Editing RPG Lexica:PQR (section)

==P==

;Paladin:  In the real world, a soldier assigned to palace duty, especially a trusted lieutenant or other officer ('''Paladin''' is derived from the word '''Palatinus,''' Latin for "Palace").  The prototypes of the original Paladins were found in King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, the Twelve Peers of the ''Song of Roland'' and the Paladins of Charlemagne, from whom the modern word is received.   In role-playing games (especially [[Dungeons & Dragons]]), a sacred knight with the skills of a fighter and some of the spellcasting ability of a cleric, said magical abilities gained by adherence to a strict moral code. Any character in any game or setting who represents great ability combined with a strong sense of righteousness (or self-righteousness, for the more cynically-minded) might be referred to obliquely as a Paladin.


;Party:  A collection of [[character]]s, also known as [[PC]]s, who travel and adventure together. Parties may be made up of old friends, professionals, and various collections of [[PC]] material types. The usual dynamics of such a group may include: The [[Leader]], The [[Face]], [[Healer]], [[Nuker]], and any other combination of useful skill sets. Most parties are made of varied enough [[character]]s that they don’t overlap, but this is not a rule. Almost any RPG group forms a Party before heading out. 


;Pixelbitching:  A style of [[GM]]ing--specifically, a form of '''railroading'''--in which the [[player]]s need to find one specific clue in order to advance on the one plot line determined by the [[GM]], cannot proceed without it, and do not get any help from the GM in finding it.  If said clue is particularly hard to find (or if the GM requires a very specific action to locate it), the GM may be said to be "pixelbitching".
:Origin: Computer games, specifically point-and-click games in which you need to click a specific place--sometimes only a few pixels on the screen (hence the name)--in order to get some magic clue you need to advance in the programmed-in plot line.  Coined by '''SteveD''' on RPG.net.


;Pixie:  In addition to the standard meaning: a verb, meaning to attempt to defeat an enemy by frustrating them, typically by launching large numbers of low-damage attacks in quick succession and avoiding any retaliation.  Also, as a noun, a character suited to this type of strategy.  


;Planning Problem: The difficulty arising in game situations where [[player]]s first develop a detailed plan for their [[character]]s' actions and then enact it.  The difficulty is that in an [[RPG]], where actions are taken by describing them, the experience of enacting the plan will be identical to that of making the plan unless something goes wrong.  However, if the GM responds by ensuring that something always does go wrong, the [[player]]s will have no incentive to make plans at all. 


;Played by a..:A comment made jokily about a character in film, TV, or other media suggesting the type of person who would control the character in an RPG of the film.  A classic usage is describing a female character as "obviously played by a guy"; characters to whom this term has been applied include Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (an attractive red-headed lesbian witch), Miho from Sin City (a ninja hooker) and Pris from Blade Runner (a gothic ninja sex droid).  Often a confusing term for non-gamers since they assume that "played by" refers to the actor or actress, not to a notional RPG player controlling the character.


;Point-buy: One of the two canonical methods of chargen, the other being random-roll. The advantage to point-buy is that it allows the player to (within the limitations of the setting) build exactly the character that he or she wants to play. Except for certain systems (such as D&D, retro-clones based on D&D, WFRP, or Palladium), point buy is the de facto standard in the RPG industry.


;Power Creep: Where recently released character options in a game line are clearly more powerful (useful, superior) than previous options with the same theme, but the two are expected to coexist side-by-side.


;Powergaming:  A [[player]] behavior where the player in question makes unreasonable efforts to maximize their [[character]]'s ability to mechanically affect the game.  This usually refers to optimizing combat ability since that has traditionally been the focus of most [[RPG]] mechanics.  Recently though, as more and more [[RPG]]s have more rules and powers applicable to out-of-combat action, variants like social powergamers (who build their characters so that they can persuade/seduce/dominate any [[NPC]] they meet) have appeared.
:Symptoms include characters that overshadow the other [[PC]]s, unusual combinations of abilities and equipment that make little sense in-game, constant requests for "GM approval only" character options, and/or one-dimensional characters where every option adds to a specific ability. 
:See also: '''[[RPG_Lexica:MNO|Min-Max]]''' and '''[[RPG_Lexica:MNO|Munchkin]]'''


;-Punk:  A suffix used to describe any genre which explores the low-level real-world consequences of a setting.  Originally coined as ''Cyberpunk'' - the book, and later film and game, genre which dealt with street-level and underworld applications of high technology (and later developed its own conventions), and then expanded as a general term.  Examples include ''Steampunk'' (adventures set in a world where Jules Verne-style steam-powered devices can create modern or even sci-fi effects), ''Cthulupunk'' (low street-level implications of powerful supernatural forces and magic really existing), and the semi-spoof ''Toonpunk'' (where all the patrons of a bar flee for their lives on seeing Yosemite Sam walk in, due to his penchant for firing his guns randomly whenever angered).  (The comic book ''Knights of the Dinner Table'' coined the term ''Cattlepunk'' as the name of a fictional wild-west game.)