Dungeons and Dragons Abbreviations

Dungeons and Dragons players, like any hobbyists, tend to use lots of hobby-specific abbreviations.  Below, I’ve included some of the abbreviations you’re likely to see on my blog and on other Dungeons and Dragons sites.

4e, 3.5e, 3e, 2e: D&D editions (4th edition, 3.5 edition, etc.)

AC: Armor Class (PC defense against normal attacks)

AD&D: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (as I understand it, this is basically first edition)

AOE: Area of Effect (a spell that affects several squares on the board, often dealing damage to all enemies in that area)

DM: Dungeon Master (the person “running” the game)

DMG: Dungeon Master’s Guide (a WotC book that explains how to be a DM)

DMG1, DMG2: Dungeon Master’s Guide 1 and Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 (a third is on the way)

D&D or Dnd: Dungeons and Dragons

D&DI: D&D Insider (WotC’s subscription service for D&D tools and info)

DPR: Damage per Round (the amount of damage a character can deal in a round, or a character that focuses on dealing lots of damage)

DPS: Damage per Second (a term from World of Warcraft that some D&D players use to mean the same thing as Damage per Round)

FLGS: Friendly Local Game Store (retailers who carry D&D supplies and typically host games)

FRW: Fortitude, Reflex, Will (the three non-Armor Class defenses a character has)

GM: Game Master (the non-D&D specific version of DM)

HP: Hit Points (how much damage a creature or player can take before dying)

LFR: Living Forgotten Realms (a series of D&D games held in game stores)

Mini: Miniature (a small statue in real life or a small image online that represents a character or monster)

MM, MM1, MM2, MM3: Monster Manual 1, 2 and 3 (books that provide information on monsters for characters to fight)

NAD: Non-Armor Class Defenses (Fortitude, Will, Reflex – defenses against special attacks)

NPC: Non-Player Character (in-game characters controlled by the DM)

PC: Player Character (the in-game character that a player controls)

PHB: Player’s Handbook (a WotC book that explains the rules of D&D for players)

PHB1, PHB2, PHB3: The three different Player’s Handbooks

RPG: Role-Playing Game (such as D&D)

TPK: Total Party Kill (when all of the characters are wiped out in a battle)

WotC: Wizards of the Coast (the company that publishes D&D)

XP: Experience Points (the reward for progressing in D&D; when players earn enough, they level up)

22 thoughts on “Dungeons and Dragons Abbreviations

    • I honestly don’t know! I haven’t personally played much D&D in the last few years, so I don’t know what abbreviations have become common more recently.

  1. Great Idea! Acronym database for D&D only. I was hoping to find the meaning of “DCI” on your site. Can’t find it on WotC site or on acronymfinder.com.

    • DCI originally stood for Duelists Convocation International, which was the name Wizards of the Coast gave to the group they ran for organizing and overseeing tournaments (mainly for Magic: The Gathering, but I believe there was some involvement with D&D as well). Eventually they decided that they didn’t love the full name, so they made it into an abbreviation that doesn’t stand for anything officially.

  2. I just bought a 1979 mono B1 “In Search of the Unknown”… somebody has filled in the monsters and treasures with pencil. Each monster has a HP designation but then it also states “DM 27” or “DM 31” etc. I haven’t played since 1982 and can’t recall what that would stand for… help!

    • Ooh, that was before my time. My guess is that it might be a reference to a page in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, maybe where there’s information about how a particular monster ability works, but that is only a guess.

    • I have no idea, I’m sorry! I wonder if it’s either a typo (though for what I’m not sure) or an abbreviation.

    • I believe AT is Attunement – some magic items (often special artifacts) have to be “attuned” to the user in order to function well.

      I’m not sure about EQ – perhaps a note as to whether it’s Equipped or not?

  3. What BR means? On my character sheet I see:
    Ability Score Increase • BR 23

    * Elf Weapon Training • BR 23
    You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.

    * Cantrip • BR 24
    You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. INT is your spellcasting ability for it.

    thanks in advance!

    • I believe BR is a reference to the Basic Rules document for D&D 5th Edition. The number is likely the page on which you can find the information.

Leave a Reply to Wulvrum Cancel reply