TTRPG Lingo: A Beginner’s Guide to Tabletop RPG Terms
So, you’ve made it to the table. You’ve got your dice, your character sheet, and a sense of excitement for your first session.
And then… the other players start talking.
“I roll to Persuade. Nat 20!”
“Watch out, this is totally gonna be a TPK.”
“Did we even do a session zero?”
“That’s gotta be homebrew—RAW doesn’t work like that.”
Wait… what?
Tabletop RPGs have their own unique language, and if you’re new, it can feel like you’ve stepped into a completely different world. But don’t worry! This guide will help you decode the most common TTRPG terms so you can roll with confidence at the table.
Core Gameplay Terms (The Basics of Play)
Stats (or Abilities/Attributes) – These are numbers that define your character’s strengths and weaknesses. They help determine how likely your character is to succeed at different actions—like swinging a sword, solving a puzzle, or charming a noble.
Most games have a set of core stats. In Dungeons & Dragons and many similar systems, these are:
STR (Strength) – Physical power. Lifting, hitting, breaking things.
DEX (Dexterity) – Agility, reflexes, and finesse. Dodging, sneaking, aiming.
CON (Constitution) – Endurance and toughness. How healthy or durable you are.
INT (Intelligence) – Book smarts, memory, and reasoning.
WIS (Wisdom) – Awareness, intuition, and common sense.
CHA (Charisma) – Presence, confidence, and people skills.
Example: “My rogue has high DEX, so she’s great at sneaking and picking locks, but don’t ask her to lift anything heavy.”
AC (Armor Class) – The number that determines how hard you are to hit in combat. Higher AC = harder to damage.
Example: “That goblin swings at you, what’s your AC?”
DC (Difficulty Class) – The number you need to meet or beat on a d20 roll to succeed at something. The GM sets the DC based on how hard the task is — the higher the DC, the harder the challenge.
Example: “The ledge is slippery and narrow, make an Acrobatics check, DC 15.”
Nat 20 / Natural 20 – Rolling a 20 on a d20, usually an automatic success.
Example: “I try to talk my way past the guards — Nat 20!”
Dirty 20 — This is when you roll a 20 but it wasn’t a natural 20.
Example: “You rolled 17 but your modifier adds +3. You still rolled a 20 but it wasn’t a natural 20.”
Nat 1 / Critical Failure – Rolling a 1 on a d20, usually an automatic failure. Often leads to bad (or hilarious) consequences.
Example: “You try to pick the lock… Nat 1. The lock breaks, and the guard wakes up.”
Crit (Critical Hit) – A high-damage attack (often a Nat 20 in D&D).
Example: “I roll to hit… Nat 20! That’s a crit!”
RAW (Rules As Written) – Following the exact rules from the game’s official books.
Example: “RAW, you can’t use that spell this way.”
RAI (Rules As Intended) – Interpreting what the designers meant rather than just the strict wording of the rule.
Example: “RAI, the spell was meant to be used in combat, but we could allow it here.”
Homebrew – Any custom rules, settings, or content that aren’t in the official rulebooks.
Example: “This campaign is homebrew, our GM made the whole world up from scratch.”
d20 / d6 / d100, etc. – Dice come in many shapes and sizes. The “d” stands for “die,” and the number tells you how many sides it has.
d20 – 20-sided die (most common in games like D&D)
d6 – 6-sided die (your standard cube-shaped die)
d100 – Usually rolled with two d10s to simulate a percent result
Combat & Mechanics Terms (Battle Talk & Strategy)
TPK (Total Party Kill) – When the entire group dies in a single encounter.
Example: “If we fight the dragon head-on, we’re looking at a TPK.”
Min-Maxing – Optimizing a character’s stats to be as powerful as possible, sometimes at the cost of roleplay.
Example: “His rogue is min-maxed—he put everything into Dexterity and dumped Intelligence.”
Modifier – A number you add or subtract from your dice roll based on your character’s stats, skills, or situation.
Example: If you roll a 15 to hit and have a +3 Strength modifier, your total is 18.
Initiative – Determines the order of turns in combat. Everyone rolls (usually a d20 plus Dexterity), and then you act in that order. Highest result goes first. This does vary by system.
Example: “You rolled a 19 for initiative? Nice, you’re going before the ogre.”
HP (Hit Points) – Your character’s health. Take damage, you lose HP. Hit zero? Things get rough.
Some systems knock you unconscious, others kill you outright. It depends on the game.
Example: “You took 8 damage? That drops you to 2 HP, you’re barely standing!”
Saving Throw – A type of roll your character makes to avoid or reduce the effects of something dangerous, like dodging a fireball, resisting poison, or shaking off mind control.
Example: “Make a Constitution saving throw to resist the spider’s venom.”
Checks (Skill Check / Ability Check) – Rolls to determine whether your character can successfully complete a non-combat task, like climbing a cliff, spotting an ambush, or remembering ancient lore.
Ability Checks use one of your core stats (like Strength or Intelligence).
Skill Checks are the same, but tied to a specific proficiency (like Stealth or Persuasion), giving you a bonus if you’re trained in it.
Example: “Roll a Wisdom (Perception) check to see if you notice the hidden trapdoor.”
Tank – A character built to absorb damage and protect others. They typically go in swinging and draw the attention to them so the rest of the team can be strategic
Example: “I built my paladin as a tank, he has the highest AC and can take a lot of hits.”
Buff / Debuff – A spell or effect that boosts (buffs) or weakens (debuffs) a character’s abilities.
Example: “I cast Haste on the fighter to buff his speed!”
Advantage / Disadvantage – A simple mechanic (popularized by D&D 5E) that adds a bit of luck and drama to a roll.
Advantage means you roll two d20s and take the higher result.
Disadvantage means you roll two d20s and take the lower result.
These are usually given by the GM based on the situation—like having the high ground, being invisible, or trying to talk your way out of trouble while covered in blood.
Example: “You’re flanking the goblin? Cool—roll with advantage.”
Story & Roleplaying Terms (Building Characters & Worlds)
RP (Roleplaying) – When players speak and act as their character rather than just rolling dice.
Example: “She’s great at RP—her dwarf has a full backstory and an accent.”
Session Zero – A pre-game meeting where the group discusses characters, worldbuilding, and expectations.
Example: “We had a session zero to set up our character backstories.”
Meta-Gaming – When a player uses out-of-character knowledge to make decisions their character wouldn’t know.
Example: “You saw the monster stats in the rulebook, don’t meta-game!”
Railroading – When a GM forces the players into a specific story path rather than letting them make choices.
Example: “We weren’t allowed to explore, the GM was railroading us into the dungeon.”
Sandbox – The opposite of railroading. A game world with no set path, where players can explore and choose their own direction.
Example: “This campaign is a sandbox, we can go anywhere.”
Murderhobo – A player who ignores the story and just kills everything.
Example: “We tried to talk to the dude, but Nolan went full murderhobo and stabbed him.”
Miscellaneous TTRPG Terms (Good to Know!)
One-Shot – A single-session game instead of an ongoing campaign.
Example: “We ran a one-shot last night, it was a fun sci-fi horror game.”
The Rule of Cool – Ignoring the rules for the sake of making a moment more awesome.
Example: “Technically, you can’t backflip off a dragon, but I’ll allow it — Rule of Cool!”
House Rules – Custom table rules that tweak the game.
Example: “Our house rule is that Nat 1s cause funny mishaps.”
Theater of the Mind – Playing without a battle map, relying on descriptive narration.
Example: “We don’t use minis—we play Theater of the Mind.”
LARP (Live-Action Roleplay) – Playing a roleplaying game in costume and acting out scenes.
Example: “I went to a vampire LARP event last weekend!”
Convention (or “Con”) – A gathering of fans, creators, and players, usually held over a weekend, where you can attend panels, buy merch, and most importantly, play a ton of games. Many cons offer scheduled TTRPG sessions for new and experienced players alike, often with volunteer or professional GMs running all kinds of systems.
Example: “I signed up for a ShadowDark game at the con, I didn’t know anyone, but had a blast.”
Closing Thoughts: Ready to Speak the Language?
TTRPG lingo might seem like a secret code at first, but once you start playing, you’ll pick it up in no time. The most important thing? Don’t be afraid to ask!
Did any of these terms confuse you when you started playing? Drop a comment and let me know!
Are there any words I missed? Tell me what should be added!
And as always—be careful out there.
