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EugeneVoid
2014-01-26, 03:45 PM
http://i.imgur.com/eaAWZIa.png

Hello, Playground! This is my first handbook and one I hope to be useful to all. This will be a place where I can list "slang" that the playground and uses and define hopefully as accurately as I can. I will also cover common concepts that have been determined by D&D people. I'll be using he and him, because I'm male and it's easier than writing he/she, him/he every time.

Definitions in Alphabetical Order

Broken - Any thing in a D&D game that slows the game down. This includes things that are extremely overpowered (Illithid Savants, Beholder Mages) and things that simply don't work (Iron Heart Surge, Truenamer). If you have to slow down the game to look up how it works or figure it out, it can be considered broken. If it takes a gratuitous amount of effort to use it, it's probably broken.

Munchkin - The true definition of a Munchkin is a person who tries to win D&D. He brings builds that are extremely powerful or exploits rules by commiting Munchkinry. Munchkin however can be used casually to define an optimizer that optimizes extravagantly.

Munchkinry - Cheating. Munchkinry is the act of looking at a rule and saying, "It doesn't say I can't, so I can." This also includes utilizing things such as Vigilante with its incredibly obvious typing error.

Optimizing - Selecting choices that you (the player) thinks will contribute in some way in the future. If you are picking power attack, because you think it will allow for some big damages, then you're optimizing. If you select something to qualify for a prestige class? Optimizing. If you select Negotiator, because you think that'll allow you to diplomacy some folk? Optimizing.

Rule 0 - The automatic assumption that by playing D&D with a group of people, you agree to play by the DM's rules. This includes him veto-ing things that you'd like or banning things/people.

Theoretical Optimization - Something not meant to be played. This is usually something that requires a loophole in the rules (drowning to heal yourself), metagame knowledge, or is simply too powerful to be played in a normal game (Pun-Pun). Anything infinite falls in this category. What this means exactly varies on your game. What Tippy thinks is alright is probably not in a person that played Core-only (and thinks monks are OP).

Tier List - A reference document created by JaronK to try to quantify the difference in power/utility classes have. Many people like it, some people don't. Look at it here [Link] (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=658.40)

EugeneVoid
2014-01-26, 03:46 PM
Reserved for later

EugeneVoid
2014-01-26, 03:47 PM
Reserved for Later

EugeneVoid
2014-01-26, 03:48 PM
Last reserved post.

Comment, question, critique

rmnimoc
2014-01-26, 09:28 PM
You might as well add Rule 0 (DM>Book), TO (theoretical optimization), cheese, homebrew, RAW (Rules as written), RAI (Rules as intended), and railroading

Rubik
2014-01-26, 09:35 PM
Adblock Plus: A great extension to Firefox which allows you to block massive images that stretch webpages out to annoying lengths. :smallbiggrin:

EugeneVoid
2014-01-26, 10:07 PM
Sorry, Rubik. I'll fix it right now. I was wondering if the picture was too large.

Duke of Urrel
2014-01-26, 10:20 PM
This is a fine list, and thank you, EugeneVoid, for creating it. I look forward to seeing it develop.

Zweisteine
2014-01-26, 10:41 PM
This is nice. I remember seeing a few of these before, but none so easy to look at. Here's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18512) one. That one is far tok long to read, and has no table of contents to make it easier. Suggestion: make a table of contents linking to the individual posts of the guide (even if it just lists what second of the alphabet are there). Spoilers for definitions could be nice, but they might be rather bothersome as well.

Two criticisms:
Rule 0 is more than the agreement to play by the DM's rules. More accurate is to say that rule 0 is that the DM is allowed to change/remove from/add to the rules as he sees fit.
What you are saying is technically correct, but it could be interpreted to mean something different ("the DM's rules" might not be read as literally meaning "the rules of the game as defined by the DM").

I don't think that a munchkin is necessarily someone who cheats. I'd more assume that it is someone who tries to use Theoretical Optimization in real play, or any situation where practical optimization is what is needed (extreme example: trying to play Pun-pun).

Also, you should probaby list the Tiers as the "Tier System" (or "class tiers"), not the Tier List.

Terms you should add:
Min-max (optimization: minimize weaknesses, maximize strengths)
Practical optimization (not sure how you mght wrd a definition for it, other than to say it would be something you'd use in real play)