Role-playing is a fascinating hobby and, for some, a way of life. It lets you forget everyday troubles and explore new opportunities, hidden desires and brand new worlds. There are various forms of role-playing games. You have the dice games and the real life games, but you also have the Internet online games.

Children and teenagers find that they have the time to play the traditional Warhammer and Earthdawn but adults, having less spare time and more responsibilities find online games more convenient.

Avalon or First Age

Entering either Avalon or First Age (one and the same thing), you are asked to create a character, give it a name, and then you are placed in the world. As a beginner you get plenty of help, and the homepage gives a manual down to the last detail. The only thing for the player to do is to set up a macrosystem for help in fighting, and then live in the world. There really is no limit for what one can achieve. The only limit is that you can become a god, but only very few players have ever managed this. To take part of the daily life of your city, your guild and the general aspects of world is what gives the greatest satisfaction. It is even greater when you are recognised by your fellows or your enemies for your specific skills. This can be fighting skills, getting credit for playing out your role, or just being a nice/evil person. You can rise to be a respected member of your guild, a minister of state or even the prince or princess of your city. People will look up to you, ask you questions, and you will get a lot of satisfaction just being able to help out.

Of course, the rise of your character is no easy task but other online players do get to know your character and treat them as a real person. That is what role-playing is all about: to get lost in fantasy, to live a life with no limits, to strive for what is impossible in our daily lives. You will never again be bored with life; you will always have a place to call home.

The game never ends. It is always going forward. It never stands still. You log on and the first thing you ask is: 'something new?' Your character information is saved when you leave, and when you log on, you have the same qualities as when you last logged off. You continuously gain experience and knowledge. There are seven or eight general skills and when you join a guild, you get access to four guild-specific skills. Just to acquire new skills is a thrill! Slowly but steadily your skills improve and so does your knowledge of the game, the people you know and the enemies you get. Being a medieval setting, it brings out all the physical feelings you might have. You hate someone, you can hunt him or her and kill them off. If you fall in love with someone, you might be lucky enough to marry this person. It is a life of its own. As for the layout, there are four main cities and lots of small villages and the whole game has over 8,000 rooms, ever expanding. It takes a while to get to know the way around, but there is software on the market that can help you map the place, Zmud for one.