The list below is a role-playing lexicon, a list of words and abbreviations that are used in or during role-playing, as well as when talking or writing about role-playing. This includes a number of role-playing games.
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Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A[]
- advanced (adjective)
- original meaning: ahead in progress, skill, knowledge
- with a minimum amount of background knowledge about role-playing; e.g. advanced player, advanced role-play
- well-developed, thoroughly written or researched; e.g. advanced storyline, advanced rules
- alignment (noun)
- original meaning: taking a certain position or stance, arrangement
- ethic and moral perspective of a person, institution or nation
- anthropomorphic (adjective)
- resembling a human or the human form, having human attributes; e.g. anthropomorphic deity
- with both human (usually anatomical) and animal features; not to be confused with "furry"
- arc (noun)
- storyline; one part of a bigger story, however often still divided into chapters or episodes
- ARPG (abbreviation)
- action (genre) role-playing (video) game
- adventure (genre) role-playing (video) game
- apocalyptic role-playing (video) game; role-playing (video) game taking place in an apocalypse
- autohit (noun)
- hit that landed on a character without previous statement of intention
- role-playing post in which an autohit occurred
- to autohit (verb)
- to have a hit automatically land on a character
- autohitting (adjective/noun)
- that autohits, in which is or has been autohit; e.g. an autohitting player, an autohitting post (adjective)
- act or habit of having a hit automatically land on a character (noun)
B[]
- B&B (abbreviation)
- Bunnies & Burrows
- to beta-read (verb)
- to read up on another character's abilities or background and implementing this (OOC) knowledge in the role-play
- beta-reading (noun)
- act or habit of reading up on another character's abilities or background and implementing this (OOC) knowledge in the role-play
- Bunnies & Burrows (name)
- name of a role-playing game
C[]
- canon (adjective/noun)
- officially part of the book, movie, series (adjective)
- that what is canon, a recognized set of canon items; a work with longer history and multiple phases in its evolution (games, adaptations, ...) may have different levels of "canonicity" (noun)
- charter (noun)
- original meaning: grant and description of authority or rights, and its related leader roles
- document used to define the purpose, key roles and organization of a role-playing community
- constitution (noun)
- original meaning: rules or fundamental principles in which something is constituted or governed
- see: charter
- critical (adjective)
- that deals more than the normal damage; e.g. critical hit, critical damage
- cyber (abbreviation/noun)
- cyber sex
- cyberpunk role-play (uncommon)
- derogatory term for erotic role-play (noun)
- to cyber (abbreviation/verb)
- to have cyber sex
- derogatory term for erotic role-playing (verb)
- cybering (abbreviation/noun)
- having cyber sex
- derogatory term for erotic role-playing (noun)
D[]
- D&D (abbreviation)
- death match (noun)
- role-playing fight that is aimed to result in the death of all but one opponent/team
- DM (abbreviation)
- death match
- dungeon master
- dungeon master (noun)
- D&D term for game master, person who is in charge of or who organizes the game
- Dungeons & Dragons (name)
- name of a role-playing game
E[]
- EP (abbreviation, uncommon)
- experience (points)
- erotic role-play (noun)
- genre of role-playing in which the content focuses on erotic or sexual themes
- ERP (abbreviation)
- erotic role-play
- experience (points) (noun)
- experience or experience points is a way to measure a player's experience throughout their journey, granted usually when they finish tasks successfully or slay opponents
F[]
- faction (noun)
- political entity, association or clan/guild; usually either role-played by an individual, or populated by a group of (mostly) player characters who align with it
- fanon (adjective/noun)
- influential or widely accepted elements/ideas/concepts of fan fiction; portmanteau of "fan (fiction)" and "canon" (adjective)
- that what is fanon, a recognized set of fanon items (noun)
- fantasy (adjective/noun)
- of the fantasy genre, with fantasy elements (adjective)
- genre of fiction with supernatural and/or magical elements (noun)
- FFRP (abbreviation)
- Final Fantasy role-play
- Final Fantasy (name)
- series of role-playing games, as well as motion pictures, anime, e.a.
- Final Fantasy role-play (noun)
- role-play based on the Final Fantasy universe
- role-play that takes place in the setting of (one of) the Final Fantasy games
- FL (abbreviation)
- friend list
- forum role-play
- role-play that is performed or played out on a forum
- freeform (RP) (noun)
- type of role-play that applies little restrictions to for instance script or plot, usage of characters and their abilities
- type of role-play with a limited or even no Manual of Style or other style guidelines
- friend list (noun)
- contact list; list of people marked as friends on a community (usually to role-play with)
- FRP (abbreviation)
- forum role-play
- FTF (abbreviation)
- face to face
G[]
- game (noun)
- game master (noun)
- person who is in charge of or who organizes the game
- GM (abbreviation)
- game master
- god-modding
- god-moding
- to god-mod (verb)
- to modify a character during the role-play, both of the own (adding or altering information from its biography) or the other's character (describing it or its actions different than what is stated or can easily be derived)
- god-modding (noun)
- act of modifying a character during the role-play
- god-mode (noun)
- to god-mode (verb)
- to go in god-mode
- to ignore an (offensive) action upon the own character, not explaining how it may have responded or dodged
- god-moding (noun)
- act of going in god-mode
- act of ignoring (offensive) actions upon the own character
H[]
- H&S (abbreviation)
- hack and slash
- hack and slash (noun)
- type of game or role-play or style of playing it that emphasizes combat or even violence
- to handwave (verb)
- to skip or quickly gloss over parts of a story that should not (yet) or can not be explained
- to skip or quickly gloss over scenes or parts of a storyline with little action (to avoid boredom or time deprivation) or with high risk of breaking rules (sexual or violent themes)
- handwaving (noun)
- act of skipping or quickly glossing over scenes or parts of a story or role-play
- healer (noun)
- character class, person whose task is to restore health, cure poisons and sometimes revive, in order to delay or avoid defeat
- health (noun)
- physical and/or mental condition of a character, including their diseases and corporal quirks
- value expressing the amount of damage a character can take, usually expressed in hit points (or related terms) and often displayed through a health or life bar; health can decreased by attacking and increased by healing
- horror (adjective/noun)
- of the horror genre, with horror or macabre elements (adjective)
- genre of fiction with macabre elements (noun)
- house rule (noun)
- rule used in a community, organization or club, usually specified because it is distinct from the role-play conventions
- HP (abbreviation)
- hit points or health points
I[]
- IC (abbreviation)
- Inbreeding (noun)
- Original meaning: reproduction between genetically closely related pairs.
- Sticking to a core group of role-players to organize and participate in sims, with little to no new players.
- Keeping relatives and friends of a role-playing character to yourself or to the same select group of people, even though there are enough other role-players available.
- In character (noun)
- In the role-play; in the role of a role-playing character.
- In-character (adjective)
- Taking place in character
- Term used in expressions such as in-character information.
J[]
- JRPG
K[]
L[]
- LARP (abbreviation)
- Level-up (noun)
- Literate (adjective)
- With proper grammatical, ortographical and syntactical usage of the language role-played in, which may include paragraph-style or novel-style writing and is sometimes additionally regulated by a Manual of Style.
- Term used in expressions such as literate role-play and literate style.
- Live action role-play
- Form of role-playing where the players dress up and act like their role-playing characters.
M[]
- Main character (noun)
- Major or (most) important character in a book, role-play, etc.
- Manual of Style (noun)
- Original meaning: set of guidelines to ensure consistency and cohesion.
- Set of (writing) guidelines defining the style in which one should role-play (e.g. using color codes for characters' words, always using British/American English).
- Mary Sue (noun)
- A name to describe a character that is too "perfect" and inexplicably liked by other characters. Often a self-insert character.
- massively multiplayer online role-playing game (noun)
- MC (abbreviation)
- to meta-game
- meta-gaming
- Act of implementing OOC knowledge in a role-play when the character in question does not have the knowledge.
- MMORPG (abbreviation)
- MoS / MOS (abbreviation)
- Manual of Style
- MUD (abbreviation)
- multi-user dungeon, multi-user domain, multi-user dimension
- munchkin (noun)
N[]
- Non-playable character (noun)
- character that is not or cannot be played by a human player.
- NPC (abbreviation)
- non-playable or non-player character
O[]
- OC
- Abbreviation of original character.
- OCC
- Abbreviation of out (of) character chat.
- One-liner
- Original meaning: catch phrase, a one-like joke or slogan of an advertisement.
- Role-playing post that only exists of one line or sentence.
- OOC
- Abbreviation of out of character.
- OP
- Abbreviation of overpowered.
- Original character
- Character part of fan fiction or fanon; a fan-made character.
- Out of character
- Outside the role-play.
P[]
- PbE, PBE, PBEM
- Abbreviation of play-by-email (role-playing).
- PbI, PBI
- Abbreviation of play-by-internet.
- PbP, PBP
- Abbreviation of play-by-post (role-playing).
- PbW, PBW
- Abbreviation of play-by-web.
- PC
- Abbreviation of personal computer.
- Abbreviation of player character.
- Abbreviation of powered characters.
- Abbreviation of private chat.
- Play-by
- The actor or otherwise whose image is used to represent a character.
- Play-by-post (role-play)
- Type of role-play in which the participators play by placing role-playing messages (posts) on for instance bulletin boards or forums.
- Player character (playable character)
- Character controlled (controllable) by a human player.
- Poaching
- Original meaning: illegal hunting or killing of animals (i.e. outside the hunting season).
- Soliciting of members from an established role-play, project or community, especially when this is against their rules.
- Point of view
- Perspective of the narrator: first, second or third person.
- PoV, POV
- Abbreviation of point of view.
- PvP, PVP
- Abbreviation of player versus player, or person versus person.
- PxP
- Abbreviation of player x player, or person x person.
Q[]
- Quest
- Mission for a character or party to complete, sometimes part of a quest sequence and regularly divided into main quests and side quests.
- Quest item
- Item used (only) in or for a quest.
R[]
- RM
- Abbreviation of realistic melee.
- Role-player
- Person who role-plays; person who plays role-playing games.
- Role-playing character
- Character used in/for role-playing and wielded by a role-player.
- Role-playing game
- Game in which the player role-plays, usually with a minimum of choice and character development.
- RPC (abbreviation)
- role-playing character.
- role-playing community (uncommon).
- RPG
- Abbreviation of role-playing game.
S[]
- science fiction
- School slump
- Period of time from around late August to early October, shortly after the start of school/college.
- The effects of the above on role-play, more specifically the steep decline in activity in role-plays with a (fairly) young audience.
- Sim
- A distinguishable whole (storyline, game) or session of simming.
- Sim-boosting
- Temporarily joining of a new, inactive or dying role-play to boost its activity or to get it going, usually done by senior players of the community or role-players already active in another sim.
- Sim Leader (SL)
- An alternative designation for Commanding Officer, particularly in a non-military sim.
- Simmer
- Type of role-player who (mainly/only) participates in simming.
- Simming
- Textually role-playing; play-by-post role-playing.
T[]
- TPK
- Abbreviation of total party kill.
- TPO (abbreviation)
- the player of; e.g. Max tpo Captain Barnes
U[]
- UM
- Abbreviation of unrealistic melee.
V[]
W[]
- WAR
- Abbreviation of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.
- WoW
- Abbreviation of World of Warcraft.
X[]
- XP
- Abbreviation of experience (points).
Y[]
Y/N
.Your name,Your OC