RPG Lexica:VWX
V
W
- Wall of Fear and Ignorance, The
- 1. in Paranoia, used to refer to the gamemaster's screen. 2. in gamer lingo, humorous reference to the gamemaster's screen.
- Whiff
- Of an RPG character, to fail at a task in a game as the result of a poor dice roll. The term is usually used to express frustration that the possibility of random failure could not be entirely eliminated even although logically it should have been: "I'm a master sniper with years of experience, using the latest high-powered rifle and a fully calibrated scope, shooting someone just across the road who's standing stock-still with no cover, and I've got as much time to aim as I need and no distractions.. but then I roll a 1 and whiff." Whiffing can frustrate players, and also can harm suspension of disbelief (what exactly happened to the sniper in the previous example to cause him to fail?)
- Origin: from the sound made by a sword, arm, or other item swishing past a person or object that it's just failed to hit.
- Whiff factor
- The continuous possibility of random failure created by a game system. The whiff factor varies between game systems; in games where it is too high, the ability for players to play in the intended style may be disrupted by the need to continuously allow for random failure. For example, if the players are planning out a commando raid on any enemy installation, they are required to plan for the failure of every action involved, even the most trivial ones.
X
- XP
- Common abbreviation for experience points, which are used in RPGs to reward characters for success in combat, task-completion, and story advancement, and measure how far they've gone in their adventuring careers.
