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Short Glossary of Tabletop Terms

Welcome back, Adventurers!

Before we get started on the meat of this blog, I want to make sure that everyone knows what I’m talking about. In tabletop gaming, there are a lot of terms and acronyms that might not make sense to anyone outside of this community. This post should hopefully clear things up about some words that will pop up in future posts.

  • Game Master (GM) – The host, or individual in charge of running the game.
  • Dungeon Master (DM) – Most commonly used term for the GM of a Dungeons and Dragons game.
  • Storyteller (ST) – Most commonly used term for the GM of World of Darkness or Chronicles of Darkness games.
  • Tabletop Role Playing Game (TtRPG)
  • Live Action Role Play (LARP) – An alternate to tabletop play, where players dress up and act out their characters. LARP groups are generally much larger than tabletop groups.
  • Player Character (PC) – created and controlled by the player
  • Non-player Character (NPC) – created and controlled by the GM
  • Dice (d#) – designates the type of dice rolled by how high the numbers can go. D20 is most common in D&D, d10 is used exclusively in WoD and CoD. D6 is what most consider the “typical” dice in board or gambling games.
  • Dungeons and Dragons (D&D/DnD)
  • Fifth Edition (5e) – reference to which edition of D&D is being used. There are other editions but 5e is the most current, and in contention with 3.5e as the most popular.
  • World of Darkness (WoD) – A storytelling game system of modern supernatural horror and intrigue. The most popular and well known of these are Vampire and Werewolf.
  • Vampire: the Masquerade (V:tM) – Flagship of the WoD game system.
  • Werewolf: the Apocalypse (W:tA) – another well-known and popular WoD game.
  • Demon: the Fallen (D:tF) – A lesser known WoD game. There will be a Demon game referenced later in this blog.
  • Chronicles of Darkness (CoD) – A rewrite of the original WoD games. Many core rules and the theme are the same, but written to integrate the various supernaturals in the world more cohesively.
  • Vampire: the Requiem (V:tR)
  • Werewolf: the Forsaken (W:tF)
  • Mage: the Awakening (M:tA)
  • Changeling: the Lost (C:tL)
  • Promethean: the Created (P:tC)
  • Geist: the Sin Eaters (G:tS)
  • Hunter: the Vigil (H:tV)

That’s it. That’s the list. For now. I’m sure I’ll add to it over time, or with suggestions, but it works for what we need to get started.

Happy reading!