Michael J. Varhola
Michael O. Varhola (born September 24, 1966) is an author, publisher, and lecturer. He has written numerous books, games, and articles, and founded game development company and manufacturer Skirmisher Publishing LLC. He also served as the assistant editor o''The Hilltop Reporter'' a weekly newspaper located in Texas Hill Country. In 1997, he married Diane Varhola. In 2003, he changed his middle name from James to Odysseus, but did not start using it publicly until 2011. Varhola is a 1993 graduate of University of Maryland, College Park, from which he received a B.S. in journalism. Other schools he attended include the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, and the American University of Paris. He graduated from high school at Carson Long Military Institute in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. Varhola has authored or co-authored the non-fiction books ''Everyday Life During the Civil War'' (1999), ''Fire and Ice: The Korean War, 1950-1953'' (2000), ''D-Day: The Invasion ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Skirmisher Publishing LLC
Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a publisher of wargames, roleplaying games and historic reprints based in Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It was founded by the author, editor and game designer Michael J. Varhola and is co-owned by Robert "Mac" McLaughlin, Oliver Cass and Geoffrey Weber. About half of Skirmisher's products have been published under the d20 System, a system of game mechanics for role-playing games published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, that is based on the third edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and named after the 20-sided die which is central to the core mechanics of the system. Skirmisher products created for the d20 system include the books ''Experts'' (2002), ''Warriors'' (2003), ''Tests of Skill'' (2004), ''Nuisances'' (2005) and ''Experts v.3.5'' (2005). Artists whose work appears in these books include Brendan Cass, Dragan CiricSharon L. Daugherty William Hazzard II, Phil "Shade" Kightlinger and Lissanne Lake, noted for her numerous ''Dragon A dragon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
University Of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship university, flagship institution of the University System of Maryland. It is known as the biggest university in the state of Maryland. UMD is the largest university in Maryland and the Washington metropolitan area. Its eleven schools and colleges offer over 200 degree-granting programs, including 113 undergraduate majors, 107 Master's degree, master's programs, and 83 Doctorate, doctoral programs. UMD's athletic teams are known as the Maryland Terrapins and compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Big Ten Conference. A member of the Association of American Universities, The University of Maryland's proximity to Washington, D.C. has resulted in many research partnerships with the Federal government of the United States, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Metropolitan State University Of Denver
Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in downtown Denver, adjacent to Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. MSU Denver had an enrollment of 16,345 undergraduate students in the fall of 2023. History Metropolitan State University of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. By design, MSU Denver is required to be accessible to all, which is why it consistently has some of the lowest tuitions of four-year Colorado colleges and universities. Nearly 54% of the student body are students of color. MSU Denver was the first university to advocate for DREAM Act, DREAMers to have a chance at higher education by providing in-state tuition rates under the ASSET bill, signed by then Gov. John Hickenlooper in the Jordan Student Success Building lobby. It made national headline ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the southeast. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, High Plains (United States), high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, eighth-largest U.S. state by area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 21st by population. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado to be 5,957,493 as of July 1, 2024, a 3.2% increase from the 2020 United States census. The region has been inhabited by Native Americans in the United St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
American University Of Paris
The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to be established in France. The university campus consists of seven buildings, centrally located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank near the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, and the Seine. The university's language of instruction is English, although students must prove a level of proficiency in French prior to graduation. The university has over 1,100 students, representing over 100 nationalities, with an average student-to-faculty ratio of thirteen to one. The university's faculty members represent 21 nationalities, with 71% holding doctoral degrees and close to 70% speaking three or more languages. History Founded by Lloyd DeLamater, a then 40-year-old US Foreign Service officer, in 1962 as the American College in Paris (ACP), the university was renamed 26 yea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Carson Long Military Institute
Carson Long Military Academy in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, was the oldest continually operating college preparatory boarding school and military academy in the United States with mandatory military training for boys in grades 6–12. Maximum enrollment was approximately 235 student cadets. School history Carson Long Military Academy was founded as Bloomfield Academy in 1836 by Robert Finley in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania as a Latin Grammar school with only six students. In 1840 the school was moved two blocks up the hill to its present location; the first building was constructed the same year and is still in use as a reception hall and museum. In 1842 the trustees decided to make the Academy a coeducational boarding school and for a short period of time in the early 1850s, the school was purchased and operated by the Perry County Commissioners. During the second half of the 19th century, the Latin Grammar Academy added a Normal School, which was a training school for tea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania
Bloomfield, commonly known as New Bloomfield, is a borough in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The population was 1,244 at the 2020 census. History New Bloomfield was laid out in 1823, and named for the blooming clovers near the original town site. A post office called New Bloomfield has been in operation since 1825. File:New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania (1913).jpg, New Bloomfield, 1913 Name A post office named New Bloomfield was established in early 1825, and the federal government refers to the populated place corresponding with the borough by this name. However, the borough was incorporated as Bloomfield in 1831, which remains the current official name of the borough. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land. The borough is also surrounded on all sides by Centre Township. Demographics As of the census of 2000, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York (state), New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie. Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia. Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of William Penn (Royal Navy officer), the state's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish Empire, Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Little Wars
''Little Wars'' is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by English novelist H. G. Wells in 1913. The book, which had a full title of ''Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books'', provided simple rules for miniature wargaming. It is mentioned in one of Wells' other books, '' Joan and Peter'', where, during the Great War, a sensitive young man named Bunny Cuspard tries his best to compare his life in the army as a larger version of the manual. Contents ''Little Wars'' included fairly simple rules for infantry, cavalry, and artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to its being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war. The book is written in a whimsical style and illustrated with drawings and photographs of a game being pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Floor Games
''Floor Games'' is a book published in 1911 by H. G. Wells. This light-hearted volume argues in a humorously dictatorial tone that "The jolliest indoor games for boys and girls demand a floor." Illustrated with photographs and drawings, it briefly describes a number of games that can be played on "well lit and airy" floors with "four main groups" of toys: soldiers about two inches high (Wells regrets the "curse of militarism" that makes civilians hard to find), largish wooden bricks, boards and planks, and electric railway rolling stock and rails. Various remarks show that the book is based on Wells's experience of playing such games with his two sons, George Philip "Gip" Wells (19011985) and Frank Richard Wells (19031982), identified here only by their initials at their family home, 17 Church Row, in the north west London district of Hampstead. Although ''Floor Games'' is often characterized as a "companion book" to Wells's '' Little Wars'' (1913), the earlier book was conceiv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'', ''Kidnapped (novel), Kidnapped'' and ''A Child's Garden of Verses''. Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Sidney Colvin, Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and William Ernest Henley, W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in ''Treasure Island''. In 1890, he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at increasing European and American influence in the Polynesia, South Sea islands, his writing turned from Romance (literary fiction), romance and adven ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an organization of wargaming clubs and founded the Gen Con tabletop game convention. In 1971, he co-developed ''Chainmail (game), Chainmail'', a miniatures wargame based on medieval warfare with Jeff Perren. He co-founded the company TSR (originally Tactical Studies Rules) with childhood friend Don Kaye in 1973. The next year, TSR published ''D&D'', created by Gygax and Arneson the year before. In 1976, he founded ''Dragon (magazine), The Dragon'', a magazine based around the new game. In 1977, he began developing a more comprehensive version of the game called ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons''. He designed numerous manuals for the game system, as well as several pre-packaged adventures called "modules" that gave a person running a ''D&D'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |