Port of Entry - TTRPG Terms to Know

Welcome Travelers to this week’s Port of Entry! Today we are focusing on some Tabletop Role Playing Game (TTRPG) terms and acronyms that you may have heard, but aren’t so sure what they mean.

When I first started out, I was afraid to ask what a d8 was (It’s an 8 sided die). While I was fortunate enough to have wonderful people around me, I just sort of learned by osmosis for a lot of things! The purpose of this post is to bring together many of the common terms that seasoned players take for granted. While these terms are heavily focused on Dungeons and Dragons, many of these can be applied to other TTRPGs as well!

Term	Definition
Attributes/Stats	In Dungeons and Dragons, Player Attributes/Stats are: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
Advantage	A game mechanic that allows a player to roll two dice and take the higher value
Backstory	A character’s life experiences prior to the start of a TTRPG game.
BBEG	Big Bad End Guy; typically the final boss in a game
Campaign	The story of your TTRPG, typically made up of many game sessions.
CS	Character Sheet
D10	Ten sided die
D12	Twelve sided die
D20	Twenty sided die
D4	Four sided die
D6	Six sided die
D8	Eight sided die
Disadvantage	A game mechanic that makes a player roll two dice and take the lower number
DM	Dungeon Master- typically used for the person running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign
DMG	Dungeon Master’s Guide
DND/D&D	Dungeons and Dragons
EXP/XP	Experience Points
GM	Game Master- typically used for the person running the game that is not Dungeons and Dragons
HP	Hit points or health points
Initiative	Used to determine the order in combat. A player uses their dexterity score combined with a d20 roll to determine their initiative order.
Lines and Veils	A type of safety tool. Lines are hard lines for topics players do not wish to explore. Veils are “proceed with caution” topics players wish to be sensitive too.
Mini Campaign	A TTRPG story that typically takes place over 3 to 5 sessions
MM	Monster Manual
NPC	Non Player Character, usually played by the Dungeon or Game Master
One Shot	A TTRPG story that is intended to take place in one session.
Passive Perception	An optional, but commonly used mechanic in DND to help move the game along. If something requires a perception check and a player’s passive perception is higher than the check needed, the player automatically succeeds the check.
PbP	Play by Post, a RPG where players submit their actions in remotely
PC	Player Character
PHB	Player’s Handbook
RPG	Role Playing Game
Safety Tools	An agreed upon rule set prior to game play to help keep players emotionally safe. Examples include the TTRPG Safety Toolkit, Lines and Veils, Boundaries, and more.
Session	A single meeting of your campaign. Typically lasts a few hours.
Session 0	A session of a campaign that happens prior to the game beginning where players get to know each other, build their characters, and discuss safety tools that will be used
Stats/Attributes	In Dungeons and Dragons, Player Stats/Attributes are: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
TTRPG	Table Top Role Playing Game
XP/EXP	Experience Points