Tagged Questions
23
votes
2answers
1k views
Origin of the word “Soak” for avoiding damage
If anything ever boggled my mind in role playing, then it is the term "soak", as in "soaking damage". Soaking brings pictures of wet clothes to mind, as making stuff wet is what the word is in fact ...
6
votes
2answers
158 views
When was the term “game master” first used?
Dungeons & Dragons coined the term "dungeon master" for the role of the player running the game and adjudicating the rules. When is "game master" first attested (as in, "proven to have existed by ...
15
votes
4answers
396 views
What's the origin of the term “gold piece”?
What is the literary or historical origin of the term "gold piece" to mean a gold coin? Was it used before D&D, or did D&D coin the term?
14
votes
4answers
2k views
What exactly is a saving throw?
Dungeons and Dragons has had the concept of a "saving throw" for a long time. What exactly is it supposed to represent in the real world? And why is it called a "saving throw"?
14
votes
2answers
386 views
Where does the word 'grognard' come from?
I see many people online describing themselves as grognards of a particular system or style of play. Usually they're referring to their die-hard love of an out of print version of a game.
But where ...
