From: [j--a--n] at [nslsilus.org] (Aardy R. DeVarque) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd Subject: FAQ: Short Form 1/1 Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 18:55:57 GMT FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REC.GAMES.FRP.DND Short Form Version 1.56 Compiled by Joel Hahn Last revised 12/09/95 Introduction Welcome to the Short Form of the Rec.Games.Frp.Dnd Frequently Asked Questions list! This file is intended to be the most important information in the full FAQ, distilled out for easy reading and comprehension. Many thanks to all the people who wrote and posted with suggestions on how to make the FAQ more accessible for all. Changes since last posting Added another pointer for PBEMs. Disclaimer TSR, Dungeons & Dragons, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, AD&D, Dungeon Master, Dragon, Dungeon, Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, DragonLance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, Mystara, Spelljammer, Birthright, and Players Option are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc. Several other trademarked names appear throughout this work; the author hereby states that he is using the names, including the above- mentioned ones, in editorial fashion only and to the benefit of the trademark owners, with no intention of infringing in any way upon the trademarks. The author is not affiliated with nor endorsed by TSR, Inc. Throughout this FAQ, I use the male pronouns. This is not meant to belittle the contributions of female gamers, but rather to serve as a simple generic pronoun. Copyright notice, legal mumbo jumbo This FAQ is Copyright (C) 1995 by Joel A. Hahn. All rights reserved. It may be redistributed freely, but only in its entirety; no part of it may be changed, added, or deleted. This means you, bub! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Table of Contents * indicates questions which have been changed + indicates questions which have been added 1: What is D&D? 2: What is rec.games.frp.dnd 3: Is there anything I should read before posting to rec.games.frp.dnd? 4: Where can I find the full FAQ? 5: So, what's the deal with this board? 6: What other newsgroups are out there for role-playing junkies like me? 7: Where can I post this? 8: Are there any gaming groups in my area? 9: Where can I buy/sell old books, modules, & other stuff? 10: How do I get past a certain point in this SSI/TSR game I just bought? 11: What are common problem posts? 12: Some people's posts go off the right edge of the screen; is my newsreader broken or something? 13: How creative should I get with my .signature file? 14: What does "TSR" stand for? 15: What does "T$R" stand for? 16: What is TSR's e-mail address? 17: What are the best *D&D books and/or modules to get a hold of? 18: Didn't TSR publish a module or box set or something about...? 19: Aren't these new core books actually the third edition of AD&D? 20: What do those weird abbreviations mean? 21: What do those strange terms mean? * 22: What is a PBEM and how do I get into one or start one? 23: Are there any FTP sites for *D&D? 24: Are there any WWW pages for *D&D? 25: What books do I need in order to play *D&D? 26: What books do I need in order to be a DM? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 1: What is D&D? A: D&D is an abbreviation for Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy role- playing game published by TSR, Inc. (Hereafter referred to as "TSR"). It made its first public appearance in 1973, hit the general market in 1974, and has been wildly popular ever since. It is generally referred to as "The grandfather of all role- playing games." It was later revised to become part of AD&D, or Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. AD&D is the most widely recognized and played role-playing game. For the purpose of preventing confusion, I use "*D&D" as a generic term referring to all of the forms this game has taken over the years. 2: What is rec.games.frp.dnd? A: Rec.games.frp.dnd is a Usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussions pertaining to AD&D, D&D, TSR, and anything else that happens to come up. Here is the charter for the group: NAME: rec.games.frp.dnd CHARTER: This unmoderated discussion newsgroup is for discussion of the official rules and settings of the D&D family of role-playing games, produced by TSR, Inc., including Collector's Edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), Basic D&D, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D), and AD&D Second Edition. This proposed newsgroup would include discussion of TSR's rules and products and compatible products, such as: character classes; character races; monsters; magic spells; weapons; Greyhawk; the Forgotten Realms; the Known World; Dark Sun; Spelljammer; RavenLoft; Hollow World; City State of the Invincible Overlord; and so on. Cross- posting between this group and other groups in the rec.games.frp hierarchy is discouraged, however issues of general interest that happen to involve a D&D rulebook or setting are more than welcome. 3: Is there anything I should read before posting to rec.games.frp.dnd? A: First off, the full FAQ is a must-read for people who are new to this group. This Short Form will do in the short run, but at some point, you should read through the entire full FAQ. In addition, if you haven't seen them already, there are six posts you should read as soon as possible in the group news.announce.newusers. These have the subjects: Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette Rules for posting to Usenet A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet Hints on writing style for Usenet What is Usenet? If not in n.a.n., these are available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu, in the /pub/Usenet/news.announce.newusers/ directory. If you are new to Usenet, you should also think quite seriously about regularly reading the newsgroup news.newusers.questions. Some of the topics discussed there are repeated in this FAQ, but those files have much more complete answers than are possible here. 4: Where can I find the full FAQ? A: The full version of the rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ is posted to rec.games.frp.dnd monthly, on the first day of each month. This is the best and easiest way to find it. It is also currently the only way to get the latest version. As of this writing, the FAQ is not archived at any FTP sites. However, a slightly revised hypertext version of the July 1 revision is available through the World Wide Web at http://web.cs.ualberta.ca/~Wade/HyperDnD/, and http://radon.gas. uug.arizona.edu/~mungovan/rgfdfaq.html, and via a pointer at http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/adnd/. 5: So, what's the deal with this board? A: Once and for all, this is not AOL, nor Compuserve, nor Prodigy, nor Delphi, nor GEnie, nor Fidonet, nor a BBS. It is Usenet, one of the networks which is joined to the Internet. Specifically, this is one newsgroup from among the 12,000+ total newsgroups which make up Usenet. It is not a listserv (although there is an AD&D listserv, and some other groups are Usenet gateways for listservs), bboard, board, list, SIG, or base. It is a newsgroup; or "group" for short. Many of the behaviors which are acceptable elsewhere are not acceptable on Usenet, and many behaviors found in other newsgroups will not be tolerated here. As a poster to this group, it is your responsibility to learn the customs of Usenet and of rgfd before you make your first post, which you can easily do by reading through the files listed in Question 3 and the full FAQ. Also, be sure to read every message in the group for about two weeks or more before posting in order to get a good feel for the group. 6: What other newsgroups are out there for role-playing junkies like me? A: There are several groups dedicated to role-playing games. The vast majority are, naturally, found in the rec.games.frp.* hierarchy, but several others are in the alt groups. alt.dragons-inn Role-playing via Usenet alt.fan.dragonlance Fans of Dragonlance, unite! alt.games.frp.2000ad Discussion of the 2000 AD game alt.games.frp.dnd-util Posting & discussion of util's, etc. alt.games.frp.live-action Discussion of live-action fantasy rpg's rec.games.frp.advocacy Which game system is the best/worst? *rec.games.frp.announce Con announcements, gamers/games wanted *rec.games.frp.archives Fiction, programs, house rules, etc. rec.games.frp.cyber Discussion of rpg's involving cyberware rec.games.frp.dnd Discussion of *D&D rec.games.frp.live-action Discussion of live-action fantasy rpg's rec.games.frp.marketplace Buy/sell (usually used) gaming supplies rec.games.frp.misc Discussion of all other RPG's * Moderated newsgroups; all posts are automatically mailed to the moderator, who then decides which ones are of posting calibre and posts them. 7: Where can I post this? A: There are several types of posts which are technically about *D&D, do not really belong on rec.games.frp.dnd. Some of them are dealt with in more detail in other questions here, as well as in the full FAQ, but here is a thumbnail guide to posting *D&D-related material. Please observe these guidelines, as it will make everybody happier in the long run. *D&D-related programs/binaries: alt.games.frp.dnd-utils Discussion of computer programs: alt.games.frp.dnd-utils SSI/TSR computer games: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg "Test--Please ignore": misc.test Which RPG is the best: rec.games.frp.advocacy Which RPG is the worst: rec.games.frp.advocacy Which game company is best/worst: rec.games.frp.advocacy Convention announcements: rec.games.frp.announce Announcement of PBEM openings: rec.games.frp.announce Gamers wanted in Area "X" rec.games.frp.announce Fiction: rec.games.frp.archives Resources for *D&D (net.books): rec.games.frp.archives New rules for combat,init, psi: rec.games.frp.archives Unfinished resources for *D&D: rec.games.frp.archives, or r.g.f.dnd Very short resources for *D&D: rec.games.frp.archives, or r.g.f.dnd Discussion of *D&D resources: rec.games.frp.dnd Discussion of *D&D, TSR, etc.: rec.games.frp.dnd For sale: rec.games.frp.marketplace Wanted to buy rec.games.frp.marketplace Dragon Dice rec.games.trading-cards.* or alt.games.dice When you post items in rec.games.frp.archives or if you post a program/binary in alt.games.frp.dnd-utils, it is suggested that you post a short note in rgfd pointing out where to go to find your post. However, this sort of short advertisement is discouraged (but permitted) when you post a sale in rec.games.frp.marketplace, and is strongly discouraged when you post items in r.g.f.announce. There isn't any need to post ads for sales on r.g.f.marketplace or for announcements on r.g.f.announce, because people who want sales or announcements should already know to monitor those groups. The basic type of material on r.g.f.archives or a.g.f.d-u changes from week to week, so that the contents of the groups aren't as predictable as "sales are on r.g.f.marketplace" or "con/game announcements are on r.g.f.advocacy." 8: Are there any gaming groups in my area? A: Usenet is read by people around the world, from New Zealand to Norway. If you're looking for players in Galveston, Texas, it is pointless to ask people in Germany to come over and play. Doing so only wastes bandwidth, time, and money for everyone outside of your neighborhood who reads your request, and tends to really annoy people. There is a simple, relatively painless method to solve this. Post your request in rec.games.frp.announce. The charter for that group allows such posts there, and past discussion has declared that such posts belong there, not on rgfd. If that isn't to your taste, you may post your request in rgfd, as long as you set the "Distribution:" line in the header of your message so that it is only read by a certain geographic area, for example, only North America (na), the United States (usa), Texas (tx), or Dallas-Ft. Worth (dfw). If you are unsure how to set the distribution on your newsreader, or cannot figure out the best code to use, ask the sysop for your Usenet server. They're paid to tell you how to do such things. I am not. There is also a much more detailed discussion of distribution in the full rgfd FAQ. 9: Where can I buy/sell old books, modules, & other stuff? A: Rec.games.frp.marketplace is dedicated to the buying and selling of gaming supplies of any nature. If there is a book you've always been looking for, or if you want to sell off some of your books, please post in rgfm. Such posts do not belong on rgfd, and only serve to make the natives restless and the poster the recipient of numerous flames. If you are thinking of checking out rec.games.frp.marketplace in hopes of finding those items you've always been looking for, a place to look first is ; it has a list of almost every D&D/AD&D item which has come up on the block, with the average auction prices for each, compiled from up to three years of data. If you are looking to buy, a good place to check is the Mail Order Hobby Shop. They carry many of TSR's discontinued items (even some fairly old ones), as well as all of the new items, all at around cover price. For a free catalog, call (800) 558-5977. You can place Internet orders with the Mail Order Hobby Shop by e-mailing an order form to [T S RInc] at [aol.com], but you must pay with a credit card to use this method. Their catalog is not currently publically available, but it may be in the near future. For other notes on where to post certain topics, see the list below and the newsgroups listing and descriptions in Section 5 of the full FAQ. 10: How do I get past a certain point in this SSI/TSR game I just bought? A: As the old BASIC games used to go, "Thank you for playing... hope you had fun!" Sorry, but such questions really can't be answered here, as this group is for the discussion of role-playing games, not computer games. Try comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure, (or comp.sys.mac.games, for MacUsers), or rec.games.video. In addition, if you have an America Online account, you can get help there, but not too much in the way of hints. The keyword is SSI. 11: What are common problem posts? A: Here's a list of some things to avoid when posting to rgfd, or any Usenet newsgroup, for that matter. "...Me, too!" "I [dis]agree." "Send me that" (use e-mail for your request) Any post which responds to another post, yet doesn't quote any of the original. Any post which quotes the entirety of another post, then adds a few words or just a couple lines. Any post which quotes another post without saying who wrote the original post. "D&D IS EVIL & SH*T, DON'T PLAY IT." Any responses to "D&D IS EVIL & SH*T, DON'T PLAY IT." "MAKE MONEY FAST" or FASTCASH.TXT Any responses to "MAKE MONEY FAST" "Who'd win if X fought Y?" "Test--Don't read" (post this on misc.test instead) Any responses to "Test--Don't read" "Why aren't there more homosexuals in RPG's?" "Medieval women were totally repressed by the patriarchy." "Why isn't anyone talking about Product X?" (start the topic yourself) "How do I subscribe/unsubscribe to this group?" (It's not a listserv, there's no unsubscribing) "Why hasn't anyone responded to my posts yet?" "I guess no one saw this so I'll repost it for the fourth time" "Here's a description of how the orcs I was GMing raped a PC." For more discussion on the reasons not to post these and, in some cases, the correct action to take, see Section 2 of the full rgfd FAQ. 12: Some people's posts go off the right edge of the screen; is my newsreader broken or something? A: Please, please, PLEASE remember to hit return every 75 characters or so. Many machines either allow lines longer than 80 spaces or do not wrap lines correctly. A 75 space line allows for easy reading (as many newsreaders will just ignore all characters in a line after character 80, and followup markers then won't cause lines to run over 80 char's as quickly. 13: How creative should I get with my .signature file? A: A signature file, or, for the UNIX-inclined, .signature (.sig for short), is a file that your newsreader can automatically attach onto the end of every Usenet post you make. It is intended to contain such information as your name, Internet address(es), other contact methods, and do forth, that you would otherwise have to manually type in each time you want to post. Many people also include witty quotes or comments, ASCII pictures, and other such fun bits. However, once you see the same .sig twenty times in one day (or one week, month, etc.), it can get quite tiresome. This is especially true for large sigs, and/or ASCII art. In the interest of preserving everyone's sanity, Usenet as a whole has adopted the standard of a four-line .sig. That is, if you can't fit it into four lines of text or less, it probably isn't worth saying. This standard is flexible somewhat, as tasteful .sigs of five or six lines are usually tolerated. Anything longer than that wastes bandwidth, quickly becomes boring and tiresome to look at, and becomes a target for flames. If you suffer from Overlarge .Sig Syndrome, and are unwilling or unable to cure yourself, please remove yourself from rgfd and hie yourself over to alt.fan.warlord, the Home of the Big .Sig. 14: What does "TSR" stand for? A: No, it doesn't stand for "They Sue Regularly." As outlined in the full rgfd FAQ, it originally stood for "Tactical Studies Rules." When the company incorporated, it changed its official name to "TSR Hobbies, Inc.," and later to "TSR, Inc.," which isn't short for anything. 15: What does "T$R" stand for? A: For some, the dollar sign is a pretty good ASCII representation of TSR's new dragon logo. For others, it is a way of referring to TSR without using any of their trademarks. However, "T$R" is more commonly used by disgruntled gamers to refer to the Great Undescribable Bloodsucking Lawful Evil Force which has possessed the *D&D game market and created oppressive policies, ever-more-expensive and ever- lower-quality products, has no care for the common gamer, and any other Truly Evil acts one can imagine which have the end result of alienating customers and making money. TSR, on the other hand, is a company made up of a bunch of hard-working people who genuinely care about the game and what happens to it, in it, and to how people feel about it. They may occasionally make mistakes, but generally do what they think is the best job they can. In most cases, it is simply an outlet for people who are otherwise fed up with what they feel to be lack of respect for customers and the game itself and need a way to thumb their nose at "T$R, the unfeeling, uncaring megacorporation." 16: What is TSR's e-mail address? A: The main e-mail addresses for TSR are: [T S RInc] at [aol.com] [T S R online] at [genie.geis.com] [76217 761] at [compuserve.com] Sean Reynolds, the net.representative for TSR, is usually quite good about responding or fowarding information to the people who need to see it. Questions about TSR products past, present, and future are answered fairly quickly. Questions about copyright on the Internet are generally ignored, usually for legal reasons but also possibly due to the high flame quotient of such questions. If you plan to send e-mail to TSR and would like to receive some sort of response, it's a good idea to refer to the company as TSR, not T$R. You may be disgruntled with the corporation that is TSR, but that's not a reason to rub it in the employee's noses. If you want to write to Dragon or Dungeon Magazines, the addresses are: [T S Rmags] at [aol.com] [T S R mags] at [genie.geis.com] There are several other contact addresses, depending on who you wish to get in touch with; they are listed in the full FAQ. 17: What are the best *D&D books and/or modules to get a hold of? A: This depends on who you ask. Everybody has their own opinions on which products are great and which are trash. However, there was a survey done by Goth on rgfd and ADND-L of every *D&D product TSR has ever put out, as of around January, 1995. It rates each product on a 0-10 scale, based on the average of all of the responses, and invited each responder to comment on the products. Only those products which received 5 or more votes appear in the listings, but there are comments included on several non-listed products. The results are available via MPGN, in the /Gaming/ADND/Reviews directory. 18: Didn't TSR publish a module or box set or something about...? A: Quite possibly. However, if you want a definitive answer, the best place to look before posting your question is the TSR Product Guide, maintained by Gavin Bartell and found (in short form) at ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/ADND/Modules/modules.z, and (long form) /Gaming/ADND/TSRGuides/TSRGuides.000.Z through TSRGuides.018.Z and at http://web.cs.ualberta.ca/~wade/HyperDnd. For more information on the Product Guide itself, see part 5 of the full FAQ. 19: Aren't these new core books actually the third edition of AD&D? A: The new printings of the Players Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide are definitely not "third edition AD&D". They are essentially just the umpteenth printings of the same old second edition books, except with a different typeface and page layout, new artwork, and the addition of a couple of small new sections. That's it. If you read the introduction to the new printing, they come right out and state that this is absolutely not a third edition, and that TSR has no plans for a third edition any time in the next decade. Any major rules changes are probably the result of one of the typos which crept in when TSR transferred the books to electronic form for this printing. A complete list of the known typos is available by watching rgfd for it to be posted, or by sending a request for the errata to Jim Butler at [T S RJim] at [aol.com.] 20: What do those weird abbreviations mean? A: Here is a guide to the most common abbreviations and acronyms found on rec.games.frp.dnd. The first list is those terms which are found almost exclusively in posts to rec.games.frp dnd and/or the entire rec.games.frp.* hierarchy. The second list is those terms which are in general use on Usenet and the rest of the Internet. Gaming-Related *D&D Any version of the D&D game AD&D, ADnD Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ADND-L AD&D discussion mailing list AoE Area of Effect BoA Book of Artifacts BR Birthright C*HB Complete Handbook series Fighter's, Priest's, Thief's, Wizard's, Psionics, Ranger's, Bard's, Druid's, Paladin's, Barbarian's, Necromancer's, Ninja's CB* Complete Book of series Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes & Halflings, Humanoids CT, C&T Player's Option: Combat & Tactics D&D, DnD Dungeons & Dragons DDG Deities and Demigods DL DragonLance DMG Dungeon Masters Guide DMG1 Dungeon Masters Guide, 1st edition DMG2 Dungeon Masters Guide, 2nd edition DMG2R Dungeon Masters Guide, Revised 2nd edition DMO:HLC Dungeon Master's Option: High-Level Campaigns DS Dark Sun FR Forgotten Realms GAMA GAme Manufacturers Association GH Greyhawk GM Game Master HLC Dungeon Master's Option: High-Level Campaigns HW Hollow World IMC In My Campaign IYC In Your Campaign L&L, LL Legends & Lore LK Lankhmar MC Monstrous Compendium (usually followed by the appendix number) MM Monster Manual/Monstrous Manual MMII Monster Manual II MOHS Mail Order Hobby Shop (TSR) MoP Manual of the Planes MPGN ftp.mpgn.com, the Multi-Player Gaming Network site MUD Multiple-User Dungeon OA Oriental Adventures OD&D Old/Original D&D, as opposed to Advanced D&D PBeM Play By E-Mail PBWWW Play By World Wide Web PH Player's Handbook, any edition PH1 Player's Handbook, 1st edition PH2 Player's Handbook, 2nd edition PH2R Player's Handbook, Revised 2nd edition POCAT Player's Option: Combat & Tactics POSAP Player's Option: Skills & Powers PS Planescape rgfd Rec.games.frp.dnd rgf.* Rec.games.frp.* hierarchy RL Ravenloft RPGA Role-Playing Gamers' Association SP, S&P Player's Option: Skills & Powers ToM Tome of Magic ToVK Tome of Vast Knolwedge (computer program) UA Unearthed Arcana WoG, WG World of Greyhawk General :-) Smiley (tilt your head 90 degrees); with endless variations AFAIK As Far As I Know BTW By The Way CFV Call For Votes FWIW For What It's Worth IDH(T)*IFOM I Don't Have (The) In Front Of Me IIRC If I Remember Correctly IMHO In My Humble/Honest Opinion (but rarely actually is) IOW In Other Words IRC Internet Relay Chat (realtime text-based conferencing system) LOL Laughing Out Loud Ob... Obligatory reference to... (e.g. ObD&D, ObCthulhu, in a post otherwise about something else) REQ Request RFC Request For Comments RFD Request For Discussion ROTFL Rolling On The Floor Laughing RTFM Read The F***ing Manual! SO Significant Other (i.e. date/fiance(e)/spouse) WRT With Regard/Respect To YMMV Your Mileage May Vary 21: What do those strange terms mean? A: Glossary: bandwidth: Taken from radio jargon, this refers to the amout of information which can be transmitted over a given cable. It usually appears as "Stop wasting bandwidth", which basically means "Don't post unless you actually have something relevant to the group to say". flame: A nasty, inflamatory message. It does very little except repeatedly insult another poster (or the recipient, if it is sent via e-mail). Also, "to flame" flame war: A flame in response to a flame in response to a flame, and so on, ad nauseum. Neither flaming, nor getting involved in flamewars are conducive to a long net.life or a good net.reputation. If a topic or a certain poster always gets your shorts in a knot, learn to a) cool down completely before posting, b) reply via e-mail instead of posting, c) use a killfile or how to skip certain posts (or just learn to not respond to certain topics or posters at all), and d) avoid "hot topics" as well as the types of posts outlined in question 10. kill file: A file usable in several popular newsreaders which allows one to filter out disliked topics or posters. Also, "to killfile" lurker: someone who reads a newsgroup but does not post. Also, "to lurk" Monty Haul: Named after the host of _Let's Make A Deal_, this is a style of campaigning in which the DM gives out phenomenal amounts of treasure and magic to the PC's with very little risk involved. munchkin: A player who creates min/maxed characters for the purpose of being able to destroy large sections of the countryside with every blow rather than creating a balanced character for the purposes of role-playing. Also: "a munchkin PC", "munchkinism" newbie: Anyone new to Usenet or a particular newsgroup, or someone who makes a netiquette mistake which shows that they haven't bothered to learn the customs either of Usenet as a whole or of this specific newsgroup. One can discover these customs by lurking on the group for several weeks and reading through the Usenet FAQs (listed in question 3, and the full FAQ for this group.) September: This is the time of year when the net experiences an large influx of newbies due to college freshmen getting internet accounts. The term is also used whenever a large access provider, such as AOL, Compuserve, or Delphi, first allows Usenet access for its users. signal-to-noise ratio: On Usenet, this is the proportion of useful articles to useless ones. In order that the most people might enjoy reading this group, please try to keep the signal as high as possible and the noise as low as possible. spoiler: This is a post which gives details about a product that might spoil the surprise factor for people who haven't read through it already, especially for modules, novels, and movies (regardless of how old they are). Proper netiquette is to include the warning "SPOILERS" in the subject line and at the beginning of the post, then include a full page of blank lines, and then include the information. This allows people to avoid the details if they do not wish to have their enjoyment of the product in question spoiled. 22: What is a PBEM and how do I get into one or start one? A: PBEM (or PBeM) stands for "Play By E-Mail," which are campaigns which are run via the DM sending out turns to each of the players, who respond with their characters' intended actions. Such campaigns are the outgrowth of Play-By-Mail baseball leagues, the Illuminati PBM, and just plain *D&D PBM's. To get into a PBEM, you have to wait. When someone posts a message to rgf.announce (and/or rgfd) indicating that there is an opening in a PBEM, follow the rules for character submission and mail off a character. If the DM chooses your character, you're in. There. That wasn't so hard, was it? If you don't want to wait (and it could be as soon as tomorrow, or it could take several months), you could try to start up your own PBEM campaign. However, be warned--running a PBEM might sap any and all free time you think you have and then some, and isn't necessarily as easy as it might sound. For a wealth of helpful tips, tricks, and suggestions for running as well as playing a character in PBEM's, read "An Argosy of Play By E-Mail Advice," which can be found via anonymous ftp to: ftp.netcom.com\pub\sk\skreyn\pbem_faq.txt Another excellent place to look for information on PBEMs is , which has a plethora of files on the topic, from advice to listings of currently active PBEMs. 23: Are there any FTP sites for *D&D? A: There is one official FTP site for the distribution of AD&D products, licensed by TSR. It is located at ftp.mpgn.com. Some of you may remember the old greyhawk.stanford.edu archive, which cut off all anonymous access early in 1994. Rob Miracle at MPGN took it upon himself to save as much of the greyhawk archive as possible, and that is what forms the core of what is at MPGN. MPGN is limited in the number of simultaneous anonymous logins it may have; ten during normal business hours (EST), and five during the evening and nighttime hours. If at first you can't get in, try, try again. If you want to see what files are in the MPGN archive without tying up logins and preventing people who wish to actually up- or download files from doing so, there is a WWW site which has the entire ADND directory, and a few of the files available for your perusal, at . If fantasy art is more your thing, rather than *D&D-specific files, then be sure to check out the ftp sites grind.isca.uiowa.edu and wuarchive.wustl.edu, as both have extensive selections of art files, quite a few of which are in the fantasy genre. Unfortunately, both of these sites are extremely busy; it's a good bet that you will not be able to get in between roughly 9am-9pm, Central Time (10-10, Eastern; 4pm-4am Greenwich). 24: Are there any WWW pages for *D&D? A: There are a lot of WWW sites dedicated to role-playing games, specifically AD&D. Here is a small sample; many, many more are listed in Section 5 of the full FAQ. www.acm.uiuc.edu/adnd/ Mike Duff's site, the original *D&D WWW site www.rpi.iastate.edu/~toigom/copyright/index.html Mark Toigo's site dedicated to the controversy surrounding TSR's current policy regarding copyright and the Internet web.cs.ualberta.ca/~wade/HyperDnd/ Wade's Role-playing Games site; includes a full directory of ftp.mpgn.edu, and a few files from there as well. Also, the HTML version of the rgfd FAQ is here crpp0001.uqtr.uquebec.ca/www_wanderer/rpg.html Everything you wanted to know about AD&D and more radon.gas.uug.arizona.edu/~mungovan/rgfdfaq.txt Includes the HTML rgfd FAQ info.acm.org/~papay/tsr_prices_intro.html List of TSR products which have been auctioned in rec.games.frp. marketplace, with average prices compiled from data dating back up to three years 25: What books do I need in order to play *D&D? A: Technically, as a player, you need absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. A pencil, paper, and dice certainly are useful, but can easily be borrowed; rules can be explained by the DM or more experienced players. However, it is usually move convenient to have a personal copy of the rules for easy perusal in and outside of the gaming sessions. To this end, it is advisable to get the Players Handbook (preferably the same edition which the group is playing). The Complete Handbook for your character's class and/or race may be a welcome addition, as may the Combat & Tactics and Skills & Powers books, but they are not absolutely necessary. Beyond that, it is just personal preferences. Nothing else is truly needed, despite what the promotional material TSR puts out may say. However, most people do like having a little more than just the Players Handbook by their side when they play. 26: What books do I need in order to be a DM? A: Unlike players, for whom it is possible to play with just pencil and paper, a DM generally (with some exceptions) needs a bit more in the way of rulebooks. The minimum needed by most people to DM a satisfying *D&D game is: the DMG, the PH, and either the Monstrous Manual or the Monstrous Compendium 1-2. These three references form the core of the game; everything else just adds window dressing. ***End FAQ***