Glossary

Ability  --  Any of the six natural traits that represent the basic definition of a player character: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. A player character's abilities are determined at the beginning of a game by rolling 3 6-sided dice (3d6). The scores continue to be used throughout the game as a means of determining success or failure of many actions.

Ability check --  A 1d20 roll against one of your character's ability scores (modifiers may be added to or subtracted from the die roll). A result that is equal to or less than your character's ability score indicates that the attempted action succeeds.

AC --  Abbreviation for Armor Class.

Alignment --  A factor in defining a player character that reflects his basic attitude toward society and the forces of the universe. Basically there are nine categories demonstrating the character's relationship to order vs. chaos and good vs. evil. A player character's alignment is selected by the player when the character is created.

Area of effect --  The area in which a magical spell or a breath weapon works on any creatures unless they make a saving throw.

Armor Class (AC) --  The protective rating of a type of armor. In some circumstances, AC is modified by the amount of protection gained or lost because of the character's situation. For instance, crouching behind a boulder improves a character's Armor Class, while being attacked from behind worsens his AC.

Armor provides protection by reducing the chance that a character is attacked successfully (and suffers damage). Armor does not absorb damage, it prevents it. A fighter in full plate mail may be a slow-moving target, but penetrating his armor to cause any damage is no small task.

Armor Class is measured on a scale from 10, the worst (no armor), to 30, the best (very powerful magical armors). The higher the number, the more effective the armor. Shields can also improve the AC of a character (see "Shields").

Abilities and situations can also affect a character's Armor Class. High Dexterity gives a bonus to Armor Class, for example. But even a character with a Dexterity bonus can have this bonus negated if he is attacked from the rear.

Attack roll --  The 1d20 roll used to determine if an attack is successful.

Artifact --  A magical item of tremendous power, fabricated in the distant past.

Astral --  Pertaining to or within the Astral Plane. Not the same as ethereal.

Bolt --  1. (n)Missile from a crossbow. 2. (n)Bar locking a door. 3. (n)Streak of lightning. 4. (v)To flee.

Bend bars/lift gates roll --  The roll of percentile dice to determine whether a character succeeds in bending metal bars, lifting a heavy portcullis, or similar task. The result needed is a function of Strength and can be found in the Strength Modifiers table.

Bonus spells --  Extra spells at various spell levels that a priest is entitled to because of high ; Wisdom.

Breath weapon --  The ability of a dragon or other creature to spew a substance out of its mouth just by breathing, without making an attack roll. Those in the area of effect must roll a saving throw. For saving throw purposes the "Breath Weapon" category excludes petrification and polymorph results, which have their own category.

Cha --  Abbreviation for Charisma.

Charm --  A magical form of minor mind control. Also, one of the 11 schools of magic.

Chance of spell failure --  The percentage chance that a priest spell will fail when cast. Based on Wisdom, it is shown in the Wisdom Modifiers table.

Chance to know spell --  The percentage chance for a wizard to learn a new spell. Based on Intelligence, it is shown in the Intelligence Modifiers table.

Charisma (abbr. Cha) --  An ability score representing a character's persuasiveness, personal magnetism, and ability to lead.

Class --  A character's primary profession or career: fighter, cleric, thief, etc.

c.p. (Also cp) --  Copper piece(s), a monetary unit worth 1/200th of a gold piece.

Common --  The language that all player characters in the AD&D game world speak. Other languages may require the use of proficiency slots.

Con --  Abbreviation for Constitution.

Constitution (abbr. Con) --  An ability score that represents a character's general physique, hardiness, and state of health.

d --  Abbreviation for dice or die. A roll that calls for 2d6, for example, means that the player rolls two six-sided dice.

d3 --  If you don't have a three sided die (there really is such a thing), you can simulate a roll calling for d3 by using a d6, making 1 and 2 be a 1, 3 and 4 be a 2, and 5 and 6 be a 3.

d4 --  A four-sided die.

d6 --  A six-sided die.

d8 --  An eight-sided die.

d10 --  A ten-sided die.

d12 --  A twelve-sided die.

d20 --  A twenty-sided die.

d100 --  Either an actual 100-sided die or two different-colored ten-sided dice to be rolled as percentile dice.

DMG --  A reference to the Dungeon Master Guide.

Damage --  What happens to a character when an opponent attacks him successfully. Damage can also occur as a result of poison, fire, falling, acid, and anything even remotely dangerous in the real world. Damage from most attacks is measured in hit points. Each time a character is hit, he suffers points of damage. It could be as little as 1 point to as many as 80 or more. These points are subtracted from the character's current hit point total. When this reaches 0, the character is likely to die without immediate aid. Damage can also refer to structural points inflicted on a structure/building.

Death --  This occurs when a creature's hit points reach 0 or below, if aid is not immediately rendered. Most dead characters can be resurrected, although destruction of the body (among other factors) will prevent this.

Death Magic --  Death rays, Fingers of Death, and other magicks which will kill a victim which fails its saving throw.

Deities --  Any of the god-like beings of myth and legend which are included in the campaign.

Demihuman --  A player character who is not human: a dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc or halfling.

Dex --  Abbreviation for Dexterity.

Dexterity (abbr. Dex) --  An ability score representing a combination of a character's agility, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and the like.

DM --  Abbreviation for Dungeon Master.

Dungeon --  A generic term for any castle, location, or ruin that serves as the site of an underground adventure.

Dungeon Master --  The game referee, who prepares the campaign and the adventure. The Dungeon Master's job is to present the environment to the players, and adjudicate their responses.

Dual-class character --  A human who switches character class after having already progressed several levels. Only humans can be dual-classed.

Encounter --  An (unexpected?) confrontation with a monster, another party, etc.

Encumbrance --  The amount, in pounds, that a character is carrying. How much he can carry and how being encumbered affects his movement rate are based on Strength and are shown in the Character Encumbrance and Stowage Capacity tables. Encumbrance is an optional rule.

e.p. (Also ep) --  Electrum piece(s), a monetary unit worth 1/2 of a gold piece.

Energy drain --  The ability of a creature, especially undead, to drain energy in the form of class levels from a character, in addition to the normal loss of hit points.

Ethereal --  Pertaining to or within the Ethereal Plane. Not the same as astral.

Exceptional Strength --  Strength exceeding 18, usually designated as 18/xx, where xx is a value between 01 and 00(100) inclusive.

Experience points (abbr. XP) --  A measure of what a character has learned and how he has improved his skill(s) during the course of his adventures. Characters earn experience points by completing adventures and by doing things specifically related to their class. A fighter, for example, earns more experience for charging and battling a monster than does a thief, because the fighter's training emphasizes battle while the thief's emphasizes stealth and cleverness. Characters accumulate experience points from adventure to adventure. When they accumulate enough, they rise to the next level of experience, gaining additional abilities and powers. The experience level tables for each character group list the total, accumulated experience points needed to reach each level.

Follower --  A nonplayer character who works for a character for money but is initially drawn to his reputation.

Gaze attack --  The ability of a creature, such as a basilisk, to attack simply by making eye contact with the victim.

g.p. (Also gp) --  Gold piece(s), the standard monetary unit; 10 g.p. = 1 pound, each g.p. weighing 1.6 oz. Sometimes used as a unit of weight/encumbrance.

Henchmen --  Nonplayer characters who work for a character mainly out of loyalty and love of adventure. The number of henchmen a character can have is based on Charisma and is shown in the Charisma Modifiers table. The DM and the player share control of the henchmen.

Hireling --  Nonplayer characters who are hired to accompany a party on an adventure, or employed for some other temporary purpose by a character just for money. Hirelings are completely under the control of the DM.

Hit Dice --  The dice rolled to determine a character's hit points. Up to a certain level, one or more new Hit Dice are rolled each time a character attains a new class level. A fighter, for example, has only one 10-sided Hit Die (1d10) at 1st level, but when he rises to the 2nd level, the player rolls a second d10, increasing the character's hit points.

Hit points --  A number representing:
1. How much damage a character can suffer before being killed, determined by Hit Dice. This reflects the creature's physical endurance, fighting experience, skill, or luck. The hit points lost to injury can usually be regained by rest or healing;
2. How much damage a specific attack does, determined by weapon or monster statistics, and subtracted from a player's total.

Holy/Unholy Water --  Water which has been specially prepared by a cleric. Useful as a weapon against undead or to slow the effects of poison.

Humanoid --  Refers to anthropomorphic, generally hostile creatures: orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, etc.

Inches --  One inch = 10 feet on the indoor (dungeon) scale; one inch = 10 yards on the outdoor scale.

Infravision --  The ability of certain character races or monsters to see in the dark. Infravision generally works up to 60 feet in the darkness.

Initiative --  Determines the order in which things happen in a combat round. Like so many things in the world, initiative is determined by a combination of ability, situation, and chance. At the start of each round of a battle, an initiative roll (d10) is made by both sides. This roll can be modified by the abilities of the combatants and by the situation. The person or side with the lower modified die roll acts first. More detail here.

Int --  Abbreviation for Intelligence.

Intelligence (abbr. Int) --  An ability score representing a character's memory, reasoning, and learning ability.

Level --  Any of several different game factors that are variable in degree, especially:
1. Class level, a measure of the character's power, starting at the 1st level as a beginning adventurer and rising through the accumulation of experience points to the 20th level or higher. At each level attained, the character receives new powers.
2. Spell level, a measure of the power of a magical spell. A magic-using character can use only those spells for which his class level qualifies him. Wizard spells come in nine levels; priest spells in seven.
3. Dungeon level, which can literally mean how many staircases the party has descended into the dungeon, but more often refers to the level of danger of whatever environment the players find themselves in.
4. Monster level, the number of hit dice that a monster has.

Loyalty base --  A bonus added to or a penalty subtracted from the probability that henchmen are going to stay around when the going gets tough. Based on the character's Charisma, it is shown in the Charisma Modifiers table.

Lycanthrope --  Any of the shape-changing man-beasts of legend (werewolves, weretigers, etc.).

M --  Abbreviation for material component.

Magic Resistance --  The percentage chance of any spell absolutely failing in the creature's presence. It is based on the spell being cast by an 11th level wizard, and must be adjusted upwards by 5% for each level the caster is below 11th or downwards by 5% for each level the caster is above 11th. Thus a magic resistance of 95% means that a 10th level wizard has no possibility of affecting the monster with a spell, while a 12th level wizard has a 10% chance. Even if a spell does take effect on a magic-resistant creature, the creature is then entitled to normal saving throws.

Magical defense adjustment --  A bonus added to or a penalty subtracted from saving throws vs. spells that attack the mind. Based on Wisdom, it is shown in the Wisdom Modifiers table.

Maneuverability class --  A ranking for flying creatures that reflects their ability to turn easily in aerial combat. Each class, from a top rank of A to a bottom rank of E has specific statistical abilities in combat.

Material component (abbr. M) --  Any specific item that must be handled in some way during the casting of a magical spell.

Maximum press --  The most weight a character can pick up and raise over his head. It is a function of Strength and may be found in the Strength Modifiers table.

Melee --  Combat in which characters are fighting in direct contact, such as with swords, claws, or fists, as opposed to fighting with missile weapons or spells. Strength and Dexterity are valuable assets in melee.

Missile --  Any weapon which is hurled or propelled towards a target; this includes arrows, spears, catapult boulders, and sling bullets, as well as anything else flung at a target (flasks of oil, vials of holy water, etc.).

Missile combat --  Combat involving the use of weapons that shoot missiles or items that can be thrown. Because the combat is not "toe-to-toe," the rules are slightly different than those for regular combat.

Monster --  For game purposes, any potentially threatening creature encountered, man or beast.

MontyHaul --  A campaign (or the DM running it) in which greatly excessive amounts of treasure and/or experience are given out.

Movement rate --  A number used in calculating how far and how fast a character can move in a round. This number is in units of 10 yards per round outdoors, but it represents 10 feet indoors. Thus, an MR of 6 is 60 yards per round in the wilderness, but only 60 feet per round in a dungeon.

MR --  Abbreviation for movement rate.

Multi-class character --  A demihuman who improves in two or more classes at the same time by dividing experience points between the different classes. Humans cannot be multi-classed.

Mythos (pl. mythoi) --  A complete body of belief particular to a certain time or place, including the pantheon of its gods.

Natural 20 --  When a 20-sided die is rolled and a 20 appears on the die itself. This is distinguished from a "result" of 20, which could be a lower roll augmented by ability and magical bonuses.

Neutrality --  A philosophical position, or alignment, of a character that is between belief in good or evil, order or chaos.

Nonhuman --  Any humanoid creature that is neither a human nor a demihuman.

Nonplayer character (abbr. NPC) --  Any character controlled by the DM instead of a player.

NPC --  Abbreviation for NonPlayer Character.

Open doors roll --  The roll of a 20-sided die to see if a character succeeds in opening a heavy or stuck door or performing a similar task. The die roll at which the character succeeds can be found in the Strength Modifiers table.

Opposition school --  A school of magic that is directly opposed to a specialist's school of choice, thus preventing him from learning spells from that school, as shown in the Schools of Magic Table.

PC --  Abbreviation for Player Character.

Percentage (or percent) chance --  A number between 1 and 100 used to represent the probability of something happening. If a character is given an X percentage chance of an event occurring, the player rolls percentile dice, and if equal to or less than the target number, the event occurs.

Percentile dicetwo 10-sided dice used in rolling a percentage number. One represents the tens digit while the other is the ones. They can be distinguished either by one having the tens printed on the die or by using dice of different colors.

Persona --  The role or identity of the character the player is portraying.

Petrification --  The rapid turning to stone of some object or being by magical means such as a basilisk's gaze, etc.

Philter --  A magical draught or potion.

Phylactery --  An arm wrapping with a container holding religious writings, thus a form of amulet or charm.

Physical hp Threshold --  The number of hit points representing the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. That number is initially equal to the character's maximum hit points. Once the character has gained more hit points than their Constitution score, the number is the Constitution score plus their level.

Player character (abbr. PC) --  The characters in a role-playing game who are under the control of the players.

Poison save --  A bonus or a penalty to a saving throw vs. poison. Based on Constitution, it is shown in Constitution Modifiers table.

Pole Arm --  A hafted (usually bladed) weapon, other than a spear or staff, with a length of 5' or more.

Polymorph --  The physical alteration by magical means of the shape of a creature.

p.p. (Also-pp) --  Platinum piece(s), a monetary unit. Each p.p. is worth 5 g.p.

Prime requisite --  The ability score or scores that are most important to a particular class. A fighter must be strong and a wizard must be intelligent; their prime requisites, therefore, are Strength and Intelligence, respectively. Some character classes have more than one prime requisite.

Proficiency --  A character's learned skill not defined by his class but which gives him a greater percentage chance to accomplish a specific type of task during an adventure. Weapon and nonweapon proficiency slots are acquired as the character rises in level, as shown in the Proficiency Allocation table. The use of proficiencies in the game is optional.

Proficiency check --  The roll of a 20-sided die to see if a character succeeds in doing a task by comparing the die roll to the character's relevant ability score plus or minus any modifiers shown in the Non-weapon Proficiencies by Groups table (the die roll must be equal to or less than the modified ability score for the action to succeed).

Race --  A player character's species: human, elf, dwarf, gnome, half-elf, or halfling. Race puts some limitations on the PC's class.

Rate of fire (abbr. ROF) --  The number of times a missile-firing or thrown weapon can be shot in a round.

Reaction adjustment --  A bonus added to or penalty subtracted from a die roll used in determining the success of a character's action. Such an adjustment is used especially in reference to surprise (shown on the Dexterity Modifiers table as a function of Dexterity) and the reaction of other intelligent beings to a character (shown on the Charisma Modifiers table as a function of Charisma).

Regeneration --  A special ability to heal faster than usual, based on an extraordinarily high Constitution, as shown in the Constitution Modifiers table..

Relic --  A magical holy item of great power, usually extremely old.

Resistance --  The innate ability of a being to withstand attack, such as by magic. Gnomes, for example, have a magic resistance that adds bonuses to their saving throws against magic as shown in the Racial Special Abilities table.

Resurrection survival --  The percentage chance a character has of being magically raised from death. Based on Constitution, it is shown in the Constitution Modifiers table.

Reversible --  An attribute of a magical spell, referring to the ability of the spell to be cast "backwards," so that the opposite of the usual effect is achieved.

ROF --  Abbreviation for rate of fire.

Round --  In combat, a period of time approximately 1 minute long, during which a character can accomplish one basic action. Ten combat rounds equal one turn. There are 10 segments in a round.

S --  Abbreviation for somatic component.

Saving throw --  A measure of a character's ability to resist (to "save vs.") special types of attacks, especially poison, paralyzation, magic, breath weapons and attacks that affect the whole body or mind of the character. The ability to make successful saving throws improves as the character increases in level; Dexterity and general mental fortitude aid in honing combat senses. Experience makes saving throws easier. Success is usually determined by the roll of 1d20.

School of magic --  One of eleven different categories of magic, based on the type of magical energy utilized. Wizards who concentrate their work on a single school are called specialists. The specific school of which a spell is a part is shown after the name of the spell in the spell database.

Scrying --  Viewing a person or thing through mystical means.

Segment --  In combat, a period of time approximately 6 seconds long, delineating exactly when an event happens. There are 10 segments in a round, and ten combat rounds in a turn.

Size of creatures is abbreviated as:

Most creatures are measured in height or length; some are measured in diameter. Those measured in diameter may be given a different size category than indicated above. For instance, while a 6-foot tall humanoid is considered size M, a spherical creature 6 feet in diameter has much more mass, so is considered size L. Similarly, a creature 12 feet long with a very slender body (like a snake) might be considered only man-sized. Adjustments like these should not move a creature more than one size category in either direction.

Somatic component (abbr. S) --  The gestures that a spellcaster must use to cast a specific spell. A bound wizard cannot cast a spell requiring somatic components.

s.p. (Also sp) --  Silver piece(s), a monetary unit. 20s.p. = 1 gold piece.

Specialist --  A wizard who concentrates on a specific school of magic, as opposed to a mage, who studies all magic in general.

Spell immunity --  Protection that certain characters have against illusions or other specific spells, based on high Intelligence or Wisdom scores.

Sphere of influence --  Any of sixteen categories of priest spells to which a priest may have major access (he can eventually learn them all or minor access (he can learn only the lower level spells). The relevant sphere of influence is shown as the first item in the list of characteristics in the priest spells.

Str --  Abbreviation for Strength.

Strength (abbr. Str) --  An ability score representing a character's muscle power, endurance, and stamina.

Structural Points --  The amount of damage a structure can sustain before it gives way.

Surprise roll --  The roll of a six-sided die to determine if a character or group takes another by surprise. Successful surprise (normally a roll of 1, or 2) cancels the roll for initiative on the first round of combat.

System shock --  A percentage chance that a character survives major magical effects, such as being petrified. Based on Constitution, it is shown in the Constitution Modifiers table.

THAC0 --  An acronym for a legacy concept "To Hit Armor Class 0," the number that a character needs to roll in order to hit a target with AC 0. THAC0 is unnecessary in this game because we've adopted the "Positive AC" concept, where AC 10 is butt-naked, and AC 20 is super-armored.

To-hit roll --  Another name for attack roll.

Trap --  Any of several mechanical or magical devices which may be triggered by adventurers, usually causing damage to one or more of them. Examples are pits, pits with spikes, poison needle traps on treasure chests, etc.

Treasure --  A general term meaning anything of value which may be acquired by adventuring.

Trick --  Any device or machination which is more likely to be solved by wits rather than force. Tricks do not necessarily involve physical harm to the characters; examples are rooms which rotate or descend to confuse mappers, statues which perform random actions, slanting passageways which take the party unknowingly to a deeper level, etc.

Turn --  in game time, approximately 10 minutes; used especially in figuring how long various magic spells may last. In combat, a turn consists of 10 rounds.

Turn undead --  A process by which a cleric or paladin attempts to use his or her holy power to turn (force to retreat), influence, or destroy encountered creatures of the undead class such as a group of skeletons or a vampire.

Undead --  A class of malevolent, soulless monsters which are neither truly dead nor alive, including skeletons, vampires, ghosts, zombies, ghouls, et al.

V --  Abbreviation for verbal component.

Verbal component (abbr. V) --  specific words or sounds that must be uttered while casting a spell.

Wandering Monster --  General term for any encounter not previously keyed by the DM; usually refers to the periodic check for monsters in dungeons or wilderness areas.

Weapon speed --  An initiative modifier used in combat that accounts for the time required to get back into position to reuse a weapon.

Wis --  Abbreviation for Wisdom.

Wisdom (abbr. Wis) --  An ability score representing a composite of a character's intuition, judgment, common sense, and will power.

XP (also x.p. or xp) --  Abbreviation for experience points.