A slightly abridged edition of this classic wargame text with artwork for the Red and Blue armies as individual Paperboys. Plus a working cannon which provides the firepower in the game. It seems that another element wants to join the action from a different Wells book, and that may provide some apocalyptic chaos.

Dread Trident examines the rise of imaginary worlds in tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons. With the combination of analog and digital mechanisms, from traditional books to the internet, new ways of engaging the fantastic have become increasingly realized in recent years, and this book seeks an understanding of this phenomenon within the discourses of trans- and posthumanism, as well as within a gameist mode. The book explores a number of case studies of foundational TRPGs. Dungeons and Dragons provides an illustration of pulp-driven fantasy, particularly in the way it harmonizes its many campaign settings into a functional multiverse. It also acts as a supreme example of depth within its archive of official and unofficial published material, stretching back four decades. Warhammer 40k and the Worlds of Darkness present an interesting dialogue between Gothic and science-fantasy elements. The Mythos of HP Lovecraft also features prominently in the book as an example of a realized world that spans the literary and gameist modes. Realized fantasy worlds are becoming ever more popular as a way of experiencing a touch of the magical within modern life. Reworking Northrop Frye's definition of irony, Dread Trident theorizes an ironic understanding of this process and in particular of its embodied forms.

From the Restoration of England's monarchy until the end of the War of the League of Augsburg, nearly every country in Europe experienced conflict. Until recently, this period was perceived as a wargaming backwater overshadowed by the Thirty Years War fought 1618-1648 and the War of the Spanish Succession which followed from 1701-1714. It is one of military history's most colourful and exciting eras which saw the birth of regular armies and navies for most major European powers. Massive battles were fought on land and at sea from the frozen winters of Scandinavia to the searing summer heat of North Africa. Alliances were agreed, broken and remade and thrones changed hands in the name of religion and the pursuit of power. This guide provides the kind of information wargamers require to take the step into a new period or, begin collecting a new army. It overviews the main conflicts and outlines major, minor and unusual battles. How to create and paint your troops, information on uniforms and flags, which regiments fought where, the evolution of tactics and battlefield doctrines together with information on the legendary commanders who created them is all included.##The book is designed to act as a reference source and is not aligned with any particular rule set. The title is a quote from a man who was a major influence on the entire period; Willem van Oranje, King William III.

This classic study still provides one of the most acute descriptions available of an often misunderstood subculture: that of fantasy role playing games like "Dungeons & Dragons." Gary Alan Fine immerses himself in several different gaming systems, offering insightful details on the nature of the games and the patterns of interaction among players--as well as their reasons for playing.

Many of today's most commercially successful videogames, from Call of Duty to Company of Heroes, are war-themed titles that play out in what are framed as authentic real-world settings inspired by recent news headlines or drawn from history. While such games are marketed as authentic representations of war, they often provide a selective form of realism that eschews problematic, yet salient aspects of war. In addition, changes in the way Western states wage and frame actual wars makes contemporary conflicts increasingly resemble videogames when perceived from the vantage point of Western audiences. This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from games studies, media and cultural studies, politics and international relations, and related fields to examine the complex relationships between military-themed videogames and real-world conflict, and to consider how videogames might deal with history, memory, and conflict in alternative ways. It asks: What is the role of videogames in the formation and negotiation of cultural memory of past wars? How do game narratives and designs position the gaming subject in relation to history, war and militarism? And how far do critical, anti-war/peace games offer an alternative or challenge to mainstream commercial titles?

Ready to go beyond the basics? Expand the limits of what's possible with the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide! This 272-page Pathfinder Second Edition rulebook contains exciting new rules options for player characters, adding even more depth of choice to your Pathfinder game! Inside you will find brand new ancestries, heritages, and four new classes: the shrewd investigator, the mysterious oracle, the daring swashbuckler, and the hex-slinging witch! The must-have Advanced Player's Guide also includes exciting new options for all your favorite Core Rulebook classes and tons of new backgrounds, general feats, spells, items, and 40 flexible archetypes to customize your play experience even further! This deluxe special edition is bound in faux leather with metallic deboss cover elements and a bound-in ribbon bookmark. The perfect way to commemorate Pathfinder's new edition! (Cover color and design subject to change.) The Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide includes: * Four new classes: the investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, and witch! * Five new ancestries and five heritages for any ancestry: celestial aasimars, curious catfolk, hagspawned changelings, vampiric dhampirs, fate-touched duskwalkers, scaled kobolds, fierce orcs, fiendish tieflings, industrious ratfolk, and feathered tengu! * 40 new archetypes including multiclass archetypes for the four new classes, Pathfinder favorites like the cavalier, dragon disciple, shadowdancer, and vigilante, and brand-new archetypes like the familiar master and the shield-bearing iron wall! * New class options for all twelve classes from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook including champions of evil, genie and shadow sorcerers, zen archer monks, rogue masterminds, spellcasting rangers, and more! * Even more exciting new rules, from rare and unique backgrounds to investigative skill feats, from spells and rituals like reincarnate and create demiplane to new items including special wands with unusual effects and exciting potions worthy of a witch's cauldron.

The Aesir are dead, and the Vanir, now uncontested in their divinity, come to claim what is left of the Nine Realms. The War Clans must oppose, or align with, these new foes.

Ragnarok: The Vanir features new Godsparks that War Clans may harness to combat the marauding Vanir, as well as new scenarios, monsters, and options to further develop players' campaigns.

An avid gamer and sharp media critic explains meritocracy's negative contribution to video game culture-and what can be done about it Video games have brought entertainment, education, and innovation to millions, but gaming also has its dark sides. From the deep-bred misogyny epitomized by GamerGate to the endemic malice of abusive player communities, gamer culture has had serious real-world repercussions, ranging from death threats to sexist industry practices and racist condemnations. In The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games, new media critic and longtime gamer Christopher A. Paul explains how video games' focus on meritocracy empowers this negative culture. Paul first shows why meritocracy is integral to video-game design, narratives, and values. Games typically valorize skill and technique, and common video-game practices (such as leveling) build meritocratic thinking into the most basic premises. Video games are often assumed to have an even playing field, but they facilitate skill transfer from game to game, allowing certain players a built-in advantage. The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games identifies deep-seated challenges in the culture of video games-but all is not lost. As Paul argues, similarly meritocratic institutions like professional sports and higher education have found powerful remedies to alleviate their own toxic cultures, including active recruiting and strategies that promote values such as contingency, luck, and serendipity. These can be brought to the gamer universe, Paul contends, ultimately fostering a more diverse, accepting, and self-reflective culture that is not only good for gamers but good for video games as well.

Role-playing games seemed to appear of nowhere in the early 1970s and have been a quiet but steady presence in American culture ever since. This new look at the hobby searches for the historical origins of role-playing games deep in the imaginative worlds of Western culture. It looks at the earliest fantasy stories from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, at the fans--both readers and writers--who wanted to bring them to life, at the Midwestern landscape and the middle-class households that were the hobby's birthplace, and at the struggle to find meaning and identity amidst cultural conflicts that drove many people into these communities of play. This book also addresses race, religion, gender, fandom, and the place these games have within American capitalism. All the paths of this journey are connected by the very quality that has made fantasy role-playing so powerful: it binds the limitless imagination into a "strict" framework of rules. Far from being an accidental offshoot of marginalized fan communities, role-playing games' ability to hold contradictions in dynamic, creative tension made them a necessary and central product of the twentieth century.

In these books, Peter Dennis sets the paper soldiers of the 19th century marching again across the wargames tables of the 21st. All the troop types of the wars are represented in full colour in a format designed to create stands of soldiers which can be used to re-fight these epic struggles for the control of Britain. Although the figures can be used with any of the commercial sets of wargame rules, an introduction to wargaming and a simple set of rules by veteran wargamer Andy Callan is included, along with buildings, trees and even early gunpowder weapons, fearsome Irish Kern and ruthless European mercenaries.

From a distance, the city shines so brilliantly that you never see the darkness until it is too late to walk away. Her streets are ancient, yet she bristles with the new. She charges the world for what she offers; but for what she offers, you'd sell her both your eyes. The city is Fioracitta, the Heart of Power. And she welcomes all visitors with open arms. This supplement for Mythras is designed to give the Games Master everything needed to craft adventures or a whole campaign in this setting. The book outlines the city of Fioracitta, the sprawling provincial capital of Lascany, a region in the peninsular nation Itarra, as well as the city's history, geography, culture, and much more. It contains full guidance for character creation, including several non-human species: the Ophidians, the Longane, the Monacielli, and others. Extensive sections on magic and religion adapt the Mythras core rules to the setting, and throughout are many intrigues, secrets, and agencies to help inform and create compelling adventures. Fioracitta draws its inspirations from the Italian city states of the late medieval period and the Renaissance, and creates a vibrant fantasy world that is both self contained, or can be used with many of other settings for Mythras, such as Luther Arkwright, Thennla, and even Classic Fantasy.

Welcome to Diceless Dungeons, an old-school role-playing game without the bones! You see, every old-school game has a diceless system inside of it, because these games emphasize decision making, exploration, and role-playing above all else. Herein, you'll find rules for creating brave adventurers (including the sorcerer's apprentice), exploring the dungeons (with a combat system that preserves a sense of danger without dice), and monsters and magic items to win and wield. All in a simple, narrative ruleset that feels like the imaginative play of childhood! The dungeons await your sword...

Do you want your critical hits to deal more than double damage? Want your arc rifle to have options beyond arcing to a new target? Think setting things on fire should be the beginning of what a flamethrower can do, rather than the only possibility? After you score a critical hit, draw a card and apply one of four different effects based on attack type.

These cards are designed to work with the Starfinder Roleplaying Game and can be used by players and GMs alike.

Even if your weapon already has critical hit effects, firing off that perfect shot has never been more fun!