The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible

• 1. Introduction

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  The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible did not land on the shelves of hobby shops in 1996. Prima Publishing sent Sean Patrick Fannon's guide to chain bookstores instead, where it could reach people who had never rolled a polyhedral die. Written for complete outsiders, it carried a challenge few gaming books had tackled directly. It had to make the hobby legible, and defensible, to a skeptical general public. What Fannon packed into those pages, and how the gaming world's critics received his choices, would become clear within months of the book's appearance in stores.

• 2. Inside the Pages

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  Fannon began with a plain account of what role-playing games actually are. He then traced the genre's history from its earliest roots to the mid-1990s. A third section catalogued many of the role-playing products published up to that point. Each listing came paired with opinions from Fannon and from other critics. The full volume ran to 258 pages.

  Jeff Koke, writing in Pyramid issue 19, the May/June 1996 edition, praised the book's structure and casual tone as well-suited to newcomers. Koke singled out the practical chapters as especially useful for new players. Those covered how to organize a gaming group, how to schedule sessions, and where to find a game master or fellow players. The book also told readers where to buy gaming materials and where to find a place to play.

  Koke noted a chapter that tackled a controversy the hobby had faced for years. Fannon addressed how to dismiss the 'allegations of demon worship and black magic' that critics had long directed at role-playing games. For a book aimed squarely at readers who might hold those suspicions, Koke judged the inclusion sensible and right for its audience. His assessment appeared in Pyramid that same spring, and he was not the last critic to weigh in on Fannon's choices.

• 3. Dragon's Verdict

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  John Bunnell's review in Dragon issue 230, the June 1996 edition, ran to a detailed assessment. He called the book 'a wide-ranging and thoroughly cogent volume that provides more information and advice on gaming than any other single reference book published on the subject to date.' Bunnell valued Fannon's decision to write for non-gamers, and praised two specific features: the 'extensive glossary supplements' that accompanied the text, and the 'mini-essays' woven throughout. Fannon's voice also drew Bunnell's notice. He described the writing style as 'deliberately amusing and self-referential, with a good deal of the humor at his own expense.'

  Fannon's historical chapters drew Bunnell's one firm objection. Once the narrative moved past the birth of Dungeons and Dragons, Bunnell wrote, the account 'narrows too much; he concentrates on game companies and design trends while giving only sparse attention to evolution on the players' side of the cash register.' Even so, Bunnell's final word was generous. He concluded that 'as a general survey of the field, this volume can't be matched,' while leaving room for more focused books on specific aspects of gaming.

• 4. A Second Edition

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  Palladium Books published a revised edition in 1998, two years after the original appeared. The new version reorganized Fannon's existing content and added an updated history of the genre. The revised survey extended its coverage beyond the 1996 text's stopping point. Games Unplugged reviewed the revised edition in its very first issue, dated June/July 2000. That placed the book's third critical assessment four years after the original had appeared in print.