This page is intended for new players unfamiliar with White Wolf gaming systems and role-playing games in general. It covers some of the basic terms involved. The first section covers terms related to the hobby in general. Skip here to look at terms related to the mechanics of play for World of Darkness games.
Backstory - A character's history. Everything that happened before they started play.
d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 - Dice aren't always the standard six-sided cubes from Monopoly. The number after the d tells you how many sides the die in question has. Geist, Changeling, and Werewolf are played using a d10, or 10-sided die; Exalted is played with a d20. If you don't have one, another player can lend you one for the game.
Experience Points (XP) - The longer a character has been in play, the more he has time to improve. Experience points are awarded for playing, and can be traded in or spent to improve the character's capabilities.
In-Character (IC) - Relating to what a character knows/sees/says/does. For example, speaking as your character in the first person is being in character.
Live-Action Role-Playing (LARP) - Games usually played from the first person, with players speaking as their characters. May include dressing as the characters, carrying props, and acting out the action where possible. What we play is somewhere between a tabletop and a LARP.
Metagaming - Using OOC knowledge IC, and a form of cheating. If your character doesn't know it, he can't act on it.
Min-Maxing - Investing heavily in the things your character is best at, while putting nothing in the things you are willing to have your character be bad at. Results in characters who aren't good at much, but are masters at what they do well. Contrast well-rounded.
Non-Player Character (NPC) - Any character controlled by the Storyteller instead of a player.
Out-of-Character (OOC) - Relating to the player, rather than the character. For example, knowledge of game mechanics is out of character.
Player Character (PC) - Any character directly controlled by a player. Limited to one per game at any given time.
Power Gaming - A style of gameplay in which extensive knowledge of the rules and mechanics is used to play as powerful characters. This is not a problem by itself, but it can be taken too far if exploiting the rules to beat other players becomes more important than everyone having fun.
Role-Playing Game (RPG) - Simply put, make-believe with actual rules. Hey, pretending to be villains and heroes was fun when you were a kid. Who said it ever stopped being fun? The game players create characters, controlling their histories, personalities, abilities and actions. The way those characters interact with each other and the setting is the game. There is no score, and the only winning condition is everyone having fun.
Rules Lawyering - Arguing about rules, to the point that it derails the game. It's OK to ask questions, or to make a counter argument, but there will always be ambiguities, typos, or forgotten details. The Storyteller always has the right to make the final decision. A fun game is more important than any one rule.
Storyteller (ST) - Part screenwriter, part referee, part herder of cats; the ST creates the plot and controls all characters not being controlled by players. The ST is also the final arbiter of any dispute. May also be called Dungeon Master (DM) or Game Master (GM,) depending on the game system.
Tabletop- Games usually played from the third person - "my character does this." Named because they are usually played sitting around a table.
Well-Rounded - Investing a little in most abilities, leaving less for your characters' forte. Results in characters with few weaknesses, but also few well-defined strengths. Contrast min-maxing.
The following definitions apply specifically to World of Darkness games. They cover many of the basic rules needed for play.
10-Again - If the player rolls a 10, she may roll again and add the result of the second roll to the total. She may continue doing this as long as she keeps rolling 10s, (sometimes called "exploding 10s.") Some circumstances or powers may increase this benefit to 9-again or 8-again, while others may remove this benefit entirely.
Armor - A number that penalizes your attackers, usually indicating some ability to avoid taking damage from a hit. Applies equally to all attacks in a round, but might decrease defense because heavy armor makes it harder to duck.
Attribute - One of nine traits that describe a character's innate capabilities. They are divided into two types of categories: Mental/Physical/Social, and Power/Finesse/Resistance. Every character has at least one in every attribute to represent minimum functioning human capacity, and a higher rank represents greater ability. For example: strength is the physical power trait. Strength 1 is a 98-lb weakling, strength 2 is your average Joe, strength 3 might be a farmer or soldier, strength 4 is a pro linebacker, and strength 5 is an Olympic gold weightlifter.
Chance Die - If the character's final pool is 0 or less, she may still attempt the action. Only a 10 is a success, and a roll of 1 is automatically a dramatic failure.
Contested Action - Task opposing another character. Both players get to roll, and the person who gets more successes wins. If degree of success matters, then the winner uses net successes - the number they got over the loser. Might take up the defender's action that turn as well.
Defense - A number that penalizes your attackers, describing how hard you are to hit. Lower of a character's Dexterity or Wits attributes. Reduced by one for each attacker after the first, to a minimum of zero, as it is harder to avoid multiple attacks.
Dodge - Giving up your character's action in order to duck and cover. Doubles your character's defense for the turn, but prevents him from taking most other actions.
Dramatic Failure - The task fails so spectacularly that the character takes some sort of penalty. Happens when the player rolls a 1, and a follow-up roll confirms the failure, or the player rolls any 1 on a chance die.
Exceptional Success - Five or more successes usually means one has achieved all that could be achieved in the task. Some powers have additional benefits for reaching this level of success.
Extended Action - Task that requires a long time. Resolved by making multiple rolls, each one representing an interval of time spent working on the task. The amount of time in each interval depends on the action. The task ends when the player has accumulated total successes equal to the goal, the character screws-up the project so bad it can't continue, or time runs out.
Failure - The character does not achieve his desired goal. Happens when the total of pool plus roll is less than 8, or the character rolls a natural 1, but a follow-up roll would have been a success.
Initiative - A measure of reaction time in combat. The faster one's initiative, the sooner one acts. Determined by rolling a die and adding Dexterity + Composure attributes. Successes are not counted, just the raw total is used.
Instant Action - Task that takes one full turn. Resolved in a single roll.
Merits - A collection of miscellaneous abilities and talents. If something you want your character to do isn't well described by Attributes or Skills, ask about applicable merits.
Perception - Attempt to notice something. Usually a Wits + Composure attribute roll, but some circumstances may call for Wits + a relevant skill instead. For example, Wits + Firearms might be used to spot a concealed gun.
Pool - Total to be added to the roll of the die. The pool plus the roll is the total used to determine successes. Most often (but not always) consists of an Attribute plus a Skill, plus or minus modifiers that depend on the task. For example, high heels and a miniskirt could provide a bonus to seduction attempts, but would apply a penalty in chase scenes.
Reflexive Action - Action that takes no measurable time, or that may be performed while also doing other things. Reflexive actions do not use up a character's action for the turn, but the ST may apply judgement as to how many reflexive actions can be attempted.
Resisted Action - Some innate capability of the target resists the action. Some trait of the target is subtracted from the actor's pool. Does not use up the defender's action.
Round - Another name for a turn. About 3 seconds of action, long enough to attempt one instant action.
Scene - Actions occurring about the same time in about the same place, like a scene in a movie. Lasts up to one hour, if the end of the scene is ambiguous. Some powers last for one scene.
Skill - One of 24 traits that represent areas of specific training or practice. Divided in to Mental/Physical/Social categories. Characters start with 0 in all skills, and take a penalty for skills in which they are "untrained" (ie, still have a 0.) Higher rank indicates greater ability. For example, firearms is a physical skill. One rank might represent a guy whose gone hunting once or twice, three for a well-trained cop, and firearms 5 is a world class sharpshooter.
Specialty - Area of particular expertise within a skill. Characters get a +1 bonus when operating within a specialty. For example, cooking, sculpting, building computers, and automotive mechanics are all governed by the Craft skill.
Successes - A way of measuring how well an action did. Add together the pool plus roll. A total of 8 is one success. Every three thereafter is an additional success (so two successes at 11, three at 14, etc.)
Turn - About 3 seconds, long enough to attempt one instant action. The standard unit of time for combat. All characters in a combat get one action per turn.
Vice - One of the seven deadly sins: Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Pride, Wrath, Sloth. Every character has one vice that resonates especially deeply with the character. Once per scene, when the character acts on his vice in a difficult situation, he regains one point of spent Willpower.
Virtue - One of the seven heavenly virtues: Charity, Faith, Hope, Justice, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude. Every character has one virtue that resonates especially deeply. Once per game, when the character acts on her virtue in a difficult situation, she regains all spent Willpower points.
Willpower - A reserve of determination and inner strength that characters can rely on when times are tough. A character has temporary willpower points equal to Resolve + Composure attributes. A character may spend one willpower point to gain +3 to his pool on a single non-combat action, or to add two to her resistance. Some powers also require the expenditure of a willpower point. No more than one willpower point may be spent per turn. Some very rare abilities require one to sacrifice a permanent dot of willpower instead, although this may be bought back with XP.