The DEFINITIVE list of nouns that can be used in sdescs

[Southie]

As an abbreviation for halfbreed, I think it is?

[Bluefae]

If there are specific words you have questions about, that don't generally fall into one of the categories that she mentions above, perhaps you could mention those?  However, it seems fairly plain to me what the motivations behind disallowing certain nouns has been in the past and likely remains today.

-LoD

     Just so, LoD:  "elfess" and "dwarfess".  Perhaps they don't pass muster simply from sheer cumbersomeness?  While not particularly found of them personally, I can see some merit:  they definitively convey both race and sex, and don't seem nearly as jarring as, say, "dickens-whelp".
     I began to question the difference between "maid" and "maiden", but the former could too easily conflate profession with marital status (neither of which is appropriate for Arm., come to think of it).

You are welcome to special app a FORBIDDEN noun and we'll take a look.

     Sanvean, you just made my day.   Somehow, I heard a booming, reverberating voice announcing the word FORBIDDEN when I read it. 

[Marauder Moe]

As an abbreviation for halfbreed, I think it is?

So, slang.   

Goes in the FORBIDDEN list with stumpy, longneck, chick, dude, etc.

[Morgenes]

Just curious, why is 'breed' unacceptable?

Maybe because it's not a noun at all.

beg to differ, but m-w.com disagrees with you, a search for 'breed' turns up a verb and a noun option:

breed 
Function:
    noun
Date:
    1553

1 : a group of usually domesticated animals or plants presumably related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characters

2 : a number of persons of the same stock

3 : class, kind <a new breed of athlete>

[Note: this is not a argument for or against 'breed' used in short-description, mainly just showing it is a noun]

[Marauder Moe]

D'oh!

Well... it's not a singular noun, then?

[Tisiphone]

D'oh!

Well... it's not a singular noun, then?

'tis a singular noun, but 'tis also collective, I think is what you really mean.

[spicemustflow]

Alright, what is the story with dickens-whelp? I keep seeing it all around the place. Did the character have little crutch at least?

[Marauder Moe]

D'oh!

Well... it's not a singular noun, then?

'tis a singular noun, but 'tis also collective, I think is what you really mean.

Probably.

[Xio]

I'm slow with the GDB but uh...yea, I don't find many nouns to be unacceptable for an sdesc because I'd rather you throw a word at me I've never seen before that makes me grab a dictionary and hope you don't backstab me while I'm flipping the pages (yes I still have a dictionary...i think) rather be running around as the tall muscular human. No offense, just bland to me (shrugs and hides)

[a strange shadow]

Alright, what is the story with dickens-whelp? I keep seeing it all around the place. Did the character have little crutch at least?

It's from a Baobob comic.. which unfortunately doesn't seem to exist any longer. I tried to link you, honest.

[LoD]

     Just so, LoD:  "elfess" and "dwarfess".  Perhaps they don't pass muster simply from sheer cumbersomeness?  While not particularly found of them personally, I can see some merit:  they definitively convey both race and sex, and don't seem nearly as jarring as, say, "dickens-whelp".

My own opinion would be that we don't have elfess or dwarfess for the same reason we don't have humaness.  Elf and Dwarf describe the race of the character, not the gender.  Some people may argue that it's unfair someone has to choose between being gender silent (the willowy, emerald-eyed elf) or chew up sdesc space with an obligatory gender noun (the willowy, emerald-eyed elf woman), but I think I would prefer either of those options to allowing strange gender-race nouns elfess, dwarfess, or giantess.

Halflingess, Githess, Muless -- if those don't look right to you, then elfess and dwarfess shouldn't either.

-LoD

[BlackMagic0]

Alright, what is the story with dickens-whelp? I keep seeing it all around the place. Did the character have little crutch at least?

It's from a Baobob comic.. which unfortunately doesn't seem to exist any longer. I tried to link you, honest.

Baobob the Kank?

I got them saved.. Somewhere, in a folder.. Lost in my arm massive files upon files of random file-ness...
Perhaps I can dig them up...

[brytta.leofa]

Some people may argue that it's unfair someone has to choose between being gender silent (the willowy, emerald-eyed elf) or chew up sdesc space with an obligatory gender noun (the willowy, emerald-eyed elf woman), but I think I would prefer either of those options to allowing strange gender-race nouns elfess, dwarfess, or giantess.

Probably you could get by with "the willowy, emerald-eyed [fe]male" for all the near-humanoids: human, elf, and half-elf.

[BlackMagic0]

Alright, what is the story with dickens-whelp? I keep seeing it all around the place. Did the character have little crutch at least?

It's from a Baobob comic.. which unfortunately doesn't seem to exist any longer. I tried to link you, honest.

Baobob the Kank?

I got them saved.. Somewhere, in a folder.. Lost in my arm massive files upon files of random file-ness...
Perhaps I can dig them up...

I've got ep1 to 22 saved. If you are extremely curious on seeing them spicemustflow?
hehe.. Silly newb dwarfs.

[Sanvean]

Perhaps MasterZ would send us copies of Baobab to be hosted on Ginka.

Breed came too close to slang.

"elfess" is not a word, it's a piece of idiocy. (Sorry, pet peeve, heh).

[Vox]

I agree that Elfess and Dwarfess just don't work but I would be remiss if I didn't stir the pot by citing the source of Giantess as being more than acceptable for almost seven centuries..


Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
gi·ant·ess      /ˈdʒaɪəntɪs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[jahy-uhn-tis] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.   an imaginary female being of human form but superhuman size, strength, etc.
2.   any very large woman.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME geauntesse < OF. See giant, -ess]

And

Modern Language Association (MLA):
"giantess." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 28 Mar. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/giantess>.

[spicemustflow]

I've got ep1 to 22 saved. If you are extremely curious on seeing them spicemustflow?
hehe.. Silly newb dwarfs.

Yeah, I'm curious, if it isn't too much trouble. Who made it? Is it funny?

[Sanvean]

It's freaking hysterical.

[BlackMagic0]

It's freaking hysterical.

I should put them up in a Thread for all to enjoy! Unless.. You simply wish for me to email them to you spicemustflow? Either way does not matter to me.

[Bogre]

Giantess is legit

I would say keep boy and girl. So what if you have the petite, teal-eyed girl who's really a nilazi. Too bad if you don't kill it...evil in Zalanthas can exist in all sorts of forms. And players shouldn't hesistate to kill children in game, IMO, if its in character.

[brytta.leofa]

But the minimum starting age is 13, I believe...which, properly, might be better territory for the much-despised "teen."

[Yam]

I lament the loss of girl and boy. Teen and teenager are haltingly awkward in sdescs and evoke images of nubile lolitas and catamites which may not always be the most pertinent connotation to a character.

[spicemustflow]

I lament the loss of girl and boy. Teen and teenager are haltingly awkward in sdescs and evoke images of nubile lolitas and catamites which may not always be the most pertinent connotation to a character.

I agree, I felt like a perv playing a "teen". Anyway teen is too earthly a concept IMO, it reminds me of acne, masturbation and fights with my parents. I doubt anybody in Zalanthas gives a shit about your existential crisis and fear of girls and that is exactly what I think of when I see a teen in the game.

I should put them up in a Thread for all to enjoy! Unless.. You simply wish for me to email them to you spicemustflow? Either way does not matter to me.

Make a thread, why not. I'm sure more people would like to see it.

[Maso]

I lament the loss of girl and boy.

[Tisiphone]

Yam, if 'teen' evokes images of catamites and nubile young girls, remind me not to live in your neighbourhood if I ever have children.