D&D Terminology

ATTRIBUTES

Strength (STR) – The character’s physical strength. This effects the potency of melee attacks.

Dexterity (DEX) – Agility and accuracy. This affects ranged attacks and dodging.

Constitution (CON) – Physical resilience. This affects hit points and some physical resistances.

Intelligence (INT) – The ability to process problems and wield certain magic. INT affects the number of skill points received.

Wisdom (WIS) – Common sense and spirituality.

Charisma (CHR) – Social skills and sometimes physical appearance.

CLASSES

Barbarian – A primarily melee combatant who makes a good guardian for other players. They can enter a temporary rage.

Bard – A versatile class that uses both combat and magic. They offer buffs (status bonuses) for party members and can apply debuffs (status impairments) to enemies.

Cleric – Priests and warriors who focus on divine magic. They make excellent healers and can often repel the undead.

Druid – Nature attuned mages with the ability to transform into animals.

Fighter – A versatile, weapon-oriented warrior.

Monk – A martial artist who specializes in unarmed combat.

Paladin – A holy knight of a chosen deity, usually committed to the path of righteousness.

Ranger – Hunters and woodsmen, mainly skilled with bows, crossbows, or dual wielding.

Rogue – A stealthy fighter capable of disarming traps and sneak-attacking enemies.

Sorcerer – A master of innate, arcane magic who does not need to memorize spells, but is limited in which spells they can cast.

Warlock – A generally evil mage who invokes magic through pacts with supernatural entities.

Wizard – An arcane spell caster who can choose to memorize different spells each day.

ALIGNMENTS

Good – Having a respect for life, altruism, and selflessness.

Evil – Wicked and often selfish or oppressive.

Lawful – Abides by a core morality or honor system. Can also be judgmental and close-minded.

Chaotic – Free-spirited and sometimes unpredictable. Can also be reckless or reactionary.

Neutral – A balance between Lawful & Chaotic or Good & Evil.

SPECIES

Human – Pretty self-explanatory. They are very diverse and can play just about any role.

Elf – Long-lived and graceful humanoids with signature pointed ears. There are several possible variations of elves.

Half-Elf – A mix race of humans and elves. They have low-light vision and immunity to sleep effects.

Drow – “Dark elves” with ebony skin and white hair. Usually evil and residing in the Underdark.

Dragonborn – Humanoid descendants of the greater Dragon God.

Dwarf – A stout and hearty humanoid, usually bearded.

Gnome – Small humanoids with an affinity for magic and illusions.

Half-Orc – A blend of orcs and humans. They tend to be large and strong, but more agile than full orcs.

Goliath – Blue-gray giants and the largest playable race.

Halfling – Humanoids of half normal human size who are well suited for the art of thievery.

Tiefling – A humanoid of demonic lineage (depending on the game edition) usually with horns, sharp teeth, and orb eyes.

SKILLS & SKILL CHECKS

Characters have a variety of proficiencies. Skill checks are often used whenever a player attempts to accomplish something. Checks can include lock picking, determining character motives, swimming, climbing, crafting, etc. All skills are rooted in one attribute, so each rank in a skill gives a bonus to a roll based on that root attribute, if applicable.

SPELLS

Divine Spells – Magic drawn from holy sources or deities. Tends to focus on protection and healing.

Arcane Spells – Pretty much any spell not derived from a divine source. They tend to have more variety and dramatic effects.

Schools – Magic specializations such as conjuration, illusion, enchantment, and necromancy.

Effects – Elemental or status-effecting outcomes of a spell such as electricity, poison, or fear.

Spell Component – Physical items required to cast a spell. Some DMs choose to omit this requirement.

COMBAT

Initiative – The order in which players and enemies take their turns in combat.

Feat – Additional abilities players can acquire to improve their combat and skill checks.

Sneak Attack – A special rogue attack that does massive damage when they surprise or flank an enemy.

Critical (Crit) – When a character rolls a natural 20 (or lower with certain feats or spells), they do bonus damage to the enemy.

Botch – When a player or DM rolls a 1, it leads to a critical failure, usually with dire (or hilarious) consequences.

Hit Points – The amount of health a player has. Damage decreases hit points and incapacitates the player at zero.

Melee – Close combat using striking, slashing, or piercing weapons.

Ranged – Combat from a distance using bows, arrows, guns, thrown weapons, or magic.

Rage – A Barbarian skill that can add bonuses to Strength, Constitution, and Will saving throws as well as temporarily increase hit points.

Saving Throw – A roll of the die to determine if a player resists and effect.

“How Do You Want to Do This?” – What Critical Role’s Matthew Mercer says when a player is about to slay an enemy in an epic manner.

Miscellaneous Terms

Home-brew - house rules that are not part of standard DnD rules but are agreed upon between your DM and players. This can include alternate races, classes, and powers.

Check -A method of determining the result when a character attempts an action (other than an attack or a saving throw) that has a chance of failure. Checks are based on a relevant character ability, skill, or other characteristic. Most checks are either ability checks or skill checks, though special types such as turning checks, caster level checks, dispel checks, and initiative checks also exist. The specific name of the check usually corresponds to the skill or ability used. To make a check, roll 1d20 and add any relevant modifiers. (Higher results are always better.) If this check result equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class number assigned by the DM (or the opponent's check, if the action is opposed), the check succeeds.