What are the most interesting bits of D&D/RPG Jargon?

generic · Feb 18, 2019

Hello adventurers,

I encountered a bunch of CR 1/2 Mooks the other day, and had to crit my way through a dungeon crawl.

What are, in your opinion, the most interesting bits of RPG jargon?

cmad1977 · Feb 18, 2019

Saves. I fail them all the time.

pogre · Feb 18, 2019

I do not know about interesting, but the various uses of the word "level" causes some of my new players a bit of confusion.

aco175 · Feb 18, 2019

I fought the BBEG and found the McGruffin.

S'mon · Feb 18, 2019

Just as long as there are no Gish builds, I'm fine.

(I kid - I have a Fighter-Wizard playing in my Thule game; Lady Aeridnis Vorzin is awesum!!)

Ed Laprade · Feb 18, 2019

aco175 said:
I fought the BBEG and found the McGruffin.

Hmmm, don't know about that one. Alfred Hitchcock coined the term McGuffin long before RPGs were a thing.

Ed Laprade · Feb 18, 2019

pogre said:
I do not know about interesting, but the various uses of the word "level" causes some of my new players a bit of confusion.

So true. So very, very true!

MNblockhead · Feb 19, 2019

dungeon master
grognard
OSR (old school renaissance)
spell slots
character sheet
megadungeon
adventure module
meat shield
action economy
tank (as in a type of meat shield)
glass canon
experience points

Acronyms and initialism aplenty:
TTRPG
FLGS
STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA
HP
AC
BBEG
TPK
RAW
RAI
THAC0
XP

Dice notation: d6, d20, 2d20, 10d6, etc.

Some words coined in D&D or given new meanings (thanks to the "Phrontistery" Web site: http://phrontistery.info/disq6.html)

magocracy (made up by Gary Gygax)

dweomer (a neologism used in various forms by some fantasy writers, drawing from old English terms, but given new meaning and spread by Gary Gygax)

libram (actually from Vance, but I still consider it a D&D neologism)

Other repurposed words:

cantrip as used in D&D for a spell that can be spammed without expending spell slots.
mundane as in non-magical

There are terms borrowed from earlier war games but were made much more popular by D&D and other RPGs that I consider them RPG jargon:

hit points
armor class

There are a number of sights and forums that have collected D&D and gaming jargon. E.g. the D&D Wiki's Glossary of Jargon (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Help:Glossary_of_Jargon) and there is an old forum in the Giant in the Playground forum: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?18512-Common-Acronyms-Abbreviations-and-Terms