In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. As the game's fiftieth anniversary approaches, Peterson--a noted authority on role-playing games--explains how D&D and its creators navigated their successes, setbacks, and controversies.Peterson describes Gygax and Arneson's first meeting and their work toward the 1974 release of the game; the founding of TSR and its growth as a company; and Arneson's acrimonious departure and subsequent challenges to TSR. He recounts the Satanic Panic accusations that D&D was sacrilegious and dangerous, and how they made the game famous. And he chronicles TSR's reckless expansion and near-fatal corporate infighting, which culminated with the company in debt and overextended and the end of Gygax's losing battle to retain control over TSR and D&D.With Game Wizards, Peterson restores historical particulars long obscured by competing narratives spun by the one-time partners. That record amply demonstrates how the turbulent experience of creating something as momentous as Dungeons & Dragons can make people remember things a bit differently from the way they actually happened.

    The Outlanders have no need for the petty Jyhads and useless sniping of the undead - they are vampires, the highest order of beasts! Now, Clan Gangrel prowls the night unfettered by the traditions of the crumbling Camarilla. They have finally called the night their own.Or Savages Unbound?As the first entry in an ambitious series of revised clanbooks, Gangrel expands upon the clan's appearance in the revised edition of Vampire:All-new information accompanies a re-examination of earlier concepts, allowing you to add as much depth to your character as you like. Additionally, the sheer volume of information contained in the new clanbooks (each with 32 more pages than the first-edition books) permits Storytellers to round out their chronicles.

    Whether torn from the darkest planes of existence or spawned as blights upon the natural world, the creatures bound within these covers will challenge stalwart adventurers of every experience level.This accessory for the D&D game captures over 150 monsters, including some of the most diabolical beings imaginable. While focused on extraplanar and otherworldly creatures, you'll also stumble across new creatures of every type, with Challenge Ratings that range from 1/8 to 25. Along with three new fiendish prestige classes, six new templates, and rules for swarms, grafts, and symbionts, the Fiend Folio offers a multitude of challenges for every hero.To use this supplement, a Dungeon Master also needs the Player's Handbook, and the Dungeon Master's Guide. A player needs only the Player's Handbook.

    A predator-for-hire in the savage urban world of Shadowrun. You've devoted your life to honing your combat and martial skills. The tools of your trade are airfoil grenades, form-fitting body armor, and an Ares Crusader machine-pistol. An expansion for Shadowrun, the Street Samurai Catalog will let you outfit yourself with the latest equipment available on the black market: retractable hand razors, ultrasonic sights, enhanced reflexes, and maybe a rangefinder for your cybereyes. Whatever you need to get the job done, you can find it here, but it won't be cheap. And remember to watch your back before someone decides to make you yesterday's news.

    Trained in the Way of the Tiger, you are now an outstanding master of the martial arts, ready to use your deadly skills to overturn evil and to avenge the death of your foster-father, Naijishi.Naijishi's assassin has stolen the Scrolls of Kettsuin, a guardian of the secret Word of Power, which could imprison Kwon in the Inferno forever, unleashing the forces of evil throughout the World of Orb. Your quest is to find the assassin before he reaches the Pillars of Change.Are you ready for the Way of the Tiger?

    The crystal shells that encase them bob and drift in a turbulent, rainbow ocean which fills all the cosmos. Sturdy merchants, bold pirates, and daring explorers venture into the great, unknown vastness of the universe, seeking wealth and adventure.The SPELLJAMMER Game puts you in command of a fantastic ship capable of spanning the tremendous distances between planets. Graceful elven flitters, stately illithid galleys, deadly beholder tyrants, and the awesome Spelljammer itself carry trade, emissaries, and heroic action throughout all the worlds of the AD&D game.

    Illustrations.

    An overview of thecity includes history, a whoâ��s who, information on laws, and rules for running and playing in a Waterdhavian campaign. Information on the people of Waterdeep covers non-player characters, arcane schools, armed forces, guilds, nobility, prestige classes specific to the city, and more. Also included in the book are discussions of specific Waterdeep locales, adventure locales, and new monsters. An extensive appendix gives information on new equipment, magic items, psionic powers, poisons, spells, and more. ERIC BOYD is a software developer who has written extensively about the Forgotten Realms setting for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. His most recent credits include Lost Empires of Faerûn â�¢, Faiths & Pantheons â�¢, Races of Faerûn â�¢, and Serpent Kingdoms â�¢.

    A world ruled by fear and horror. Vampires who command the night. Shapeshifters who prowl the forests. Eldritch ghouls and undead skeletons who prey upon a fearful populace. If ever a world needed heroes, it is the world of Ravenloft.

    

    This book contains all that is needed for two or more play, except for paper, pencil, and a block-stacking puzzle like Jenga.Winner of the 2006 Gold ENnie for Innovation.

    As adventuring is the foundation for the entire D&D experience, nearly every aspect of the D&D game benefits from the material in this product. Characters have access to new combat options, spells, equipment, and prestige classes, as well as exciting new character classes such as ninja and scout. Complete Adventurer also provides new information on several organizations and guilds, and Dungeon Masters will find material for creating or optimizing single creatures or even entire campaign worlds.AUTHOR BIO: Jesse Decker is a designer for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. whose recent roleplaying game design credits include Races of Stone(TM) and Unearthed Arcana(TM). Before joining the RPG R&D team as a designer, Jesse served as Editor-in-Chief of Dragon(R) Magazine.

    It discusses the genre in depth - with all its subgenres and inspirations (myth, novels, movies, etc.) - letting you design just the kind of fantasy setting that you want.GURPS Fantasy gives detailed, concrete advice - from the basics of the landscape itself, through its inhabitants and cultures, to the details of believable histories and politics. It also examines the nature of supernatural forces, and discusses the impact of wizards, monsters, and gods. And, of course, it looks at the many different ways that magic and users of magic can work in a fantasy world. And, perhaps most importantly, it advises GMs and players alike on the kinds of characters appropriate to fantasy - including ordinary folks, people with fantastic powers, and nonhumans.Whether your model is Tolkien, Jordan, or Leiber, this book will let create a town, a country, or an entire world. Like all Fourth Edition books

    Wage guerilla warfare across the Star Wars galaxy as a solider, or provide crucial intelligence to the Rebels as a cunning spy. Face down legions of stormtroopers, steal secret plans and restricted codes, and stay on target in the fight against the ultimate power in the universe. No matter what role in the Rebellion you take, the fate of the galaxy rests in your hands.The 464-page Star Wars®: Age of Rebellion™ Core Rulebook provides everything players and GMs need to begin their adventures in the Star Wars universe, including:Concise rules for character generation and advancementClear descriptions of the game’s skills and talentsConvenient charts of weapons, gear, devices, starships, and vehiclesRules for conflict, combat, and Force Sensitive Emergents in an Age of Rebellion campaignExtensive background information on the Star Wars universe, including a history of the Rebel Alliance and its tactics, as well as pertinent information on the powerful EmpireA wealth of advice for GMs on how to create and run an Age of Rebellion campaignA complete, introductory adventure to launch players into action!

    Unseen even by mirrors, these lords of darkness glide through the night they rule, orchestrating the rise and fall of Kindred and kine alike. From the Sahara Desert to the Spanish Main, from the monasteries of Seville to the mean streets of New York City, no other clan so embodies what it means to be a vampire.Clanbook: Lasombra includes:* The History of the clan and the foul diablerie of its progenitor;* Details on the clan's sinister rites and depraved games;* New Merits, Flaws and Obtenebration powers.