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

[S'mon]

Phylactery

Gygax knew what it meant, but didn't bother explaining. The 2e authors had no idea, and so made it a Lich's hidden soul receptacle.

 

[MNblockhead]

Phylactery

Gygax knew what it meant, but didn't bother explaining. The 2e authors had no idea, and so made it a Lich's hidden soul receptacle.

Phulactery was used for "soul jar" in the 1977 monster manual entry for Lich. It seems a good choice based on existing definitions of the term, especially if Gygax is using the early Christian definition of the term to mean a receptical for relics or going back to the old Greek meaning of amulet/charm (which has connotations of "protection").

It is interesting that while the term is used in the monster manual, it was not mentioned in Len Lakofka's "Blueprint For a Lich," in Dragon #26 (1979). The first explicit official connection seems to have been made in the Endless Quest book Lair of the Lich (1985).

See the following Stack Exchange thread for more details: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/25154/what-is-the-origin-of-a-phylactery-as-a-soul-jar

 

[Satyrn]

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?

I'm most fascinated that we've redefiined Dungeon to mean "a place where adventure happens."

 

[77IM]

I find it interesting how D&D splits a lot of hairs:

devil vs. demon
arcane magic vs. divine magic (vs. primal magic vs. psionic magic, if you're playing 4E) (Actually aren't "psionic" and "psion" terms made up by D&D?)
wizard vs. sorcerer
lawful vs. good, chaotic vs. evil (earlier editions definitely treated lawful as the alignment for heroes and chaotic as the alignment for monsters; see also: 4E)
high elves vs. wood elves (again, see 4E)
True Dragons vs. creatures with the "dragon" type; also, dragons are color-coded for your convenience

etc.

 

[Monayuris]

I like the old school saving throws:

Death Ray / Poison
Magic Wands
Paralysis / Turn to Stone
Dragon Breath
Rods, Staves or Spells

I find them so much more evocative than a Reflex save or a Dexterity save... when you are asked to make a save versus Death, it is just so much more of an event, it just has so much more weight to it.

 

[Blue]

TPK - really, do we need anything more?

dX (d6 instead of "die", and then all the odd shaped ones from others view)

Owlbear. (My youngest always calls it a Bearowl to get my goat.)

"Metallic" vs. "Chromatic" for dragons - outside world thinks dragons are covered with green scales and breath fire.

Periapt - mainly because it was removed from the OED (?) as archaic a decade or so back, which makes it even more appropriate.

 

[AkaKageWarrior]

Almost every word in the books...
I'm german, so are my RPG-friends, so we usually speak german.
But when talking about D&D / PF, we usually use the english terms, because we're using only the original books for decades now. (I think the only german D&D rulebook I have is the AD&D (1e) Player's Handbook).

So when we're talking D&D, it all becomes a wild mix of german and english, which is sometimes nice because it's kind of "coded" for other listeners - but on the other hand makes us seem even stranger to them...

 

[Imaculata]

METAGAMING

(Ducks for cover)

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Tony Vargas]

(Actually aren't "psionic" and "psion" terms made up by D&D?)

No and maybe. "Psionic" first appeared in science-fiction, in the 50s, a portmanteau of "Psi" (the letter that begins Greek words like Psyche) and "-onics" the 50's version of ".com" - it was meant to suggest psychic powers that could be improved by study and/or technological augmented.

(I guess I better expand on that. Back in the 50s there was some pretty impressive growth in electronics, and '-onics' started being appended to all sorts of stuff to create company names or exciting new trends or whatnot that sounded all modern. Kinda like how investors would throw money at you if you put .com at the end of your business name in the late 90s. "Pets.com? We can't loose!")

"Psion" meaning "person who uses psionics" might've been D&D's fault, (2e also used Psionicist, BTW.)

wizard vs. sorcerer

They are legitimately two different words with not quite synonymous meanings in English. The actual definition of Sorcerer is closer to a D&D warlock, though.

lawful vs. good, chaotic vs. evil (earlier editions definitely treated lawful as the alignment for heroes and chaotic as the alignment for monsters)

Probably borrowed from Michael Moorcock - the struggle between Law & Chaos (with neutrality also in there) was a overaching backdrop for many of his books, an alternative to the classic Good v Evil. Moorcock enjoyed tweaking things, that way.

dragons are color-coded for your convenience

Color coding mapping to breath weapons might be D&D. But dragons of specific colors have been significant in heraldry and in myth/legend. The Red Dragon of Wales, for instance.