TTRPG – Tabletop Role-Playing Game

DND 5E – Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition (the current version of Dungeons and Dragons)

One Shot – A game limited to one session to be concluded, fast and fun

Campaign – A game that spans over a long period of time with a deep story

Session Zero – The first meeting of the players and the GM to set and build the world, go over rules, and set expectations

Module – A published adventure

Homebrew – An item/campaign/character created by the GM

Sandbox – An open world setting where PCs have free range to explore and dictate the story

Dungeon Crawl – Stereotypical DnD setting where PCs travel through a dungeon avoiding traps and fighting

GM – Game Master

PC – Player Character (character you control)

NPC – Non-Player Character (characters controlled by the gm)

BBEG – Big Bad Evil Guy – main protagonist (think final boss fight or big baddie)

Tank – A player that can withstand high levels of damage without being at risk of dying

Murder Hobo(s) – Player(s) who is intent on killing/stealing every opportunity they get

Rules Lawyer– Someone with in-depth knowledge of the rules

AC - Armor Class, a difficulty level of landing and attack

HP – Hit Points, how much health your PC has

Initiative – The order characters take turns in, based off of rolling (usually for combat scenarios)

BBEG – Big Bad Evil Guy – main protagonist (think final boss fight or big baddie)

Alignment – Player’s tendency toward good/neutral/evil

Stat – An ability score i.e. strength, dexterity, or intelligence

Min-Maxing – A PC that is very weak in some fields, and OP (Over Powered) in others

Dump-Stat – A stat that is not important to your character (Wisdom for a brute-type)

Dis/Advantage – Rolling 2X d20 and taking the lower or higher number rolled

Critical Success – a natural 20 roll on a d20 for the best possible outcome

Critical Failure – a natural 1 roll on a d20 for the worst possible outcome

Buff – Positive enhancement to a pc’s abilities or stats

Debuff(Nerf) – Negative enhancement to a pc’s abilities or stats

Encounter – A situation where the party must use resources or time to find the next step, fight the baddies, or solve a puzzle

Attack of Opportunity – Offered at times where a character attempts to leave melee range of another character

Roll to Hit – Rolling a d20 to attempt to roll higher than the opponents AC to land a blow

Roll a __ Check – Rolling a d20, plus your ability modifier, to attempt to do or see something

Meta-Gaming– A PC in-game, using information or knowledge that the actual owning player obtained out of game

TPK – Total Party Kill, when there is a party-wipe and all PCs have perished

RAW – Rules as Written, as referenced in the Player’s Handbook – PHB – (rule book)

RAI – Rules as Intended, a common sense application to some rules

Rule of Cool – Allowing something because it’s cool and we all want to see the outcome

Railroading – When the GM steers the PCs along a path with little choice

Dice Jail – If one of your die are rolling poorly, players often ‘punish’ their die by not using it and putting it in jail

d20 – A 20 sided die, the most commonly used for attack rolls and ability rolls

d100 – A 100 sided die

d12 – A 12 sided die

d10 – A 10 sided die

d8 – An 8 sided die

d6 – A standard 6 sided die

d4 – A 4 sided die

d3 – A 3 sided die

d2 – A 2 sided die (think coin)