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1977, I was 13, played my first game at a con in Maine, bought the blue box with the red dragon and the fighter and wizard on it.

Yes, I will be there, but not in any official capacity, just a private citizen.

I'm amazed at the even distribution of votes among the authors listed. I would have predicted ol' JRRT way in front. Other authors and what I've learned/stolen from them, in no particular order: John Crowley -- incorporating fey and magic into a contemporary setting Roger Zelazny -- elaborate...

Might I recommend A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge? It has tons of aliens, galactic-scale battles, very advanced but believable technologies. Also, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, which is much more character-driven than Vinge but concerns a war between humans and aliens.

--Critical threats are ALWAYS critical hits (cuts out an extra die roll, makes combat a lot faster and scarier) --reroll 1s on PC hit dice and cure spells (I'm a nice guy)

I like it, but I'm not sure that Quick Draw is the best prerequisite, since monks would love this feat, they often fight unarmed, and Quick Draw is therefore not as useful to them. Would you consider having a minimum Dex score as a prerequisite instead of Quick Draw?

How willing are you DMs out there to hit the fast-forward button on a combat whose outcome seems certain? Do you feel compelled to run a combat blow-by-blow until the very last bad guy falls, or do you (like me) sometimes just say "It's clear which way this combat is going -- you kill the last...

I've been blessed with a spouse who loves to play RPGs as much as I love to DM. We do a lot of gaming one-on-one -- it never seems to get old (I wish I could say the same for myself!). As for other players, we still play with my brother and my two closest friends from my home town; we've been...

This dilemma illuminates an interesting question related to the heroic fantasy genre: are evil creatures inherently so, asTolkien's orcs seem to be, or can any evil creature be redeemed, given enough tough love and opportunity to make amends? Several of my campaign's most memorable NPCs began as...

I am GM for a 4-player d20 Modern campaign that has been going strong for a year now. I don't care for the movies you mention, except for a few early James Bond titles (Connery IS Bond!). I would never think of running a campaign based on them. I tend to draw from literary sources for my...

In D&D, I am a mighty dungeon master, raising a horde of foul-smelling, destructive monsters to let loose upon the world from my vermin-infested, lii-lit, underground lair. In real life, I'm a middle-school teacher, working with 24 adolescents in a windowless room in the basement. Not much...

I use a large battlemat with Dwarven Forge scenics placed over it, but only for battles, and sometimes, not even then. Often I'm content just to describe the battle, and jot down some schematics on a piece of scrap paper. I agree that using a battlemat tends to make players focus more on the...

I've been playing D&D for nearly 30 years, since middle school. Of my original gaming group, all are happily married, successful members of their community. Most are churchgoers. Most have kids. Among us you will find a naval architect, two CEOs, an engineer, a hgh-level federal employee, and an...

I saw it last weekend.You would need to take many Exotic Weapon Proficiency feats to use all the punch daggers, tiger claws, triple daggers and other deadly toys they had on display. Has anyone done Moghul India for d20?

Wow! You do have one cool mother-in-law! If she is in the Boston area, too, take her to the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester: www.higgins.org In addition to their collection and their very knowledgeable staff, they have a fine little research library that is open on Wednesday afternoons...

I became a DM two days after playing in my first D&D game, at MaineCon 77 in Bath ME (September 1977 -- I was in seventh grade). The fact that my first ever PC, an elf, had been slain by orcs after about 25 minutes of play did not dissuade me from borrowing $10 from my friend Roger to buy the...

Looks like Foundry will be releasing some civilians soon as part of the Street Violence line. I will definitely be getting these for my own campaign: http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/NEWSTUFF/5/index.asp

I'm assuming it's NPCs you're looking for, as opponents for your PCs. Do you have the d20 Modern Menace Manual from WOTC? It has oodles of NPC types of various levels, along with descriptions of various government agencies, criminal organizations, and secret societies and cults. Also, the d20...

First quarter 2005 -- it will be released by Atlas Games under the title Northern Crown: New World Adventures, and it WILL be a d20 product. The manuscript has already undergone a full edit by the publisher -- I'm revising and polishing it up, and working on the illustrations. After working for...

I tend to like the same things about RPGs regardless of their genre -- a clear sense of what is at stake for the PCs; ease of play; evocative atmosphere; fully realized places and NPCs; potential for action, drama and mystery -- , but if I had to address some problems that seem to crop up...