mana

en-noun

mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)

Borrowed from Maori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana.
The use of "mana" for "magical power" in videogames originated from Larry Niven, when he wrote the short story, "Not Long Before the End", in 1969. It was later popularised by his "The Magic Goes Away" setting.

Battle of Chunuk Bair
New Zealand Defence Force
Royal New Zealand Navy

[page 10] I have the honor to report, for the information of the Government, the result of my visit to Maketu and the Lake District, and the preliminary arrangements made for introducing the new system of Government for the Natives. […] [page 12] They further required that a certain number of the old Chiefs should be liberally pensioned by the Government, and placed upon a footing of equality with European gentlemen of independent means, in consideration of their resigning their "mana" as Chiefs in favor of the new system; […]

1862 January 25, Thomas H. Smith, “No. 4: Second Report from T. H. Smith, Esq., R.M.”, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From the Seventh Day of July to the Fifteenth Day of September, 1862 both Days Inclusive. In the Twenty-sixth Day of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Being the Second Session of the Third Parliament of New Zealand, Wellington: Printed by W. C. Wilson for the House of Representatives, at the printing office, Shortland Crescent, Auckland, →OCLC, pages 10 and 12:

The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened[].

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61:

But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign.

1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in 16th and 17th Century England, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society, 2012, OCLC 805007047, page 193

It can be seen, therefore, that mana is a nonvisible changing measure; it can remain static, increase, or decrease, depending on the actions or inaction of the recipient, and it can be enhanced or diminished. […] One can speak of the mana of a warrior, the mana of a woman leader, the mana of a child prodigy.

1999, Pat Hohepa, “My Musket, My Missionary and My Mana”, in Alex Calder, Jonathan Lamb, Bridget Orr, editors, Voyages and Beaches: Pacific Encounters, 1769–1840, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 197:

Among the Maori sovereignty was the result of mana—power based on hereditary rank and personal achievement. Manas could coexist and overlap, as they did in the medieval times in Europe.

2001 September, Aldo Matteucci, “Language and Diplomacy – A Practitioner's View”, in Jovan Kurbalija, Hannah Slavik, editors, Language and Diplomacy, Malta: DiploProjects, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta, →ISBN, page 61:

On a number of occasions in recent years apologies have been offered to Māori because of past offences to their mana and invasions of their rights as tangata whenua.

2012, Harold Hill, “Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that Brings Life: The Salvation Army and Māori”, in Hugh [Douglas] Morrison, Lachy Paterson, Brett Knowles, Murray Rae, editors, Mana Māori and Christianity, Wellington: Huia Publishers, →ISBN:

Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.


realm

From Middle English rewme, realme, reaume, from Old French reaume, realme (“kingdom”), of unclear origins. A postulated *rēgālimen (“domain, kingdom”), Late Latin or Vulgar Latin cross of regimen with rēgālis is usually cited.

And, of this island realm, he and his companion were the undisputed sovereigns.

1874, Horatio Alger, “Chapter XXXI”, in Brave and Bold:

1913, Leslie Alexander Toke, Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Dunstan",
Then seeing his life was threatened he fled the realm and crossed over to Flanders, […]

(formal or law) A territory or state, as ruled by a specific power, especially by a king.


druid

Borrowed from French druide, from Old French, via Latin Druidae, from Gaulish *druwits, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (literally either “oak-knower” or “firm knower, great sage”), from either Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”) or *drew- (“solid, firm, hard”) and *weyd- (“to see, to have knowledge”).
The earliest record of the term in Latin is by Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. in his De Bello Gallico. The native Celtic word for "druid" is first attested in Latin texts as druides (plural) and other texts also employ the form druidae (akin to the Greek form). Cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druí (“druid, sorcerer”) and early Welsh dryw (“seer”).

(fantasy, roleplaying games) A priest or mage who uses magic based on nature or trees.


conversion

conversion (countable and uncountable, plural conversions)

From Middle English conversion, conversioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conversion, from Latin conversiō, from convertō.

обръщане

the act of having converted something or someone

המרת דת

to replace one religious faith with another

(rugby) A free kick, after scoring a try, worth two points.

(American football) An extra point (or two) scored by kicking a field goal or carrying the ball into the end zone after scoring a touchdown.

(obsolete) The act of turning round; revolution; rotation.

(slang, board games) Changing a miniature figure into another character, usually by mixing different parts, or molding the model's parts, or doing both.


Dungeons & Dragons

role-playing game
role-playing game#English

(games) A particular fantasy role-playing game.


D&D

(roleplaying games) Initialism of Dungeons & Dragons.


drow

drow (countable and uncountable, plural drow)

A Shetlandic and Orcadian alteration of trow, most likely influenced by an unattested Norn *drog (“malevolent [undead] being”). Trow is derived from Norn troll, or otherwise from Old Norse trǫll. L-vocalisation occurred in the early 15th century in Middle Scots, so "trolly knolls" probably became *trowie knowes around this time. The supposed Norn *drog would have been derived from Old Norse draugr.

der

(fantasy roleplaying games, countable) A member of a fictional race of dark elves in various fantasy settings, such as Dungeons & Dragons.

constructed language
constructed language

(fantasy roleplaying games, uncountable) A fictional constructed language spoken by the Drow.

(rare, mythology, countable) A trow; a member of a race of folkloric beings from Orkney and Shetland; cognate to the Scandinavian troll.


AD&D

w:Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

(roleplaying games) Initialism of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.


DM

en-verb

DM (third-person singular simple present DMs, present participle DMing, simple past and past participle DMed or DM'd)

DMs (present singular third-person)
DMing (participle present)
DMed (participle past)
DMed (past)
DM'd (participle past)
DM'd (past)

To Dungeon Master; to perform as a dungeon master; to run a tabletop role-playing game.


character class

en-noun

character class (plural character classes)

(roleplaying games) One of a number of pre-determined groups into which characters in role-playing games are grouped, based on the focus of their skills.


couatl

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl cōātl (“snake”); influenced by Quetzalcoatl.

bor+

So rare as to be considered almost legendary, the couatl is one of the most beautiful creatures in existence.

1993, Doug Stewart, Gary Gygax, Monstrous Manual, page 46:

Winged, feathered serpents of considerable size and power, the couatl seeks to defend its territory against all invaders. Couatls are not malicious by nature, and frequently appoint themselves the guardians of humanoids within their domain, provided said humanoids are willing to offer it the occasional tribute.

2012, Timothy Groves, The Book Of Creatures, page 44:

For this reason, a couatl probably won't use it except to save a seriously wounded ally from imminent death, and in that case, it follows up with a sanctuary spell on its next turn, then spends the remainder of combat closely defending that ally.

2019, Keith Ammann, The Monsters Know What They're Doing:

(fantasy, mythology) A feathered flying serpent with psionic abilities.


gish

The term originates in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game, where it originally referred to a Githyanki fighter/wizard combination. Gish is not an official term used in D&D referring to this, but is also used to refer to any character who has a martial/spellcasting combination of abilities.

Most gishes use their magical abilities to increase their own personal combat abilities (known as "buffing").

(fantasy roleplaying games) A character that is skilled in both physical combat and the use of magic.


BG

Along the way, a host of NPCs will join your party—and, as proven in the BG games, no one does NPCs better than BioWare.

2004 February, Jeff Green, “[Reviews] Knights of the Old Republic: BioWare and LucasArts deliver a brilliant Star Wars RPG”, in Jeff Green, editor, Computer Gaming World, number 235, New York, N.Y.: Ziff Davis Media, Inc., →ISSN, page 61, column 1:

All BG fans have a soft spot for Minsc, the ranger with one too many conks on the noggin and his famous Space Hamster, Boo. […] There’s a lot of great user-made content out there for the BG series.

2005 December, William Abner, “Baldur’s Gate: Closet Classic (1998)”, in The 2006 Gamer’s Tome of Ultimate Wisdom: An Almanac of Pimps, Orcs, and Lightsabers, Indianapolis, Ind.: Que Publishing, →ISBN, page 19, columns 1–2:

Interestingly, there’s no alignment system in Dragon Age, unlike previous BG games.

2008 August, “First Shots: Dragon Age: Origins”, in PCGZine, number 21:

When David [Gaider] was hired, BioWare was still at the Whyte Avenue site, ramping up work on Baldur’s Gate II. “I didn’t know anything about BioWare, but had heard of BG I,” David says.

2020 November, Ben Gelinas, “BioWare Labs”, in BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development, Milwaukie, Ore.: Dark Horse Books, →ISBN, part 3 (From Ambition to Reality), page 175, column 1:

(Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(video games) Initialism of Baldur’s Gate (series).

Starting off as a half-elf ranger with a stick, Scooteris was kind of cool by the end of BG and its expansion, with +2 armor and a longbow. But it’s not until TOB [Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal] that he gets equipment that can kill with one blow.

2001 October, Thierry Nguyen, “BioWare gives gamers a fitting send-off to its epic role-playing game: This Is the End, My Only Friend”, in Jeff Green, editor, Computer Gaming World, number 207, New York, N.Y.: Ziff Davis Media, Inc., →ISSN, page 86:

The Baldur’s Gate series (BG with its expansion pack and sequel/expansion pack) has sold nearly 4 million units worldwide. […] Role-playing games like BG also more complicated and required additional QA [quality assurance] time and completely different QA processes.

2003, Erik Bethke, “What Makes Game Development Hard?”, in Game Development and Production (Wordware Game Developer’s Library), Plano, Tex.: Wordware Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, pages 22, column 1, and 24, column 2:

BG’s pausable combat system was a landmark for tactical RPGs, and Dragon Age wants to recreate that same sense of combat orchestration. […] Talky party members with big personalities were a staple of BG, but having thousands of pixels instead of a few dozen to render your allies’ personas means BioWare is eager to develop new favorites for its fans. We’re not sure they’ll be as off-the-wall as Minsc from BG2 […]

2009 March, “Dragon Age: Origins”, in Gary Steinman, editor, PC Gamer, number 185 / volume 16, number 03, South San Francisco, Calif.: Future US, Inc., →ISSN, pages 32–33:

BG maps (75 in total) represent mostly indoor environments while WIII [Warcraft III] maps (36 in total) – imaginary outdoor environments.

2018, Anton Andreychuk, Natalia Soboleva, Konstantin Yakovlev, “eLIAN: Enhanced Algorithm for Angle-Constrained Path Finding”, in Sergei O. Kuznetsov, Gennady S[imeonovich] Osipov, Vadim L. Stefanuk, editors, Artificial Intelligence: 16th Russian Conference, RCAI 2018, Moscow, Russia, September 24–27, 2018, Proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science; 934), Cham, Zug: Springer, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 213:

Baldur’s Gate
w:Baldur's Gate (video game)

Initialism of Baldur’s Gate (the first game).


game master

(roleplaying games) A person conducting a role-playing game, generally responsible for controlling all beings and processes other than the players, either individually or as part of a team.


dungeon master

He shrugged helplessly. "Whenever we've played before, it was so orderly: people would get their turns one by one, then the dungeon master would say what the results were, then we'd take another turn . . . but this way . . ." He shook his head.

1991, Vivian Vande Velde, User Unfriendly, page 48:

Nicholas and his black-masked companions waited with feet planted apart as the dungeon master fumbled for his key ring.

1998, Nora Roberts, Jill Gregory, R.C. Ryan, Marianne Willman, Once Upon a Castle, page 147:

A few of the boys became really good dungeon masters, and they all learned a lot about percentages and chance and stuff that I just couldn't grasp.

1999, Maureen Cassidy Quackebush, “Real Magic”, in Donna Steichen, editor, Prodigal Daughters: Catholic Women Come Home to the Church, page 82:

They give up a great deal in dispensing with the custom-tailored, high storytelling craft of our new age Dungeon Masters. Nevertheless, they anticipate and lead the way for the automated Dungeon Master, white cell, and automated story generation of the future. Nevertheless, while the creation of the automated Dungeon Master is a great research problem, for those constructing simulations that are not purely research oriented, it's clear that participants learn more when a live instructor or game manager is built into the system.

2006, Nicholas V. Iuppa, Terry Borst, Story and Simulations for Serious Games: Tales from the Trenches, page 118:

Marco is a paladin. He fights for the glory of Christ. Marco has been many paladins since winter break. They are all named Valentine, and the Dungeon Master makes certain they die with the least possible amount of dignity.

2011, Sam Lipsyte, “The Dungeon Master”, in Geraldine Brooks, Heidi Pitlor, editors, The Best American Short Stories: 2011, unnumbered page:

(roleplaying games) A game master in Dungeons & Dragons games.


magic user

(fantasy) One who uses (or has skill with) magic.


bulette

From a derogatory gallicization of bullet; coined by Tim Kask in the first edition of the official D&D magazine, Dragon, as an addition to the original Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

The Bulette (pronounced boo-lay), has only two semi-vulnerable spots.

1976-06, "The Bulette (a.k.a. Landshark)", "Creatures Features", The Dragon, volume 1, number 1, page 19

The classic monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, Godzilla, most hauntings, even the dinosaurs in _Jurassic Park_, etc) are all manifestations or consequences of human arrogance and ignorance; so violence, prejudice, ethical blindness and your local bulette are all part of the same idea.

1995-06-29, The Amorphous Mass <robin...@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>, "Re: Rotten, Sexist, Racist Worlds (WAS: Females playing...)", rec.games.frp.dnd,rec.games.frp.misc, <Pine.A32.3.91.950629164923.38897A-100000@red.weeg.uiowa.edu>#1/1

Rippersnapper was a land shark. By the mythical name, this is a bulette.

1997-04-07, Dan Davis <DAV...@docker.com>, "Re: Mithical Cretures Hits Beast Wars.", alt.toys.transformers, <33498C02.17C0@docker.com>#1/1

2001-04-20, "dave" <JobberToSt...@yahoo.com>, "OK what is a "bulette"", rec.games.roguelike.adom, <9bppfs$igu$1@uns-a.ucl.ac.uk>
My orcish barbarian who found a nice eternium 2hs in SMC was killed by a bulette in the second level of the unremarkable dungeon.

Bulettes can automatically sense the location of anything within 60 feet that is in contact with the ground.

2003, Steven Creech, Kevin Ruesch, “Torn Asunder: Critical Hits”, in Inc., Bastion Press, page 93:

The creation of some unknown arcanist in millennia past, the bulette has bred true to become one of the fiercest predators of the hills.

2009-09, Jason Bulmahn, "Bulette", Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary, Paizo Publishing, page 39

(fantasy roleplaying games) A fictional species of land-dwelling shark in various fantasy settings, such as Dungeons & Dragons.


kitbash

en-verb

kitbash (third-person singular simple present kitbashes, present participle kitbashing, simple past and past participle kitbashed)

kitbashes (present singular third-person)
kitbashing (participle present)
kitbashed (participle past)
kitbashed (past)

But, a nicely kitbashed hull and cool interior backlights don't help with the major technical hurdles the robot has yet to overcome.

2017 April 30, Captain Disillusion, The Method Robot | Quick D, archived from the original on 2023-12-20:

To create a new scale model using pieces from existing commercial kits.


xorn

First appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual (1977).

Various monsters can tunnel through rock - either humanoid monsters with picks or rock eaters like rock moles and umber hulks; and some monsters like xorns and ghosts can pass through it without digging.

2002, David Damerell, “Where are they come from?^([sic]) ;)”, in rec.games.roguelike.development (Usenet):

Teleporting from an open room where there were a dozen black orcs firing bows at me and more pouring in through both doors a few nights ago didn't work the first two times, then when it did work it landed me, low on mana and hitpoints, in a room full of gnome mages who instantly summoned four umber hulks and a xorn!

2007, bear, “Makes Lovely Julienne Ogres....”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet):

That afternoon, I summoned a Xorn—an earth elemental noted for its speed—and asked it to scout the caves of the Dragon's lair for me.

2010, Roger Bourke White, Rostov Rising: The Tales of Baron Rostov, page 229:

(fantasy) A fictional monster that devours earthen and silicate materials and can move freely through earth.

Monster Manual
Xorn (Dungeons & Dragons)


rothe

Unfortunately, he turned the corner in a rather inefficient manner, cutting off his retreat and bumped into a rothe. Gadzooks, he thought, one hit from this boy and I'll likely go to my ill named great reward. The only recourse was to quaff his one as of yet unidentified potion and hope it was extra healing.

1993, Robert Leduc, “Nethack Imitates Life”, in rec.games.hack (Usenet):

(fantasy) A kind of fictional cattle in various role-playing games and roguelike video games.


quasit

Introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

"Quasits are natural cowards. When minor demons become so bold, their more powerful brethren cannot be far behind."

2006, Matt Forbeck, Prophecy of the Dragons, page 6:

Shadows on the ground moved as the quasits chased us […]

2012, Ann Aguirre, Devil's Punch: A Corine Solomon Novel:

(fantasy) A small horned humanoid demon with a long tail.


battlemage

(fantasy) A wizard specializing in close magical combat.


Dungeon Mastering

Performing as a dungeon master, or running a tabletop role-playing game, especially Dungeons & Dragons.


murderhobo

en-noun

murderhobo (plural murderhobos or murderhoboes)

murderhobos (plural)
murderhoboes (plural)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-murderhobo.wav

Know that you're not going to be the only group of murderhobos out there though, and there's an increasing chance that you may run into others the more dungeons you explore.

2017, Jason Paul McCartan, Through Dungeons Deeper: A Survival Guide for Dungeoneers as Written by a Survivor, page 99:

Grab some stone, craft a sword and go on, be a murderhobo.

2019, Drew Sleep, “Minecraft”, in Retro Gamer UK, number 200, page 100:

Maybe you joined a new group expecting a heavy role-playing experience, just to discover the rest of the party was a group of murderhobos with their hearts set on loot and plunder.

2021 September 16, Brenden Bobby, “Roll d20 for consent”, in Reader, Sandpoint, Idaho, page 14:

(roleplaying games, derogatory or humorous) A character who wanders the gameworld, unattached to any community, indiscriminately killing and looting.


nalfeshnee

If you play with certain demons (mariliths, vrocks, hezrous, bone devils, nalfeshnees, pit fiends, or water demons), you could eventually get Yeenoghu anywhere, and then he could get you Demo.

2001, Kate Nepveu, “some tough questions?”, in rec.games.roguelike.nethack (Usenet):

Huge and incredibly powerful, nalfeshnees ranked high among the servitors of the demon lords, and of all the demons he had ever dealt with, this type was perhaps Gromph's least favorite.

(fantasy) A powerful demon with the head of a boar.


hezrou

Introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game in the 1970s.

A hezrou—a demon like a man-sized toad with spikes running down its back and arms and hands in place of forelegs—turned the handle and threw open the door.

2010, Richard Lee Byers, Unclean: The Haunted Lands:


vrock

Introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game in the 1970s. Possibly related to Swedish vråk (“buzzard”).

The hag, after seeing her threats had no effect on Liann, left her alone, though usually watched over by the vrock.

2005, Trina L. Talma, River's End, page 28:

(fantasy) A humanoid demon with the head, claws, and wings of a giant vulture.


tarrasque

In the fantasy sense, introduced in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, derived from tarasque (“mythical European dragon”).

What's the best way to kill that goddam Tarrasque? I do have resist disenchant + elemental resist + temporary fire/cold, but after 10 or so tries, the Tarrasque is still alive and well, and I get really close only one time, but I ran out of arrows, and then later he summoned way too many nasties.

1998, Virtual, “Tarrasque”, in rec.games.roguelike.angband (Usenet):

(fantasy) A gigantic lizard-like monster.


greenskin

(fantasy, fiction, roleplaying games) One of several distinct green-skinned creatures often grouped together, such as orcs, goblins and (sometimes) trolls.


drider

What a cool army! Do you have Driders or spider riders in there as well?

2001 April 12, RT Maitreya, “Dark Elf Giant Spider”, in rec.games.miniatures.warhammer (Usenet):

I did my best to avoid the driders, but there are a lot of rocks to negotiate around that river, and normal running doesn't cut it. I die. Again.

2001 August 29, Bradmeister, “A server with no ANON”, in alt.games.everquest (Usenet):

This would have been enough to kill a typical generically named character, but the Drider had already proven she was anything but typical.

2002 July 23, swlucky, “[OW!] Never trust a youma”, in alt.fan.sailor-moon (Usenet):

2004, Roby Ward, Heroes of Watussin, Llumina Press， page 206.
The drider had however moved close as he beseeched the entity behind the door, so found himself needing to bend his black elvish upper torso back towards the ceiling in order to avoid being slammed by the sudden rush of the massive slab.

I was in a dungeon, alone, nude.
Suddenly and without warning, a huge gay drider came from behind and shoved his massive drider cock up my anus!!!
[…]
Now my willy is sore and my asshole hurts badly and I have the foul taste of drider cum in my mouth and I lost 90% of my hitpoints!
So NEVER walk around in a dungeon nude, because gay driders may rape you!

2004 October 23, Karl-Hugo Weesberg, “A gay drider raped me ! ! ! !”, in can.uucp (Usenet):

2010, Matthew Lehmann, Wulf's Gate, Xlibris, page 26. Bolded "a" is original.
“Shh, No not a drider. Drider. He is one of the cruelest elves I know, and one of the fastest. […]”

“They were killed by Drider venom that was injected into the back of their necks. […]”

2012, Matthew Mackenzie, The History of Valin Sol: The Decay Years, WestBow Press, page 2:

(fantasy) A monstrous hybrid of a drow or other dark elf and a spider, with a humanoid (vertical) upper body and an arachnid opisthosoma forming the (horizontal) lower part.


bullywug

(gaming) A fictional frog-headed humanoid monster from the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.


tiefling

From German tief (“deep, low”) + -ling; coined for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition.

That left me with either a human female paladin or a tiefling warlord.

2013, David M. Ewalt, “D&D Next”, in Of dice and men : the story of Dungeons & Dragons and the people who play it, Scribner, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 210:

I did not choose to be a monster—a shell of a man—half-human, half-fiend. I am a tiefling. I am what I am.

2015 April 9, Barbara T. Cerny, The Tiefling: Angel Kissed, Devil Touched, Assent Publishing, →ISBN:

The Radiant Cathedral, on the other hand, trains aasimars to become beacons of the Sarenite faith, and also guides tieflings to a brighter future than their heritage suggests.

2018, “Planar Scion”, in Starfinder: Alien Archive 2, Paizo, →ISBN, page 210:

(fantasy, roleplaying games) A member of a race of beings having a combination of human and demonic ancestry, found especially in Dungeons & Dragons.

Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition


archpaladin

/ɑɹt͡ʃˈpælədɪn/

From arch- + paladin. Originally from the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, in which the fictional deity, Heironeous, is known as The Archpaladin, and the AdventureQuest game.

Foremost in her mind has always been to serve the Archpaladin [Heironeous] and improve the lives of others with His teachings.

2004 August, Rick LaRue, “Greyhawk’s Knights of Holy Shielding: Valor Is Our Blood!”, in Dungeon, number 113, page 94:

Heironeous, The Invincible, The Archpaladin, is the champion of rightful combat and chivalrous deeds.

2007 April, Sean K Reynolds, “Heironeous”, in Dragon, volume XXXI, number 11, issue 354, page 19:

Mostly whiteshirts, from initiate Healers to patrolmen to Electors and ArchPaladins in full battle gear.

2010, Tim Akers, The Horns of Ruin, Amherst, N.Y.: Pyr, →ISBN, page 266:

It's best if you can find a friend or some players to help you out with each quests for Archpaladin.

2019 August 1, SyedXD123, the_beast69, “What Class?”, in reddit.com:

History was wrought romanticised tales of grand crusades lead by heroic Archpaladins of old, spreading God's word to the dark and corrupt corners of the kingdom through their might and zeal.

2021, C. R. Butterworth, The Exile, Liberation (Book 1), C. R. Butterworth:

Things like using Archpaladin to mitigate true damage, or recommending Health Vamp on farming classes that don't benefit from it.

2022 February 18, xiaomole, “Combatting Misinformation”, in reddit.com:

(very rare, science fiction, fantasy, video games) A supreme paladin.


D&Der

Being geeky has always been about making and doing things. That’s nothing new—kids who went to Space Camp constructed and launched their own model rockets, and D&Ders painstakingly hand-drew maps, or painted their own pewter figures.

2011, Susan Beal, “Introduction”, in World of Geekcraft: Step-by-Step Instructions for 25 Super-Cool Craft Projects, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 6:

René, an aficionado himself, never missed an opportunity to find fellow D&Ders.

2018, Cara Black, Murder on the Left Bank, Soho Crime, →ISBN, page 17:

Regardless of how you do or don’t play games—whether you are an MMORPGer, a console gamer, a D&D'''er, a Settlers of Catan enthusiast, or someone who has never gamed before but who is perhaps curious about gaming or instructional design—I hope that in reading this book you will find a lens that will be useful to you in your own life, whether for teaching, writing, learnining, training, game development, or simply the enjoyment of games.

2018, Carly Finseth, Teach Like a Gamer: Adapting the Instructional Design of Digital Role-Playing Games (Studies in Gaming), Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 12:

A player of the fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.


Dungeons & Dragoner

Dungeons & Dragoner (plural Dungeons & Dragoners)

And looking out from the Lookout were the Dungeons & Dragoners he’d phoned a half hour earlier.

1982, William Kotzwinkle, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, London: Sphere Books Limited, →ISBN, page 235:

This disgusted the other students, all of them: those engaged in African American pride, the brainiacs from decent homes, even the burnouts, who shared a tiny patch of brownish lawn with the Dungeons & Dragoners.

2007, Jennifer Blowdryer, “Style Your Own Damn Self”, in Michelle Tea, editor, It’s So You: 35 Women Write About Personal Expression Through Fashion and Style, Seal Press, →ISBN, page 270:

“Students here cover a spectrum,” muses a senior, including “preppy pop-collars, hardcore hippies, emo punk rockers, jocks, semi-goths, and Dungeons & Dragoners.”

2008, Edward B. Fiske, Robert Logue, the Fiske Guide to Colleges staff, Fiske Guide to Colleges 2008, twenty-fourth edition, Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 129:

(rare) A player of the fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.


Monster Manual

The primary bestiary for the monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.


Shart

From a contraction of Shadowheart, itself a compound of shadow + heart, likely chosen as a jocular homonym of shart (“wet fart”).

They [BG3's female companions] aren't particularly evil, if you sided with the Goblins you can clearly tell that Shart isn't even evil, just very pragmatic about your Tadpole problem.

I felt like Lae and Shart will have potential redemption arcs and will be trying for those.

This build works equally well whatever you do with Shart, but obviously the whole stalking gloom thing is a better thematic fit for a Shar loyalist.

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang, humorous or derogatory) The fictional character Shadowheart from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.


Shadowbae

Shadowbae has been my favourite from the beginning. She's always had a pretty decent fanbase.

2022 June 29, WhiteSilverDragoon, Reddit:

I am in a relationship with Shadowbae but Karlach is the true best girl and Shadowbae and I both simp for her.

I have Tav (Warlock), Astarion as ranger/rogue, Shadowbae as my healer, and Karlach as my barbarian.

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang, endearing) The fictional character Shadowheart from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.


Galemance

As I am also pursuing a Galemance with my other MC, I look forward to your Gale portrait with great interest :3c

2020 November 6, TheAbominableMomo, Reddit:

Put my Galemance run on hold because I want them to fix the bug that happened with patch 3 first.

2023 October 4, literallybyronic, Reddit:

I'm doing my first Galemance run and I honestly melted when he started talking about his hundur sauce.

2024 June 2, Mysterious_Ad_1525, Reddit:

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) The Gale romance subplot in the video game Baldur's Gate 3.


Astarionmance

As someone who's romancing both Astarion and Gale in simultaneous separate playthroughs, I am loving the difference so much: Galemance caters to my soft Harlequin Romance side while Astarionmance is so totally my Bodice-Ripper bag, baby!

2020 November 7, TheAbominableMomo, Reddit:

i will wait patiently for bg3 console release and NOT watch any more Astarionmance videos

2023 August 16, TheFallowMyre (@DemiPixellated), Twitter:

I just started a new Astarionmance as a reward for abstaining from him for a whole game 😅

2024 February 6, Becky (@Beckyhelene), Twitter:

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) The Astarion romance subplot in the video game Baldur's Gate 3.


Galemancer

I know very well how hard it is, I'm a Galemancer since the beginning. I was surprised as well to see that he was so popular.

2021 January 28, disappearingcat, Reddit:

I agreed with some and disagreed with others, so I'm putting it out there for my fellow Galemancers: what's Gale's [zodiac] sign?

2023 December 22, Theia-Euryphaessa, Reddit:

As a Galemancer, I loved Tara and how they wrote her dynamic!

2024 February 25, coffeestealer, Reddit:

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) A player who romances Gale during a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3.


Astarionmancer

As a professional Astarionmancer, you can get “Very High Approval” without the need to be evil.

I’m an Astarionmancer with a lot of thoughts and not enough creative outlets.

As a fellow Astarionmancer I don't mind a little peck before finishing his personal quest, but after that he should be more passionate.

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) A player who romances Astarion during a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3.


Granted, games like BG3 and other adaptations of the D&D franchise are not necessarily concerned with representing the real world as they seem to be with crafting fantasy.

2022, Earl A. Aguilera, "Theorizing Whiteness as a Proceduralized Ideology in Videogames", Journal of Games Criticism, Volume 5, Bonus Issue A, January 2022, pages 15-16

However, the company has suggested that 2023 will be the year that BG3 finally gets a full launch, with a complete story, and every promised race and class available.

2022, “The Game Awards 2022 Recap”, in The Gamer Guide, Issue 11, November-December 2022, page 26:

Larian Studios has developed BG3 as a sequel to the first two games, which were released in 1998 and 1999 respectively.

2023 November 10, Brynn Tannehill, “Baldur's Gate 3 has received widespread critical acclaim, the Blade chats with two key queer figures in the game”, in Los Angeles Blade, page 4:

(fandom slang) Initialism of Baldur's Gate 3.


Because in the end, the greatest joy of BG2 is the control you have over the protagonist.

2000 December, David Simkins, “Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn”, in NEXT Generation, page 141:

After playing with them in BG1, BG2, IWD1 and now NWN, the same old spells are becoming somewhat wearisome.

2002 November, “Icewind Dale 2”, in PC Powerplay, page 67:

If you’ve played BG1 or BG2 and are looking to this as a temporary fix, you won’t find it.

2003 March, Chris Anderson, “Icewind Dale And Heart Of Winter”, in PC Zone, page 98:

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
w:Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

(fandom slang) Initialism of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.


Old hands will recognise these characters from BG1, so there's instant motivation there for them, while multiple-choice dialogue lets newcomers know you've got history with them.

2000 October, Peter Walker, “Role-Playing Power”, in Computer and Video Games, page 33:

Baldur's Gate
w:Baldur's Gate (video game)

(fandom slang) Initialism of Baldur's Gate.


CHARNAME

From CHARNAME, the placeholder used for the player-inputted name in BG1's source code, itself a compound of char (“character”) + name.

Dexterity doesn't help your CHARNAME hit anything. It only helps CHARNAME to not get hit by others.

Valygar and Haer'Dalis were the other two romances for female CHARNAME, however they were cut due to time constraints.

Y'all have some weird CHARNAMES.

(fandom slang) The player character of Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.


Tadfool

Blend of tadpole + fool, referencing an in-universe term for Illithid parasites.

realizing I ship all of the Tadfools. just all of them. literally any combination works. #LysPlaysBG3

2023 September 22, Lys (@LostElysium13), Twitter:

baldur's gate is gonna have to sit tight for a bit, sorry tadfools

2023 October 27, Cthonical (@Cthonical_), Twitter:

There's a fanart somewhere of the tadfools at a gym and Gale is using his mirror image to work out while he's reading a book.

2024 January 21, TheRopeofShadow, Reddit:

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) Any one of the Illithid parasite-infected playable characters in Baldur's Gate 3.


Durge

Blend of dark + urge, likely as a homonym of dirge.

Picking Durge opens up some unique options and scenes.

Both of my good Durges were College of Swords bards because I liked this class so much.

Even if you don’t romance him, get a good relationship with Astarion and talk to him often. He has the most unique dialogue when interacting with Durge.

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) The Dark Urge player character in Baldur's Gate 3.


Bloodweave

Blend of blood + weave, referencing Astarion being a vampire and Gale a wizard (the Weave is a source of magic in Forgotten Realms lore).

Gotta love some tender Bloodweave.

My favourite part of bloodweave is they can either help fix each other or be ambitious lil shits together.

2023 May 17, ferretatthecontrols, Reddit:

Just play as Gale, then you have no choice but to choose someone else (I recommend Astarion for Bloodweave goodness.)

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Astarion Ancunín and Gale Dekarios from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.

Forgotten Realms
Mystra (Forgotten Realms)#Weave


Wyllstarion

Wyllstarion is like crack to me. I wish it was more popular.

2024 April 30, Passenger_Prince, Reddit:

I ship Wyllstarion hard. Astarion would make an amazing duchess.

2024 June 16, Healthy_Breakfast_24, Reddit:

I’ll take those Wyllstarion fics if you don’t mind 👀

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Wyll Ravengard and Astarion Ancunín from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.


Spawnstarion

Gods, I would love a DLC where we get to find a cure for Spawnstarion. I need that. Until then my headcanon must suffice.

Resist Durge and Spawnstarion is the best romance experience of this game.

2024 February 1, deleted_account, Reddit:

I find it incredibly sweet and I have Spawnstarion repeat that line a lot to my Tavs lol.

2024 March 10, somethingaboutme, Reddit:

(Baldur's Gate fandom slang) The vampire spawn version of Astarion from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.