Articles written by Charles Durfee

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About me - Charles Durfee

I'm a software engineer by trade, writing ASP.NET applications for a large commercial card services company. At home, I am a husband and father of three. I hold a first degree black belt in the United States Taekwon-do Federation. For fun, I write, draw, and

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Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games Role-playing: Tips for creating your own campaign setting: 1 of 7
Creating a campaign setting is not as difficult as it might seem. At its heart is the ability to ask yourself questions and a willingness to explore possible answers through your imagination.I started exercising these skills about 20 years ago, when my friends and I took the leap of playing with our Star Wars action figures a... More..
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games What's wrong with D20?: 1 of 5
I started played Dungeons and Dragons back in the 70s, when the manuals wereperforated for three-ring binders. Things have certainly changed since thosedays!A significant change is in me. I find that fighting monsters for monetarygain doesn't provide the same level of incentive as it did when I was my son'sage. I spend the sa... More..
Sports & Recreation > Football (Other) How to throw a football: 3 of 10
The key to throwing a football well is achieving a good spiral. Just like a rifled gun barrel spins a bullet to help it travel farther and more accurately, giving the ball spin as you throw it helps the ball travel down the field and into the arms of your receiver.A football has laces to make it easy. Most people throw a foot... More..
Hobbies & Games > Card Games Card game reviews: Unexploded Cow: 1 of 1
Unexploded Cow is a card game by Cheapass Games, released in 2001. I received this game as a Christmas gift this year, and have been very pleased with it!As with most Cheapass Games releases, this game requires external components. Cheapass Games lives by the philosophy that the majority of the households already have some ga... More..
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games How to get the most out of role-playing games: 5 of 7
Roleplaying, like other forms of entertainment, is an opportunity for escapism.What differentiates roleplaying from movies, books, music, and the like, is thelevel of involvement. In most common forms of entertainment, a person consumesthe product of the artist. In roleplaying, all participants have an active rolein the outco... More..