I HATE the term GISH

[Cam Banks]

Gish is a helluva lot easier to type

It's a message board post, not a typing contest.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Ghendar]

Because every word in the gith language has to be derived from the name of the race? That's going to be some awfully samey vocab!

EDIT: Not to mention that 'gith' has at least three (related) meanings already -githyanki and githzerai collectively, the race that those cam from before they divided, and (with a capital letter) the hero who led them to freedom after which the races are named.


glass.

That's a good point and one I hadn't considered. Obviously, or I wouldn't have posted that moronic statement.

 

[Perun]

First, only humans and half-elves can become bards. But only humans can take two classes (dual-class, not multi-class). So, half-elves actually can't become bards.

I seem to (very vaguely) remember something about half-elves having to choose which side they favoured, human or elven. If they picked human, they could dual-class and could become bards. If they choose their elven side they could multi-class like other demi-humans.

But, like I said, it's a vague recollection of a distant memory, so I could actually be wrong

Regards.

 

[Dykstrav]

Imprecision of language is one of those things that has the real potential to become one of those straws that breaks the camel's back. I can totally see why using 'gish' to refer to any generic fighter/spellcaster build would get old very quickly.

I haven't had anyone use the term 'gish.' But I have heard people at the table say, 'pally,' 'char,' 'noob,' and even 'lol.' These phrases, when actually spoken aloud, strike the ear with the graceless precision of projectile vomit discharged after a night of MD 20/20 and Schlitz Malt Liquor. There's that moment when the table goes quiet and attention turns to the speaker; the listeners stunned that they actually heard these phrases uttered aloud.

Using abbreviated or slang alternate spellings for words online is permissible, perhaps even cool to some younger folk. But using 'gish' to refer to a specific character build shows the tact and precision of using, for example, the word 'Big Mac' to refer to all cheeseburgers in general. We don't say 'Dr Pepper' to refer to all dark sodas, 'Vin Diesel' to refer to all action movie stars, or 'Ford Explorer' to refer to all SUVs. The same logic applies here.

 

[Kelleris]

Using abbreviated or slang alternate spellings for words online is permissible, perhaps even cool to some younger folk. But using 'gish' to refer to a specific character build shows the tact and precision of using, for example, the word 'Big Mac' to refer to all cheeseburgers in general. We don't say 'Dr Pepper' to refer to all dark sodas, 'Vin Diesel' to refer to all action movie stars, or 'Ford Explorer' to refer to all SUVs. The same logic applies here.

This is just wrong, actually. Many parts of the country, including mine, use "cokes" as a generic term for dark sodas. We use "kleenex" for any old brand of tissue, "xerox machine" for any kind of copier, and so forth. This kind of change of usage happens all the time.

 

[Felon]

"Warrior-Mage" seems to work fine.

 

[charlesatan]

"Warrior-Mage" seems to work fine.

Ah, but in the thread you started, some of the posters were confusing Warrior-Mage with Mage. And it's honestly less arduous to type gish rather than warrior-mage (the - or / is hard to reach).

 

[Dykstrav]

This is just wrong, actually. Many parts of the country, including mine, use "cokes" as a generic term for dark sodas. We use "kleenex" for any old brand of tissue, "xerox machine" for any kind of copier, and so forth. This kind of change of usage happens all the time.

Never said such use of language was "right" or "wrong." Just imprecise. If you asked for a Coke, for example, you should reasonably expect to hear; "Sorry, we don't have Coke, can you take a Pepsi?" That sort of thing happens in bars all the time. Ask for a martini and it's almost always made with vodka unless you tell the bartender that you actually want gin.

Try visiting California some time. Apparently, it's permissible to specify any food item by listing its primary constituent. "Avocado" means guacamole, for example. If you really want to confuse someone, try ordering "no tomato" on a cheeseburger. Do you actually mean slices of tomato, or do you mean salsa or ketchup? This sort of imprecision is truly frustrating.

More applicably to the topic: terminology most often has a definite, concrete meaning in D&D. "Fighter" is a class that appears on pages 37-39 of the Player's Handbook. You say "fighter," people are going to think the fighter character class as it is defined in the D&D rules. You wouldn't use the term "fighter" to mean any character that wears heavy armor and weilds martial weapons. Bards can cast arcane spells. You are using the incorrect term if you call then a "wizard," even if the bard in question can cast a spell that also appears on the wizard class list. "Gish" is not a generic term like "tank" or "caster." It is a specific combination of race and class.

 

[Thomas Percy]

Oh yes, a word "gish" sounds terrible in Polish language too.

 

[Kelleris]

Never said such use of language was "right" or "wrong." Just imprecise. If you asked for a Coke, for example, you should reasonably expect to hear; "Sorry, we don't have Coke, can you take a Pepsi?" That sort of thing happens in bars all the time. Ask for a martini and it's almost always made with vodka unless you tell the bartender that you actually want gin.

What I was quibbling with was your statement that "we don't" do this sort of thing, when we do it all the time. If you had said "we shouldn't" that would be a different deal. That's all.

Though I'm not sure this is a relevant complaint for the term gish. I haven't ever seen anyone mistakenly stat up a githyanki if someone asks for help with a gish character.