The world of roleplay has its own language. If you come from the traditional campaign mode or the chaotic classic GTA Online, you probably aren’t familiar with the terminology demanded by administrators of serious servers.
While waiting to see how and when Rockstar will implement the multiplayer mode of Grand Theft Auto VI, here is a definitive glossary for you to start studying.
Basic Rule Terms
- IC (In Character): Everything your character does, says, or knows within the game. Your character does not know they are a puppet in a video game.
- OOC (Out Of Character): This is you, the real person behind the keyboard or controller. Talking about your real life, Discord, or game glitches (bugs) while playing is considered breaking character.
- RDM (Random Deathmatch): Murdering or attacking another player without any prior roleplay reason. In roleplay, you cannot just shoot people on the street for no reason; there must always be a prior interaction, dialogue, or conflict to justify it.
- VDM (Vehicle Deathmatch): Using a vehicle as a weapon to intentionally run over players without a justified roleplay scenario. (Running someone over by accident is not VDM, but you must roleplay the accident).
Life and Death Terms
- PK (Player Kill): The temporary death of your character. If you get shot in a robbery and the medics don’t arrive in time, your character will respawn at the hospital, but will forget everything that happened in the scenario that led to their death. Your character is still alive overall.
- CK (Character Kill): The permanent and irreversible death of your character. All your money, properties, and progress are wiped. It usually requires admin approval or is a voluntary decision by the player to close out their character’s story.
Severe Offense Terms
- Metagaming (MG): This is the cardinal sin of roleplay. It consists of using information obtained outside the game (such as watching another player’s Twitch stream) for your character’s benefit inside the game.
- Powergaming (PG): Forcing the roleplay in your favor by performing unrealistic actions that a normal human could not do, or leaving the other player no option to react. For example: jumping from a fourth floor, landing on your feet, and running away without roleplaying the pain.
- NRA (No Action Roleplay) / NRE (No Environment Roleplay): Failing to roleplay the environment you are in. If you fire a weapon right in the middle of Vice City at 12 noon, you must assume (roleplay) that hundreds of fictional NPCs have called the police, even if you don’t see any players nearby.
Learning this dictionary is the first essential step to passing any Whitelist exam.