Game design trap: Adjectives in mechanical text that aren't actual game object keywords.

If you describe a conditional thing that happens, but then add the descriptor "severe" in front of the thing, you MUST define what is and is not a "severe" version of the thing. Aaaggghhh

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 18, 2022

If you don't, you're leaving it in the hands of the players to try to puzzle out, and often, to argue over.

There are theoretically ways you could do this successfully if it's somehow built into how the game works… but personally I'm going to err on the side of "please no."

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 18, 2022

I’m slowly unraveling at how weird the phrase “critical hit” is now. And how the adjective “critical” colloquially morphed into the noun “a crit” What's striking you as weird about it?

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 21, 2022

It feels like jargon, a legacy Gygaxian word that isn’t quite right but we all call it that and it’s too late to change.

But like experience points, alignment, and mimics, it’s been ported to SO many other games we don’t think about it. I know this is incidental to the excellent discussion, but it’s interesting to me that the term didn’t originate with D&D, but came in via games like Rolemaster. AD&D had no critical hits (and I distinctly remember Gygax railing against the concept somewhere.) 1/

— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) February 21, 2022

Though I’m not sure, I suspect it made it into RPGs by way of naval or aerial wargaming — which might explain why it feels a bit off when applied to characters/creatures, where something like “mortal hit” would make more sense. 2/2

— Scott Fitzgerald Gray (@scottfgray) February 21, 2022

Players? Argue? Perish the thought! "Players" here includes the GM but damn the character limit and its effect on adequate communication.

Twitter is where cogence goes to die.

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 18, 2022

On the other hand, there are many times when designers use common words to describe mechanics but don’t include their function the first time you encounter them in the book.

So i end up reading half a book before I learn “engaged” doesn’t mean what I thought it did or some shit. Sure. I've jumped to the sections this particular rule is referencing and finding nothing that connects, and it's not a core system thing either, so /shrug

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 18, 2022

in this case if it’s a system term defined… somewhere, I have a different but no less pressing issue 😂 I definitely agree with (what i believe is) your overall premise, that defining terms that appear in mechanical text blocks is crucial to avoiding conflict at the table.

I'm just building on this by adding that there are better and worse ways to present these definitions. 😀

— whipstache (@whipstache) February 18, 2022

I'm curious what's actually going on here. If I'm just straight up missing something (entirely possible), or if this was a narrative choice that's meant to be just how it sounds (ill advised in core mechanical text), or maybe a version/development issue (sucks, but relatable).

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 18, 2022

As a designer AND an editor, I feel this so hard. Or as
@incandescaent
put it, “Words MEAN things!”Related traps include:

Describing something that could have a mechanical impact but not specifying what that impact is, leaving the DM to scramble for mechanics on the spot. (“The magic in the corridor makes people sleepy. The characters have to struggle not to fall asleep.”)

— Hannah Rose 🌸🌿🌻 (@wildrosemage) February 19, 2022

Using words that have a mechanical meaning as descriptors. (“Paralyzing fear,” “grappling with the decision,” “a proficient warrior.”) Even if the meaning is clearly not related to a game mechanic, it pings my brain in an annoying way!(That last one has also been a huge pain for me when writing D&D-related fiction!)

— Hannah Rose 🌸🌿🌻 (@wildrosemage) February 19, 2022

This is a thing. There's a sidebar in Fizban's talking about the capitalization of creature types to help differentiate between talking about the game object Dragon vs. talking about A dragon. Wheeeee!

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 19, 2022