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Firechanter
2011-07-02, 05:47 AM
I'd like to know if there's a particular gamer expression for a certain phenomenon, along the lines of a "No Brainer", or if the existence of the "no brainer" phrase has prevented such a piece of jargon from developing.

In German, there's the term "Hartholzharnisch" (hardwood armour), or HHH for short, to describe a piece of equipment or, by extension, any choice in character creation/development that is vastly superior to everything else in its category.
This term stems from the german RPG "The Dark Eye", which (at least in previous editions) featured this hardwood armour with stats that were just plain better than everything else, and could be further improved with a few cheap addons. In D&D terms, imagine a wooden light armour with base AC 6, 0 ACP and 0% ASF, and you'll have a rough idea of what this HHH was like.

This thing is known so well among German gamers that it has been established as general RPG term. I'd like to know if there's anything like this in the English language, too. :)

DaragosKitsune
2011-07-02, 06:09 AM
A lot of the English RPG jargon I know of stems from pop culture. This includes such terms as:

Batman: an individual prepared for any situation, or that has a viable way of quickly developing a solution should their present tools fail

Macguyvering: taking useless to moderately useful objects and combining them in a way that makes the resulting creation more valuable than the sum of it's parts

Mooks/Trash: Weak opponents who provoke only minimal response

Stuff like that.

As for referring to overpowered things, most of the English terms refer to character builds or concepts that contain overpowered traits. i.e. Pun-pun, Twice-Betrayer, Batman Wizard, CoDzilla, Ubercharging, etc.

Serpentine
2011-07-02, 06:14 AM
I believe he's specifically looking for some English equivalent to Hartholzharnisch, for an item or other selection that is plainly better than any other option in the same category. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, though I wouldn't be surprised if there is one, but I do like that Hartholzharnisch thing.
Now if only anyone could remember how to spell it, it might get use...

Yora
2011-07-02, 06:22 AM
Never heard of Hartholzharnisch, but I played with DSA players only once (suprisingly, as it seems to be the big game in Germany).

A common term that I know is Gobos. There was also a less common one for hobgoblins, but I forgot it.

On really awful one I've seen quite a lot in some communities is Paladina for female paladins. (Though the grammatically correct Paladinin is a bit akward to say.)

An absolutely hilarious one is "einen Trank zischen", as in "ein Bierchen zischen", the act of opening a bottle or can of beer, in which zischen is a verb constructed from the sound it makes. when you do it.
"Wait, let me open a strength potion before we break down the gate."

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-02, 06:52 AM
I've never heard of a specific name for that, but I've always used the phrase "default gear". Before 4e created the "Standard Adventurer's Kit", I had something similar because every...single...player...always bought the exact same list of items (BackpackBedrollFlintandsteelTorchRopeWaterskinRat ions) to the point I'd group them together at a slight discount just to save room on the character sheet.

Same thing goes for classes. Rogue Default Gear: Rapier/Dagger, Crossbow, Thieves Tools, Studded Leather. Fighter Default Gear: Greatsword or Longsword and Shield, Chainmail or Scalemale (depending on their GP roll). Cleric Default Gear: Heavy Mace, Chainmail/Scalemail, Heavy Shield, Holy Symbol. It carries over to other game systems (my street sam characters in Shadowrun should have a discount card for Ares) too.

However, it's not because it's clearly better than any other option, it's just the best option for the class's abilities. With 4e, it's more power choices than gear, but same thing applies (especially if the players have access to the optimization guides on the WotC forums).

Serpentine
2011-07-02, 06:54 AM
Can't you get that in D&D3.5 nowadays? Can't remember where, but somewhere in a book - you can get a generic "Adventurer's Kit" and a "Cleric's Kit" and so on.

SilverLeaf167
2011-07-02, 07:50 AM
Player's Handbook II. I'm not sure if you get any discounts, but at least they are listed in easy packages.

Zombimode
2011-07-02, 07:55 AM
On really awful one I've seen quite a lot in some communities is Paladina for female paladins. (Though the grammatically correct Paladinin is a bit akward to say.)

"Paladin" doesnt have a male suffix (-er, like "Paladiner"), so why should we add a female?
I always want to rip my ears of if I hear either "Paladina" or "Paladinin".

As for "Hartholzharnisch", I havent heard that one. Definately not common arround Hamburg.

aberratio ictus
2011-07-02, 07:59 AM
On really awful one I've seen quite a lot in some communities is Paladina for female paladins. (Though the grammatically correct Paladinin is a bit akward to say.
Indeed, I've heard that one. It got worse, though, as the female Paladin was promoted to grandmaster of her order and was henceforth known as Prima Paladina. Talk about a title that damages a characters dignity permanently.
Personally, I've never understood whe one couldn't simply call females Paladin as well. Some of my friends have settled for Paladiness, and while that's far from good, I can at least live with that.

Even though I have played a lot of games with German roleplayers, I haven't really heard of the Hartholzharnisch either.

edit:

"Paladin" doesnt have a male suffix (-er, like "Paladiner"), so why should we add a female?
I always want to rip my ears of if I hear either "Paladina" or "Paladinin".

To be fair, "Arzt" or "Anwalt" don't have male suffixes as well, and Germans still call the female doctors or lawyers "Ärztin" or "Anwältin", so that's not inherently wrong.

erikun
2011-07-02, 09:12 AM
"Frak" is a Shadowrun in-universe swearing term, which I've heard used in place of something less appropriate for company. "Frag" is someone similar, but comes from the real term fragmentation grenade and means about that.

"Berk" is a D&D Planescape term, meaning a lost or ignorant individual (noob). I don't see it used all that much.

"Munchkin" is, well, a derogatory for an optimizing powergamer. Some people have taken the term and ran with it (http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/).

Lawful Stupid, Lawful A**hole, and similar terms generally refer to a character played to one character point so much that they ignore survivability or even common sense. (Paladin, sadly, gets attached to that description.) Chaotic Stupid is the opposite problem: a character that does anything they want, anytime, without regard to appropriateness or consequences.

There are several far more general terms for rare materials like Unobtainium, Plotonium, or similar names meaning something that can't be obtained and can't be destroyed. Plot Armor would be the general sense that a character is immune to dying "prematurely" for the plot.

I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, though.

Yora
2011-07-02, 09:21 AM
Planescape has approximately 400 unique terms.

potatocubed
2011-07-02, 10:39 AM
Actually, a lot of the planar cant is based on 19th-century English thieves' cant and some of the words persist to this day.

'Berk' is a good example: I use it all the time in everyday life, and although my vocabulary is a little archaic in places it's not like I'm speaking another language.

Also 'kip' as in 'to sleep'.

Totally Guy
2011-07-02, 11:15 AM
This thing is known so well among German gamers that it has been established as general RPG term. I'd like to know if there's anything like this in the English language, too. :)

I guess "optimal" would be the word.

A choice with an optimal solution is not really a choice at all.

Firechanter
2011-07-02, 11:46 AM
Note that the superior crunch of the typical HHH-gear is often pseudo-balanced by fluffy constraints. Such as in the original HHH armour, "only available on island X, only worn by rebels, and you have to take care the wood doesn't rot". Stuff like that.

More examples for HHHs in other games, though not quite as bad/broken:
Shadowrun 3:
- Ares Alpha Combatgun (2 free points of recoil compensation, stacks with all other recoil compensation)
- formfitting body armour. there is no reason not to wear it underneath your armour jacket.

Conan RPG:
- Bardiche: absolutely cheapass weapon, absurd damage, very good Armour Piercing stat. Pretty much guaranteed one-hit-kills. There are 2 weapons that are even better (Greatsword, Akbitanan Greatsword), but these are about 30 times and 100 times more expensive.

Aidan305
2011-07-02, 12:12 PM
"Berk" is a D&D Planescape term, meaning a lost or ignorant individual (noob). I don't see it used all that much.

As with a surprisingly large amount of slang in Planescape, "Berk" is a clever way of Getting **** past the Radar (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GettingCrapPastTheRadar). It's actually the piece of rhyming slang "Berkshire Hunt" which equates to a word I'm not allowed to use on these forums. Four letter word. Rhymes with "Hunt".

Yora
2011-07-02, 12:18 PM
Looking at the dictionary at Mimir (http://mimir.net/cant/cant2.html), I think 400 may have been a rather low estimate.

Kurald Galain
2011-07-02, 01:30 PM
A common term that I know is Gobos. There was also a less common one for hobgoblins, but I forgot it.
Hobbos.


On really awful one I've seen quite a lot in some communities is Paladina for female paladins. (Though the grammatically correct Paladinin is a bit akward to say.)
I have no idea in what language that would be gramatically correct :smallamused:

Let's see, a jargon term I've heard is caltrops (for four-sided dice).

DontEatRawHagis
2011-07-02, 02:33 PM
In video gaming there is always the Golden gun from James Bond. A couple of my friends use it to describe an OP move/weapon.

Xefas
2011-07-02, 02:36 PM
I've started incorporating some of the Forge jargon (http://indie-rpgs.com/_articles/glossary.html) into my RPG group. Kickers, Challenge vs Bang, Lines&Veils, and stuff like that.

For the "Hartholzharnisch", I think we just call that a "Given"?

For example, in Exalted, buying a Perfect Defense is a given. In D&D, a wizard maxing out his Intelligence is a given. And so on.

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-03, 01:55 AM
"Frak" is a Shadowrun in-universe swearing term, which I've heard used in place of something less appropriate for company. "Frag" is someone similar, but comes from the real term fragmentation grenade and means about that.

"Berk" is a D&D Planescape term, meaning a lost or ignorant individual (noob). I don't see it used all that much.

"Frag" is what's used in Shadowrun. "Frak" is from Battlestar Galactica and has memed its way into geek/nerd culture in general. They dispensed with the censorship with the 4th edition.

Berk, however, is actual British slang for...well, there isn't a family-friendly translation into American vernacular available. But it (along with other British curse words like "bloody" and "wanker") is used frequently in American TV shows when they want to get cursing past Standards and Practices and there's a British character on the show (such as Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Ravens_cry
2011-07-03, 04:26 PM
I'd like to know if there's a particular gamer expression for a certain phenomenon, along the lines of a "No Brainer", or if the existence of the "no brainer" phrase has prevented such a piece of jargon from developing.

In German, there's the term "Hartholzharnisch" (hardwood armour), or HHH for short, to describe a piece of equipment or, by extension, any choice in character creation/development that is vastly superior to everything else in its category.
This term stems from the german RPG "The Dark Eye", which (at least in previous editions) featured this hardwood armour with stats that were just plain better than everything else, and could be further improved with a few cheap addons. In D&D terms, imagine a wooden light armour with base AC 6, 0 ACP and 0% ASF, and you'll have a rough idea of what this HHH was like.

This thing is known so well among German gamers that it has been established as general RPG term. I'd like to know if there's anything like this in the English language, too. :)
Yeah, that's basically referred to as "broken" in my experience. Something that is overwhelmingly the best choice that, mechanically speaking, there pretty much is no other choice. This term is also found in video games, especially ones with a multilayer aspect, and collectable card games.

Xefas
2011-07-03, 06:50 PM
Yeah, that's basically referred to as "broken" in my experience.

While this is true, I kinda wish it wasn't. The term "broken" gets thrown around so much, that its lost much of the meaning that made it a useful term to begin with. Its a bit like "hate" - a word that got thrown around for hyperbolic effect so much that its meaning was eventually downgraded.

I would much prefer the "so good its a non-choice" just go back to being "overpowered", thus freeing up "broken" for "something that, for whatever reason, makes it fundamentally impossible for a system to achieve one or more of its design goals".

Seb Wiers
2011-07-03, 07:31 PM
"Stupidly good" occasionally gets used to describe something that is... well, stupidly good. As in, something so good it makes using other options seem stupid & it was probably stupid to make it that good.

Used such as "stick and shock ammo is just stupidly good."

Arbane
2011-07-04, 12:54 AM
Yeah, that's basically referred to as "broken" in my experience. Something that is overwhelmingly the best choice that, mechanically speaking, there pretty much is no other choice.

Of course, "broken" can also mean something that's a very BAD choice - these two are usually told apart by context.

I've also heard "stupidly good" a lot.

A few other amusing terms I've heard, mostly on RPG.net:

Social-fu: The ability possessed by a character who can talk just about anyone into just about anything. (aka a Diplomancer)

Invincible Sword Princess: A character (not necessarily female) who can dish out astounding amounts of damage in melee combat, and who can defend themselves via agility and skill, but who can't withstand actually getting hit very well.

Gimp: The exact opposite of a munchkin: someone who monopolizes the 'spotlight time' in a RPG session by playing someone exceptionally _weak_ or with excessive psychological baggage.

Juicer Problem: A situation in the fluff of an RPG that in real-life would be an overwhelming concern, but which is irrelevant in a game. (Named after RIFTS' Juicer class, whose own abilities will kill them within 5 years.)

Lesbian Stripper Ninja: A stereotype of a female character being played by a (creepy) guy.

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-04, 01:06 AM
Lesbian Stripper Ninja: A stereotype of a female character being played by a (creepy) guy.

In a fantasy game, the character played by this person is ALWAYS an elf and in my experience, a redhead.

NikitaDarkstar
2011-07-04, 02:26 AM
Hmm I'm not sure how many others use these alot since they've made their way into my group via a mashup of old MMO slang, new MMo slang and general RPG games.

Nuke: Fairly obvious. The spellcaster drops the biggest, baddest spell he has in his list on whatever offended him. Bonus points if it's fiery. (An Empowered, Maximized Fireball would for example be a nuke.)

Overkill: Killing it so hard it doesn't exist anymore. (For example a lvl 15 wizard using the above mentioned fireball against a CR 1 creature.)

Hedgehog: A character that carries around more sharp, pointy items (ammunition not included) that could possibly be good for them, or anyone else. Very likely to be the dual wielder, often the rogue.

Glass cannon: A spellcaster focused on dealing out massive amounts of wide spread damage and destruction, but due to his lack of HP and armor won't with stands attacks at all.

Blaster: Spellcaster focused on dealing damage, and lots of it.

BFG: Big F***ing Gun, at least around my group it's generally used about any weapon that deals out stupid amounts of damage.

Caltrops: D4 dices. Because you find them in the same way as regular caltrops, by stepping on them.

Saintheart
2011-07-04, 02:29 AM
In German, there's the term "Hartholzharnisch" (hardwood armour), or HHH for short, to describe a piece of equipment or, by extension, any choice in character creation/development that is vastly superior to everything else in its category.

If you've seen the movie "Pump Up the Volume" (or I think it might have been known as "The DJ" in the US) HHH has another connotation which probably works just as well. :smallwink::smallbiggrin:

Saintheart
2011-07-04, 02:31 AM
As with a surprisingly large amount of slang in Planescape, "Berk" is a clever way of Getting **** past the Radar (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GettingCrapPastTheRadar). It's actually the piece of rhyming slang "Berkshire Hunt" which equates to a word I'm not allowed to use on these forums. Four letter word. Rhymes with "Hunt".

... um ... runt?

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-04, 02:32 AM
Hmm I'm not sure how many others use these alot since they've made their way into my group via a mashup of old MMO slang, new MMo slang and general RPG games.

Don't forget "nova" or "nova round", where you pull out all your feats/daily powers/magic items/action points/etc. to do as much damage as absolutely possible because you're facing the BBEG of the session and you want to take him/her/it out as quickly as possible before it can hit back.

NikitaDarkstar
2011-07-04, 04:11 AM
Don't forget "nova" or "nova round", where you pull out all your feats/daily powers/magic items/action points/etc. to do as much damage as absolutely possible because you're facing the BBEG of the session and you want to take him/her/it out as quickly as possible before it can hit back.

I actually hadn't heard that one before. But yes, I admit I've pulled that one before.... Then again I think everyone has at one point or another. But honestly.... it's mostly been in IC rage situations ("You did NOT just do that." *pulls the most absurdly overpowered magic combination possible*) and only once in a BBEG situation.

Hmm that is one that hasn't been covered yet I think?

BBEG/BBG/BEG Is the Big Bad Evil Guy, aka the boss for that adventure/campaign.

NNescio
2011-07-04, 04:24 AM
Note that the superior crunch of the typical HHH-gear is often pseudo-balanced by fluffy constraints. Such as in the original HHH armour, "only available on island X, only worn by rebels, and you have to take care the wood doesn't rot". Stuff like that.

More examples for HHHs in other games, though not quite as bad/broken:
Shadowrun 3:
- Ares Alpha Combatgun (2 free points of recoil compensation, stacks with all other recoil compensation)
- formfitting body armour. there is no reason not to wear it underneath your armour jacket.

Conan RPG:
- Bardiche: absolutely cheapass weapon, absurd damage, very good Armour Piercing stat. Pretty much guaranteed one-hit-kills. There are 2 weapons that are even better (Greatsword, Akbitanan Greatsword), but these are about 30 times and 100 times more expensive.

D&D: "Full Spellcaster"?

Eldan
2011-07-04, 04:24 AM
... um ... runt?

Close, but it starts with the letter "c".
Is that too obvious?

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-04, 04:42 AM
BBEG/BBG/BEG Is the Big Bad Evil Guy, aka the boss for that adventure/campaign.

This is an example of TV Tropes terms making their way into gaming (or, more generally, geek) culture, at least online. TV Tropes has already been referenced in this thread at least twice, once by me and once by someone who actually linked to it in reference to the word "berk". Just a few days on these forums and I've seen dozens of references to names from the site for common things.

Back to the original post, there's the Bag of Holding magic item in D&D. I don't know a single group that didn't get one as one of their first magic items if for no other reason than encumbrance rules are complicated.

Eldan
2011-07-04, 05:11 AM
And for more old-style/evil trap dungeon style games, there's the ten-foot pole.

NNescio
2011-07-04, 05:13 AM
This is an example of TV Tropes terms making their way into gaming (or, more generally, geek) culture, at least online. TV Tropes has already been referenced in this thread at least twice, once by me and once by someone who actually linked to it in reference to the word "berk". Just a few days on these forums and I've seen dozens of references to names from the site for common things.

Back to the original post, there's the Bag of Holding magic item in D&D. I don't know a single group that didn't get one as one of their first magic items if for no other reason than encumbrance rules are complicated.

To be fair, Buffy popularized the term (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad), and the WOTC forum glossary (http://community.wizards.com/wiki/Forum_Glossary) lists the first use of the term "BBEG" in message boards, with the thread "Honesty vs. Story" being its first recorded use, for what's it worth.

TheAbstruseOne
2011-07-04, 07:55 AM
To be fair, Buffy popularized the term (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad), and the WOTC forum glossary (http://community.wizards.com/wiki/Forum_Glossary) lists the first use of the term "BBEG" in message boards, with the thread "Honesty vs. Story" being its first recorded use, for what's it worth.

I don't think "Big Bad Evil Guy" was used on Buffy, just "Big Bad" (with Spike using it first in the series). A lot of gaming terms come from Buffy or were popularized from Buffy. I know I've described characters as "stabby" before, for one. It's just TV Tropes is a great site to codify all those bits of geek jargon that we build up from pop culture all over the place. The most common sources at my game table for pop culture references are Buffy/Angel, Red vs Blue (I use *HERK-BLEEH* as the death rattle of monsters), Dresden Files, and X-Men (last 4e game, I had a Dragon-version Assassin who called his at-will teleport ability "bamfing"...and of course he was a drow).

Eldan
2011-07-04, 07:57 AM
Ah, Dresden Files. Where Wizards roleplay as Barbarians with mighty Thews.

Saintheart
2011-07-04, 08:38 AM
Close, but it starts with the letter "c".
Is that too obvious?

What, "cant"? I didn't think plainsong was that offensive, am I missing something? :smallwink::smallbiggrin: