an I start by thanking all of you who have decided to take the time to read this? I've never written a foreward before, so I guess I can get right down to the point without any flowery rhetoric.

         I created Rym as an RPG concept a few years ago. I wanted to build my own campaign, not just a plot but a whole world, one in which the PC group would play the most important part of all. I also wanted to include a large number of my own campaign ideas, which I didn't feel I could cram into a pre-existing boxed set. Rym is an epic, a story with a number of possible endings, designed to revolve primarily around the actions of a unique group of characters...those who could tip the balance. This could be your own group of characters; I've included no powerful NPC heroes to overshadow anyone who undertakes Rym's struggle. The fate of the world is truly in their hands.

         Or paws. I've included a large anthropomorphic element, both because I wanted to create a variety of new, unheard of races, and because I enjoy illustrating animal-like characters. Animals have a certain personality to them, and when you extrapolate and refine that rough personality into an intelligent, bipedal creature, you not only create an entirely different race, but a wholly different evolution of behavior as well. I find this diversity challenging - trying to see the world through the eyes of a creature utterly unlike myself. I've tried to construct a similar diversity of new societies to go with the creatures I've created, based around theoretical psychological and sociological models, such as the purely plutocratic gorgs, and the id-biased lutrai. I left open plenty of room for those who prefer the familiar...the elves, dwarves, and of course, the humans - one is by no means limited to the new material. I have gone to great lengths to ensure that game balance is maintained, and that none of these new races has any unfair advantage in the long run.

         So, to the bottom line. It's supposed to be fun. It's heroic fantasy. Sure, there's a lot of grit, a lot of violence and struggle, but in the end, should you and yours fight the good fight and stir the winds of change, should you overcome the odds with courage, cunning, and all that which makes heroes great, it shall be you who decides the fate of Rym.