D&D 5E What does "murderhobo" mean to you?

[Voi_D_ragon]

I think you're reading the murder part too literally.

The phrase seems meant to be an exaggeration of what typical PCs do - wander from dungeon to dungeon, killing and looting.

But to me, that would simply be the definition of "adventurer".
Let's put it this way: a modern day adrenaline junkie goes risking his life in some way -skydiving or whatever- a D&D adrenaline junkie goes out and risks his life in some other way -namely searching for monster infested ruins and killing everyone in sight -nothing illegal or morally questionable, since monsters plague civilization and are basically bloodthirsty animals- he then proceeds to see if he can find a way to go on an even better run the next time by taking anything of value to get better equipment, thus going for bigger/more monsters, thus increasing his kick.
Similarly, anyone afflicted ("afflicted") by wanderlust today hops on a plane/bus/car and sees a few nice places before going back home. In a D&D setting, if you have wanderlust, you're walking. Through miles and miles of wild lands infested with deadly dangers, be they monsters in the true sense or barbaric humanoids that will attack you on sight. So you have to be ready and willing to defend yourself and kill these creatures. Then, it's just common sense that you pick up any shinies they have, since they might enhance your chance to survive subsequent encounters.
Point is, these people live on the edge, and you can't live on the edge by behaving as you would in a civilized context. Then they go back to civilization, sell their loot, get better equipment, and go back out on the fringe because that's their life now.
A murderhobo kills you, takes your money, and goes to a place he can spend his money without getting caught, then rinses and repeats. He could easily find a job as a mercenary, private security guard, something, but instead sees he is stringer than most and decides that might makes right, resorting to violence to attain short term gains larger than he could have if he had "followed the rules" (Why work as a guard for the merchant for 50 gp when I can kill him and become filthy rich by using his key to open his safe?)

That's my reasoning

TL;DR: murderhobos work in civilized contexts, what they do is viewed as wrong. Adventurers are seen as strange, but people understand where they travel, they have to be tough and badass.

-Again, murder- words are important

 

[Lidgar]

To me it means kill first, then take loot, and don't bother with asking questions later.

At the heart of 1e D&D, you leveled based on the creatures you killed and the gold you collected.

The DM had the prerogative of applying a negative XP award when PC's killed good NPC's to discourage wanton destruction. But that was really up to the DM to enforce (or not).

So in my mind, "Murderhobos" is along the lines of option #2, but more broadly to include anything that could be evil and that had treasure.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

No fixed address; kills if provoked (often provoked without provocation). After killing, takes stuff.

 

[CleverNickName]

I think the term "Murderhobo" describes a group of player characters who don't care whether they have a home or not, because they consider it inconsequential. They only exist to kill other creatures, period--humans, orcs, dragons, whatever, and having to worry about a home and a family might interfere. The only time they ever mention their homes or families at all will be in their backstory, next to the words "destroyed" and "revenge."

 

[Morrus]

What does "murderhobo" mean to you?

But to me, that would simply be the definition of "adventurer".

Yes. That was the joke. D&D adventurers got the nickname “murderhobos” because of the way a typical D&D adventurer lived their life. They were homeless and they killed things and took their stuff.

[Edit - I’m not saying you’re wrong. It’s very possible terms have changed meaning over time. That’s just how I recall it used to be used.]

 

[The Old Crow]

Close to #2, but the term conjures an adventuring group with at best shallows ties to the adventuring world, who approach every problem in the same violent way.

 

[Satyrn]

But to me, that would simply be the definition of "adventurer".

. . .

-Again, murder- words are important

Aye. That's the crux of why we see the term "murderhobo" differently. It started as a joke term, meant to describe what is simply an adventurer. The word murder is important to the joke - precisely because it doesn't really fit.

What's happened is that you've taken a word that jokingly disparaged the typical adventurer, and started applying it to the sort of PC where it would literally apply.
[MENTION=6808925]Cyrinishad[/MENTION] may have nailed our disconnect when he said

Terminology is important, and one should expect the next generation of those who read a given term to interpret it literally...

 

[Voi_D_ragon]

I did start playing PnP RPGs like two years ago... and entered the community/started reading things on forums slightly afterwards.

 

[Satyrn]

I did start playing PnP RPGs like two years ago... and entered the community/started reading things on forums slightly afterwards.

So [MENTION=6808925]Cyrinishad[/MENTION] is perhaps exactly right.

Also: Welcome to the fun!

 

[Salamandyr]

It means I'm probably going to get a headache from rolling my eyes.