-	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	DMG

Ability Scores -- Numerical ratings ranging from 3-18 for a character’s strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, and charisma.

AD&D -- ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™

Alignment -- A general description of a character’s behaviorial and ethical tendencies nomed by a combination of Law, Neutrality, or Chaos with Good,
Neutrality, or Evil.

Armor Class -- A number representing the relative protection from harm the character will enjoy. This includes type of armor, dexterity bonuses or
penalties, magical protections, etc.

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

Astral -- Pertaining to or within the Astral Plane (see PHB, p. 120). Not the same as ethereal (q.v.).

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

Breath Weapon -- Special attack of certain creatures like dragons, chimerae, etc. causing any of several different effects. For saving throw purposes the
”Breath Weapon” category excludes petrification and polymorph results, which have their own category.

Campaign -- General term referring to one DM’s adventures as a whole rather than individually. An ongoing series of games based upon a created milieu.

Cf. -- Compare.

Charm -- A magical form of minor mind control.

Class -- Refers to an adventurer’s profession: fighter, cleric, thief, etc.

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

Damage - The number of hit points or structural points that have been inflicted on the being or structure.

Death -- This occurs when o creature’s hit points reach 0 (or optionally, -10). 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 the DM desires which may be included in the campaign.

Demi-humans -- Refers to anthropomorphic, generally non-hostile (towards man) creatures that may be played as characters: elves, dwarves, halflings, etc.

DM -- Dungeon Master, the referee of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™

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

Dweomer -- From dweomercraeft, the art (craeft) of magic (dweomer). <(note: The influence of Tolkien on D&D is not as great as implied. cf. DMG.N)>

e.g. -- For example.

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

Encumbrance -- Generally, the weight and bulkiness of a particular adventurer's possessions (armor, weapons, equipment, etc.).

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

et al. -- And others.

Ethereal -- Pertaining to or within the Ethereal Plane (see PHB, p.120). Not the same as astral (q.v.).

Exceptional Strength -- Strength exceeding 18, usu. designated as 18/x, where w is a value between (01) and (100) inclusive.

Experience -- The reward (expressed in points, or x.p.) for slaying monsters, winning treasure, and playing the character role. The more experience a
character has, the better his or her fighting ability, saving throws, etc.

Feet -- Where the term "feet" or the mark ' is used (e.g. 30 feet or 30'), the distance referred to is usu. actual feet with reference to the character (q.q.v.
Inches, also PHB, p.39).

Followers -- A loyal group of associates garnered by a character at a certain level.

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

Henchmen -- A low-level NPC whose loyalty is to one member of the party rather than the party itself.

Hireling -- A NPC hired to accompany a party on an adventure, or employed for some other temporary purpose.

Hit Dice -- The number of dice rolled to determine a creature's HP.

Hit Points -- The number of points of damage a creature can sustain before death (or optionally, coma), reflecting a creature's physical endurance, fighting experience, skill, or luck.

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.

Tgamemaster1975 wrote:
Hi Gary,
I lifted this link Gygaxisms in Modern English(From the Dungeon to the Dictionary) from this thread Gygax vs. The English Language and I was wondering if you could comment on the words mentioned in this article.
Thanks,
David

Any comment I might add would be superfluous to the extensive and learned essay whose author is unbeknownst to me.

Unfortunately, his definition of "guisarme," is incorrect.
It is a hooked pole-arm 

I can add that I believe I have seen "libram" in print somewhere, but who knows?
Maybe I did make it up.

Sadly, he missed "heka," another synonym for magic, taken from the Ancient Egyptian "hekau," magical practice or enchantment.

Cheers,
Gary

Moorcrys wrote:
It's amazing how certain words stick with you...

Dweomer has always been one of my favorite words (evidently a favorite of the article's author as well). In fact, a spell of mine published in the old White Wolf Relics and Rituals hardback is named 'Ghostdweomer'.

The check is in the mail, Gary. 
 

Heh!

I am pleased to have brought back a synonym for magic, even if I had to invent is in part by dropping the "craeft" from the original word.
I do hope that "heka" and "hekau" are eventually picked up as well, as there are so few gereral words for magic...because there is no such thing 

Gary
 
 

clore wrote:
Back to dweomer.

I've gotten the Poplollies and Bellibones book and can confirm that includes the word dweomercraeft. (I also notice several other words that you likely took from it.) It does not, however, explain the etymology from dweomer. So, it seems likely that you also used another source (though it wouldn't be too hard to figure out the derivation). Your glossary entry in the DMG sounds a lot like the information given in the Oxford English Dictionary's entry. Any chance that you consulted the OED?

Also, I presume that apart from dweomer and dweomercraeft themselves, you coined the other forms you've used. (dweomered, dweomercraefter, dweomercraefting, etc.)

Thanks again, and if you remember anything interesting about your source for other words, I'd love to know.
 

Heh...

I should be so lucky as to have a set of the OED!
Seeing that i became an entry therein a year or two ago, one might suppose they would send along a complimentary set, but NO! 

Seriously, though. all I used was the Poplollies and Bellibones work for dweomercraeft and its derrivations.
As for other words, indeed, I picked up and reintroduced them into contemporary writing, mostlu as NPC names, but a few in proper usage, darg in particular.
There is a district in the Town of Yggsburgh called The Dargs.

Finally, I did find one or two of the "lost" words in the book listed in my 1938 Funk & Wagnall's unexpurgated dictionaly... I just do not recall which ones 

Cheerio,
Gary
 
 

e.g. -- For example.

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

Encumbrance -- Generally, the weight and bulkiness of a particular adventurer's possessions (armor, weapons, equipment, etc.).

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

et al. -- And others.

Ethereal -- Pertaining to or within the Ethereal Plane (see PHB, p.120). Not the same as astral (q.v.).

Exceptional Strength -- Strength exceeding 18, usu. designated as 18/x, where w is a value between (01) and (100) inclusive.

Experience -- The reward (expressed in points, or x.p.) for slaying monsters, winning treasure, and playing the character role. The more experience a
character has, the better his or her fighting ability, saving throws, etc.

Feet -- Where the term "feet" or the mark ' is used (e.g. 30 feet or 30'), the distance referred to is usu. actual feet with reference to the character (q.q.v.
Inches, also PHB, p.39).

Followers -- A loyal group of associates garnered by a character at a certain level.

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

Henchmen -- A low-level NPC whose loyalty is to one member of the party rather than the party itself.

Hireling -- A NPC hired to accompany a party on an adventure, or employed for some other temporary purpose.

Hit Dice -- The number of dice rolled to determine a creature's HP.

Hit Points -- The number of points of damage a creature can sustain before death (or optionally, coma), reflecting a creature's physical endurance, fighting experience, skill, or luck.

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.

i.e. -- That is.

Inches -- One inch = 10 feet an the indoor (dungeon) scale; one inch = I O yards on the outdoor scale (See PHB, p. 39). <>

Initiative -- The means of determining the order of actions of opposing individuals or groups. By means of initiative the order in which blows are struck in
combat (or other actions are undertaken) is determined.

Invisibility -- A manner of hiding from normal visual means. This does not make someone soundless or odorless.

League -- For game purposes a league equals approximately 3 miles.

Level -- 1. The relative depth and/or degree of difficulty of one floor of a dungeon. 2. The degree of difficulty and power of a spell.
3. The degree of proficiency and experience a character has in his ar her profession. 4. A measure of how “tough” a monster is.

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

Magic -- Anything which cannot be explained by the science of the milieu. Any weapon or item which has a bonus (+ 1, +2, etc.) is considered a magic item.

Magic Resistance -- The percentage chance of any spell absolutely failing in the monster’s presence. It is based on the spell being cast by an 11th level
magic-user, 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 magic-user has no possibility of affecting the monster with a spell, while a 12th level MU 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.

Melee -- Combat with hand-held weapons between more than two figures. This is distinguished from list combat, which is between two opponents, and
Missile (q.v.) combat, which i s at a distance and involves thrown or propelled weapons. <>

Mezzodaemon -- A monster encountered in AD&D MODULE D3, VAULT OF THE DROW. Ignore it if its statistics are unavailable to you. <edit>

Milieu -- An unique game setting embodying numerous possible variables in its creation, i.e. the “world” in which adventures take place.

Miniature -- A small lead or plastic figure which serves as a visual aid in AD&D.

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.).

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

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

MU (Also M-U) -- Magic-user.

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

N.B. -- Note well.

NPC (Also N-PC) -- Non-player character.

Nycadaemon -- A monster encountered in ADBD MODULE D3, VAULT OF THE DROW. Ignore it if its statistics are unavailable to you. <>

Party -- A group of adventurers.

PC -- Player character.

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

Petrification (Also petrifaction) -- The rapid turning to stone of some obiect 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.

Planes -- Other realms of existence, some of which interconnect with the Prime Material Plane, the normal milieu setting (see PHB, p. 120).

Poison - Refers to both toxic man-made substances and venom from poisonous creatures.

Pole Arm - A hafted 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.

Psionics -- Mental combat, possible only by very intelligent beings and some monsters. Psionics also encompasses certain other special mental abilities,
such as telekinesis. See PHB, APPENDIX I. <>

Q.E.D. -- Which was to be demonstrated.

q.v. (Also q.q.v.) --Which see; something that is also referenced.

Random Generation -- Determining at random something from a list of several possibilities, usually by rolling dice.

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

Research -- In addition to its normal meaning, the work involved when a MU or alchemist is involved in preparing new spells, enchanting items, etc.

Resurrection -- The revival of a character after its death by magical means.

Round (Also melee round) -- A unit of time in AD&D equal to 1 minute. Each round is composed of 10 segments, and 10 rounds constitute a TURN.

Saving Throw -- A die roll which is used in adverse circumstances to determine the efficacy of a spell, whether a character fell into a pit or not, whether a
character escaped a dragon's breath, etc.

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

Segment -- The smallest unit of time in AD&D; each segment is 6 seconds long. 10 segments comprise a round (q.v.) .

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

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

Surprise -- Both parties in an encounter must check to see if either or both are surprised, which may result in a loss of initiative (q.v.).

To Hit -- That number which must be matched or beaten by a 20-sided die roll in order to inflict damage on an opponent.

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 --A unit of time in AD&D, equal to 10 minutes. Each turn consists of 10 rounds (q.v.), and each round is comprised of losegments (q.v.).

Turning Undead -- A process by which a cleric attempts to use his or her holy power to turn (force to retreat), influence, destroy, or damn encountered
creatures of the undead (q.v.) class. <>

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

vis-a-vis -- Face-to-face; compared with.

viz.-- That is; namely.

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

x.p. -- Experience points.

AFTERWORD

IT IS THE SPIRIT OF THE GAME, NOT THE LETTER OF THE RULES, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
NEVER HOLD TO THE LETTER WRITTEN, NOR ALLOW SOME BARRACKS ROOM LAWYER TO FORCE QUOTATIONS FROM THE RULE BOOK UPON YOU, IF IT GOES AGAINST THE OBVIOUS INTENT OF THE GAME.
AS YOU HEW THE LINE WITH RESPECT TO CONFORMITY TO MAJOR SYSTEMS AND UNIFORMITY OF PLAY IN GENERAL,
ALSO BE CERTAIN THE GAME IS MASTERED BY YOU AND NOT BY YOUR PLAYERS. WITHIN THE BROAD PARAMETERS GIVEN IN THE ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS VOLUMES, YOU ARE CREATOR AND FINAL ARBITER.
BY ORDERING THINGS AS THEY SHOULD BE, THE GAME AS A WHOLE FIRST, YOUR CAMPAIGN NEXT, AND YOUR PARTICIPANTS THEREAFTER, YOU WILL BE PLAYING ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
MAY YOU FIND AS MUCH PLEASURE IN SO DOING AS THE REST OF US DO!
 

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