To Know and Be Known:
Term Dictionary
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are collaborative experiences that center around the co-development of both characters and settings. I want to go over some basic terms and how I will be using them over the course of this series, just so we can keep track of what I am saying without confusing it for other definitions.
Session: A set period of time where a Host or Game Master(GM) and players come together and actively role-play in the world of their choosing. Usually anywhere from 1-8 hours at a time. Worlds Beyond Number records their episodes in long recording sessions. However, most casual games are commonly 3-4 hours long. Individual episodes of Worlds Beyond Number have a run time between one to two hours.
Campaign: A series of sessions that follows the same characters, setting, or themes. The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One (WWWO) is a campaign most often following the characters Ame, Suvi and Eursulon within the world of Umora.
Arcs: A series of Worlds Beyond Number(WBN) episodes that follow a specific plot thread or goal.
Chapters: Larger series of arcs that are tied together through specific events and goals, often detailing large events that finalize each chapter within the WWWO.
Book 1: The first iteration of the Wizard, The Witch and The Wild One (WWWO). It contains 54 episodes and a number of interludes and preludes. It follows the early adventures of Ame, Eursulon and Suvi as they reunite from childhood and start to find their own. There is a planned Book 2 in the future, that catches back up with these three characters, however it is currently on hiatus while WBN hosts another campaign run by Aabria Iyengar.
Player character: In this case, Erika Ishii, Aabria Iyengar, and Lou Wilson are the players. They are agents of change, and their perspectives are often limited to a single character each. They make decisions as these characters, which in turn helps illustrate the world in more personal terms.
Host / Game master ( or dungeon master): This is Brennan Lee Mulligan for WWWO. Hosts often act as the referee and the setting that player characters live in/interact with. They provide situations, other characters, and setting details that help inspire player actions. Something I will discuss later is how WBN often blends the power dynamic between players and Hosts as the arbiters of change and crafting of this world. Oftentimes, when players make choices within the world of Umora, Brennan does his best to have the world reflect an aspect of these characters’ perspectives/choices/actions. This is not always the case in TTRPG campaigns, but by giving the players some agency in the creation of this world, they become further invested in their characters’ roles to play in it.
Tabletop Role Playing Game (TTRPG) System: A system is a set of rules that game masters and players agree to follow in order to help facilitate storytelling. The system Worlds Beyond Number uses is Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition (often shortened to D&D 5e). WBN uses this system but is not afraid to modify or ignore aspects of it to facilitate more interesting storytelling ideas.
Homebrew: Homebrew is a term that is widespread in TTRPG spaces, the way I am using it here is when GMs and players agree to modify aspects of the TTRPG system’s rules or setting in order to customize their storytelling experiences. WBN often homebrews specific rules or wordings within game mechanics to help better match the tone of the situation or setting. While still holding onto some basic tenets of the game system’s idea. This can include the wording or usage of specific spells, the creation of new classes, or even just having the dice control the outcome of a situation (without this type of roll being explicitly mentioned within the systems general usage).
Actual Play: These are web shows or podcasts where people will play tabletop role-playing games for an audience. These are a fairly novel way of experiencing tabletop role-playing games. Introducing an audience can influence some of how groups develop stories. There generally needs to be a much greater understanding and expectation of cooperation since they are performing not only for themselves. Worlds Beyond Number is an Actual-Play podcast.
Great examples that I personally enjoy include Dimension 20, Not Another D&D podcast, and Legends of Avantris.
Theater of the Mind: When playing TTRPGs, there is the option to utilize physical game pieces that represent characters, combat spaces, environments, and adversaries. Theater of the Mind does not include these features. It relies solely on the imagination to experience its narrative elements. Without game pieces, the imaginative aspect of role-playing games is heightened. Worlds Beyond Number does not feature any physical tools that the audience has access to in order to “keep up” with the mechanics of the story.
Talk-backs: Talkbacks, or Fireside Chats as they're called for Worlds Beyond Number, are essentially out of character discussions and reviews of a relevant episode. Sometimes the Members of the podcaster web show will take some time to talk about favorite moments or their mindset around certain decisions they made in character. These are going to be particularly helpful for my research, because of world's beyond number goes into greater detail about conceptual inspirations and frameworks .
KEEP IN MIND: This is not how all people will use these terms. This is not an exhaustive list of TTRPG terms, and likely does not clearly explain every term I will be using within this series. If you have further questions about a term, feel free to send me a message, @ me on social media, or even send me an email to ask further questions about what a term means and/or how I am using it! I love discussing TTRPG stuff and think that by opening the space for questions, I can make this a more inviting space for people curious about it! This list will be updated over time as people ask for clarification or curiosity! It is important to me that this blog be as accessible as possible, so I am not trying to force myself to keep this dictionary static.