Dungeon Master For Dummies

Bill Slavicsek began playing the DUNGEONS & DRAGONSroleplaying game with his friends during his formative teenageyears in New York City. This was in 1977, the same year thatStar Wars and Sword of Shannara debuted. This trilogyof epic fantasy combined with comic books and horror novels were toforever influence Bill's outlook on life and entertainment.In 1986, Bill's hobby became his career when he joined thestaff of West End Games. There, as an editor and game designer,Bill worked on a number of board games and roleplaying games,including Ghostbusters, Paranoia, Star Wars: The RoleplayingGame, and Torg: Roleplaying the Possibility Wars. Later,Bill went on to use his vast knowledge of the Star Warsfilms and associated extensions to write two editions of A Guideto the Star Wars Universe for Lucasfilm, Ltd., and published byDel Rey Books. In 1993, Bill joined the staff of TSR, Inc., then publishers of theDUNGEON & DRAGONS game lines, as a game designer and editor.His design credits for the company include the ALTERNITY ScienceFiction Game (which he co-designed with Richard Baker), thed20 Modern Roleplaying Game, the d20 Star WarsRoleplaying Game, the Star Wars Miniatures Game,Urban Arcana, Council of Wyrms, and the EBERRONCampaign Setting. Since 1997, Bill has been the Director of Roleplaying GamesResearch and Development for Wizards of the Coast, Inc., thecompany that now publishes all DUNGEONS & DRAGONS novels andgame products. He oversaw the creation of the d20 Roleplaying GameSystem and the newest edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.Bill leads a talented staff of game designers, developers, andeditors who produce award-winning game products for DUNGEONS &DRAGONS and other d20 System game lines, including roleplaying gamesupplements and accessories, adventures and campaign books, andprepainted plastic miniatures. Richard Baker is an award-winning game designer and abest-selling author. He's worked on the DUNGEONS &DRAGONS game lines since 1991. Rich traces his D&D experienceback to 1979, when he began playing the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS gameas a 7th-grader. He spent a significant amount of his high schooland college years playing D&D at every opportunity, and afterserving as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy,Rich decided to take a shot at working on the game he grew upplaying -- and so he joined the staff of TSR, Inc., and becamea game designer. Rich's list of D&D design creditsnumbers over 50 game products, including the Origins Award-winningBIRTHRIGHT Campaign Setting, the ALTERNITY ScienceFiction Roleplaying Game (which he co-designed with BillSlavicsek), and the newest edition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONSgame. He has also served as creative director for the ALTERNITY andFORGOTTEN REALMS game lines. As an author, Rich has published eightfantasy and science fiction novels, including City of Ravens,Forsaken House, and the New York Times bestsellerCondemnation. Rich is currently employed as a senior gamedesigner at Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and works every day on newproducts for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.