D&D terminology pet peeves

Q

Quasqueton

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #1

What are your terminology pet peeves? Like when people say "player" when they mean "character" or "player character". Or when people say wizards/clerics "memorize" spells instead of "prepare" spells. How about when people pronounce "melee" as "me-lee" instead of "may-lay".

Do you correct people when they use a wrong term, or misuse a term?

Quasqueton

 

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Ravellion

serves Gnome Master

• Apr 6, 2005

• #2

Quasqueton said:

What are your terminology pet peeves? Like when people say "player" when they mean "character" or "player character". Or when people say wizards/clerics "memorize" spells instead of "prepare" spells. How about when people pronounce "melee" as "me-lee" instead of "may-lay".

Do you correct people when they use a wrong term, or misuse a term?

Quasqueton

Click to expand...

I just find some of the actual terminology quite annoying. Two that stand out: "exotic weapon" (should be special weapon) and "Prestige classes" (should be advanced classes or specialized classes). IMO.

However, I do dislike people still using "memorize". It's gone people, and good riddance!

Rav

 

diaglo

Adventurer

• Apr 6, 2005

• #3

my pet peeves:

when they call d02 : 3ed.

we all know 3edD&D was the revised Holmes edition of Basic.

 

N

nute

Explorer

• Apr 6, 2005

• #4

"Memorizing" a spell is an apt term, and one that characters are likely to use in-game. After all, you have to commit the spell to memory through the process of preparation.

Mispronunciations, though, are just errors in common English that I find myself correcting my fellow players on all the time. "Melee" is one. "Lich" is another (it rhymes with rich, not with bike).
Don't think I've ever had the "player/character" terminology mixup. I do occasionally have players waffle between "He moves over to the hobgoblin and attacks" and "I move to the hobgoblin and attack" third person/first person reference. I'm not picky about which reference method they use, I just like it to be consistent.

 

Jeff Wilder

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #5

Amazingly, considering that I have about a zillion other pet peeves, I don't think I have any in this area. I'm heard some amusing alternate pronunciations, though, and sometimes teased the speaker about them, but they didn't really bother me. One kid I knew use to say "buh-STAARD sword" and "skim-i-TAR," for instance.

Actually, come to think of it, I almost have this as an anti-pet peeve ... it annoys me when people get all hyper-spazzed about someone using a term in its English-language sense. For instance, I just shake my head when people insist that you can't "enchant" a weapon, or that a weapon can't be "enchanted." This often from the same hyper-technical people have no problem with seven different official D&D meanings for the word "level."

 

Q

Quasqueton

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #6

I guess my biggest is when someone intentionally uses "d02" to refer to "Dungeons & Dragons [current edtion]". diaglo --> ignore list.

Quasqueton

 

Mystery Man

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #7

diaglo said:

my pet peeves:

when they call d02 : 3ed.

we all know 3edD&D was the revised Holmes edition of Basic.

Click to expand...

Working for the Dept. of Health you should already know that crack is bad for you.

 

Gez

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #8

The biggest half of my D&D terminology pet peeves are related to its official translation. And in reverse, the biggest half of said translation is firmly among my D&D terminology pet peeves.

Other than that, let say: the usual typos (rouge, diety, theif), people who write coup de gras instead of coup de grâce, and each and every of the pronounciation thread, especially when it says that bulette is pronounced boolay.

 

S

sjmiller

Explorer

• Apr 6, 2005

• #9

I have no problem with the pronunciation of the word melee. Some say may-lay, others say me-lay, both are correct.

As long as you have players who learned the game under older editions you are going to have players who say that their character memorizes a spell. Old memes die hard.

I think there are very few things that I find a bit grating when it comes to terminology or pronunciation in RPGs. If I do not understand what a person says, or I am unsure that they are using the term I think they are, then I ask.

ABout the only thing that bugs me is the misuse of some terms applied to weapons, and then it's not that big of a deal. It's only when so-called experts misuse a term that I call them to task.

 

Q

Quasqueton

First Post

• Apr 6, 2005

• #10

Gez, how is "guisarme" pronounced? I've always said, "gee-sarm" or "gi-sarm" (don't know how to write pronunciations). I had a former Player who said, "gee-sarm-ay" or "gi-sarm-ay".

Quasqueton