Glossary
| Table of Contents: 0-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A glossary of game-related terms.
A
AWOL: Absent without leave. A player who hasn’t posted in-game in a month. (See also: Abandoned character).
Abandoned character: A player who has been declared AWOL has one month to contact their CO before their character will be declared abandoned and subsequently deleted.
B
Balance: The state of a game where all characters have equal moments where their unique abilities allow them to shine. Also where the GM can balance the challenges to those characters’ strengths AND weaknesses to keep things exciting for all.
Bleed: The transfer of emotions from player to character. (See also: Meta-gaming).
C
Character: A common term used to refer to a person that exists in our game world, and who knows nothing about game mechanics. Controlled by a Player. (Called ‘Player Character’ in traditional RPGs).
D
E
F
G
Game Moderator: Coordinator of worlds, filler-in of the unknowns. While Players write what their characters see and how they react, the GM provides input on things that have significance to the direction of plots.
H
Hijacking: The use or posting of a character’s actions by someone other than that character’s owner, often without permission.
I
J
K
L
Leave of absence (LOA): When a player needs a break from the two-posts per week game requirement, they can request a LOA from their CO.
M
Meta-gaming: The use of Player-only knowledge to make Character decisions.
Mission: The main storyline that occurs on a starship. Occurs like an episode of Star Trek. (See also: Shoreleave).
N
Non-Player Character (NPC): A character played by a GM, not by a Player.
Non-Rated Character (NRC): A secondary character played by a player which does not receive points.
O
OOC: Out of character. Interactions that take place between player and player, or player and GM, outside of the game world.
Open-ended: When a character faces an action with an unknown outcome, they must leave their action “open-ended”. This allows the GM to supply the outcome and move the story along. Leaving a post open-ended is similar to rolling a dice in tabletop RPGs, where the GM serves as the dice.
P
Player: A person sitting at a computer, who writes for a Character.
Plot: A storyline. Missions often combine a Main Plot, and subplots.
Plot hook: A piece of information that appears in the story to hook characters into a particular storyline. Often ignored by players, to the consternation of GMs.
Primary Rated Character (PRC): The main rated (points-earning) character that a player has. This is by default their first character, or if permitted, another character which has greater points and position than their Secondary Rated Character.
Q
R
Rank cap: Essentially a door that characters need a particularly set of keys to pass through as they progress up the ranks. These ensure even distribution of ranks across the site.
Rated Character: A character that earns points, and subsequently promotions, based on their player’s participation.
S
Secondary Rated Character (SRC): A player’s second rated character. A player may only have one SRC unless special permission is given by the President.
Shoreleave: Between missions, characters take shoreleave (essentially a holiday/vacation). It’s an opportunity for players to run their own subplots.
Site-wide plot: A larger storyline that involves the majority of the site’s characters (i.e. Krynar War).
Subplot: A storyline that is not the main mission storyline.
Supercharacter: A character who is perfect at everything, particularly in areas where they previously had expressed no skill. No matter the obstacle, the character immediately has the perfect solution. Supercharacters are not permitted on Fedspace. Sometimes called a 'Wesley Crusher'. (See also: Supergamer, Metagaming).
Supergamer: A player who must have characters that are perfect at everything. They must have a perfect solution / perfect technology / perfect storyline. This type of player often gets personally upset when a story doesn’t go the way they expected or if it doesn't go in their character’s favour. (Also called: Megagamer. Munchkin gamer. Min-maxer). (See also: Metagaming, Supercharacter).
T
Technobabble/treknobabble: Meaningless words that sound extremely futuristic. Often used to problem solve in-game.
