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#* ''The name says it all. Stereotypically a character with very little depth who uses their brawn to solve as many problems as possible. They often do not scale well in part to their lack of depth. Although are often fun to play in low level campaigns and/or for beginners to the hobby.''
# Also known as [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#DMF|DMF]] and [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#VAH|VAH]]
'''{{Anchor|Captain Hobo}}'''
# * A theoretical character in a system which generically surcharges game effects based on their utility and directs the player to fluff their effects post-hoc. He's used as a shorthand for the dangers of assigning weak fluff without regards to its relative in-game effect; Captain Hobo's super-speed is described as being the side-effect of 'too much energy drinks and vodka', his 12d6 attack (the max he's allowed to buy out of chargen) is a broken chair leg, his toughness is described as 'layered clothes from Goodwill with cardboard and tape', etc.
'''{{Anchor|Cherrypicking}}'''
#* "Plunder everything that isn't nailed down. Then take everything that IS nailed down. THEN take the nails from the walls. Finally, take the walls." [http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=208751#208751]
#* Presumed to have started because RPGA started assuming players acquired all available treasure, so if you didn't take ''literally everything'', you were behind the curve. [http://tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=336120#336120]
'''{{Anchor|Gygaxian}}'''
# A style of running games which encompasses one or more of the following:
#* The GM behaves in a somewhat to very adversarial manner to the PCs running the game.
#* The GM takes an authoritative, no-backtalk style and is authorized to use their position to enforce control of the game.
#* Players are expected to handle adversity, even if the outcome is unfair, arbitrary, or punitive with a minimum of fuss.
#* The campaign is very deadly, with TPKs caused by bad luck or poor player choices being readily handed out.
'''{{Anchor|Judge}} (RPG)'''
'''{{Anchor|Level Dipping}}'''
* Level dipping, or just Dipping, is an optimization technique where a player takes 1-2 levels in a class to gain its unique class features or abilities, then leaves the class.
'''{{Anchor|Logistics and Dragons}}'''
# A style of gaming which focuses on economic, political and military management, especially when [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#Murderhobo|Murderhoboing]] is the default assumed style.
'''{{Anchor|LWQW}}'''
# MTP for short. A term for describing the "make it up" advice in RPG texts when some event or action is not covered by the rules.
#* Not inherently a derogatory comment, it is often used with a negative connotation due to MTP commonly being used in place of rules that are either bad, or incomplete enough, to be useless.
'''{{Anchor|Murderhobo}}'''
# An oft derogatory, sometimes affectionate term for Player Characters in D&D-style games. The term refers to the massive amount of violence a typical PC dishes out in the course of quest-solving and treasure accumulation (murder) and their itinerant lifestyle needed to find the maximum number of quest hooks (hobo).
'''{{Anchor|Nova}}'''
'''{{Anchor|OSR}} (Old School Renaissance)'''
* Also known as Old System Revival
# A "movement" or trend in creating new RPG systems / rule sets based off of older, or "original", published products from the past. Complete with sensibilities associated with them. See [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#Gygaxian|Gygaxian]].
#* e.g Original Dungeons and Dragons, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1e)
'''{{Anchor|Phlebotinum}}'''
# Phlebotinum is the versatile substance that may be rubbed on almost anything to cause an effect needed by a plot. Examples include but are not limited to: nanotechnology, magic crystal emanations, pixie dust, a sonic screwdriver, vented drive plasma, and Green Rocks. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AppliedPhlebotinum]
'''{{Anchor|Plot Armor}}'''
# Plot Armor is a character overcoming events that would be crippling or even lethal with an unconvincing or even no in-narrative justification; the implication is that the only reason why the character survived as long as they did is because they're required to by the plot. Plot Armor is when the survival is not adequately explained within the narrative -- Superman surviving getting shot in the eye with a shotgun at point-blank isn't Plot Armor, that's just him using his powers. ''Batman'' surviving getting shot in the eye at point-blank range with a shotgun is almost certainly Plot Armor. The term Plot Armor is generally used in a derogative fashion, though a lot of games have Plot Armor built into the rules and limited by some resource.
'''{{Anchor|Powergaming}}'''
# Also referred to as Character Optimization, this refers to the practice of using a Player's extensive knowledge of an RPG system's rules in the most advantageous way possible to the Player, resulting in a more powerful than average Player Character. While not inherently good or bad, this can lead to friction between powergamers and more casual players due to the resulting disparity in power levels between PCs.
#* ''When taken to extremes, powergaming is often referred to as 'Munchkining,' which carries a more negative connotation with most gamers.
'''{{Anchor|Resource Management System}}'''
# A system for determining when players can use certain abilities that they theoretically have available to them. The broad categories are:
#* At-Will: There's no limitation on using this resource.
#* Spell Charge: This resource can only be used a finite number of times over a certain timeframe. The spell charges can be discrete like the spell slots of 3E D&D spellcasters or the Encounter/Daily powers of 4E D&D PCs and they can also be fungible like psionic points.
#* Cool-down and Warm-up: This resource requires players to wait a certain span of time before they can be used again. Cool-down generally allows the first use to be at-will, while warm-up requires even the first use to spend a certain amount of time doing something else.
#* Berserk Meter: This resource requires players to be lacking a certain amount of another resource before it can be used, typically health. For example, certain 4E D&D racial abilities that can only be used when the character had the Bloodied status effect.
#* Drain: This resource becomes less effective or even unusable depending on the state of another resource. For example, a Warlock can fire five magic missiles at full health, three at half health, and only one at quarter health. For extra drama, a lot of Drain resource management systems can deplete the resource that it's pegged to i.e. Shadowrun spells are most safely cast at full health but can also damage your health depending on how much power you put into them.
#* Random: The availability of this resource is randomly determined. 4E D&D monsters recharging certain powers on a d6 die roll or the Crusader randomly accessing a subset of their known maneuvers would be examples of a Random resource management system.
'''{{Anchor|Retro-clone}}'''
'''{{Anchor|Rule Zero}}'''
# The DM is the final arbiter in ruling mechanics decisions.
'''{{Anchor|Rule Negative One}}'''
# Because the DM is the final arbiter in ruling mechanics decisions, there's no such thing as objective power or utility. Power and utility is determined by what will be allowed at a table. And because most players aren't mathematicians and use incorrigible criteria (i.e. does this sourcebook look cheaply made, [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#WFM|I dislike noncasters getting access to superpowers]]), what's allowed at a table is ultimately tribal and arbitrary. An officially published overpowered class is more likely to be allowed than a underpowered homebrew class simply because the former is official. Or if two builds are of equal power, the one that uses fewer and more professional-quality books is more likely to be included.
'''{{Anchor|Rule Negative Two}}'''
# Because of Rule Negative One, when discussing rules and especially Character Optimization in general, if there are multiple ways to interpret a rule in absence of a specific GM a you should use the most [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#Gygaxian|Gygaxian]] interpretation possible.
'''{{Anchor|Session}}'''
'''{{Anchor|VAH}} (Vanilla Action Hero)'''
# A character common to action movies who has no reliable access to or unilateral control of phlebotinum and has to rely on plot armor and mundane (if preternatural) human abilities to accomplish things. VAHs are allowed to use their plot armor to bend probability--such as being shot at by twenty bad guys and having them all miss--but can't use it to do something that's impossible to a layman's WSoD--such as surviving a harpoon to the heart. Has a lot of overlap with [[Canon:RPG_Terminology#DMF|Dumb Melee Fighter]], but note that not all VAHs are DMFs; James Bond is a Vanilla Action Hero but not a DMF. Similarly, The Thing is a Dumb Melee Fighter but not a VAH.
'''{{Anchor|WFM}}'''
