Difference between revisions of "RPG Lexica:ABC"

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;Chargen: short for ''character generation'', the process of creating a [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|player character]] for use in a [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|RPG]].  Usually one of two methods: '''character build''' or [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|random-roll]], depending on the RPG being used.
 
;Chargen: short for ''character generation'', the process of creating a [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|player character]] for use in a [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|RPG]].  Usually one of two methods: '''character build''' or [[RPG_Lexica:PQR|random-roll]], depending on the RPG being used.
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;Class and Level: A method of '''chargen''' and character definition in which characters are primarily defined as members of specific pre-defined professions or archetypes, their “class”, and their degree of advancement along a predetermined course of improvement determined by that profession, their “level”. Class and Level was used in the original RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, and thus was a standard aspect of RPG design for years before other methods were attempted.
  
  

Revision as of 20:40, 31 May 2005

A

all-out attack problem
A problem arising in dice pool systems, in situations where a player facing a foe (or a hazard or problem in general) is asked to choose a number of dice from the pool to roll for the success of their attack. The intent is usually that the player will ensure that some dice remain in the pool after their attack, so that if it happens that the attack fails, they will have dice left to roll in their defense. In fact, however, the best tactic is for the player to attack with all of the dice in their pool, because this gives the attack the best chance of succeeding and resolving the problem right there. If the dice roll badly, the player may lose out as a result of their lack of a defence - but, had the player left dice in the pool to defend with, the dice would still have rolled badly resulting in an ineffective defense. This dynamic can seriously damage the value of dice pool systems in some games.

B

bad wrong fun
Saying that a game is "bad wrong fun" indicates that the game is somehow broken, unplayable, poor quality or weak - in ignorance of the fact that many groups are playing and enjoying it regularly. As such, this is not normally something that a person will say themselves, but something they will accuse other people of having said. For example, "John said that d20 is bad wrong fun" indicates that the speaker believes John's criticism of d20 to be foolish given the large number of groups playing and enjoying it.


Bag of rats
A tactical maneuver which exploits a loophole in the rules of a tactical combat system, usually leading to ridiculous situations. Taken from a well-known loophole in the (unrevised) third edition of Dungeons and Dragons, in which a character could have the ability "whirlwind attack" enabling them to attack all foes within range in a single maneuver, and the ability "great cleave" enabling them to, having killed a foe with an attack, carry the attack forward to a second foe. A character could thus, technically, throw a bag of rats at a powerful opponent, then approach and execute a whirlwind attack. The whirlwind attack allows the character to attack all of the rats in one manuever; each time the character attacks a rat, they almost certainly kill it, and then use great cleave to carry the attack forward to the actual powerful foe, thus gaining a huge number of hits on the foe in a single manuever.


Boggle
To surprise or shock someone to the point where they're just standing or sitting there, not moving, just STARING at what you've done with a shocked expression. Also boggled, shocked to the point of not responding, just staring at the source of the shock.
Origin: Possibly from the RPG Toon, a game where you play cartoon characters, to describe a similar state which results in the character in question losing turns. (Often shown in cartoons by having the character's eyes bulge out toward the boggling thing or pop out of the character's head completely.)


Boobs bonus
The hypothetical bonus given to all social skill rolls made by a female character, especially when dealing with males. Derived from the assumption that a female character will automatically have better social skills than a male character, even if they behave in exactly the same way.


Borgstromancy
The ability to understand a complex, outlandish, or badly explained setting or system well enough to run a game based on it.
Origin: Taken, possibly unfairly, from the name of the RPG authoress Rebecca Borgstrom (also known as R. Sean Borgstrom) who is notorious for writing games with spectacularly original premises and intriuging supporting fiction that are however almost impossible to understand well enough to actually play.

C

Camp
To remain stationary, or take no action, as a tactical choice: for example, waiting for enemies to attack you to ensure that the battle takes place on your choice of terrain. Camping in an RPG is usually an acceptable tactics, but in many competitive board or war games it is considered unfair, because if all players camp, then the game deadlocks (if everyone waits to be attacked, then nobody will ever attack), and any person who breaks the deadlock is penalised by not having the tactical advantage conveyed by camping.


Character
The imaginary persona "played" by the player of a RPG; a PC. Not to be confused with NPC or a Non-Player Character.


Character Build System
Term for a chargen system in which the player starts with a "default" character (often a "blank slate", with no skills, advantages, or anything else) and a pool of points with which he or she can "buy" parts of the character until it approximates the character he or she wants to play. GURPS and Hero are the two most well known RPGs that work this way.


Chargen
short for character generation, the process of creating a player character for use in a RPG. Usually one of two methods: character build or random-roll, depending on the RPG being used.


Class and Level
A method of chargen and character definition in which characters are primarily defined as members of specific pre-defined professions or archetypes, their “class”, and their degree of advancement along a predetermined course of improvement determined by that profession, their “level”. Class and Level was used in the original RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, and thus was a standard aspect of RPG design for years before other methods were attempted.


Corebook
Any book containing information fundamental to a particular game system. Typically any person wishing to purchase books for a particular RPG will need to buy the corebooks first in order to establish the context needed to make sense of the other books. For example, the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual are the corebooks for D&D; the World of Darkness book and the Vampire book are the corebooks for Vampire: the Requiem.


Critical
A rare dice result indicating that an action has been spectacularly successful. Typically a critical will grant an additional bonus beyond simple success, or represent a major success, or indicate success no matter how difficult the task was.
Origin: Originally critical hit, used in tactical combat systems to model the remote possibility of any single hit taking an enemy down if it happens to hit a critical area. This system was then adopted by RPG combat systems and then further applied to resolution of all tasks rather than just combat, creating the term critical success, normally abbreviated to just critical.


Crunch
1) Slang term for the sections of a RPG's rulebook that deal with the actual rules, as opposed to Fluff (q.v.), which is everything else. Also called Crunchy bits.
2) Slang for the relative complexity of a particular ruleset. A crunchy ruleset is more complex.


Custom dice
Dice printed with symbols other than the traditional numbers. Used in certain games to simplify task resolution. For example, DC Universe uses dice printed with images of different DC characters; hero images indicate success, and villain images indicate failure.


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