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Complete
General Guidelines and Glossary |
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Glossary-- B
Bbn: Standard abbreviation for barbarian. barbarian: One of the eleven character classes. A barbarian is a ferocious warrior, typically hailing from an uncivilized area of a campaign world. Barbarians use fury and instinct to bring down foes. The standard abbreviation for barbarian is Bbn. Brd: Standard abbreviation for bard. bard: One of the eleven character classes. A bard is a performer whose music works magic—a wanderer, a tale-teller, and a jack-of-all trades. Such characters serve as diplomats, negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They cast arcane spells using their Charisma, as do sorcerers. The standard abbreviation for bard is Brd. base attack bonus: An attack roll modifier derived from character class and level. Base attack bonuses rise at different rates for different character classes. A character gains a second attack per round at a base attack bonus of +6, and a third at a base attack bonus of +11, and a fourth at a base attack bonus of +16. base save: A saving throw modifier derived from character class and level. Base saves increase at different rates for different character classes. base speed: The speed a character can move while unarmored. Base speed is derived from character race. base: Derived from class, level, and race only. The appropriate base modifiers apply to attack rolls, saving throws, and some weapon damage rolls. blind: Unable to see. A blind character suffers a 50% miss chance in combat (as all opponents are considered to have full concealment), loses any positive Dexterity modifier to AC, moves at half speed, and suffers a –4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. Any skill check (such as Spot) that relies on vision automatically fails. Opponents of a blind character gain a +2 bonus to their attack rolls, since they are effectively invisible. Characters who have been blind from birth or childhood may grow accustomed to these drawbacks and even learn to overcome some of them (DM’s discretion). bolster undead: A supernatural ability of evil clerics. Bolster undead increases the resistance of undead creatures to turning attempts. To use this ability, the evil cleric makes a turning check as if attempting to rebuke undead. If the Hit Dice result on Table 9–18: Turning Undead is greater than the creatures’ actual Hit Dice, any turning attempts that occur in the next 10 rounds are made against that value rather than the creatures’ actual Hit Dice. bonus: A positive modifier to a die roll. Modifiers with specific type descriptors (such as armor, enhancement, competence, etc.) generally do not stack with others of identical type. If more than one modifier of a type is present, only the best bonus or worst penalty in that grouping applies. Bonuses or penalties that do not have type descriptors generally stack with those that do. boost: Temporarily or permanently raise a score, modifier, or other numerical value. break item: Render an item inoperable with a sudden application of force rather than by dealing it damage. To break an item, a character must succeed at a Strength check against a DC that depends on the item’s construction (see Table 9–16: Strength Check DCs to Break or Burst Items). If an item has lost half or more of its hit points, the DC to break it drops by 2 points (see Table 9–17: Object Hardness Ratings and Hit Points). bull rush: A miscellaneous action used to push an opponent straight back without dealing damage. A bull rush is a standard action that can be used as either an attack action or a charge action against an opponent up to one size category larger than the attacker. To perform a bull rush, the attacker moves into the defender’s space, then both make opposed Strength checks. (See Miscellaneous Actions section, page @@, for bonuses/penalties to Strength checks and special restrictions on attacks of opportunity.) If the attacker’s result is higher than the defender’s, the latter is pushed back 5 feet. The attacker may move with the defender if desired, pushing the latter an additional 1 foot for each point of difference between the two check results, up to the attacker’s normal movement limit. If the defender’s check result equals or exceeds the attacker’s, the latter moves 5 feet straight back, falling prone into that space if it is occupied. burst: An area descriptor for spells and magical effects. A burst expands in all directions from a point of origin selected by the caster, affecting any and all eligible targets within its designated radius. Note that burst spells may affect targets around corners or otherwise hidden from the caster., but the spell effect itself cannot turn corners as a spread does. |
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