The Gaming Den

These terms are all stupid and anyone who uses them is no longer allowed to play RPGs:

Tank
Meatshield
Skillmonkey
Dip (like for multiclassing)
Nerf
Sword and Board
Aggro

Just wanted you all to know about this.

You're very beardy, ISP.

Would you care to give some explanation on what is wrong with those terms?

Grow up.

"Immersion"

Sometimes I agree with the person saying "this hurts immersion". But it's one of those terms that, once it enters the discussion, everyone thinks they're entitled to use it in their own subjective way.

Okay, from now on we will talk about:

The really tough party member that is hard to hurt
The character that is just there to take damage whilst the other characters do something
The character with the highest number of skills
Gaining a small amount of power more associated with another class
Penalties applied in the name of balance
Sword and Shield
Making yourself a target for enemies in preference to other party members.

Thanks ISP, I'm sure our conversations will be much clearer now!

Add "Toon" to that list.

SubversionArts wrote:Add "Toon" to that list.

If by "add" toon you mean "replace the entire list with toon" I might agree.

But then again, the game "Toon" does exist, and telling the people who play it that they aren't allowed to play RPGs ever again seems a bit extreme.

infected slut princess wrote: Dip (like for multiclassing)

Go fuck yourself with a splintery plunger-- adding that one to your list of personal hatepeeves is is a full-on edition war salvo, and one which very likely puts you in the enemy camp of such a war.

Think before you post, ISP. Or better yet, don't post.

The first time I heard "toon" to describe a player character. Where does that come from?

OgreBattle wrote:The first time I heard "toon" to describe a player character. Where does that come from?

The only thing I can think of is this.

http://www.sjgames.com/toon/

Toon gets used all of the time to describe player avatars in MMORPGs, especially World of Warcraft. Hell, even Knights of the Dinner Table used it.

I think 'toon' originated in text-based multiplayer games, just like 'mob'. 'Mob' came from 'mobile', but the etymology of 'toon' seems pretty opaque. Maybe from a cartoon-themed MUSH?

Someone on the internet suggests The Realm Online as being the first place it was used because the characters where very cartoon like.

Guess that is as good an explanation as any, but yeah, I don't see it much.

Everyone, isp has spoken, we must all listen and agree.

Koumei wrote:Everyone, isp has spoken, we must all listen and agree.

You heard the woman, but moh seriously ISP, why are all of those bad? I can understand the MMO connotations, and the tainting that brings on Tabletop. My circle has seen those words get abused, especially "skillmonkey" and "dip". I'm guessing on "Nerf", its the blame of League of Legends community, who spam that term for what they do is regular errata for that game.

Aryxbez wrote:

Koumei wrote:Everyone, isp has spoken, we must all listen and agree.

You heard the woman, but moh seriously ISP, why are all of those bad? I can understand the MMO connotations, and the tainting that brings on Tabletop. My circle has seen those words get abused, especially "skillmonkey" and "dip". I'm guessing on "Nerf", its the blame of League of Legends community, who spam that term for what they do is regular errata for that game.

Uh... regular errata that nerfs or buffs things is still regular errata, but is also a nerf. Nerf isn't a special super kind of change that is magically different from other changes.

Seerow wrote:

SubversionArts wrote:Add "Toon" to that list.

If by "add" toon you mean "replace the entire list with toon" I might agree.

Yes, please, replace the whole list with just Toon. After all, why even include "Tank" if you're not going to include "DPS"?

Seerow wrote:But then again, the game "Toon" does exist, and telling the people who play it that they aren't allowed to play RPGs ever again seems a bit extreme.

Of course not, people playing Toon are fine, that is an acceptable use. But referring to a character as a toon outside of that context should not be acceptable.

Toon is a good one. If anyone uses that, obviously they suck.

A few others:

Tiers (a la JaronK -- anyone who uses this term is not a human, but rather a vaguely human-looking animal who has been trained to roll dice and not shit on the floor)

Crit (just say "Critical" -- crit makes you sound like a knob)

Fluff (this is just a horrible word -- use "flavor" or something less stupid sounding)

Narrativist/Gamist/Simulationist (I still see people using these terms. Fuck all those people.)

Storyteller (what, because only the GM tells teh story? GM is better)

Big Bad (sounds like something a fucking 5-year-old would say -- grow up, losers)

Well, as for the terms "tank" and "meatshield", the point is that the idea of a PC who wants to get focused on is pretty stupid on several levels. On the one hand taunt mechanics are really hard to sell without breaking verisimilitude, on the other if a PC is constantly focused on he either dies or is the focal point in every single fight and the obvious team mvp. That's simply bad for the game.

Okay, consider me trolled.

infected slut princess wrote:Fluff (this is just a horrible word -- use "flavor" or something less stupid sounding)

Bullshit. Fluff is a substance. Flavor is a quality. These words are not interchangeable.

infected slut princess wrote:Storyteller (what, because only the GM tells teh story? GM is better)

MC is better still.

infected slut princess wrote:Big Bad (sounds like something a fucking 5-year-old would say -- grow up, losers)

Bullshit again. Collaborative stories which are highbrow enough to require the use of cumbersome terms like "designated primary antagonist" in regular parlance do not have a designated primary antagonist in the first place. And for stories which do have one, "Big Bad" is spot-on.

Kaelik wrote:Nerf isn't a special super kind of change that is magically different from other changes.

Ah fair enough, I suppose my tabletop experience conflated some bits to think otherwise. Didn't know of its broad definition, as otherwise just really seemed like the fanbase would call everything a "nerf". Also part of it I suppose I didn't look at it granular enough, so didn't think things a "nerf" if the overall design was still good (this case the character is still good despite some of their features may've gotten dubbed down).

infected slut princess, wrote:Crit (just say "Critical" -- crit makes you sound like a knob)

Could you explain the others one you've originally mentioned? As while I understand term "Fluff" become a term of mockery to me from its overuse by White Wolf Fans in my area, why Crit? Crit is short, and far punchier sounding than saying "Critical", saying "you crit" sounds better than "you critical".

The rest make sense as well, Tiers as defined by that author, but what about Monk/Fighter/Rogue/Wizard Same Game Test balance points? I personally really like those for the standard of D&D, brings stronger defining of the game as its aged to the fold.