There is one accessory that I have to say has helped me more than any other when it comes to my games. That is Wikipedia.
Wikipedia first went online on January 15, 2001, and was created by Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales and Larry Sanger. As of July 2024, English Wikipedia hosts approximately 6.85 million articles and has about 47.68 million registered users, of whom 114,409 have made at least one edit in the past month. As of early 2024, there are over 1,300 articles on Wikipedia related to "Dungeons & Dragons."
While I don't use Wikipedia for my "day job" as an academic, it is great for D&D and other RPGs. I would not use it for an academic paper of any sort, but I will go there to get a summary of something. Or if I need to know something like when were sewers introduced in Europe or how a flying buttress was made. It is also great for RPG and D&D specific information.
I started as an editor back in September of 2007 and I have touched a majority of the D&D articles over the years as an independent fact checker and source finder. I helped get a few articles to "Good Article" status like Drizzt Do'Urden, Dwellers of the Forbidden City, and Bunnies & Burrows. I even got a small grant for that last one. Even better, I got the Ravenloft and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks articles to Featured Article status.
I don't edit there as much as I used to, but I still check in on various articles and provide support where and when I can.
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I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August.
