Lexicon

=Lexicon and Pronunciation Guide=

Syllables are divided by hyphens. In polysyllabic words capitalisation indicates the greatest stress. Because Lojban, that's why. Secondary stress is indicated by an apostrophe. Long and short vowel sounds are indicated by macrons (straight line) and breves (curve). A second pronunciation guide is given, using standard English orthography. I'm ignoring specifics of vowel colour (if you don't know, don't worry about it) by leaving that up to the reader's dialect. It doesn't really matter much for the terms below. As examples of this system: fight (fīt | fait), fit (fĭt | fit), flying (FLĪ-ēng | flai-ing).


 * Acronyms borrowed from other game systems
 * Though it is not an official part of the Midian Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Game, some players tend to reduce game terms into shorter versions or their initial letters. This is especially true for terms that are also used in other systems. Thus, across the table you might hear someone say, "What's your 'A.C.'?" They mean 'armour class' instead of wall outlets, keeping the room cool, or Mario Lopez's character on Saved by the Bell. Similarly, 'initiative' may be shortened to 'init' or 'system shock shortened' to 'sys shock'. Some systems have game mechanics notation that looks like arcane chemical descriptions; we're trying to avoid that here. You should always see terms in this game fully written-out.


 * Bizzannite
 * (BĬZ-zăn-īt' | biz-an-ait) Person or property of, or from, the Empire of Byzant


 * Bump
 * A commonly used reference for a level-based bonus, especially those gained from a class or codicil.


 * Byzant
 * (BĪ-zănt | buy-zant, the key word here is buy) The largest empire on Suditerre, the southern continent; known for its strong trade and expansion practices


 * Campaign
 * The story of the player-characters, or a linked series of such stories. This is divided into 'chapters' of major story arcs, and further divided into individual game sessions. In television terms, a session is one episode, a chapter is a season/series, and the campaign is the entire run of the show.


 * Character
 * Someone inside the game world, used in the literary sense. Just so there is no confusion: this is not a real person. The player is the one rolling dice; the character is their persona.


 * Codex
 * (KŌ-dĕks | ko-decks) This book, the core guidelines for the Midian Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Game


 * Cultivar
 * (KŬL-tə-vär | cull-tuh-var) These might be thought of as a subspecies. Examples include the three types of Killian (Bushi, Hi, and Ra); Gargoyles as a Hobgoblin cultivar; and the four varieties of Humans (Changing Folk, Gaijin, Metas, and Aurignacian or baseline Humans). In essence this indicates a significant enough difference to merit separate character creation write-ups, but are still technically members of the same species.


 * D
 * Also combined with a couple of numbers, this means 'dice'. See the previous chapter. It's pronounced as written, such as 1D20 said aloud as 'one dee twenty'.


 * Debbie
 * (DĔ-bē | de-bee) A mildly disparaging term used as a replacement name, sometimes used to insult someone's intelligence


 * Encounter
 * Whenever you meet someone or something. This is nearly synonymous with 'scene' as used in movies, books, plays, or television. An encounter is sometimes used as a very rough measure of time—some effects last for one encounter instead of a set number of minutes, or are usable once per encounter. This is synonymous with 'engagement' as that latter term is often used to describe a more social encounter.


 * Fae or Fey
 * (fā | fay) Classification of mystical sentient entities; usually immortal or otherwise magically adept; may be either material or spiritual in nature


 * Farreaches
 * (closed compound of far reaches) Unclaimed and largely uncharted territory north of the Elven Homeland, West of the Heldanic Freeholds, and northwest of the Kingdom of Formour; this land is generally cold and inhospitable moors and steppes. Much of the Farreaches consists of the Shield Rock—a huge expanse consisting of a single large flat rock, with little soil or water to be found.


 * Formour
 * (FŌR-mōr | for-more, as in, "It's a dead man's party; who could ask for more?") Large centrally located agricultural nation on Norditerre, the northern continent.


 * Formourian
 * (fōr-MŌR-ē'-ăn | for-more-ee-an) Person or property of, or from, the Kingdom of Formour


 * Gaijin
 * (GĪ-jĭn | gai-jin, like guy gin) Large variant cultivar of Human; characterized by their size, red colouration of skin tones, blond hair, and aggressive natures; mostly found in the Heldanic Confederation and Killian Empire


 * Game Master
 * The poor bloke running the show. To use a movie analogy: the players are the writers and actors; the Game Master is the director, producer, set designer, and all of the extras. The Game Master (typically) sets the main thrust of the plot, describes the scene, and runs all of the non-player characters. The Game Master also acts as a final arbiter of disputes, interprets the guidelines, and describes all of the nasty things that happens to your character when something goes horribly wrong.


 * Heldan
 * (HĔL-dăn | hell-dan, like you're yelling at your buddy, "Hell, Dan!") Person from the Heldanic Confederation, or whose ancestry is from that nation


 * Heldanic
 * (hĕl'-DĂN-ĭk | hell-dan-ick) Of, or from the Heldanic Confederation; the proper term for a person from this nation is 'Heldan'; doubling of the N is rather common, especially among older literate northerners, as in Heldann or Heldannic


 * Heldanic Freehold
 * Also called the Heldanic Confederation; the northernmost major nation; a loose collection of fiefs united under the nominal rule of a High King


 * I.P.B.S.
 * Abbreviation of 'ignore pissant bullshit'; trait; pretty much the only non-Latinate acronym used fairly frequently in the game


 * Killian
 * (KĬL-ē'-ăn | kill-ee-an, as though you're really pissed at at your other buddy, "Must… kill… Ian…") Four-armed—and frequently psychic—reptilian island dwelling species, or of their Empire


 * Midian
 * (MĬD-ē'-ăn | mid-ee-an) The known world; all the realms


 * Midianite
 * (mĭd'-ē-ăn-ĪT | mid-ee-an-ite) Typically refers to someone who plays the Midian Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Game, i.e. is a part of the community of players and fans. Also occasionally used to mean a character in the game as a generic term for anyone who lives in the world where the game is set.


 * Non-player character
 * A character ran by the Game Master. These are the enemies, people in the crowd, allies, contacts, animals, and everyone else in the world.


 * Norditerre
 * (NŌR-dĭ-tĕr' | nord-ih-tair) The northern continent and main focus of this Codex; home of the Kingdom of Formour, the Heldanic Confederation, Elven Homeland, and Farreaches; the islands of the Killian Empire are closest to this continent


 * Osterre
 * (ŏs-TĔR | oss-tair) The far eastern continent, home of great beasts and barbaric cultures


 * Player
 * Someone who plays the game. That is, it's the person sitting at the table rolling dice instead of the character. Usually, this is distinct from a Game Master.


 * Player-character
 * A character ran by a player. These are the stars of the show. And, since this is renaissance horror, very bad things are going to happen to them in the name of entertainment.


 * Run
 * Denotes handling and a degree of control: a player runs their character, and the Game Master runs the campaign. The connotation is as in 'running around in the game world', or as in 'running the show'. This is also usually the best way to survive a deadly encounter.


 * Spud
 * (spŭd | spud, yep, like the potato) The most common smurf-word term for a person, generically; used mostly in the second person; considered quite colloquial, and maybe even a bit rude; usage is similar to 'dude'


 * Stack
 * Combining many smaller bonuses into one big one. See the appropriate section on stacking under Character Generation.


 * Suditerre
 * (SŪ-dĭ'-tĕr | sue-dih-tair) The southern continent, home of the Byzant Empire and the Elder Kingdoms


 * Syndic
 * (SĬN-dĭc | sin-dick) Occupational class including: agents, financiers, liaisons, and brokers


 * Template
 * (TĔM-plāt | tem-plate) Almost, but not quite, adequate; just messed up enough not to work; a step below cromulent


 * Times Two
 * Written as 'x2' (or with some other number). This is shorthand notation for stacking. For example, 'feared x3' means you have the feared status three times. It's much simpler to say or write 'feared x3' instead of "I have three levels of the 'feared' status," or even saying "feared feared feared."

Other terms have their own appropriate explanatory sections where they are covered. For example a 'round' (about six seconds during a battle) and 'hit points' (a way to keep track of damage) are combat terms, and as such are detailed in the Hunting & Escaping chapter.