Table Top Basics: Terminology

Sometimes gamers use some really bizarre lingo. I'm the first one to admit that two D&D players talking shop can sound like Klingon to the untrained ear. Here is a short list of twenty terms, in alphabetical order, that will help decode the gamer jargon.

Adventurer: A player character in a fantasy setting, usually a member of a party. The term refers to the character's primary profession, not class. Also called a delver.

Character Build or Build: using character class options to create a desired archetype.

Crunchy: A system for difficulty scaling that is dependent on many extraneous modifiers added to a base score. Characterized by players having bonuses to add and subtract from their rolls (number crunching).

Example: Pathfinder is crunchy compared to Call of Cthulhu.

Dump Stat or Dump Statistic: A statistic that is intentionally low as a result of a min-maxing strategy that has optimized a key statistic(s) for the characters class or character build.

Example: A barbarian has an 18 in Strength but a 7 in Intelligence.

Dungeon Crawl: A style of game-play or session set inside a large, labyrinthine structure. It is part exploration, part combat, and game-play tends to move at a slower pace.

Example: After weeks of dungeon crawl sessions, the players were glad to see a city where they could spend the riches they found.

Dungeon Master or Game Master: A designated player who acts as a referee, adjudicates the rules, resolves actions, and makes all other decisions that keep the game moving.

Hack and Slash: A style of game-play or session that is more combat oriented.

Home Brew: Any material that is not published by the game producer or third party affiliates; source material created by another player or the Dungeon Master.

House Rule: A rule or guideline adopted by a group that does not appear in the text or errata; usually to clarify a rule as written or simplify a mechanic.

Investigation or Intrigue: A style of game play or session where the focus of play is finding clues, following leads, and solving a mystery. These games have a lot of NPC interactions, plot development, and storytelling.

Dice Stacking: Why Do Gamers Do It?

Meat Grinder or Gauntlet: A style of game-play or session so lethal that players bring multiple characters to the table and introduce a new character as soon as the previous character dies. The player usually gets to keep the items the dead character had and transfer them to the new character.

Mechanic: The in-game function of a rule.

Min-Maxing: A strategy where a player will use a point-buy or similar system to create a highly optimized set of statistics for their character build.

Monty Haul: A style of game-play or session where the players receive large amounts of treasure disproportionate to the low risk their characters faced.

Example: “The goblin peon was carrying a +1 longsword, dragonscale armor, a ring of teleportation, and a gem worth 500gp. In his left pocket you find...”

Munchkin: A highly optimized and sometimes nonsensical character designed to capitalize on or exploit a certain in-game mechanic(s).

Example: “My wizard multi-classed and took a level of fighter to gain the heavy armor proficiency, so yeah, I am wearing full plate mail and casting lightning bolt...”

Murder Hobos: A style of game-play or session that has little character development, few storytelling or role playing interludes, and heavily favors combat or violence to advance the plot.

NPC: Non-player character, a character played by the Dungeon Master. If the group is small, an NPC may be a party member.

Party: A group of characters (usually PCs) who go adventuring together.

PC: Player character, a character played by a player, also they are an adventurer and usually a party member.

Point-Buy: A system where the statistics of a character are determined by the player spending an allotted budget of points to acquire and prioritize those statistics.