2300 AD

• Company: Game Designers' Workshop, Tantalus Inc (USA)
• Authors: Marc W. Miller, Frank Chadwick, Timothy B. Brown, Lester W. Smith
• First publication: 1986
• Genre: Hard Sci-Fi Theme: Mankind has reached the stars, colonized 29 planets, set up outposts on several more, and encountered at least seven other intelligent alien races. One of these, the Kafer, has decided to annihilate him.
  National politics are still as bad as ever, Earth is still balkanized and several wars have been fought between the different states, beginning with the Twilight War that stagnated technology for nearly 200 years. Has the space technology appeared, war has moved to the new Frontier: space...
• Complexity: High
• Design: Box
• Supplements: *** (sourcebooks, adventures, starship combat system)
• Notes: First edition is known as Traveller 2300.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

• Company: TSR (USA)
• Authors: Gary Gygax(1st ed), David Cook (2nd ed)
• First publication: 1978
• Number of editions: 2
• Genre: Heroic-fantasy
• Theme: Fantasy gaming at its best! Players and DMs can use the AD&D Core product line's rules, supplements, accessories, and adventures in any fantasy setting. With the information presented in the core rules, you can design your own fantasy world - complete with warring kingdoms, fantastic dragons, mighty heroes, and powerful wizards - or use the adventures and rules additions in other TSR worlds (e.g. Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Greyhawk, and so on). Prepare for hours of adventure with the AD&D Core rules!
• Complexity: Medium
• Design: Hardcover
• Supplements: **** (adventures, sourcebooks, novels, figures, screen, character sheets, computer games, comics)
• Homepage: http://www.tsrinc.com
• Notes: Origins Award for Best 1989 RPG

AFTERMATH

• Company: Fantasy Games Unlimited (USA)
• Authors: Paul Hume, Bob Charette
• First publication: 1977
• Genre: Post-apocalyptic
• Complexity: Very high
• Design: Box

ALBEDO

• Company: Thougts & Images, Chessex (USA)
• Authors: Steve Gallaci, Paul Kidd
• First publication: ???
• Genre: Sci-Fi
• Theme: Science-fiction rpg in which the characters are humanoid animals, inspired by the comics.
• Complexity: Medium
• Design: Softcover

ALIENS

• Company: Leading Edge Games (USA)
• Authors: Barry Nakazano, David McKenzie
• First publication: 1991
• Genre: Military sci-fi, based on the James Cameron's movie
• Design: Softcover

AMAZING ENGINE

• Company: TSR (USA)
• Authors: David Cook
• First publication: 1993
• Genre: Generic
• Complexity: Low
• Design: Softcover
• Supplements: ** (Sourcebooks)

AMBER

• Company: Phage Press (USA)
• Authors: Eric Wujcik
• First publication: 1994
• Genre: Epic godlike fantasy based on Zelazny's novels.
• Theme: Enter a universe where Pattern lets you "walk" to any world you can imagine, where Logrus tendrils can reach across infinite dimensions, and where Shape Shifting lets characters sprout wings!
  A mature, demanding, and time-consuming system that puts character developement above all else! Over 100 pages of tips on role-playing style and technique with dozens of crystal-clear examples!
• Complexity: Medium
• Design: Softcover

ARDUIN GRIMOIRE

• Company: Dragon Tree Press, Grimoire Games (USA)
• Authors: Dave Hargrave, Mark Schynert (2nd ed)
• First publication: 1980
• Genre: Classic heroic-fantasy
• Complexity: Medium
• Design: Softcover

ARIA

• Company: Last Unicorn Games (USA)
• Authors: Christian Scott Moore, Owen Matthew Seyler
• First publication: 1994
• Genre: Epic grand scale fantasy
• Theme: Throughout history, peoples and cultures have told stories of their gods, heroes and villains in order to better understand the world around them. These myths seize upon the basest hopes and fears of society; heroes embody a culture's highest ideals while villains manifest as ancient dreads personified. Aria focuses on the Journey of the Hero, the sacred quest or Monomyth­which represents in mythic language the seeking of cultures after their own identity. Aria Canticle of the Monomyth is a roleplaying game metasystem which attempts to embody this connection between hero and culture.
  Because of the unique levels on which Aria play can occur, the scope of the game is considerably broadened. Aria is designed to function on many levels, some of them quite extraordinary in relation to the assumed conventions of fantasy roleplaying. During the course of a single game, players can assume the roles of individual personas, persona lineages and even entire societies. World shaping on an epic scale is an integral part of the game - interaction is directed toward the development not only of personas, but also of entire cultures and worlds. Creating their own singular vision of the Monomyth, where heroes and villains clash in a world as well-developed and as rich in character as its mightiest inhabitants, Aria players engage in the pageant of Mythmaking, the evocation of numinous symbols summoned from the collective imaginations of the entire gaming group.
• Complexity: Very High
• Design: Softcover
• Supplements: * (sourcebook)
• Homepage: http://www.lastunicorngames.com

ARMAGEDDON

• Company: Myrmidon Press (USA)
• Authors: ???
• First publication: 1997
• Genre: Near future dark fantasy
• Theme: A game of war, myth and horror.
  The ultimate conflict has begun. An ancient force is reborn, and a war to determine the destiny of Humankind must be fought by forces Mundane and Celestial. Angels walk on Earth once again, and the Old Gods have returned.
  From the ravaged cities of war-torn Europe to the slums of future-day America, Human and Immortal alike must fight an old and deadly enemy.
  Armegedon is a complete roleplaying game, with rules to create Gifted, Mundane and Supernatural characters, an overview of a near-future world wracked by war and occult forces, and the Unisystem, a set of game rules that can use dice, cards or be completely story-driven to fit the needs of your gaming group.

ARS MAGICA

• Company: Lion Rampant, White Wolf, Wizards of the Coast, Atlas Games (USA)
• Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Mark Rein.Hagen
• First publication: 1988
• Genre: Medieval fantasy centered around magic
• Theme: Since its original release, Ars Magica has set the benchmark for magic in fantasy roleplaying. It pioneered the storytelling style of roleplay that has become so popular today. Its setting, Mythic Europe, sparked the imaginations of fantasy fans and history enthusiasts alike.
• Complexity: High
• Homepage: http://members.aol.com/atlasgames/

ASYLUM

• Company: Clockworks Inc (USA)
• Authors: ???
• First publication: 1997
• Genre: Post-apocalyptic
• Theme: In the world of Asylum the United States has been reduced to a collection of walled wards built from former cities after the sun has been hidden by airborne algaes. Everyone has gone mad, and life is a fight for survival in the violence-prone streets.
• Homepage: http://www.iloveusa.com/Clockworks

ATLANTIS: THE LOST WORLD

• Company: Bard Games (USA)
• Authors: Stephen Michael Secchi
• First publication: 1985
• Genre: Classic medieval fantasy
• Theme: Fantasy rpg set in the ancient age of Atlantis.
• Complexity: Medium
• Design: Softcover
• Supplements: None
• Notes: The second edition was released as a world supplement for any fantasy rpg system.