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Subject: rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ: 6/9 -- Resources 1: Internet
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                           REC.GAMES.FRP.DND FAQ
                                  Part 6

                           Resources 1: Internet
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Internet
 H1: What other newsgroups are out there for role-playing junkies like
     me?
 H2: Are there any FTP sites for *D&D?
 H3: What does .zip mean?  And why can't I read this file I just
     downloaded?
 H4: Are there any WWW pages for *D&D?
 H5: Where can I download electronic versions of the 3rd ed. Player's
     Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual for free?
 H6: Where can I upload this neat program I just wrote?
 H7: Is a complete index to Dragon Magazine available anywhere?
 H8: Is there a complete list of every *D&D product TSR has ever
     published?
 H9: Where can I find a complete list of every monster TSR has published
     for *D&D?
 H10: Is there really an "AD&D Guide to Sex?"
 H11: Where can I find the Net.*.Book?
 H12: Are there any *D&D-related mailing lists?
 H13: Are there any other *D&D-related resources on the Internet?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Internet
H1:  What other newsgroups are out there for role-playing junkies like me?

A:  There are several groups dedicated to role-playing games.  The vast
   majority are, naturally, found in the rec.games.frp.* hierarchy, but
   several others are in the alt groups.

   alt.dragons-inn             Role-playing via Usenet

   alt.fan.dragonlance         Fans of Dragonlance, unite!

   alt.games.adnd              Like rgfd, only different
   alt.games.adnd.forgotten-realms  Discussion about the Realms
   alt.games.frp.2000ad        Discussion of the 2000 AD game
   alt.games.frp.dnd-util      Posting & discussion of util's, etc.
   alt.games.frp.live-action   Discussion of live-action fantasy rpg's
   alt.games.frp.tekumel       Discussion of the Tekumel game

   comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure Discussion of IBM adventure games
   comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg       Discussion of IBM computer RPGs
   comp.sys.mac.games.adventure    Discussion of Mac computer RPGs

   rec.games.frp.advocacy      Which games or rules are the best/worst?
  *rec.games.frp.announce      Con announcements, gamers/games wanted
  *rec.games.frp.archives      Fiction, programs, house rules, etc.
   rec.games.frp.cyber         Discussion of rpg's involving cyberware
   rec.games.frp.dnd           Discussion of *D&D
   rec.games.frp.gurps         Discussion of GURPS
   rec.games.frp.industry      Industry issues, concerns, discussion
   rec.games.frp.live-action   Discussion of live-action fantasy rpg's
   rec.games.frp.marketplace   Buy/sell (usually used) gaming supplies
   rec.games.frp.misc          Discussion of all other RPG topics
  *rec.games.frp.moderated     Discussion of all other RPG topics
   rec.games.frp.storyteller   Discussion of White Wolf's games
   rec.games.frp.super-heroes  Discussion of super-hero games
   * Moderated newsgroups; all posts are automatically mailed to the
   moderator, who then decides which ones are of posting calibre and
   posts them.

     If you have something to say which doesn't really fit in rgfd, but
   seems to fit more in one of the others, please post it there.  This
   is especially true for auctions, sales, and items wanted posts, which
   belong in rec.games.frp.marketplace, and entire combat or magic
   systems, which belong in r.g.f.archives.
     There are many other newsgroups that may be of interest to someone
   looking for ways to spice up a fantasy role-playing game; far too
   many to list here.  However, some groups deserving of notable mention
   are:

   rec.games.pbm               Discussion of PBMs and PBEMs
  *rec.games.mud.announce      Advertisements for MUDs
   rec.games.mud.diku          Discussion of DikuMUDs
   rec.games.mud.misc          Discussion of MUDs in general
   rec.games.mud.tiny          Discussion of TinyMUDs, MUSHes, etc.
   rec.heraldry                Discussion of coats of arms
   rec.org.sca                 The Society for Creative Anachronism
   soc.genealogy.medieval      Genealogy of people living AD500-1600
   soc.history.medieval        Discussion of medieval history

H2:  Are there any FTP sites for *D&D?

A:  Back in 1994, FTP sites were one of the most widely-used ways of
   distributing files over the Internet, the primary mode of file
   transfer now takes place via web sites.
     Most FTP sites with *D&D-related content were shut down after being
   threatened with legal action by TSR.  The one official site, MPGN,
   was bought by an online game company who apparently removed the
   RPG directories sometine in 2001. Because of TSR's threats, only some
   of the files that used to be at MPGN were mirrored elsewhere; some of
   them may now be gone for good. There are still a few FTP sites left
   out there, most notably Funet (the Finnish University and Research
   Network), which can be accessed at:
   <ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/doc/games/roleplay/systems/>.

H3:  What does ".zip" mean?  And why can't I read these files I just
    downloaded?

A:  The .zip file extension means that the file has been compressed with
   some form of PKZip in order to save space in the archive and to keep
   up- and download times relatively short.  You will need to unpack the
   file in order to read it properly.  There are many compression systems
   besides PKZip, and this leads to the often bewildering maze of file
   extensions one must wade through on most ftp sites.
     Most ftp sites (including MPGN) have a directory dedicated to
   providing copies of the various packer/unpacker programs.  Many will
   also automatically unpack certain formats of downloaded files as you
   download them if you simply leave off the file extension when you
   request the file.  If your site does not already carry the program you
   need, either check for such a directory at the ftp site, or ask your
   local sysadmin for assistance.
     Some common file extensions:

   Extension      File type      Transfer as    Then... (By using...)
   .arc            Archive         binary          un-archive (ARC)
   .asc             Text           ascii           read normally
   .au          Unix Sound file    binary          player needed
   .bmp        Graphic (bitmap)    binary          viewer needed
   .doc    Word/WordPerfect file   binary          viewer needed
   .exe        Executable file     binary          execute
   .gif           Graphic          binary          viewer needed
   .gz     GNUzip compressed file  binary          un-compress (gzip)
   .hqx    Macintosh encoded file  binary          un-encode (BinHex)
   .jpg           Graphic          binary          viewer needed
   .lzh        LHarc archive       binary          un-archive (lharc)
   .mpg      Video graphic file    binary          player needed
   .pdf     Adobe/Acrobat file     binary          viewer needed
   .ps     Adobe PostScript file   binary          viewer needed
   .sit     Macintosh compressed   binary          un-compress (Stuffit)
   .tar       Unix tape archive    binary          un-archive (tar)
   .tar.z \    Compressed Unix
   .taz    >    tape archive       binary          un-compress (gzip)
   .tgz   /                                        then un-archive (tar)
   .tif           Graphic          binary          viewer needed
   .txt            Text            ascii           read normally
   .uue      Unix encoded file     ascii           un-encode (uudecode)
   .voc   Soundblaster sound file  binary          player needed
   .wav         Sound file         binary          player needed
   .z, .Z   Unix compressed file   binary          un-compress
                                                       (gzip/decompress)
   .zip        Compressed file     binary          un-compress
                                                       (pkzip/unzip)

     If you try to transfer a binary file as ASCII, all you end up with
   is garbage.
     If you try to transfer an ASCII file as binary, you can lose the
   line breaks, which means the entire file will transfer as one long
   line.
     Note that gzip, though it has the default file extension of .gz,
   additionally uses the extension .z; gzip will also handle any .Z
   files condensed with compress.

     To help clear up some of the confusion about using ftp, here is a
   section quoted from an FAQ posted on rgfd by (but, to my knowledge,
   not written by) Boudewijn Wayers.


   How to get files by ftp.
   -----------------------

   FAQ lists cross-posted to news.answers and rec.answers can be gotten
   from rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.209), under /pub/usenet/news.answers or
   under /pub/usenet/more.specific.group.name.

   "Anonymous ftp" is just a way for files to be stored where anyone can
   retrieve them over the Net. For example, to retrieve the latest
   version of the Moria FAQ, do the following:

     ftp rtfm.mit.edu      ==> connect to the site; a message follows
     anonymous             ==> type this when it asks for your name
     <your email address>  ==> type your address as the password
     cd /pub/usenet        ==> go to the directory you want to be
     cd rec.games.moria    ==> one level down (no slash)
     dir                   ==> look at what's there
     get r.g.m_F_A_Q       ==> get the file; case-sensitive
     quit                  ==> stop this mysterious thing

   If your ftp program complains that it doesn't know where the site you
   want to use is, type the numerical address instead of the sitename:

     ftp 18.70.0.209       ==> connect with numerical address

   If you don't have ftp access, send e-mail to [email protected]
   with the single word "help" in the body of the message.

   Getting binary files (executables, or any compressed files) is only
   slightly more difficult. You need to set binary mode inside ftp
   before you transfer the file.

     binary               ==> set binary transfer mode
     ascii                ==> set back to text transfer mode

   FAQs and spoiler lists are generally ASCII files; everything else is
   generally binary files.

   Generic help can be found in the FAQs of comp.binaries.<your_system>
   for how to transfer, extract, and virus-check binary files (at
   rtfm.mit.edu).

   If you can't FTP from your site, use one of the following ftp-by-mail
   servers:

     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]
     [email protected]

   For complete instructions, send a message reading "help" to the
   server.

   If you don't know exactly what you're looking for, or exactly where it
   is, there are programs and servers that can help you.  For more info,
   send e-mail to [email protected] with the body of the
   message reading

     send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources

H4:  Are there any WWW pages for *D&D?

A:  TSR has an official web page that is chiefly made up of AD&D material;
   they are working on expanding it further in many interesting ways.
   There are also a plethora of other, fan-maintained WWW sites related
   to *D&D or some specific facet thereof, as well as to role-playing
   games in general.
     Since listing every single *D&D-related web page would easily
   double the size of this entire FAQ, what follows is a sampling of
   the many, many web pages out there which deal in some way with *D&D
   or may be of significant interest to a *D&D player.

   http://www.wizards.com/dnd/main.asp?x=dnd/welcome,3
         WotC/TSR's Official Web Page
   http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=srd
         The d20 System Reference Document--the basic rules of the PH,
         DMG, MM, and the psionics handbook, all free and online.
   http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/
         The Open Gaming Foundation site, including the latest version of
         the Open Gaming License, the d20 System Reference Document, and
         the d20 trademark license.
   http://www.rpga.com/
         The RPGA's official web page
   http://www.d20reviews.com/
         d20 and D&D news & reviews
   http://www.d20reviews.com/Eric/whatis.htm
         EN World: The Black Pages, D&D info, explanations, errata, etc.
   http://www.kargatane.com/
         Secrets of the Kargatane, the official Ravenloft webpage
   http://www.planewalker.com/
         Planewalker, the official Planescape webpage
   http://www.mimir.net/
         The Mimir, a semi-official Planescape fan webpage
   http://www.athas.org/
         The Burnt World of Athas, the official Dark Sun webpage
   http://www.darkwoodforest.com/rpg/compendium/
         Compendium, the official Spelljammer webpage
   http://www.dnd.starflung.com/
         The official Mystara webpage
   http://www.birthright.net/
         The official Birthright webpage
   http://www.rpggateway.com/
         Effie's Concordance of the D&D books and magazines, Game Finder,
         Great Wyrm listing of D&D-related web pages, and more
   http://www.webrpg.com/
         WebRPG, with "gamers wanted" ads, artwork, chatrooms,
         fun surveys, game store, etc.
   http://sefton.tradepage.co.za/Realms/
         Webpage of the Forgotten Realms mailing list
   http://crpp0001.uqtr.uquebec.ca/www_wanderer/rpg.html
         Everything you wanted to know about *D&D and more
   http://www.irony.com
         On-line dice roller programs, a virtual village, and many
         random town/cave/etc. generators
   http://acm.org/~papay/dnd/tsr_prices_intro.html
         List of TSR products which have been auctioned in
         rec.games.frp.marketplace, with average prices compiled from
         data dating back up to three years
   http://www.acaeum.com/
         List of (almost) everything TSR published, along with
         descriptions and suggested prices
   http://www.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au/~knight
         Mystara web page, and more
   http://www.istari.org:44/
         The Great Net.Book Archive
   http://www.math.auth.gr/~bchr/
         Nostradamus' Vault of net.books
   http://attila.stevens-tech.edu/gamers/links.html
         Netbooks galore
   http://www.atfantasy.com/
         More netbooks
   http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Games/Role_Playing_Games/
         Yahoo's list of RPG-related web pages
   http://www.pbem.com/pbem-page.html
         PBEMs, PBEMs, and more PBEMs
   http://www.iuk.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/~peceny/home/spiele/rollenspiele.html
         Michi's gaming page
   http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/home.html.en
         Selected postings from rgfd, guides, house rules, helpful
         computer programs, and more
   http://www.stack.nl/~nushae/
         Nushae S. Fahey's AD&D page at Stack
   http://www.omnigroup.com/People/surge/rpg.html
         Mbs upon Mbs of AD&D and RPG files
   http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~woodelf/RPG/RPG.html
         Extensive list of RPG web pages, etc.
   http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/users/massi/ffp
         The Fellowship of the Flying Paladin
   http://www.execpc.com/~ozyr/fbs.html
         The Fellowship of the Black Spot
   http://www.lysator.liu.se/~johol/rpg/rpg.html
         RPG-related files, etc.
   http://members.xoom.com/ioreth/u_adnd.html
         Greyhawk information, and lots of links
   http://www.miniworld.com/adnd
         Several random character/item/etc. generators, the
         Dragon/Polyhedron index, and some Mystara information
   http://www.schlumpf.de/~schmidt/rpg/roleplaying.html
         Spells, kits, and other miscellaneous info
   http://www.mimgames.com/~legolas/
         Legolas' page of AD&D links
   http://www.usc.net/~bean/main.html
         Bean's page of modules for AD&D
   http://www.mag7.com/
         Mag Force 7; featuring homepages of Margaret Weis (of
         Dragonlance fame), Don Perrin, Jeff Grubb, and others
   http://www.rpg.net/
         RPGnet--reviews, campaign ads, links, files, art, etc.
   http://roleplaygames.miningco.com/msub43.htm?pid=2759&cob=home
         The Mining Company's page of AD&D links
   http://www.judgesguild.com/
         Judges Guild's official web page
   http://www.gygax.com/
         Gary Gygax's homepage

   Other URLs which contain *D&D information:

   http://www.dem.csiro.au/~matthewt/personal.html
   http://www-zeus.desy.de/~hungbhy/rpg.html
   http://www.acc.umu.se/~stradh/
   http://www.ed.ac.uk/~geas/
   http://www.geocities.com/Area51/1966/
   http://www.co.jyu.fi/~np/rpg/
   http://www.pathguy.com/lipo.htm
   http://www.netrpg.com/
   http://spitfire.ausys.se/johan/cave/default.stm
   http://members.aol.com/jimvassila/
   http://www.io.com/~tenzil/rpgs/adnd.html
   http://www.wirehub.nl/~quinon/add.htm
   http://www.bath.ac.uk/~su3blarp/
   http://www.inforamp.net/~gthoms/
   http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/jerrod/home.html
   http://users.interconnect.net/indy/
   http://www.perkworks.com/erda/
   http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=tcadndwr;list
   http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=adnd;list
   http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=planes;list
   http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=ircadnd;list
   http://kunst.uib.no/Dragonlands/
   http://www.pazsaz.com/dundrag.html
   http://home.att.net/~hwid/Wod/Wod.html
   http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/2937/
   http://lune.webjump.com/
   http://roleplaygames.miningco.com/mbody.htm?COB=home&PID=2759
   http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/7633/RPG/
   http://www.webcom.com/~apcrypha/
   http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/pbm.html

   Other URLs of possible interest for shoppers:

   http://www.dragontrove.com/
     The Dragon's Trove on-line gaming store, which has a large selection
     of new and used RPG material for sale.
   http://www.titan-games.com/
     Titan Games, selling new and used RPG material.
   http://www.sagesguild.com/
     Sage's Guild, selling new and used RPG material.
   http://www.egameguild.com/
     The Game Guild store in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, selling new
     and used RPG material.
   http://www.hitpointe.com/
     The Hit Pointe, selling used and out-of-print D&D and AD&D material.
   http://amazon.com/
     Amazon.com, one of--if not the--largest on-line bookstore.
   http://futfan.com/
     An on-line bookstore, specializing in SF, Fantasy, Mystery, &
     Horror.  You can browse their catalog and place orders through their
     page.
   http://www.ebay.com/
     An on-line auction house, where it is common to find many D&D
products.

H5:  Where can I download electronic versions of the 3rd ed. Player's
   Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual for free?

A:  Wizards of the Coast has made a slightly stripped-down version of the
   3rd ed. D&D rulebooks freely available to the public as part of the
   Open Gaming project, at <http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd.html>.
   It doesn't contain every single word of the printed books, but it's
   close enough for most uses.

H6:  Where can I upload this neat program I just wrote?

A:  If the program adheres to TSR's online policy (see Section 3), then it
   can be uploaded to your favorite ftp site, whatever that may be.  Once
   you upload the file, please post a note to rec.games.frp.dnd explaining
   what the program does, and at what site people may find it.
     An alternative to ftp is making the program available via a WWW
   page.  To do this, you must either have a personal page, or convince
   one of the existing *D&D WWW page keepers to include your program in
   their page.  This latter course of action is not as difficult as it
   sounds, as people tend to be looking for new things to add.  Once it
   gets added to a page, post a note to rec.games.frp.dnd listing what
   the program does and the URL of the page on which it may be found.
     If this doesn't seem like your cup of tea, you can try posting it to
   Usenet.  If you decide to take this course of action, the correct
   group to post it to is alt.games.frp.dnd-util.  Posting such programs
   to rec.games.frp.dnd is strongly discouraged.  If you do not get
   alt.games.frp.dnd-util, ask your Usenet sysop to add it.  If you do
   not get this newsgroup, and your sysop refuses to add it, then and
   only then should you try posting it to rec.games.frp.archives, which
   is a moderated newsgroup, so all postings are mailed to the moderator,
   who then decides if each message is worthy to be posted, so there is a
   chance that he will decide not to post your program.  Once it gets
   posted, then post a note in rec.games.frp.dnd explaining what the
   program is supposed to do and in which newsgroup people may find it.
     The final course of action you can take is not to upload it at all,
   but rather to post a note to rec.games.frp.dnd that anyone interested
   in trying your program can send you e-mail and you can e-mail the
   program to the interested parties.

     No matter which of the above methods you use, there are certain
   protocols which should be followed.  When done, your methods should be
   explained in a companion text file (if uploading to an ftp site or
   placing on a web page) and in any advertisements you post to Usenet.

     1) Compress the program, both to save room on the ftp site/Web page/
     Newsgroup/etc., and to cut down on download times.  This is
     especially necessary if you post a program to Usenet.

     2) If you post programs to Usenet, don't forget to convert the file
     to ASCII before you post it (uuencode [preferred by most], BinHex,
     MIME, etc.); otherwise, it will be unusable by most, if not all
     systems.

     3) State the compression system used (pkzip, compress, lharc, tar,
     gzip, StuffIt, etc.) and the ASCII conversion program, if used;
     don't rely on people's ability to decipher file extension(s).

     4) State the computer & system requirements (i.e. DOS, Windows,
     Macintosh System 7, ANSI-C source, etc.).

H7:  Is a complete index to Dragon Magazine available anywhere?

A:  An index of Dragon Magazine from #2-#236 and Polyhedron #45 through
   the end of its original run, compiled by Vince Gray
   <[email protected]>, is available in an xref ASCII (KWIC) file via MPGN.
   It is updated annually, around the first of the year.  An online lookup
   form--not yet updated with the most recent KWIC files--created by
   Scooby (Joseph DuBois) <[email protected]>, is located on the World
   Wide Web at <http://www.miniworld.com/adnd/magIndex.html>.
     TSR has also released the entirety of Dragon #1-250 on CD-ROM, in
   PDF format.  The search feature of that product, while it isn't exactly
   a true "index," is probably close enough to it for most users.

H8: Is there a complete list of every *D&D product TSR has ever published?

A:  Yes, there is.  Originally compiled by Anthony Brooks (ne Goth)
   <[email protected]> it is now being kept up and updated by Gavin
   Bartell <[email protected]>.  The current version is available
   at <http://www.rpggateway.com/tsrlist/docfiles.html>. The original
   version is available at <ftp://ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/ADND/TSRGuides/>.
   It includes listings for every known release of every TSR *D&D product,
   from rulebooks to modules to box sets to mage stones, and everything--
   and I mean everything--in between, along with short descriptions of
   each.  If, in looking through it, you discover that a certain item is
   not listed, feel free to drop a line to Gavin about it.
     Other, independent, attempts at listings and/or reviews of every *D&D
   product can also be found at <http://www.acaeum.com/>, and
   <http://members.tripod.com/~phammer/dndlist0.html>.

H9: Where can I find a complete list of every monster TSR has published
   for *D&D?

A:  A list, which was up to date as of the beginning of 1996 and
   included only 2nd ed. creatures, was maintained by Anthony Brooks (ne
   Goth) <[email protected]>, when he found time to update it
   (5165 entries and rising at the last count). One version of this
   list was at MPGN, at <ftp://ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/ADND/Monsters/
   Monster.List.zip>.  It is not known whether any copies of this file
   are still publicly available.

H10:  Is there really an "AD&D Guide to Sex?"  What other Guides are there?

A:  Yes there was, though it was not a TSR product (as one would infer
   from that name).  Chiefly compiled by Reid Bluebaugh from
   submissions by many people on the Internet (collectively known as
   "The Guide Creator"), it has been revised to remove trademarks &
   copyrighted material belonging to TSR, as well as make it more
   applicable to more games than just AD&D; its proper name is now "The
   Complete RPG Guide to Unlawful Carnal Knowledge."  At this time, no
   FTP site is publically known to contain any of the Complete Guides.
     Revised versions of these files, in which all of TSR's trademarks
   and any quotes from TSR's books have been removed, are slowly
   making their way onto the net, via rec.games.frp.archives and a web
   page, as the compiler finishes them.  As none of them are really
   AD&D-specific now, they are all called "The Complete RPG Guide
   to..." or "The Fantasy Guide to..."  Direct any questions about, as
   well as any requests for copies of the Guides to Reid Bluebaugh
   <[email protected]>.
     On a side note, if you happen to find a copy of a '92 version of
   the Guide to Sex--or a copy of any of the guides which is dated
   before 1996--pass it by.  There are much better, much more complete
   (some 200+ pages longer in a couple instances), and much more recent
   versions available.

     A partial list of Complete Guides is as follows; more are created
   as "the Guide Creator" thinks them up:

     Complete RPG Guide to Alcohol
        "      "    "   "  Hygiene
        "      "    "   "  Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (previously "Sex")
        "   Fantasy "   "  Star Trek
        "      "    "   "  Technology
        "      "    "   "  Sanity
        "   Highlander Guide
      Appendix 1: Complete RPG Guide to Drugs
         "     2:    "      "    "   "  Dice Games
         "     3:    "      "    "   "  Blue Ball Bowling
         "     4:    "      "    "   "  Comedy
         "     5:    "      "    "   "  Gruel

H11:  Where can I find the Net.*.Book?

A:  This type of file is not usually posted to rec.games.frp.dnd, and only
   occasionally sees light on rec.games.frp.archives. Rather, these files
   tend to be found on various ftp sites and WWW pages.  There are many,
   many more netbooks out there than can ever possibly be listed here,
   so what follows is merely a sampler of the kinds of files you may find.
     Some examples of Net.Books are:

   Great Net.Book of Net.Books for use with AD&D
   Compiled by Joel Hahn <aardy @ rcn.com>
     Available via www to:
     http://users.rcn.com/aardy/rpg/nb-index.html

   Net.Plot.Book  (Contains generic fantasy plot hooks)
   Originally compiled by Aaron Sher
   Afterwords compiled by <[email protected]>
   Currently compiled by Alex Forst <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.cs.pdx.edu\pub\frp\general\
       net.plot.book.4.gz  (gzipped; future releases will be here)
       Releases 1-3 are archived here as well.
     And via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/Handbooks/
       Most recent releases found here first

   Great.Net.Spellbook  (Every homemade wizard spell the compiler found)
   Great.Net.Prayerbook  (Ditto for priest spells)
   Orig. compiled by Boudewijn Wayers <[email protected]>
   Currently compiled by Ezra Van Everbroeck
       <[email protected]>
     For ftp info write to: Ezra Van Everbroeck
       <[email protected]>
     Both available via www to:
     http://www.istari.org:44

   Ultimate Spell Database (2800+ TSR spells' names & bare essentials)
   Compiled by Mark Middleton <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.funet.fi\pub\doc\games\roleplay\systems\adnd\spells\
       *.tab (tab-delimited text-only version)
       *.fm (FilemakerPro version)
       *.sea.hqx (Macintosh version)
       *.zip (Windows version)

   Net.Psionics.Handbook
   Net.Psionics.Handbook II
   Compiled by Charon <[email protected]> [and possibly
     also <[email protected]>]
     Version 1 available via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/Handbooks/
     Version 2 available via www to:
     http://www.istari.org/~olik/NetBooks_Guides.html
       (Net.Psi II is available in Adobe .pdf format and Word 6.0 format)

   Tome of Vast Knowledge  (database & generator of just about anything)
   Compiled by Douglas Webb <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/AD&D/Programs/Tome_of_Vast_Knowledge/
       vast112.zip  (later releases may be available)

   Database Builder for the ToVK
   Compiled by Douglas Webb <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/AD&D/Programs/Tome_of_Vast_Knowledge/
       vbilt106.zip  (later releases may be available)

   Net.Riddles.Book
   Compiled by Mark Manning
     Available via www to:
     http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/byzantium/55/dmbooks.htm

   Net.Traps.Book(s) (three different collections)
   Compiled by (book #1) David A. Lamb <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp://ftp.trawna.com/pub/rpg/net.books/traps/
   Compiled by (book #2) Michael Sloves <[email protected]>
     Available via www to:
     http://web.mit.edu/elau/www/adnd/tomes/Net%20Traps%20Book.html
   Compiled by (book #3) James C. Phillips <[email protected]>
     Available ??
   Compiled by (book #4) Jason Seeley <[email protected]>
     Available via www to:
     http://www2.aros.net/~jseeley

   101 Spells Not Worth Memorizing  (and we mean it!)
     Available via www to:
     http://users.rcn.com/aardy/rpg/101spells.html

   101 Bard Songs  (popular songs which typify certain classes/races)
     Available via www to:
     http://www.math.auth.gr/~bchr/humor/101_bards.txt

   101 Things You Don't Want to Hear Your Apprentice Say (Ummm, Master?)
     Available via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/rec.games.frp.dnd/101donts

   101 Familiars You Would Have Been Better Off Without (Here, kitty...)
     Available via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/rec.games.frp.dnd/101familiars

   101 Uses for the DM's Screen
     Available via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/rec.games.frp.dnd/
       101-Uses-DM-Screen

   Dark.Sun.Net.Handbook
   Forgotten Realms Notebook
   Great.Net.Book.of.Classes.and.Kits
   Net.Wizards.Handbook
   Net.Libram of Wild Magic
   Net.Monstrous.Manual
   Net.Book.of.Names
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/AD&D/

   Famous Last Words
     Available via www to:
     http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~rossi/flws.txt

   Net.Munchkin.Handbook
     Available via www to:
     http://www.omnigroup.com/People/surge/gaming/

   Net.Book.of.Poisons
     Available via www to:
     http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/alex/Handbooks/

   Net.Bard.Songs.Book  (Goofy lyrics for songs only bards would sing)
   Compiled by: Jeff Gostin <[email protected]>
     Volumes 1 & 2 available via ftp to:
       ftp://ftp.trawna.com/pub/rpg/net.books/bardsong/
     Volume 1 available via www to:
       http://www.istari.org/~olik/NetBooks_Guides.html

   Net.Monstrous.Compendium
   Compiled by: Robert Chrisitian <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.mpgn.com/Gaming/AD&D/Archives/NetBooks/
       Net_Monstrous_Compendium.Z  (LaTeX only)

   Net.Forgotten.Realms.Book (Tome of the Forgotten Realms)
   Compiled by: Chris <[email protected]>
     Archived ??

   Net.Abyssal.Layers.Book
   Compiled by Tyrus Hellbane <[email protected]>
     Available via ftp to:
     ftp.eskimo.com/u/b/berg/Netbooks/
       abyss.zip

   Tome of the Damned  (A book of all things evil and/or undead)
   Compiled by Brennan Brooks <[email protected]>
     Version 1.666 and version 2.0 available via www to:
       http://www.internations.net/us/damned/damnbook.htm

   Net.Fiction.Story  (Latest version of the Net.Fiction Story)
   Compiled by: <[email protected]>
     Available via www (or ftp) to:
     http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/doc/games/roleplay/stories/net.fiction.story

   There are many more Net.Books out there; MPGN has several, and
   several Web pages have many more.  Check out MPGN and the Web sites
   listed in the answer to Question H4 before posting a request to
   rgfd.
     There is also a list which occasionally circulates around the ADND-L
   mailing list, and is infrequently posted to rgfm & rgfd, of current
   Net.Book projects, with short descriptions and contact addresses.

H12: Are there any *D&D-related mailing lists?

A:  There are several *D&D-related mailing lists.  A mailing list is
   similar to Usenet, with the main difference being that all messages
   are mailed directly to your account, instead of being stored on a
   remote News server.  Some of these mailing lists can get quite high in
   volume at times, so you might want to think twice about subscribing to
   something that will quickly swamp your mailbox.
     One of the more popular *D&D-related mailing lists is ADND-L, which
   is very similar to rec.games.frp.dnd in direction and topics of
   discussion.  A major difference between ADND-L and rgfd is that
   contributors are limited by common practice to two posts per day on
   ADND-L, both in order to cut down on the amount of mail received and
   to keep enough space on the listserver archives to maintain a six
   month backup.  Anyone can look up and retrieve recent articles.  To
   this end, many of those people who have a proclivity towards longer
   posts put a table of contents at the top of each message.

   Mailing Lists
   Listservs
   [email protected]    Al-Qadim
   [email protected]          *D&D discussion (digest possible)
   [email protected]         Alt. address for ADND-L (no digest)
   [email protected]  Birthright
   [email protected]  Core Rules CD-ROM
   [email protected]    Dark Sun
   [email protected]         More *D&D discussion (digest possible)
   [email protected] Dragonlance
   [email protected]    Greyhawk
   [email protected]          More Greyhawk discussion
   [email protected]     Mystara
   [email protected]  Planescape
   [email protected]    Al-Qadim
   [email protected]   Ravenloft
   [email protected]      Forgotten Realms
   [email protected]    RPGA News (read only)
   [email protected] Spelljammer
   [email protected]       The Art Of Game Mastering
   [email protected] TSR Announcements (read only)

   Majordomos
   [email protected]   Birthright
   [email protected]     Dark Sun
   [email protected]  Dragonlance
   [email protected]   Planescape
   [email protected]    Ravenloft
   [email protected]       Forgotten Realms
   [email protected]  Spelljammer

   Other
   [email protected]              Roleplayers' discussion
   (Send an empty e-mail to [email protected] to subscribe.)

   Subscribing to a Mailing List
   Listservers:  If you are interested in joining a listserv list, send a
   message to LISTSERV@<listserv domain name> with "SUBSCRIBE <list name>
   <name/pseudonym>" in the body (without the quotes).  For example, to
   subscribe to the ADND-L mailing list, you would send mail to
     [email protected]
   with the message
     SUBSCRIBE adnd-l Aardy R. DeVarque
   You will get a message in confirmation of your subscription, which
   also details some of the ways to use the listserv.  When the time
   comes for you to send your first message out to the readers of the
   list, send it to the address listed above for the listserv, which, in
   the case of ADND-L, would be
     [email protected]
   To unsubscribe, send a message to LISTSERV@<address> with the message
     UNSUBSCRIBE adnd-l
   It does no good to send unsubscribe messages to the main list, you
   will just get laughed at.  You have to send them to the listserver
   itself.

   Majordomos:  Subscribing to a majordomo list is similar to the method
   for subscribing to listservs, except you sometimes include your e-mail
   address instead of a personal name.  For example, to subscribe to a
   majordomo mailing list, you would normally send mail to
     majordomo@<domain>
   with the message
     SUBSCRIBE <listname> [email protected]
   However, when subscribing to the mailing lists at MPGN, the
   server automatically finds your address from the mail headers.
   Therefore, you only need send mail to
     [email protected]
   with the message
     SUBSCRIBE <listname>
   Once again, you will receive a confirmation message with more details.
   For majordomos, as with listservs, do not send unsubscribe messages
   to the main list; send them to the majordomo, as you did to subscribe.

     Digest means that the list's messages are collated into a large
   message and then mailed to you, usually on a daily basis.  This is
   useful to prevent your mailbox from being swamped with 200 messages
   per day, but does not save you anything in terms of disk space.
   People who only check their mail once a day or so and people who have
   to pay per message received usually prefer this method.  Information
   on how to get the digest form of a list, if one is available, is
   usually included in the introductory material sent to you when you
   subscribe to the list.  Listservs usually require you to send a
   special command message to the listserver, while majordomos
   usually require you to subscribe to a slightly different list name to
   begin with.  The lists at MPGN all have digests available,
   by subscribing to <group>[email protected] instead of
   <group>@lists.mpgn.com.
     There are numerous other mailing lists which are dedicated to other
   RPGs, or which are more general; a complete list is regularly (if
   infrequently) posted by Alistair G. Lowe-Norris <[email protected]> on
   most, if not all of the rec.games.frp.* newsgroups and gaming mailing
   lists.

H13:  Are there any other *D&D-related resources on the Internet?

A:  There are quite a few other resources on the 'net; including the
   rec.games.frp.* FAQ, IRC channels and chat rooms, and Internet
   provider-specific resources.
     If you are looking for more generalized information, or just
   information which is not *D&D-specific, a good place to check is the
   rec.games.frp.* FAQ, archived at both MPGN (in the /Gaming/ADND/FAQ/
   directory) and rtfm.mit.edu (under the /pub/usenet/ directory).
     Those interested in web-based chat don't have far to search, as there
   are *D&D chat pages all over the web; the foremost of these is on
   TSR's web page.  TSR's chat area generally requires that you download
   and install special client software from http://www.ichat.com in order
   to properly access the chats.  TSR has set up various chat areas,
   including two set aside specifically for on-line role-playing.
     Additionally, the TSR message boards are open to anyone with a
   configurable newsreader.  Simply change the news server to
   "cipher.wizards.com" and look into the list of quasi-newsgroups that
   are available on that server.  Read and post just as you would to
   Usenet newsgroups.
     The only other resource commonly available on the Internet which has
   not already been discussed is IRC, namely the chat areas #AD&D and
   #RPGA.  There, you can have real-time conversations with other gaming
   enthusiasts about life, the universe, and role-playing.  There are
   also several campaigns being run on IRC which are advertised on #AD&D;
   if you're interested, look there first.  Simply /join #ad&d, then
   /msg noppa games to see a list of IRC campaigns.  There is also a chat
   line called #rpg_inn, which is dedicated to running real-time
   free-form gaming.  The #AD&D channel's homepage can be found at
   http://www.wwnet.net/~fyndalf/irc/intro.html; it has much of the
   information one might need to get into IRC and find the #AD&D folk.
     GEnie, Compuserve, and Delphi also have large discussion areas
   dedicated to AD&D.  Check around in the Games Special Interest Groups
   and you'll find them.  Unfortunately, if you do not have an account
   with one of these companies, you're out of luck; there is no way to
   get there from the rest of the 'net.

***End Part 6***


--
Aardy R. DeVarque
Feudalism: Serf & Turf
Rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ: http://users.rcn.com/aardy/faq/rgfdfaq.html