The driveling masses have spoken. Agimimnon has listened. He is much aggrieved.

At long last we've come to the end of the road for this series on community generation. We've created a system that incorporates many ideas that we've examined along the way and hopefully you see the reasons for the decisions I made. However, I'm humble enough to realize that not everyone is going to be able to use the system exactly as its been described thus far. To that end, we look at some of the changes that can be made to the system and the implications of those changes before putting this series to rest.

Given the extended nature of this series, its only natural if the actual use of the system weve created has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle. To remedy that, Im going to dedicate this article to a couple of examples to show how the system works.

Following article 5 in this series, this article examines the population propagation of lower level NPCs.

Now that we've finished critiquing the existing systems for generatingNPCs, at long last in this fifth article we start developing our newsystem. This article focuses on the first step; designing the methodfor generating the highest level NPC in a community.

In our previous article we examined the rate of NPC advancement using Sean Reynold's system as a starting point for designing our own. In this article we will examine the generating process for NPC communities using the system in the DMG as our base line.

Last time I talked about how to get a good idea together for a prestige class. Now we're going to be delving deeper into that world and this is where things get really tricky. This is the point where two little words come popping to the forefront that I find many people don't worry about or give only a passing thought to when designing new material: Game Balance

We traveled to the seedy underbelly of Privateer Press to meet Matt Wilson and bring you a first look at the new Iron Kingdoms Character Guide. We expected to spend about an hour with him talking about the new book. We instead spent the entire afternoon there and got much more than we'd hoped.

Scott offers some guidance on how to create prestige classes. The first part of this two part series explains idea and concept development.

The third article in a series: this time we examine training and how it effects NPC ages.

During the 1980s the newly established industry and youth sub-culture associated with Role-playing games came under sustained attack. This article examines the impact of the role-playing game moral panic on the role-playing game community and investigates the responses and coping mechanisms utilised by those directly targeted and harassed by churches, the police, schools and government during the height of the moral panic in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

...or Making Communities Make Sense.
In this second article in our series we take the basic elements of NPC advancement from the previous article and see how they interact with the enviroment the community resides in.

...or Making Communities Make Sense.
This series of articles explores the many facets of community generation. Starting with an exploration of NPC advancement, we'll eventually develop a new system for generating the memebers of a community randomly. This first article starts by looking at the basic elements of NPC advancement.

"Sir Fulcrum was a valiant warrior, a brave hero, and a great friend. He will be sorely missed
Any one else have anything else to say? No? Okay, dump him in that ditch over there, and lets divvy up his stuff!"
-Andrius, "Rogue"

The second issue of our new regular series. This issue is the fist part of a 3-part series on making tiles for your game.

Has your Dungeons & Dragons game become stale? Tired of all those "DM's Toolbox" articles that don't really explaim how they do the magic that they do? Revitalize your game and ruin your players for other DMsforever.

Splatbooks, new settings, independent books, the online masses there are a lot of sources of information on 3E out there. And one thing they all like to include: new prestige classes. This is a guide to assimilating Prestige Classes.

What I see is too many DM's running games with no adequate concept of Evil. This is understandable. Evil is by nature a shadowy force, less understood than experienced. To illustrate, I shall indulge in an example wrought by a Lawful Evil character.

This article details the different kinds of religions or metaphysical beliefs that are known to man, with real-world examples; the way they tend to view other religions and their followers; and how can they be used with D&D classes, especially the "religiously-inclined" ones.

...This problem exists in D&D as well, where Monty Haul campaigns and Killer Dungeons are the best-known examples of when the DM/player relationship has broken down.

The everlasting and often heated discussion between Role players and Roll players is nowhere more evident than in the application of that typically 3rd edition novelty, the skills-system. The potential for both sides are enormous as some proclaim it to be a huge help in Role-playing their non-combat or combat situations, others see it as the doom of all Role-playing due to the roll of a single die.

Having read articles and other tidbits on this site about women who are brought into gaming by their significant other, I felt compelled to write this article to express the other side of the situation. Herein lies, first and foremost, the tale of a young girl who found role-playing all on her own. It may also contain tips for other budding female role-players. Then again, it may not. We shall see.

You've got a stack of NPCs, a list of random encounters, a dungeon or two, and secret plots that will captivate novice and veteran alike. The players take places at the table and smile as they wait for you to help them make characters. That's when the dreaded query is raised, "What about our backgrounds?"

Build it... and they will come. An excellent article on the fine art of creating worlds.

Roaming the forums for a while now, I see a steady stream of aspiring DM's looking up at the "established DM's" with puppy-dog eyes and a big question mark over their brow hoping we could advise them how to be extraordinarily well accomplished in this fine art. But since the truly great one's are way too busy and had to learn it the hard way as well, they asked me to write an article about the fine arts of DM-ing.

People play Dungeons & Dragons in many forms, but I believe the ultimate form is that of a campaign that lasts for decades, with possibly many different players, characters and even Dungeon Masters, but all populating and creating the same imaginary world.

Map-making, styles of play, creating a campaign, setting the mood... sounds like something out of the 3rd Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, right? Well, yes and no. Although the 3rd Edition DMG does contain much of this, Ive found an alternate source of information that is at least equal, if not better than the DMG... 2nd Edition rule supplement books.

People run many types of role-playing game and styles of gaming have changed over the years, but in general your average D&D game is made of two components: role-playing and gaming. Sounds stupid? Well, in a way, it is. However, it's an important insight.

Where would Sherlock Holmes have been without Moriarty? Where would Bond have been without Dr. No? Where would Picard have been without Q? Here is a terrific article with some good advice on creating villains that your players will remember for years to come.

The mini-session is a technique used on and off by my gaming group to increase player to player mystery and speed up sessions by leaving solo character activities to be done at another time. It is most applicable with a campaign containing independent characters and/or players. Perhaps you are playing in a campaign in which the characters are thieves working for a guild, or perhaps your players just prefer other players to not know what they are doing.

The call rule is a house rule created by my gaming group as a way of cutting down on the background noise and excess out of character banter. It is most applicable with a less than mature group of players, but anywhere where there is too much talking and joking going on it is suitable.

Privateer Press is the publisher behind the award-winning "Witchfire" series of d20 adventures and the Iron Kingdoms campaignsetting. Matt Staroscik, founder of Privateer Press, took the time to answer some questions and provide background information about his company and their products.

A few years ago I put some of the pieces of my gaming history together and came to a most serious conclusion: Magic Leads to EVIL. Now before you start mentioning all of the GOOD wizards in gaming you should read the rest of the article. I do qualify this statement later on, but the timing is just not quite right yet. So set your Elminsters and Palin Majeres aside and hear me out.

A very useful article on the art of DMing a cohorts in a campaign.

This article is broken into two sections. The first is a story about a Rogue named Ren who uses his skills to steal a valuable necklace from a King. Primary among the skills he uses are Disguise, Forgery, Perform and Pick Pockets. This story compliments the second section of the article.

The second section is an article that focuses on some of the less frequently chosen Rogue skills. Traditionally, players choose skills that have direct bearing on dungeon play. This article describes how a more balanced character with skills that translate well into role-playing scenarios can provide alternative ways to enjoy AD&D and expand the scope of the character.

R.A. Salvatore is perhaps one of the best-known authors of D&D fiction. His books range from the Forgotten Realms, to science fiction, to a world of his own creation. Recently, I had the chance to chat with Mr. Salvatore and ask him a few questions about his books, and about his thoughts on the 3rd Edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

As the Dungeon Master, you are the main architect of the campaign. The story, history, characters, geography and many other things are directly a result of your imagination. This leaves a large problem, however. A world is a big place, and you are going to leave things out.

I decided to crack open the 3rd Edition rule books and have a gander. What I learned about the game of D&D and my character has truly brought me out of my roleplaying shell. I learned four things that have helped me move from the backburner to the front line of role-playing.

The Bard as it exists in D&D Third-edition is not very exciting. It certainly isnt likely to be voted "Most Loved Class." Its a mediocre class at best. A little bit of fighting, a touch of magic, and pseudo-rogue skills. The only thing that is really makes it worth playing is the songs and the knowledge check. Its just doesnt seem to be that exciting of a class.

Chris Pramas has been working in the gaming industry since 1993. His first published work was for the Underground RPG, and since then he has worked on a dozen different RPGs. In 1998 he went to work for Wizards of the Coast (WotC) as a game designer, and wrote or co-wrote five D&D and Dark Matter books, and designed the Origins Award nominated Dragon Fist RPG. This past July he returned to small press publishing with the launch of a new company, Green Ronin Publishing.

All too often, combat in the game consists of little more than "I hit him with my sword", "I do 7 Hit Points of damage". With the dramatic opportunities that combat presents in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, this monotonous approach fails to enliven the game, or fire the imagination. Roleplaying need not stop when combat begins, as this article demonstrates.

The fantastical nature of the game loved by so many people seems driven by the idea of quelling evil and fighting the good fight. How much of the game's atmosphere, though, is hinged on vivid storytelling and role-playing, and how much is based on rolling dice to see if the statistics are in favour of the fighter or the dragon?

Combat is not simple. Sure, it looks simple on the surface: roll some dice; maybe you hit, maybe you don't; repeat until baddies are all dead. However, when we try to make rulings on all the nifty things our imagination can come up with, combat rapidly becomes much more difficult to deal with.

Here is a nice article about the freeform RPG movement submitted by one of our forum members. Although it's a tad off topic for this site, it is a very interesting read for all role-players. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. -Jim

Coming up with a suitable name for a character can sometimes be a harrowing task. When a DM said I would have to change my name, I asked, "Why?"

There is a good chance that your kids have heard about D&D, and if the recent sales of the new Edition of the game are any indicator, there is also a good chance that they know someone who plays the game. If you've never played the game, this might be a little worrisome for you, what with all the myths and rumors that have been circulated about D&D over the past quarter century or so.

Handling two (or more) groups of PCs at the same time is a very tricky area to explore. Through trial and error, I have had successes and failures, and this experience I will try to impart.

When it comes to my campaigns, I like to plan things out, as I have found that not planning leads to chaos. In time, I've learned what directions PC's are likely to go, and these areas I flesh out extensively. Why?

Ever wonder why it is that D&D of yesterday insists on having differences in the way the dice should be rolled?Certain actions required a high roll, while others required a low roll. This was confusing to me, especially in the beginning.

Sometimes, the most overused and clichd encounters can make for the most suprising and exciting experiences. When the players expect a formulated encounter, you hit them with the 1-2 punch.

Dungeons and Dragons is a Fantasy Role-Playing Game wherein the participants take on the roles of characters that they create and define, and use those characters to create fantastic adventures in an imaginary world.

In passing through some of the new D&D websites which have recently cropped up, it was very cool to see industry people stopping by to post their thoughts and reactions to the fans' concerns.

You know, there's one thing that 3rd Edition D&D cannot change. From the first incarnation of the game, to the (perhaps eventual) 10th Edition, one aspect of the game will forever remain unteachable, as far as rulebooks go.

Why are some women reluctant when it comes to learning the game of Dungeons & Dragons? Perhaps the following five tips will help you to get the women in your life to look beyond the hefty rules and have fun with D&D.

I love to play Dungeons & Dragons. When my friends and I dont play, I complain until we start a game again. There is just one problem: I have no imagination at all.

The adventure begins and 30 minutes later, Gothar is pushing up daisies because of a failed constitution check. Distraught, you wonder, "Why did this happen? That was Gothar the mighty! Its no fair!"

I know this article is going to tweak a lot of Dungeon Masters and players alike, but I am going to stick my neck out in hopes of hitting a chord with a few of you readers out there. To best illustrate my perspective, I am going to use an actual experience as the base of this work.

In the world of D&D gaming, women are definitely the minority. With pictures of blonde babes fighting evil monsters published in the Player's Handbook and DM's Guide, it's a no-brainer that the game of Dungeons and Dragons is geared toward men.