• TTRPG - Tabletop Role-Playing Game

• DND 5E - Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition (the current version of Dungeons and Dragons)

• One Shot - A game limited to one session to be concluded, fast and fun

• Campaign - A game that spans over a long period of time with a deep story

  • Session Zero - The first meeting of the players and the GM to set and build the world, go over rules, and set expectations

• Module - A published adventure

• Homebrew - An item/campaign/character created by the GM

• Sandbox - An open world setting where PCs have free range to explore and dictate the story

• Dungeon Crawl - Stereotypical DnD setting where PCs travel through a dungeon avoiding traps and fighting

• GM - Game Master

• PC - Player Character (character you control)

• NPC - Non-Player Character (characters controlled by the gm)

• BBEG - Big Bad Evil Guy - main protagonist (think final boss fight or big baddie)

• Tank - A player that can withstand high levels of damage without being at risk of dying

• Murder Hobo(s) - Player(s) who is intent on killing/stealing every opportunity they get

• Rules Lawyer - Someone with in-depth knowledge of the rules

• AC - Armor Class, a difficulty level of landing and attack

• HP - Hit Points, how much health your PC has

• Initiative - The order characters take turns in, based off of rolling (usually for combat scenarios)

• Alignment - Player's tendency toward good/neutral/evil

• Stat - An ability score i.e. strength, dexterity, or intelligence

  • Min-Maxing - A PC that is very weak in some fields, and OP (Over Powered) in others

  • Dump-Stat - A stat that is not important to your character (Wisdom for a brute-type)

• Dis/Advantage - Rolling 2X d20 and taking the lower or higher number rolled

• Critical Success - a natural 20 roll on a d20 for the best possible outcome

  • Dirty 20 vs Nat 20 - Rolling a 20 on a d20 with adding modifiers vs rolling a 20 straight up

• Critical Failure - a natural 1 roll on a d20 for the worst possible outcome

• Buff - Positive enhancement to a pc's abilities or stats

• Debuff(Nerf) - Negative enhancement to a pc's abilities or stats

• Encounter - A situation where the party must use resources or time to find the next step, fight the baddies, or solve a puzzle

• Attack of Opportunity - Offered at times where a character attempts to leave melee range of another character

• Roll to Hit - Rolling a d20 to attempt to roll higher than the opponents AC to land a blow

• Roll a __ Check - Rolling a d20, plus your ability modifier, to attempt to do or see something

• Meta-Gaming - A PC in-game, using information or knowledge that the actual owning player obtained out of game

• TPK - Total Party Kill, when there is a party-wipe and all PCs have perished

• RAW - Rules as Written, as referenced in the Player's Handbook - PHB - (rule book)

• RAI - Rules as Intended, a common sense application to some rules

• Rule of Cool - Allowing something because it's cool and we all want to see the outcome

• Railroading - When the GM steers the PCs along a path with little choice

• Dice Jail - If one of your die are rolling poorly, players often 'punish' their die by not using it and putting it in jail

• d20 - A 20 sided die, the most commonly used for attack rolls and ability rolls

• d100 - A 100 sided die

• d12 - A 12 sided die

• d10 - A 10 sided die

• d8 - An 8 sided die

• d6 - A standard 6 sided die

• d4 - A 4 sided die

• d3 - A 3 sided die

• d2 - A 2 sided die (think coin)

Just like any hobby, sport, or activity, there are many words that unless your are 'in the know', you may not understand. so, let us help you

Nerd-speak Glossary