9=781<J1@BJ T
#A>?L;JT HEAF>T JHMF:T T HJF;JT /9;;9=781 HN;JTTT );LL;JKTTT &T>J;5LDQT ;FBHQ;:T L?;T AFL;JNA;OT OAL?T 9;DD;FLT!*KTO?HTEA>?LT;FBHQTL;59?AF>T5LT 'AET25J: T=HJTALT:A:T95ILMJ;TEM9?TH=TL?;T 5FT;N;FLTH=TL?AKTCAF: T ;KK;F9;TH=TL?5LT/L5DO5JLT%HO;N;J T QHMT 02 T,?AH :A:TFHLTL;DDT5DDT58HMLT?AKT ?5HLA9TF5LMJ;T /5@5J AB9;;J 3>6J 2?5LT58HMLTL?HK;T#JA:5QTFA>?LT>5E;KT5LT 8C=4@54AJ >6J 5D1;C1B9>=AJ 6@> Sample file The Polyhedron Volume 2, No. 1 CONTENTS The Polyhedron FEATURES Volume 2, Number 1 Convention Updat e RPGA™ Newsletter #4 The latest news from the East Coast ...... 4 NAME CONTEST Finishes ! ...... 4 GRENADIER Reprinted from the Grenadier Bulletin ...... 5 Publisher: INTERV IEW with "Jake" Jaquet E. Gary Gygax Starting a 3-part series ...... 6 Spellin g Bee: Evocations Editor: Continuing our AD&D™ series ...... 12 Frank Mentzer BAS/Cally Speaking A new D&D ® BASIC column by Jon Pickens ...... 14 Contributing Editors: NOR Bill Hoyer Our new cartoon series by Roger Raupp ...... 16 Mary Kirchoff Tom Robertson REGULARS Cover Artist: Where I'm Coming From ...... 5 Larry Elmor e White Rabbits ...... 11 Turnbull Talking Contributing Artists: Reprinted from the D&D PA Newsletter ...... 11 Bruce Weigle (pg . 9) Notes For The Dungeon Master ...... 13 Todd Oleck (pg . 14) Dispel Confusion ...... 14 Steven Sullivan (pg . 12,13) Notes From HQ ...... 15 Jean Wells (pg. 8, 15) Bill Willingham (pg. 10) Other credits: monthly. We're a bit late (as always!) Photo (pg . 5) courtesy of Grenad ier (quiet , back there) but getting there ; Models we've got a new editor , Mary Kirchoff , so Photos (pg . 6,7) courtesy of Gary L. production should speed up. Jaquet Welcome to Elmore cover art, Roger Cartoon (pg . 16) by Roger Raupp Ta-ta! Welcome to "Polyhedron , " which Raupp 's NOR, a new D&D BASIC co means "a solid bounded by many plane lumn , and the usual throng of regulars. faces ." We use many different polyhedra Enjoy! Save vs. delight . in our games , of course , and the RPGA The POLYHED RON (the of ficia l newsle tter of Network is a Polyhedron , too: a solid TSR 's ROL E PLAYING GA ME ASSOCI ATION' " Network) is publ ished bi- month ly by TSR Hob group , bounded by the many games . bies , Inc . The mai ling address is POB 509, Lake Back to normal size , but now bi- Gene va, WI 53147 ; telephone number (4 14) 248-3625 . GEN CON® EAST GAME The POLYH EDRO N welco mes unsolicited sub miss ions of writt en materia l and artwo rk. How CONVENTION GETS NEW NAME CONTEST ever , no responsibi lity for such sub missions can be assumed by the pu blisher in any event. No TIME & PLACE RESULTS subm issions wi ll be returned unless accompa nied by a self-addressed stamped envelope of The GEN CON East Game Convention As you 've seen by now , the new name suff ic ient size. will be held at Widener College, Chester , for the RPGA Newsletter is Polyhedron. It was submitted by: The POLYHEDRON is mailed free to all RPGA '" PA on June 17-20 . A full slate of RPGA me mbers. Membershi p rates : 1 year $10; 2 years activities is scheduled . The Dealer's area Bill Huber of $18; 5 years $40; Lifetime $200. A ll prices are is being filled by Invitation Only (to Petaluma , California subjec t to cha nge wi thout notice . Changes of them , not to you) to provide the best address for the de livery of subscript ions must be Our thanks to everyone for th e sug received at least 30 days prior to the effect ive selection of games and accessories for date of the change in orde r to insur e un inte r visitors . The Guest of Honor is E. Gary gestions! We got lots of good ones , in rupted delive ry . Gygax ; Special Guest is Duke Seifried, cluding the following favorites : Role formerly of Heritage Models ; other Fea Players Guide to Adventure , Mercury, I All material publ ished in T he POLYHEDRON Multiverse , Roles & Rules, and Dice Roles. becomes the exc lusive property of the publisher tured Guests include Frank Mentzer and upon publ icat ion , unless spec ial written arra nge Bill Hoyer (RPGA Staff) , TSR designers On the other hand , we got some like ments to the co ntr ary are mad e prior to publ i Dave Cook , Allen Hammack , and Harold Game-A-Lot , Readings Gathered for cation . SampleJohnson, "Jake " Jaquet , Jim Ward , and Personality file Assimilation , Quasit , The Sage's Pages ... either too fantasy DUNGEONS & DRAGONS , D&D, ADVANCE D many more! DUNGEON S & DRAGONS and TOP SECRET Events wanted! A special drawing will ori'ented, too long , or several (which we are reg iste red tra demarks ow ned by TSR Hob be held , open only to those who run won 't mention) just plain awful. That's bies, Inc. GE N CON ® and RPGA'" are serv ice events , for valuable prizes . For more in the way it goes . marks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc . .., . .. desig As promised , Bill gets a two-year nates othe r trade marks ow ned by TSR Ho bb ies, formation about the GEN CON East Inc. All Rights Reserve d. game convention , write to POB 756, membership extension and his choice of Lake Geneva , WI 53147. any one of the first four RPGA modules . 4 < % % %$%" % % % % "% % $% #% % ! % % &/08A),.048A7,.:2(7A8,70,8A5-A(790*2,8A 3A<[ [6BV8M;N[%HE;[%BR<8S8U[ AB;BG@[BGNB;<[ GHOA RPGA INTERVIEW with. • • ''JAK E'' JAQ UET Gary Lee Jaquet (pronounced "Zha Tim Kask. We went to the game club I originally applied for a position as kwet ") is a tall, slender, serious gentle that Saturday , and I saw the game and designer back when TSR first started to man with curly hair and a large moust actually played in it myself; was hooked hire its design staff. You had to turn in ache. He projects a subtle air of authority immediately. This is back when the the answers to a very lengthy questi perched on the verge of digression. D&D rulebooks were hard to find . We onnaire that Gary had drawn up , and Generally knowledgeable (though dry) had a bookstore that ordered them design a new monster, a new magic in both verbal and physical style, there 's specially tor us, so I immediately or spell , and a new trick and trap. I turned something underneath almost tugging dered a set, and the dice, and as soon al I this stuff in, and eventually someone at an invisible leash, as if about to go as they came in I was hot on creating else got the job (I forget who, now) but bounding off for some purpose. dungeons myself. at the same time it was decided that the The nickname "Jake " comes from grade At any rate, Tim graduated in 1975, publications end of the company was school days , when it was helpful in sort and went on to TSR to become one of going along well enough that Tim ing out the Garys. When Jake joined TSR the first employees . I graduated in '76 needed an assistant, which was more he was a quiet staff member slogging with a degree in Journalism, and found what I wanted to do anyway . So I start along in Dragon Publishing , almost un out that there were a lot of other people ed here as Assistant Editor of DRAGON'" noticed until the sudden departure of with degrees in Journalism all looking magazine. former editor Tim Cask. He was quickly for jobs; the market was not particular HQ: And then you became Editor in thrust into prominence as Editor of ly I ucrative at that time . And so I took a early 1980. How? DRAGONT" magazine, and is now its job just working construction , which JJ: Well, about that time we started to Publisher. He 's predictably hard to find was originally a temporary endeavor , add other people to the staff , which is and talk to these days. say for a few weeks, until I found work where Kim Mohan became involved. But if you can find Gary Gygax you with a newspaper or whatever. As I de And about that time , as it happened, can find Jake Jaquet , and so (being as cided that newspapers weren 't my cup Tim resigned . The magazine was al insistent as we are) find him we did. Now , of tea, the job of working construction ready under my jurisdiction , and this after trimming out the trade secrets , side (building new homes, as it happens) put the responsibility of the entire op comments, and excess verbage , Part stretched out a little longer than I antic eration on my shoulders. One of our three-part detailed and re ipated. Namely, about three years! HQ: When did you become Publisher? vealing exploration into the recent his During that time I was coming up to JJ: I became Publisher in April of 1981. It tory of Dragon Publishing and Gary Lee Lake Geneva to visit TSR and Tim in was decided that the Publisher should Jaquet is now ready for your eyes. particular; he's a good friend . We'd get have the responsibility, both legally together and play games, and I knew and ethically, for the content of the most of the TSR people. As Tim started magaz ine, but not necessarily have an HQ: When did you start with TSR? to get overloaded with work, I'd take a ything to do with it. Kim Mohan, as Edi JJ: My starting date with TSR was offi boxful I of manuscripts with me and edit tor, is r:yowspeci fically responsible for cially May 1st, 1979. I assume the next them at home, and drop them off a the inception and creation of DRAGON quest ion is "Why?," or "How did you couple of weekends later and pick up a magazine. start he re?" new batch. I was sort of working free HQ: Do you kno w why Tim left? HQ: Yup. lance, or whatever you want to call it, JJ: I could hazard conjecture, but I think JJ: When I was in college , and got intro fo r TSR prio r to actually coming here to that question should best be addressed duced to the D&D ® game ... work full time . to Tim. As do all journalists , Tim had HQ: By? and has something in his blood that JJ: Okay , an interesting story. A short wants him to continue to break new one , but interesting. ground , new ventures and so forth. For I was in a pinball arcade one day in both personal and professional reasons 1974, and went up to the counter to get he felt that he could not do that in the some quarters. There was a gentleman position he had with the company, and behind the counter who would pass out therefore chose to leave. He's the Edi the money , and sell hot dogs and what tor and Publisher of a new magazine not , who was working with graph paper called Adve nture Gaming, in which he and colored pencils and some strange is fairly free to create a magazine which ly shaped dice. I asked what was going is personally his. on, and he explained that he was work HO : DRAGON magazine has grown ing on an aspect of the DUNGEONS & quite a bit lately. Generally , the quality DRAGONS ® game. And he was creat has improved , notably since you've be ing, at that moment,Sample the dungeon for an come involved.file Is this due to a particu adventure that he was planning on lar goal on your part , or a philosophy? running that weekend. JJ: I'd like to say that I was entirely re We discussed it a litt le bit, and it sponsible , but unfortunately such is looked quite intrigu ing, so he asked if NOT the case. DRAGON magazine was I'd like to come along to the next meet gro wi ng slowly, but then, so was the ing of the game club and see how it was D&D game when I started with the com played. As it happened, after we got our pany. Certainl y there were some things introductions out of t he way , that was that I did differently from Tim , simply 6 ?EP4HWJ44DIW* '&WB/8/T