murder hobo 

A Dungeons & Dragons player character who is known for killing first and asking questions later.

Person A: How is your party going?
Person B: Not very well, I tried to get them to save a group of orphans but they are all murder hobos.

murder hobo by Maddaloon February 8, 2024

murderhobo 

In a tabletop game, a murderhobo is a player who murders NPCs indiscriminately. This is normally derogatory, referring to a player who totally ignores quests, dialog, backstory, trade, world building etc.

The term is most common with Dungeons and Dragons, but it can be applied to most RPGs where the player is allowed to kill most quest-giving NPCs and NPC traders. E.g. Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Divinity original sin.

DM: The sad little orphan girl tugs at Steve's trenchcoat to get his attention, and ask for help saving her pet dog from...
Steve: I'd like to roll a strength check against strangling the orphan.
Dave: I call dibs on the dog.
DM: You murderhobos disgust me.

murderhobo by Loup&S September 9, 2021

murderhobo 

The typical protagonist of a fantasy role-playing game, who is a homeless guy who goes around killing people and taking their stuff. The term originated in discussions of tabletop role-playing games by authors seeking to create games aimed at styles of play not supported by traditional games like Dungeons & Dragons.

Four murderhoboes burned down the peaceful orc village, killed every orc in it, and looted their corpses.

murderhobo by October Black February 2, 2015

murderhobo 

A derogatory term used to denigrate old school players of Dungeons & Dragons, and considered a gross insult among real old school players and DMs. Users of the term falsely claim that murderhobo was the style of play back in the day (1974-1978) and that is based on a false understanding of what old school play is.

Bitd the way that the original old school Dungeons & Dragons was played was as a game of exploration and management of resources. The normal play style meant that you a avoided combat when possible and gained treasure by other means. A player in those days only went into combat when it could not be avoided and only killed when it was necessary. The killing of innocents was always frowned upon. If the goal could be obtained through other types of interaction, that was the preferred day.

Adults who play the murderhobo style which involves killing innocents, even women and children, are people who have mental health issues

I don't even know you, why are you insulting me with this murderhobo nonsense?

murderhobo by Dragonsfoot Member Since 2002 November 17, 2019

murderhobo 

A ttrpg character with no backstory and no motivation besides killing things and looting treasure. Nowadays often used as an insult, while technically it just describes a style of play. The murder- describes the interest in killing enemies and looting valuable things, and -hobo refers to the character having no home, no family and no friends. The player mainly/only engages with game mechanics, often related to battle and gaining experience points, while neglecting to create a personality or backstory for their character.

The podcast era of TTRPGs frowns on murderhobos, as it is now more expected than ever to have an interesting or entertaining character for roleplay. Never forget that those people are also actors and voice actors.

While a murderhobo isn't automatically a bad player, the stereotype exists that murderhobos kill or destroy everything the DM mentions in hopes of gaining loot or finding secret door through destruction, including taverns, town guards, friendly creatures, ruins and the ground itself should it ever be described.

Player 1: Can we stop with shopping and get back to killing things? I'm not going to get a Cloak Of Protection by telling you how my barbarian is drinking ale.

Player 2: You're such a murderhobo. We are finding out where we need to go for the next quest.

murderhobo by Matazua May 9, 2023