Path: relief.cts.com!newshub.cts.com!usc!newshub.csu.net!zdc!super.zippo.com!lotsanews.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!newsfeed.internetmci.com!206.229.87.25!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-peer-east.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!uunet!in5.uu.net!news.anet-chi.com!usenet From: [a--r--y] at [anet-chi.NOJUNK.com] (Aardy R. DeVarque) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd Subject: FAQ: RGFD 4/9 -- FAQ: Meta, FAQ, Religion Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 01:00:12 GMT Organization: Aardy's Aardvark Emporium Lines: 621 Message-ID: <[3467 d 033 383122961] at [news.anet-chi.com]> Reply-To: [a--r--y] at [anet-chi.com] NNTP-Posting-Host: chi-pru.max1-96.anet-chi.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.5/32.451 Xref: relief.cts.com rec.games.frp.dnd:243590 X-Cache: nntpcache 1.0.6.5 (see ftp://suburbia.net/pub/nntpcache) REC.GAMES.FRP.DND FAQ Part 4 FAQ: 1) META 2) FAQ 3) Religion =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * designates topics which have been updated. + designated topics which have been added. Meta * D1: I've found a mistake in the latest TSR module; where can I report it? D2: Where can I find a list of official TSR errata? D3: What is a PBEM and how do I get into one or start one? D4: What are the best *D&D products (books/modules/etc.) to get? D5: What to those letter/number combinations on older modules and handbooks stand for? D6: What font does TSR use for Planescape and where can I get it? D7: What is the chance of rolling up a character with all natural 18's? FAQ E1: Wasn't there a Saturday morning cartoon about *D&D? * E2: What *D&D-specific comic books have been published? E3: Whatever happened to SnarfQuest, What's New?, Wormy, and Yamara? E4: Wasn't there a TSR module that was banned? E5: Aren't these new core books actually the third edition of AD&D? E6: What was removed from Deities & Demigods? E7: Was Legends & Lore really originally a 1st ed. book? * E8: What happened to my favorite TSR campaign world? E9: Where did all the devils, demons, daemons, and the rest go? E10: Who is this Cthulhu guy, anyway? Religion F1: Is *D&D really the tool of the Devil? F2: Yeah, but is *D&D really the tool of the Devil? F3: Isn't Al-Qadim actually one of the holy names of Allah? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Meta D1: I've found a mistake in the latest TSR module; where can I report it? A: If you discover a major typo or other mistake in a TSR publication, such as the infamous 'damage/dawizard' transposition, or a reversed or missing map or table, then write to the TSR brand manager for the product line and report it. They are the people who need to know such things in order to fix them in future printings and/or issue occasional errata reports. The brand managers are: DragonLance: Sue Cook ([s--c] at [wizards.com]) AD&D & Planescape: Thomas Reid ([t--e--d] at [wizards.com]) Realms & Ravenloft: David Wise ([w--e--y] at [wizards.com]) Alternity: Bill Slavicsek ([B--l--S] at [wizards.com]) There is not much need to post reports for typos or errara for all to see unless it actually affects gameplay in some way, such as a Fighter/Ranger/Paladin experience table blunder in the PH or mislabeled maps in modules. D2: Where can I find a list of official TSR errata? A: The official errata for the new core books and the Player's Option books are available on TSR's web page, at . You can find the official errata for the 1st printing of the original PH2, as well as a list of Forgotten Realms errata on various sites around the net. Search MPGN first, then ask around the newsgroup. TSR at one point also released an official errata page for the Complete Psionics Handbook; electronic copies of it are floating around and shouldn't be too tough to find. Other than that, look through the Sage Advice column in back issues of Dragon Magazine; every once in awhile, Skip prints an official correction of some errata or other. D3: What is a PBEM and how do I get into one or start one? A: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there, Tex, that there's three questions in one. In way of an answer, PBEM (or PBeM) stands for "Play By E-Mail," 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, monitor rgf.announce and wait. When you're done with that, wait some more. After that, wait a couple of whiles. By that time, somebody probably will have posted a message to rgf.announce indicating that they are starting (or that an opening has appeared in) a PBEM; rules for character submission will usually be included. Follow the rules and mail off a character. If the PBEM chooses your character, you're in. There. That wasn't so hard, was it? If you don't want to wait that long (and it could be as quick 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 the web at . 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. D4: 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 Anthony Brooks 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 includes comments on the products by the people who responded. 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, and can be accessed via the web at . D5: What do those letter/number combinations on older modules and handbooks stand for? A: Up until late 1994, TSR game every product an alphanumeric code, as well as a numeric product code. The letter codes were based in some way on the product, and the number following the letter designated which one in the series it was. For example, Against the _G_iants was G1-3, the Vault of the _D_row was D1-3, and _Q_ueen of the Demonweb Pits was Q1. Some codes were based on other factors; for example, Competition modules for tournament use were given a C designation, and the Special series was labeled with an S. This use carried over into 2nd ed., with the Players HandBook Reference series (PHBR), Dungeon Masters Guide Reference (DMGR), and Historic Reference (HR) series, as well as the GA/R (General Adventure/Reference) RA/R (Ravenloft A/R), WGA/R (World of Greyhawk A/R), et al. series. Late in 1994, TSR decided that this system was getting out of hand (what with the [class] Challenge series being given HHQ1-4 !?), and dropped the system. Now, products are only coded by product number, a four-digit code that TSR uses to track its products. For more information on what the letter/number codes stood for, see the complete 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; it can also be accessed from MPGN through the Great Net.Book of Net.Books at . D6: What font does TSR use for Planescape and where can I get it? A: The Planescape font is called Exocet (technically it's two fonts, Exocet Light for regular text and Exocet Heavy for titles, etc.); it is a commercial font sold by Emigre. You can see a sample of it and purchase it at Emigre's web page, at . Visitation is a free font which is quite similar to Exocet and is available on various and sundry pages throughout the World Wide Web. D7: What is the chance of rolling up a character with all natural 18's? A: If one is using the basic 3d6 method of character creation, this means rolling 18 sixes with 18 dice. The chance of this happening is thus 1/6^18, or 1/101,559,956,668,400. (This assumes fair dice, of course.) In other words, "slim to none, but technically possible." FAQ E1: Wasn't there a Saturday morning cartoon about *D&D? A: Yes, there was. _Dungeons & Dragons_ premiered on September 17, 1983 on CBS, and ran for a season or three. The main characters were all real-world people who rode the new "D&D" roller-coaster at the local theme park and somehow got transported by the Dungeon Master to a fantasy world. Each of the main characters had a personal magic item, and a vast majority of the show's plots revolved around the evil Venger trying (and failing) to get their items so that he could become all-powerful, while the heroes tried to find portals back to the "real" world, and failed to use every one for one reason or another. All of the episodes were available on video at one point, so it may be possible to find them at conventions, in video stores, or in rec.games.frp.marketplace. The main characters were: Hank (Ranger): The leader. His bow shot magic arrows that never missed. Eric (Cavalier): The scaredy-cat, which wasn't very cavalier of him, but that's another matter. His shield projected a force field. Presto/Andrew (Wizard): The comedian. He could pull items out of his hat, but rarely, if ever, got what he wanted. Sheila (Thief): The 2nd in command. Her cloak made her invisible when she put on the hood. Diana (Acrobat): The token minority. Her 10" pole could extend to 10' on command. Bobby (Barbarian): Sheila's kid brother. His club caused a mini- earthquake when he struck the ground, and gave powerful blows to any enemies he hit with it. Uni (Unicorn): Token cute creature. How can you hate a show that features a baby unicorn with big, blue eyes and a plaintful bleat? Dungeon Master (DM): The DM, of course. Short, bald guy who talked in riddles and sent the party into the face of certain doom, from which they always managed to solve his riddles and survive, yet always fail to get home. Venger (Fiend): The bad guy. He had one horn, fangs, and rode a winged nightmare. He always had some scheme to take over the world, and it usually involved stealing the heroes' weapons first. Tiamat (Dragon): The really bad girl. What's really big, has five heads, a nasty temper, is mindlessly evil, and wants revenge on Venger for something that happened in the first episode? I don't know, but it's standing right behind you... RAAAAAAAAHHHHRRRRRR!!! E2: What *D&D-specific comic books have been published? A: There have been a number of comic series over the years which dealt with various TSR worlds, almost always published by DC in conjunction with TSR. Here is a list of known *D&D-related comic books: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (DC) #1-36, Annual #1 Avatar (DC) #1-3 Birthright: The Serpent's Eye (TSR freebie) Dragonlance (DC) #1-34 Dragonlance (TSR freebie) Dragonlance Saga (TSR) #1-3 Dragonlance Saga (DC) #4-5 Dragon Strike (Marvel) #1 Fineous Fingers collection (TSR) Forgotten Realms (DC) #1-25, Annual #1 Forgotten Realms: The Grand Tour (TSR freebie) Gammarauders (DC) #1-10 Labyrinth of Madness (TSR freebie) Planescape (TSR freebie) [finished, but never printed] SnarfQuest collection (TSR) Spelljammer (DC) #1-15 TSR Worlds (DC) Annual #1 What's New? collection #1-2 (Palliard Press) Yamara collection (Steve Jackson Games) E3: Whatever happened to SnarfQuest, What's New?, Wormy, and Yamara? A: For those who don't recognize those names, all four were very popular, long-running sequential art features in Dragon at one time or another, and references to and queries about these regularly crop up on the group. (Other regular features have been Fineous Fingers, Pinsom, Tal'n'Alan, The Twilight Empire (Robinson's War), Floyd, and Knights of the Dinner Table; these don't come up for discussion nearly as often as the main four). In alphabetical order: SnarfQuest, by Larry Elmore, began in issue #75 and ran for several years. The episodes were collected together into a single book in the late 80's (long since out of print, unfortunately), and a special one-shot episode appeared in Dragon #200. Larry currently works freelance, and his material graces the pages of many a TSR product. What's New? with Phil & Dixie, by Phil Foglio, first appeared shortly before issue #50 and ran until issue #84, when Phil decided that exactly three years was long enough and left to work on other projects. One of those projects was the comic book adaptation of Robert Asprin's _Another Fine Myth_; Phil, Dixie, and the dragon made a special guest appearance in issue #5. The entirety of the Dragon run of What's New, as well as two new episodes ("How They Met", and the long-threatened "Sex and D&D"), were published in two parts in 1991 and 1994 by Palliard Press; it is currently still available. New episodes of What's New? currently appear in the pages of the Duelist magazine, though they are now based on collectible card games rather than role-playing games. Wormy, by Dave Trampier, ran concurrently with What's New? and SnarfQuest. It ended suddenly in the middle of a story, and has been the center of no small amount of confusion and consternation. What is known for certain is that Dave solicited orders for a Wormy collection at one point (around Dragon #102), but for whatever reason, it fell through and was never published (everyone who ordered a copy got their money back). No one, and I mean no one, in either the gaming or art industries has seen or heard from him since; though it is known that he is still out there somewhere. Without his permission, there is zero chance for a Wormy collection to be printed within our lifetimes. As for the reason Wormy was dropped from Dragon in the first place, therein lies a mystery. The most likely story to surface so far (as told by an artist who was with TSR at the time) is that Trampier wanted more money and threw a major tantrum over the issue, at which point the editors returned the remainder of the episodes to him, unpublished. Since Trampier cannot be located, and the editors of Dragon at that time will not comment, this story cannot be verified. Yamara was the most recent strip of these four; it ended its several-year run in 1996. A Yamara collection (up through at least the episode from Dragon #202, and including descriptions of each of the characters) was released around 1994 and is currently available from Steve Jackson Games. Yamara is now available as a web strip, at . The creators of Yamara can be reached at [Y--ma--a] at [aol.com.] E4: Wasn't there a TSR module that was banned? A: No, there have been no "banned" modules; but there was one which was recalled & re-released in a different form, thus making the original a rare find. The story, according to Frank Mentzer (ex-TSR editor), is that back in 1980, a woman named Jean Wells wrote an adventure for TSR entitled "Palace of the Silver Princess." It was edited by Frank Mentzer, with art by Erol Otus. It was published in 1981 for D&D Basic characters as module B3, levels 1-3, and had an orange cover. Shortly after publication, TSR discovered many serious flaws in the dungeon layout and also had it pointed out to them that some of the included artwork was of very questionable taste, almost bordering on pornographic. So for the first (and possibly only) time in TSR's history, they recalled a product. Every copy of B3 TSR could locate was returned and destroyed. Then TSR heavily revised the module, fixing the errors and inserting new art. It was re-released shortly thereafter, only with a green cover this time. However, not every copy of the original version had been returned. The first time this was publically discovered was at the auction at the 1984 GENCON, where one came up for sale and went for $300. A couple of other copies have come up for sale since, but none have sold for quite that much. E5: 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. The books may look different, but any perceived major rules changes are probably the result of one of the numerous typos which crept in when TSR transferred the books from their previous hard-copy form onto disk for this printing. A complete list of the known typos is available; see the above question on errata for more details. E6: What was removed from Deities & Demigods? A: The first printing of Deities & Demigods included the mythoi of Cthulhu and Melnibone. The licenses to game representations of these two mythoi were not, however owned by TSR, but by Chaosium, who had given their permission for TSR to include them in the first printing--this latter point is proved by the thank-you TSR printed under the preface to the DDG: "Special thanks are given to Chaosium, Inc. for permission to use the material found in the Cthulhu Mythos and the Melnibonean Mythos." (This statement was not included on some of the earliest runs of the first printing.) For whatever reasons, TSR was later asked to remove them from the book; when the book went into its second printing, they were gone. Later, the book was republished under the name Legends & Lore, and the two mythoi were still gone. When Legends & Lore was updated to 2nd ed. AD&D, several more mythoi were removed, namely the Babylonian, Finnish, Nonhuman, and Sumerian mythoi; the Central American mythos was renamed the Aztec mythos. Contrary to rumor, the Newhon mythos was never removed, and, in fact, was included in the 2nd ed. L&L, probably due to the fact that it is TSR who owns the license to produce Lankhmar materials. The deities of the nonhumans were reintroduced in Monster Mythology. E7: Was Legends & Lore really originally a 1st ed. book? A: As a matter of fact, yes. As stated in the above question, Legends & Lore was a reprinting of Deities & Demigods, and was later recast into a 2nd ed. book. Here is the publishing history of *D&D mythological supplements. First, there was D&D. A supplement called Gods, Demigods, & Heroes came out. Then, there was AD&D. A book called Deities & Demigods came out; it included two mythoi it should not have, namely the Cthulhu and Melnibonean. When TSR was told to remove the offending mythoi, they reprinted Deities & Demigods with the two mythoi taken out. Later, TSR decided to repackage the book by giving it a new cover and renaming it Legends & Lore. Inside, it was identical to the second version of Deities & Demigods. Finally, there was 2nd ed. AD&D. This new version of the game needed its own book of mythoi, so TSR updated the info in Legends & Lore, removed a few mythoi, renamed another, and released it to the public, as detailed in the previous question. E8: What happened to my favorite TSR campaign world? A: One of a couple of things. Despite their popularity in some groups, sales of products for some worlds--for example, Mystara, Spelljammer, Greyhawk, and Dark Sun--end up dipping very low. People use the worlds, but simply not enough buy new products for those worlds to warrant TSR putting time and money into new products. Therefore, TSR sometimes decides to drop active promotion of worlds too few people seem to be interested in in order to spend more time, energy, and money on existing worlds for which customers are interested in buying new products, or for new worlds that may spark interest. Another possibility is the fact that some TSR campaign worlds are designed to be limited in scope--they are active for a certain number of years, after which point are longer actively supported. Al-Qadim was one of these; it was conceived to be a two-year project, but due to its popularity, TSR opted to extend the project an extra year. At this point, the only new material from TSR for any of these worlds appears in Dragon magazine, Dungeon magazine, and TSR's web page. TSR has the option of printing new material for these worlds as part of their Odyssey line (from whence came material such as Tale of the Comet), but has not done so to this point. They may also re-examine the potential of these campaign worlds after a few years on the shelf and bring them back in some form in the future. E9: Where did all the devils, demons, daemons, and the rest go? A: According to some sects, they have been banished to the last of the infinite layers of the Abyss by an indescribable force known only as Pae-Sae. Thus was removed one of the Six Signs of Evil in the world. However, according to MC8, as well as material for the Planescape campaign setting, they never left. What happened was that sages discovered that the names used for them by those small-minded people who know naught of the true nature of the planes of existence are not the names by which these creatures refer to themselves. Thus, what you once knew as "devils" are properly called "Baatezu"; "demons" are really "Tanar'ri"; and "daemons" are actually "Yugoloths". Several of the Outer Planes themselves also have had their true names recently discovered; the names of these planes have trickled down into common usage by residents of the Prime Material almost as quickly as the others have. E10: Who is this Cthulhu guy, anyway? A: Once and for all, Cthulhu is a fictional character. Anyone who tells you differently is pulling your leg. The Cthulhu mythos (including the infamous Necronomicon and Miskatonic University) was the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, originating in a group of science fiction/horror stories he wrote in the early twentieth century. Several of his friends, including August Derleth, decided to also write stories about the octopoid being whose visage drives men insane, and these tales, along with Lovecraft's own, form the basis of the "Cthulhu Mythos." Cthulhu himself is portrayed as a being from the stars who sleeps in his temple on an Atlantis-like sunken island and thinks of humans much the same way humans think of ants or rats. Cthulhu stories are still being written today by friends and fans of Lovecraft. For more information, see alt.horror.cthulhu. Religion F1: Is *D&D really the tool of the Devil? A: No. See GAMA's response to this, a seminar on which is summarized below. Another place for information on this subject is the Internet posters' response to role-playing & Satanism in the rec.games.frp.* FAQ. This is a slightly edited version of a very informative post by [s--s] at [oz.plymouth.edu] (Steffan O'Sullivan): A report on Mike Stackpole's "Satanism & Gaming" seminar at Northeast Wars, Burlington, VT, March 20, 1993. Mike Stackpole is the chair of GAMA's "Industry Watch" committee. (GAMA, for those who don't know, is the GAme Manufacturer's Association, which exists to promote the hobby.) Mike is also the author of many gaming books from many companies, including Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes and Battletech novels. As such (and, in fact, long before he was head of the Industry Watch Committee), Mike has been very interested in anti-gaming attitudes that exist in the media and what we, as gamers, can do about it. Much of his talk was background: he told of Pat Pulling and the formation of BADD (Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons), Dr. Radecke, Cruel Doubt, etc., etc. He then went on to describe how's fought this anti-gaming media blitz: research. Yes, the answer is largely plain, simple, non-glamorous research. Mike has researched every single case of so-called "gaming-related" suicides and murder. To this day he still carries on correspondence with two murderers in prison, whose cases BADD touted as having been gaming-influenced. He has written statements from both men that gaming had nothing to do with it: they were sick individuals long before they heard of roleplaying. Likewise, he has testimony concerning every single case the enemies of FRPs have ever touted - that he knows about, that is. He admits there are cases he knows nothing of - more on that in a bit. [snip a section about radio shows] Mike feels the battle is going well. GAMA has only taken an active role in combatting anti-gaming attitudes since 1989, but great strides have been made. Pat Pulling has been discredited, as have some of the other big names who were lambasting gaming. The media is still attracted to the flash of fantasy gaming and a link to crime, but law enforcement has become aware that such links are illusory. Mike says that GAMA has spoken to many gatherings of law enforcement people and come across as responsible businessmen who really don't want their customer base committing suicide, since it would hurt sales. (It's amazing how putting it that way can convince those in power! They understand such arguments.) GAMA has also told law enforcement that they don't want gaming being used as an insanity plea, and will give them facts to combat this defense in any case. This is how you win over your opponents: by joining them in ways they can understand. The talk ended with a "what can you do?" His suggestions, summarized, are as follows: 1) Don't try to "freak the mundanes." If someone says they've heard these games are evil, and can they come watch one, don't put on devil's horns and have fog flowing out of a bowl on a candle-lit table. Just be yourselves and have a good game. If you ever do have a chance to call in to a radio or even TV station that is discussing a case of gaming & crime, please be polite and intelligent. In other words, be a responsible gamer. 2) Tell your local game store to order, from GAMA, some pamphlets they have produced as educational tools. Most game store owners would be glad to have something they can show worried parents. For members of GAMA, these are free. For others, they cost $2/dozen to cover shipping and handling. GAMA address is below. 3) If you hear of any cases where people are claiming gaming is related to a murder, suicide or other crime, let GAMA know right away so they can investigate it. Use the address below, or Mike said you can call him direct - he's listed in the Scottsdale, AZ, phone book. You can also contact Loren Wiseman, vice-chair of the Industry Watch Committee. (Loren is at GDW.) 4) If you hear of an out-of-town "big name gaming expert" coming to condemn RPGs, contact GAMA as soon as possible! Mike says there is a small discretionary fund that will let him fly in to debate such people and discredit them. It's easy for him to discredit such folk because he's been researching these cases since 1985, and has all the facts on his portable computer. It would be harder for you, and you might end up losing a debate, which would not be good. GAMA's address is: GAMA P.O. Box 602 Swanton, OH 43558 or call the Executive Director's officce at (419) 826-4262 or FAX (419) 826-4242 between 9 am and 5 pm, Central Time. The pamphlet which you (or your game store owner) can buy for $2/dozen (free for GAMA members) is called "Questions & Answers About Role-Playing Games." F2: Yeah, but is *D&D really the tool of the Devil? A: Not for many people, no. The rest of this answer assumes the reader is Christian, so if that doesn't apply, the reader may wish to skip ahead to the next question. When one reads a fantasy novel, for example, C.S. Lewis' series _The Chronicles of Narnia_, one will probably come across many things which, in the real world, could be considered evil--or at the very least, non-Christian. Magic use, satyrs, dragons, talking animals, man-beasts, battle, killing, and miracles are all examples of such things which many Christians would look at askance if they showed up in the real world. However, the book is not the real world. Most people can sufficiently differentiate between the real world and a fantasy world to tell that Susan's *Horn of Summoning* isn't something one is going to stumble across when cleaning out your Uncle Pete's attic, and isn't something worth trying to construct. Fantasy role-playing is essentially a form of interactive fiction. The players and game master work together to tell a story, but do so from the characters' perspectives rather than from an omniscient third-person perspective. For those people who are strong in their faith, and can tell the difference between fiction and reality, there isn't a problem. During the game, they realize that none of it is any more real than the Tooth Fairy. When the game ends, they go on with their lives. If they choose, they can even use the game and the fictional characters therein to try to explore different elements of their faith, such as how to react to extreme bigotry and prejudice, what the best approach is to certain situations like warfare in a violent world, what can happen if one takes a single element of a religion too far, or even what can happen if one strays too far from one's faith. In this way, the game can be used as an aid to faith, helping to quantify it and build it up. The game can also be use to simulate The Good Fight, allowing one to pretend to directly defeat evil and restore hope in the players that it is also possible to defeat the more insidious and harder to nail down evils of the real world. Or it can be just a game, used as a way to get together with some good friends for an evening of fun and relaxation. However, for those people who are not strong in their faith, or who have problems differentiating between fiction and reality to the point where they start trying to live in the fantasy world, there very well could be a problem. For such people, shaking their faith or feeding their fantasies can be dangerous things. They could fall away from the church, decide they like a fantasy religion better, or completely retreat into their fantasy world. One should be very careful of these things when gaming with such people--I'm sure most gamers have met a couple people at one time or another for whom the game is a bit too real, or for whom game elements start to spill over into their real life, or for whom the game becomes the chief driving element in their lives; these are the kinds of people we're talking about here. In other words, the game itself is not inherently evil, not really a tool of the Devil--though, like anything and everything in this world, the Devil can use it as a tool to get into our hearts, just like books, movies, stray thoughts, money, possessions, and so forth. If one feels the game is interfering with one's faith, then one should stop playing the game. This is an individual choice, just as with anything else that starts to interfere with one's faith--significant other, pursuit of money, car, tv set, anything. This does not mean one should start a crusade against it, since it may not interfere with others' faith, only that one should work to keep it out of one's own life. However, for those who have a firm foundation in their faith and can tell where the fictional world ends and the real one begins, there isn't any more of a problem than with reading C.S. Lewis' Narnia books--which, by the way, use a fantasy world to tell the story of Christianity and show examples of many of its tenets. F3: Isn't Al-Qadim actually one of the holy names of Allah? A: No. Well, not really. Al-Qadim is an adjective meaning "the ancient" or "the old". In that context, might be occasionally used by Muslims to refer to Allah, but it is normally used as a regular adjective in everyday speech. A Christian equivalent would be claiming "eternal" is a holy name reserved for God; I don't think many people actually believe the word "eternal" is reserved solely for use of referencing God, and Al-Qadim is not reserved solely for use of referencing Allah. For what it's worth, Jeff Grubb and the creative team behind the Al-Qadim setting did their homework, checking English-Arabic dictionaries and asking professional linguists and Arabic speakers how the term was currently used in the Islamic world in order that they could avoid offending anyone. The above is what they came up with. More recently, Mr. Grubb asked about this matter on the newsgroup soc.culture.arabian; the responses he got confirmed the above, and one also added that it depends on part on the pronunciation: the pronunciation TSR used (short A sound, stress on the second syllable) means "the ancient", while a pronunciation with a long A sound and a stress on the first syllable means "the approaching" or "the next one". No mention of this term being used as a official alternative for "Allah" was given in any of the responses, and several mentioned that it is an everyday adjective. ***End Part 4*** Aardy R. DeVarque Feudalism: Serf & Turf rgfd FAQ: http://sac.uky.edu/~mlmorr0/faq/rgfdfaq.html Judges Guild Ratings: http://www.anet-chi.com/~aardy/rpg/