Difference between revisions of "Introduction"

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== Foreward ==
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'''Owner:''' Alexis Smolensk
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This is a wiki dedicated to the game, '''Dungeons & Dragons'''.  I began playing D&D just before starting grade X, at the age of 15, in 1979.  I fell in love with the game right off — and for me, the game has perpetually evolved.  For me, however, it has not evolved in the way it did for everyone else.  While the game company and the gaming community became enamoured with the opportunity to play out personal fantasies and pretend to be someone other than who they were, what mattered to me was '''the world''' itself.  I didn't want to be a different person.  I wanted to go to a different place, where I would be '''me''', pitted against the trials and tribulations of that strange new world.
 
  
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Through the 1980s, as the creators of D&D became personal heroes and the game became inundated with personalized rulesets for running any kind of imaginary character we might want to run, I withdrew to my own designs.  I didn't see the process of making a [[Player Characters|player character]] like "pimping your ride," the way others did.  I felt then, and believe now, that what matters is not what your character is, or who they are, '''but what they do'''. The starting character should be an empty shell; a neophyte, knowing nothing about the world, with the barest number of personal experiences ... who then heads out into the campaign to '''become someone'''.  What I see around me are players who want to roll dice and be someone important right off, without having to game.  I think it is silly.
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'''Blog:''' [https://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/ Tao of D&D]
  
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This wiki is dedicated to the ideal that a good game needs solid, well-defined rules: rules for comprehension, rules for interaction and even rules for teamwork.  The best gaming rules are those that clearly define the boundaries, and the amount of play that exists within those boundaries.  [[Combat]] rules should explain how fighting is resolved; how the weapons are used; and the cause and effect of every possible strategy.  The game is not found in circumventing these rules, but in deciding which rules are to be employed, in which order and at which time.  There are an infinite number of possible combinations in a group of players readying themselves for combat, and an infinite number of possible, unforeseen results.  Good, clearly defined rules that cannot be broken do not limit the game!  They force players to innovate, rather than wish problems away.  This wiki tries to create good rules for as many subjects as can be named.
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'''Email:''' alexiss1@telus.net
  
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==== About This Wiki ====
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'''Purpose:''' House rules for an original manifestation of Dungeons & Dragons
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I began to create a wiki to manage my extensive and complex house rules — which have, over time, superseded the original game rules as a massive rewrite of old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.  I have been rule-writing since I began to dungeon master the game, 40+ years ago.  It began with writing out precedents whenever I made a ruling about something the game books didn't cover.  I first assembled those precedents on 8x11 sheets of paper ... and when they became too numerous, I began to organize them by category into binders.  I began to actively look for rules in the books that I did not agree with so that I could rewrite them.  Today, I look to create rules about everything.  In the last decade, I've learned that the best way to organize these rules is to contain them within a wiki.  After several iterations, the Authentic D&D Wiki, what you see here, has come about.
 
  
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If you play D&D, whatever edition you might like to play, you will find only shadows of it here.  You will find that I've clung to many formats from original D&D; these never seemed broken to me, so I did not fix them.  Instead, I fixed everything else.  If your only experience with D&D is 5th edition, then I'm sorry; you're not going to find very much that's familiar in the wiki's content.
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'''Setting:''' Earth, Year 1650 — with considerable fantasy-based changes.
  
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To date, I have spent very little time explaining the basics of the game to anyone except for new players whom I run in my own campaign.  If you knew nothing whatsoever about D&D, I sould make you comfortable with the game in the space of one session.  I've introduced hundreds of people and it's easy — so long as we are face to face.  D&D is a hands-on, apprentice-oriented game, which is easily learned by watching other friendly, helpful companions play, and thus find yourself eager to jump in.  This is how I learned to play.  I did not learn by having someone thrust a rulebook at me and tell me to read it cover to cover.  That is something I did '''after I learned to play''', not before.  I am, therefore, hesitant to make any promises that this introduction, or any other part of this wiki, will teach the reader "how to play."
 
  
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Furthermore, I resist any notion that the purpose of this introduction, or this wiki, is to ensure than anyone has "fun."  Fun is something we make ourselves; a thing that we learn how to do, when we are inspired by our own thoughts and creativity.  Any and every activity that encourages imagination and problem-solving has the potential to be enormous fun for some people, and a dreary bore for others.  My goal is to inspire and encourage through the building of glistening, crystal palaces constructed of musing, reasoning and vision.  How much fun that readers and users have within the walls of these palaces is none of my affair.
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What follows is a list of the 200 most commonly linked files on the wiki.
  
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==== How to Use This Wiki ====
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<div style="column-count:5;-moz-column-count:5;-webkit-column-count:5">
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Whatever edition that dungeon masters use for their game worlds, there will always arise situations that haven't been seen before by the DM or by the players.  D&D is a game of innovation; and because it is, the creativity of millions of players will outstrip the paltry efforts of a few thousand game designers.  No source can ever hope to foresee or solve the problems of every DM playing in a given weekend, to say nothing of 40 years of play. Sadly, the realities of this dearth are made worse in that most designers do little more than redesign the same wheels over and over, bringing nothing that is essentially new to the game.
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* [[20-mile Hex Map]]
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* [[6-mile Hex Map]]
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This wiki cannot be comprehensive; each day, it will become a little more so, but this lowly host will pass away and turn to dust long before there is any hope that this wiki will help with every possible shortcoming in your game world.  Still, what is found here in these pages is sure to be '''very different''' from the descriptions and approach that are found elsewhere on the internet.  I know, because I've looked.  I'm most definitely in another category as regards to my approach to D&D.  And so, I can only offer this: that if you've looked elsewhere, and can't find what you want, your best chance to find out-of-the-box thinking is right here.  Use the search engine.  Best of luck.
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* [[Ability Checks]]
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* [[Ability Stats‏‎]]
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And if you find you like my way of thinking, keep reading.  My goal with ''this page'' is to eventually create an introduction that will enable the neophyte to find their way around the pages included here.
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* [[Acid (substance)‏‎]]
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* [[Action Points]]
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== Roles ==
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* [[Aging]]
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In the first years after Dungeons & Dragons came on the scene, the problem of how to explain what the game is and how it's played proved to be a conundrum.  At the time, it was a game unlike any other game — and though many tried hard to wrap the concept up in a neat and tidy package, it was clear that D&D in its grand complexity would defy a simple explanation.  Over time, efforts to describe the game reliably were replaced with efforts to ''sell'' the game to newcomers, regardless of accuracy.
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* [[Alchemy (sage study)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Alpine (range)]]
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* [[Amphibians & Reptiles (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Animal]]
 +
* [[Armour Class‏‎]]
 +
* [[Armour List]]
 +
* [[Assassin (class)]]
 +
* [[Assassin Sage Abilities]]
 +
* [[Assassination (sage ability)]]
 +
* [[Attacking in Combat]]
 +
* [[Backstabbing (sage study)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Bard (class)]]
 +
* [[Bard 1st Level Spells]]
 +
* [[Bard Sage Abilities]]
 +
* [[Barrens (range)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Beast‏‎]]
 +
* [[Bestiary‏‎]]
 +
* [[Birds (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Blindness (condition)]]
 +
* [[Bow (weapon)]]
 +
* [[Breath Weapon‏‎]]
 +
* [[Cantrip‏‎]]
 +
* [[Character Background Generator]]
 +
* [[Character Class‏‎]]
 +
* [[Charging]]
 +
* [[Charisma (ability stat)]]
 +
* [[Charm‏‎]]
 +
* [[Chthonic]]
 +
* [[City‏‎]]
 +
* [[Clan (group)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Claw (attack)]]
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* [[Cleric (class)]]
 +
* [[Cleric 1st Level Spells]]
 +
* [[Cleric 2nd Level Spells‏‎]]
 +
* [[Cleric 3rd Level Spells‏‎]]
 +
* [[Cleric 4th Level Spells]]
 +
* [[Cleric Sage Abilities‏‎]]
 +
* [[Clothing‏‎]]
 +
* [[Club (weapon)]]
 +
* [[Coin (monetary unit)]]
 +
* [[Combat‏‎]]
 +
* [[Combat Hex]]
 +
* [[Combat Round]]
 +
* [[Constitution (ability stat)]]
 +
* [[Cooking (sage ability)]]
 +
* [[Critical Hits & Fumbles]]
 +
* [[Crossbow (weapon)]]
 +
* [[Damage (hit points)]]
 +
* [[Darkness (spell)]]
 +
* [[Death‏‎]]
 +
* [[Demon]]
 +
* [[Desert (range)]]
 +
* [[Detect Magic (spell)]]
 +
* [[Devil]]
 +
* [[Dexterity (ability stat)]]
 +
* [[Disease‏‎]]
 +
* [[Dispel Magic (spell)]]
 +
* [[Dragon]]
 +
* [[Druid (class)]]
 +
* [[Druid 2nd Level Spells‏‎]]
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* [[Druid 3rd Level Spells]]
 +
* [[Druid Sage Abilities‏‎]]
 +
* [[Dwarf Race & Physiology]]
 +
* [[Dweomercraft (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Elf Race & Physiology]]
 +
* [[Encumbrance‏‎]]
 +
* [[Experience (X.P.)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Experience Level‏‎]]
 +
* [[Falling‏‎]]
 +
* [[Fangs (attack)‏‎]]
 +
* [[Fear (spell)]]
 +
* [[Fighter (class)]]
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* [[Fighter Sage Abilities]]
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* [[Follower‏‎]]
 +
* [[Food]]
 +
* [[Giant]]
 +
* [[Gnome Race & Physiology]]
 +
* [[Goblin]]
 +
* [[Grappling (hand-to-hand)]]
 +
* [[Halfling Race & Physiology]]
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* [[Hammer (symbol)]]
 +
* [[Haunting Sound Cantrips]]
 +
* [[Healing]]
 +
* [[Helpless Defenders‏‎]]
 +
* [[History (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Hit Dice‏‎]]
 +
* [[Hit Points]]
 +
* [[Hit Points per Die]]
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* [[Hobgoblin]]
 +
* [[Hold Person (spell)]]
 +
* [[Horse (domestic)‏‎]]
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* [[Horse Handling I (sage ability)]]
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* [[Horseback Riding (sage study)]]
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* [[Human Race & Physiology]]
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* [[Humanoid]]
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* [[Hunting (sage ability)]]
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* [[Illumination‏‎]]
 +
* [[Illusionist (class)]]
 +
* [[Illusionist 1st Level Spells‏‎]]
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* [[Illusionist 2nd Level Spells]]
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* [[Illusionist 3rd Level Spells‏‎]]
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* [[Illusionist Sage Abilities]]
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* [[Infravision]]
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* [[Initiative]]
 +
* [[Injury]]
 +
* [[Instruction (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Intelligence (ability stat)]]
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* [[Intertidal (range)]]
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* [[Invisibility (spell)]]
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* [[Jungle (range)]]
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* [[Knowledge Points]]
 +
* [[Light (spell)]]
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* [[Lion‏‎]]
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* [[List of Ranges‏‎]]
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* [[Logistics (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Mage (class)]]
 +
* [[Mage 1st Level Spells]]
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* [[Mage 2nd Level Spells]]
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* [[Mage Sage Abilities‏‎]]
 +
* [[Magic Item]]
 +
* [[Magic Resistance]]
 +
* [[Magic to Hit]]
 +
* [[Market]]
 +
* [[Medicine (sage study)]]
 +
* [[Melee‏‎]]
 +
* [[Missile Weapons]]
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* [[Monk (class)‏‎]]
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* [[Monk Sage Abilities‏‎]]
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* [[Morale]]
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* [[Movement (stride)]]
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* [[Multi-class Characters]]
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* [[Natural Abilities]]
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* [[Natural Immunities]]
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* [[Negative Hit Points]]
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* [[Overbearing‏‎]]
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* [[Paladin (class)‏‎]]
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* [[Paladin Sage Abilities]]
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* [[Paralysation]]
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* [[Penetrate Disguise (spell)]]
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* [[Player Characters]]
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* [[Poison (substance)]]
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* [[Primary Attributes]]
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* [[Prime Material (inner plane)‏‎]]
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* [[Protection from Malevolence (spell)]]
 +
* [[Puissance (sage study)‏‎]]
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* [[Pummelling‏‎]]
 +
* [[Raking‏‎]]
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* [[Ranger (class)]]
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* [[Ranger Sage Abilities]]
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* [[Rest (healing)]]
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* [[Roll to Hit]]
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* [[Rural (range)]]
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* [[Sage Ability]]
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* [[Sage Field]]
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* [[Sage Study]]
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* [[Savanna (range)]]
 +
* [[Saving Throws]]
 +
* [[Saving Throws for Items]]
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* [[Scouting (sage study)]]
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* [[Settlements]]
 +
* [[Sheet Maps]]
 +
* [[Shield (armour)]]
 +
* [[Sleep (spell)]]
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* [[Spear (weapon)]]
 +
* [[Spellcasting]]
 +
* [[Stealth (sage ability)]]
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* [[Steppe (range)]]
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* [[Strength (ability stat)]]
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* [[Stun Lock]]
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* [[Subterranean (range)‏‎]]
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* [[Suggestion (spell)]]
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* [[Surprise (combat)]]
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* [[Talon (attack)]]
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* [[Teleport (spell)]]
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* [[Temperature Grades]]
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* [[THAC0‏‎]]
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* [[The Adventure]]
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* [[Thief (class)]]
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* [[Thief Sage Abilities]]
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* [[Town‏‎]]
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* [[Travel]]
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* [[Type-7 Hex]]
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* [[Ultravision (spell)]]
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* [[Undead‏‎]]
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* [[Urban (range)]]
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* [[Useful Cantrips]]
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* [[Village]]
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* [[Weapon Proficiencies]]
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* [[Weapons List‏‎]]
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* [[Wetland (range)‏‎]]
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* [[Wisdom (ability stat)]]
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* [[Woodland (range)]]
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* [[Wounds]]
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</div>
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<br>

Latest revision as of 01:24, 10 May 2023

Owner: Alexis Smolensk

Blog: Tao of D&D

Email: alexiss1@telus.net

Purpose: House rules for an original manifestation of Dungeons & Dragons

Setting: Earth, Year 1650 — with considerable fantasy-based changes.


What follows is a list of the 200 most commonly linked files on the wiki.


Retrieved from "http://wiki.alexissmolensk.com/index.php?title=Introduction&oldid=22180"