The History of the Handbook to Role-Playing

In 1996, Foxfire wanted to create the foundation for the best advice website on Role-Playing. He created a website on AOL’s Homepages, which formed the basis for the current Handbook. Through a mutual friend and a few pages dedicated to the world of Rhy’Din and some various other RPGs, he found a fellow gamer in myself, Afira.

In 1998, we pieced together the information we felt was the bare minimum of information we could pass along to inform and advise both advanced and novice role-players. We called out website, “Foxfire and Afira’s Handbook to Role-Playing” which was hosted on angelfire.com, and nothing has been the same since.

By the year 2000, Foxfire and I had moved on to bigger and better fish, and I took sole responsibility for the care and upkeep of the website. I changed the website look once in 1998, then several times in the following years, 2000, 2001, 2004 and again in 2007, until this current incarnation. Visit the Wayback Machine for some funny website captures of the old site.

As the years are passing, and despite my best attempts and good intentions, I have put the website on the back burner to facilitate my personal life and career. I don’t table-top game as much as I used to or as much as I would like, but I enjoy the digital gaming industry through the PC, XBox, Playstation and mobile apps.

In 2001, a little known website honored us with their gold standard for website design. Currently, GameScanner is on the largest information gathering sites on the web.

Awarded 2001 – Foxfire and Afira’s Handbook to Role-Playing

About Foxfire and Afira

Foxfire if the alter-ego of Ryan, my co-creator in the Handbook to Role-Playing. Foxfire was the original character used in RhyDin during the days of AOL online RPG chatrooms. His initial affiar with the RPG world left him changed forever – hooked and wanting more.

Initially the idea of creating a website dedicated to RPGs was started by his capable hands. Since jumping off the AOL webpage it started on, the Handbook has been a labor of love for both of us. He has since moved onward and left it to my inept hands.

 

Afira is my standard call sign in every game I play; it was first used during my days in the text-based RPG Dragonrealms. Although I tend to use the name as my personal moniker, I like to vary the other names I choose for character creation.

I have taken this site from the previous incarnations into the current set up, and will continue to offer it as an advice guide to role-playing on the web.