As if Dungeons and Dragons 5th Editions wasn’t complicated enough as it is, hey?
Any casual D&D player knows the pains of being unsure about a spell, or a ruling, or a stat block, and while there is an entire tomb’s worth of knowledge to be found on the internet, everything seems to be written by people who have a lot more knowledge about the way the systems work than you do.
- See also:
I mean, Nine Hells, I’ve created an entire damn site on the internet dedicated to Dungeons and Dragons, and even I have that feeling sometimes — this is a massive, ever-expanding game, after all.
What makes matters worse is that the shorthand — ie. acronyms — that are used are not always incredibly intuitive, and can add yet another thing to Google while looking up whatever it is you’re trying to find.
Well, no more!
I’ve decided to collect all of the most used Dungeons and Dragons acronyms in one place so that you can either read up now and know what the hell that Redditor is even talking about down the line, or as a page that those poor, lost souls can land when they’re trying to make sense of the difference between RAI and RAW.
All in (mostly) alphabetical order, no less:
AC: Armour Class: The number that the the DM needs to either match or overcome to constitute a hit, allowing them to then roll for damage.
ADAD: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Released between 1977 and 1979, ADAD marked the first expansion on the original game, making it more playable to the wider public with its three official rulebooks.
AoE: Area of Effect: Most commonly used in reference to spells that can hit more than one creature, AoE refers to how much space the spell takes up. For example Fireball’s wording states: “Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw,” meaning that the spell’s AoE is a 20-foot-radius sphere.
AoO (or OA): Attack of Opportunity, or Opportunity Attack: This is the attack that can be made with a Reaction when a creature moves out of melee range.
BBEG: Big Bad Evil Guy (or Gal): The BBEG is the end boss. Usually they have been harassing the party throughout the campaign, or have been looming in the background as a threat. The defeat of the BBEG often marks the end of the campaign, or at least a campaign arc.
DM/GM: Dungeon Master or Game Master: The person at the table to present the world, the characters, the story… essentially everything that is not the player characters.
DMPC: Dungeon Master’s Player Character: A companion for the party that is controlled by the Dungeon Master, but unlike an NPC (Non-player character) the DMPC usually has they’re own character sheet and levels up alongside the party.
D&D: Dungeons and Dragons: I mean if I really have to explain this one then you’ve clearly landed on this page by accident.
DDB: D&D Beyond: An online toolset that offers digital character sheets, paid access to published rulebooks and modules, and a place for Dungeons and Dragons news that isn’t The D&D Dispatch. Wait. Maybe I should delete this one…
DC: Difficulty Class: Like AC, this denotes the number that a player must roll (with modifiers included) to either match or overcome in order to be successful. Used for saving throws, skill checks, etc.
DPR: Damage Per Round: The amount of damage one character is capable of doing in the course of one round. That one was pretty obvious and really didn’t need an explanation but hey here we are.
DMG: Dungeon Master’s Guide: An official D&D 5th Edition rulebook that supplies additional rules and information specifically for Dungeon Masters.
FLGS: Friendly Local Gaming Store: The store that is local and friendly and also offers gaming supplies as well as, potentially, a place to play.
HP: Hit Points: The amount of damage points your character can take before falling unconscious.
IC: In Character: Often used to explain that the character, not the player, has said or done a thing.
LFG: Looking For Group: Usually used in online forums or posts to find a group of D&D players to play with.
MM: Monster Manual: A core rulebook that contains information and Stat Blocks for a wide variety of creatures that can be encountered in D&D.
MTF or MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tomb of Foes: An official supplementary rulebook.
OOC: Out of Character: Often used to explain that the player, and not the character, has said or done a thing.
PvP: Player vs. Player: Usually used to describe combat situations when player characters fight each other. if your players are literally fighting each other OOC, you may need to call the IRL (in real life) police.
PvM: Player vs. Monster: When a player character is fighting a D&D monster, or a Stranger Things situation has occurred where the actual Dungeons and Dragons player is fighting an actual monster.
PvE: Player vs. Environment: PvE encounters are seen during wilderness traversal, violent weather events, ect.
PH or PHB: Player’s Handbook: A core rulebook that offers the basic D&D rules as well as information on how to create Player Characters.
PP: Passive Perception: The Perception Skill Check your character would roll automatically when not actively trying to perceive something.
PC: Player Character: The character that the player… plays.
RP: Roleplay: While players are technically roleplaying any time they do anything as their characters in D&D, RP is often used to describe parts of the game that are not combat, specifically social encounters.
RAW: Rules as Written: RAW describes the literal wording that is found in official D&D 5th Edition rulebooks.
RAI: Rules as Intended: This means rules as how designers intended them to work. There is an important distinction between RAW and RAI, and Wizards of the Coast designers have clarified many rulings, spells, and situations via Tweets in the years since 5th Edition was released. A part of this website’s purpose is to conglomerate all those RAI clarifications into one place.
TPK: Total Party Kill: The best way for a DM to establish dominance of the table When the entire party is killed in one combat situation, or, less commonly, across the course of a single session.
UA: Unearthed Arcana: Used to describe playtest material put out by Wizards of the Coast that has not yet been published in an official rulebook (and as such is prone to changes before official publication).
VGM or VGtM: Volo’s Guide to Monsters: An official supplementary rulebook.
WotC: Wizards of the Coast: A subsidiary of HASBRO, Wizards of the Coast creates and publishes official Dungeons and Dragons rules, modules, and material, and should probably hire me… just saying.
XP: Experience Points: Points earned towards levelling up.
XGE or XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything: An official supplementary rulebook.
Think I missed an important acronym? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to an update!
