From a vast survey of primary sources ranging from eighteenth-century strategists to modern hobbyists, Playing at the World distills the story of how gamers first decided fictional battles with boards and dice, and how they moved from simulating wars to simulating people. The invention of role-playing games serves as a touchstone for exploring the ways that the literary concept of character, the lure of fantastic adventure and the principles of gaming combined into the signature cultural innovation of the late twentieth century.

    Many adventurers pick up swords or call upon strange powers in times of trouble, yet only a few are chosen by fate or the gods to change the course of history. These are mythic heroes—legendary figures whose every footstep shakes the heavens. With Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures, it's your turn to change the world. Choose a mythic path and take on unbelievable powers by completing mythic trials tied to your character's story. Each mythic path works in parallel with your character class, allowing you to continue advancing in your chosen calling even as you seek a greater destiny. Best of all, you can start playing a mythic character at any point—even as early as 1st level!Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds on more than 10 years of system development and open playtests featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into a new era.Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures is a 256-page hardcover book that includes:- Complete rules for playing mythic characters of six different paths: archmage, champion, guardian, hierophant, marshal, and trickster.- New mythic feats for every class, such as Powerful Shape, which allows druids to transform into enormous animals, or Deadly Stroke, which lets a mythic character dispatch even a formidable enemy with a single blow.- A whole grimoire of new and supercharged spells. Bring down a castle with a mythic meteor swarm, transform the landscape with terraform, or make every memory and record of someone disappear with mythic modify memory!- Tons of monsters enhanced with mythic abilities and ready to challenge your heroes, from dragons to vampires!- A hoard of new mythic magic items and artifacts. Brandish the sword of inner fire, capable of burning even elemental creatures, or turn your enemies to stone with the medusa-headed shield aegis!- A complete mythic adventure for 7th-level characters.- Advice on running a mythic game and forging your own legends.... and much, much more!Cover art by Wayne Reynolds

    Whatever your path, the Force and Destiny Core Rulebook contains all the information players and Game Masters need to launch a roleplaying campaign set in the Star Wars® universe.The beautifully illustrated, 448-page Core Rulebook details everything from using the narrative dice system in combat and creating Force-sensitive characters to the mythology of the Jedi order and locations inside Sith space. It is the fundamental book and launching point for any Force and Destiny campaign.The Force and Destiny Core Rulebook features:An introduction to roleplaying in the Star Wars universeClear and concise rules for skill checks, combat, and using the ForceSix careers, eight species, and eighteen specializations for Force-sensitive charactersDetailed background information on galactic geography, politics, and the Jedi and Sith ordersDescriptions and data for numerous starships, vehicles, weapons and other gearA catalogue of NPC adversaries to thwart players during your campaignA complete introductory adventure, Lessons from the PastHelpful advice for GMs about running games of Force and Destiny