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I have been playing Fantasy Roleplaying Games for over 30 years now, and though much of that time has been spent playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, a lot of it has also been spent playing other systems such as Rune Quest, Gurps, Gamma World, Traveler, and perhaps a dozen more to a much lesser extent. But I have always returned to AD&D as my primary RPG choice due to its genre, its ease of play, and its wide spread popularity. Thus, much of what I have to say concerning roleplaying has a decidedly AD&D flavor to it, though there is also considerable treatment given to roleplaying as a whole.
In my articles, my primary examples usually draw heavily upon AD&D, though frequently what I have to say does not exactly conform to standard Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. But then why should it? I've always felt the better Dungeon Masters should have their own style, and though modesty prevents me from claiming too much credit along those lines, without some measure of originality there would be little reason for you to read any of these articles.
I do use the rules as the guidelines they were meant to be - though not as dogmatically as some people might - so there will be the occasional and perhaps surprising excursion from the norm while I modify or comment on standard rules.
Well, you know what they say? If it's not Baroque, don't fix it ;-)
Yet everyone likely brings a unique interpretation to the game, and I feel this is what makes every DM or GM worth at least a quick look. You never know what you'll find. Besides, no matter what roleplaying system is used, much of what can be said about roleplaying in any one system probably translates well and could easily be applicable in most other roleplaying systems. In principle, the actual game systems or game mechanics are of secondary concern as they merely support our roleplaying. It is the fun found in roleplaying itself that is our primary endeavor, and this is what sets this hobby of roleplaying games apart from all others. That's the theory, anyway.
If you think you'd like to read some of this material to find ideas for your own game, feel free to do so for your personal gaming needs. Alas, much of it is copyrighted by myself and may not be published by you or others without express permission. Still, that shouldn't prevent you from freely using it in your own games or linking to it from your Webpages. If you do link to it, however, I would appreciate some email notification as to your link's existence, and its exact URL so I may visit your site. Thank you.
Copyright Information (I Highly Recommend You Do NOT Read This Copyright Information Since You Hopefully Have Better Things To Do ;-)
Email Jim Your Comments (Send Praises, Critiques, Complaints, Suggestions, Ideas, Corrections, Or Submissions.)
Reading articles on the net may not be to your liking, particularly since it may tie up your only phone line. So when you see something you really like, rather than trying to read it on-line, I recommend you copy the source code for the page and use your browser to read it later at your convenience. This will help preserve any tables for proper viewing.
Copying Source Code For Viewing Or Manipulation (Brief Instructions On How To Do It.)
I have posted a large number of articles or essays that deal either specifically with my game world of Orlantia or with roleplaying games in general. Future articles are still occasionally being written, but very infrequently at this point. It is my wish that many people may find these articles and read them, perhaps even using the ideas found therein to supplement their own games. But even if all this page does is provoke a few new thoughts concerning fantasy gaming, I will feel it has served its purpose.
I have attempted to organize my articles into various general groups. There is also the Search Engine section, and a link to a page with Links, Web Rings, and Banners.
There may, of course, be some crossover, and this might result in duplicate links to the same article. If you feel I have misclassified something or feel it is best placed in another group, please let me know.
And if you like my page and feel it has something to offer, feel free to put a link on your Webpages linking it to mine - though please inform me of this link so I may at least see it. I will be happy to make a link to your AD&D page or other game page upon email request - whether you link to my page or not, so reciprocity is not required. Follow the link below to the link page to find out about the required details.
My Page Of Links (See Other Webpages, AD&D, Gaming, Or Otherwise.)
If you'd like to email me any comments you may have on this material, feel free to do so.
Email Jim Your Comments (Send Praise, Critique, Complaints, Suggestions, Ideas, Corrections, Or Submissions.)
If you enjoy this page, please bookmark it. Or if you have a friend who enjoys gaming and fantasy, perhaps you could direct them to this page. If you do this for me, I Thank You Kindly ;-)
Don't forget to bookmark us! Press (CTRL-D)
I hope you enjoy sharing my thoughts about AD&D, Orlantia, or gaming in general. If you do, that's great, and if not, then that's fine too. In any event, thanks for visiting my Webpages. Happy Gaming ;-)
"I pray that our Heavenly GM may assuage the anguish of our bereavement, And leave us only the cherished memories of the characters loved and lost, And the solemn pride that must be ours, To have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of roleplaying."
Just Follow The Links That Interest You And Enjoy
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Articles On Role Playing In General
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Commentary Or Revisions On The AD&D Rules
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- Why Some People Hate AD&D (A 20 Page Heated Exchange Of Me vs Some AD&D Hating Gamer.)
- A Follow Up Article (A 4 Page Addition To The Article: Why Some People Hate AD&D)
- Metal, Magic, And More (A Counter Argument To One Man's View AD&D Makes No Sense In Regards To These Issues.)
- How Magic Works (A Brief Glimpse Into A Few Behind-The-Scene Details About Magic.)
- Should Christians Play D&D? (A Response To One So-Called Christian's Assertion That They Should Not.)
- A Collection Of Short Rulings Covering Many Topics (A List Of Rulings I Have Made. Last Updated June 19th, 2001.)
- Linear Vs. Non Linear Dice Systems (Why The New D20 System May Be Misleading. Adopt The 2D10 System, Instead.)
- A Look At The Probability Of High Statistic Scores (How Improbable Is That Character With High Statistics?)
- The Reacquisition Of Magic Spells In Various Editions. (How Long Does It Take And What Are The Limits?)
- An Excellent Character Sheet (PDF Format Or Stuffit Archive For Original PageMaker Files. Now As Jpeg Images As Well.)
- An AD&D Character Sheet using HTML Source Code (If You Know HTML, Maybe This Will Help.)
- The Wonders Of Infravision (How Infravision May Work. A Better Approach.)
- Stationary Magic (Stationary Magic Adds Interesting Realism And Flavor To One's Game World.)
- The Fabrication Of Magic Items (Spell Books, Fabrication Of Scrolls And Potions, Enchanted Crystals, And A Closer Look At The Enchant An Item Spell.)
- Material Components (A Quick Look At The Proper Use Of Material Components For Spell Casters.)
- Spell Cards (A Great Way To Keep Track Of Your Spells Using Inexpensive Index Cards And Taking Little Work.)
- Let's Go Shopping (Adoption And Adaptation Of The Standard Lists Of Items From The PHB.)
- The Justification Of The Hit Point System (Are Hit Points Realistic Or What?)
- A Brief Look At When To Act Injured In AD&D (Why Are Our Adventurers So Tough They Never Seem Hurt Even When They Are?)
- A Closer Look At The Hit Point System (What The Numbers Mean.)
- Healing As A Percentage - A Very Bad Idea (Why This Variation Of Cure Wounds Spells Should Never Be Used.)
- Level Limits (The Justification Of, And How 2e AD&D's Level Limits Might Work.)
- A Simplified Combat System (Why Initiative Is Important, But Not Necessary To Roll It Beforehand.)
- Cantrips And Orisons (See The Minor 0th Level Spells Mages And Priests May Still Employ.)
- Mana System, A Different Way To Cast Spells (A Good Alternative System To The Standard Memorization Of Spells. Add Diversity To Your Spell Casters.)
- Runic Magic (A Possible Supplemental Power For All Classes And/Or NPCs.)
- An Explanation Of The Secondary And Tertiary Table Of Skills (A New Revision Of The Secondary Skills System For AD&D.)
- The Secondary Skills (The Complete Table Of Skills AND A Complete Alphabetical Listing And Explanation Of The Skills.)
- Character Generation, Starting Statistics, And The Rules Of Super Humanism (Why Roll Up Characters At All? Plus Rules For Exceptional Characters.)
- Exceptional Strength (What Is It and Why It's Not Simply Just More Ordinary Strength.)
- The NWP Skill Of Religion (What Will Your PC Really Know About Religion?)
- The On Going Development Of Magic (Magic Is Always Getting Better.)
- Coins, Metals, And A Better Monetary System (A Decimally Based, Realistic System Of Coins, English Or Metric.)
- The Planes Of Existence, A Better Look (Commentary And Revision On The Manual Of The Planes.)
- The Eight Kinds Of Magic (Eight Different Approaches To How Magic Works.)
- The Real Alignment Wars (Conflict Between Players Over The Right Way To Play Alignments.)
- The Problems Of Playing Evil Characters (Why Playing Evil Characters May Be Unwise In A Fun Game.)
- My Final Word On Alignments Plus An Alignment TEST (In-Depth Look At What The Book Did Wrong And The Corrections Necessary To Make A Workable Alignment System.)
- Psionic Primer, Rules For Psionic Characters (Adaptation Of The Psionic Rules For 2nd Edition.)
- The Proper Division Of Awarded Experience Points (How A Per Level XP Split Might Work.)
- Exceptional Strength Bows (Why Bows Should Be Handled Differently, And How To Handle The ES Bow.)
- Critical Hit And Critical Fumble Tables (One Method Of Criticals.)
- A Look At Intoxication And Drinking In the Game (How Much Can Your Character Drink?)
- Suffocation, Dehydration, And Starvation (Some Rules Covering The Lack Of Air, Water, Or Food.)
- A Look At Some Problems And Possibilities Of Treasure (Treasure, Some Considerations.)
- The Age Of A Wishing Arch Mage, And Other Considerations Concerning Wishes (Some Thoughts On How Wishes Might Work And How Powerful They Really Are.)
- Find Familiar, A Better And More Playable Version (Finally, A Find Familiar Spell You Can Use.)
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Commentary Or Revisions On The 3e D&D Rules
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- 3e D&D House Rules (Read And/Or Submit House Rules For 3rd Edition D&D PHB And DMG.)
- Attacks Of Opportunity - And Other Problems (A Look At Some Of The Problems I Had With A Few Combat Rules.)
- Pearls Of Power (Why POPs Are A Potentially Broken Magic Item.)
- The Healing Arts On Orlantia (An In-Depth Look At The Healing Skill.)
- Mixing Magic Types - A Bad Idea. (Just Because Some Spells Have Identical Names Doesn't Mean They Are Identical. Here's Why.)
- Mixing Race And Culture (Details On What Happens When Your PC's Race And Culture Do Not Necessarily Match.)
- Runic Magic (A Possible Supplemental Power For All Classes And/Or NPCs.)
- 3e's Class Balance. Problems? (Is Class Balance In 3e Really Important Anymore?)
- Class-Based To Skill-Based Transition (The Trend Toward A Skill-Based System.)
- Finding Party Balance (A Few GM Tips On Striking Party Balance.)
- Increasing Ability Scores (A More Realistic Approach To Gaining Higher Statistics.)
- The N Level Rule (How To Fix 3e's Biggest Problem. The N Level Rule Helps Prevent Abuse Of 3e's Multiclass System.)
- The Problem Of Cross Class Skills (A Better Method For Determining Costs Of Class And Cross-Class Skills)
- The Atrophication Of Skills Through Disuse (Why Skills Should Degrade Over Time Unless Regularly Used.)
- Zero Level Characters (Why They Are Required To Avoid Problems Of Sudden Development.)
- Starting Ages (Revised Starting Ages For 3e Characters - An Improvement.)
- Possible Restrictions For Multiclassing (See Why Some 3e Classes Are Harder To Multiclass Into Than Others.)
- Roleplayable Skills (See Why Some Skill Rolls Should, And Do Depend On More Than Just The Dice.)
- The Problems Of Sudden Development (What Is Sudden Development, And Why Is It A Bad Thing?)
- The Archaic Language (The Archaic Language, Arcane Spells And Spell Books.)
- How Magic Works (A Brief Glimpse Into A Few Behind-The-Scene Details About Magic.)
- Stationary Magic (Stationary Magic Adds Interesting Realism And Flavor To One's Game World.)
- Holy Water (Some New Rules Concerning How Holy Water Is Made, Used, Stored, And Carried.)
- Training To Go Up Levels In 3e (What Does It Cost In Time And Money, And Why?)
- Commentary On 3rd Ed. D&D (September 2000. New Insight Into More Rules For 3rd Edition D&D.)
- Daily Spell Limits (House Rules For 3e Daily Spell Limits.)
- The Reacquisition Of Magic Spells In Various Editions (How Long Does It Take And What Are The Limits?)
- Linear Vs. Non Linear Dice Systems (Why The New D20 System May Be Misleading. Adopt The 2D10 System, Instead.)
- Critical Hits And Fumbles (Optional Extras For 3e Combat.)
- The Craft Skill Of Gem Cutting (A Quick Write-Up Of The Gem Cutting Skill For 3e Games.)
- Suffocation, Dehydration, And Starvation (Some Rules Covering The Lack Of Air, Water, Or Food.)
- The Wonders Of Infravision (How Infravision May Work. A Better Approach.)
- Should Christians Play D&D? (A Response To One So-Called Christian's Assertion That They Should Not.)
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Welcome To The World Of Orlantia
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Some Of The Maps Of Orlantia
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Magic Items, NPCs Or Creatures On Orlantia
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PBEM Game Related Links
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IRC Game Related Links
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A Few Final Notes
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I designed this page through the eyes of a NetScape 4.7 browser. My animations may seem too fast or choppy when viewed with Internet Explorer or other browsers, so if you wish to know what it was meant to look like, NS should be used instead of IE. Still, the site is primarily meant to impart information and not just be pretty, and the text articles look fine in either case.
Sometimes when not waiting for a page to completely finish down loading, the internal links may not work quite right. If this happens to you, simply FIRST clear your cache, then reload the page and wait for it to Down Load completely; then it should work. If you still can't get it to work, perhaps I actually have a problem I should look into. I would appreciate it if you dropped me some email telling me to fix it.
Furthermore, if you happen to find a sentence or two that is just too ungainly, a typo, or some other flaw (besides my sometimes too frequent use of the comma and sub clause) which you think just isn't right, feel free to let me know what paper and what paragraph. I'd love to fix it too and make my page even better. No error is too small to point out. Thanks.
In fact, many times - perhaps after months have gone by and an article is no longer fresh in my mind - I will reread one of my articles and fix tiny errors - typos, misspellings, honest to gosh mistakes, etc. - as well as add additional links, further comments, or some other minor revisions. So do not be surprised if the mistake you "thought" was there has vanished or you see something there you can't recall seeing before should you revisit an article. You are not losing your mind. Well, probably not ;-)
I do not really control the search engine, the counter, or various buttons. These are called up by some outside code and are therefore operated by other people. If for some reason their service is not working today, they may not download properly. This problem usually will correct itself in a day or two. Fortunately, the rest of the website is above these items and you should be able to gain access to all of it, even if you can't temporarily use the search engine or something like that.
Whoever you are, however you found this site, I thank you kindly for visiting my page. I hope you enjoyed your visit so much you will bookmark my page, tell others about my site, or even write me. I do enjoy hearing from you.
In the meantime, have a great day, and as always, HAPPY GAMING ;-)
Email Jim Your Comments (Send Praise, Critiques, Complaints, Suggestions, Ideas, Corrections, Or Submissions.)
Skip To My Page Of Links, WebRings, And Banners (See Other Webpages, AD&D, Gaming, Or Otherwise.)
Submission Guidelines (If you wish to submit a text link or a banner for your game page, follow these guidelines.)
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