Role-Playing Games
RPG Conventions
First, my contribution to RPG Fandom: information on British RPG Conventions. Also, I have a file of various people's advice on the art of organising them (preserved from a Usenet discussion).
But Anyway...
The objective of these pages is (mostly) to provide a few amusing or useful links for RPG'ers. For what it's worth, I also have a page of links and notes discussing the dull fact that RPGs aren't "evil."
I'm not going to try to explain what RPGs are -- if you've come this far, you probably know already. If not -- jump in and browse around. The CAR-PGa have a good brief page attempting a definition, but generally, learning by doing is best.
There are numerous RPG-related Usenet newsgroups. Like all of Usenet these days, these have -- ahem -- varying signal-to-noise ratios. British readers might want to pay attention to uk.games.roleplay, though it can be as patchy as any, and even less busy than most.
Other Stuff of Mine on the 'Web
- I keep a log of events in my current "Gloriana" campaign on this site.
- I have a separate page relating to my professional RPG writing work.
- I also accumulate unofficial stuff relating to one of my books, GURPS Discworld.
- I put some of my PCs online.
- I've worked up rules for Chariots in GURPS (now somewhat superceded by later GURPS books, but still possibly of interest), and the synthetic Victorian martial art of Bartitsu (Sherlock Holmes' "Baritsu") in GURPS and the Hero System.
- I put some of my older work up on the 'Web as and when I find the time. For example:
- With my permission, RPG.Net have put up an article of mine on the "philosophy" of horror RPGs (originally written for the late lamented Interactive Fantasy).
- Steve Jackson Games' server has accessible Designers' Notes articles for a number of my books, including the GURPS supplements Arabian Nights, Atlantis, Banestorm, Castle Falkenstein, Castle Falkenstein: The Ottoman Empire, Dragons, Places of Mystery, Transhuman Space: Changing Times, Transhuman Space: Personnel Files, Who's Who 1, Who's Who 2, The Discworld Roleplaying Game and the associated GURPS Discworld Also, and the Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game.
- A couple of books I worked on for White Wolf had material cut. (Happens. I often overwrite.) Here's some of the "lost" stuff:
- One of my online exercises in short fiction, Hagia Sophia, actually arose out of an abortive RPG project of mine. I've filed off some of the serial numbers for this presentation, but fans of the relevant game should recognise the source. (It's also available in Portuguese.)
- And incidentally, the 'Webzine Gamewyrd have run an e-mail interview with me.
- Dead Sites Warning: I previously had two other 'Web sites. City Island, which hosted the oldest, quietly died without my noticing, and I dropped Compuserve as superfluous. I hope that other people have changed their links.
Games Companies &c.
Actually, I've put my list of RPG companies and the like, with URLs off on a separate page. Fell free to go browse...
Transhuman Space stuff
Transhuman Space is a wonderful near-future, techno-optimistic hard SF setting from Steve Jackson Games (and yes, I've written a bit for it). Here are some useful or amusing resources for the game, from a variety of sources:
Assorted RPG Resources &c.
- Ken Hite's Out of the Box review column went away at one stage, came back, but now sadly seems to be on hold again.
- I direct gamers to http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/acksep97.html. I make no further comment.
- I also rather like Peter's Evil Overlord Site.
- My Steampunk Resource Links have a page to themselves.
- RPG.Net is sometimes an interesting 'Webzine. Their selection of essays and articles may be worth dipping; the News and Reviews may sometimes repay attention. (The reviews suffer from the fact that they can come from anyone who feels like mailing one in, but take them on that basis, for better or for
worse.) There are also some fairly heavily used discussion boards.
- Discworlde Bye Nighte is a pretty good Discworld RPG fan site, though somewhat moribund these days. Incidentally, those looking for Discworld RPG resources and with a taste for figures should try Discworld In Miniature.
- Some other RPG Web Fanzines and the Like:
- The Museum of Role Playing Games was, when last I saw it, the beginnings of a worthy and admirable project. The hobby does have a history, darn it.
- (One part of which was The Travellers in White Dwarf, once upon a time.)
- See Paradoxes of Defence, by George Silver (1599), and get those fencing rules right!
- Sheila Thomas' 'Drones' Role-Playing Game is a lot of fun (Wodehouse Lives!). (I've already mentioned Sheila's wonderful Diary of Miss Virginia Hyde MA, FRHS, MBSBI.)
- The US Library of Congress has assembled a quite extraordinary collection of images of late Imperial Russia, which are (quite legitimately) in colour. Handy for all sorts of games.
- Places To Go, People To Be is an on-line fanzine. They have a simple, clear interface with, seemingly, no graphics whatsoever -- which I approve unreservedly. (Yes, I think frames should be banned.) They also seem to believe in flattering me unreservedly sometimes, so I have to recommend them, don't I?
- Woodelf's RPG Index was (when last I looked) very interesting.
- WWII and alternate history games might have a use for Alison Brooks's essay on the problems with Operation Sealion, which was originally posted to soc.history.what-if, and which is now hosted on my site.
Go to my main page.
Digressing from the subject somewhat...
My brother and sister-in-law rent out a couple of Holiday Cottages in Southern Normandy, and I've put some information about these on the 'Web.
Also, 