Okay, this is a thread specifically for figuring out the definitions of terms regularly used in D&D that don't actually have listed rules definitions, or have definitions that don't agree with their usage. The D&D writers have a nasty habit of just assuming you know what basic terms mean, even when those basic terms exist only within the game (and thus you can't use the dictionary to figure it out). The idea here is not just to make stuff up out of the blue, but to use RAW sources and designer commentary (where available) to figure out exactly what the designers mean when they say something in a 3.5 book. Just because I don't want to get into it here, I'm going to leave "True Dragon" off the list for now, but use it as a general example of how a definition can be valid or not.
The goal here is to provide a reference when debates on this comes up. As such, sources are necessary... random claims by some poster on the internet won't help, but showing where to find the evidence does help.
For clarity, I'm going to define definition first. For something to be a valid definition, it must describe all members of a set, and not describe any members not of the set. For example, the Monster Manual says that True Dragons are all Chromatic or Metallic and grow to being over 100 feet in length... but White Dragons in the same book don't grow that big, and most True Dragons (including Gem Dragons, Planar Dragons, and Lung Dragons) are neither Chromatic or Metallic. So that's a bad definition, because it doesn't describe some (in fact most!) members of the set. Another example of a bad definition comes from math... if we say that an even number is any number where the last digit is 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8. That's a bad definition because while it does describe all even numbers, it also describes numbers like 5.2 which aren't even. A good definition in math would be that even numbers are those numbers that, when divided by 2, result in an integer. That's true for all even numbers, and false for all non even numbers. This means that any counterexample will void a definition.
The terms that have recently come up as needing a definition that I've seen are:
Encounter
Monster
Creature
Race
Person
Standard Class
Base Class
Character Class
Spell Slot
Spell Level
That last one's in there because there's a listed definition which seems to be wrong. It's actually any class found in the PHB, as per the definition in the DMG page 176. But online sources claim otherwise... for example the website says that Factotums are a new base class.
Anyway, if folks are interested I'd like to work out the specific definitions of all of these, using as many sources as possible (please cite your sources, any post without a source will be ignored for purposes of making definitions!). When giving a source, note whether it's evidence of usage or a listed definition (for example, a book that refers to Warblades as a standard class gives usage evidence that Standard Class means what most people refer to as a base class, while a book that says "Standard Classes are ones without prerequisites" would be a listed definition). I'll put down what I have so far, but if people want to improve the definitions go ahead!
As a final note, the goal is for the definitions to be as simple and as well supported as possible. For example, I could make a more exhaustive definition of Standard Class, but it's not necessary... the listed one covers everything it should and nothing it shouldn't.
So, here's the start of the list so far:
Base Class: Any Character Class that can be taken at level 1. (Definition: DMG 176 (altered by counterexamples). Usage:
marshal,
Heroes of horror,
hexblade,
factotum)
Standard Class: Any Base Class that does not use Alternate Class Features and is not itself an Alternate Class (Usage: PHB II 4, 5, and 31; ToB 5 and 7, ToM 4 and 7; Dungeonscape 3, 8, and 14)
Creature: Anything with hit dice (Usage: All Monster Manuals)
Character Class: Any class which is not a Savage Progression, Prestige Class, or Paragon Class ( Usage:
Character Class List )
JaronK