Role Playing Games are great fun. Get together some people, add a couple of pencils, paper and some dice, and go defeat the Evil Black Knight!

	What is a RPG?
	Role Playing Systems
	Character List

Remember those old text-adventures? You are standing in a long, dark corridor, littered with rubbish. There is a lamp at your feet. Now what? You had places to explore, monsters to fight, and treasure to find.

Okay, now replace the computer with a human. This referee will tell you what your character sees, hears, and feels, and will tell you what the result of your actions are.

And you're not standing alone in that corridor. Other players have characters there too, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. These Player Characters (PCs), controlled by players, work together to explore the world, solve puzzles, and if you're lucky, rescue the princess. And that is a Role Playing Game (RPG).

Role Playing Games usually consist of a system and a setting. The system is used to solve conflict. "Bang, you're dead." "No, I'm not." A system resolves things like that objectively, sometimes using dice to add some randomization. It deals with skills, abilities, and how those are used in every possible situation.

The setting is a pre-fab world for the PCs to walk around in, optimized for the accompanying system. This world is inhabited by Non-Player Characters, (NPCs), controlled by the referee. The setting can be anything, from the Wild West to deep space, from sword & sorcery to the 1940s.

Working together, the players solve the puzzles and obstacles put to them by the referee, and generally have a great time.

I own and play several RPGs:

Dungeons & Dragons

Regarded as one of the first RPGs, this oldie has seen several editions. It introduced some of the cliche's of the biz, including *way* too many tables, an utterly unrealistic combat-system, and the arch-types of Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, and Thief.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

The improved version of the above, backed up by a *staggering* amount of material including worlds, classes, rule-expansions, and tie-in book publications. Ever heard of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman? Bingo. Arguably the most played RPG in the world.

Paranoia

Set in a darkly humorous future, this one is, ah, less than serious. The 5th edition is flawless, perfect, and exquisite. So were all the previous editions. The Computer says so. All hail the Computer!

GURPS

The Generic Universal Role Playing System, unlike the previous RPGs, isn't shipped with a setting. The GURPS Basic Set details a system capable of handling almost everything imaginable. You can buy settings in the expansion books, like GURPS Mecha, GURPS Space, GURPS Supers, GURPS Fantasy, and many, many, many others. Bit heavy on the math, but if you want to play Mutant Pink Cyberbunnies from Mars, there's bound to be a supplement covering just that.

Traveller

The original Sci-fi RPG. It has a number of variants, but its most recent incarnation is called _Marc Miller's Traveller_. Famous for its character generation system. While setting up characters takes quite a bit of time, the actual playing goes quite smoothly.

Heavy Ordnance

One of the many free RPGs available on the web. Many people have published their own adventures, settings, rule-expansions, characters, support software, add-ons, fan-fiction, and complete RPGs. Heavy Ordnance is an excellent example. Check it out!

Heavy Gear

It's not only an RPG, but also a wargame, complete with rules for miniature battles. Other highlights are the smoothest skill and combat system I've seen, and an -incredibly- vibrant and detailed setting. And, on top of all that, it's a giant robot game! What more could you want? =)

IronClaw

If Sci-Fi isn't your thing, check out IronClaw, the game of cinematic fantasy role-playing! They have a site at www.ironclaw.gs and I urge you to take a look for yourself because there's no words to explain how -neat- this game is.

Of course, all the above systems are copyright by their respective authors. The use of any trademarks should not be viewed as an infringement. Or something.

Here's a number of the PCs I've played over the time. Please feel free to use them as an NPC in your own campaign. Just drop me a note to tell me what happens.

AD&D Character: Rhack, Priest of Mask

AD&D Character: Ahndar, Cleric of Knowledge

AD&D Character: Richard, Paladin of Lianne