Fudgerylog » Lexicon

A Wise Consistency Is the Ki-Rin of Great Minds

Gordon Cooper — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:46:24 +0000

I only recently acquired a copy of the Fudge 10th Anniversary Edition, and although my favorite is still the Fudge Expanded Edition, I must say I was pleased with one of the changes I noticed: reducing game terms to lowercase. It always annoyed me that there were Difficulty Levels and difficulty adjustments, Subjective Character Creation and random character creation, Opposed Actions and Opposed actions, etc. I was planning to do this with my own upcoming untitled Fudge build.

In belated recognition of this change, I have updated the Glossary of Fudge and General Role-Playing Terms to reflect the current standard. I also added a term I noticed was missing: “combat resolution.”

[Apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson for the paraphrase of "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."]

Yet Another Glossary Update

Gordon Cooper — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:04:51 +0000

I added a few more terms to the Glossary of Fudge and General Role-Playing Terms, such as “action resolution,” “mini-scenario,” “one-on-one,” “solo scenario,” and “task resolution.”

A Very Happy Unbirthday to You

Gordon Cooper — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:27:14 +0000

Thinking about gamer colloquialisms reminded of one that I coined during my AD&D, 1st Edition days:

unmodule: Any role-playing without the use of a written module, usually occurring during “downtime” between adventures and allowing player characters to pursue personal goals, run errands, buy equipment, carouse, or embark on missions of their own design.; Derived from “unbirthday” in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Those were great fun. I know at least one DM of Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition who runs almost nothing but unmodules, although he doesn’t use the term.

I’m not sure what the proper term would be for role-playing games that don’t even use the term “module.” I can’t really condone “unscenario” or “unadventure.” I might accept the use of the word “freestyle,” though. Anyone for a session of freestyle? Hm…

Gamer Colloquialisms

Gordon Cooper — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:27:58 +0000

Related to the previous article, I just remembered an example of a gamer colloquialism not used by anyone in my own gaming group. I heard it in the 1980s when I was attending NOWSCon, a small gaming convention held by the Northern Ohio Wargaming Society. I was playing in the first round of an RPGA-sanctioned event, and the DM said something about a “mew.” He mentioned it several times, which invariably left the players exchanging befuddled glances, until one of us asked, “What is a ‘mew’?” He appeared to be quite shocked at the question and answered, “A mew! A magic-user of course!” At this the whole group said “Ohhh!” in unison, and I said, “Oh, you mean an ‘m-u’” (which we always pronounced as two distinct letters: “M.U.”) Normally, we just said “magic-user” — it never really seemed like the sort of word that needed to be abbreviated or initialized. If anything, we tended to favor longer, more flavorful descriptions. Each to his or her own, I guess.

[mew] or [myu]: A pronunciation of the abbreviation “m-u” for “magic-user” in earlier editions of Dungeons & Dragons.

GMing Terms Added to Glossary

Gordon Cooper — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:00:36 +0000

I have added three terms to the Glossary of Fudge and General Role-Playing Terms: “GM fiat,” “GM on the fly,” and “GM whim.”

I have also pondered whether it would be justifiable to include what may be considered gamer colloquialisms, but ultimately I think it would clutter the glossary, the aim of which is to be accurate, concise, and useful. Gamer colloquialisms are probably best relegated to a separate list.

In any event, some of the gamer colloquialisms that spring to my mind are:

back to the module: A statement made by the DM to signify an end to the players’ out-of-character chit-chat and a resumption of active gaming, usually made emphatically: “Back to the module…”; In role-playing games other than Dungeons & Dragons usually rendered as back to the adventure, back to the scenario, or back to the story.

blown out of existence or B.O.E.: Eradicated beyond all hope of resurrection, as in, “Would you like to have your character blown out of existence?”; inspired by the sphere of annihilation described in The Dungeon Master’s Guide of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1st Edition.

Glossary Updated

Gordon Cooper — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 07:35:13 +0000

I’m not sure why it has taken me so long, but I finally updated the Glossary of Fudge and General Role-Playing Terms to include the variant of “Game Master” used in the rest of the English-speaking world: “Games Master.” I also remembered to add “gamer” and “grognard.” Not exactly earth-shattering, but an update is an update.