RPG Lexica:PQR

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P

pixelbitching
(coined by SteveD on RPG.net) A style of GMing--specifically, a form of railroading--in which the players need to find one specific clue in order to advance on the one plotline 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 plotline.


planning problem
The difficulty arising in game situations where players first develop a detailed plan for their characters' actions and then enact it. The difficulty is that in an RPG, where description is the only medium for describing action, 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 players will have no incentive to make plans at all.


powergaming
A player behaviour where the player in question makes unreasonable efforts to maximise their character's ability to mechanicaly affect the game. This usually refers to optimising combat ability since that has traditionally been the focus of most RPG mechanics. Recently though, as more and more RPGs have more rules and powers applicable to out of combat action, variants like the social powergamer (who builds their character so that they can persuade/seduce/dominate any NPC they meet) have appeared.
Symptoms include characters that overshadow the other PCs, 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: min-max and munchkin


Q

Queen Bee
A woman who joins RPG groups in the belief that the "scarcity" of women in the hobby, together with the percieved "nerdiness" of male RPG players, will enable her to easily manipulate the group by using her sexuality. A Queen Bee will typically seek out groups in which she can be the only female, continuously flirt with other players, make regular references to her own promiscuity (thus hinting that she may be available to the other players), and similar.


R

railroading
A style of GMing in which the GM has only one specific plot line in mind, and forces the players to follow that plot regardless of whether they want to do so. From an analogy to a railroad, which constrains the train to one specific route.


result pool system
A variation on the dice pool system. The key difference is that in a result pool system, all of the dice in the pool are rolled at the time the pool is created, in advance of any game decisions made by the player. When a dice result is required, the player - rather than choosing a number of dice to roll - chooses rolled results from the pool to allocate as his or her result on the particular task. Result pool systems are a relatively new development and are currently only used in the more experimental independant games, such as Dogs in the Vineyard.


"Rocks fall, everyone dies!"
A comment from the GM that basically means "Your actions have annoyed/disturbed me enough that I'm ending this game RIGHT NOW, and I don't particularly care what happens to your characters anymore!" Usually followed by either the players making nice with the GM or the group going their separate ways.
Origin: This episode of the webcomic Something Positive.


role-playing game
An amazingly hard-to-describe activity, and the reason we're all here.
In a typical role-playing game, there is one Game Master (hereafter GM) and some players. The players are playing the roles of characters in an imaginary game-world which the GM describes and controls. The game goes through cycles where:
  1. The GM describes the situation the characters are in;
  2. The players describe how their characters react to the situation; and
  3. The GM and players decide what happened as a result of those actions.
Step 3 often is determined by rolling dice, especially in complex or stressful situations such as combat.


roll-playing game
Often derogatory term used for games where the mechanics take front seat, as opposed to story and gameplay, or for games run by referees who do likewise. Often results in games where players are there mainly to make some decisions and roll the dice without a feel for story or fun.


roll-under system
A rules system which determines the success of actions via having the player roll a dice, such that the action will succeed if the rolled value is lower than a particular target number. The effect is that higher target numbers generate a greater probability of success; typically in a role-under system the target number will measure the competence of the character to perform the task. The use of a roll-under system can have a number of awkward consequences; most notably, negative modifiers to the dice roll become beneficial and positive ones become penal, which can be confusing and illogical for players.


RPG
1. Common abbreviation for role-playing game.
2. Not-as-common abbreviation for "Rocket-Propelled Grenade"
3. Even less common abbreviation for "Report Program Generator". (If you see a job ad for "RPG programmer wanted", don't get your hopes up--it's probably not Bioware placing the ad.)


Rule Zero
1. "The GM may change or ignore any game rule." Most RPG systems acknowledge that they cannot model every situation accurately, and therefore permit the GM to break the rules in trust that he or she will only do so in cases where it's beneficial to the game.
2. "Never give the GM ideas." Since most GMs can improvise on the fly and would love to mess with the players, it's generally recognized that giving him or her ideas in that regard is a very bad idea. Usually referenced in the phrase Rule Zero Violation, i.e., giving the GM ideas.
GM: "There's a shadow on the road ahead--it looks like a large group is heading your way, but you can't tell who it is."
Bob: "Just as long as it isn't Baron Rumbar, we'd be completely screwed if ...
Jan: "BOB! Sh! Rule Zero Violation!"
GM: (smiles enigmatically)
Bob: "Aw, @#$&%!!..."

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