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trollbill
11-27-01, 08:14 AM
For the benefit of newcomers to this message board, I have compiled a list of commonly used terms found here. If you have any suggestions, or have an addition you think should be made, please let me know. Criteria for additions to the Dictionary of Terminology are included at the end of this post.

TROLLBILL'S UNOFFICIAL DICTIONARY OF COMMON D&D MESSAGE BOARD TERMINOLOGY, (Ver. 1.21)

Disclaimer: Definitions used in this list are based on their common usage on this message board and thus may vary in meaning from other boards, sites or even common dictionary usage. Definitions on this post do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WotC, its employees, associates, immediate family members or household pets.

SECTION I - TERMS

All your base are belong to us! (expression): You have no hope of defeating us. Etymology: Computer gaming, refers to a line from a poorly translated computer game that is frequently quoted by computer gamers as a declaration of their gaming interest. <a href="http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/download.html" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Bag-o-Rats Fighter (expression): A fighter who carries a bag of rats, dumps the bag when entering melee, uses the whirlwind feat to attack each rat, then uses the great cleave feat to gain an extra attack against his opponent for each rat he kills; often used as a prime example of how the 3E rules can be abused.

Beer & Pretzel Gaming (expression): Refers to gaming in a casual, laid-back style.

Bent (adjective): Refers to a class, feat, skill, race, spell or otherwise specific game rule that the user of the term considers somewhat unbalanced.

Big Bad Evil Guy [BBEG] (term): An arch-villain, -nemesis, or -foil used by the DM, often in a recurring role, as the climax to an adventure, story arc or campaign. Etymology: D & D Message Boards, term first used in the thread Honesty vs. Story. <a href="http://boards.wizards.com/rpg-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=136&t=000665&p=" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Broken (adjective): Refers to a class, feat, skill, race, spell or otherwise specific game rule that the user of the term considers very unbalanced.

Bump (verb): To reply to a post for the express purpose of moving that post to the top of the queue or thread.

Castle of Fun [CoF] (noun): A recurring D&D message board thread, now given its own channel, that is dedicated to light-hearted, online, role-playing; also known as the Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Corporation. <a href="http://boards.wizards.com/community-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=21" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Chainmail Bikini (noun), 1: Flexible armor, usually of decorative use only, consisting of interlinked metal rings and shaped in the form of a bikini. 2: A form of apparel often cited as the archetype of sexism in a male biased gaming community. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/gencon/GC2K/u718a/cpmvc017x.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Crunchy (adjective): Euphemism referring to a published material or portion of a published material that contains game mechanics, see also Fluffy. Etymology: Gaming, term taken from Sean K. Reynold's euphemistic essay on the gaming industry entitled, Forgotten Rums.

d20 (noun),1: RPG system published by WotC under an open gaming license, using D&D as it's flagship product. 2: A 20-sided die. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/D20/main.asp?x=welcome,3" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Drizzt Do'Urden (noun): Famous, often emulated, two scimitar wielding, good-aligned, drow ranger from the Forgotten Realms. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/FR_ART/People/DrizztDoUrden.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Drizzt Clone (noun): A much overused character concept that is modeled after Drizzt Do'Urden.

Dungeon Master [DM] (noun): A Dungeons & Dragons specific term for a Game Master.

Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Corporation [DDVC] (noun): See Castle of Fun.

Elminster (noun): Archetypal arch mage, meddler and font of wisdom from the Forgotten Realms; analogous to Tolkein's Gandalf, or Merlin, from Arthurian legend. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/FR_ART/People/Elminster.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Fanboy (noun): (often considered derogatory) In gaming, sci-fi or fantasy circles, a serious, often overly obsessed fan of a game, author, designer, series, or other genre element.

Feats should be nice, not required [FSBNNR] (expression): Phrase used to express the belief that 3E psionics needs to be re-vamped rather than patched with feats that fix weaknesses.

Flame (verb): To reply to a post in a highly critical, derogatory and/or inflammatory manner.

Flame War (noun): A thread that has degenerated into mostly pointless flames and counter-flames; sometimes also flamefest.

Flame Warrior (noun): A participant in a flame war. <a href="http://www.winternet.com/%7Emikelr/flame1.html" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Flamefest (noun): See Flame War.

Flood (verb), 1: To overwhelm a network channel with mechanically-generated traffic. 2: To inundate a thread by posting repeatedly over a short period of time.

Flood Control (noun): Software designed to prevent network channel flooding.

Fluffy (adjective): Euphemism referring to a published material or portion of a published material that contains flavor text, see also Crunchy. Etymology: Gaming, term taken from Sean K. Reynold's euphemistic essay on the gaming industry entitled, Forgotten Rums.

Front Loaded (adjective): Refers to a class, spell, ability or other graduated rule whose benefit(s) at it's initial stages are greater than those of later on.

Game Master [GM] (noun): A generic, non-game specific term for the controller/referee of a role-playing game.

Gamer (noun): A person who plays games; most commonly, but not limited to; war games, role-playing games, collectible card games, and computer or console games.

Gaming (verb): The act of playing a game, usually with others. See also Gamer.

Grognard (noun): A gamer, especially war gamer, who has considerable experience with a particular game or genre of games, has seen that game or genre of games go through many iterations, and who may often complain about new versions of, or newbies to, that game; also known as Old Guard. Etymology: French, nickname for a member of the French Old Guard during the Napoleonic era, referring to said members' frequent imbibing of grog, an alcoholic beverage consisting of watered down rum, and synonymous with their tendency to grumble about all things new.

Hack'n Slasher (noun): A player whose primary focus in a RPG is to roll dice, kill things and take their treasure; also known as a Roll-player.

High Gaming (noun): A particular genre of gaming, usually that preferred by the user of the term, viewed as superior to other genres of gaming.

House Rule (noun): An official variant or unofficial customized rule used within the confines of an individual play group.

Huzzah! (exclamation): An expression or shout of acclaim. Etymology: Unknown, earliest known uses stem from the late medieval/early renaissance period.

I got a rock! (Expression): A declaration used to indicate that one has been cheated within a RPG, usually in regards to treasure division. Etymology: Modern American, derived from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/va/riggity/charliebrown.html" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Jack Chick (biographical name): Christian fundamentalist known for, amongst other things, publishing the anti D&D comic book, Dark Dungeons, through his company Chick Publishing, Inc. <a href="http://www.darkholmekeep.net/crusade/dd2.cfm" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Kender (noun): A diminutive race in the Dragon Lance campaign setting that is similar to and replaces the halfling race in that setting. <a href="http://www.kencyclopedia.com/kender/art/actualSize/Pandora.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Killer DM (term): A Dungeon Master whose campaign has a high mortality rate amongst the player characters; often, but not necessarily, due to deliberate and sometimes malicious actions on the part of the DM; also sometimes Player Killer.

Leet Speak (adjective): Internet 'code' language originated by online gamers and considered a CoC violation. <a href="http://www.electricbiscuit.com/SLS/" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Live Action Role-Playing [LARP] (noun): A style of gaming that emphasizes live, often immersive, character interaction over, and sometimes to the exclusion of, dice rolling.

Low Gaming (noun): A genre or genres of gaming the user of the term finds inferior to those genres she views as High Gaming. See also High Gaming.

Lurker (noun): A person who frequently visits a message board, but seldom, if ever, posts to it.

Meta-board Pigeon (noun): A member who often Spams the Wizards.com Meta-board with repeated, mostly innocuous comments. Etymology: D&D Message Boards, term first coined by WotC_Mel in the thread Shoo!

Metagamer (noun): A player who uses out-of-character knowledge to benefit his in-game character.

Min/Maxer (noun), 1: A player who designs her character, usually within the basic parameters of the rules, to maximize that character's advantages and minimize its disadvantages. 2: A Power Gamer.

Monty Hauler (noun), 1: A person who runs or plays in a campaign where everything is 'given away', i.e., monsters are easy to kill and treasure and experience easy to find. Etymology: Modern American, refers to Monty Hall, an MC for many television game shows. 2: A Munchkin.

Multi-user Dungeon [MUD] (noun): Any of various online, multi-player adventuring environments.

Multiple Attribute Dependency [MAD] (expression): Phrase referring to character classes whose abilities require good scores in multiple attributes rather than just one, and commonly used to refer to what is often considered the primary weakness of the psion character class.

Multiple user Personality [MuP] (noun): Any one of several persona adopted by a single user and represented by a separate user-name; see also Sock Puppet.

Munch (verb): To min/max a character. Etymology: RPGing, derived from the term Munchkin.

Munchkin (noun), 1: (considered derogatory) A player who creates an extremely unbalanced and over-powered character by using ludicrous loopholes in the rules or by outright breaking them. 2: (considered derogatory) A player whose gaming style the user of the term disapproves of; often including, but not limited to, power gamers, min/maxers, Monty Haulers, hack'n slashers, metagamers, rules lawyers and/or twinks. 3: A young gamer. Etymology: Modern American, refers to a race of midgets in The Wizard of Oz.

Nerf (verb): To weaken a specific game rule, or specific character or item within a game, usually for purposes of game balance. Etymology: Modern Toys, refers to the Nerf brand name that uses a soft, compressible material to make non-hazardous toys.

Newbie (noun): A new player to the game and/or new member to the message board.

Non-player character [NPC] (noun): A character in a role-playing game whose actions are not controlled by a player; specifically, a character whose actions are controlled by the Game Master.

Old Guard (noun): See Grognard.

Open Gaming Foundation [OGF] (noun): Organization dedicated to the publication and production of game systems that use the Open Gaming License such as WotC's d20 System, or an open license similar to the OGL. <a href="http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/index.html" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Otaku (noun): (often considered derogatory) a Fanboy; especially one fixated on Anime, Ecchi, Hentai, Manga or other form of Japanese comic or cartoon art. Etymology: Japanese, literally 'house,' slang for an overly obsessed fan and implying said fans obsession interfering with his or her ability to socialize and thus remaining mostly confined to the house rather than experiencing social situations.

Player (noun): A person who plays a game; usually used to differentiate a person who plays in a role-playing game versus a person who controls one.

Player Character [PC] (noun): A character in a role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player.

Player Kill [PK] (noun): An encounter or adventurer in which a PC is killed.

Player Killer [PK] (noun): See Killer DM.

Power Gamer (noun), 1: A player whose primary focus in a RPG is the increase of his character's power, usually defined in combat terms. 2: A Min/Maxer.

Railroad (verb) To, as a DM, force the players along a linier storyline that often does not allow for deviations created by player input.

Role-player (noun), 1: A player whose primary focus in a RPG is the realistic portrayal of her character in terms of emotion and personality. 2: A person who plays role-playing games.

Role-playing Game (noun): A game that allows the player(s) to assume the role of a character or personality involved in the development of a story-line.

Roll-player (noun): See Hack'n Slasher.

Rouge (noun), 1: Any of various cosmetics for coloring the cheeks or lips red. 2: A very common misspelling of the word rogue.

Rule 0 (verb): To, as a house rule, modify or eliminate an official rule, or create an original house rule. Etymology: D&D 3E, refers to Rule 0 of character creation in the PHB which states that a player should check with the DM for house rules before generating a character.

Rules Lawyer (noun): A player who has committed the rules to memory and uses them to his advantage; sometimes even to the extreme of using one rule to argue a point to his advantage, then using another rule to argue against that point when it becomes a disadvantage.

Sage, the (noun): see The Sage.

Snarf (noun), 1: The comical antihero of the Larry Elmore comic series Snarf Quest. <a href="http://www.larryelmore.com/SnarfQuest/AGSnarf.html" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a> 2: The comical sidekick in the Rankin Bass cartoon Thundercats. <a href="http://thundercats.vpga.com/bios/thundercats.htm" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Society for Creative Anachronism [SCA] (noun): An international, non-profit, medieval re-creation and recreation organization. <a href="http://www.sca.org/" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

Sock Puppet (noun): A MuP, often one used by the poster to conduct activities that she does not want associated with a more well-known screen name or to create fictitious support for her other screen name(s). Etymology: Common crafts, refers to the practice of making a simple hand puppet out of a sock and using it to speak for the puppeteer.

Spam (verb), 1: To post repeated, off-topic, usually innocuous comments to a thread that overwhelm and eventually derail that thread. 2: To send unsolicited usually commercial E-mail to a large number of addresses. Etymology: British television, from a skit on the series Monty Python's Flying Circus in which chanting of the word Spam (trademark for a canned meat product) overrides the other dialogue.

Spell-point Using Mage [SPUM] (expression): Term often used to characterize 3E Psionics.

System Reference Document [SRD] (noun): Online documentation posted on the OGL web site containing an abbreviated version of the 3E D&D rules. <a href="http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd.html" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Tank (noun): A heavily armored character that excels in melee combat. Etymology: Military, refers to a heavily armored combat vehicle. <a href="http://history.vif2.ru/camo/bt5_01.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

The Sage (noun): Skip Williams; author of the Sage Advice column in Dragon Magazine and widely held as the foremost authority on the technical aspects of the D&D rules. thesage@wizards.com

Thread (noun): A continuous chain of postings on a single topic.

"tj" (phrase): Letters sometimes used in place of "ch" in posts by non-English speaking members and occasionally used by English speaking members as a form of support for those non-English speaking members who have been harassed for bad grammar and spelling.

To Hit Armor Class 0 [THAC0] (term): 2E D&D term similar in purpose to the 3E term attack bonus.

Total Party Death [TPD] (expression): See Total Party Kill.

Total Party Kill [TPK] (expression): An encounter or adventure that results in the entire party being killed; also sometimes Total Party Death.

Troll (noun), 1: (considered derogatory) A person who engages in the act of trolling. 2: In game terms, a large, vicious green humanoid with regenerative capabilities. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/FR_ART/People/Arrk.jpg" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Trolling (verb): To post a controversial or inflammatory statement on a message board for the express purpose of generating outraged replies. Etymology: Fishing, derived as a pun from the fishing practice of trailing a lure or baited hook from a moving boat.

Twink (noun), 1: (considered derogatory) A player whose play-style or behavior ruins or disrupts a game. 2: A Munchkin.

Twink (verb): To give a character an item or ability that increases that character's power substantially beyond that normally expected for a character of that level and race.

Über- (prefix): Super or master. Etymology: German, derived from the infamous World War II German patriotic declaration "Deutchland über alles!" (Germany above all else!)

Ultimate Bulletin Board [UBB] (noun): Bulletin board software published by Infopop and used by WotC to manage its message boards. <a href="http://infopop.com/" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

Very Large Hats [VLH] (noun): A recurring D&D message board thread dedicated to parody skits featuring well-known gaming and message board personalities. <a href="http://boards.wizards.com/community-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=0002 31" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

War Game (noun): A game that duplicates or recreates the tactical and/or strategic aspects of war.

War Gamer (noun), 1: A player whose primary focus in a RPG is the tactical or strategic aspects of combat. 2: A person who plays war games.

*Wham* *dig, dig, dig* (expression): Humorously intended expression indicating the user is bestowing the Arturick Shovel Award for D & D stereotype absurdity. Etymology: D & D message boards, reference from the thread The Arturick Shovel Awards, and mimics the action of hitting someone over the head with a shovel and digging a hole to bury them in.

Where are the Cheetos? (expression): An expression indicating the user's desire or preference to play a game in an informal, laid-back manner. Etymology: Computer gaming, refers to the short efilm Summoner Geeks that uses characters from the computer games Summoner and Red Faction and combines them with a audio skit from the Dead Ales Wives. <a href="http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/product/film_info/0,3699,220487,00.html" target="_blank">&lt;link&gt;</a>

WizO (noun): A volunteer moderator for WotC's online community. Etymology: Wizards.com, refers to the WizO prefix that begins all WizO user names.

WotC_Mel (noun): Username for the official site administrator of the WotC online community; sometimes worshipped as goddess and protector of WizOs. <a href="http://www.wizards.com/community/main.asp?x=mel" target="_blank">&lt;Link&gt;</a>

SECTION II - ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS

1E: 1st Edition AD&D rules.
2E: 2nd Edition AD&D rules.
3E: 3rd Edition D&D rules.
AC: Armor Class.
Abj: Abjurer specialist wizard class.
Acm: Archmage FR PrC.
AD&D: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
Adp: Adept NPC class.
AFAIK: As far as I know.
AL: Alignment.
AoE: Area of effect.
AoO: Attack of opportunity.
Arc: Arcane Archer PrC.
Ari: Aristocrat NPC class.
Asn: Assassin PrC.
Atk: Attacks.
BAB: Base attack bonus.
BBEG: Big bad evil guy (see Terms above).
Bbn: Barbarian PC class.
BD&D: Basic Dungeons & Dragons.
Blk: Blackguard PrC.
BoVD: Book of Vile Darkness accessory.
Brd: Bard PC class.
BTW: By the way.
CCG : Collectable card game.
CE: Chaotic Evil alignment.
CG: Chaotic Good alignment.
Cha: Charisma ability score.
Chm: Divine Champion FR Prc.
Cjr: Conjurer specialist wizard class.
Clr: Cleric PC class.
CL: Class level.
CN: Chaotic Neutral alignment.
CoC: Code of Conduct.
CoF: Castle of Fun (see Terms above).
Com, 1: Commoner NPC class. 2: (old use) Comeliness ability score.
Con: Constitution ability score.
CR: Challenge Rating.
Crit: Critical Hit.
CRPG: Computer role-playing game.
d%: Percentile dice.
d4: A 4-sided die.
d6: A 6-sided die.
d8: An 8-sided die.
d10: A 10-sided die.
d12: A 12-sided die.
d20: A 20-sided die.
d100: Percentile dice.
DDVC: Dungeons & Dragons Virtual Corporation (see Terms above).
DDG: Deities & Demigods accessory.
Def: Dwarven Defender PrC.
Dev: Arcane Devotee FR PrC.
Dex: Dexterity ability score.
Dis: Divine Disciple FR PrC.
Div: Diviner specialist wizard class.
DMG: Dungeon Master's Guide core rulebook.
DotF: Defenders of the Faith accessory.
Drd: Druid PC class.
EAB: Epic-level Attack Bonus.
ECL: Effective Character Level.
ELH: Epic Level Handbook accessory.
Enc: Enchanter specialist wizard class.
ESD: Electronic Systems Document.
Evo: Evoker specialist wizard class.
Exp, 1: Expert NPC class. 2: Experience.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions.
FEB: Favored Enemy Bonus.
Fort: Fortitude, or Fortitude saving throw.
FR: Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
FRCS: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting accessory.
FSBNNR: Feats should be nice, not required (see Terms above).
Ftr: Fighter PC class.
FWIW: For what it's worth.
FYI: For your information.
Gld: Guild Thief FR PrC.
GM: Game master (see Terms above).
GW: Gamma World game system.
HBGB: Hero Builder's Guidebook accessory.
HD: Hit Dice.
Hie: Hierophant FR PrC.
HL: Holy Liberator DotF PrC.
hp: hit points.
Hrp: Harper FR PrC.
Hth: Hathran FR PrC.
HtH: Hand-to-hand.
IC: In character.
ICBW: I could be wrong.
IIRC: If I recall correctly.
Ill: Illusionist specialist wizard class.
IMAO: In my arrogant opinion.
IMC: In my campaign.
IMHO: In my humble opinion.
IMO: In my opinion.
IMX: In my experience.
Init: Initiative bonus.
Int: Intelligence ability score.
IRL: In real life.
ITCK: If Thoughts Could Kill third-party psionics supplement by Bruce Cordell.
j/k: Just kidding.
JMO: Just my opinion.
JSYK: Just so you know.
KoDT: Knights of the Dinner Table D&D comic strip.
LARP: Live action role-playing (see Terms above).
LE: Lawful Evil alignment.
LG: Lawful Good alignment.
LMAO: Laughing my (insert appropriate expletive) off.
LN: Lawful Neutral alignment.
LoD: Lords of Darkness accessory.
LoE: Line of effect.
LOL: Laughing out loud.
Lor: Loremaster PrC.
LotR: Lord of the Rings.
MAD: Multiple attribute dependency (see Terms above).
MEA: Move equivalent action.
MM: Monster Manual core rulebook.
MMORG: Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing Game.
Mnk: Monk PC class.
Mod, 1: Modifier. 2: Moderator.
MoF: Magic of Faerun accessory.
MoP: Manual of the Planes accessory.
MotW: Masters of the Wild accessory.
MUD: Multi-user Dungeon (see Terms above).
MuP: Multiple user Personality (see Terms above).
N: Neutral alignment.
n/k: not kidding.
NE: Neutral Evil alignment.
Nec: Necromancer specialist wizard class.
NG: Neutral Good alignment.
NIMH: Not in my house.
NPC: Non-player character (see Terms above).
NWN: Never Winter Nights computer game.
OD&D: Original, or old, Dungeons & Dragons.
OA: Oriental Adventures accessory.
OGF: Open gaming foundation (see Terms above).
OGL: Open gaming license.
OMG: Oh, my God!
OOC: Out of character.
OTOH: On the other hand.
Pal: Paladin PC class.
PBeM: Play by e-mail.
PBM: Play by mail.
PnP: Pen 'n Paper
PC, 1: Player character (see Terms above). 2: (rarely) Politically Correct.
peep: People.
PH: Player's Handbook core rulebook; also sometimes PHB.
PHB: Player's Handbook core rulebook; also sometimes PH.
PK, 1: Player kill (see Terms above). 2: Player killer (see Terms above).
ppl: People.
PrC: Prestige class.
Prp: Purple Dragon Knight FR PrC.
Psi: Psion PC class.
PsiHB: Psionics Handbook accessory.
PW: Psychic Warrior PC class.
RE: Regarding
Red: Red Wizard FR PrC.
Ref: Reflex, or Reflex saving throw.
Rgr: Ranger PC class.
Rnc: Runecaster FR PrC.
Rog: Rogue PC class.
ROFL: Rolling on the floor laughing.
ROFLMAO: Rolling on the floor, laughing my (insert appropriate expletive) off.
RPG: Role-playing game (see Terms above).
RPGA: Role-Playing Gamers Association.
RTFM: (considered offensive) Read the (insert appropriate expletive) manual.
RTM: Read the manual.
S&F: Sword & Fist accessory.
S&S, 1: Song & Silence accessory. 2: Sword & Sorcery Studios
SA: Special Attacks.
SCA: Society for Creative Anachronism (see Terms above.)
Sha: Shadow Adept FR PrC.
Shd: Shadowdancer PrC.
Skr: Divine Seeker FR PrC.
Sor: Sorcerer PC class.
Spd: Speed.
SPUM: Spell point using mage (see Terms above.)
SQ: Special Qualities.
SRD: System Reference Document (see Terms above).
Str: Strength ability score.
SV: Saving throw bonuses.
T&B: Tome & Blood accessory.
THAC0: To Hit Armor Class 0 [zero] (see Terms above).
TPD: Total Party Death (see Terms above).
TPK: Total Party Kill (see Terms above).
Tra: Transmuter specialist wizard class.
TRPG: Table-top role-playing game.
TYVM: Thank You Very Much
UA: Unearthed Arcana accessory.
UAB: Unarmed attack bonus.
UBB: Ultimate Bulletin Board (see Terms above).
VLH: Very Large Hats (see Terms above).
War: Warrior NPC class.
Will: Will, or Will saving throw.
Wis: Wisdom ability score.
Wiz: Wizard PC class.
WoC: Wizards of the Coast; also sometimes WotC.
WotC: Wizards of the Coast; also sometimes WoC.
WTF: What the (insert appropriate expletive).
WTG: Way to go.
XP: Experience points.
YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary.

APPENDIX I - CRITERIA

The following criteria is used in determining the selection of entries for the Dictionary of Terminology:

</font> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> The entry should have a common use on these boards, i.e. terms used by local gaming groups that do not appear regularly on these boards do not qualify.</font></li> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> The entry should have appeared on multiple threads and have been used by multiple users in a consistent fashion. Objective evidence of this, such as links to the pertinent posts, is preferable over subjective commentary. </font></li> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> A term entry should have a meaning on the D&D message boards that does not match its common dictionary definition or its definition in the Core Rules.</font></li> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> The entry should not violate the CoC.</font></li> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Terms that appear repeatedly with the comment "What does this mean?" are excellent candidates for The Dictionary.</font></li> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Links should be relevant to the definition and should be to locations that are relatively static so as to prevent the need to constantly update the links. Also remember that links to a commercial web site are a violation of the CoC.
</font></li><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

<small>[ October 27, 2002, 07:16 PM: Message edited by: trollbill ]</small>