Glossary
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This work is part of the tabletop role-playing game Swords & Sceptres: The Pulp Fantasy, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which can be accessed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Abbreviations
The abbreviations below appear in stat blocks, tables, and formulae, and nowhere else. Running prose spells every one of them out: an abbreviation belongs where space is short.
Rules abbreviations are set in capitals; coins are always lowercase. This is what keeps 5 SP — five Skill Points — apart from 5 sp, five silver pieces. Magic Points are MP, and neither currency is ever spent as the other. An ability is never abbreviated in prose either: write a Dexterity saving throw, never a Dex. save. LCK appears on a character sheet only, since monsters have no Luck.
Every abbreviation the game uses is given on the Abbreviations table.
Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AC | Armour Class |
| CE | Chaotic Evil |
| CG | Chaotic Good |
| CHA | Charisma |
| CN | Chaotic Neutral |
| CON | Constitution |
| cp | copper piece(s) |
| CR | Challenge Rating |
| DC | Difficulty Class |
| DEX | Dexterity |
| ft. | foot, feet |
| GM | Game Master |
| gp | gold piece(s) |
| HP | Hit Point(s) |
| INT | Intelligence |
| lb. | pound(s) |
| lbf | pound(s) of draw force, used to rate a bow |
| LCK | Luck |
| LE | Lawful Evil |
| LG | Lawful Good |
| LN | Lawful Neutral |
| M | Material component |
| MP | Magic Point(s) |
| N | Neutral |
| n | the potency of an enchantment |
| NE | Neutral Evil |
| NG | Neutral Good |
| NPC | Non-player character |
| PB | Proficiency Bonus (monsters only; a player character has none) |
| PC | Player character |
| RP | Resistance Point(s) |
| S | Somatic component |
| sp | silver piece(s) |
| SP | Skill Point(s) |
| SR | Skill Rank |
| STR | Strength |
| V | Verbal component |
| WIS | Wisdom |
| XP | Experience Point(s) |
Kinds of Creature
The rules use five words for creatures. They are not interchangeable, and a rule means the one it names.
Creature. A player character, a monster, or an NPC. A rule that says creature applies to all three.
Monster. A creature that has a stat block. Its abilities, Speed, size, Armour Class, and proficiencies are read from that block rather than built at character creation, and it has a Proficiency Bonus and no Luck (see “Proficiency” in “Playing the Game”). A monster is not necessarily hostile: a draught horse has a stat block, and so is a monster.
NPC. A creature the GM plays that has no stat block, or that was built with the rules for making a character rather than written as a stat block. The blacksmith who buys your looted bardiches after every adventure needs no stat block, and so is an NPC.
Enemy. A monster or an NPC taking active part in a fight against the player characters. An enemy is usually Hostile in attitude, but attitude does not by itself make a creature an enemy (see “Influence” in “Playing the Game”).
Ally. A monster or an NPC taking active part in a fight on the side of the player characters. An ally is usually not Hostile.