A website dedicated to independent role-playing games, hosted by Clinton R. Nixon and Ron Edwards. It includes 31 game reviews, 17 articles, links, and most significantly a high-traffic web-based bulletin board on which considerable discussion takes place on tabletop RPG design and theory.

The Forge was founded as "Hephaestus' Forge" in 1999 by Ron Edwards and Ed Healy. In early 2001, Ron redesigned the site as "The Forge", with technical help from Clinton R. Nixon, including a set of web-based discussion boards.

During the first year, Hunter Logan worked on a FAQ for the Forge. This was taken down at his request however, after a falling out between him and Ron. In October 2001, Ron added a more lengthy essay entitled "GNS and Other Matters of Role-Playing Theory". Since then, 16 more articles have been put up -- 9 of them by Ron, but 7 by other authors.

Brief Timeline:

• Oct 2001: Article published, "GNS and Other Matters of Role-playing Theory" by Ron Edwards
• Mar 2002: Article published, "Fantasy Heartbreakers" by Ron Edwards
• Jan 2003: Article published, "More Fantasy Heartbreakers" by Ron Edwards
• Feb 2003: Four articles published, "Simulationism: The Right to Dream" by Ron Edwards; plus "How to Make Your Own Role-playing Game (Cheap)" by Clinton R. Nixon; and "The Crunchy Bits" #1 + #2 by Emily K. Dresner-Thornber
• Mar 2003: Article published, "The Alchemy of Role-Playing" (Part 1 + Part 2) by C. Demetrius Morgan
• Jun 2003: Two articles published, "A Hard Look at Dungeons and Dragons" and "Gamism: Step On Up", both by Ron Edwards
• Jul 2003: Article published, "Applied Theory" by M.J. Young
• Aug 2003: Article published, "Dice and Diceless: One Designer's Radical Opinion" by Erick Wujcik
• Jan 2004: Article published, "Narrativism: Story Now" by Ron Edwards
• Feb 2004: Article published, "Ritual Discourse in RPGs" by Christopher I. Lehrich
• May 2004: Article published, "The Provisional Glossary" by Ron Edwards