As a former English major--and a current English/Language Arts teacher--I find it kind of amazing how different sub-groups in a society build their own vocabulary. Case in point: gamers. Ask any gamer worth his dice what a "crit" is, and you'll get the same answer--a fantastic die roll (usually a Natural 20) that reduces his foe to a greasy smear. Ask that same gamer what a "toon" is, and they'll most likely be able to tell you that it refers to a character, particularly in an MMORPG.
But, some gamer terms aren't necessarily universal terms. In fact, our group has a penchant for making up our own table-talk or filching terms for occurrences around our table. Take a look at just some of our own home-made vocabulary!
 |
RIP, Trololo Guy. You're definitely missed
around our game table! |
Trololo: As I mentioned earlier, we have an ongoing tradition of going out to eat before game night. Unfortunately, this sometimes has...repercussions. Going "trololo" came out of ChaoticFrederick's tendency to play
The Trololo Song outside the door of anyone whose bodily functions are holding up the game...
Numberwang: Stolen shamelessly from "
That Mitchell and Webb Look", numberwang refers to a
bizarre game show sketch where guests guess random numbers eventually hoping to be told "That's Numberwang!" In our games, numberwang refers to an excellently well-timed roll, or any roll that is satisfactorily high.
"Look, a dagron!": Another of ChaoticFrederick's inventions, this came out of his failed attempt to distract a barbarian leader during our "Tear of Ioun" game. Since then, it's come to represent any flimsy attempt at a distraction.
Going to Denny's: Simply put, as
this South Park episode shows, Denny's is not a nice place to be... (NSFW, by the by)
Ghetto-Crit: Not quite a full-bore crit, ghetto-crits are another word for "max damage".
Richard: Named after a former player's character, Richard was infamous for using area of effect powers with his party members in the line of fire. I used to joke that Richard was my greatest ally as a GM. In one instance, he critted on two party members, hit a third, and left my monsters unscathed! Being Richard instantly became synonymous with screwing over the party for convenience's sake. Don't be Richard, children!
"...and I smoke as I do so...": Another one coming out of our "Tear of Ioun" sessions, this became syonymous with not just succeeding, but looking cool as one succeeds. Who knew that the Church of Bane encouraged smoking?
 |
| Beware of waffles-related injury! |
Waffles: Stemming out of our trek through "The Flood," in which the players attempted to give the Confederate admiral at Shannonsburg a waffle iron, waffles refer to any unwanted or undesired gift...particularly if that gift has the opposite of the intended effect. Note that the admiral's former fiancee was killed in a tragic waffle iron accident.
"That'll do, Jimmy...": A generally satisfactory result.
"There's no reason you can't play the character you want to play...": A riff off of a particularly frustrating passage in the
4e Dark Sun Campaign Setting manual, this usually precedes the introduction of some element that utterly does not fit the setting, such as a Ghostbuster joining in a fantasy game or a Jedi joining a group of
Call of Cthulhu investigators.
This is just a small sampling of the various terms that get thrown around our table. Stay tuned for more!
Oh! And some updates for you!
Journeyman Games' "Wild Card Creator" is now 3/4 of the way to its funding goal! If you haven't supported them yet, you still have almost 4 weeks left to do so!
And, I've tossed another treat into the Bag of Holding--this time, it's our Call of Cthulhu adventure, "Chrysalis". Mind you, this one is a bit rough, so be aware of what you're getting your party into!
Enjoy!
