Foreword

When I first began playing the AD&D« game (more years ago than I care to remember), the system seemed to offer rules for every conceivable eventualityùindeed, the books contained more systems and procedures than any player or DM could possibly need.

It didnÆt take long to disabuse myself of that notion. As I recall, it was the first time the players asked me, the DM, if their characters could swim. How well? How fast, and for how long? And if their characters couldnÆt swim, could they float for awhile? And how many gold pieces could you carry before you sank like a stone?

Many of those questions have been subsequently answered in accessories and, most significantly, in the AD&D 2nd Edition game rules. However, for every situation defined by rules, and every new procedure introduced to the game, more questions were asked by creative (dare I say ædeviousÆ?) players, and more systems were improvised by every DM.

It would nice the say that the PlayerÆs OptionÖ: Skills & Powers system will put all that to restùbut weÆd all recognize that as an exaggeration, to say the least. Nor would that be a realistic objective. Part of adventure gaming is the discovery of the unknown and the unexpected, and weÆll always need a referee to oversee this.

However, I believe that this book adds a lot to the game, and I hope you will agree that it does so without increasing the gameÆs complexity. The word æoptionÆ is in the title for a very good reason: We have attempted to add to the number of choices available to players and DMs alike, without adding to the complications of resolving these choices.

I sincerely hope that youÆll decide that we have succeeded.

Doug Niles, April 25, 1995

All things in nature must evolve in order to keep pace with their surroundings. Organisms must adapt as their environment changes if they wish to thrive. This also is true in gaming. The AD&D game is one of the oldest role-playing rules systems around. And itÆs a great system; its longevity is proof enough of that. But in the time that the AD&D game has existed, gaming itself has evolved, and so has the game. The original AD&D game evolved from the D&D game in the late 1970s. Then, in the early æ80s, the Unearthed Arcana book, the first major evolution of the AD&D game, was published. More evolutions followed, culminating in 1989 with the publication of the AD&D 2nd Edition game rules. Now, the PlayerÆs Option books (and the DMÖ Option: High-level Handbook to be published later this year) represent the latest evolutions of the AD&D game.

The central concept behind the PlayerÆs Option books is player choice. We wanted to expand the AD&D game in ways that had never been explored before. We hoped to offer the players and DMs of the AD&D game more options (thereÆs that word again) than they ever had. We wanted to give those who play the AD&D game more choices, more control over their game and their characters than was previously considered possible. We hope weÆve succeeded, but in truth, that decision is not in our hands. You, the DMs and players of the game will have the final say in this matter.

We hope you use these rules in your games. We also hope youÆll give us your feedback on these rules and the AD&D games you play using them, thus insuring that the game will continue to evolve.

Me, IÆm just happy to have had an impact on the game that has influenced my life for so many years.

Dale Donovan, April 26, 1995

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