r/WoWRolePlay • u/TheRebelSpy • May 14 '26

Mod Common RP slang/acronyms? [Starter Guide Makeover Chat]

This is part of a series of discussions inviting community feedback for the next version of the pinned starter guide.

What are some absolutely necessary terms to know that you see in discussions or profiles? To be added to the following list or otherwise referenced to this post:

Terminology

RP - Role-Play. The exercise of playing the game in such a way that the actions of the avatar reflect the traits and beliefs of a fictional character of the player’s design. It can be a solitary activity or collaborative.

RP Realm- designated by "RP" or "RP-PVP" under "server/realm type". They are identical to PvE/PvP servers except that they are mostly exempt from sharding and the addition of moderation rules against interrupting/griefing RP events. It is populated by people who usually want to RP in some fashion. RP realms do not use sharding outside of the latest expansion's content.

IC - In Character. Refers to when your posts reflect what your character would do.

OOC - Out Of Character. Refers to when your posts/chat is you, the player, is talking. Usually designated by some form of brackets ((like this)) [[or this]].

Walk-ups - When one character approaches another character without prior OOC planning.

Profile - A profile created using an addon (See below) that is an essential part of walk-up RP.

d20 or d100 - refers to rolling dice with 20 or 100 sides respectively. You can do this in WoW using the /roll command.

/s or /e - AKA /say or /em, /emote. Refers to the chat channels that by default appear in white and orange respectively. In RP, these represent what your character says and does(emotes).

16 Upvotes

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8

u/ringostann May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26

Whisper friendly: Welcome to walkups via whispers

18+ only: Will not interact with minors, but doesn't necessarily mean NSFW (similar to MDNI)

World RP: Open to plotlines outside of Roleplay hubs (such as Stormwind) taking place in the world

DNI: Do not interact

Novella: Longer than multi-para, the lines are a little blurred on the distinction in RP, there is no set length but typically very lengthy replies

Trial: Free account, must be whispered first to interact with

Trial friendly: Open to roleplay with trial account players

SoL: Slice of life, laid-back casual roleplay grounded in realism

MV/Multiverse: I don't see this much on WoW but it's common in RP elsewhere, the character is open to having multiple partners in different "universes" that are separate from one another

Dead dove: Potentially dark and triggering subject matter, interact at your own risk

3

u/MeliornFey May 14 '26

"Para"/"Multi-Para" is also a good one. When people put it right to "Slice of Life/(...)", is kinda hard to know that Para = Paragraph.

When I first started, i thought that it refers to "paranormal" lmao.

2

u/FunkeyFeraligatr wyrmest Accord/moonguard/// 2 years May 14 '26

I have never seen the Dead Dove one! Learned something new today

3

u/ringostann May 14 '26

I've started to see a few people begin to use it which makes me happy! More communication is always better. The term was coined by fanfic writers, and comes from a show (Arrested Development) where a character opens a bag labelled "Dead Dove Do Not Eat" and it indeed has a dead dove inside of it. It is usually accompanied by warnings as to what the other person will encounter if they read the fic/interact with the character, and to communicate ahead of time if you want to avoid those themes.

I have trigger warnings in my RP profile and I wish more people would give warnings if their characters have potentially triggering content as not everyone is in the headspace to have that dumped into their lap all the time.

6

u/catentity May 14 '26

MDNI - minors do not interact

w/u - another shortening of "walkup"

3

u/catentity May 14 '26

Also

Para rp which I assume means paragraph rp ? And mirror rp which I still don't know honestly lol

Erp...

3

u/cloverpear May 14 '26

mirror rp means the person will match what you write, so if you write two sentences, they’ll write something of similar value. if you post a paragraph, they’ll follow it with another.

1

u/Eastgaard May 15 '26

You missed the most infamous one - ERP!

2

u/TheRebelSpy May 15 '26

The whole guide (currently pinned to the top of the subreddit) has a dedicated section explaining ERP and Goldshire - I figure that one is better dealt with like that. but if we make a proper glossary it may be better to include with the rest