New In-Game Slang Based On Your Games

Term: Norton or alternately First Paragraph

Usage: 'Did you Norton that spell?'

Meaning: To read only the first paragraph of any rules, because the bad things all happen tin the second paragraph.

Source: A player Notorious in Warhammer 40,000 games for 'neglecting' or 'forgetting' the penalties for any thing he was doing or using.

Term: Khinasi Oranges

Usage: 'The finest oranges come from Khinasi lands.'

Meaning: To add the appearance of a conspiracy where none exists.

Source: A Birthright game where the players (Regents all) were being held in a walled town while the attempted murder of a Khinasi dignitary was investigated. One of the players decided to cause some 'excitement' by going to every fruit seller in the city asking for oranges in exactly the same words every time, knowing that agents investigating the attack were following close behind. Just to make them think that he was up to something, in the end no fewer than five agencies were trying to find out what he was up to, including the other player characters. When the investigating agents found out what he was really up to the high priest in charge of the investigation gave him a stern taliking to about wasting the church's time and manpower. Oddly it worked out for the best when it turned out that the only people able to get the oranges in the sealed city worked for the victim of the attack, they were using the aquaduct to carry packages and messages out of the city, something the party found useful.

The Auld Grump
 

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This thread is a nice distraction. Made me try to dig up slang from games long past that have been buried in the recesses of my little mind. Here's what I've found so far:

"Phasers on full f***-you-up!"
During our long-running Star Trek (really?) campaign, we used this phrase when the enemy had us more than a little peeved. Basically, no more messing around, we're going to wipe you out of the sky.

"Pulling a Stephen Banks."
Again from the ST campaign. Our security officer couldn't hit the broad side of a quasar, although he did manage to blow up the front half of the ship, nearly killing the chief engineer. Hoo-hoo, what a day THAT was.

"I put him in my bag of holding!"
"Him" is variable as her, it ... whatever. Stems from having to kidnap someone in a campaign. Since we couldn't get him out of there without being noticed otherwise, we knocked the guy unconscious and put him in our bag of holding. We'd stop once in a while to let some air in, but otherwise pretty much walked out of there. The ST campaign had a similar trick: we routinely (until the GM got fed up) held questionable people in the pattern buffer of the transporter until we figured out what we wanted to do with them.

"Do I find a sunblade?"
One of our PCs, a halfling rogue, was on constant lookout for a sunblade. Every body we looted or treasure trove we plundered, she was bound to ask this question. We even began asking it for her.

"Maybe it's not evil."
Okay, so my character had never encountered black unicorns before. I think that was the first of many horses she lost ... She eventually just began to assume that anything encountered was inherently evil and out to get us, so she adopted the shoot first and ask questions later motto.

"Nimrod opens the door."
In my very first roleplaying adventure, one of our PCs was a dwarf of very little brain. Since we didn't have a rogue (a thief, if you will--tells you this was a while ago), whenever we came to a closed door or a mystery spot, we'd convince Nimrod to happily try things out. Did I mention he had a good constitution?

Ah, thanks for the trip down memory lane.
 

"Goof Troop Formation" - any formation that lends itself especially well to magical attack. Everyone formed up in a line behind the door the rogue is about to open? We have officially assumed Goof Troop Formation - Lightning Bolt.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" - when you roll incredibly well on a spot/search check and the DM gives you only the most basic explanation of what you see/find. (DM) "OK, you are searching the room? Give me a search check." (PC) "Hell yeah, Nat 20 <rolls again> OK I got a 42 search." (DM) "There is a bed, a dresser, and a closet in the room" (PC) "Thank you, Captain Obvious!"

"The closets ain't got no f***ing doors!" - When a PC is trying to solve a problem and repeatedly attempts to use a method already shot down numerous times by the DM. Originated in WW:Vampire when a bunch of us bloodsuckers had to go to ground fast before the sun fried us. We were in a sleazy hotel as dawn was breaking. I was hiding under the bed, another of us had earth-melded outside, and yet another was hiding in a cabinet. One of our group (great guy, just incredibly thick sometimes) was still trying to find somewhere to hide, after repeatedly saying "Well, I'll just get in the closet" to which the DM (Storyteller I guess they were called hehe) always replied "The closets don't have any doors". Well, after the 5th or 6th time the PC said he was going to hide in the closet, the DM and 2 of the PCs shouted, at the same time, "THE CLOSETS AIN'T GOT NO F***ING DOORS!!!!" He nearly fried that day hehehe I think he ended up wrapping himself in some curtains and getting between the mattresses on the bed.
 

'Chaz Stealth'

A character of mine by the name of Chaz blew every single stealth-related roll he ever made. He apparently was completely incapable of being quiet or hiding himself unless helped by someone else.

"Slot Ban Walla!"

For a character with an improbable-sounding or silly name. From one of the Eddie Izzard concerts where he's speculating on how they came up with Englebert Humperdink's name and he's just throwing together sounds at random.

"Either you'll get it... or you're stuff on a rock"

Either you'll pull off the task and be great, or you'll suffer a terrible fate with no middle outcome possible. From the same concert, where he's talking about cliff diving. "Well, you're either grand world champion... or stuff on a rock".

'Cling-ding!' (Sound effect, as of dropping something metallic)

Sign on contempt for foe, as in 'I don't even need my sword to take this guy out'.
 
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Expression: "I dazzle him/her/it with my weapon display"

Usage: Usually uttered when a full round attack has every attack miss.

Origin: One of my players unloaded a 4 attack full round attack on the BBEG and missed totally. Trying to get some sort of an advantage out of his obvious total failure, he proclaims that "I dazzle him with my weapon display", hoping that the DM would have the BBEG intimidated or impressed by the weapon attack. Now stated regularly whenever anyones full attack misses.


Expression: "That's brilliant, Sherlock..."

Usage: Uttered when someone states the clearly obvious. Example: Party gets surprised in an ambush. Player states "Its a ambush!" Someone usually responds with "That's brilliant, Sherlock...."

Origin: Don't recall.


Expression: "You/I look at the pretty flowers"

Usage: Uttered when someone fails their spot or search check by a horrible amount. Example - DM: "Roll Spot checks". Player A: **rolls a 1** "I look at the pretty flowers..."

Origin: While in an outdoor adventure, the Ranger (who had ranks in Spot), rolled a 1 against a simple DC 10 spot check to spot something. Upon rolling the 1, the Ranger's player flatly states "I look at the pretty flowers" Now widely used to indicate a blown spot or search check.


Expression: "Dice with the Devil"

Usage: Means to take a huge risk, particularly if the failure means something really bad happens. Example: DM: "The door stands before you. The rogue is blinded by that last door trap, so what are you going to do?" Fighter's player: "I am going to dice with the devil and open the door. Do I set off a trap?"

Origin: Don't recall.


Expression: "Fix bayonets"

Usage: A declaration to readily fight. Example: DM: "The room contains a small group of three bugbears. What are you going to do?" Player A: "I fix bayonets and charge on my action."

Origin: Don't recall.
 

Newton'd - Heroic AD&D Paladin played by "Newton" who crushed and ground into paste after rolling under a pivoting heavy tank, failing dex checks and getting caught up in the treads and running gear when visiting Gamma World.

"I missed the arch wizard. I'm about to get Newton'd."

Pork'd - when a PC gets killed by a low level nobody like a poor ork. Inspired by the piggy faced orcs in 1st ed AD&D.

At Frolic & Evergreen two streets in the city of Enstad in Celene, where stuff always occured when the DM was caught up in inspired ad libbing of something dramatic that occured or was about to occur.
 

"Do the Jaxx dance." - To have your character die in a hail of automatic gun fire. Comes from a Cyberpunk session where one of the PC's (Jaxx) came out of a building surrounded by cops after single handly defeating a Dragoon 'borg that had been rampaging around the area and brought the attention of the entire Night City PD, including its anti-borg division. The other PC's were watching the event from outside and one shouted "He's going for a gun." and the entire Night City Police department opened up on him, turning him to swiss cheese.

It's been used in most Cyberpunk games since.
 

NPC bubble

Origin: basicaly played with same group for many many years. There was always someone away. The persons character was whisked away by the NPC bubble. When the player showed up again the reapeared fromt he NPC bubble.
 

Remembered some more.
...but I dodged
Useage:
DM: A fireball/lightning bolt/flaming mountain flies out of nowhere and strikes you for... (rolls dice)
Player: (rolls dice) ...but I dodged.

Alternate usage:
DM: The airlock opens and you fly into space and suffocate
Player: (rolls dice) ...but I dodged.
DM: Um, no. You didn't dodge.

Origin: some rogue/psion type character that had more reflex save than should be possible

I shoot the floating sphere of darkness
Meaning: Someone just did something very stupid.

Origin: Mid-to-high level party exploring evil lich's castle who was waaaay above their level, come across a large empty room with a floating sphere of crackling darkness, everyone agreed from the description that they should leave well enough alone... well, almost everyone... Ended in TPK if I remember correctly.
 

"Throw it a bag of meat!"

Origin: My players had set out to find a group of bandits whose hideout was in a series of canyons. Unfortunately they didn't take near enough food with them and soon had to hunt for food to survive. They would kill something, then set the meat out in the sun to dry into jerky. They did this and had a "bag of meat". One night when they decided to make camp they had found a cave. Inside the cave, unbeknownst to them, was a dire bear and her cubs. They entered the cave, encountered one of the cubs, which immediately called for its mama. Whe she showed up they knew they were outmatched and could not outrun her. Someone came up with the idea to "throw it the bag of meat!". They did, and ran.

Now it is used any time the players run into a foe that they don't think they can defeat. Whether they have any or not I invariably hear, "We throw it a bag of meat."
 

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