John D. Rateliff
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John D. Rateliff
John D. Rateliff is an author of roleplaying games and an independent scholar. He specializes in the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, particularly his Middle-earth fantasy writings. Early life and education John D. Rateliff was raised in Magnolia, Arkansas. He moved to Wisconsin in 1981 to study Tolkien's manuscripts at Marquette University. Rateliff is an expert in Tolkien studies, and he earned a Ph.D in 20th-century British literature from Marquette. Career Rateliff has helped organize several major conferences on Tolkien. He contributed essays to ''Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth'' (2000) and to a volume marking the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of ''The Lord of the Rings'', and edited ''The History of The Hobbit'' (HarperCollins, 2007), an edition of the drafting of Tolkien's ''The Hobbit'' with extensive commentary. Having written his dissertation on Lord Dunsany, Rateliff likes to describe his degree as "a Ph.D in fantasy." He ...
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Roleplaying Game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called the tabletop role-playing game (TRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique features: (a) The players physically embody their characters, and (b) the game takes place in a physical frame. Embodiment means that the physical actions of the player are regarded as those of the ...
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Lord Dunsany
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, Maryland, USA, 1993: Rowman & Littlefield; Joshi, S.T. and Schweitzer, Darrell; Lord Dunsany: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Studies in Supernatural Literature series). Material has continued to appear. He gained a name in the 1910s as a great writer in the English-speaking world. Best known today are the 1924 fantasy novel, '' The King of Elfland's Daughter'', and his first book, ''The Gods of Pegāna'', which depicts a fictional pantheon. Born in London as heir to an old Irish peerage, he was raised partly in Kent, but later lived mainly at Ireland's possibly longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara. He worked with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory supporting the Abbey Theatre and some fellow writers. He was a chess and pistol champi ...
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Dungeon Master's Guide
The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' (''DMG'' or ''DM's Guide''; in some printings, the ''Dungeon Masters Guide'' or ''Dungeon Master Guide'') is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' contains rules concerning the arbitration and administration of a game, and is intended for use by the game's Dungeon Master. It is a companion book to the ''Player's Handbook'', which contains all of the basic rules of gameplay, and the ''Monster Manual'', which is a reference book of statistics for various animals and monsters. The ''Player's Handbook'', ''Dungeon Master's Guide'', and ''Monster Manual'' are collectively referred to as the "core rules" of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game. Both the ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' and the ''Player's Handbook'' give advice, tips, and suggestions for various styles of play. While all players, including the Dungeon Master, are expected to have at their disposal a copy of the ''Player's Handbook' ...
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Player's Handbook
The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who referee the game, can be found in the ''Dungeon Master's Guide''. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources. Since the first edition, the ''Player's Handbook'' has contained tables and rules for creating characters, lists of the abilities of the different character classes, the properties and costs of equipment, descriptions of spells that magic-using character classes (such as wizards or clerics) can cast, and numerous other rules governing gameplay. Both the ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' and the ''Player's Handboo ...
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Chaosium
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon'', based on Thomas Mallory's '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', and '' 7th Sea'', "swashbuckling and sorcery" set in a fantasy 17th century Europe. Many of Chaosium’s product lines are based upon literary sources. While Stafford himself has been described as "one of the most decorated game designers of all time" and "the grand shaman of gaming", multiple other notable game designers have written for Chaosium. These include David Conyers, Matthew Costello, Larry DiTillio, Paul Fricker, David A. Hargrave, Rob Heinsoo, Keith Herber, Jennell Jaquays, Katharine Kerr, Reiner Knizia, Charlie Krank, Robin Laws, Penelope Love, Mark Morrison, Steve Perrin, Sandy Petersen, Ken Rolston, Ken St. Andre, Jonathan Tweet, John Wick, and Lynn Willis, amon ...
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Guardians Of Order
Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games (RPGs). Their first game is the anime inspired ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth''. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming debt. Publication history The ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'' game used the Tri-Stat System. The system would later be modified for use in other games and be more generally named the ''Tri-Stat dX'' system. Most of Guardians of Order's games use some form of the ''Tri-Stat dX'' system. After ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'', Guardians of Order would go on to achieve significant success with '' The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book''. The game was built on ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'' but featured an extensive reference to the ''Sailor Moon'' universe. Guardians of Order acquired licenses and published ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth''-based RPGs for a number of other anime series including '' ...
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White Wolf Publishing
White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion RampantA Brief History of Game #10: Lion Rampant: 1987-1990
RPGnet (Retrieved 14 June 2007)
and ''White Wolf Magazine'' (est. 1986 in Rocky Face, GA; it later became "White Wolf Inphobia"), and was initially led by of the former and and
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Green Ronin
Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games including multiple Origins, ENnie, Pen & Paper, and Inquest Fan Awards. History In early 1996, Chris Pramas acquired '' The Whispering Vault'' rights from Mike Nystul and formed Ronin Publishing with his brother, Jason Pramas, and their mutual friend, Neal Darcy. The company published two role playing game supplements, ''The Book of Hunts'' (1997) for ''The Whispering Vault'' and '' Blood of the Valiant'' for '' Feng Shui''. Ronin Publishing came to an end when Chris Pramas went to work for Wizards of the Coast in 1998. Pramas founded Green Ronin Publishing with his wife Nicole Lindroos in 2000. Green Ronin published its first book in July 2000: '' Ork!'' (2000), a beer and pretzels RPG about playing orks. Working at Wizards of the Coast, ...
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Decipher Inc
Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, US. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and ''Pente'' sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their longest-running offering is the ''How to Host a Murder'' Mystery series. Other popular works have included many different card games. Since 2002, Decipher has released two licensed role-playing games: '' Star Trek RPG'' and ''The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game''. History Decipher was founded by Warren Holland in 1983 as a games-producing company. Their first project was to launch the successful ''How to Host a Murder'' line of party games. Shortly after that, they purchased the license for ''Pente'' from Parker Brothers, and started to produce that game as well, maintaining a position in the games market. Ten years later, a new market of gaming was beginning with the introduction of collectible card games (CCGs). Seeing the opportun ...
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Alibris
Alibris is an online store that sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an online network of independent booksellers. History Martin Manley founded Alibris in 1997 with the team behind early online book marketplace Interloc, which Alibris purchased. Interloc was founded by book seller Richard Weatherford, programmer Tom Sawyer and computer tech Brad Councilman in 1994. Interloc was one of the earliest successful efforts to centralize used book data online. It remained a private network until 1996, when the company launched its website built in Thunderstone Texis by Senior Engineer Michael Warchut. The Alibris website was launched on October 23, 1998 at 14:30PM EST also built by Michael Warchut. Alibris was incorporated in 1998. Alibris acquired Bibliocity in October 1999. The company was backed by venture capital until 2006, when it was purchased by Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm. In February 2010, Oak Hil ...
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Dungeons And Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of the Coast (now a subsidiary of Hasbro) since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game ''Chainmail'' serving as the initial rule system. ''D&D'' publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, and also deeply influenced video games, especially the role-playing video game genre. ''D&D'' departs from traditional wargaming by allowing each player to create their own character to play instead of a military formation. These characters embark upon adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while maintaining the setting in which ...
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