Gaming Benefits: Vocabulary Part II

The adventurers stealthily begin the assault on the dreaded Gazebo.  (courtesy of Dariel Quiogue)

The Gazebo. A terrible D&D monster that few have -- hmm? It's a what? Oh. Heh, heh. Of course I knew that. I was just testing you.

Seriously, though, D&D has expanded the vocabulary of many a young and not-so-young gamer. I posted about this before briefly, but the time has come to add a few more anecdotes.

Unknown Nouns: Gazebo

The story goes like this: GM mentions that players 'encounter' a gazebo, one player (a fighter) doesn't know what a gazebo is and attacks it, GM fails to explain what a gazebo is (or is amused by the player's lack of knowledge) and allows the gazebo to either be defeated or allows the player to destroy said gazebo.

I honestly don't remember where this appeared online, but I've gamed in two different countries, have searched the web, and have encountered the rampaging gazebo many times as part of gaming group lore. There must have been a module that this appeared in, just waiting for the brave, albeit mildly ignorant fighter to begin assaulting it.

Could someone point it out? I'd love to find that module.

Pronunciation: Braziers vs. Brassiere

Because we don't all know the correct pronunciation to many words, there are times when those do know the pronunciation are thrown for a loop. When the GM talks about walking into a room with "burning brassieres" as opposed to "flaming braziers", the sense of tension he may wish to impart to his players may not be what he expected. I say he, of course, because female GMs would (I hope) seize upon the pronunciation problem right away...

It's a bit less of a problem with the internet and pronunciation aids these days, but back in the Web-less days, this type of thing happened every so often, with hilarity and embarrassment ensuing.

Mythtakes: Elves, Dwarves, and Succubi

Leafing through the Monster Manual as a kid was thrilling, but I went into it not understanding that just because the MM said this is what a goblin is and these are the stats, it wasn't necessarily how other people, other cultures, other countries thought of what a goblin (or elf, or dwarf, or succubus) would be.


What are your own RPG-related verbal experiences (spoken or written or whatever) in your gaming group?