Acronyms
I live in a military town. I game with military guys. On any given night you’ll hear chatter about A1Cs and SrAs and complaints about the BAH, and I’ll be sitting there nodding like the Goodburger guy. I always thought it was a bit obnoxious, and whenever it comes up I’ll invariably find myself responding with my best Gimli impression (Speak words we can all understand!). But then, as I was writing one these blog posts and hyperlinking to some TV Tropes page or 1d4chan in-joke, it occurred to me that I am also that guy. I mean, I just referenced a line from a 16 year old fantasy movie. And if you find yourself thinking, Well yeah. But it’s freaking LOTR, remember that not everyone has an annual Lord of the Rings viewing party.
One of the very first things I wrote for this comic was the “about” page. There you can still read the following:
If you don’t know the Tomb of Horrors from a 10-foot pole, don’t worry! We’ll do our best to explain the geeky inside jokes as we go along.
I worry sometimes that we’ve fallen down on that measure. If you aren’t a gamer, I don’t think this will ever be your favorite comic. We’re still trying though, and I think that’s important. Much like the games we play, the micro cultures we build require a lot of specialized knowledge. You pick that up over time. The nature of hit points and Vancian magic and the phrase Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards… It seems second nature after a while, but there’s a danger in assuming that it’s common knowledge. Acronyms and gamer slang are fun. They give us a sense of belonging and of hard-earned specialized knowledge. They also happen to save a lot of keystrokes. But if you’re in mixed company with non-gamers, they can also become an unintentional barrier to entry.
The way we talk about our favorite games has the potential to bring people into the hobby or drive them away. So don’t be a gatekeeper. Be an ambassador. That sense of welcome and of community is what makes this hobby great.
GET YOUR SCHWAG ON! Want a piece of Handbook-World to hang on you wall? Then you’ll want to check out the “Hero” reward tier on the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. Each monthly treasure hall will bring you prints, decals, buttons, bookmarks and more! There’s even talk of a few Handbook-themed mini-dungeons on the horizon. So hit the link, open up that treasure chest, and see what loot awaits!
I have to ask: how do you grapple an average character level?
Look, I don’t know how it could be any clearer:
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/anterior-cruciate-ligament-acl-injuries
;P
That is a very specific spot to grapple. In fact, I’m pretty sure any creature that is both capable of grappling that piece of flesh exclusively, and willing to do so, would have a kyton subtype.
Fighter took a feat.
For those interested, here’s what he’s saying:
“Alright Fighter, this [Big Bad Evil Guy] is a [3rd Party Publishing], [full Base-Attack-Bonus], [Variant Multiclassed] Sorcerer, so watch the [Spell-Like Abilities]”
“I don’t know if it’s [Rules as Implied], but [Rules as Written], the [Caster Level] and [Difficulty Check] of her [Use Magic Device] will be [Overpowered]
Do ye understand?
Can I hire you as a translator? You could be the Luther to my Obama!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-qv7k2_lc0M
Actually RAI is Rules As Intended, DC is Difficulty Class
Depends on edition and whether its pathfinder or d&d
Actually, it’s Rules As Interpreted.
Hover Text Translation: Happily yer [Single Ability Dependent] so yer [Combat Manauver Bonus] and [Armor Class]. Grapple her [Averange Caster Lvl( ?)], while Thief does her [Two-Weapon Fighting]. [The Big Bad Evil Guy] loses [Hitpoints] we Gain [Gold Pieces] and everything will be [Alright (?) Okay (?)]
I am not sure if i got everything, but most of it at least. ACL is caster Lvl, as far as i know, what did you mean??? because grappling Caster Lvl doesn’t make much sense.
Also how in the Hell is Fighter SAD? If anything he is MAD, he needs CON, STR, and a bit of DEX, a bit of WIS also helps to offset his bad WILL SAVE. Wizard is SAD, since his only importend STAT from is INT.
What i really want to know is how the Hell Cleric got a look at her Charsheet so he knows all this.
* are superior. after [Armor Class]
EDIT 3: I Should really learn to read before i post. So it’s Averange Character Lvl!
It’s actually Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
Lol, now i have to imagin Fighter tightly grabbing her Leg and not letting go. “Get off! Get off damn it!”
Man, that looks like more TLAs than the DOD uses, and there isn’t even any CYA involved.
*stares blankly*
Three-Letter Acronyms, Department of Defense, Cover Your Ass
TLA = Three Letter Acronym
DOD = Department of Defense
CYA = Cover Your Butt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbOvoGqraKY&t=1m45s
I find 5e to be a lot less acronym-heavy than previous editions when it comes to community discussions. That’s a relative amount, because D&D has many acronyms built right in (like D&D for example!), but it’s nice.
Just found this page. It is now bookmarked: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/wiki/acronyms
It’s missing a bunch of stuff though, including
DLCS- Dragonlance Campaign Setting
DQK- Dark Queen of Krynn (a Dragonlance adventure
EPH- Expanded Psionics Handbook
EX- Extraordinary ability
EXP – experience points
FRCS- Forgottem Realms Campaign Setting
PP -Power Points
PrC- Prestige Class
RPG- Roleplaying Game
SLA- Spell-like ability
SU- Supernatural Ability
ToEE- Temple of Elemental Evil (a famous module for the Greyhawk setting)
LoTR isn’t [i]a[/i] fantasy movie, it’s [i]the[/i] fantasy movie
and apparently bbcode isn’t implemented here…
The code is mine, all mine!
MWHAHAHA!Cleric: “Do ye understand?”
Fighter: “I hit things with a stick.”
Cleric: “Hit her with the stick.”
Fighter: “Got it.”
I see that you too have had this conversation.
One party that I’m the (self-declared/semi-official) leader of includes a Dwarven Two-Handed Fighter to whom only two types of instructions are ever given. “Mysdryn, Smash” and “Mysdryn, Don’t Smash.”
Usually ends up looking like this:
https://youtu.be/RzEo0F8thL4?t=360
I have no idea what that cartoon is. Looks like a campaign concept though.
It’s called RWBY, it’s an Internet exclusive by Rooster Teeth (the guys who made Red vs. Blue, if you know that), and it’s about four-person teams with different personalities and abilities working together to fight monsters using utterly ridiculous weapons and tactics that range from logical (“flank them!”) to less so (“throw a teammate at it!”). So not that different from an average campaign, honestly.
My introduction to D&D wa actually through a gaming comic. OotS to be precise. I’ve alwayed loved fantasyannd was happy to stumble upon a fantasy comic, but I wondered at some of the odd terms used (attack of opportunity? Vance?) So I started looking stuff up. Lo and behold, there is this SRD thing. And 1d4chan with some awesome talea. And turns out Giantitp also had forums.
Can’t say it was a particularly good ambassador since I had to look up the references myself, but I was motivated, and once you know the terms it’s not that hard to find out more. And Iam grateful for planting those seeds of inquiry about this magnificent hobby.
I think that motivation is a tough thing with hobbies. Some people will overhear professional skiers talking about a run…
http://www.skipeak.net/blog/the-modern-day-ski-lingo-language
…and discover a burning desire to learn more about the sport. Others will find themselves intimidated. I guess it all has to do with the type of person you’re talking to. If it’s someone who’s already inclined to dive in, that’s one thing. If you’re trying to convince a fence-sitter (for example, your buddy from work who agreed to give this gaming thing a try) then those seeds of inquiry may never get a chance to grow, being over-watered with the garden hose of esoteric terminology.
TLDR: Don’t drown your work friends.
I missed 3PP, VMC, and UMD. I only missed UMD though because it wasn’t the first thing I think about monsters doing in combat.
For the mouseover I didn’t get CMB and ACL or GP. CMB because I never played with combat maneuvers. ACL because that’s not a normal D&D acronym to use. And GP because money doesn’t tend to be a topic of discussion when planning combat tactics so I was trying to figure out something else.
I’d also never heard the terms Vancian magic and Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards, though I am in fact quite familiar with the concepts.
I also have a buddy who frequently forgets I don’t have the Military template and don’t know what all those acronyms mean. Which is unfortunate because this means there are sometimes entire minutes that go by where I don’t understand a single thing he’s said.
I think to be fair to roleplayers, we probably would at least use the full words for things when talking to people we know are outside the hobby. Though to be fair to both roleplayers and military types, even the full words are basically meaningless without an actual explanation so it basically doesn’t matter if we put in the effort or not.
Seems like every group has this problem. My favorite example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpTPm1R4_AM
I wonder if it’s a storytelling problem? Suppose you want to express the awesomeness of the thing that happened in-game to your non-gamer spouse. It becomes a matter of distilling the game mechanics down to fiction. Rather than explaining how the assassin rogue set up for the sweet surprise round crit by taking advantage of a massive skill modifier + expertise + the lightfoot racial trait, you just describe the scene in terms of fictions.
I assume that’s how it goes anyway.
I’m suprised THAC0 wasnt in there. Or maybe THAC1 to throw people off.
Don’t you worry. We’ve got a mixed-edition comic in the pipeline.
“THAC0” oh lord…
“THAC1” *eye twitch*
This isn’t related to the comic, but let the records show that the Inquisitor Osvaldt has perished this day, staving off one Disintegration by the direct grace of Erastil to fire a fully powered salvo at a malignant aberration, before succumbing to ray second. His work complete, he joins his god in the heavens. His ashes and his hat will be interred in the Silent Mausoleum, and his notebook and bestiary references will be used to foster new talents in the Inquisition. Praised be Erastil’s favor and grace.
He was an Aarakocra, right? May his successor pen his own notebook with the feathers of the fallen.
Being disintegrated may interfere with that plan~
Ummm… Mix his dust with the ink? I guess?
Well, the first inquisitor I made was a Tengu for Wrath of the Righteous, but if you’re not a paladin you’re not a main character, and Hunter Kuu was left in limbo as the game fizzled out. Osvaldt is a base human with a somewhat muted Mutant template. No bonus stats, just the Aberration subtype and telepathy to 100 ft. in exchange for Confusion on any failed will save.
I’m helping my friend move next Saturday, so Oz will have a week plus to visit his mom and sister. But after realizing for myself that growing a character is much more satisfying than simply creating one, plus his access to Restoration, social skills, and consistent ranged DPR (there’s your TLA for you!) not being easily be replaced with a different class…Erastil is gonna punt him back down to the Material Plane to finish the job.