A current limiter is basically a resistor you wire in series with the incoming current. You could use a normal resistor but then it would always be limiting the current when you really only want it to work for a moment at the time you switch on. The special property of surge (inrush) limitiers is their resistance drops sharply when they warm up. When you first switch on they are assumed to be cold and have a relatively high resistance so the current is kept low but the internal heat they generate warms them up and makes the resistance drop, making them look more like a short circuit. This is why they are called NTC devices, NTC = Negative Temperature Coefficient. So they are designed to run warm or hot in normal operation.
A surge absorber (aka varistor or MOV) is also a resistor but this time with a different property. It's value is normally very high so little current flows through it but at a certain voltage the resistance drops sharply. In a circuit where something before the absorber can limit or cut the current, wiring one across the voltage makes it conduct if the voltage is exceeded so it can't go any higher. So you normally pick a 'clamping voltage' a little higher than the highest voltage you expect to see in normal use, the absorber then does nothing but if the voltage increases it (hopefully) safely conducts it away. The mechanical design of the absorber is such that it can handle very brief high current surges, often in the thousands of amps range, without damage although it can only sustain that kind of current for a tiny fraction of a second.
Brian.