Help:Glossary

This is a glossary of acronyms, abbreviations, and other obscure terms you might see either in-game or in discussions about Baldur's Gate 3. It's not meant to be a complete list, but it may be of aid if you ever see a term you don't understand.

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Many of the following terms are used by the game, which, in turn, are often taken from the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (5e). Baldur's Gate 3, also has a lot of concepts, categories, and items, which are not explicitly defined or named. This has led to the wiki naturally evolving its own terminology in many cases.

• To differentiate the following terms, anything used by the wiki and not explicitly stated by the game will be indicated, with the (W) suffix.

*

• 5e: Short for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, the version of D&D the game is based on.

A

• AC: Short for Armour Class.

• AoE: Short for Area of Effect. Refers to abilities that affect things within a certain area.

• ASI: Short for Ability Score Increase or Ability Score Improvement.

B

• BG3 / BGIII: Short for Baldur's Gate 3.

C

• CHA: Short for Charisma.

• Check: Short for Ability Check or Skill Check.

• CON: Short for Constitution.

D

• d4 / d6 / d8 / d10 / d12 / d20: Refers to a specific type of dice: a d4 is a four-sided die, a d6 a six-sided one, etc. 3d6 means you roll three six-sided dice. See Die Rolls for more information.

• D&D / DnD: Short for Dungeons & Dragons.

• DC: Short for Difficulty Class, the number you must reach to succeed on an ability check, saving throw or attack roll.
• DDS: Direct Draw Surface, textures used in the game while Modding.

• DEX: Short for Dexterity.

E

• EA: Short for Early Access.

G

• Gish: A fan term for a character or build good at both physical combat and spellcasting. In-universe, it's a githyanki term for someone trained in both weapons and magic, first used in the 1981 Fiend Folio (where it refers to a multiclassed Githyanki Fighter/Magic-user).

H

• HP: Short for Hit Points.

I

• INT: Short for Intelligence.

M

• Mod:
  • Can be short for Ability Score Modifier.
  • Or can be short for modification, alterations to the game made by users. See Modding Resources for more info.

N

• NPC: Short for Non-Player Character.

P

• PC: Short for Player Character. Might be used to refer to anyone controllable, including companions, or just whoever was chosen in character creation.

• PFH: Short for Panel from Hell, a series of presentations during Early Access about the state of the game.

• PHB: Short for Player's Handbook, one of the core rulebooks for D&D Fifth Edition.

S

• Save: Short for Saving Throw.

• STR: Short for Strength.

• Set-dressing: Items which are placed in the environment, by the game, for aesthetic, rather than practical purposes. (W)
  • Related pages: Miscellaneous: Set-dressing.

T

• Tav: Default name of the custom character. Sometimes used to refer to them as a result.

• TPK: Short for Total Party Kill, when everyone in the party dies. Usually followed by a Game Over.

U

• UUID: Universally unique identifier, used in the game while Modding.

V

• Valuable: Used by the wiki, to describe, and categorize miscellaneous items, that are of notable trading value.
  • Related pages: Miscellaneous: Valuables.

W

• WIS: Short for Wisdom.