not safe for any generally public venue, not just a place of work, and is also generally used to indicate content not acceptable to be viewed by minors.
- OOC: Out of Character; anything said in a PbP that is not in character. Also the Finding Players board.
- OotS: Order of the Stick, the GitP comic and the group featured in it.
- OP: Original poster. Refers to the person who started a particular thread.
- OTOH: On the other hand
- PbP: Play-by-Post, or an RPG game run on the forum.
- PEACH: Please Examine And Comment Honestly. A request usually seen attached to posts presenting original gaming content requesting constructive feedback and criticism.
- Pics: Pictures. Sometimes used to mean photographs specifically, but can apply to any image.
- PM: Private Message. A mail function that allows users of the forum to send each other info without posting it for all to see. At the top left is a link that tells you how many messages you have, clicking it bring up your PM mailbox.
- ppl*: People
- QFT: Quoted For Truth. Placed after a selection of quoted text to indicate the poster agrees with and wishes to emphasize the information in the quote.
- ROFL: Rolling on the floor laughing. Displays a great deal of amusement.
- ROFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off. Displays a great deal of amusement, strongest variant.
- Simul-Post or Simu-Post: Simultaneous post. Refers to when two people post at essentially the same time, especially when they say more or less the same thing. One or both of the posters then usually edit their post to say something to the effect of "oh, simul-posted."
- SMBG: Silly Message Board Games. Both the forum and the game threads in it.
- SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fracked Up. Originates with military usage. Used to describe the usual level of chaos, confusion, or general stupidity found in many situations. Implication is that whatever problems are currently occurring are not major or beyond the norm and require no special attention. Compare FUBAR.
- Thx*: Thanks
- TTYL*: Talk to you later. A way of saying good-bye.
- ty*: Thank you
- UBB: Universal Bulletin Board code; the code used for formatting posts. Most forum software recognizes the same basic formatting codes and code structure, which is itself based off HTML code.
- V: Vaarsuvius, one of the characters in the OotS comic.
- vB: vBulletin, the forum software currently used by the GitP forums.
- wb*: Welcome back. Used when someone comes back from a BRB (or variant) or AFK.
- wtf: Put in board appropriate euphemism, "what the frack?"
- YaBB: Yet Another Bulletin Board, the previous forum software used by the GitP forums.
- YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary (as in ‘this is what happened for me, you may get different results’)
- yw*: You’re welcome

* Usually used in a chat or instant message; most of these should not be used on the boards normally.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 02:52 AM
Terminology

D&D Books:
- Class Book: A book that focuses on one or two classes, or a specific class archetype. 3.5 class books are CW, CD, CAr, CAd, CP, CM, CS, CC; 3.0 class books were S&F, DotF, T&B, MotW.
- Heroes Book: A series of splat books designed to provide additional rules and tips for running specific iconic campaign types (eg. war campaigns, horror compaigns). Includes HoB and HoH.
- Environment Book: A series of splat books on specific types of environments to set adventures in. Currently includes Frostburn (arctic), Sandstorm (desert), Stormwrack (oceanic & underwater), Cityscape (urban), and Dungeonscape (underground & dungeon).
- Monster Book: A splat book series focussing on a particular variety of well-known or oft encountered monsters. Includes Draconomicon (dragons), Libris Mortis (undead), Lords of Madness (aberrations) (aka Codex Anathema), Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (demons), Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (devils), and Drow of the Underdark.
- Race Book: A series in which each book focuses on a few connected core races, as well as introducing and detailing a new playable race. Includes RoS, RoD, RotW, and RotD. RoE is in the style of this series, but specific to Eberron. RoF contains similar material for FR, but is in a different format and style, and thus not really a part of this series.
- Splat Book: Any non-core book that introduces new rule material, aka a rules supplement. Comes from the practice of companies using an asterisk (*, or splat) to designate supplements in their product catalogs.

Gaming:
- Bag'o'rats: A trick where a D&D 3.x character with Great Cleave empties a bag of rats in order create a situation where the character gets more attacks on a foe. The original 3rd edition version combined this with Whirlwind Attack to get multiple attacks on a single foe at the highest base attack bonus; 3.5 changed it so one could not cleave during a whirlwind attack. In 3.5, the trick keys off getting an attack of opportunity when a rat moves to get an extra attack on the opponent. It is assumed that the character would deal enough damage even on a lowest roll to kill the rat, and that the character would only miss the rat on a 1.
- Batman Mage: Refers to the fact that mages, and specifically wizards, are generally seen as the most powerful mid-to-late game class in D&D 3.5 if properly built and played. Sometimes seen in other systems where caster type characters have similar capabilities. Named for DC superhero Batman, whose superpower is apparently being better at contingency planning than anyone or anything else, implying that a properly prepared wizard is unbeatable. Batman Wizards tend to follow a specific build that differentiates them from Blaster wizards by eschewing direct damage spells. Compare CoDzilla.
- Blaster: 1. A caster build (in D&D 3.5 usually a sorcerer or wizard) focusing on direct damage spells. Sometimes called an artillery mage. Generally seen as the most basic caster build. Compare Batman Mage. 2. The standard sidearm in Star Wars, also used as a generic term for any energy weapon that fires distinct bolts.
- Bones: Synonym for dice, stems from the time when dice were actuall made of bone. Most modern dice are made of high-impact plastics, but some made of wood, bone, or semi-precious or even precious stone can still be found.
- Breaking a character/game/build: Using a rules loophole or arcane (as in complex) build to make a character that is far more powerful than is expected, to the point of unbalancing - “breaking” - the game.
- Broken: An ability, spell, class, or other rule that appears to be capable of “breaking” a game with little or no special effort. Occasionally something that is unbalanced by being too weak may also be referred to as “broken.” Refers both to “breaking a(n) X” as above, and also that the subject in and of itself does not function as it should.
- Cheese: Describes an ability, spell, class, or other rule thought to be problematic in some manner. Sometimes used as a synonym for broken, more often refers to a build or rule that makes a character very powerful but not quite broken (eg. spiked chain cheese, divine meta-cheese), especially if the particular build becomes a dominant option for a particular class. Also often applied if the subject is considered absurd or ridiculous - ie. cheesy. For example, double weapons may be considered cheese as they are statistically sound but realistically improbable or impossible. May also refer to stereotypical fluff or backstory.
- CoDzilla: Cleric-or-Druid-zilla. Refers to the fact that most D&D players view the cleric and druid as the most easily "breakable" base classes in D&D 3.5. The zilla ending is a reference to the infamous Japanese movie monster that flattened Tokyo several times, implying that a properly min/maxed cleric or druid can cause destruction on a similar scale. Compare Batman Mage.
- Crunch: Game rules and statistical information found in a publication, sometimes called "hard" information. The term is used in contrast to fluff. Can be used as an adjective (eg. "CW is a rather crunchy book"). Less common than fluff.
- Errata: Corrections to published material, usually found on the website of the company that printed the material in question.
- Fudge: When a DM changes the results of a die roll because the actual results were not satisfactory. It's cheating when a player does it, and usually only acceptable for the DM to fudge in the player's favor, or to make the story more interesting without causing any real detriment to the PCs. Often looked down on, but also recognized as a useful DM tool. Excessive fudging is seen as bad form, though.
- Fluff: Non-rule or statistical information found in a publication, most often backstory, flavor text, or descriptive text. Sometimes called "soft" material. Likely stems from view that this material is used to "fluff out" a publication, or in comparison to "marshmallow fluff" - that is, without much substance but nice to have. Rarely used as an adjective (eg. "S:CoT has a lot of fluff" instead of "S:CoT is rather fluffy").
- Gestalt: An optional ruleset from UA that allows characters to advance in two classes simultaneously, taking the best features of each class at each level.
- Gish: A fighter/wizard multiclass character, specifically one capable of casting higher level spells and surviving melee combat. May also be broadened to refer to any combination of warrior/arcane (or psionic caster) classes. Hybrid classes such as bards, duskblades, hexblades, and psychic warriors are generally not considered examples (multiclass characters only). Originates from the term for a Githyanki war wizard (in 2e, a fighter/wizard or rogue/wizard).
- Go Nova: Refers to the tactic of a caster with limited resources exhausting those resources in a single encounter or short period of time to produce powerful effects at the expense of endurance, especially if the caster is essentially helpless/useless afterwards. In D&D 3.x, psionic casters are especially good at this as all of their powers are scalable.
- Golfball: Derogatory name for an actual one hundred sided die, since it does in fact look remarkably like a golfball. Very rare.
- Grognard: An older gamer, especially a wargamer, often one who is somewhat cantankerous and feels that the “old days” of gaming were better. Also often in possession of a story or anecdote from personal experience for every occasion, many of them amusing.
- Grok: To understand. Comes from Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, and is a Martian word meaning literally “to drink,” but is really a metaphor to “fully take in” or “be one with.” Used by gamers and on the Internet to indicate either having a complete understanding of something, or as a synonym for “digging” or being into something. Usually associated with older gamers or computer/Internet aficionados, becoming rather rare.
- Hack and slash, or hack'n'slash: Gaming that focuses on killing creatures and taking their stuff; sometimes a synonym for roll-playing. Someone who does this is a hack and slasher (hack'n'slasher).
- Homebrew: A class, feat, skill, PrC, campaign setting, rule, or other piece of game material created for personal use (generally not for profit, at least initially). As in “brewed it up at home.” Term often also implies to a certain degree that the product may be somewhat unusual in nature. Some homebrew products may equal (or, depending on opinion, exceed) professionally produced material, but many are viewed as lower quality.
- House rule: A rule modification used by a group in their campaign, as opposed to the RAW. Rule questions are generally answered assuming no house rules, unless they are specifically stated to be in effect. Often, though, this will lead to analysis and questioning of the house rule.
- Metagame: Using information you know as a player, but is unknown to your character, in order to make decisions for your character. More simply, using OOC knowledge to make IC decisions. Such knowledge is usually called “metagame knowledge.”
- Min/Maxing*: The practice of attempting to derive the maximum benefit for the minimum penalty. Oft times looked down upon as power gaming or munchkinism, but in most cases is merely attempting to build the best character given a certain set of stats and other restrictions. Usually does not attempt to exploit rules loopholes intentionally. Someone who does this is a “min/maxer.”
- Munchkin*: Sometimes a synonym for power gaming, especially when the desire for power overrides all other concerns and is a detriment to the game, more often refers to someone who has the same goals as a power gamer but violates or ignores rules in order to achieve his goals. Also someone who ignores issues of suspension of disbelief, ability to fit into a campaign in a role-play sense, and common sense in their quest for power in game. Can also refer to the process of doing things the way a munchkin would. Munchkinism refers to the mindset that leads to this, or the practice itself.
- Nerf: A verb, means to weaken something in the game by changing the rules in some way. As in, “they nerfed haste for 3.5.” Comes from the Nerf toys that fired foam arrows, darts, or other projectiles, implying that the new version has a relationship with the old version similar to that between a real arrow and a Nerf dart.
- Oberoni Fallacy: The statement that there are no problematic or broken rules, as any identified as such can simply be corrected by application of Rule 0. A fallacy as having another overarching rule allowing for corrective action to be taken does not mean that there were not problems in the first place. Formally identified as a logical fallacy by WotC forum member Oberoni.
- Optimizer: 1. A poster on WotC's Character Optimization boards. 2. A synonym for the given definition of min/maxer. Has generally replaced that term as it is less pejorative.
- Power Gaming*: Varying definitions, but usually refers to attempting to “break” certain aspects of the game in the player’s favor. Also, the intent to gather as much power in game as possible, sometimes to the detriment of the campaign. Someone who does this a “power gamer.” Differs from munchkinism in that a power gamer nominally still works within the system's rules, though they often exploit loopholes and questionable rule interpretations. Sometimes used as a synonym for the given definition of “min/maxing,” and other times as a synonym for “munchkin.”
- Pun-Pun: A specific kobold character build that can get essentially infinitely high ability scores in any ability, just about any special ability, and more. Considered the most powerful character possible within the constraints of the D&D 3.5 system. More here (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=491801).
- Roll-playing: Gaming that focuses on the statistical capabilities and features of characters and the game itself. Often used pejoratively; play on “role-play” and “die rolls” (as in, the players always roll dice to resolve situations rather than role playing them). Someone who does this called a roll-player.
- Rule 0: The concept that the DM or GM of a game has final say in rules disputes, and has the authority to change game rules. Sometimes used to defend unfair behavior on the part of a DM. Originally specific to 3e D&D, which explicitly identified this concept by name in the DMG, but has since expanded to be used for any game, though still primarily brought up in discussions of d20 games.
- Source Material: The original film, story, or television show an RPG is based off of. For example, CoC is based off of the horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft, while SWRPG is naturally based off the Star Wars films, novels, comic books, and other material connected to that universe.
- Stormwind Fallacy: The statement that optimization (specifically character optimization) and roleplaying are mutually exclusive. Formally identified as a logical fallacy by WotC forum member Tempest Stormwind.
- Twink: To min/max a character to an extreme degree, often synonymous with power gaming or munchkinism. Can also be used as a noun to describe either the person doing the twinking, or the character that is being twinked. Derogatory.

* This is a generalized definition. Depending on the person using it or reading it, these terms can mean very different things. Some view min/maxing, power gaming, and munchkinism as all one and the same, others consider power gaming to more closely match the definition of min/maxing, though potentially to a more involved degree. The meaning and use of these words can be a hot button issue.

Giant in the Playground and Internet:
- *action*: A method of indicating physical action via typed text. For example, *wink*. Common shortened versions include *g* for grin, *eg* for evil grin. Sometimes seen as ::action::.
- Antibanjoists: A group of posters opposed to Banjoism (see below). Somewhat less organized than the Banjoists. Antibanjoism is simply the attitude of disliking Banjoists, rather than any sort of philosophy. Apparently defunct.
- Banjoism: A cult-like movement on the forums based around reverance of Banjo, the hand-puppert deity ivented in the OotS comic by Elan in a (mostly) unsuccessful attempt to gain clerical powers. A follower of Banjoism is called a Banjoist. Something of a role-playing exercise and inside joke. Apparently defunct.
- Bump: The practice of “bumping” an old thread to the top of the forum by adding a post, specifically one with no actual new content (the post often simply reads “bump”), usually by the thread’s author. Bumping is considered to be bad form on these forums.
- Catgirls: A running meme on the forums suggests that whenever someone brings up real world physics in a discussion of magic (particularly magic in an FRPG) or science fantasy "technology," a catgirl is killed. The statement "please, think of the catgirls!" is meant to deter such discussions from starting in the first place.
- Conspiracy, the: [CLASSIFIED]
- Dead thread: A thread that has not had replies added to it in at least several days, usually a week or more, depending on the forum it is in. In slower forums, such as Features, a thread can still be considered “alive” even if no new replies have been added in quite some time. In more active forums, a thread can be considered “dead” much sooner.
- Feud, the: The 'secret' plot to do something to the poster BlackFox for some reason no one seems to really recall. Other similar conflicts exist(ed), always identified by a specific synonym for feud or conflict posted in a specific color.
- Forum Rules: The rules you have to abide by in order to post by on these forums. Can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?f=29&a=1). Some specific boards, especially Community World Building, Contests, and SMBG, have additional rules particular to themselves.
- Lurking: Reading a message board regularly but rarely, if ever, contributing to the discussion by actually posting. Someone who does this is a lurker.
- me love thog: Loose organization of fans of Thog from the OotS comic. Most display a variation of :thog: me love thog in their signatures.
- Ninja'd: When several posters reply to a question or comment with the same answer in a short period of time, all posters after the first are said to have been ninja'd. See simul-ninja.
- OotSatar: A forum avatar image in the style of the OotS comic.
- Peeps: People. Also, a kind of marshmallow covered with yellow sugar and shaped like a baby chick.
- Simu-ninja or simul-ninja: The person whose post shows up first in a simul-post situation. Orginated by Sneak. Specific term chosen because ninjas are sneaky bastards.
- Spam: Posting repeated, off-topic, usually innocuous or nonsensical comments to a thread that overwhelm and eventually derail that thread. These posts are referred to as “spam,” and someone who posts spam often is called a “spammer.” The latter term is also extremely derogatory and insulting, especially when used to describe someone who is not in fact spamming, as it essentially means that the poster finds that someone’s posts to no better than spam.
- Staff Forums: A rumored and legendary set of boards only accessible to Website Staff, such as mods. The existence of such has long been rumored or suspected, but never truly confirmed or denied.
- Threadomancy or thread necromancy: The practice of reviving “dead” threads, especially very old ones, and especially if no new content is added when the thread is revived, and often when the main argument or discourse of the thread has been more or less resolved. Differs from bumping mainly in the age of the thread, and that the person doing it is often not the thread’s author. Someone who does this (especially on a regular basis) is a threadomancer or thread necromancer.
- Town, the: A persistent shared world PbP for freestyle roleplay by members of the GitP forums. Please check here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17810) for more rules and information.
- Townie: A poster who primarily spends their time in the Town section of the message board. Alternatively, anyone who is very active in that forum.
- <X>-atar: An OotSatar made by a specific avatar artist (Losator, for example, for an avatar made by Losar). Refers to an OotS style avatar not drawn by Rich. Originated as Veeratar, for Veera, the first forum user to manage to duplicate the OotS style and offer custom made avatars upon request.

[hr]
This thread was inspired by a previous thread cataloging terms that needed to be defined for new users, and many of the definitions and terms were either taken from or inspired by the ones found there. That thread has been locked since this thread was started, but be sure to recognize everyone who helped out there! :smallgrin:

Also, check out TROLLBILL’S UNOFFICIAL DICTIONARY OF COMMON D&D MESSAGE BOARD TERMINOLOGY (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=46916), found on the WotC forums. I didn't take any entries directly from his work, but some of mine were inspired by ones found there (though I usually tried to expand upon them).

Mad_Max
2005-07-11, 03:05 AM
I was wondering what some of the abbreviations ment. Thanks Gorbash.

geek_2049
2005-07-11, 05:18 AM
kool i was thinking of starting a thread similar to this one. Two I did not know were iirc and SRD but I have the phb so srd was not so important. I did not start the thread cause I figuered out iirc was if i recall correctly, though it took me 2 days to figure it out. in retrospect i guess i could have just looked it up online like i for did srd.

off topic question... is srd identical to phb or is there any errata in it for the core stuff, not like epic sections or any such thing?

Caelestion
2005-07-11, 05:56 AM
CAd or CA: Complete Arcane

I would have thought that that would have been &quot;CA or CArc&quot;. There's no D in Arcane!

Cael.

AtomicKitKat
2005-07-11, 06:55 AM
I would have thought that that would have been &quot;CA or CArc&quot;. There's no D in Arcane!

Cael.

CAd should probably refer to Complete Adventurer.

Adventurer - CAd/CV/CAdv
Arcane - CArc/CAM(Arcane Magic?)

Norhg
2005-07-11, 08:53 AM
Never seen CAM
CArc/CAr/CompMageguy/Ca
Is what I have seen for Complete Arcane

Where do you place Divine Rank?
Dr =! DR?

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 12:58 PM
I transposed Complete Adventurer and Complete Arcane. My bad.

I haven't ever really seen Divine Rank abbreviated in a discussion, particularly since DR is the official abbreviated form of Damage Reduction.

Zherog
2005-07-11, 12:58 PM
D&amp;D Books:
&lt;&lt;snippage&gt;&gt;
- CAd or CA: Complete Arcane


Like the others, I've never seen CAd for Complete Arcane, though I have seen it used for Complete Adventurer. I've seen CA and CArc for Complete Arcane, though.


- A&amp;E: Arms and Equipment

I've also seen A&amp;EG and AEG for this book. Also also, the title of the book is Arms and Equipment Guide. ;)

Some books you're missing:

LM = Libris Mortis
PGtF = Player's Guide to Faerun
CotSQ = City of the Spider Queen
RttToEE = Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
MH or Mini = Miniatures Handbook

And I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there's still more.



D&amp;D Versions
&lt;&lt;snippage&gt;&gt;

You missed OD&amp;D, which refers to the White Book game that was originally released.



D&amp;D Terms:
&lt;&lt;snippage&gt;&gt;

- BaB: Base Attack Bonus

I've honestly always seen this one with a capital A - BAB.

Two other terms I've seen often - on other boards if not here:

EL = Encounter Level
MAD = Multiple Attribute Dependency

Some others that may be painfully obvious, but that I've seen people ask about on other message boards:

d2 = 2 sided die; you can acquire this number multiple ways, including flipping a coin, rolling a die and doing odd/even, rolling a die and dividing by 2, etc

d3 = 2 sided die; you can acquire this multiple ways by rolling a d6; either 1-2 = 1, 3-4 = 2, 5-6 = 3; or 1 and 4 = 1, 2 and 5 = 2, 3 and 6 = 3; or probably a few other ways. You can by 3-sided dice in 2 varieties. One is a d6 with the numbers 1,2,3 on it twice each; the other is a 3-sided prism with rounded edges.

d% or d100 - percenatage dice; Roll 2 10 sided dice; one die represents the 10's digit, the other represents the ones digit. So, for example, rolling a 7 on the first die and a 3 on the second die equals 73. rolling two zeroes typically equals 100.

I'm sure there's more - I'll make new posts when I think of anything else....

Zherog
2005-07-11, 01:00 PM
Yeah, some more already...


- DD: Deities and Demigods

I've also seen DDG and D&amp;DG for this bad boy.

Another book not on your list is Heroes of Horror (abbreviated HoH), which I'm fairly sure is still a future release.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 01:29 PM
Several added. And I corrected the switch with Complete Adventurer and Complete Arcane, so quit bugging me about it! ;)

Also, I don't own the majority of the FR books, so I know I've missed the majority of them. I'll need help there.

Zherog
2005-07-11, 02:37 PM
I like your footnotes for 3.0 stuff. FYI - CotSQ is also 3.0. ;)

As I recall, a lot of the FR books don't get abbreviated. But here's a few that I can recall:

UE = Unapproachable East (3.0)
RoF = Races of Faerun (3.0)
SM = Silver Marches (3.0)
LoD = Lords of Darkness (3.0)

*sigh* Alright - I'll open the product catalog, because I know I'm missing a few. I'll include non-FR books too...

CoR = Champions of Ruin (FR)
CoV = Champions of Valor (FR, coming out in November)
LEF or LEoF = Lost Empires of Faerun (FR)
SK = Serpent Kingdoms (FR)
MoF = Magic of Faerun (FR, 3.0)
MoE = Magic of Eberron (Eberron, coming out in October)
MoI = Magic of Incarnum (coming out in September)
WoL = Weapons of Legacy
BoC = Book of Challenges (3.0)
SBG = Stronghold Builders Guidebook (3.0)
F&amp;P = Faiths and Pantheons (FR, 3.0)
E&amp;A = Enemies and Allies (3.0)
OA = Oriental Adventures (3.0)
HBG = Hero Builders Guidebook (3.0)
LGG = Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (3.0)


books I've never seen abbreviated:

Waterdeep: City of Splendors (FR)
Shining South (FR)
Underdark (FR)
Stormwrack (coming out in August)
Explorer's Handbook (Eberron, co-authored by Rich)
Sandstorm
Sharn: City of Towers (Eberron)
Frostburn
Draconomicon
Ghostwalk

And I suppose while we're talking about abbreviations, we should add:

FR = Forgotten Realms ;)

And that should cover all the books. If anybody's seen abbreviations for the books I've listed without 'em, now's the time to share.

AtomicKitKat
2005-07-11, 02:44 PM
Sorry to nitpick again, but why would Complete Arcane be CV?

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 02:50 PM
Mostly because I crossed the abbreviations up for Complete Arcane and Complete Adventurer the first time around, and mixed them up again the second time through.

Zherog: Check the section header for FR ;) I added the new ones you listed (I did have a couple already - OA, and WoL.

Anyone know the etymology of &quot;splat book&quot;? I'm pretty sure its from the sound the paper-back books would make when you dropped them on a table or counter, but I'd like confirmation if possible.

Zherog
2005-07-11, 04:02 PM
Anyone know the etymology of &quot;splat book&quot;? I'm pretty sure its from the sound the paper-back books would make when you dropped them on a table or counter, but I'd like confirmation if possible.

From Trollbill's Dictionary of Terminology on the Wotc Boards (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=46916):


Splatbook, 1: Any published, non-core, supplementary game book, especially one dedicated to a specific class, race or campaign location. 2: (considered derogatory) Any unnecessary, excessive and/or poorly designed published game supplement. Etymology: Game industry, refers to the asterisk (*), also known as a splat, sometimes used by game publishers to designate supplementary material in catalogues.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 04:47 PM
Hrm, that makes more sense. I was misinformed, it seems.

In any case, I think I might move the link to Trollbill's dictionary into the main post, though some things are repeated.

Also, everyone, feel free to post here to ask me to define something you've seen that I haven't put into the main post.

MrNexx
2005-07-11, 05:45 PM
Huh... I always figured it to come from the figurative &quot;splat&quot; as you dropped a bunch of information on the table about a single subject.

Zherog
2005-07-11, 05:52 PM
The other one I've heard (I've heard the etymology from Trollbill's dictionary prior to reading it there) was that it has to do with the book titles all being similar, and using the * (splat) as a wildcard for the name. For example, &quot;Complete *&quot;

Drudwyn
2005-07-11, 06:29 PM
Not precisely a technical question, but why do some use DM and some GM? Is it purely a preference thing (and if so, why?), or is there some historical reason why variation developed and was adopted.

Wukei
2005-07-11, 06:36 PM
Because some GMs play stuff like Star Wars or Vampire, and are no longer a DM (dungeon master) but a GM (game master). People normally refer to me as the latter.

Caelestion
2005-07-11, 08:13 PM
DM is trademarked!

Also, the abbreviation for Divine Rank is DvR.

Cael.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-11, 08:48 PM
As Cael said, Dungeon Master (DM) was trademarked by TSR (and now WotC), and thus can only be used legally by them (except under the auspices of the OGL). Other companies thus needed a different name for those who ran their games; Game Master (GM) was a nice, generic term that could be used by anyone. However, some companies also chose and trademarked specific names - for example, a WoD GM is officially a &quot;Storyteller&quot; (hence the name for their ruleset). Again, only White Wolf can use that term for its GMs.

Generally speaking, GM is the most general term - a DM is a type of GM, and a Storyteller is a type of GM, but a GM is not a type of DM or a type of Storyteller.

RobbieOC
2005-07-12, 01:14 AM
I don't think I saw WEG (West End Games), which might be important for any of the &quot;I hate SWd20! WEG rules!&quot; crowd. It doesn't come up a lot, but everytime there is a Star Wars discussion it seems that at least one person feels the necessity to post something of that sort...

laughingfuzzball
2005-07-12, 04:24 AM
I don't think I saw WEG (West End Games), which might be important for any of the &quot;I hate SWd20! WEG rules!&quot; crowd. It doesn't come up a lot, but everytime there is a Star Wars discussion it seems that at least one person feels the necessity to post something of that sort...

Try to find a copy. They're on eBay all the time for fair prices (though usually the revised version, which has better exqmples and explanations, but horrid fluff text). They both have their strengths and weaknesses, and both are about equally true to the source material, though D20 includes a lot more of the later EU which, imho, sticks out a bit from the movies and older EU.

Also:
fluff: background 'in character' text in a rule book. Also called 'fluff text'.

source material (not really a gaming term and kind of obvious, but it is used a lot): the material that a work is derived from. ie, the Star Wars movies for the SWRPGs, and HP Lovecraft's storys for Call of Cthulhu.

CoC: shorthand for Call of Cthulhu, a horror game based primarily on the works of HP Lovecraft.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-12, 01:40 PM
Check the entry for &quot;fluffy,&quot; LFB ;) The other two I'm adding now.

Wally
2005-07-12, 07:32 PM
Perhaps you should add these to http://acronymfinder.com

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-12, 10:51 PM
Bah, its enough work to keep this thread up. If you want to, though, go ahead.

Winged One
2005-07-12, 11:48 PM
Somebody should define simu-ninja here. I know what a simu-ninja is, but I'm not very good with official definitions.

Wukei
2005-07-13, 12:01 AM
Simu-ninja: One who posts first in a simultanious post.

IE:

Me (8:37 am): that's great!
Winged One (8:37 am): wow, that's cool!

I would be the simu-ninja.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-13, 12:11 AM
Looks good. I'll get simul-post while I'm at it.

Winged One
2005-07-13, 12:16 AM
I would like to add that all of my GMs are simu-ninjas. Not like anybody cares, but hey.

EDIT: also, it should be noted that Sneak is the original simu-ninja.

Rimx
2005-07-13, 03:12 AM
You missed OD&amp;D, which refers to the White Book game that was originally released.


I've also seen OD&amp;D referenced to the Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortal box sets and the Rules Cyclopedia.

laughingfuzzball
2005-07-13, 03:16 AM
I took the liberty of alphabetizing this monstrosity so that it's easier to use:

Removed to avoid confusion and save space.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-13, 05:25 AM
Thanks, LFB. I alphabetized the books by section as well, and added some other formatting, which should help make it easier to use. To clear up the thread some, go ahead and overwrite the copy you have in your post with a note that you did the initial alphabetization :)

Gamebird
2005-07-13, 12:10 PM
TSR stands for Tactical Strategic Review.

You might also consider adding ST=Storyteller.

And maybe adding a section for non-game related abbreviations like:

EOM = End of Message
n/t = No transmission, nothing transmitted, no text

Mirth
L = Laugh, I'm laughing
LOL = Laugh Out Loud
ROFL = Rolling On the Floor Laughing
ROFLMAO = Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off
*g* = Giggling or grinning
*eg* = Evil giggle or evil grin

Abbreviations
OTOH = On The Other Hand
FWIW = For What It's Worth
FYI = For Your Information
IMO = In My Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

Slang
btw = By The Way
brb = Be Right Back
b = Back
wb = Welcome Back
thx = Thanks
yw = You're Welcome
ty = Thank You
pics = Pictures
ppl = People
peeps = People

And then a subsection for phreaker slang like L33T and such.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-13, 02:30 PM
TSR stands for Tactical Strategic Review.
That's actually not the case, though a lot of people have been told that. Check Google ;)

The rest are definitely going onto the list. Thanks! :)

EDIT: I haven't put a leetspeak/phreaker section on because 1) I don't like it and, more importantly for this case, 2) I don't understand it when I see it, so it's kind of hard for me to make any kind of useful section for it. If someone can put one together, though, I'll add it on.

Caelestion
2005-07-13, 02:41 PM
I think it's more likely to be Tactical Studies Rules, when Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax were developing a miniatures wargame for tactical studies.
I recall reading it on the Dragon Magazine Archive years ago.

Cael.

Gamebird
2005-07-14, 12:28 PM
That's actually not the case, though a lot of people have been told that. Check Google ;)

http://users.rcn.com/aardy/faq/rgfdfaq3.html

Okay, I did, and it supports you, but I could have sworn the books we own have that diagonal TSR logo and right next to them, spelled out, it says &quot;Tactical Strategic Review&quot;. I'll try to remember to check it tonight.

ghostrunner
2005-07-14, 12:51 PM
Perhaps someone mentioned this already, but I didn't see the Draconomicon or the Bestiear of Krynn (For Dragonlance) in the list.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-14, 02:40 PM
I didn't include the Draconomicon since it doesn't have a common abbreviation or acronym, and I hadn't heard of the Beastiary of Krynn (BoK, perhaps?). It is 3/3.5, yes?

Also, since 99% of the D&amp;D discussion in Gaming concerns 3/3.5, I'm leaving off books from previous editions.

The Glyphstone
2005-07-14, 06:00 PM
What about FTW? I've been endlessly confused by this on occasion.

&quot;For the Win&quot; seems most likely. Then again, I've also seen people say it means &quot;Fred The Walrus&quot;...

ghostrunner
2005-07-14, 06:59 PM
I didn't include the Draconomicon since it doesn't have a common abbreviation or acronym, and I hadn't heard of the Beastiary of Krynn (BoK, perhaps?). It is 3/3.5, yes?

Also, since 99% of the D&amp;D discussion in Gaming concerns 3/3.5, I'm leaving off books from previous editions.

I guess that makes sense. If people want to talk about the Draconomicon, they just say &quot;the Draconomicon.&quot;
As for the Bestiary of Krynn, there are probably versions for previous editions of D&amp;D, but there is definitely a 3.0/3.5 version of it that accompanies the Dragonlance Campaign Setting book. That being said, I doubt there has been any discussion of the book on the forums at all... ::)

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-14, 07:08 PM
What about FTW? I've been endlessly confused by this on occasion.

&quot;For the Win&quot; seems most likely. Then again, I've also seen people say it means &quot;Fred The Walrus&quot;...
The latter, I believe, is either a joke, or a misunderstanding stemming from a joke.

As far as I am aware, FTW definitely means &quot;For the win!&quot; It basically is used to say &quot;that one is the best!&quot; Probably derives from the game Hollywood Squares (as Gordon suggested once), where celebrities state facts and you agree or disagree - it's basically a game of tic-tac-toe. If you're about to get a win (three in a row/column/diagonal), they would say &quot;&lt;celebrity's name&gt; for the win!&quot;

It's most commonly associated with a NSFW (that one I need to add) image posting site, so I'm a little leary of adding it to the glossary and unintentionally encouraging its use. In fact, I've been a bit leary of some of the other entries, since they're, honestly, using them kind of lowers the quality of a post. But, I suppose if it added the other ones, I should add it.

Wukei
2005-07-14, 09:23 PM
I don't think I've seen &quot;threadomancy.&quot; If you could, please ^.~

Pax
2005-07-15, 12:54 AM
- MM: Monster Manual

Also MM1, for us persnickety-specific types. ^_^


Expansions to the Core
- A&amp;E, AEG, or A&amp;EG1: Arms and Equipment Guide
Also AEq, A&amp;Eq, or variations thereof.


- SBG1: Stronghold Builders Guidebook
Also SHBG.


- SS1: Savage Species
Also SavS, in order to more readily diffentiate it from Song and Silence (S&amp;S or SS).


Monster Books
- LM: Libris Mortis
Dunno about anyone else, but I've been using LiMo.


- LoM: Lords of Madness
... and here, LoMa or LMad.


Eberron Books
- 5N: Five Nations
- ECS: Eberron Campaign Setting
- RoE: Races of Eberron
Add:
- SCT, S:CT or S:CoT: Sharn: City of towers


FR (Forgotten Realms) Books
- CoR: Champions of Ruin
- CotSQ1: City of the Spider Queen
I've also seen CSQ for this.


- LEF or LEoF: Lost Empires of Faerûn
Also LEFR


- MoF1: Magic of Faerûn
Er ... this one's wrong, sorry Gorbash. MoF is actually for Monsters of Faerûn. This should be:

- MaF or MaFR: Magic of Faerûn
- MoF or MoFR: Monsters of Faerûn


- PGtF: Player's Guide to Faerûn
Also PGFR.


- RoF1: Races of Faerûn
Also RaFR.

Add:
- UD or UnD: Underdark


DL (DragonLance) Books
- DLCS: DragonLance Campaign Setting
Add:
- AoM or AM: Age of Mortals
- THS or ToHS: Towers of High Sorcery


Adventures
- RttToEE1: Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. A very large adventure for 3.0 that is a sequel to a famous AD&amp;D adventure.
Also seen it without the lower-case T's: RToEE.


D&amp;D Books not yet published: [/b]
Add:
- EHB: Explorer's Handbook (Eberron)
- WL or WotL: War of the Lance (Dragonlance)


D&amp;D Versions:
- 1e: Usually the first edition of AD&amp;D
- 2e: The second edition of AD&amp;D.
Add:
- 2.5e: Recent term for 2e games making use of the later supplements (&quot;Skills and Powers&quot;, &quot;Combat and Tactics&quot;, &quot;Spells and Magic&quot;, etc).



- BBEG: Big Bad Evil Guy. The main (or at least a major) villain in a campaign.
Given the venue for this list, I suggest pointing at Xykon as an example of a BBEG.


- Clr: Cleric
Also Cle.


- N or TN: Neutral, or True Neutral
Also NN, for &quot;Neutral Neutral&quot;.



- L5R: Legend of the Five Rings
Being an L5R fan (zealot?) myself, I feel compelled to point out that there are three &quot;flavors&quot; of L5R:
- L5Rd10: the &quot;original&quot; role-playing version as published by AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group).
- L5Rd20: the D&amp;D version of L5R, as initiated in/by Oriental Adventures. Some people (myself included) find the d20 treatment of L5R to have been a travesty and abomination; d10-vs-d20 L5R discussions should definitely be considered a &quot;hot button&quot; topic.
- L5RCCG: the TCG that spawned all that is L5R.


- SRD: System Reference Document. The SRD refers to the D&amp;D SRD; other SRDs prefixed by the name of the game (ie. d20 Modern SRD).
I've also seen MSRD for the d20 Modern SRD. Speaking of which, add:

- d20M: d20 Modern
- d20F: d20 Future



- SWd20: Star Wars d20
- SWRPG: Star Wars Roleplaying Game, refers to any version.
Add:
- SWd6 or WEGSW: the original West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game.


- V:tM: Vampire:[/b] the Masquerade
- V:tR: Vampire:[/b] the Requiem
Add:
- V:DA: Vampire: Dark Ages


- W:tF: Werewolf:[/b] the Forsaken
Add:
- W:tA: Werewolf: the Apocalypse


- WoD: World of Darkness.
Add:
- oWoD: &quot;Old&quot; World of Darkness, referring to the older stand-alone games (W:tA, V:tM, and contemporaries).
- nWoD: the &quot;New&quot; World of Darkness base game and expansions, including V:tR and W:tF.



- Golfball: Derogatory name for an actual one hundred sided die, since it does in fact look remarkably like a golfball. Very rare.
... and almost as useless as the elusive d30. ^_^


- Power Gaming: Varying definitions, but usually refers to attempting to “break” certain aspects of the game in the player’s favor. Also, the intent to gather as much power in game as possible, often to the detriment of the campaign. Someone who does this a &quot;power gamer.&quot;
Okay, now, here I gots a problem with you. ^_^;

What you ascribe to Power Gamer, I call Munchkin. O_o;

Power Gamers are, in the simplest sense,more concerned with the game aspects of role-playing than with simulating a world, or telling a story. We (and yes, I count myself as a power gamer - happily and proudly!) are, to borrow form Ron Edward's &quot;GNS Theory&quot; article (the curious can venture to the Forge and find it), strongly Gamist in outlook and inclination. We're the sorts of people that can play Risk, Axis and Allies, the old Avalon Hill Advanced civilisation, and related games for hours on end.

This does NOT mean we're a danger to a game we join. Power Gamers can be responsible or irresponsible, just as with any sort of person. Those of us who're responsible tend to know hoow to take otherwise &quot;sub-optimal&quot; or &quot;mechanically disadvantaged&quot; concepts and forcibly make them work &quot;despite&quot; the rules ... and, at least in my case, that's what I particularly enjoy doing.


- Veeratar: An OotSatar made by Veera, the first forum user to manage to duplicate the OotS style and offer custom made avatars upon request. Sometimes used to refer to all OotSatars not made by Rich. More often, such avatars are named using a similar convention (Losatars are by Losar, Sneakatars are by Sneak, and so forth).
Ah, such commendable (if IMO misplaced) humility, not to have mentioned the esteemed Gorbatar ... ^_^

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-15, 02:05 AM
Okay, now, here I gots a problem with you. ^_^;

What you ascribe to Power Gamer, I call Munchkin. O_o;

Power Gamers are, in the simplest sense,more concerned with the game aspects of role-playing than with simulating a world, or telling a story. We (and yes, I count myself as a power gamer - happily and proudly!) are, to borrow form Ron Edward's &quot;GNS Theory&quot; article (the curious can venture to the Forge and find it), strongly Gamist in outlook and inclination. We're the sorts of people that can play Risk, Axis and Allies, the old Avalon Hill Advanced civilisation, and related games for hours on end.

This does NOT mean we're a danger to a game we join. Power Gamers can be responsible or irresponsible, just as with any sort of person. Those of us who're responsible tend to know hoow to take otherwise &quot;sub-optimal&quot; or &quot;mechanically disadvantaged&quot; concepts and forcibly make them work &quot;despite&quot; the rules ... and, at least in my case, that's what I particularly enjoy doing.
This is what I usually refer to as &quot;min/maxing&quot; rather than power gaming (and I often enjoy doing the same sorts of activities, so I'm not trying to put them down). I mentioned the varying definitions bit to establish exactly that; I'll add a mention that some use it to refer to what I define Min/Maxing as, in potentially a stronger sense, but just as you found the current definition incomplete or inaccurate, I would have found this one to be the same.

The problem stems from the fact that a lot of the terms like power gaming mean different things to different people, often depending on their perspective. Some people see Min/Maxing and Power Gaming as one and the same, and specifically as the harsher definition, or even as synonyms for munchkinism. I personally would balk at &quot;power gaming,&quot; as I define it, but not at &quot;min/maxing&quot; - which as I said was essentially how you use the term &quot;power gaming.&quot;

I'll add a note to all those entries to indicate that there is no single, definitive meaning, but I don't want this thread to become a long debate over the definitions.

Otherwise, the other suggestions are all very good (though I have not seen several of them, and the MoF was a pure mistake on my part). I'm not sure on Cle in particular - I've never actually seen it used anywhere except, well, right here. I'll add it for the sake of completeness, however.

Zherog
2005-07-15, 08:06 AM
MoF isn't a mistake, Gorby. I've seen it all the time to refer to Magic of Faerun. ;) I've never seen a bunch of the other ones Pax listed, either - not that it means much - but I have seen Cle for cleric.

Gamebird
2005-07-15, 11:53 AM
Thac0 = To Hit Armor Class Zero. 2nd edition term.

atk = attack
dmg = damage
TWF = Two Weapon Fighting
I know there are other feat/fighting style abbreviations, but I can't think of them right now.

Does anyone other than me use abbreviations for spells?
MM = Magic Missile
EE = Endure Elements
FB = Fireball
LB = Lightning Bolt
CLW = Cure Light Wounds
CMW = Cure Moderate Wounds
CSW = Cure Serious Wounds

And hey, as long as you're listing GK as an abbreviation for yourself, my nick gets cut to GB on nearly every forum I go to.

Oh, one more:
Bones = dice. As in &quot;roll them bones!&quot; Comes from a period when dice were often carved out of pieces of bone.

Edit: Another one:
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary, used to indicate that what works for one person may not work for another.

Caelestion
2005-07-15, 03:38 PM
Well, I use CLW, CMW, CSW and CCW. &quot;Cle&quot; is just completely wrong, I believe.
The Faerûn books use Mag (Magic of Faerûn), Rac (Races of Faerûn), Und (Underdark), Una (Unapproachable East), PG (Player's Guide to Faerûn) etc.

Cael.

stainboy
2005-07-19, 08:04 PM
What about FTW? I've been endlessly confused by this on occasion.

&quot;For the Win&quot; seems most likely. Then again, I've also seen people say it means &quot;Fred The Walrus&quot;...

FTW also stands for &quot;f*** the world.&quot; I'd actually never seen/heard it used for anything else until now.

EDIT: Yeah, it's &quot;For the win.&quot; Posted this a long time ago before I started playing World of Warcraft.

TSGames
2005-07-20, 02:51 PM
Excuse me for asking this, but what does pwned mean?


Thanks for answering my questions, I feel rather silly for not realizing that it was a typo(or &quot;pistol owned&quot;)

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-07-20, 02:58 PM
It's sort of a leet-speak version of &quot;owned.&quot; To get owned is to get beaten really badly at something; &quot;pwned&quot; is clearly just a typo, but it took off for some reason or another and is seen as an amusing synonym, though some see it was being &quot;owned&quot; to such a degree that witnesses are rendered incapable of proper typing/speech.

stainboy
2005-07-20, 03:23 PM
&quot;Pwn&quot; was a typo in Warcraft 1, I believe in one of the mission briefings. When WoW (that's World of Warcraft) came out, people started using it in chat, and it spread from there.

McMouse
2005-07-20, 04:10 PM
Huh... I know it far predates World of Warcraft, but I believe that &quot;pwned&quot; actually came from the mystical realm of first-person shooters.

To my knowledge, it's short for &quot;pistol owned&quot;, referencing the most humiliating way for a player to die- via pistol whip. From first person shooters, it spread to be used as a jibe to someone on the loosing end of an argument.

Fyrelord23
2005-07-28, 09:37 PM
Good thread, but I was mildly surprised to note one item missing that I'd heard many places:

Monty Haul - Campaign or gaming session where the GM's only apparent goal is for PCs to kill creatures (see also 'Hack and Slash') and aquire large amounts of $$$ or magical items.

Guess maybe it wasn't as universal as I'd thought.
(Then again, how many gamers remember the game show 'Let's Make A Deal' hosted by Monty Hall and could make the connection? I may have just answered my own post...)

sktarq
2005-07-30, 02:54 PM
Actually &quot;Monty Hall&quot; was the term used by TSR in some of their books to describe that situation...I've heard (but can not confirm) that it started within their gametesting groups.

OOT-crazy
2005-08-05, 12:20 PM
on the everdream thread Divine rank is generally abbriviated to DvR

Sacrath
2005-08-10, 09:10 PM
&quot;Pwn&quot; was a typo in Warcraft 1, I believe in one of the mission briefings. When WoW (that's World of Warcraft) came out, people started using it in chat, and it spread from there.

I know it was before WoW, they used in EQ from near beta.

mcc
2005-08-15, 08:55 PM
So... some people were using this... what is &quot;UMD&quot;?

Besides the latest stillborn proprietary media format from Sony.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-08-15, 09:10 PM
UMD stands for Use Magic Device.

mcc
2005-08-15, 09:11 PM
Ah... thanks, probably should have been able to figure that one out on my own -_-

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-08-16, 02:05 AM
No problem - it's what this thread is for, after all.

TSGames
2005-08-16, 03:51 PM
Recently in someone signature I saw &quot;LOTR&quot; what is that supposed mean?
Thank you, Comrade Gorby, I guess I should have known that, your aid is most appreciated

stainboy
2005-08-16, 07:33 PM
Lord of the Rings.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-08-16, 10:45 PM
Yep, that's LotR. A few other books:

FotR: Fellowship of the Ring
RotK: Return of the King

WoT: Wheel of Time (there are acronyms for most of the individual books as well)

AtomicKitKat
2005-08-27, 02:39 PM
Trying to figure out what they mean by &quot;Gish&quot; and &quot;GISH&quot; on the WotC boards. I figure it might be short for &quot;maGICian&quot;, or possibly one of the Gith-X races, but I would like to know for sure.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-08-27, 08:07 PM
I think it does refer, in fact, to &quot;magician,&quot; but I've always thought &quot;mage&quot; was enough of a abbreviation/modification already.

Arian
2005-08-28, 12:58 AM
I've also seen OD&amp;D referenced to the Basic, Expert, Companion, Master and Immortal box sets and the Rules Cyclopedia.

For a long time a player of that version of D&amp;D, I call it BD&amp;D (B for Basic, but referring to the whole rules-set).

IME, OD&amp;D refers only to What Was Before That.

Thayan
2005-09-13, 09:29 PM
Trying to figure out what they mean by &quot;Gish&quot; and &quot;GISH&quot; on the WotC boards. I figure it might be short for &quot;maGICian&quot;, or possibly one of the Gith-X races, but I would like to know for sure.

I believe Gish is a term used for Fighter mage... Im not sure exactly where it comes from but when they talk about a gish build they are looking for a Fighter/Mage type build ...I could be wrong but I think it startd as a Gith-X Fighter/Wizard build and just grew into Gish for some board reason

Spuddly
2005-09-17, 10:30 PM
What's a Banjoist?

Lilly
2005-09-17, 11:44 PM
I know this one!

Banjoist refers to members of the church of Banjo: the god of puppets as started origionally by Elan in Comic #80 (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=80). The church has a following on the boards and has a cult like church (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=comics;action=display;num=1115239296 ).

Caelestion
2005-09-18, 07:38 PM
I believe that a Gish was originally a Githyanki fighter-mage, often with a silver sword.

Cael.

Legend_Of_Greyhawk
2005-10-02, 08:21 PM
LOL:laugh put loud
Fubar: Cut out cause a swear words

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-10-03, 01:14 AM
Added a few new definitions and updated, clarified, or corrected several existing ones.

NahlShadore
2005-10-03, 02:01 AM
Good thread, but I was mildly surprised to note one item missing that I'd heard many places:

Monty Haul - Campaign or gaming session where the GM's only apparent goal is for PCs to kill creatures (see also 'Hack and Slash') and aquire large amounts of $$$ or magical items.

Guess maybe it wasn't as universal as I'd thought.
(Then again, how many gamers remember the game show 'Let's Make A Deal' hosted by Monty Hall and could make the connection? I may have just answered my own post...)


Actually &quot;Monty Hall&quot; was the term used by TSR in some of their books to describe that situation...I've heard (but can not confirm) that it started within their gametesting groups.

Monty Hall, ah the oft-forgotten host of &quot;Let's Make a Deal&quot;. Born in my hometown of Winnipeg Manitoba.

&quot;Monty Haul&quot; as an RPG term actually refers to a very easy challenge with massive rewards (usually gold), not just hack&amp;slash but any easy challenge with massive payoffs. This is a direct reference to the game show, as none of the games were particularly skill-testing, but rather just random games of chance. One of the games on &quot;Let's Make a Deal&quot; was the one where you picked one of three doors and had a random 1/3 chance of winning a prize. No skill, just random luck.

More info on Monty Hall or Let's Make a Deal can be found on wikipedia.

By the way, I always thought OD&amp;D meant Old Dungeons &amp; Dragons, rather than Original, but both work.

Caelestion
2005-10-03, 08:56 AM
FUBAR is an acronym and should be spelt in capitals.
&quot;Fouled up beyond all recognition&quot; is the polite version. Usually, only acronyms that have come to be words, such as laser or radar, are written in sentence case.

Cael.

Spuddly
2005-10-03, 07:13 PM
I especially likes this definition:

Peeps: People. Also, a kind of marshmallow covered with yellow sugar and shaped like a baby chick.

Legend_Of_Greyhawk
2005-10-10, 12:22 AM
FUBAR is an acronym and should be spelt in capitals.
&quot;Fouled up beyond all recognition&quot; is the polite version. Usually, only acronyms that have come to be words, such as laser or radar, are written in sentence case.

Cael.

close but its not fouled...

Zherog
2005-10-10, 10:15 PM
Well, he said it was the polite version... ;)

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-10-11, 01:49 PM
Please don't use acronyms with profanity in them. Thanks! ;)

Prince_Azar
2005-10-12, 06:20 AM
What the flip? ;D

Yola - a fusion of yo and hola, to make the ultra cool &quot;Yola&quot;

sHorTdWaRvE
2005-10-15, 06:47 PM
like cs-counter strike
dod- day of defeat
aoe-ages of empire... all ebrevated some awsome games i play..

Akiosama
2005-12-01, 02:03 PM
Since this is a d20 forum, let's not forget some of the &quot;OGL&quot; games out there - specifically Privateer Press' Iron Kingdoms line.

IK - Iron Kingdoms

The Books:

TNL - The Longest Night (Witchfire Trilogy vol. 1)
FE - Fool's Errand (Witchfire Bridge Adventure #1)
SOTE - Shadow of the Exile (Witchfire Trilogy vol. 2)
LOLS - Legion of Lost Souls (Witchfire Trilogy vol. 3)
L&amp;L: CP - Lock and Load: Character Primer
MN1 - Monsternomicon Vol. 1
IKCG - Iron Kingdoms Character Guide
IKWG - Iron Kingdoms World Guide
TUS - The Umbral Spiral (Witchfire Bridge Adventure #2)
LM - Liber Mechanika
WTCE - Witchfire Trilogy Collected Edition (with updates to v3.5)

The Classes:

Core Classes:
Amk - Arcane Mechanik (IKCG &amp; LM)
Bdg - Bodger (IKCG)
Flc - Fell Caller (IKCG)
Gmg - Gun Mage (IKCG)

PrCs:
Spy - Intelligence Liason (Privateer Press website)
Bcp - Battle Chaplain (IKCG)
Blc - Blackclad (IKCG)
MgHtr - Mage Hunter (IKCG)
Ptr - Pistoleer (IKCG)
Rfl - Rifleman (IKCG &amp; Privateer Press website)
Ssm - Second-story Man (IKCG)
Wrc - Warcaster (IKCG)
AdvSch - Adventuring Scholar (MN1)
BnGr - Bone Grinder (MN1)
MonHtr - Monster Hunter (MN1)

If there are any new classes in the LM, I will post those at a later date, as I don't have my LM with me at the moment. ;D

It's a big multiverse out there in d20 land. Let's not forget about the little guys.

Play like you've got a pair!
Akio

EDIT - Changed D20 to d20. Go figure.

Gorbash Kazdar
2005-12-01, 02:34 PM
One of the reasons I haven't included most of the 3rd party stuff is simple - it doesn't get used as often, and when it does, generally people don't use abbreviations because few people will recognize them.

Akiosama
2005-12-01, 03:01 PM
True, true. Makes sense. Must be the IK fan in me talking. ;D

Privateer Press is one of the only OGL companies to actually supply abbreviations in their materials - at least that I've seen.

Anyhow, I figured those that can use them will use them and those that wish to ignore them can ignore them.

Keep up the good work Comrade.

Akio

Adghar
2005-12-11, 06:22 PM
OotSify: To turn into an OotSatar. Alternatively, OotSitate, OotSitize, OotSicate, OotSificate.

fourth wall/4th wall: The imaginary wall that seperates the characters of a story from the audience. So named for the background, right and left walls of a theatre.

Grakul
2005-12-23, 05:16 PM
Hi, All

Having read the DM Pet Peaves (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1131030882 ) thread, I found myself asking &quot;What the heck is a Strawman?&quot; :P

Cheers
Grakul

Goumindong
2005-12-23, 09:10 PM
Hi, All

Having read the DM Pet Peaves (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1131030882 ) thread, I found myself asking &quot;What the heck is a Strawman?&quot; :P

Cheers
Grakul


Really?

A: A logical fallacy. Where the perp puts up a ridiculous arguement in place of his opponents arguement and proceeds to beat it down. &quot;Putting up a Strawman&quot;, &quot;Man, you sure beat that stuffing out of that Strawman&quot;

Grakul
2005-12-24, 09:02 AM
Cool. Thanks! Thought it was something specific to the culture of these forums. My bad for not checking out http://www.dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=strawman) first!! :-[

Pedantic
2006-01-17, 09:54 PM
The meaning of IRC (not IIRC nor IC but IRC) eludes me. Perhaps someone could enlighten?
???

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-01-17, 10:04 PM
The meaning of IRC (not IIRC nor IC but IRC) eludes me. Perhaps someone could enlighten?
???

My best guess is that you're referring to Internet Relay Chat. It's an older open protocol for chatting online that relies on a client-to-server connection, using TCP (SSL as well in some cases). You can find out more about it here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC).

If it's not that... I'll need some context ;)

Pedantic
2006-01-17, 11:21 PM
Well, it's been used at least three times i this thread.

http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1137545925

Upon second look, it seems likely your first instinct was correct.

nightfire8199
2006-02-04, 07:04 PM
what would i do without this thread?

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-02-05, 09:29 AM
what would i do without this thread?
Probably be at least a little bit more confused ;)

Qi_Chin
2006-02-07, 05:32 AM
There are two abbreviations I can't figure out:

BBEG and RAW. What do those mean?

Qi

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-02-07, 03:53 PM
- BBEG: Big Bad Evil Guy. The main (or at least a very major) villain in a campaign. Xykon from the OotS comic would be an example of a BBEG.

- RAW: Rules as Written
The latter is meant to mean the most up to date version (usually including errata) of the rules for any particular system, as opposed to any house rules someone may use.

Qi_Chin
2006-02-08, 02:50 AM
Thanks. I think I actually guessed something along the lines of Big Bad Evil Guy, but I wasn't sure.

Qi

Adghar
2006-02-11, 01:13 AM
What exactly does (sp) or (sp?) entail? Is the original poster just indicating that he or she probably spelled a word wrong? Should you correct him or her if she makes this mark? Should you tell him or her she is correct if he or she is correct?

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-02-11, 06:26 AM
(sp) or (sp?) do in fact indicate a probable spelling error on the part of the OP. (sp) is usually when the OP is certain that the word in question is incorrectly spelled, while (sp?) naturally suggests that the OP made their best attempt but remains uncertain, but they can be used interchangeably.

If the OP includes either of those in their post, and you know the correct spelling, it's usually good form to go ahead and provide it.

Hadrian_Emrys
2006-02-12, 05:16 AM
The Forgotten Realms listing is missing Shining South (SS). Just a little something I noticed. :)

I really need to pick up the Fiend Folio.

stainboy
2006-02-23, 04:32 PM
I've got one for you. Who or what is Pun-pun?

Ikkitosen
2006-02-24, 08:44 AM
Pun-Pun is a stupidly broken build that beats all other builds - I believe it gets almost infinite stats and is based on a low-level kobold character. It's the perfect example of how the rules can be massively taken advantage of and why D&amp;D needs a DM so much!

NEO|Phyte
2006-03-10, 12:23 AM
I've got one for you. Who or what is Pun-pun?

The original Pun-pun's stat block
pun-pun
Psion 12
Small Humanoid (reptilian)
Divine Rank: Infinite
Hit Dice: 12d4 + Infinity (Infinite HP)
Initiative: Infinite
Speed: Infinite
AC: Infinite
Attacks: Infinite. pun-pun always recieves a roll of 20 on his attacks.
Damage: Infinite
Space/Reach: 5 ft. by 5ft./Infinite
Special Attacks: All
Special Qualities: All
Saves: Fortitude, Reflex, and Will at + Infinity
Abilities: All Infinite
Skills: All Skills at + Infinity
Feats: All. Those that can be taken more than once have been taken an infinite number of times.
Salient Divine Abilities: All. Those that can be taken more than once have been taken an infinite number of times.

Most overdeities do not bother with worshipers. But pun-pun remembers what it was like to be pathetic and weak like it was 6 seconds ago. So, he helps out any mortal that prays to him. Which are few, since he became a god like 6 seconds ago. He's going to give it a minute though.
Done via a damn clever Infinite loop. the thread where this horror was unleashed is right here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=491801)

TinSoldier
2006-03-10, 12:28 AM
What is 'Gestalt'? I've seen it a few times on this board but I don't know what it means or what books it is from.

NEO|Phyte
2006-03-10, 12:33 AM
What is 'Gestalt'? I've seen it a few times on this board but I don't know what it means or what books it is from.
The SRD entry on Gestalt (http://d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm)

In a nutshell, you level in 2 classes simultaniously, taking the better saves/BAB/Skillpoints of the 2

Darkie
2006-03-10, 12:34 AM
Gestalt (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm)

Essentially, you pick two classes, and use the abilities from both.

So a Cleric/Fighter gestalt would have full BAB, full clerical casting progression, fighter bonus feats...

Picure making a new class by melding two classes and keeping the best from each source.

TinSoldier
2006-03-10, 12:40 AM
Thanks, Neo&#124;Phyte and Jeff! I've only glanced through the SRD and skimmed the PHB and DMG (the only two I have so far). I don't remember hearing the term from earlier versions.

Sounds like multiclassing from earlier versions of the game.

Just looked in the D&amp;D Glossary (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary) and it isn't even in there.

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-03-10, 12:26 PM
What's this PEACH that i've seen a few times on custom classes?

Azrael
2006-03-14, 06:16 PM
I believe that it is Please Examine And Comment Honestly

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-03-14, 07:19 PM
I believe that it is Please Examine And Comment Honestly
Thanks! I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to answer. ;D

TinSoldier
2006-03-21, 12:27 AM
Without going throught the entire thread...

Does '=/=' mean 'not-equal-to'? As a (wannabe) programmer I am used to the notation '!='.

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-03-21, 12:41 AM
Without going throught the entire thread...

Does '=/=' mean 'not-equal-to'? As a (wannabe) programmer I am used to the notation '!='.
Yes. Not everyone is familiar with the programming notation of != (or &lt;&gt;), and =/= is the closest one can come in appearence to the standard not-equal sign using ASCII characters.

Democratus
2006-03-24, 12:34 PM
What does it mean when someone puts &quot;PEACH&quot; in a thread title?

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-03-24, 04:35 PM
What does it mean when someone puts &quot;PEACH&quot; in a thread title?

I, uh, just asked that question five posts ago.

The answer I got was &quot;Please Examine And Comment Honestly.&quot;

Leon
2006-03-28, 12:36 PM
I, uh, just asked that question five posts ago.

The answer I got was &quot;Please Examine And Comment Honestly.&quot;
Yay, ive been wondering that too

Jocko
2006-03-29, 10:12 PM
WoTC...or somethign to that effect? what does it mean??

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-03-29, 10:33 PM
WoTC...or somethign to that effect? what does it mean??
Wizards of the Coast (http://www.wizards.com/). It's the company that publishes Dungeons and Dragons. Also the origin of the &quot;Spooky Wizard that Lives on the Coast&quot; (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=32) running gag in the comic.

Jocko
2006-03-30, 03:08 PM
thanks...wow...i must be a half-orc ;)

Brett Wong
2006-03-31, 10:28 PM
can someone explain to me the point buy system? im just not getting it.

Jack Mann
2006-04-01, 03:09 AM
Basically, it's a way of making characters that are equally powerful. Instead of rolling the dice, where you could potentially have one character with all eighteens and another with scores barely worth keeping, each player has a number of points they can put into their abilities.

Each ability starts at eight. You have a certain number of points to place, usually somewhere from twenty-five to thirty-two.

Going from eight to fourteen is a one-to-one buy. That is, it's six points to bring it to fourteen. However, to raise it further, it costs more to continue raising the score. Raising it to fifteen costs two points, and raising it to sixteen is another two points. Seventeen is another three points, and so is eighteen. So to have a score of eighteen, you need to spend sixteen points (six up to fourteen, four up to sixteen, and six up to eighteen). It creates a roughly level playing field. Sure, you won't end up with Grog the unstoppable, but at least you won't be a powerless mook.

geek_2049
2006-04-12, 09:43 PM
Now I know what the acronym PEACH means. I did not know =/= was the same as !=, but I am a lousy programmer. Is =/= in any programming language?. Shortly b4 this thread started I had thought of starting an acronym abbr thread. Its so damn useful. Iirc all my questions about abbr, acronyms were answered in the first few posts. Again my questions are answered for the most part b4 I posted here. Thanks all.

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-04-13, 10:32 AM
I did not know =/= was the same as !=, but I am a lousy programmer. Is =/= in any programming language?
None that I know of. It's not on the Wikipedia list of programming relational operators (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_operator) either. The =/= is really a courtesy for people that don't know programming languages, as it resembles the usual &quot;not equal to&quot; symbol in general mathematics.

Reltzik
2006-04-24, 04:18 AM
So, to summarize, =/= = !=

Er, wait. That's assignment. How about =/= == !=

THERE we go. Does that clear things up?

(Er, wait. How can it be a summary if it doesn't have a + in it?)

Oh, and to add something that's actually on topic, an acronym submission:

OP = Original Poster, the user who started the thread. Not to be confused with &quot;Op&quot; or &quot;op&quot;, which is someone you really don't want to flame in IRC. I almost asked about this before figuring it out on my own.

BelkarsDagger
2006-05-04, 11:32 PM
What is the definition of Effective Character Level (ECL)? I mean how does it effect game, I'm not sure which core book it's in so just telling me the page and the book would be helpful too. :)

@V oooohhh thank you!!

Jack Mann
2006-05-05, 03:05 AM
Your effective character level is equal to the sum of your class levels plus any level adjustment or racial hit dice. It affects how you earn XP and rise in levels.

For example, a bugbear has three racial hit dice and a level adjustment of +1. If he's also a fighter 3, he has an ECL of seven. He counts as a level seven character. So, to level up, he needs 28,000 XP to get to the next level, just as any character would need to reach level eight.

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-05-05, 01:09 PM
Hey Gorbash, you can add the Expanded Psionics Handbook to the Core definition. Complete Psionic on the back cover says that the XPH is the 4th core book.


Eat your heart out psi-haters.

bosssmiley
2006-05-05, 06:37 PM
Hey Gorbash, you can add the Expanded Psionics Handbook to the Core definition. Complete Psionic on the back cover says that the XPH is the 4th core book.

Eat your heart out psi-haters.

*Bah!* I'd only give that credence if the claim was made in the introduction of the XPH itself. Back cover blurbs indeed...

I see your cunning plan to inveigle psionics into the hallowed halls of the core rules Mr Vorpal Tribble, and I cry foul upon it! ;D

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-05-05, 07:37 PM
Seriously, on the back cover it says:

For use with these Dungeon and Dragons core books
Player's Handbook Dungeon Master's guide Monster Manual Expanded Psionics Handbook

In plain, easy to see words.

bosssmiley
2006-05-07, 02:32 AM
:o :o :o

You may well have something there...

The Vorpal Tribble
2006-05-07, 09:13 AM
You may well have something there...
;D

The folks on the Wizard's psionics forums were quick to pounce on it and rub it in everyone's faces.

Vorkosigan
2006-05-09, 11:00 PM
Okay. Admitted newbie question. What's this PEACH I keep seeing all over?

EDIT: Well, that WAS embarrassing. Even more so because I read the first two pages of the forum and it was never referenced. Ah, well, might as well look like a bunghole sooner than later, I s'pose.

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-05-09, 11:04 PM
Okay. Admitted newbie question. What's this PEACH I keep seeing all over?
Go back to page eight and you will find the answer.

Twice.

Rolaran
2006-06-20, 12:54 AM
What's a CoDzilla? I've seen people mentioning them in a few different places...

Fhaolan
2006-06-20, 01:58 AM
What's a CoDzilla? I've seen people mentioning them in a few different places...

'Cleric or Druid'-zilla. I believe it's a reference to how Clerics and Druids can be min-maxed and munckin'd far easier and to a further extent than other core classes.

geek_2049
2006-06-29, 05:57 AM
TLN-The Logic Ninja

sin_sephiroth
2006-06-29, 03:18 PM
i read something up top, and im lost. what is a coup de grace? in the game, what does it do or how do you use it?

geek_2049
2006-06-29, 03:22 PM
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatModifiers.htm#coupdeGrace

Kontonshin
2006-07-06, 11:33 PM
Generally the implication is also that you mercifully dispatch a foe who is already mortally wounded.

InaVegt
2006-07-14, 05:39 PM
Generally the implication is also that you mercifully dispatch a foe who is already mortally wounded.
But then we've been using it all wrong with our lvl 1 party, the wizards cast color spray and the rogue coupe de graces them

Fax Celestis
2006-07-14, 05:44 PM
Mortally wounded or completely helpless.

InaVegt
2006-07-14, 07:08 PM
Mortally wounded or completely helpless.
it still isn't mercifull

Brickwall
2006-07-20, 11:34 PM
it still isn't mercifull

Ending the pain of a mortal wound and/or giving a quick death was considered merciful as opposed to the alternatives during war. Merciful knights would never allow an opponent to lay wounded and in agony. Especially since back then mortal wounds couldn't be treated with their technology. That's why it's merciful.

Dervag
2006-07-22, 11:17 AM
Or rather, that's why it has a name that implies mercy.

Of course, in D&amp;D the name really doesn't fit very well, because most 'coup de grace' attacks are made against opponents that have been rendered helpless by non-mortal-injury means and would probably be just fine if you went away and left them alone.

But on the other hand 'coup de grace' sounds so much more educated than 'finishing blow'...

stupidmonkey
2006-07-23, 12:06 PM
But on the other hand 'coup de grace' sounds so much more educated than 'finishing blow'...

And even more educated than: I bash his head in real good... ;)

Peregrine
2006-07-23, 10:27 PM
Hey Gorbash, you can add the Expanded Psionics Handbook to the Core definition. Complete Psionic on the back cover says that the XPH is the 4th core book.
Well, there was a thread discussing this (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1147484469 ;start=0) a while back... I think given the potential for controversy, and the single source in contradiction of other sources, the XPH shouldn't be moved to the Core section of the list.

Azrael
2006-07-30, 04:30 PM
I love my clueless moments:


... What's better is a build that looks like ... rogue2/paladin of LE 2/ Hexblade3/Blackguard3 ...and take sorc or warmage on your last half ... meh, the idea works better ina gish game.
What's a &quot;gish game&quot;?

In context it seems to indicate using Gestalt... but that's Gestalt. And I'm not sure how it would refer to the race...

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-08-02, 02:49 PM
I love my clueless moments:

What's a &quot;gish game&quot;?

In context it seems to indicate using Gestalt... but that's Gestalt. And I'm not sure how it would refer to the race...
Gish apparently refers to a fighter/wizard build. In the context you describe, it likely is referring to a gestalt game in which all characters are warrior/arcane combinations (eg. fighter/wizard, barbarian/sorcerer, ranger/wizard, etc.).

Xaval
2006-08-04, 04:00 AM
Actually, Im pretty sure the term &quot;Gish&quot; is used to describe any extremely multiclassed character. Example: Fighter 2/ Rogue 1/ Swashbuckler 3 ect, ect.

So a &quot;gish game&quot; would be a full game with all the characters like that.

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-08-05, 08:23 PM
Actually, after some checking around, Gish does refer to fighter/wizards, and comes from a class of Githyanki war wizards by the same name, and has since expanded to include the general idea of a fighter/wizard multiclassed character. This originated in 2e, where fighter/wizard was essentially the only combination most people could make work anyways (other combinations of wizard/x were possible depending on race - and house rules - though some were dual rather than multiclass characters ;)).

In 3.x discussions, it can be broadened to any arcane/warrior hybrid, usually an arcane caster capable of duking it out in melee without getting completely owned. The eldritch knight and spellsword PrCs make these builds even more viable. Note that hyrbid classes like hexblades, bards, duskblades, and warmages are not technically considered gishes, as they are unusual single classes rather than multiclass builds.

Info consolidated here nicely. (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=626150)

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-08-05, 09:26 PM
EDIT: Updated the first two posts. Anyone have any requests/suggestions/corrections? New updates in blue.

Also, looking for abbreviations for new classes such as the duskblade, beguiler, knight, dragon shaman, the psionic classes from CP, and others not already on the list.

Spartan_Samuel
2006-08-12, 06:56 PM
What do &quot;gestalt&quot; and&quot;pun-pun&quot; mean?

Azrael
2006-08-14, 11:31 AM
Gestalt (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm#buildingAGestaltCharacter)

As for Pun-Pun, I'd be willing to bet he's been addressed previously in this thread. So be a dear and Google &quot;Pun Pun&quot;. The first result is what you're looking for. Wikipedia has a listing as well.


Gorby: Think it would be a good idea to put these two in under Terminology?

Caelestion
2006-09-13, 06:44 AM
I must be having a stupid moment because I have no idea what MitP means, which is constantly referenced in the Homebrew section.

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-09-14, 11:05 AM
I must be having a stupid moment because I have no idea what MitP means, which is constantly referenced in the Homebrew section.
As near as I can tell, it is &quot;Monster in the Playground.&quot;

Dragon_Rider
2006-09-14, 01:33 PM
As near as I can tell, it is &quot;Monster in the Playground.&quot;

Yes, they hold some quite of a running vote tally thing where people post custom monsters and if they enough vouches for their creation, it becomes a member of the Monsters in the Playground. So when people post threads with their homebrew creatures, they will put a [MitP] tag on their thread title to signify they want to enter their creature into the MitP &quot;contest&quot;.

Fax Celestis
2006-09-19, 02:06 AM
Yes, they hold some quite of a running vote tally thing where people post custom monsters and if they enough vouches for their creation, it becomes a member of the Monsters in the Playground. So when people post threads with their homebrew creatures, they will put a [MitP] tag on their thread title to signify they want to enter their creature into the MitP &quot;contest&quot;.

And at the end of said votery, the Approved creatures will be gathered together into an ebook and published. A PDF will be available for free, and hardcopies will be available for purchase, with proceeds benefitting this site.

Those curious can click the MitP link in my signature.

geek_2049
2006-09-20, 06:07 AM
Ave eard 'gish' thowrn around by ye's landlubbers amuch of late, can any of ye's point meh spyglass in th' righ direction. Elucidate, if ye's will, so has to earn me eyepatch, as to wha 'gish be a meanin'.

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-09-20, 08:07 AM
Arrr.

- Gish: A fighter/wizard multiclass character, specifically one capable of casting higher level spells and surviving melee combat. May also be broadened to refer to any combination of warrior/arcane (or psionic caster) classes. Hybrid classes such as bards, duskblades, hexblades, and psychic warriors are generally not considered examples (multiclass characters only). Originates from the term for a Githyanki war wizard (in 2e, a fighter/wizard or rogue/wizard).

Spartan_Samuel
2006-09-30, 11:26 PM
Does an Enchantment Bonus add to the ability score or it's modifier?

Were-Sandwich
2006-10-05, 12:19 PM
What does 'clunky' mean?

Fax Celestis
2006-10-05, 04:29 PM
What does 'clunky' mean?
I would assume &quot;functional, but old fashioned and not running smoothly.&quot; As in the term applied to a car engine.

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-10-05, 05:15 PM
Does an Enchantment Bonus add to the ability score or it's modifier?
Uh, that's really a question you should be asking here, in the Simple Q&amp;A thread (http://www.GiantITP.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1155943945 ). This thread is about asking questions on Terminology, not rules.

But I'll save ya a trip anyway:

1.) To my knowledge there is no such thing as an &quot;enchantment bonus.&quot; You may be thinking of an enhancement bonus.
2.) Bonuses always apply to the stat they modify directly. A +2 Dex bonus takes modifies a character's Dex score by two, which, in turn modifies the Dex modifier by 1. Likewise, a +1 enhancement bonus applied to the armor bonus granted by a suit of chainmail applies to the armor bonus, not to armor class. This is why a +1 enhancement to armor and a +1 enhancement to shield both stack when calculating total armor class.

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-24, 09:55 AM
It's sort of a leet-speak version of &quot;owned.&quot; To get owned is to get beaten really badly at something; &quot;pwned&quot; is clearly just a typo, but it took off for some reason or another and is seen as an amusing synonym, though some see it was being &quot;owned&quot; to such a degree that witnesses are rendered incapable of proper typing/speech.
It's pretty aggravating the lengths to which this kind of thing will take off. For example, the rather obvious mistake of lifting off of the shift key too soon yields "!!!11" sometimes. I can live with that on accident. That lead to this "!!11oneone". That's ridiculous. And I've even seen this on far too many occasions "!!11oneoneeleveneleven". That's just stupid. [/rant]


Uh, that's really a question you should be asking here, in the Simple Q&amp;A thread (http://www.GiantITP.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1155943945 ). This thread is about asking questions on Terminology, not rules.

But I'll save ya a trip anyway:

1.) To my knowledge there is no such thing as an &quot;enchantment bonus.&quot; You may be thinking of an enhancement bonus.
2.) Bonuses always apply to the stat they modify directly. A +2 Dex bonus takes modifies a character's Dex score by two, which, in turn modifies the Dex modifier by 1. Likewise, a +1 enhancement bonus applied to the armor bonus granted by a suit of chainmail applies to the armor bonus, not to armor class. This is why a +1 enhancement to armor and a +1 enhancement to shield both stack when calculating total armor class.
This is also why any enhancement bonus is usually specified in the naming; so as to determine whether or not it stacks with other bonuses that may affect the same game mechanic. For example, a +1 shield bonus, a +1 dodge bonus, and a +1 armor bonus all affect your armor class and all stack because they are each different. However, bracers of armor +1 that specify a +1 armor bonus in its description does not stack with the +5 armor bonus provided by chainmail.

Khantalas
2006-11-26, 06:17 AM
What's Divine Meta-Cheese refer to?

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-11-26, 10:07 AM
Divine Metamagic Cheese refers to a potentially broken combination of feats and magic items from Complete Divine, Complete Arcane and Libris Mortis.

Divine Metamagic is a feat from Complete Divine that allows a cleric, paladin, or any other type of character that can turn/rebuke undead and cast spells to spontaneously apply the effects of a metamagic feat to prepared spells by spending turn/rebuke attempts. Since the spell still only uses the slot in which it is prepared, this allows for things like casting a Quickened 8th level spell, which would normally require access to 12-level spell slots. Such a trick would require the expenditure of 5 turn/rebuke turn attempts, though (the cost of a particular divine metamagic is 1 + the metamagic's level increase.) The other primary balancing factor is that when you take the feat Divine Metamagic, it only works with a particular Metamagic feat you already possess.

Where things start to develop problems is with a particular item from Libris Mortis. I don't recall the item's exact name (Night Stick or something like that... I don't have Libris Mortis), but it is very, very cheap and grants a cleric more turn/rebuke attempts per day. Naturally, these attempts can be used to power Divine Metamagic. There are also other relatively cheap ways to gain more turn/rebuke attempts (if you're really in need, you could take the feat Extra Turning, for example).

The other problem area stems from Persistent Spell, a metamagic feat from both Complete Divine and Complete Arcane. Persistent Metamagic allows spells with a range of touch or personal to be extended to a 24-hour duration. It normally adjusts the spell's level by 6, and, therefore costs 7 turn attempts to use with Divine Metamagic.

This combination becomes all the more troublesome when you realize that metamagic feats don't have any prerequisite of actually having available spell slots in which you can use the modified spells. That means that though a cleric normally requires a 6th level slot to even use a Persistent 0-level spell, he or she couls still take Persistent spell at 1st level. And those clerics induldging in "Divine Metamagic Cheese" do just that. Since Persistent Spell has a prerequisite of Extend Spell, a human cleric gets Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell) at third level.

The typical scenario used in discussions on this subject then assumes that the cleric goes to work at "out-fighting the fighter" by casting a Persistent divine favor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/divineFavor.htm) every morning. At 7th level, the cleric is assumed to have move on to a Persistent divine power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/divinePower.htm), effectively making him or her a fighter with divine spells instead of feats. If the cleric has enough Night Sticks (or whatever they're called...), at 9th level he or she can afford to use both divine power and rightous might (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/righteousMight.htm). Note that all spells mentioned above have a Personal range, so they absolutely cannot be used to make the current fighter an über-fighter instead.

The Conventional Wisdom™ is that combinations such as the above are both Cheesy™ and Broken™.

Personally, being as used to tight teamwork situations where each character has a specific role, I have trouble seeing how clerics have enough chance to actually put those persistent buffs to use. They're always busy performing their unique support services. As such, your opinion on the above and similar combinations may vary from Conventional Wisdom™.

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-11-26, 03:10 PM
Added Cheese, me love Thog, and Catgirls, re-wrote Fluff and Crunch, added new books to Abbreviations, expanded MAD entry, added WH, WH40k, IK, and FRPG, added additional minor clarifications, expansions, and corrections.

Azrael
2006-11-27, 10:38 AM
... That lead to this "!!11oneone". That's ridiculous. And I've even seen this on far too many occasions "!!11oneoneeleveneleven". [/rant]

To be fair, the only times I've ever used seen "!!1oneleven" is when actively deriding the overexuberant use of exclaimation points. Its (I believe) original intent is to mock poor punctuation and leet speech.

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-27, 02:44 PM
To be fair, the only times I've ever used seen "!!1oneleven" is when actively deriding the overexuberant use of exclaimation points. Its (I believe) original intent is to mock poor punctuation and leet speech.
I wish I could say I had the same experience. Unfortunately I see it used several times a week (nearly daily) in MMORPG's that I play. Much like "pwned*," the original use may not have been intended to lead to everyday usage, but it's caught on to such an extent that the common usage is no longer derisive but intentional and instead of mocking overuse of the exclamation point, it serves to actually over-emphasize it.

*To my horror, I even hear this used in face to face communications. The usage even includes the pronunciation of the "p," as in "powned" (rhymes with loaned) or "pownt" (loant?) and I cringe every time I do. I wish I could at least say that this conversational usage was at least limited to teenagers and twenty-somethings, but I've even heard men into their forties use it without the slightest hint of mockery when doing so.

Rex Idiotarum
2006-11-29, 10:11 PM
It's 1337 (pronounced leet, as in elite), it a computer language that uses Symbols, Numbers, and even letters that are visually similar to the original intent, also it uses alot of gaming terms, and mixed languages, like "Uber" (German) and "Kekeke"(Korean Evil laugh). For more, Wikipedia, and even Google

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-30, 02:53 AM
It's 1337 (pronounced leet, as in elite), it a computer language that uses Symbols, Numbers, and even letters that are visually similar to the original intent, also it uses alot of gaming terms, and mixed languages, like "Uber" (German) and "Kekeke"(Korean Evil laugh). For more, Wikipedia, and even Google

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/
I'm well acquainted with the concept of "1337" speak. I'm not 12 and I've had an online presence for some years now. (By the way, it's not a language and arguably isn't even a dialect. At best it's "internet colloquialism".) That doesn't mean that I have to like it. Especially when the origination of a term is clearly not something clever but a typo that caught on and then was exaggerated. I hate it when I chat. I hate it when I read message boards. I hate seeing it in online games*. And I REALLY REALLY hate it when people say it to me in a face to face conversation like it's okay to stop using English. I don't even ask that it necessarily be proper English, just that if you didn't like something, say "That sucked" instead of "that was teh suxxorz." Gods help me the day I see 1337 One-Oh-One 4 N00BZ in a college course catalogue.

As it happens, what is construed as leet speak today is a total bastardization of the original leet speak and its intent. Given that it's original intention was to obfuscate the message, anything that is in common parlance (pwnt, teh suxxorz, l33t) is anything but "elite". It's just laziness combined with a misplaced perception of "cool".

It would be more accurate to call it netspeak or something along those lines, but alas, much like Alternative Rock has become fairly mainstream and no longer alternative, the term is ubiquitous even if inaccurate and as such not likely to change any time soon.

*It should be noted that what I'm disagreeable about is not common abbreviations or emotes that help to convey a message. LOL, OTOH, and :-) are all fine and dandy. In fact they are often useful in setting the tone of a message so that the proper inclination/inflection/inference can be read and nastiness avoided because of a misunderstanding.

Rex Idiotarum
2006-11-30, 06:22 AM
Yes, yes, yes, I was providing more information on the subject rather than complaining about it's usage. And it's common enough to have i's own google.

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-11-30, 01:42 PM
Comrade Gorby: This thread isn't meant for the discussion of whether or not the usage of a particular term is "acceptable." It is for explaining what a term used on the forums actually means. If you wish to discuss the former, please take it to another thread.

Khantalas
2006-12-21, 06:56 AM
What's CoDzilla?

I looked for it, but couldn't find it. Does it have something to do with the Conspiracy?

Shhalahr Windrider
2006-12-21, 09:28 AM
CoDzilla stands for "Cleric-or-Druid-zilla". It's a term meant to describe the theory that Clerics and Druids are the most powerful classes in D&D and that it is trivially easy to use these classes to completely dominate a campaign. The term originated on the WotC message boards. (I'm not sure exactly who coined it, nor do I have a link to the relevant post, but I know from experience other people on these boards could give you that information.)

Khantalas
2006-12-21, 05:32 PM
I always read it as Caster of Doom - zilla. Or Caster of Death - zilla.

Guess I was wrong.

Pegasos989
2006-12-26, 08:33 AM
I always read it as Caster of Doom - zilla. Or Caster of Death - zilla.

Guess I was wrong.

Nope, cleric or druid zilla. I think it was radical thaoist who used it... I'll see if I could google the original...

Oh, yes. It was on whether core only is better balanced.

"It bears saying: if up against a logic-impervious DM who thinks Core is balanced and Psionics (or Warlocks, or Fochlucan Lyrists, or anything balanced that's come out of splatbooks that aren't munchfests like Complete Divine) isn't, then the most powerful way to disprove that is to play a C.o.D. (Cleric or Druid). Noncore material will not be necessary unless you are going for pure overkill (Draconic Wildshape? Divine Metamagic?). So by all means, if you must win that argument, take you C.o.D. to town. Annihilate the opposition. Make the NPCs and other players scream "Oh no, it's C.o.D.zilla!!!!!" in badly dubbed English. Breathe radioactive fire. Knock down buildings. Then stomp out of the burning Tokyo that is the ruins of the game and swim off into the ocean, seeking a DM with some basic cognitive functions."

Whole quote (and illustrative diagram) can be found here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=6729677&postcount=49

Gorbash Kazdar
2006-12-27, 12:45 PM
Added twink and CoDzilla.

Sisqui
2007-01-19, 02:22 PM
What does Woot (wOOt) or any other variation stand for?

Maxymiuk
2007-01-28, 09:46 AM
"Woot" is basically an expression of joy at having done something that turned out well. An internet version of "Hooray!" if you will.

NEO|Phyte
2007-01-28, 03:54 PM
I've also heard of it standing for "We Owned Other Team"

Ankhor
2007-02-20, 11:53 AM
it's a backronym.

Tyrael
2007-03-22, 11:04 AM
What is a "gestalt" campaign?

Zeb The Troll
2007-03-22, 11:34 AM
What is a "gestalt" campaign?That's a campaign where each character levels equally in two classes at the same time. See here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm) for more info.

norister
2007-03-26, 02:15 PM
What does PaO mean?
As in, "Every now and again, our DM thinks up an encounter way to hard and I as the party wizard have to PaO the encounter and I always make them squirrels."

Zherog
2007-03-26, 04:09 PM
Polymorph any Object, as in the 8th level wizard spell.

Tyrael
2007-03-27, 04:16 PM
Minor update needed: Complete Scoundrel has been published.

Fax Celestis
2007-03-28, 11:47 AM
Complete Scoundrel is out (CScn) as is the Magic Item Compendium (MIC), and Complete Champion (CCham) will be out soon.

Gorbash Kazdar
2007-03-28, 06:37 PM
Added... stuff. From the posts above. It's in blue.

Holocron Coder
2007-04-11, 02:09 PM
May want to throw in RFED :) being "rock falls, everyone dies"

Teloric
2007-04-12, 01:10 PM
MitD - refers to the Monster in the Dark from the Order of the Stick comic...

Appolo
2007-04-23, 11:01 PM
for the love of god and all that is holy, what is THACO? i hear it all the time, but i dont know what it means.

Zeb The Troll
2007-04-23, 11:36 PM
for the love of god and all that is holy, what is THACO? i hear it all the time, but i dont know what it means.It's from AD&D and it means To Hit Armor Class 0 (zero).

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-04-24, 06:58 AM
Of course, THAC0 is linked to the old AD&D concept of lower armor classes being better. The absolute best AC you could have was -10, while the absolute worst was 10. What you had to do when you made an attack roll is subtract your opponent's armor class from your character's THAC0. You had to roll equal to or higher than the resulting number to hit your opponent. As in 3.x D&D, a natural 20 always hit, and a natural 1 always failed.

For example, if you had a THAC0 of 15, with no other modifiers and were trying to hit an enemy wearing chainmail (which provided an AC of 5), you would have to roll a 10 or above to hit your enemy. If you were fighting an enemy with AC 0, you would have to roll 15 or above to hit—hence the name THAC0.

Note, although it is often pronnounced "Thack-oh" or even "Thay-coh", it is properly spelled with a zero, rather than an 'O' at the end. This is why my friends and I pronounced it "Thack-zee-roe" for a long while.

Matthew
2007-04-24, 02:34 PM
Also, THAC0 and BAB can be directly converted:

BAB 0 = THAC0 20
BAB 1 = THAC0 19

etc...

In (A)D&D all Clases started with THAC0 20, but in (O)D&D they all started with THAC0 19. This is reflected in the way that full BAB 3.x Base Classes start with equivalent THAC0 19, whilst partial BAB 3.x Base Classes start with equivalent THAC0 20. THAC0 is itsef a simplification of (A)D&D 1.x Combat Matrices, which work slightly differently.

(A)D&D AC* and D&D 3.x AC are also related:

AC* 10 = AC 10
AC* 9 = AC 11

etc...

Although, strictly speaking, -10 AC was the theoretical maximum, some Dragons had AC -12. Also, many magical effects did not lower AC, but imposed penalties on enemy Attack Rolls (which effectively could raise AC above -10/-12).

Roderick_BR
2007-04-26, 01:05 PM
Another one: DM fiat. I see people using it when commenting if something would be approved by a DM, I guess. What it means exacly?

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-04-26, 03:29 PM
"Fiat" means "a decree" or "an arbitrary order." So when people talk about "DM fiat," they simply simply mean the DM should make a final ruling on whatever is being discussed.

Varian
2007-05-18, 06:55 PM
o.o That is a lot of soup. I read through the first list, and I dont remeber anything ;_; Thanks though

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-05-18, 09:02 PM
I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to have "Oberoni Fallacy" and "Stormwind Fallacy" to the list.

Nnanji
2007-05-20, 12:16 AM
Hello there. I've been lurking on this site for a while now, but I have to ask: What does IOTSOV stand for?

Thank you.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-05-20, 06:44 AM
Hello there. I've been lurking on this site for a while now, but I have to ask: What does IOTSOV stand for?
Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil.

It is a Prestige Class from Complete Arcane. This class is an abjuration specialist that can set up different warding "veils" keyed to seven colors of the rainbow.

Nnanji
2007-05-20, 09:03 AM
Ah. Thank you very much.

FdL
2007-05-29, 07:56 PM
What is "AMF"? (see http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45728)

It's not on the list. I'm guessing it has to do with a condition where a character cannot use all of its abilities, but what's the acronym?

Illiterate Scribe
2007-06-10, 03:59 PM
Anti Magic Field.

Teloric
2007-06-23, 12:29 PM
What's "PvP"?

Fax Celestis
2007-06-23, 12:33 PM
Player Versus Player.

SKarious
2007-07-05, 02:04 PM
This thread is most helpful.
What is a "SLA"? I gathered it has something with Solars and Wishes.

Sepp
2007-07-13, 09:24 AM
This thread is most helpful.
What is a "SLA"? I gathered it has something with Solars and Wishes.

I believe SLA is short for Spell Like Abilities.

Cryopyre
2007-07-22, 02:11 PM
what is gestalt?

Ankhor
2007-07-22, 02:25 PM
When you take the best bits of two classes at each level. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm)

bigbaddragon
2007-07-25, 06:39 PM
What is FTL?

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-07-25, 06:47 PM
From Context, I would say "For the Loss" or "For the Lose"—Opposite of FTW, which means "For the Win."

Nnanji
2007-07-30, 02:26 PM
While most probably the correct context of FTL, in a sci-fi game could also easily refer to Faster Than Light travel.

Gorbash Kazdar
2007-08-10, 12:35 PM
Updates made, and are, as ever, in blue.

Zherog
2007-08-10, 12:52 PM
Oberoni Fallacy: The statement that there are no problematic or broken rules, as any identified as such can simply be corrected by application of Rule 0. A fallacy as having another overarching rule allowing for corrective action to be taken does not mean that there were not problems in the first place. Formally identified as a logical fallacy by WotC forum member Oberon.

The poster who "invented" the fallacy is named Oberoni, not Oberon.

edit: the original thread on WotC is long since purged, I believe. But here's a thread on the Nifty Message Board (http://bb.bbboy.net/niftymessageboard-viewthread?forum=6&thread=12&postnum=0) where the original WotC post by Oberoni was quoted.

Gorbash Kazdar
2007-08-11, 03:54 PM
The poster who "invented" the fallacy is named Oberoni, not Oberon.

edit: the original thread on WotC is long since purged, I believe. But here's a thread on the Nifty Message Board (http://bb.bbboy.net/niftymessageboard-viewthread?forum=6&thread=12&postnum=0) where the original WotC post by Oberoni was quoted.
Typo corrected.

cody.burton
2007-08-18, 11:01 AM
Since I've been here, I've seen several referenced to casters (particularly psions) "going nova". Am I correct in guessing that "going nova" means blowing all their high level spells on one encounter? If so, why are psions particularly good at it?

Thanks.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-08-18, 03:20 PM
You surmise correctly.

Psions are good at going nova because many of their powers can be augmented. Whereas spellcasters have most aspects of their spells scale with level up to a certain point, typically psionic powers only automatically scale with respect to duration and range. To get more out of a power, a manifester has to augment the power: spend extra power points.

This augmentation also comes with the benefit of no absolute caps beyond the psionic character's manifester level. Whereas a wizard's fireball can never do more than 10d6 damage on its own regardless of the wizard's caster level, a 20th level kineticist can unleash a 20d6 energy ball. Due to this expanding power level, a fully augmented psionic power can be more powerful than a spell of the same level, though it should be noted such powers require the psionic energy of a much higher level power. For instance, that energy ball is a fourth level power, but it cost more power points than a 10th level power.

This augmentation allows a psion to go nova using virtually any of his or her known powers, whereas a wizard would only find a few of his or her highest level appropriate for such a task.

Kodra
2007-08-22, 12:29 PM
Can anyone explain what a "Batman Mage" is? I see it regularly listed next to CoDzilla, so I imagine that it is some power wizard in late game.

Shhalahr Windrider
2007-09-11, 02:58 PM
"Batman Mage" refers to a wizard who, much like the DC Comics character Batman, is capable of overcoming almost any situation with the right combination of spells. Such spells heavily focus on Utility and Battlefield Control functions (once again, two areas in which Batman excels). Many of these spells are drawn from a fairly narrow list of some of the more powerful spells. Most Bataman spells are core.

Nada Rakshasa
2007-09-25, 10:42 PM
Um, I just wanted to thank the original poster and those who followed, as there's a fair bit of terminology I just didn't recognize, and I'm now able to follow an Oots Forum conversation much easier.

Tormsskull
2007-10-03, 12:11 PM
I'd like to suggest adding the Term "Optimizier" to the list. The definition could be something like:

Optimizier: A player who makes characters very effective at their intended purpose while considering the integrity of the character's backstory and personality. A player might optimize a character for combat, or for social skills, or any number of other situations. Also used when referring to how capable a character is at a given task (i.e. "this character is very optimized for combat").

Zincorium
2007-10-03, 05:07 PM
Tormskull, I would also suggest adding something to the effect of 'Some people use powergamer to refer to this' or a link in the power gamer definition.

The fact is, none of these have straight dictionary definitions, so you have to compensate for different uses by designating the correct term as a replacement.

Lemur
2007-12-02, 12:38 AM
"Batman Mage" refers to a wizard who, much like the DC Comics character Batman, is capable of overcoming almost any situation with the right combination of spells. Such spells heavily focus on Utility and Battlefield Control functions (once again, two areas in which Batman excels). Many of these spells are drawn from a fairly narrow list of some of the more powerful spells. Most Bataman spells are core.

To further elaborate, a sort of running internet discussion joke that "Batman can beat anyone with prep time" resembles the wizard, since if the wizard knows what the enemy is, he can prepare the right spells ahead of time. As the theory goes, a wizard without proper information or prep time will generally retreat, much like Batman does after being beaten, where he researches the enemy in his batcave (or perhaps Magnificent Mansion), develops an antidote serum, and then returns to utterly ruin his target.

Also, after the nth time of seeing this question asked, it would probably be prudent to have some sort of description added to the terminology section.

Panda-s1
2007-12-24, 04:13 PM
I'd hate to ask, but what does E6 mean? I can't search for something that short on the forums, and using the Find function on my browser to look for 'E' would be ridiculous.

Chrismith
2007-12-27, 04:53 PM
I'd hate to ask, but what does E6 mean? I can't search for something that short on the forums, and using the Find function on my browser to look for 'E' would be ridiculous.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=352719

E6 is a d20 variant in which characters only up to level 6, and then earn extra feats instead of leveling beyond that.

Fax Celestis
2007-12-27, 04:56 PM
I'd hate to ask, but what does E6 mean? I can't search for something that short on the forums, and using the Find function on my browser to look for 'E' would be ridiculous.

E6 refers to an augmentation to the D&D game which caps maximum level at 6th level (hence, E6). More information here (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=200754).

Accountant
2008-01-10, 10:58 PM
Hey.

WBL is something I've seen a lot of lately, but usn't up on the list. What's that now?

marjan
2008-01-16, 08:00 PM
Hey.

WBL is something I've seen a lot of lately, but usn't up on the list. What's that now?

Wealth By Level = Amount of gp you get to spend on equipment when creating character.

batsofchaos
2008-01-30, 06:12 PM
What exactly is a "bag o' rats?" I've tried searching the forum and googling it, and I've gathered that it's an excercise in rule-breaking similar to Pun-Pun, and that it involves exploiting Combat Reflexes and a bag of rats in order to get a near infinite number of attacks. How does it work, though?

Fax Celestis
2008-01-30, 07:54 PM
What exactly is a "bag o' rats?" I've tried searching the forum and googling it, and I've gathered that it's an excercise in rule-breaking similar to Pun-Pun, and that it involves exploiting Combat Reflexes and a bag of rats in order to get a near infinite number of attacks. How does it work, though?

It involves the Cleave/Great Cleave feats. Rat 1 moves, provokes AoO. You take AoO, kill the rat, cleave into your foe. Lather, rinse, repeat.

batsofchaos
2008-01-31, 03:39 PM
It involves the Cleave/Great Cleave feats. Rat 1 moves, provokes AoO. You take AoO, kill the rat, cleave into your foe. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Ah, so you get repeated AoO based on the rats moving in and out of being threatened, and then get a bonus hit from great cleave on additional opponents provided you kill the rat on the AoO? That's rather clever.

zoatebix
2008-02-03, 12:21 PM
Ah, so you get repeated AoO based on the rats moving in and out of being threatened, and then get a bonus hit from great cleave on additional opponents provided you kill the rat on the AoO? That's rather clever.
Another variant involves whirlwind attacking the rats and cleaving into your enemies. This only works in D&D 3.0, because 3.5 added the "When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities" clause to the feat.

electronicssell
2008-04-05, 09:58 AM
thank you for all your abbreviations ,i believe all people in the forum can learn more about the words ,it is really helpful to all the people.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-23, 10:06 AM
May I suggest the following chat abbreviation?

TBH - to be honest.

I've seen it crop up a lot lately and I had to go look on www.acronymfinder.com to figure out what it meant.

Gorbash Kazdar
2008-05-05, 09:51 PM
Various typos corrected, minor changes to remove dated information or make definitions clearer. Added Batman Mage, bag'o'rats, blaster, Pun-Pun, 4E, E6, FUBAR, SNAFU, TBH, WTF, WBL, nova, GSL, ninja'd, RuC, CoSR, and A:tEoS.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-05-10, 06:07 PM
This may be the wrong place, but I think the following post accurately defines the concepts and would prevent debates from becoming bogged down in semantics if it was official.
Power Gamer: Someone who makes the most powerful character possible.
Optimizer: Someone who makes the most powerful character possible to fit a specific concept.
Munckin: An idiot who thinks they can optimize or powergame when they can't and proceeds to whine when the DM points out their stupidity (this catagory is things like people walking around when dead, or healing people by drowning them. also included are those who grab builds from the CharOp's boards).

Edit: N/M, I missed them in the OP on my scan.


I hate IE. :smallmad:

Lord Lorac Silvanos
2008-05-10, 07:21 PM
I hate IE. :smallmad:

IE = Internet Explorer :smalltongue:

Hairb
2008-05-16, 02:34 AM
This thread really is a must read.
This only suggestion I could make would be
Cleric of Cheeseweasle: Nickname for a cleric of Pelor who takes the Good and Healing domains. Probably not worth adding, but it pops up in the Brisbane Living Greyhawk community from time to time.

Gorbash Kazdar
2008-05-19, 10:00 AM
Added optimizer. :smallsigh:

Grey Watcher
2008-06-16, 12:44 AM
Maybe it's just me, but I've seen NSFW occasionally applied to non-adult content that might still be unsuitable for a workplaces, libraries, etc. Specifically, I'm thinking of loud or obnoxious video or audio clips, large files that might get blocked by company servers or firewalls, etc. This usage is, in my experience, somewhat rarer than NSFW = sexually explicit or suggestive, but it might be worth mentioning nonetheless.

almyki
2008-06-23, 09:46 PM
I couldn't find it by typing it into my search, so I'll ask here, I guess.

What is GURPS? I've seen it a lot, and I can't think of anything that would fit it. Sorry if I might have missed it somehow.

<3 ali

Talyn
2008-06-23, 09:53 PM
Generic Universal Role Playing System.

It's a game that attempts to let you play literally any kind of RPG you can possibly think of with one core rules set.

almyki
2008-06-23, 10:12 PM
Thank you very much!

<3 ali

Totally Guy
2008-07-27, 05:13 AM
Can somebody please explain what a Laser Cleric build is and does.:confused:

Funny abbrieviation, I'm working on a project at work called "New School for Wortley" (Until it was renamed Swallow Hill which is much nicer). But we'd send out email for things with NSFW on. RE:Sports floor Quote NSFW.:tongue:

Oshura
2008-07-31, 02:22 PM
That was extremely useful. I have been wondering what a whole bunch of those abreviations meant. I hope to not stay a lurker forever.

*vanishes into spellbooks*

Oshura

Rumex
2008-08-13, 03:53 PM
A few additions:
GoO: Guardians of Order (sadly, now defunct), who made
BESM: Big Eyes, Small Mouth, a generic anime-flavored role-playing system that became the basis of the Tri-Stat System
Should definitely add GURPS, along with SJG (Steve Jackson Games, the makers of GURPS).

Also, I've seen crunchy refer to game systems as a quantity to be measured. Games that use more statistics and *ahem* number-crunching in character creation and play are "crunchier" than simpler games that do not. GURPS is very crunchy, for example, while Toon is not.

I've never seen fluff used for descriptory text and quotes before, but "flavor text" is a phrase that I've heard a lot. Anything non-essential to game play could be called flavor text (and is one of the more fun things about certain CCGs).

Thurbane
2008-08-15, 02:11 AM
This might show my utter and total ignorance, but what does the term "Mary Sue" mean?

Lord Lorac Silvanos
2008-08-15, 05:13 AM
Mary Sue/Gary Stu:
"pejorative term used to describe a fictional character who plays a major role in the plot and is particularly characterized by overly idealized and clichéd mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their authors."

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue) has an article on it, where my quote is from.

Charity
2008-08-19, 04:34 AM
Can somebody please explain what a Laser Cleric build is and does.:confused:



Laser Cleric is one based entirely around Wisdom using all the radiant ranged attacks (hence laser).
Basically you max out Wisdom, and choose every Wis based power.
They tend to be more potent at high level than the Strength based clerics, or the balanced Str/Wis clerics.

Advocate
2009-02-25, 02:47 PM
There is a term missing from that list. Both it, and its proper definition are in my sig.