S PECIAL ATTRACTIONS

Issue #177 Belief for the Referee Vol. XVI, No. 8 9 Four articles to help the Dungeon Master remain the master. January 1992 Keeping the Party Going — Jim Shamlin 10 How do you get a half-orc, a dwarf, and an elf to work together? Publisher James M. Ward That’s Progress! — Thomas M. Kane 15 The technological invasion of fantasy games: Gunpowder and worse. Editor Secrets of the Masters Revealed — Michael J. D’Alfonsi Roger E. Moore 20 A great DM = 1% inspiration + 99% perspiration. Fiction editor Defend Yourself — Blake Mobley Barbara G. Young 24When there are too many dice, make your players roll them!

Associate editor Dale A. Donovan O THER FEATURES

Editorial assistant The Game Wizards — Steven E. Schend Wolfgang H. Baur 26 A look at the ultimate one-volume RPG: The D&D® Rules Cyclopedia. “If I Ruled the World . . .” — Marcus L. Rowland Art director 28 Being a mad scientist is not just a job — it’s an adventure! Larry W. Smith The Role of Books — John C. Bunnell Production staff 34 Is that a poltergeist or a lake monster? Check these new encyclopedias Gaye O’Keefe Angelika Lokotz for the answer. Tracey Zamagne The Heroic Worlds Role-Playing Game Quiz — Lawrence Schick 39 Twenty questions that will drain your brain on games! Subscriptions Janet L. Winters The Voyage of the Princess Ark — Bruce A. Heard 41 Have you heard of anyone who didn’t want help slaying a dragon? U.S. advertising Roseann Schnering The Role of Computers — Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser 57 Might and Magic III: terror in the Isles of Terra. U.K. correspondent The MARVEL®-Phile — Scott Davis and Steven E. Schend and U.K. advertising 79 Bad super women: cybernetic, sorcerous, and just plain mean. Bronwen Livermore Defenders of the Hearth — Chris Perry 82 It isn’t wise to look down on halfling specialty priests. Human Voices — fiction by Jean Lorrah 90 Love conquers all, or so we would like to think. Think Big — Thomas M. Kane 96 Elephants: They’re unstoppable, they’re impressive, and they have lots of trunk space.

Special Delivery From Outer Space — Michael DeWolfe 99 Time flies with a temporal compressor for SJG’s GURPS® SPACE game. Through the Looking Glass — Robert Bigelow 112 Miniatures gaming, quick and easy, from Grenadier.

D EPARTMENTS

5 Letters 69 Convention Calendar 102 Dragonmirth 6 Editorial 75 Forum 104 Twilight Empire 52 Sage Advice 94 TSR Previews 108 Gamers Guide COVER This month’s cover painting was originally part of a portfolio submitted by William Carman. We realized that this particular piece would be perfect for an issue on Dungeon Mastering, and we picked it up right away. In his letter, Mr. Carman said that he hoped the painting “looks good.” It does. Thanks!

4 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756 (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, United States of America. The postal address for all materials from the United States of America and Canada except subscrip- ion orders is: DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.; telephone (414) 248-3625; fax (414) 248-0389. The postal address for all materials from Europe is: DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom; telephone: (0223) 212517 (U.K.), 44-223-212517 (international); telex: 318761; fax (0223) 248066 (U.K.), 44-223-248066 (international). Distribution: DRAGON Magazine is available from What did you think of this issue? Do you have middle ground could be reached. game and hobby shops throughout the United States, Name and address Canada, the United Kingdom, and through a limited a question about an article or have an idea for a lumber of other overseas outlets. Distribution to the book new feature you’d like to see? In the United withheld by editor trade in the United States is by Random House, Inc., and States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON® in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distribution Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, I’ve withheld the writer’s name because this to the book trade in the United Kingdom is by TSR Ltd. topic is a very touchy one here at TSR, Inc. On a Send orders to: Random House, Inc., Order Entry U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON Department, Westminster MD 21157, U.S.A.; telephone: Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry personal level, I strongly feel that being a DM is (800) 733-3000. Newsstand distribution throughout the Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. a labor of love. You do it because it’s fun for you United Kingdom is by Seymour Press Ltd., 334 Brixton and your friends. If you feel like you are pour- Road, London SW9 7AG, United Kingdom; telephone. 01-733-4444. ing too much time, money and effort into the Subscriptions: Subscription rates via second-class game without getting a worthwhile return, you mail are as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent DM’s dilemma: should cut back on what you put into your to an address in the U.S. or Canada: £16 for 12 issues game; people can have a perfectly good time sent to an address within the United Kingdom; £24 for 12 issues sent to an address in Europe; $50 in U.S. funds Fee or free? without loads of expensive little extras like for 12 issues sent by surface mail to any other address, special miniatures. (And $6,000 is a lot of or $90 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent air mail to any money!) DMing inexpensively does not mean other address. Payment in full must accompany all Dear Dragon, subscription orders. In the U.S. and Canada, methods of I am writing about an idea that has been producing a bad game, as marvelous games are payment include checks or money orders made payable bouncing around in my head for some time. It is run all the time using little more than the basic to TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA whether or not a DM should charge players for reference books and some dice and paper. If credit cards; send subscription orders with payments to: you have to put an adventure on the shelf, TSR, Inc., PO. Box 5695, Boston MA 02206, U.S.A. In taking them through an adventure. I have heard the United Kingdom, methods of payment include that there are DMs who do just that. Many remember that you may have the chance to run cheques or money orders made payable to TSR Ltd., or people are probably strongly against this, but it again with an entirely new group if you or charges to a valid ACCESS or VISA credit card; send your players move. subscription orders with payments to TSR Ltd., as per there are some good reasons for doing so. that address above. Prices are subject to change without I would first like to comment against it in People play role-playing games because the prior notice. The issue of expiration of each subscription certain situations. For instance, if you have a game sessions are usually fun and free. Charg- is printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy regular gaming group in which players regu- ing admission for a game puts it in a whole new of the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of light, one that might not serve you well in the subscription copies must be received at least six weeks larly take turns DMing, then by all means the prior to the effective date of the change in order to assure games should be free. long run. Is your game worth $3 per session? uninterrupted delivery. However, if one person gets stuck DMing all Can you deal with the pressure of knowing that Back issues: A limited quantity of back issues is the time, I see no reason why he shouldn’t the players are going to expect their money’s available from either the TSR Mail Order Hobby Shop worth with each and every session? Will your (P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.) or from profit (although he never really will). The rea- TSR Ltd. For a free copy of the current catalog that lists son for this is that a lot of players don’t seem to campaign slowly head for the Monty Haul, out- available back issues, write to either of the above realize exactly how much work actually goes of-control collapse that affects games in which addresses. players expect high returns and DMs feel obli- Submissions: All material published in DRAGON into preparing a dungeon. Untold hours of Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the pub- reading, planning, figuring, and preparation go gated to dish them out? Do you have a money- lisher, unless special arrangements to the contrary are into each adventure. People who have been a back guarantee if the players have a game that made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes DM before know exactly what I mean. When I they all dislike? What if some players like a unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork; session and some hate it? Will your players however, no responsibility for such submissions can be DM, I tend to go all out with maps, figures, etc., assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission which cost quite a bit of money. This may sound resent having to pay for their fun when it was accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of ridiculous to some of you, but keep in mind that once free? Will all your players leave you the sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published. moment that a “free” DM shows up in the We strongly recommend that prospective authors write I am not referring to a regular group in which for our writers‘ guidelines before sending an article to us. players take turns DMing. As of this time, I have neighborhood? If someone gives you $10 instead In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed, spent over $6,000 on AD&D® game items. I have of $3 for a game, will you be more “fair” toward stamped envelope (9½” long preferred) to: Writers’ taken people through over 200 dungeons, but I his character than the others? Don’t forget that Guidelines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, as per the above players are spending lots of their own money on address; include sufficient American postage or Interna- have actually gotten to play about 10 times. tional Reply Coupons with the return envelope. In Let me give you an example: You are prepar- gaming, too, purchasing miniatures, paints, Europe, write to: Writers’ Guidelines, c/o DRAGON ing an adventure for 4-6 characters of levels 4-7. paper, player’s manuals, and the like. Magazine, TSR Ltd; include sufficient return postage or There is a legal problem involved here, too. IRCs with your SASE. You come up with an interesting plot and spend Advertising: For information on placing advertise- about 30 hours preparing everything. You have TSR, Inc. takes a dim view of those who try to ments in DRAGON Magazine, ask for our rate card. All drawn maps, purchased a few lead figures, profit from our copyrighted material and trade- ads are subject to approval by TSR, Inc. TSR reserves bought graph paper, worked on pieces of parch- marks. This includes selling your services as a the right to reject any ad for any reason. In the United DM for one of TSR’s games. TSR makes an States and Canada, contact: Advertising Coordinator, ment that you will hand out to players, and TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, 201 Sheridan Springs Road, prepared a place to meet and play. Your regular exception in the case of DMs working at a game Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In Europe, contact: group comes over, and you spend hours taking convention, when the profits from such games Advertising Coordinators, TSR Ltd. go to defray the cost of the convention itself. DRAGON is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc. them through your creation. The players have a Registration applied for in the United Kingdom. All rights great time, and you are on top of the world. You Otherwise, our legal advisors frown at charging to the contents of this publication are reserved, and hate to put your notes on a shelf somewhere, so pIayers to be in your campaign. nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part you contemplate taking others through that One of the best solutions I have to this prob- without first obtaining permission in writing from the lem is exactly the one you’ve developed: Have publisher. dungeon, too. What would be so wrong with ® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR, posting an index card at the local hobby shop, more than one DM in each gaming group, so Inc. ™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Most advertising your dungeon and charging $2 or $3 that the responsibility (and costs) of DMing are other product names are trademarks owned by the per person? DMing for a bunch of strangers and shared. Other game masters can run completely companies publishing those products. Use of the name of any product without mention of trademark status should charging them seems pretty legitimate to me, different games, giving everyone a lot of variety not be construed as a challenge to such status. not so much for profit as for easing the bite into in their recreation time. I also suggest having ©1991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. one’s wallet. Or what if you consistently DM the the players bring the munchies—chips, dip, soft Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Wis., drinks, pizza, hamburgers, egg rolls, ice cream, U.S.A., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send same group, doing all the work and never address changes to DRAGON Magazine, TSR, Inc., P.O. getting to play? I personally feel that every brownies, cookies, whatever. The DM’s house Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. USPS 318-790, player should DM at least once; perhaps then a Continued on page 7 ISSN 0279-6848.

DRAGON 5 Hey, now that’s kinky!

One of the pet words that I use a lot the role-playing field that I consider to be and personal-abilities systems similar to around the office is “kinky.” By “kinky” I both kinky and rare. ‘Iwo of these games those in the D&D® game, but distinctly don’t mean anything that has to do with are currently “dead,” and I recall them rabbitish; it had Mavericks and Scouts . . . um, you know—right. No, I mean from my earliest days of gaming in the late instead of thieves, Seers and Empaths bizarre, strange, wild in a way that 1970s; the third game is from Australia. instead of clerics, Herbalists instead of catches your attention and makes you grin Other games out there might be better wizards, Storytellers instead of bards, and and say, “Yeah, that’s great!” (No, I’m still produced, better designed, better selling, so on. The society and customs of rabbit- not talking about that!). and so on, but for now, let’s talk kinky. kind are nicely detailed; rabbit-vs.-rabbit Anyway, about kinky. Kinky stuff is hard BUNNIES & BURROWS* game (Fan- combat is even worked out. The encount- to find, but it’s out there. I love it, and tasy Games Unlimited): Want to try a kinky er tables are filled with real-life predators: when I find it, I print as much of it as I game? This was a nice one, but good luck red-tailed hawks, bobcats, rattlesnakes, can. Sometimes other people have beaten finding it now. You role-play a little rabbit and humans. The game system has so me to it, but that’s okay; there should —a smart rabbit, but a rabbit. You live in a many flavorful tidbits—like the rulings on always be enough kinky stuff to go warren with lots of other little rabbits, how rabbits count, how many items a around. Kinky stuff is also best when it’s some of them being other player charac- rabbit can hide in its fur, and how rabbits rare, not seen all the time. Kinky games ters. Outside the warren is the Big Wide gamble—that you just want to hug it (and that make the big time become the leaders World, and somewhere in your little rabbit that’s pretty kinky). Grenadier even pro- in their fields and are much loved, but heart is the itch to go out and explore it. duced marvelous lead figures for this they lose some of their uniqueness with Loosely based on Richard Adams’s fanta- game; Lord knows how much those are familiarity. sy novel, Watership Down, the BUNNIES & worth now as collectors’ pieces. The following are three of the games in BURROWS game presented character-class And you know what? The darn thing

6 JANUARY 1992 was playable. It worked great! I knew adventure game set in Mittelmarch, a land Letters people who spat on it and screamed “Sac- much like Europe in the 1640s. It has Continued from page 5 rilege!” because it wasn’t derived from courtly love, firearms, pirates, uniforms Tolkien, but if you wanted something and clothing drawn straight from the need not be the only place people play, too, so really kinky to play, this was one of the Three Musketeers and the English Civil some of the housekeeping chores can be spread games of choice. In most long-term cam- War—and it has fantasy character races out as well. Everyone can do something After paigns I’ve heard of, the little bunnies such as centaurs, satyrs, harpies, and all, it’s only a game. began building siege towers, taking over pixies (you can be a human, tool. The farms, stealing handguns, attacking high- game system uses dice rolls, draws from On a different topic, does anyone remember the second letter in issue #173, page 5? If so, way traffic, and getting into other ador- two included decks of combat and sorcery read the following. able mischief. It was genuinely fun. cards, and draws from a deck of tarot But FGU is long gone and the game is out cards (not included). Role-playing is heavi- of print—for the moment. Steve Jackson ly emphasized. Best of all, the four rule Games has expressed an interest in pro- books are loaded to the brim with artwork The final word ducing it, and time will tell if militant by Donna Barr that brings out the terrific Dear Dragon, genius war-bunnies will again overrun the romantic appeal of this system. I have had it with Waldorf and the 100 + level countryside. One can only hope. If you This game seems to violate a number of campaign. I’m stuffing a hammership with find this game at an auction or hobby- unwritten rules of fantasy RPG creation, nilbogs and ramming Waldorf’s castle. If I act store sale, buy it. ‘Nuff said. and it gets away with it. Rather than fast, I can catch all of his demi-followers at the METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA game avoiding gunpowder technology, it adopts victory celebration. The nilbogs will convert all (TSR, Inc.): This was the first science- it completely, with guns taking the place of the damage they take into hit points and wipe fiction RPG ever published, dating from bows and crossbows. Magical sciences out the survivors. The End (I hope!). 1976. Your characters are primitive tribes- include artificiery, the production of magi- Douglas M. Burck men, many of them mutants, who live in a cal machines and tools, as well as alchemy, Boyd KY strange world filled with arcane devices astrology, necromancy, demonology, sor- Your and hellish monsters. Bit by bit, you come cery, and more. Combat can involve repar- plan worked perfectly Congratulations. Waldorf is officially dead! to realize that your world is very limited tee (actually the exchange of nasty insults) in size, being 45 miles long by 20 miles as well as magic, rapiers, or cannon; the wide. There are other flat worlds above card-based systems are quite striking. And and below yours, accessable by elevators romantic encounters are played up to a and stairways. One day you put all the level rarely seen in any role-playing game pieces together and discover the secret of —kinky, indeed, given the relevant notes your world: You live on a starship, poi- on satyrs and half-horses (centaurs). soned by a radiation cloud and now lost in I confess that I have never played this the depths of the galaxy. game, but that hardly matters. Just sitting Barbaric cultures on generation-travel down and reading through the rules and starships have been seen a number of looking at the pictures is a treat. The times in SF novels, such as Robert Hein- Middle Ages look awfully dull after you’ve lein’s Orphans of the Sky and Brian Aldiss’s gotten lost in the land of Mittelmarch. For Starship (released as Non-Stop in the U.K.), further information, write to: The Austra- but this is the only time they have ap- lian Games Group, PO. Box 411, Blackburn peared as an RPG concept. The game had 3130, Victoria, Australia. its flaws. The rule book was only 32 pages Next month: I’ll pick out a few other long and failed to provide any campaign really kinky role-playing games near and goals beyond exploring the ship, getting dear to my heart, and chat a bit about better armor and weapons, and trying not adding a little kinkiness to your own RPG to be eaten by mutant Venus’ flytraps or campaign. It can make all the difference shot by cougaroids. It had no details on between a predictable campaign—and a LOOKING FOR how the heroes could gain control over fun one. the ship or interact with strange tribal MORE GAMERS? societies, and the ship’s internal details * indicates a product produced by a company other than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the were sketchy indeed. But the concept was companies publishing those products. The use of the name of You may think you’d have to tra- kinky as hell, and it provided some highly any product without mention of its trademark status should vel to another planet to find a not be construed as a challenge to such status. entertaining evenings of play for groups game convention. Finding friends with imaginative and patient referees. who are also gamers can be a And it might come back, too. There is problem, too. Put your scoutsuit some discussion here about re-releasing this game as a boxed supplement for the away and turn to the Convention upcoming 4th edition of the GAMMA Calendar in this magazine. There WORLD® game (into which the META- may be a game convention closer MORPHOSIS ALPHA game finally meta- to your home than you’d think — morphosed in 1978). If you’re interested and conventions are a great place and want to have your say about it, you to find friends who share your in-‘ can write to: James M. Ward, c/o TSR, Inc., terests. Whether you like board- P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, games, role-playing games, U.S.A. Here’s proof again that you can’t miniature wargames, or just keep a kinky game down. browsing around, a game conven- LACE & STEEL* game (The Austra- lian Games Group): I had never heard of tion can be all you’ve hoped for. this system until I went to the 1988 GEN Plan to attend one soon. CON® game fair and saw a copy by acci- dent. It’s a swashbuckling fantasy-

DRAGON 7

DMs: Give your party a reason to adventure together by Jim Shamlin

A party of adventure-seeking characters sonal reasons for undertaking a specific obviously center around the cleric or is about to set out to save a village from a adventure, but the likelihood of the he- druid whose authority stems from that of tribe of bugbears that has been raiding roes’ interests merging repeatedly is nil. the group’s deity. Fighters may be pala- local farms on a nightly basis. The heroes “But they all lust for adventure!? is a dins, rangers, or sword-bearers who serve are sitting in a tavern and acquiring infor- common retort. This is a valid point, but the interests of the religion. As for thieves mation, when Seagin, a half-elven bard, what motivates them to seek this adven- and mages, perhaps the church is reform- pipes up angrily, “Why should we save the ture together? After all, each could leave ing them or their servitude is a penance town? They worship Greek gods, and I the party to join other groups with which for past transgressions; they might also be worship Dagda! I say we leave the heathen they find themselves more comfortable. worshipers, if the religion allows it. Char- icon-worshipers to die!” Indeed, though Merlor would be inclined acters must either be of the party’s reli- “Indeed,” replies Hewitt, the human to save the village, Hewitt might find an gion or have strong reasons for serving thief, “I could make more from robbing accomplice and rob the bank, getting the the interests of the party’s church (e.g., the bank than saving grimy peasants.” money to move to larger towns and rob they belong to a related religion or have “Silence, you son of a rancid goat!” re- larger banks, and Halfjammir might return familial ties to another party member). torts Merlor, a human priest. “These are to his band of warriors in the frozen Adventures might focus upon finding the worshipers of Athena, my brethren.” north. Each would still be seeking the holy relics, rescuing church personnel, “No brethren of mine, they are,” says adventure he craves, but not with his protecting villages within the church’s Halfjammir, a human swordsman. “No son present company. diocese, clearing grounds for a new of Thor would allow his clansmen to be Finding common motivation is the task church or religious settlement, or destroy- preyed upon by half-dogs.” of the Dungeon Master, who is already ing enemies of the church. “Half-what?” demands Thrack, the half- kept busy writing adventures and other- orc warrior. wise running the campaign. To prepare a The town party “Do bugbears have spell books?” won- list of separate motivations before each This suggestion involves a number of ders the human mage Demlar. adventure would be an immense task, adventures from a particular polity. The especially if the DM is to include all the adventurers do what they do for their The problem appearing here is one characters in every adventure. This task king or lord. The party leader may even faced by every party at one time or an- would be much easier if the DM had be a town official of some sort. This setup other in the AD&D® or D&D® game: What planned for a means of common motiva- is particularly fitting for knights and common interests bind these individuals tion at the onset of the campaign. The guardsmen, but with a little creativity any together? Aside from obvious racial incom- following are a few suggestions as to how class can be motivated to participate. patibilities, the problems of character-class the party can be unified from the start. Clerics and monks may come from interests and religious intolerance remain. churches in the town, druids may live on What this and so many other parties lack The deocentric party the outskirts of the polity, fighters may be is a long-term unifying force of motivation. The first and most obvious common townsmen or guardsmen, mages can be A group might form as a matter of coinci- grounds for adventuring is in the service town officials or citizens, and thieves may dence when each hero has his own per- of a particular church. The party will be merchants or guildsmen.

DRAGON 11 In addition to protecting the village enterprise is an inextricable portion of a itself to the leadership of a fighter. itself, adventures might include dealing given whole (perhaps the family assets Each adventure may be undertaken to with dangerous outsiders, pioneering a must be retaken from enemy forces). It accomplish a specific goal, or the adven- new frontier, escorting nobles through could also be a simple task that could have tures may be steps along the way to ac- dangerous wilderness, or working against lasting aftereffects, such as stealing an complishing a greater goal. Such goals can a hostile neighboring empire. This covers artifact from a demon or a god. Better yet, include retrieving stolen items, stealing the second half of the patriotic declara- the task itself could be abstract, including desired items, securing land, protecting tion, “For god and country do I fight!” The many things. For example, “secure peace operations, destroying the patron’s ene- party’s motivation is in the protection of in the uncivil west” could include destroy- mies, or literally anything that the patron its own homeland and the assets they have ing several nonhuman armies, seeking out wants done to further his own ends. therein (home, business, and family). monsters that would bring chaos, or ven- turing to a ruined temple to remove a The guild party The familial party curse on the land. Interesting things can Members of a guild party are fellow Distant kinsmen, including all bastards, happen once the task is completed, as the members of a guild. Although the word gather at the funeral of a distant but im- party argues over how the rewards are to “guild” calls to mind a group of thieves or mensely wealthy relative. In the will, the be apportioned or if the benefactor re- assassins, other guilds might exist. There benefactor leaves a generous portion of turns to a powerful semi-life in order to are also guilds of fighters and mages, but, his worldly goods (be it money, land, or claim a prize that the adventurers have like the thieves’ guild, they seem to lend title) to those who perform a given task. foolishly earned for him! themselves only to a certain class of char- The leader may be a family matriarch, acters. This is not at all necessary, as a patriarch, or first-born child whose au- The mercenary party thieves’ guild can employ fighters and thority stems from control of the family’s The heroes may have been employed or mages, a fighters’ guild can employ wiz- assets. This suggestion encompasses all indentured into service by a powerful ards and thieves (as spies), etc. If it’s the character classes but only a select number patron who sends them out to accomplish smart thing to do, it will often be done. of races—e.g., if the departed was human, tasks and retrieve objects for him. This The leader of the party will be a direct then the party would be exclusively lim- was the case of Fritz Leiber’s heroes, representative of the guild and may out- ited to humans, half-elves, and half-orcs Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, who were rank the other members. As for the oth- (an interesting family gathering indeed!). sent after objects to please the wizards ers, they may be of any class, as long as The task itself could include gathering Ningauble and Sheelba, respectively. This their participation in the guild is justifi- various objects or parts of one object from can encompass any combination of adven- able. It is difficult to rationalize the partici- the far corners of the multiverse, solving a turers. The party’s leader acts as the voice pation of a cleric or a druid in many guild riddle involving various adventures that of the master and may even be in his activities, but perhaps the religious figure provide clues to the final solution, or any employ; the leader may be of any class, is a member of a church who patronizes of a number of campaigns in which each but this arrangement particularly lends the guild, is allied to the guild, or is subju- gated by the guild. The focal point of the party’s adventures will inevitably rely upon the interests of the patron organization. Guild competition will provide a wide variety of missions, such as overthrowing a rival guild, extend- ing guild territory, or punishing uncooper- ative clients. The party may also be sent on missions to protect the guild and its territory from invading monsters or other organizations, or to rescue guild members from the clutches of monsters or the law. The quest party Members of a quest party have joined one another on their way to a particular goal. The leader of the party may be dem- ocratically appointed or may be a direct authority of the being or force that sent the group on its quest. The members of the party are unified by their desire to accomplish the goal, and they believe that the assistance of those in their group is necessary. The quest itself may consist of any num- ber of things, such as retrieving an arti- fact, rescuing a prince, destroying an evil temple, killing a particular band of orcs, or delivering a message. Each character may even have a different but interrelated quest. For example, one hero might have to steal the magical dagger owned by the king of the goblins, another might have to free the prince the goblin king holds cap- tive, and another must slay the goblin king himself. Conflicts can arise when two members have the same goal, such as retrieving the same item for a different

12 JANUARY 1992 patron, but the DM can work around this The chance-meeting party not like character B, he may get along with by providing a unique motivation for each This party is, by far, the most common; character C, who likes both characters A character. unfortunately, it is also the most difficult and B. Perhaps at the end of the first One problem may arise: What will keep to keep coherent. Its leader is typically one adventure, they may find their way to the the party together after the adventure is who is democratically chosen but whose next, and since they worked so well to- completed? Perhaps it will be sent on authority is often questioned by the other gether in the past, they will stick together further missions, the original mission members. The members can be of any in the future. might not be entirely successful, or the class, race, or alignment, but too great a The scope of adventures available to the goal they have accomplished is simply the variety will cause conflicts that will dam- chance-meeting party is both wide and first step in accomplishing a higher goal. If age the party’s unity. For example, a dwarf narrow at once. It is wide in that literally their first mission failed, they might flee will not feel comfortable in the company any adventure is possible, but narrow in together as renegades from the patron, of elves and half-orcs, a barbarian won’t that all must be willing to undertake the which will work only if the heroes were tolerate the company of a wizard, and if adventure. For example: Most of the party not magically indentured or the patron you have dwarves and half-orcs, forget it. may want to raid an ancient tomb, but the was not a supernatural entity. The DM must take care to ensure a certain cleric and paladin respect the god to degree of compatibility between the char- whom the tomb is dedicated and will not The clan party acters without creating a boring homoge- enter. Entry by the others may draw out- This party is composed of members of a neity of classes that could be an obstacle right attack from these two. Even if it clan who are, most probably, of the same to the party’s success. doesn’t, how will a fighter, two thieves, race (or highly compatible ones). They More importantly, each character must and a mage fare against three wights? were united by their people to further the have a reason to remain in the company of They will eventually run out of healing or, needs of their particular clan or race. the others once the first adventure is more importantly, life-energy levels. De- Such needs can include guarding the done. One cannot simply assume that the signing adventures for the chance-meeting clanhold from an approaching force, at- characters will logically stick together party must be done with each and every tacking an enemy clan, retrieving a sacred simply because they like one another or character in mind. item, clearing land for a new polity, or that they like one another at all. The char- acting as ambassadors for a questionable acters must each form a strong bond of A party may remain coherent on the new ally. comradeship with the others. They must basis of any one of these reasons, or a If composed of nonhumans, a racially have a sense that they are an essential combination of two or more. Other unify- homogenous party may limit the classes part of an integrated whole whose mem- ing factors may be employed in place of or available to its members. The AD&D 2nd bers must rely upon one another to obtain in addition to any of the above, depending Edition game’s Player’s Handbook, page 20- successes that they could not have man- on the campaign. The important thing is 23 discusses class availabilities for charac- aged alone. that each member of the party be person- ter races. One way to do this is to weave a pattern ally motivated to ensure the completion of of amiability. Although character A may each adventure.

DRAGON 13

Technology and inventions in a magical universe

by Thomas M. Kane

“There will be spies.” Windwood fanned the smoke away with excitement, hiding the traces of their work. She heard her grandmother scraping the ashes of the fire onto an old skin. “Other tribes will send spies and thieves and crafty traders who would give us anything to know how we have done it.” “Yes, but we will not tell them,” said her grandmother. “This find is for our tribe alone. The others will discover it soon enough.” Windwood looked back and saw She-Who-Knows-Rocks scatter the burning ashes—all of them—into the stream, where they hissed for a moment, then drifted away, cold and black. “You forgot—” Windwood started, then caught herself. “Oh, it doesn’t matter now, does it? You don’t need to save any ashes for later.” Windwood watched the ashes disappear. “We will never be cold again, or at the mercy of the bears and tigers.” “That is so,” said her grandmother. “That is the beauty of the stone. Chip off an- other piece, now that we know we’ve succeeded.” She-Who-Knows-Rocks watch- ed her granddaughter shatter the flint, casting dark splinters across the lighter stones. “We think this is wonderful. But by the time your sons have sons, it will mean nothing to them. They will never have worked a tinder drill or searched the forests after a thunderbolt. To them, fire will be as common as sunlight or water.”

Clever scientists and bold inventors can be just as important in fantasy games as they are in espionage or science-fiction role-playing games. They may even be more so, since even the most primitive machinery is a marvel of technology in a primitive world. Any true adventurers will certainly solve mysteries, explore fron- tiers, and spy out secrets for the sake of science. Player characters (PCs) themselves may devise the machinery that changes society. In a primitive world, every field lies open to inventors. Artwork by Bob Giadrosich DRAGON 15

Materials in the New World. Potatoes were cheap, often has the most effect of all on strategy. To invent something, one must have nutritious, and easy to grow. They became Logistics govern the movement of troops materials from which to make it—and new so popular that some peoples (such as the and, hence, every strategy involving ma- substances were among the first things Irish) came to base their whole diets neuvers. If food could be magically cre- mankind discovered. around them, leading to terrible famines ated, incredible feats of marching would The first material to create a new tech- when the potato crops failed. PCs who become possible. nology was jade. It could be carved more develop marvelous new foods may not like easily than any other stone, and it was the results. Scientific inventions hard, capable of holding an edge. The Peaceful inventions need not all be ma- Chinese honored their greatest god by Weapons and strategy chinery, either. Thinkers who devise math- naming him “The August Personage In The greatest generals have all been ematical processes and philosophies also Jade,” and some Mayan tribes found this discoverers—not necessarily of mechanical can create adventures. Emperor Ordi- stone so satisfactory that they never weapons, but of fresh strategies and nance of China (described in “Lords of the adopted metal even after discovering the whole new ways to fight. For example, Warring States,” in DRAGON issue #167) latter. However, metals can be fused, cast, when Rome fought Greece, the Greeks ensured his rule by establishing a standard and remelted for recycling, and they are would march to a clear plain and form set of weights and measures. Once physi- far easier to find than jade; most peoples spear phalanxes, a system that had cal things could be objectively measured, quickly adopted copper and bronze. The crushed all the worlds armies under Alex- the Emperor’s governors and overseers few tribes that could forge iron were ander the Great. The phalanx was still could no longer develop pleasing estimates regarded as magicians, and they quickly invincible, but it did not hinder Rome’s of their performance by measuring rice overran their neighbors. legions. Instead of fighting, the Romans yields in “dishes,” that might be any size, Almost every resource has been trea- avoided the phalanxes and marched into or territory explored in “paces.” They had sured. For centuries, the Chinese emper- the Greek cities, which were unguarded to tell the Emperor exactly what had been ors spread lies and legislated punishments because all their warriors had gone to accomplished. to keep any foreigner from learning that preappointed battlefields. The Romans had The same emperor also abolished Chi- silk came from worms. Wool may not be discovered that the city was even more na’s unreadable picture-writing and re- so romantic, but in the 18th century, a essential to Greek power than the Greek placed it with a simpler set of standard royal writ of permission was still required army, and this is what they attacked. pictograms, a course of action recom- to export a merino sheep from Spain. The BATTLESYSTEM™ game and other mended by a certain hermit scholar. Leg- Secret societies in medieval Venice miniatures systems allow players to exer- end has it that this system worked so well launched great conspiracies to steal and cise this sort of genius. A war game must that the emperor summoned the hermit to protect their secrets of glassblowing. In be bound by preplanned victory condi- his court for a reward. Instead of coming, the AD&D® or D&D® game, fine glassware tions. Any victory conditions based on the the hermit denounced the emperor as a will be even more valuable because it is Greek objectives would award points only tyrant for forcing one alphabet on a whole essential to alchemy. for defeating enemy armies; therefore, the continent. Palace guards were sent to Fantasy worlds have many other sub- Romans could not win using their real-life behead the scholar, but he turned into a stances to develop. A clever dwarf might tactics. If the game took historical events bird and flew away. learn to smelt aluminum and make re- into account and made cities the key objec- Mathematical formulas are essential to markably light, rust-free armor and weap- tive, whoever played Greece would have all science, and their process has often ons. Tiny amounts of aluminum actually already read the rule book and seen the been as colorful as any other invention. In were synthesized almost 200 years ago, folly of leaving towns empty. However, in a Babylon, nobles invented algebra as a sort but the metal was so rare that people used role-playing game that does not appoint an of game that common people could not it in state jewelry. Napoleon III recognized artificial winner, the victory conditions can understand. The ancient Greek mathemati- aluminum’s potential and offered a reward be shaped by the combatants and their cians often tried to apply their philoso- to anyone who developed a cheap way to resources. Neither side can be sure of how phies to politics as well, and they felt that smelt it, but no practical process was to win until the battle has ended. their intellectual talents qualified them to developed until 1886. Plastic might also New weapons can also be invented, and judge criminals, lead nations, and found appear in game worlds. Polyethylene, for they might have vast effects on strategy. new religions (a notion that lead to the example, can be made by heating ethylene For the effects of the stirrup on horsed stoning of at least one philosopher). Cer- (found in petroleum) under pressure with combat, see DRAGON® issue #113, “A tainly, magicians of a fantasy world could oxygen and peroxides. Furthermore, plati- Saddle’s Not Enough.” When armored have similar adventures. num, already a part of most AD&D game horsemen became invincible, the whole worlds, was unknown before 1735. This system of knighthood and serfdom devel- Gadgets gives DMs an opportunity to develop inter- oped to support an elite cavalry. Long Many inventions are likely to be imprac- esting campaign backgrounds. Perhaps bows and pikes ended feudalism altogeth- tical things, like sunglasses for chickens, some great metallurgist recently discov- er. The Russians developed an even more pig-powered garbage disposals, and combi- ered platinum, and for some reason it was novel way to defeat cavalry; they called it nation toothpick/cheese-slicer/claw-ham- adopted as money. the goliagorod, which was later perfected mers. Gamers who want examples of by Zizka, leader of the Hussites. The Hus- bizarre magical gadgets should consult the Agriculture sites linked armored wagons together, D&D game supplement, AC11 The Book of No invention can be as important as a forming instant fortresses wherever they Wondrous Inventions. new source of food. Early in history, cities needed them. Historically, Leonardo da Vinci planned and government became possible only Graceful, multidecked sailing ships were many such devices, including an ornithop- when people learned to farm, which developed primarily as ways to carry ter (an aircraft using flapping wings), a meant they could live in one place instead more cannon. The fact that they also made helicopter that used a large screw instead of roaming vast plains looking for fresh seafaring convenient enough to colonize of a rotor, automatic-fire crossbows that pasture. The tribes that continued their new continents was incidental—but of were operated by men walking a tread- old herding practices became the Mongols, immeasurable importance. New missile mill, and a round iron structure on Huns, and other raiders, who recklessly weapons have always made entrenched wheels, with cannon mounted around its pillaged the tame farming peoples. defenders stronger, freezing wars into a circumference, that he hoped would take The next major change in foodstuffs contest of sieges and stalemates. the place of the war elephant. came when explorers discovered potatoes The use of new ways to feed armies Earlier than Leonardo, in the 1500s,

DRAGON 17 knights invented the “forbidden gauntlet.” smith’s lore. 3000s B.C.: Most pagan myths develop, This was an iron glove with a lock that fit Once the PC has made gunpowder, he replacing nature cults. In a fantasy world around a sword hilt. When it was fas- still has to use it. Remember that it took where mythological gods are real, this is tened, the sword could not fall from one’s hundreds of years for bombards to re- the time when the immortals first noticed grip. This might be especially useful in place catapults, and over 1,000 years for humanity. games that include critical-hit/critical- handguns to supplant swords. Unless the 3000s B.C.: Pictographic writing de- fumble tables. Even in the AD&D game, it player is an expert on primitive gunsmith- velops, used by priests to keep track of makes any disarming attack ineffective ing, he will probably not be able to suggest debts people owed the temples. The priest- and might also be useful against flinds or anything more advanced than putting the hood also begins minting money and loan- other monsters that can disarm their foes. gunpowder in a tube with some projec- ing it, although both of these functions are Assume that it takes one complete round tiles, sealing one end, and lighting the later transferred to secular kings. to insert the sword into a “forbidden powder. Such a homemade cannon is far 3000s B.C.: Cotton clothing is invented gauntlet” and another complete round to more likely to explode than fire normally; in the Middle East. remove it. even if it works and somehow hits some- 3000s B.C.: Bricks are invented in the Fashions and vices can also inspire odd thing, it will not be nearly as powerful as Middle East. inventions. Ancient Egyptian nobles prized an arrow. Over time, gunpowder has been 3000s B.C.: Oared galley-ships appear. tiny animal figurines that could grind refined, fashioned into assorted shapes of 3000s B.C.: Gold, jewelry, and rare sea malachite into a paste; the paste reduced grain, rubbed into fuses, and made smoke- shells become valuable because they are the sun’s glare when spread around the less. Guns have also undergone countless used in supposedly magical amulets. In a eyes. A wide variety of little boxes were changes, and no medieval smith could fantasy world, this represents the dawn of developed for snuff, and tobacco led to a reproduce the complex firing mechanism sorcery. At this stage, the only claim most huge number of pipes and lighters. The of-a modern pistol, much less a machine “magicians” make for their art is that customs of a fantasy world could lead to gun. It was much harder to defeat recoil tokens could create an event that they magical gadgets, possibly using illusions or and heat than to invent the gun itself. symbolized. A golden bull bestowed a minor spells to enliven ordinary habits. At some point, the DM might need to use bull’s strength, and oblations of water random rolls to determine an invention’s created rain. Characters as inventors effects—and side effects. Ability checks, 2900s B.C.: The Egyptians reconcile PCs frequently want to invent new de- where the PC rolls 1d20 and attempts to their lunar calendar with the solar year. vices themselves. The DM must decide if score below some ability score, can re- They also develop sundials and water the PCs can; the results are often fairest solve most questions. The character who clocks. when he simply makes a ruling, instead of invents gunpowder may need to make a 2500s B.C.: Mathematical geometry relying on game mechanics. Sometimes it dexterity check to escape an exploding formulas are directly applied to engineer- is obvious when a PC can or cannot invent cannon, and an attack roll (with penalties ing, allowing buildings to be far more something. When the party is trying to for nonproficiency and the gun’s basic complex. lower chests of gold down a mountain inaccuracy) to aim it. He might also need 2500s B.C.: Horses are tamed in west- cliff, and one player has his character an intelligence check to make some minor ern Asia. make a crude pulley from a tree stump improvement, such as designing a tube 2000s B.C.: The earliest known books and a rope, it should work. The PC might that is less likely to backfire. These game on medicine are written. have to make an open-doors roll to avoid mechanics keep the story going. Once the 2000s B.C.: “Magic” progresses, and dropping the chest anyway, but the rope player has role-played the whole invention magicians claim to be able to create their can certainly be draped over the stump. process, he can see what the dice rolls own incantations as substitutes for actual At other times, PCs want to invent simulate. tokens. Runes, inscriptions, and chants things that might work. The DM should take the place of amulets, and people ask players to describe exactly how their Time line began to place curses on things they wish characters plan to make the thing they The following time line shows the gen- to protect. wish to create, using materials available in eral time when certain items, both signifi- 1000s B.C.: The Phoenicians develop the game world. If the idea involves some cant and trivial, were invented in the real rams for galley combat. scientific principle that the DM thinks world. Naturally, this thread of technologi- 1000s B.C.: Astronomical patterns are would be unknown in a fantasy world, the cal progress need not follow the same mathematically codified in Egypt. players can be asked to explain why their course in a fantasy world. Magic might 1000s B.C.: Greeks develop splint mail characters thought of it. make certain inventions useless, thus and most forms of catapults and siege When the DM resolves inventing by preventing research that would have engines. reasoning instead of dice rolls, it shows eventually led to more powerful devices. 600s B.C.: Iron is in general use in the players exactly why their characters Furthermore, different societies develop in Europe. As well as its obvious use in weap- can or cannot do something. For example, different ways. This can enliven many ons, iron allows farmers to use plows many players think that their characters adventures when the PCs visit lands instead of hoes, making each farm far can invent gunpowder and thereby gain a where some of their possessions seem more productive. modern arsenal of firearms. If a PC actu- primitive while others are regarded as 500s B.C.: Greek fire is used by Eastern ally tries to do this and can justify why his marvels of technology. Europeans. character thought of mixing sulfur, char- 320 B.C.: Chin (the state that eventually coal, and saltpeter, he still needs to find 6000s B.C.: Humans begin to farm unified China) imitates the Mongols by them. Charcoal may come from fires, but crops and tame animals. organizing a cavalry of soldiers on horse- sulfur must be purchased from an alche- 5000s B.C.: Copper and bronze are back instead of in chariots. This leads to mist or perhaps gathered at a volcano. discovered, and most hand-to-hand weap- the invention of trousers, which allow Many players give up when they try to ons come into use. Shields, walled cities, horsemen to sit comfortably astride their find saltpeter. Actually, this material was battering rams, donkey-drawn chariots, mounts. quite common in the Middle Ages because and scale armor appear. 300s B.C.: According to tradition, Alex- of its use as a flux for molten metal. Salt- 5000s B.C.: Potter’s wheels develop in ander the Great explores the ocean floor peter was extracted from certain earths or Egypt. They are not used elsewhere until in a glass diving bell. scraped off the walls of basements and well after 2000 B.C. 300s B.C.: Heron of Alexandria invents tunnels. This is a convenient time for the 3000s B.C.: Kingdoms with cities and steam engines and gear trains, although he PCs to learn some campaign history and formal laws are founded. uses them only for toys.

18 JANUARY 1992 300s B.C.: Eratosthenes of Alexandria 1500s A.D.: Heavy crossbows, requiring Bibliography measures the circumference of the Earth mechanical devices to cock, are developed. Canby, Thomas Y. “Aluminum, The Magic by observing shadows in different towns 1608 A.D.: Several inventors around Metal.” National Geographic (August at noon. Europe simultaneously claim to have in- 1978), page 186. 200s B.C.: Weights and measures are vented the telescope. Childe, V. Gordon. Man Makes Himself standardized in many empires (at least New York: Times Mirror Press, 1951. officially). Many gamers like to experiment with Hough, Richard. Fighting Ships. New York: 200s B.C.: Archimedes invents many letting medieval-fantasy PCs encounter G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1969. principles and devices, including an irriga- technology like space ships and dynamite. Hyde, Nina. “Wool.” National Geographic tion pump and his famous method of Simpler inventions can be just as marvel- (May 1988), page 522. testing the king’s golden crown to see if ous. A SCUBA mask imported by some Oman, C.W.C. The Art Of War In The the royal goldsmith had embezzled some time-machine usually becomes just an- Middle Ages. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Uni- of the materials (the process involves other “magical” way to stage underwater versity Press, 1953. submerging the crown to see how much adventures. Potentially tremendous effects Parker, Geoffrey. The World: An Illus- water it displaces). In 287 B.C., a Roman can arise from a “simple” invention; the trated History New York: Harper & soldier invading the city kills Archimedes, discovery of iron, for example, can change Row, 1986. despite a general’s explicit orders that the whole worlds. Conquerors will rise, min- Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. New York: Random inventor be spared. ers will prosper, fabulous wealth will House, 1980. 600 B.C.—500 A.D.: All modern, mono- accumulate, and soon the whole campaign Tunis, Edwin. Weapons. New York: The theistic religions are founded. world will eventually alter as steel replac- World Publishing Company, 1954. 100s A.D.: The magnetic compass is es bronze, wood, and flint. PCs can be invented by the Chinese. involved in the whole affair—whether they 100s A.D.: Gunpowder is invented by want to be or not. the Chinese. 800s A.D.: The Franks introduce chain mail for general use. 800s A.D.: Anglo-Saxons begin using bill hooks, starting the development of pole arms. 1300s A.D.: The English begin using long bows effectively. 1500s A.D.: Potatoes are brought from the New World to Europe.

DRAGON 19 20 JANUARY 1992 Apply fiction-writing techniques to game-campaign design

by Michael J. D’Alfonsi

As all Dungeon Masters know, writing every day. If you don’t, you lose contact Creating characters exciting role-playing game adventures is with your project. You will notice the As in a novel, characters bring a cam- one of the most difficult tasks for an aspir- improvement in your campaign by work- paign to life. Non-player characters are the ing DM. Creating a campaign is similar to ing on it every day. most enjoyable aspect of a campaign for writing a novel, so fiction writers like me, but creating such characters is hard. myself face the same challenges that DMs Keep a journal Entire books are written about fictional do. Trying to create intricate plots and Every successful writer does this at one character creation, and every writer has memorable characters is the goal of both time or another; most do so for their en- at least one system that works. writers and DMs. tire career. A journal serves a number of When I’m writing fiction, I follow a As a writer as well as an avid role-player, purposes for the writer. First and fore- checklist. I have recently started using the I have stumbled along trying to make both most, a journal helps you keep track of same list when creating game NPCs and tasks easier. From talking to fellow writers your ideas. Ever had a great idea in the when fleshing out my player characters. and DMs, I have realized that colleagues in middle of doing something else, but forget Ask these questions about the proposed both groups have given me some advice to write it down and lose it forever? Every character: that applies to both endeavors. By combin- writer has been there, which is why most —What does the character want out of ing the knowledge and advice of both keep journals. It is also a good repository life? groups to my writing and my campaign, I for what writers call “dump writing,” —What is his function in the scheme of have become more skilled at my vocation anything occupying your mind at the time. the story (campaign)? and my players have noted the improve- Get rid of it in your journal and get down —What does he look like? ments in my fantasy milieu. to work. —What is his lifestyle? A list of techniques follows that writers A journal can be a notebook, index —What does he like and dislike? use in the practice of their craft, and how cards, or a tape recorder. All you need is a —Does he have any distinguishing these same techniques can be used to convenient method of recording your actions or verbal expressions? make you a better DM. ideas. I use a bound notebook for my main —What does he do when he’s angry or journal, but when I travel I keep index happy? cards with me. —Is he necessary to the overall picture of the story (campaign)? Work habits Finding ideas —What are his talents and abilities? Being a DM, like being a writer, is more Now that you know how to catch and —How often is this character going to of a calling than a hobby or job. Both can store the ideas that happen upon you, appear in the story (campaign)? be fun, challenging, stimulating, tedious, here’s how you can consciously look for —How involved will he become in and frustrating—all at the same time! them. things? Few people have the flexibility to sched- The major source of ideas for fiction —Where has he been? ule large blocks of time to devote to their writers is the newspaper. They clip arti- —What has he done? campaigns. You must train your subcon- cles out of the morning paper, store them —Should he be liked or disliked? scious, which is where all those great in a journal, and go back through them —Is he believable? ideas come from, to release its contents when they need an idea. Why not do the The AD&D® 2nd Edition game’s DMG when you want to work. If you sit down at same for a fantasy campaign? (pages 114-115) contains tables on charac- the same time and place every day, your Newspapers are filled with stories of ter personality that will give you ideas for subconscious will eventually get the idea kidnappings, robberies, murders, and answers to some of the above questions. and cooperate. even some positive accomplishments. Sure, Start by setting aside one hour each day a hostage situation in a fantasy world Planning and organization when you will work. Do it in the same won’t be met with gun-toting SWAT teams, While a rare individual can prosper in place each day. If nothing comes to you but you can substitute an appropriate the midst of chaos, most people can’t. I right away, keep staring at your note pad equivalent. The City of Greyhawk from find that when I let my work area get or computer—even if you spend the hour the WORLD OF GREYHAWK® setting won’t cluttered, I can’t write. I become uneasy, staring. Your brain hates a vacuum. Once have a star baseball player like Nolan and my creative process stops. you train it, it will start releasing your Ryan, but it might have a champion wres- Keep your work area organized. Keep creative brilliance on cue. To begin with, tler or gladiator. everything you need in easy reach. Graph stop when that hour is up. Once you are Writers won’t reproduce a real-life event paper, pencils, reference books, and all set in your routine and you’re having point-for-point in their stories. They use other materials should have their place. If success, increase the time you spend “at the article as a starting point and build on you minimize your clutter, you maximize work.” it, creating an entirely different scenario. your output. Another important thing to remember is DMs can do exactly the same in their Plan ahead when working on a project. that you must work on your campaign campaign worlds. Individual ideas are only fragments or

DRAGON 21 “bones.” You need at least a skeleton to improve it (though that’s not the recom- block never works. Be active and do some- work from. If you look through any of mended way to go about it). DMs enjoy no thing about it. I have five ways that I com- TSR’s published campaigns, you can see such luxury. If you use one of your adven- bat this dreaded affliction, and I try them that a lot of planning went into them; they tures and it is a bust, you can’t pretend it in order. If the first one doesn’t work, I have an overall consistency, and no ele- never happened, or your players will move on to the next one. ments are there without a reason. Plot think you are crazy. Careful editing will First, I read something inspirational. For lines all have a believable beginning, mid- help you get it right the first time. me it is either the Meditations, by Marcus dle, and conclusion. These things can only Do not edit while you write. This, along Aurelius, or the Bible, Both are chock full of come about through thorough planning. with “you must write every day,” are the advice on overcoming adversity. I might also Say you are writing an adventure where two non-negotiable rules of writing. Noth- read from a book of poetry, a good novel, or the characters have to escort a caravan. ing will bring on the dreaded writer’s- even something I have written in the past. That is your starting point. Now you must block syndrome quicker than making Reading something almost always clears my fill in the details. What is the caravan corrections while you are still creating an head and lets me get back to work. carrying? What evil forces are trying to adventure. If this doesn’t work, I change the setting stop it? Do the caravan owners have ulteri- Writing is like a flowing stream of water. and medium. I write on my computer, at or motives? Hundreds of other details are When it comes to a rock, it goes around. If my desk, from 9 A.M. to noon every day. If needed to make a complete adventure; an it stops at the rock, everything behind it I’m blocked, I grab a notebook and go for idea isn’t enough. You can brainstorm a list stops. If it goes around, the momentum of a walk. I might go to a local park or to a of supporting ideas or do a full outline, the flowing water will eventually make the cafe and try working through the block whichever works best for you. stream go over or through the obstacle. there. I rarely have to go beyond this point One good way to outline, which works Once your “stream” stops, it is very hard before my block is cleared. better for me than the traditional heading/ to get it going again, You must get it on On those rare occasions when I am still subheading system, is the linear outline. paper first, then go back and worry about blocked, I put on some music and dance. I Start with a line drawn from the bottom- clarity, continuity, and consistency (the got this idea from an episode of the TV left corner of the page to the top-right three Cs). Editing is an entirely different show, L. A. Law, and it really works. corner. With your first plot development, process from writing. It uses an altogether If walking, reading, and dancing don’t draw a line off the main line near the different section of your brain. Let each help, try a hot bath. The soothing effects bottom. Write the development on this part do its job in turn, and you will find of the hot water are great for breaking line. Any subplots related to this develop- yourself with a lot more completed pro- through any troubles. ment are written on lines coming from jects than unfinished ones. Your last chance at returning to produc- this development line. Work your way up tivity is to switch projects. In general, it is the main diagonal line with each new plot Tenacity vs. talent a good idea to stick to one project at a development. This system is not as rigid as I decided to become a professional writ- time, but if your block is this serious, your the traditional outline and allows you to er one afternoon while browsing through subconscious is trying to tell you that you easily add things without rewriting the my favorite bookstore. I ran into a woman are not ready to work on what is in front entire outline. who became my mentor. We talked about of you. A writer told me that your mind writing, and she gave me several pieces of knows when you are ready for something; Research advice, many of which I am sharing here. when you are, nothing can stop you from The old saying goes, “Write what you The single most important thing she said putting it on paper. So, if nothing works, know.” The new, improved version states: was that tenacity counts ten times as switch tracks and work on something else. “Know what you write,” If you stick to much as talent. You can be the most tal- only what you know, your avenues are ented writer in the world, but if you don’t Communicating ideas limited. But, if you’re willing to thoroughly have the tenacity to sit in front of a type- Being a writer and a DM are both lonely research your subject area, you can write writer, day after day, you will never suc- pursuits. You spend hours huddled with about virtually anything. ceed. Former president Richard Nixon your books and notes trying to do some- When researching a campaign setting, once said something similar: “All you need thing that other people might think is pay attention to the details. The things to be a great lawyer is a lead butt? strange. You are apart from those people that are going to make your world seem As a DM, you must stick to what you are who don’t share your love and obsession real and alive are small things, like how doing and finish what you start. You may (and even those who do). chain mail was made in France as opposed be stressed, stuck, or afraid, but you have Take heart! Writers have writers’ groups to England, or what the Sumerians traded to do it anyway. I may not be the greatest to share ideas, get honest and informed with India. You won’t look good if you writer ever, but I am possibly the most criticism, and to complain about the rigors have an ancient Roman eating corn and stubborn. Through all the rejection slips, I of their chosen life; why shouldn’t DMs? drinking coffee, both of which were un- endure. I keep at it and refuse to give up. Get together with some of your friends known to that culture. Remember: There Confidence is the key. You have to be- who run campaigns. Swap your latest new is no surplus research. Every detail may lieve in yourself and in what you are doing magical item with the guy across town for come in handy at some point. with your campaign. It’s all right to make his latest, most deadly monster. Find out mistakes, but you have to learn from how others deal with “rules lawyers.” Your Editing and revision them. Don’t doubt your abilities. One campaign will not only get an infusion of Good editing is what separates the excel- adventure may end up as a Monty Haul new ideas, but you will get a fresh per- lent from the mediocre. In submitting this jackpot, but you can remember that when spective on your craft. article, I didn’t sit down and reel off 3,000 you put your next adventure together. It is words and then mail them in. I made a first your choice to become a DM, and you Before I started applying what I knew as draft, set it aside for a couple of days, went have to take the bad with the good. a writer to campaign creation, my world back and looked it over, and saw a lot of had no internal consistency and the play- mistakes and changed them. I then wrote a Dealing with writer’s block ers constantly argued with me because of second and third draft before I submitted Writer’s block is the night hag that in- it. Now I can reap the rewards of both the final copy [which was accepted without habits every writer’s (and DM’s) night- pursuits. I have a campaign that is orga- major revisions.—The Editors]. mares. It can stop you in your tracks, even nized, consistent, and no longer such a DMs have to follow the process, too, and as you’re entering the home stretch in chore to run. Be patient, apply these tech- perhaps even more so. Writers can submit creating an adventure or novel. niques, and watch your campaign start to an inferior piece, get it rejected, and then Being passive and trying to wait out a write itself.

22 JANUARY 1992

Speed up AD&D® game combat with the THAC0 defense system

by Blake Mobley

DM: “Okay, all eight trolls rush forward Wouldn’t it be nice if a player character here means that a positive armor-class and attack the party. Tim, what’s Thayr’s could somehow “defend himself?” This is value will increase the result and a nega- armor class?” possible if you allow each player to roll the tive armor-class value will decrease the Tim: “One from the front, two shieldless, attack dice of his PC’s foes (the nonplayer result; e.g., a roll of 10 + AC 2 = 10 + 2 and six from behind.” characters, NPCs). The DM then secretly = 12, while a roll of 10 + AC -2 = DM: “Let’s see—trolls bite and claw compares the roll to each NPC’s THAC0 to 10 -2 = 8.) twice, so that’s three attacks on Thayr’s quickly determine if the character was 3. Perform the above two steps for all front armor class. What was it again?” struck. This gives the player the illusion of current attacks that the character is de- Tim: “One.” being in control (unless he cheats, of fending against, writing them down if DM: “Right! [Rolling, calculating, compar- course), keeps the NPC’s chance to hit necessary. ing with THAC0 chart, and rolling dam- secret (at least initially), and frees up the 4. Inform the DM of the resulting de- age.] He bites Thayr for eight hit points, DM so he doesn’t have to remember so fenses in the exact order rolled. then rakes him for five more with a nasty many armor classes or roll so many dice. The DM should explain that the lower claw. Now, another troll is attacking Thayr The DM still rolls the damage on any NPC’s the player’s roll is, the better the defense. from his right side. Is that his shieldless successful attack, thus maintaining game This makes sense since, in essence, the side?” balance. Obviously, this system is viable players are now rolling the attack rolls of Tim: “Yeah.” only if all the gamers trust one another— their PCs’ foes (that’s why a negative ar- DM: “I can’t remember if his shield is but if they do, this could help a lot. mor class reduces the defense roll). magical or not. What did you say his The DM now has a very simple task. He shieldless armor class was?” compares the result to the foe’s THAC0. Tim: [Irritated] “Two!” Results below the THAC0 are unsuccessful DM: “Oh, yeah. Sorry. [Rolling and calcu- attacks. Results equal to or greater than lating.] Amazingly, the troll missed with all the THAC0 indicate that the foe hits the three attacks. Thayr must have ducked at PC. The DM then rolls the appropriate just the right moment. Well, that takes damage. care of Thayr’s attacker. Only six more Using the previous example, the DM has trolls on the rest of the party, and it’ll be Tim roll Thayr’s defenses. Tim rolls 15, 8, the party’s initiative.” The THAC0 defense and 12 against the first troll and a 10, 1, Dale: “This takes so long, and I don’t feel This system of combat resolution is fast, and 5 against the second troll. Since the like my character has any control over his simple, and easy to adapt to your game. first troll was attacking from the front, own life. You roll all attacks and damage When the DM needs to-resolve any NPC’s Tim adds Thayr’s front armor class (AC 1), behind the screen to maintain a sense of attack on a PC, he simply informs the producing 16, 9, and 13 (15 + 1, 8 + 1, secrecy, but we all trust each other. I wish player which NPC is attacking him and in 12 + 1, respectively). Since the second troll there was a better way to do this.” what manner. was attacking from Thayr’s shieldless side, DM: “Me, too. Sometimes I just guess Using the previous gaming example, the Tim would add Thayr’s shieldless armor whether the attacks hit or miss in combats DM could say, “Tim, Thayr is being at- class (AC 2) to the second set, producing involving hordes of monsters with differ- tacked by two trolls, one from his front 12, 3, and 7 (10 + 2, 1+2, 5 + 2, respective- ent THAC0s. The rolling and calculating and one from his right side. Each troll ly). The DM notes that trolls have a THAC0 takes too much time, even though this is attempts a bite and two claw attacks. of 13. Tim then says, “The front troll got one of the fastest combat systems I know.” Thayr needs to defend himself, with the 16, 9, and 13, while the other got 12, 3, trolls’ bites rolled first.” Thayr then “de- and 7.” Realizing that only the 16 and 13 If this seems like a common occurrence fends” himself, while the DM watches or of the first troll hit (because both are in your AD&D® or D&D® games, this is moves on to inform other players of their equal to or higher than the trolls THAC0), the article for you. Although the THAC0 PCs’ predicaments. A player resolves his the DM rolls damage for one claw and one system is a wonderfully quick method of character’s defense as follows: bite then informs Tim, “The first troll bites combat resolution, it can be improved 1. Roll 1d20. Thayr for eight hit points and rakes him upon to give your game a more lively and 2. Add the character’s applicable armor for five more. Thayr deftly dances away realistic feel. class: front, shieldless, or rear. (“Adding” from the other troll.”

24 JANUARY 1992 first encounter monster “X,” they have no adjustments themselves if the players are idea how hard it is to defend against the inexperienced or if the applicable modifier beast’s attacks. However, as the players is something the character shouldn’t roll defenses, they eventually come to know. For example, if a troll throws a club realize that a defense of, say, 12 or less at Thayr from medium range, and Tim avoids damage, just as a real warrior reports that Thayr’s defense was an 13, would soon learn to judge how well he the DM simply applies the -2 penalty Benefits had to dodge, block, and maneuver in associated with medium range and in- Close examination reveals that this proc- order to avoid being struck by a real forms Tim that the club just missed. ess is doing nothing other than having the adversary. Perhaps the best way to handle this last players roll all the foe’s attacks upon their Skilled players might even start role- point is to lay down the explicit rule that characters instead of having the DM doing playing the combat to a greater degree, players make no modifier adjustments it. Some might conclude that nothing is making comments like, “Ah, Thayr dodges unless the DM specifically says so, such as: gained. This is far from the case, as shown deftly to the left—ooh, but he is clobbered “Tim, add two to Thayr’s defenses against by the following benefits. by a right hook!” those rear attacks” This allows the DM to Players feel as if they have a chance to regulate modifiers as he wishes. avoid being hit, as they are “in control” of If you try this THAC0 defense system in the dice (not actually true, again, unless your campaign, use it for several games, the player cheats; open rolls with com- allowing the players to adjust to it. Then monly used dice are recommended!). ask them how they feel about the change. Players roll all the attack dice in the game, Be sure to point out all the pros and cons freeing the DM for other duties. Then, too, from your standpoint; as well as listening players are actively involved in this phase to theirs. A good practice is to call for a of combat, keeping the game alive in their secret vote as to whether the new method eyes. Applying the system should be adopted. The DM need only hold the correct If a DM feels he can place a lot of trust In any event, I hope the THAC0 defense damage dice in his hand and remember in the players, he can allow all of them to system improves the quality of your gam- each foe’s THAC0 number. He then can roll their defenses simultaneously. Combat ing. I have tested it for the past year in my instantly resolve damage as players report then moves quickly. own gaming club and have used it at the their defensive results. This instant feed- There are still some combat modifiers 1990 GEN CON® game fair, as well as the back brings the game to life and allows the that the DM has to take into consideration, final round of the 1990 European GEN DM to weave interesting explanations as to such as the +2 bonus for attacking from CON game fair open tournament. So far, why the attacks hit or miss, adding more behind, the -4 penalty if a target is invisi- nearly everyone finds it to be a dynamic realism to the game. When the characters ble, etc. DMs should handle all of these improvement.

DRAGON 25 by Steven E. Schend

make the game just as exciting and fresh for our current players. Taking a few steps back in time, we can further understand the need for the Rules Cyclopedia. The year 1983 saw the D&D game take a dramatic change in looks and style with the printing of the Basic Set, colloquially known as “the red box.” Frank Mentzer and a cast of hundreds revised the D&D rules and made them into a tiered system of rules-expanding boxed sets. As the Expert, Companion, and Mas- ter Sets were introduced, players saw the game grow along with their characters’ experience until the characters reached their limit at 36th level. The system worked well, and TSR published a fifth boxed set, the Immortals Set, for players who wanted their heroes to explore greater vistas of adventure as Immortals. However, after the boxed sets were published and the game was complete, players were faced with another problem: “Where is that one particular rule/spell/ magical item/monster?” The D&D rules were divided up among seven booklets (nine, counting the Immortals rules) with a total of 368 (or 452) pages of rules. A system like this was a nightmare when referring to rules, tables, and whatnot. Finally, in 1990, the decision was made to compile and compress all the varied D&D rules from the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master Sets, plus the best of the vari- ant and new rules included in the D&D Gazetteer line, and place them in one hardbound book. When we looked at the skills and the alternate character classes from the Gazetteers, we suddenly had a The grand old game—complete at last! ballpark figure of 150 additional pages of rules on characters and magic use. By mid- My boss, Jim Ward, asked me to write graphic designers, proofreaders, and com- 1990, at the start of the compilation of the this column to describe what the new mentators for all their help. Thank you, Rules Cyclopedia, we had to contend with DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game Rules guys; I couldn’t have done it without you! over 500 pages of rules for the system. Cyclopedia is like, and “exhaustive” is the How in the name of Stefan Karameikos best word that comes to mind—exhaustive Out of the past were we going to fit all this into a manage- in details, rules, and special touches, all Boy, 1991 was a great year for the D&D able hardbound format? within its 304 pages for our loyal D&D® game line. We premiered the new D&D Aaron Allston drew the daunting task of game players. It was also exhausting for boxed game, the first truly introductory compiling all the information, pulling me, the books primary editor, given the game in the 15-year history of the D&D together every rule from those seven main long, sleepless nights I spent making sure line. With a step-by-step learning process, books and putting them in order. He the book was completed and on the TSR made the oldest role-playing system ironed out some of the wrinkles in the shelves in time. the easiest to learn and most accessible, game that had become apparent over the Before I delve into the history of the for players of all ages. From the beautiful years and effectively merged the rules that product itself, I’d like to thank Aaron graphics to the rule books grammar, had been expanded, creating a complete Allston, Peggy Cooper, Terry Dykstra, everything was geared toward a seamless rules system in one book. Unfortunately, Sarah Feggestad, Bruce Heard, Angelika system that 10-year-olds could pick up and there wasn’t enough room for every char- Lokotz, Jon Pickens, Robin Raab, teach themselves. With this wonderful acter class, skill, type of specialized com- Stephanie Tabat, James Ward, Dori “Boy product for the line, we needed to spruce bat, or monster. Aaron did a marvelous Howdy” Watry, and an assembled horde of up the more advanced existing rules to job, but he left us with an intimidating pile

26 JANUARY 1992 of manuscript paper that was still too from the Gazetteer line. If you and your started using! Appendix three contains large to fit a 304-page book. players prefer a less complicated game, record sheets for use by DMs and players Various playtesting groups as well as the keep in mind that weapons mastery and alike, including a character-record sheet, a TSR staff looked through the manuscript, the general skills are optional and not spell-book sheet, and mapping paper for slowly pulling out areas needing more necessary to enjoy the D&D game. use in wilderness encounters or mapping development or editing; other areas were The rules section encompasses the ma- a campaign area. Appendix four gives cut and left behind. The final editing tasks jority of the book, 181 pages of it, and complete indices of spells (including the were formidable: checking and rechecking covers the gamut of core D&D rules. All reversed spell listings), tables, and the all facts and figures (this resulted in the rules from the four original boxed sets most complete general index ever printed near destruction of my office copies of the were included, with few changes beyond for D&D rules. If you can’t find what boxed sets from overuse) and cramming editing. Within this section, you can expect you’re looking for in these indexes, it isn’t the whole lot into a story board and mak- to find information and rules on: to be found! ing it work. Dori Watry and Jon Pickens —Movement, including land, water, and There you have it—everything you need have my undying gratitude for their help aerial travel; to know about the Rules Cyclopedia but in editing sections of the book (especially —Encounters, surprise, monster reac- were afraid to ask! This is the definitive the indices and the monsters), and we all tions, and wandering-monster rules and version of the first fantasy role-playing shared in the double-checking of each tables; game, and the book is made to last for other’s edited manuscripts. After many —Combat with optional morale rules and years of gaming. Thank you for your long hours and much hard work, the two-weapons combat, and rules for fight- continued support of the D&D game line; Rules Cyclopedia fell into place as you see ing underwater, in the air, or during a it’s your commitment to high-quality it today: a complete role-playing system in siege (War and Siege Machine rules for games and support products that brought one book! mass combat are included); us to this stage of the game’s development The history of the product’s develop- —Experience; We hope you enjoy it. ment is not as important as telling you —NPCs, with rules on hiring them and what’s in the book and what you can get the DM’s role-playing of them; out of it. I brought up its history to show —DM procedures that isolate questions you that projects are rarely the sole effort and problem areas during game play and of those listed on the cover or credits give guidelines for rulings on alignment, page. The Rules Cyclopedia is the product anti-magic, problems with haste spells, and of many different people’s work over the other topics; 15-year history of the D&D rules, and the —Monsters, including nearly every mon- hardbound is the result of each person’s ster included in the Basic, Expert, Com- hard work and dedication to the game. panion, and Master sets (and a few morel This product is for everyone, and that’s for 67 pages (contrary to popular rumor, what D&D games have always been about. not all of the monsters from our modules, the Creature Catalog, and the CREATURE Into the book CRUCIBLE” series are collected here; we’d The Rules Cyclopedia is not a marked need at least 300 pages alone for all that!); change in the rules or the game (i.e., it’s not —Immortals, with rules for interacting a “2nd Edition”), but it is a reorganization with these powerful beings (a simplified and clarification of game rules that have and optional version of the Immortals been in play for years. The Rules Cyclope- rules allows PCs to petition to become dia is also not an easy-to-use set of rules; it Immortals themselves); assumes its readers are at least minimally —Treasure, including a full list of all experienced role-players. If you are a new magical items and methods for creating player, you’re better off with the new D&D your PC’s own spells and items; boxed game (the “black box”) specifically —Guidelines for administering your own designed for new players. game campaigns and hints on designing LOOKING FOR The Rules Cyclopedia’s introduction and running adventures; briefly covers the basic ideas of role- —Breakdowns of the various planes of MORE GAMERS? playing, mapping, dice use, and the book’s existence, planar travel, and the effects of organization for those players new to the the planes on spells and magic; and You may think you’d have to tra- game; experienced players can easily skip —Optional variant rules that can be vel to another planet to find a over this part and dive right in to the next adopted at the DM’s discretion, such as game convention. Finding friends section. The book has three major sections expanded experience levels for mystics who are also gamers can be a after that: player-character creation, rules, and demihumans, and nonlethal combat. problem, too. Put your scoutsuit and appendices of useful props and infor- The final section of the Rules Cyclopedia away and turn to the Convention mation for the game. is composed of the appendices. Appendix Calendar in this magazine. There Player-character creation occupies the one gives 16 pages of color maps and text first five chapters of the book, encompass- about the official D&D campaign world, may be a game convention closer ing everything needed for a character. now named Mystara, which includes the to your home than you’d think — Chapter one handles ability-score and hit- Known World and the HOLLOW WORLD™ and conventions are a great place point generation, as well as the basics of setting inside Mystara. Appendix two to find friends who share your in- the character’s name and background. allows players and DMs to convert their terests. Whether you like board- Chapter two presents all the standard D&D games into AD&D® 2nd Edition games, role-playing games, character classes and demihuman races; games and vice versa; this appendix covers miniature wargames, or just the druid and mystic are also included as nearly every eventuality from characters browsing around, a game conven- player-character classes. Chapters three to monsters and magical items. Now, more tion can be all you’ve hoped for. and four cover spells and personal equip- than ever, players can take advantage of ment, while chapter five details the intri- the conversion system to use both AD&D Plan to attend one soon. cacies of weapons mastery and general and D&D products in their games, no skills, a new addition to the core rules matter which world or game system they

DRAGON 27 Artwork by Thomas Baxa He’s one of the stock figures of modern- day role-playing games, from espionage to super-hero settings: the would-be world conqueror. This villain has a plan (usually explained at great length to captured heroes), a weapon (often slightly silly), and the ruthlessness (that somehow never extends to killing captured heroes before they escape) needed to seize control. The fact that no one has ever actually managed it is totally irrelevant; our mega-villain is determined to succeed. It could be argued that the world would be improved by a single centralized gov- ernment, but a satisfactory form of gov- ernment needs to be developed first. Maybe the world would have been better off if Napoleon had formed a global em- pire, but since time machines aren’t availa- ble, we can’t change history to test this idea. With the memory of Hitler still too close for comfort, a diversity of interests and ideas seems a better bet for the future than the whims of a series of dictators. Most dictators want millions of subjects; it’s one of the main attractions of megalo- mania. Profit and endless luxury are also attractive results of world domination, but there are easier ways of getting rich, and most are a lot safer. A minority want to rule the world for altruistic reasons. Hu- manity, they argue, can’t be trusted with dangerous toys like nuclear weapons and pollutants like toxic wastes, so these must be destroyed or controlled. Other motives for global domination are possible, ranging from political or religious zeal to total insanity and whim, but the first three predominate. The major global powers have their own plans and goals that may occasionally overlap the topics discussed in this article, but role-playing characters aren’t likely to become involved in the high-level activities of these organizations. The governments of the superpowers use long-term political, military, and economic plans, incorporat- ing thousands or millions of elements, rather than the sharply focused activities that constitute the average role-playing game. Dictators prefer smaller and more comprehensible plans that are easier to use in a campaign. Resistance is useless The megalomaniacal approach to world domination concentrates on displays of force, or “Ming The Merciless” methods. A Mad scientists, bloodless secret conquest isn’t much fun, but a true sense of power comes from megalomaniacs, flying your invulnerable citadel over New York City, crushing or vaporizing some landmarks, and dropping off a few ultima- and their tums. If you can’t be harmed and can destroy anyone or anything that gets in motives your way, you can do whatever you want. There are many variations on this theme, in gaming ranging from orbital lasers and particle beams (cutting the dictator’s initials across a convenient desert or jungle, and taking out a few submarines and missile bases in ©1991 by Marcus L. Rowland passing) to direct control of the weather.

28 JANUARY 1992 Megalomaniacs almost always use high- So far, I’ve only mentioned legitimate 1: Control of the physical planet Earth. profile schemes for world conquest, im- business, but any sufficiently large crimi- 2: Control of the biosphere (plants, ani- pressive efforts involving a maximum of nal organization is essentially a corpora- mals, etc.) publicity, gigantic high-tech machines, and tion. Criminal business tactics and 3: Control of the human population and hordes of uniformed flunkies, Even if their corporate politics tend to be a little more human resources. scheme revolves around a weapon the size lethal than legal ones, but the eventual The most obvious way of achieving of a bread box, they’ll probably put it results are much the same. A criminal Objective #1 is by starting a nuclear war. inside a gigantic fortress that just screams dictatorship would probably need to put The villain and a few trusty henchmen that it’s a secret base. This is the villains’ up a respectable front, so the casual ob- and henchwomen simply hide out in main weakness. Hundreds of would-be server would notice little real difference space, underwater, or a really deep bomb dictators in film, television, and comic between a corporate dictatorship and a shelter, then wait for the ruins to stop books have been unable to resist explain- crime-syndicate takeover. glowing in the dark. There are a few obvi- ing their plans in gloating detail, and the It’s easy to imagine a world ruled by big ous drawbacks, such as the fact that any dictator’s control panel (with a conven- business, and this background is used in base on or near Earth is statistically likely iently large Destruct switch) is always many science-fiction stories. The period in to be near a nuclear explosion. Then within easy reach of one hero’s fingers. which national governments lose control there’s the possibility of triggering a nucle- to these corporations could be an interest- ar winter or global flooding, destroying Why conquer the world? ing setting for many game systems. Don’t the ozone layer, and so on. Of course, the Global conquest for profit looks a little expect to have a meaningful discussion smoldering charnel heap our dictator pointless, since the resources needed for with the elite under corporate rule; middle inherits isn’t good for much, but someone any realistic plan of conquest imply im- management will handle all tedious details, like Hitler might regard that as an accept- mense wealth to begin with. Unfortu- such as overthrowing governments, hiring able price for global supremacy. If any nately, wealthy people aren’t immune to hit men, and the like. game master is contemplating this idea for greed, so someone who was already rich his next adventure, please note that sev- might still be tempted to try for complete You’re in good hands eral dozen healthy men and women are control of world finances. A more plausi- Genuinely altruistic dictators are rare, needed for a stable gene pool; a smaller ble possibility is the idea that corporations but anyone arrogant enough to want to population develops inbreeding problems. might gradually usurp the role of national conquer the world might believe that the Biological warfare seems the best way to governments in the major states, as they world will benefit from his rule. In some achieve Objective #2 (and presumably #1, once controlled the “banana republics.” cases, this goal is the main motive for by default). In practice, though, the logis- After all, at least one Western government conquest. tics of simultaneously killing everyone on seems happy to hand over many responsi- One simple way to impose your utopian Earth are daunting. Immediately lethal bilities to commercial organizations. Cor- view is to ensure that no one else is viruses sound good in theory, but a fast- porate states seem a logical extension of around to stop you. This is the “cruel to be developing disease tends to kill off victims this idea. kind” approach used by villains in some before they can spread it very far. The Conquest could benefit the megacor- James Bond films: kill off most of the ideal germ warfare virus has the following porations in many ways. Effective control human race, making sure that a few hand- properties: of governments would allow them to picked sympathizers are around to pick up A: The victim is apparently healthy but change laws to protect their immense the pieces afterward. A truly benevolent highly infectious for a few days before the wealth and divert global resources into dictator won’t find this solution acceptable terminal stages. profitable channels. This doesn’t necessar- and may try less direct methods. Tricking B: The people who “launch” the virus ily mean channels that help the public, humanity into doing what you want is can be protected against it, perhaps by since lots of profitable activities are use- possibly easier to justify than the use of vaccination. less or dangerous. For example, the arms force. One idea that has appeared several C: Mortality (or any other desired ef- race would probably continue, though the times is world unification against the fects) should approach 100%. dictators would hopefully ensure that threat of invasion from space; faking this All this sounds plausible, but the safe nuclear weapons were never actually convincingly can’t be easy, but might just use of biological weapons poses immense used. Pollution might continue, since there be possible with the right technology problems. Viruses have a habit of mutat- doesn’t seem to be much profit in stopping behind you. The snag is that this method ing, and the immunity of their users isn’t it unless it gets in the way of productivity. doesn’t leave the potential dictator in an always assured. On the other hand, some A profit-based system would probably obvious position to assume power, unless of the intended victims may happen to be have a very low profile, and the public the dictator happens to be the Secretary- naturally immune, and others may not might be wholly unaware of its secret General of the United Nations. A suffi- suffer the full effects of the disease. rulers; manipulation behind the scenes is a ciently cunning scheme might make the There’s also a risk of triggering a nuclear good deal safer than an open operation victims cooperate with their conqueror, war, since the nuclear powers would and is more in keeping with the shadowy but any failure would probably ensure probably assume that their enemies had world of international finance. Does any- that the planned effect was never spread the disease. Launch crews tend to one really know who controls the worlds achieved. be isolated in aircraft, submarines, or deep wealth? It’s interesting to note that the Altruistic dictators are usually obsessive shelters, and they would learn about a most plausible plan for global conquest personalities; they are convinced of the plague long before it affected them. I’ve ever seen could only be mounted by rightness of their cause, but feel guilty Objective #3 is undoubtedly the most one multinational company; of course, about and will try to explain and justify appealing but is also the hardest to there are those who would claim that IBM their actions. They will reveal their plans, achieve. This is the realm of diplomacy, already rules the world, but that may be a but they’ll usually wait until it is too late propaganda, and blackmail. The main little far-fetched. Other industrial giants for anyone to intervene. requirement is a threat so terrible that no also have interesting potential; orbital government or individual is likely to at- mind-control lasers are probably still We have the technology tempt to stand in your way. A demonstra- science fiction, but the Muzak Corporation So far, we’ve talked about motives for ble ability to destroy the world is a good should have its own satellite transmitters conquering the world. What about meth- start, but has the drawback of being some- before the end of the century, and it can ods? Let’s define “the world.” For the sake what final; what’s really needed is a con- openly claim that its product is effective in of argument, a dictator wants some or all trollable threat, a weapon that’s manipulating human behavior. of the following: unstoppable but has a finite effect. De-

DRAGON 29 stroying Mars, New York, or the mayor of Money is wonderful base, equipped with everything from Bugtussle, Arkansas, by a method that Conquering the world is phenomenally interrogation rooms and laboratories to potentially allows you to destroy the world expensive, unless you can come up with a waterbeds filled with piranha. However, is a better idea than producing an ultimate plan that finances itself. Equipment may there are hundreds of examples on televi- doomsday weapon and waiting for some- be stolen, but items like bases and person- sion, in books and in films, so it would one to call your bluff. Beam weapons fit nel cost money. This gives commercial really be a waste of space. Designing a the bill nicely, but the orbital stations organizations a real advantage; they al- base is fun, and you can find examples of needed to use them may be a bit vulnera- ready possess many of the resources need- almost anything you want, if you look at ble. If nuclear weapons are used, a prean- ed for any major operation, from enough sources. Need an inaccessible nounced detonation at a fairly unim- production facilities and warehouses to castle? Try Where Eagles Dare, Dance of portant site may be the best bet, with a transport and laboratories. THRUSH, the the Vampires, or Madame Sin. Do you promise that there are plenty more bombs villainous organization in The Man From need a polar fortress? Take your pick from available if necessary. The drawback is U.N.C.L.E. TV series, was a particularly Doc Savage, Superman, or The Watchmen. that the major governments have lived good example of a dictatorial organization Feel like owning a space station? The with the threat of nuclear war for several that hid behind commercial fronts and got James Bond film, Moonraker, has a splen- decades, and they may not easily be im- a lot of its income from legitimate activi- didly silly example, and there’s always the pressed by a loud bang (they might also ties. One episode even showed how re- Death Star if you’re thinking really big. retaliate). tired middle-management personnel were There are also many role-playing scenarios Biological weapons are more difficult to murdered to avoid paying their pensions. and adventures built around these struc- demonstrate; there’s no real way to show SPECTRE, in the James Bond novels, and tures, described in much more detail than that they are unstoppable without releas- WEB, in TSR’s TOP SECRET/S.I.™ game, could ever be put into a magazine article. ing them. A compromise solution might be also use legitimate commercial organiza- In designing a base for a role-playing the use of a less dangerous disease, with tions as cover. scenario, remember to think big, flashy, some distinctive effect that is easy to pre- Governments are even more useful as and high tech. Computers should be vast dict. For example, if you sent an ultima- sources of seed capital and as cover for metal cabinets with hundreds of flashing tum warning that the weak version of covert activities. They have good reasons lights and whirring tapes, not anonymous your mutant anthrax would make every- to maintain prisons, army bases, and other gray boxes. There should be lots of im- one’s hair fall out, then released it and useful facilities. Control of at least one pressive signs; "DANGER: 20,000 VOLTS" and caused an unstoppable plague of baldness, government is a useful step in any plot to "ACHTUNG! MINEN!" are reliable standbys, major governments might take your achieve global supremacy. but don’t neglect radiation and biohazard threats more seriously. All of this sounds difficult to achieve, but symbols, or eloquent messages like "TRES- If blackmail doesn’t appeal, how about anyone who stands any chance of con- PASSERS WILL BE SHOT!" Naturally any base brainwashing and other psychological quering the world shouldn’t find it hard to should have a good supply of sadistic tricks? Subliminal TV and radio messages organize a take-over bid or a small military prison guards, mercenaries, mad scien- have often been suggested in this role, but coup. Today Consolidated Coconuts Inc.; tists, beautiful “foils” (a term borrowed there doesn’t seem to be much evidence tomorrow the Republic of Jibrovia; next from the Victory Games’ JAMES BOND that they work particularly well, and week, the world! 007* game), and other interesting NPCs. months of saturation coverage would be It’s important to realize that bases needed to ensure that everyone was af- Home sweet home should look impregnable, but they must fected. There’s another problem in that Every conqueror needs a base, and have a few loopholes for game play. Player most research suggests that these tech- really elaborate schemes probably require characters need to be able to enter them niques will only work on target groups several. It may be possible to start a plan and save the world, so remember to leave that share a common language and cul- for global conquest in your garden shed, a few weak points. For example, a mine tural background. Global brainwashing but there could be a few problems if you field might be laid so badly that any explo- doesn’t look very likely. Perhaps brain- wanted to install a cyclotron or a shuttle sion sets off a chain reaction that leaves a washing would work if these methods launch facility. These things are also ex- clear path through the field. Guards might were accompanied by other techniques. tremely difficult to hide; current satellite be lazy, inattentive, or easily bribed, and Several drugs are known to heighten technology is able to track objects as small might carry large bunches of interesting suggestibility or reduce intelligence. One as a cigarette pack or garden hose under keys. Passes and uniforms might be forged nasty possibility is use of a disease that ideal conditions, and they can probably or stolen. If you bear these points in mind makes the victim’s body synthesize such spot major installations despite camouflage and design your base for excitement rath- drugs, without any other major harmful and bad weather. Earth resource satellites er than lethality, your players should enjoy effects, accompanied by an intense media may even be able to detect large under- having their heroes deal with it. blitz. Some authors have even suggested ground or underwater structures. Fortu- that sophisticated biological research may nately for potential dictators, it takes a lot A cunning plan be able to come up with a disease that of time to analyze satellite data, and events Finally, here are some sample dictators programs the victim’s personality directly in an apparently unimportant area may and details of their motives, methods, by interfering with memory RNA. The simply be overlooked. This can’t always be resources, and chances of success, plus snag here is that there is no real evidence counted on, though. One futuristic spy adventuring ideas involving them. that any two individuals store memory novel written in the 1960s and set in the information in exactly the same way. 1980s picked a then-ideal isolated area Outback Overlord Deception techniques may be another where no one would be likely to notice a Dictator: The Reverend Matilda route to control of the human race, possi- large base and several hundred merce- Braithwaite bly accompanied by some or all of the naries; a quarter-century later, Afghani- Motive: Altruistic lunatic brainwashing methods mentioned. All of stan doesn’t seem a particularly good Method: Mind control these schemes would probably be prefer- choice. The rapid expansion of global Resources: 2,300 followers, $5 million, TV red by commercial or altruistic dictators; tourism could also cause a few problems. station megalomaniacs would probably find that It’s hard to imagine any isolated location Mrs. Braithwaite is an Australian TV they worked too slowly to satisfy their that isn’t threatened by hordes of adven- evangelist, the leader of an obscure funda- desires. These methods are also extremely turous sightseers. mentalist sect, who believes that the world expensive—and, speaking of financing . . . When I began this article, I intended to would be much nicer if she ran it. She included detailed plans for an elaborate hasn’t yet decided exactly how she will

DRAGON 31 run the world if she does take control, but Chinese government knows that Motubo vaccines or his notes. He is quite capable she’s sure that a right-thinking person like has the warheads but isn’t sure of their of letting a few million people die to prove herself will do a better job than hundreds current location. Chinese agents would be that he means what he says. If he can take of professional politicians and diplomats. a little conspicuous in an African country, control, he’ll start to act out grotesque One of her followers has developed a so the Chinese government is recruiting a power fantasies, starting with a ceremoni- new psychotropic drug that drains will- reliable mercenary force to recover the al execution of his “enemies,” such as the power and makes the victim abnormally bombs. financial controllers of his university. susceptible to suggestion. It is effective in Characters can be involved in this ad- microgram doses. Mrs. Braithwaite per- venture as Chinese agents, as mercenaries, Acknowledgements suaded him to manufacture enough of the as Western agents trying to find out what The title of this article was suggested by drug to blanket the local water reservoir, the Chinese are doing, as criminals trying a song from the musical, Pickwick. I would and she is now in complete control of to steal the bombs from Motubo, or as like to thank Roger Robinson, John Wombat’s Crossing (population 2,300), the counterintelligence agents looking for the Dallman, Terry Pratchett, and other New South Wales town where she is bombs after Motubo’s agents have planted friends for their ideas on this theme. Brief based. As yet, the Australian government them. They might also be called in to find suggestions (in no particular order) for hasn’t noticed any abnormality; a sleepy a nuclear physicist who has been kid- further reading and viewing on this topic town has merely gotten sleepier. As more napped to arm the bombs. This should be include: War In 2080 and The Space Eater, of the drug is synthesized, Mrs. Braith- an extremely dangerous mission in which by Dave Langford; The Assassination Waite plans to extend her rule to neighbor- player characters stand a real chance of Bureau Ltd., by Jack London; W. G. Grace’s ing areas, then further afield as she takes being wounded or killed. Last Case, by William Rushton; The Great control of more chemical factories. Wash, by Gerald Kersh; The Watchmen, by Mrs. Braithwaite’s plan is effective in an A Pox Upon You Alan Moore; The Iron Dream, by Norman isolated area because her domain has little Dictator: Doctor John Dressler Spinrad; The White Plague, by Frank contact with the outside world. There is Motive: Megalomania Herbert; To Howard Hughes: A Modest only one local TV station (hers), and the Method: Biological warfare Proposal, by Joe Haldeman; Down The town isn’t linked to the satellite network Resources: University laboratory Programmed Rabbit Hole, by Anthony yet, so her broadcasts are the main influ- Doctor Dressler was a brilliant virologist Haden-Guest; Underkill, by James White; ence on victims of the drug. In any larger who devoted much of his life’s work to the Love Sickness, by Geoff Ryman; Mind- town, the victims would be bombarded by fight against smallpox. When the World killer, by Spider Robinson; and The Satan TV and other media influences from Health Organization decided that the Rug, by Alistair MacLean. The movies dozens of sources, so her chances of re- disease was finally eradicated, his univer- Superman III, Madame Sin, and Rollerball taining control would be slim. Since she sity decided to economize by cutting funds are also recommended, and almost all the isn’t a particularly good administrator, for some of Dressler’s projects. Dressler James Bond films feature plans to conquer conditions in the territory she controls believed that he was on the verge of dis- the world or elaborate secret bases. Role- will worsen before too long, eventually coveries that would (at least) earn him the playing material of interest includes: Oper- attracting government attention. Nobel prize and might lead to cures for ation: Starfire, for TSR’s TOP SECRET/S.I. Adventurers should encounter her, dozens of diseases. The sudden loss of game; Villains, for Victory Games’ JAMES perhaps accidentally, soon after she takes funds forced him to stop his work and BOND 007 game; and Zombietown U.S.A., control of Wombat’s Crossing. The towns- triggered his latent insanity. If the world for Steve Jackson Games’ GURPS* people will behave like passive zombies doesn’t want to be cured, Dressler has system. under Mrs. Braithwaite’s direction, but decided to make everyone suffer instead. they may overcome the adventurers by Unknown to the university authorities, l indicates a product produced by a company other sheer weight of numbers if the adventur- Dressler retained a supply of live smallpox than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the companies publishing those products. ers threaten her. Try to ensure that at virus and has spent years developing new The use of the name of any product without mention least one adventurer falls victim to the and more virulent bioengineered forms of its trademark status should not be construed as a drug and the TV station. This should not that will not respond to traditional vac- challenge to such status. be a particularly lethal adventure. cines. Dressler intends to release the dis- ease at London Airport, wait until a global Lost—and Found pandemic has started, then announce that Dictator: President Kamshalla Motubo he has a vaccine that will be available if Motive: Profit the governments of the world agree to his Method: Nuclear blackmail terms. His terms amount to immediate and Resources: Small African nation, four absolute control of all United Nations nuclear warheads activity, as well as progressive control of Three months ago a Chinese submarine the world’s national governments. The accidentally launched a live missile with vaccine and all documents describing its four MIRV warheads. Fortunately, they manufacture are locked in his laboratory, weren’t armed; unfortunately, the self- in a booby-trapped safe packed with explo- destruct system didn’t work, and the mis- sives. Any attempt to overpower him or sile landed in a swamp near Motubo’s force the safe open will result in destruc- capital. The army dug it out and took the tion of the material. Once Dressler has warheads to an isolated jungle base. Now, started to take the reins of power, he will Motubo is trying to find a weapons expert reveal that their are several strains of the who will be able to arm the bombs. virus, with different incubation periods. Motubo intends to hold a few Western Each requires a separate vaccine, and he capitals for ransom, use the money to buy will only release them as his demands are a better presidential palace and some met. more warheads, then start the cycle again. Dressler is an extremely dangerous He doesn’t want to control the world; he opponent. He isn’t initially backed by a just wants to milk it for enough cash to large organization, but he can really carry ensure a permanently luxurious lifestyle. out his threats. Adventurers must some- There’s one major flaw in this plan: The how overcome him without losing the

32 JANUARY 1992

©1991 by John C. Bunnell Virtual reality and virtual fantasy

and unproductive detour. Experienced gamers will find it hard to sympathize with Arvin’s perpetual frustration, and they will wonder why it takes so long for the adventurers to pick up on obvious clues. Experienced gamers may also find the electronic game’s mechanics difficult to unravel. It’s designed to run with live on- line observers to catch and fix program- ming loops, and specialized biofeedback hardware to monitor participants’ re- sponses. But it works reasonably well on a high-end home computer with no exotic peripherals worth mentioning, which seems impossible given the virtual-reality features Vande Velde describes. Moreover, Vande Velde treats software piracy purely as a plot device, ignoring the legal and ethical dimensions (not to mention badly underplaying the risks) of the gamers’ USER UNFRIENDLY actions in appropriating a copy of the Vivian Vande Velde game code. HBJ/Jane Yolen Books The bottom line is that User Unfriendly 0-l5-200960-4 $16.95 is an unintentionally apt title. The premise Where gamers are concerned, this novel is clever enough, but Vande Velde’s novel pushes all the right plot buttons. There’s a chronicles a remarkably unfriendly adven- high-tech fantasy role-playing game, a ture in a tone that will leave readers shak- band of clever teens trapped in the adven- ing their heads. ture, and a potentially deadly program- ming glitch. Unfortunately, User SHADOW Unfriendly takes its intriguing idea and quest, with a full array of pregenerated Anne Logston wraps it around a novel that’s extremely adversaries and an unpredictably aberrant Ace 0-441-75989-0 $3.99 difficult to enjoy. computer ranged against them. There are Fantasy writers of late have been going Vivian Vande Velde’s version of electron- fights with skeletons and giant rats, magi- to great lengths to make their novels dif- ic adventuring hooks its players into a cal items to be won, puzzles to be solved, ferent, to add some unique spin to their software-generated “virtual reality” set- and things that are not as they appear. worlds, tales, or characters. New writer ting. While their bodies lie idle in a base- Vande Velde presents the scenario skill- Anne Logston, though, has done almost ment computer room, their minds and fully enough, but she doesn’t provide any exactly the opposite—and the result is a senses are voyaging through a synthesized significant embellishment to the traditional sword-and-sorcery yarn whose feather- world of unkempt medieval inns and sequence of events. light writing qualifies it as one of the most monster-infested caverns. The twist is that That might not be a problem, if only her purely entertaining books I’ve read in narrator Arvin’s mother, a newcomer to characters were more likeable. But Arvin’s ages. gaming, is along for the ride. That raises party descends too quickly into petty You won’t find world-spanning evil or the stakes when twin problems emerge: bickering and helpless hand-wringing, cataclysmic disaster here, only the unpre- There’s a defect in the game software that finds itself unexpectedly divided, and dictable exploits of Shadow, a wandering deprives the party of access to healing- generally has a hard time keeping its mind elf with an engaging manner and as deft a magic, and the illness from which Arvin’s on the quest. It helps neither Arvin’s nor hand as any thief in the local guild—which mother is suffering may not be entirely a the reader’s mood when the “lost” mem- comes in handy, as the local guild in Allan- product of the game. bers of the party eventually reappear with mere is a hotbed of mystery and confu- From that point on, the story’s dimen- plenty of treasure and tales of exciting sion, and even Shadow’s friendship with sions are familiar. Arvin and company adventures, while Arvin’s group has been the daughter of the city rulers may not be must try to complete their programmed suffering through a remarkably dreary enough to protect her from the guildmas-

34 JANUARY 1992 ter’s hired assassins. rate context. colorful, with few geographical tags and It’s certainly a puzzle to Shadow, who’s That diversity of settings doesn’t help only sparse references to genuine post- paid the guilds membership fees and the collection, but what’s more frustrating Revolutionary America (in which the book carefully avoided victims with connections is that four of the nine stories involve supposedly takes place). Minor copy-editing too powerful to antagonize—unless, that essentially the same plot: various Crafters could easily transfer Old Nathan’s adven- is, the attacks have something to do with find love and marriage through incidents tures to the backwoods of any world pass- the curious bracelet she lifted from a in which their magical abilities must be ing into its industrial age. minor noble’s pouch on her first afternoon invoked. On their own, the individual tales Old Nathan himself is hard to like—an in the city market. That’s very possible, are entertaining enough (collaborators irascible, raw old man who doesn’t suffer because the bracelet is magical and may Anna O’Connell and Doug Houseman fools gladly. It doesn’t help that while be the crucial link in a plot more convolut- provide the best take on the colonial peri- Nathan is the title character, Drake’s focus ed than the bracelet’s own intricate silver od). Taken together, however, the effect is wanders back and forth between Nathan filigree. frustratingly metronomic. and his clients. Old Nathan is sometimes a Logston unfolds the adventure at a lively The two most distinctive contributions book of stories about a backwoods “cun- pace and gives Shadow a cheerfully ro- are a mist-shrouded vignette from ning-man” or wizard who helps those who guish sparkle that is utterly contagious yet Katherine Kurtz (her strongest published seek his counsel, and sometimes a book not without its wistful side. She’s also a material in some time, and possibly a about that old wizards struggle with his skilled hand with a set piece, and the precursor to a promised novel) and Robert own burdens. choreography of Shadow’s various Sheckley’s neatly plotted tale of demonic What Drake gives readers in this book is schemes and deceptions is a pleasure to bargains. Jody Lynn Nye’s “The Seeing a great deal of window dressing with no read, though Logston is careful not to Stone” is also among her best stories to window attached. Only the overdone make her heroine so competent as to be date, and though Morgan Llewelyn’s Irish language holds the narrative together; invulnerable. More than anything, the story is out of step with the rest of the when that’s subtracted, none of the re- novel blends elements of classic swash- book, it’s a solid piece as well. Equally out maining structure is solid enough to stand bucklers with an unabashed sense of fun of step, but less appealing, is a verse by on its own. At best, the book offers read- that is entirely too rare in recent fantasy Judith R. Conly that drives home its point ers a striking example of what storytelling adventures. with much too heavy a hand. is not. Shadow makes no pretense of being In short, The Crafters is a shared world anything other than what it is: a briskly in name but not in execution. There’s no BEING OF TWO MINDS enjoyable diversion. But it’s one of the sense of editorial cohesion here, no guid- Pamela F. Service best-crafted diversions to come along in a ing vision in evidence. The idea is interest- Atheneum 0-689-31524-4 $13.95 very long time, and its amusing good sense ing, and gamers with a particular interest Be warned: You’ll find Being of Two about the thieving trade should be espe- in the period may find some material of Minds in the children’s section of your cially welcome to gamers and referees value. But it feels as if Stasheff and Faw- library or bookstore, and quite properly who have had difficulty orchestrating city- cett handed out writing assignments for so. But that doesn’t stop it from being a adventures for roguish types. Anne Log- this anthology before they finished design- clever science-fiction yarn that handles a ston’s debut novel is a thoroughly ing the world, and the result is an anthol- deceptively simple premise with rare satisfying surprise, and a welcome one at ogy that just doesn’t fit together very well. common sense. that. Connie is a mostly average Midwestern OLD NATHAN teenager; Rudy is crown prince of Thulga- THE GRAFTERS David Drake ria, a pocket-sized Central European mon- Christopher Stasheff & Baen 0-671-72084-8 $4.50 archy noted for its neutrality. Born at the Bill Fawcett, eds. One of the standard role-playing tricks same instant with nearly identical brain Ace 0-441-12130-6 $4.50 for fleshing out a character is to give him patterns, they take turns at hosting each The problem with The Crafters isn’t that a distinctive speech pattern. David Drake other’s minds at the back of their own— the stories are inferior; most of them are uses the literary equivalent of that tactic in while the visitor’s body lies in a temporary quietly told and pleasantly readable. The Old Nathan, but applies the dialect much coma. problem is that too many of them strike too thickly and as a substitute for charac- For Connie and Rudy, the effect has the same note, making this new shared- terization rather than an accent to it. produced a friendship that far outweighs world collection sound like a tower bell What’s left after wading through the over- the inconvenience of the unpredictable striking nine o’clock rather than a variety written dialogue is a thin, remarkably fainting spells. Their families, unaware of of instruments playing distinct variations unappealing tale that’s more annoying the link, find the condition worrying and of a similar tune. than satisfying. search constantly for a “cure.” Secrecy Part of the difficulty may be that The Drake writes the backwoods conversa- goes out the window when Rudy is kid- Crafters is rather odd by the standards of tion in heavy strokes. He doesn’t limit napped by a rebel Thulgarian faction shared worlds. The premise involves a himself to archaic phrases and expres- while Connie is “watching,” and Connie magically gifted family founded by and sions, but spells at least half the words quickly finds herself on a desperate chase descended from alchemist Amer Crafter phonetically (e.g., “uv” for “of,” “thet” for through the Thulgarian countryside in and his witch-wife Samona, dating from “that,” “agin” for “again”), to the extent hopes of mounting a rescue. the Salem witchcraft trials into the present that readers will likely be translating the Service tells the story in a clear, straight- day. Most of the stories in this first book in dialogue in their heads as they move forward style, and her handling of the the promised series take place in pre- through the story. mind-link is thorough and logical. Rudy Revolutionary colonial America, but Ru After the translation, though, most of the and Connie are likeable protagonists, with Emerson takes her Crafter descendant to color in the book goes away, leaving a mix believable reactions to the events unfold- London, Morgan Llewelyn’s closing tale of timeworn fairy-tale or ghost-story plots ing around them, and Service populates reaches forward to 19th-century Ireland, and a strange, seemingly artificial romantic the novel with equally convincing second- and co-editor Bill Fawcett frames the book triangle. The books structure is equally ary characters, from Connie’s puzzled with a modern-day sketch speculating on odd: The ongoing plot strands aren’t treat- parents to Rudy’s jovial but possibly dan- the origins of glasnost. Even the three ed in enough depth to make them work as gerous uncle. She also keeps the derring- stories focusing on Amer and Samona a novel, while there are too few stories to do at a plausible level; the young heroes don’t overlap significantly, each instead make it satisfying as a collection of short show poise under fire without taking recounting a separate incident in a sepa- fiction. The setting, too, is more vague than implausible risks.

DRAGON 35 It’s this successful integration of reason- on eyewitness testimony or contemporary of place, and unfortunately constitute the ableness into an entirely unreasonable newspaper reportage. entirety of the plot. Regrettably, this is situation that may be of particular interest Cohen’s writing style is not always as billed as the first of a series. to gamers involved in modern-day role- even-handed as his conclusions. While his Christopher Stasheff has been busy of playing games. Being of Two Minds is introductions and wrap-ups are done in late; Warlock and Son (Ace, $4.50) is one essentially a spy thriller, and it’s both rare his own voice, journalistic qualifiers are result. On the plus side, this tale focuses and apt in its ability to keep tension alive often absent from the stories themselves. tightly on longtime hero Rod Gallowglass with a minimum of pyrotechnics. This is That sometimes makes the material sound and his oldest son, Magnus, with a densely one of Pamela Service’s most successful more authoritative than it really is, and it plotted narrative involving a sophisticated novels to date, and it should easily en- tilts the books away from unbiased report- ethical dilemma. That’s usually been hance her already solid reputation. age into the realms of speculation. This Stasheff’s strength, but this time there’s a isn’t a fatal flaw, nor is it necessarily even dark spin on events that is unsettling in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MONSTERS inappropriate, but it’s an important factor what has previously been a uniformly & THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GHOSTS in understanding and characterizing these upbeat series. A weirdly ambiguous end- Daniel Cohen collections. ing only adds to the uneasiness; this one is Avon 0-380-71485-X and Each volume includes a section of illus- uncallable till the next book comes out. 0-380-71484-1 $4.99 each trations and photographs as well as an By contrast, Searching for Dragons (HBJ/ Daniel Cohen’s compilations of monster informal bibliography. The former are Jane Yolen; $16.95) is a worthy and lively sightings and haunted-house reports are mostly superfluous, but the latter are addition to Patricia Wrede’s chronicles of a neither fantasy fiction nor coldly neutral potentially useful, though Cohen’s assess- nontraditional princess, an unpredictable journalism—but both books are certainly ments of his sources occasionally sound enchanted forest, a society of persistently of considerable value to gamers in search more enthusiastic than analytical. nefarious wizards, and a tribe of remark- of creatures and plots on which to hang These encyclopedias are no more than a ably inoffensive dragons. Rarely have left- adventures. (A third volume, The Encyclo- starting point for the serious researcher, handed fairy tales been this much fun, and pedia of the Strange, appears in the series, and casual readers should be careful to Wrede expands her whimsical world in but that book didn’t show up in the review treat them as popular journalism rather stylish fashion. package.) than thorough scholarship. Gamers, Kill Station (Avon, $3.99) likewise ex- The Encyclopedia of Monsters focuses though, should find them invaluable refer- pands the universe to which it belongs, not on movie creatures, but on creatures ences from which to draw new monsters namely the “Space Cops” series from Diane from folklore, legend, and the fringes of and scenarios, or for introducing new Duane and Peter Morwood. This time the science. Cohen’s categories are broad and wrinkles to existing creatures. Everyone story is more thriller than whodunit, with logical: humanoids (Bigfoot and the like), from AD&D® game campaigners to play- a plot that ranges from the far side of the land-based creatures, flying monsters, ers of espionage and near-future games asteroid belt all the way back to Earth phantoms, “strange visitors,” sea monsters, should find useful accounts in Cohen’s orbit, and the limited perspective of the and creatures from folklore. Geographical- compilations—and in a market where role- first book gets a substantial boost. It’s still ly, accounts have been drawn from playing supplements are growing ever space opera, but it’s better space opera around the world—from places like Cana- more expensive, these books are a definite than the last installment, which is good dian lakes, New York City sewers, the bargain. news. African jungle, and the high seas—though This has also been a good season for the emphasis is nominally American. Some Recurring roles TSR™ Books’ adventures. The entire Elven of the entries deal with well-known beasts Publishing sometimes moves extraordi- Nations trilogy is now out, and those who like the Loch Ness monster, while others narily fast. Since the last installment of have dismissed the DRAGONLANCE® line cover more obscure entities (a giant South this column, both the second and third as “mere” cardboard-quest fiction will find American earthworm, for instance). volumes of L. J. Smith’s “Vampire Diaries” that this saga of dynastic successions The companion volume of ghost material trilogy have appeared. The Struggle and doesn’t fit their preconceptions. I haven’t is also subdivided, if a bit more subjective- The Awakening (Harper Paperbacks, $3.99 been especially fond of past novels from ly. Categories include traditional haunt- each) complete Smiths young-adult trilogy Paul Thompson and Tanya Carter, but ings, poltergeists, animal ghosts, celebrity involving vampiric twin brothers and the their Qualinesti (TSR, $4.95) in particular ghosts, and “ghostly phenomena.” Here New England teenager drawn to them concludes the trilogy in satisfying fashion. again, the accounts range from the famous both. Smiths plot is as convoluted as they On the flip side, Canticle (TSR, $4.95) (including the Amityville Horror, the ghost come, and the endings are real surprises begins a new series of FORGOTTEN of Abraham Lincoln, and the haunts of the by packaged-series standards. Get past the REALMS® setting novels from veteran Tower of London) to the unusual, such as slightly cloying teen-romance elements, chronicler R. A. Salvatore, whose work I a ghost reputed to haunt a German U-boat and you’ll find these books startlingly have been pleased with in the past. This during World War I. compelling. first of five books rambles more than it Entries in both books average two or A very different high-school tale is Har- should, and Salvatore springs a plot point three pages in length, so that what Cohen py High (Ace, $4.50), second in Esther involving the chief adversaries that has provides are often highly condensed ver- Friesner’s latest trilogy, in which monsters nothing whatever to do with this initial sions of the original reports. The reporting of all sorts become covert students at a novel. The character work is still intrigu- is neither relentlessly skeptical nor uncriti- New York public school. The balance be- ing, and there’s room for improvement as cally enthusiastic; Cohen does make an tween slapstick and high drama is tenu- the series progresses. effort to assess the evidence in each case, ous; this isn’t Friesner’s best work, but it’s and he makes no apologies for his opinions still a cleverly humorous yarn with a dark It’s probably time once again to note that (he firmly dismisses the Amityville story as twist. review materials and correspondence a hoax, for instance). His history is occa- For humor that simply doesn’t work, regarding this column are always wel- sionally prone to oversimplification; in the Craig Shaw Gardner is at least consistent. come, and should be directed to me at: Tower of London entry, for example, he The Other Sinbad (Ace, $4.50) is an at- John C. Bunnell mentions Richard III’s supposed murder of tempt to send up the familiar Arabian 6200 SW Hall Blvd., #118 his princely nephews without noting that Nights legend of Sinbad the Sailor, but Beaverton OR 97005-4710 modern scholarship on the issue is at least Gardner again demonstrates an uncanny I can’t promise to answer every letter, or sharply divided. The accounts are most inability to tailor his comedy to his chosen review everything I receive, but your reliable when Cohen’s sources can draw subject. The jokes here are forced and out comments are always welcome.

36 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON 37 38 JANUARY 1992 The Heroic Worlds Role-Playing Game Quiz Think you know all there is to know about RPGs? 1. In what year was the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game first Let’s find out! published?

2. Which of the following is not a possible player-character profession in the Mayfair Games’ edition of the CHILL* game? a. Accountant e. Cowboy b. School teacher f. Marine biologist c. Farmer g. Circus clown d. Wage slave h. Homeless

3. The MONSTERS! MONSTERS!* game was derived from what other game system?

4. Match each DRAGONLANCE® product with its product type: Product Product type A. DRAGONLANCE Saga a. Graphic novel series B. DRAGONLANCE Tales b. Computer game C. Heroes of the Lance c. AD&D® adventure D. Leaves from the Inn of gamebook the Last Home d. AD&D game module E. The Soulforge e. CATACOMBS™ gamebook F. Mists of Krynn f. ONE-ON-ONE™ adventure G. Gnomes-100, Dragons-0 gamebook H. Dragonwand of Krynn g. Novel series h. Sourcebook

5. Name the only role-playing system with a skill listing for proctology.

6. Only one of the following fantasy game systems does not have a supplement entitled “Vikings.” Which is it? a. AD&D game b. RUNEQUEST* game c. GURPS* game d. WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY* game e. ROLEMASTER* game

7. Name the game system that includes the following magic spells: Calming Purr; Shiny Coat; Dog Gone; Hot Dog; Sum- mon Owner; Healing Licks; Stay!

8. Match the following spells with their source publications. Spells A. The Affable Blight of Lord Uni (“This spell causes one target . . . to become infected with a bluish-white fungus. . . . (H)e/ she dies within two turns unless a spell of Alleviation is applied. . .”) ©1991 by Lawrence Schick B. Delouse (“Spell Level: 1. Magic Points: 1. This spell allows the caster to remove parasitic infestations of all kinds from any This quiz provides a rigorous test of your knowledge of the one creature touched by the Druidic Priest.”) world of role-playing games. The questions are largely drawn C. Rotate Body Parts (“Level: Six. Duration: Until dispelled. This from information in my book, Heroic Worlds, a history of and enchantment causes the target’s body parts to change posi- guide to role-playing games published by Prometheus Books (and tions in a random fashion. If the target makes his save, only available now at a bookstore near you!). If you’ve read Heroic two body parts exchange positions.”) Worlds closely, you should be able to rack up a commendable D. Two-D’lusion (“The caster creates a two-dimensional illusion score, plus you’ll be loaded with facts that will keep listeners of whatever he desires. If any viewer sees it from an angle of enthralled at social gatherings of all sorts. (The ability to rack up more than 45° from its horizontal or vertical viewing axis, a commendable score without having read Heroic Worlds can the nature of the illusion will be immediately apparent.”) only be regarded as evidence of a sadly misspent youth.) E. Call of the Void (“When cast, an explosion of complete black- Answers and point scoring are provided on page 88. Got your ness engulfs the caster and all around him [are] drawn into pencils sharpened? The Void, a terrible dimension of utter nothingness. . . . The

DRAGON 39 magician must cut off his own hand to cast this spell....”) RPG systems F. Summoning Lesser Demons (“Generally, a sorcerer will need A. DRAGONQUEST® game hours of time and much preparation in order to summon a B. DRAGONRAID* game demon.“) C. DRAGONROAR* game G. The Black Mists of Malnangar (“This dread incantation, au- D. DRAGON WARRIORS* game thored by the infamous Narishna of Quaran, allows the caster E. GOLDEN DRAGON* game to create a virulent cloud of black magical vapors. Magic resistance vs. SPEED!‘) Facts H. Ecstasy (“Target is in seventh heaven (i.e., extreme ecstasy/ a. Mostly for miniatures; includes a giant hedgehog on its mon- joy). For the duration of the spell, he is at 50% of normal ster list. activity. Later, he will have a tendency to ‘come back for b. British game system released as four mass-market paperbacks. more.’ Duration: 1 rd/5% failure.“) c. Players have their heroes cast spells by reciting memorized passages from the Bible. Sources d. Six-volume solo gamebook series of standard dungeon crawls. a. Unearthed Arcana (AD&D game) e. Its Grievous Injury Table includes: “You have been eviscerated!” b. SWORDS & GLORY*, Vol. 2 (EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE* game) 15. Which item on the following list is not a skill in the ALMA c. The Necromican (generic fantasy supplement) MATER* high-school role-playing game? d. TALISLANTA* Sorcerer’s Guide a. Cheating d. Crudeness e. WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY* game b. Drug Use e. Lying f. FANTASY HERO* game c. Psychic Awareness f. Studying g. ROLEMASTER* Companion IV h. STDRMBRINGER* game 16. Which of the following was the first AD&D module ever published? 9. One so-called “universal” RPG system includes as an example a. D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth only one monster description: the argent wombat. Which b. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief system was this? c. S1 Tomb of Horrors a. GURPS* game d. LEGACY* game d. T1 Village of Hommlet b. ETERNAL SOLDIER* game e. ROLEPLAYER* game c. INFINITY* game f. TWERPS* game 17. In the CYBORG COMMANDO* game, when you roll two ten- sided dice, how do you read them? 10. List the nine color clearance levels in the PARANOIA* game, a. Multiply one die by the other in order from lowest to highest. b. Add them together c. Percentile style (d100) 11. Which two-handed weapon does the most damage in the d. Subtract lower score from higher score PHOENIX COMMAND* Hand-to-Hand Combat System. a. Great sword d. Chair 18. In the amazing WORLD ACTION AND ADVENTURE* game b. Chain saw, 30” e. Sledge hammer system, the player’s character (or Actor) is based on the play c. Mace and chain er’s real self to an extent that varies depending on the charac- ter type chosen. Match the following character types from 12. Match the following best-ever supplement titles with the this game with their descriptions: game system for which they were designed. A. Full-Self a. The character can be completely differ- ent from the player, except physically. Supplement titles B. New-Self b. The character can actually be com- A. Lurid Tales of DOOM! pletely different from the player. B. Terrible Swift Ford C. Moral-Self c. The character is just like the player, C. Trail of the Loathsome Slime except for a couple of changes. D. Rat on a Stick D. Physical-Self d. The character can be completely dif- E. Zombietown U.S.A. ferent from the player, except morally. F. Deeds of the Ever-Glorious E. Non-Self e. The character is exactly like the player G. Drink the Wine of the Moon in every way. H. Mad Monkey vs. The Dragon Claw 19. Which one of the following has never won a Best Role-Playing RPG systems Rules award at the annual ORIGINS* game convention? a. YSGARTH* game a. AD&D game e. BEHIND ENEMY LINES* game b. TUNNELS & TROLLS* game b. COMMANDO game f. DRAGONQUEST game c. GHOSTBUSTERS* game c. D&D® game g. GAMMA WORLD® game d. CALL OF CTHULHU* game d. PARANOIA* game h. TWILIGHT 2000* game e. AD&D® game f. EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE* game 20. Only one role-playing game, in the interest of being more g. GURPS* game realistic and lifelike, includes Body Roll Charts that enable h. TIMEMASTER* game you to personalize your character by random acquisition of such traits as: hunchback; clubfoot; bald; periscoping vision 13. All of the following names are real titles of role-playing rules (“Character can see around corners”); independent eye move- systems—except one. Which one is that? ment; sense of position (“Character can tell his position in a. REALM OF YOLMI* game d. UUHRAAH!* game relation to nearby things with a successful Save Roll”); and b. MECHA DOGS* game e. MUTAZOIDS* game enlarged part of the body (“Character must make [al die roll c. THE CRETAN f. FRINGEWORTHY* game . . . to see which part of the body is enlarged”). That game is: CHRONICLES* game a. FIELD GUIDE TO d. GURPS* game ENCOUNTERS* game e. METAMORPHOSIS 14. Link the name of each RPG system with the fact appropriate b. ROLEMASTER* game ALPHA game to it. c. SPAWN OF FASHAN* game f. TORG* game

40 JANUARY 1992 arose. The clang of metal and the mighty roar of a monster echoed through the woods. We hurried to investigate. In a small clearing stood a red dragon, poised to release its fiery breath at a gallant knight clothed in green. The raging storm of fire fell upon the man as he plunged his blade into the beast’s crimson-scaled hide. The knight fell to his knees—alive, but just barely. Horrified by the spectacle, we reached for our weapons, hoping to aid the knight. Suddenly, I felt the cold edge of a blade under my throat. “Move not, stran- gers,” spoke a cool voice, “for this is not your battle.” I glanced over and saw the warning came from another knight. Six other knights appeared around us. They all wore the same green garb and armor as the noble warrior in the clearing. We were evidently not to be killed, so our attention went back to the fight. The drag- on pawed at the sword stuck in its chest, trying to rip it out. It prepared to breathe again. Raising both hands toward the sky, the knight chanted a vigorous psalm. Lightning suddenly flashed and struck the sword’s pommel, driving the searing elec- tricity straight into the wyrm’s heart. The dragon coiled and uncoiled in agony. Fi- nally, roaring its pain at the thunder, the by Bruce A. Heard Burymir 14, AY 2000: We had been beast fell heavily to the ground. flying over a previously unknown king- This knight was not an elf, nor had he This series chronicles the adventures of dom the day before, west of a small Vi- uttered a paladin’s spell. What magic was an Alphatian explorer and his crew as laverdan colony. In the evening, we this that allowed a knight to strike this they journey across the D&D® Known observed a large city near a forest, proba- dragon so deadly a blow from the skies? World in their skyship. The information bly the capital of this region. Great beauty At that moment, a curious character herein may be used to expand D&D cam- graced this city’s all-wooden architecture, walked up to the knight. Bare-chested, paigns using the Gazetteer series. so I decided to have a closer look. Talasar, wearing only striped breeches and a red Myojo, Nyanga, and I landed just before cloak, the newcomer threw a golden braid From the Journals of dawn this morning, a few miles north in back over his shoulder and began to play a prince haldemar of haaken the forest. The rumblings of a storm lyre while reciting a poem, an ode of a Lord admiral of the mightiest Empire echoed in the dark. The Princess remained sort: Captain of the Ever-Victorious up in the sky, watching for Heldannic “King Edwix had but one dread, princess ark Warbirds among the clouds; since Raman’s “That fell the sky on his head. Imperial Explorer, etc. etc. battle last week, there had been no fur- “But fall it’ll not by ‘morrow, ther sign of them. I put Xerdon in charge, “So fear naught, O Night Harrow.” with Raman at his side for in-depth com- Rain suddenly began to fall. bat training. “Will you shut up, you blasted idiot?” No sooner had we had set foot in this roared the wounded knight, whom we misty forest than the sound of a battle took to be the king. “By Cernuínn, what is it with you? Have you signed a pact with gagged, we were brought to the sanctum mysterious path, however, had lead us to Taranos to drown us all in his rain?” sanctorum, the heart of the Great Druid- the orcs’ left flank, at one end of the gully. Vexed, the bard stuck up his nose and ess’ hallowed grove. As we quickly We were perfectly set to attack. walked away. learned, no one but a druid was allowed to Pandemonium and panic ensued as my Clearing his throat, the knight before me enter the sacred woods. Until late that day, lightning bolt struck their packed ranks. put his sword away and added, “King a crowd of druids debated on whether to Many of the orcs died instantly. The survi- Edwix does get rather punchy in the sacrifice us to the Immortal Breig or the vors quickly scattered, running for cover. morning!” Indeed. Immortal Cernuínn—by the sickle or by A deadly game of hide-and-seek followed, The king finally stood up and returned, the cauldron. At last, the Great Druidess with enraged orcs sporadically charging wounded and burned, to his knights. He questioned Voxpopulix. Our situation out from hiding places. They quickly fell was either a powerful man or very lucky. greatly improved when they learned that to Myojo’s arrows or to his swirling silver “Who are you, strangers?” he asked. the king had invited us to his camp after blade. “Prince Haldemar of Alphatia, and my defeating Greudnax’s daughter. Since we I smelled the foul breath of an orc be- escort,” I replied. had a legitimate reason for being in this hind me, but it fell dead into my arms “Eh? Never heard of it,” grumbled the forest, they chose to set us free—up to a when I turned around. With a wink, Vox- king. “I am tired. Follow me to my camp.” point, that is. populix wiped his elegant ivory blade on I could not help admiring the workman- Talasar and Nyanga—why did it have to the orc’s garb. He had been hiding behind ship of the king’s armor. Tiny leaves and be them?—were kept as hostages. Myojo, me, in the shade of the undergrowth. A branches were delicately carved into the Voxpopulix, and I were free to leave. We curious character, indeed! plates. Then I realized this was no metal had until the next moon to accomplish our Soon enough, the few remaining orcs armor; it looked more like wood, perhaps business; only then would the hostages be retreated and vanished into the forest. petrified or somehow turned into metal. In released. I had no quarrel with the Great They left a prisoner behind them—one of fact, all these knights wore the same style Druidess of this kingdom, nor did I desire the king’s knights. His companions had all of armor, and their weapons, too, were one. Since druids show only limited re- died while delaying the orcs, he said. The made of that odd iron. Dark green cloaks spect for foreign nobility, negotiation was orcs had learned about the king’s quest concealed the men well, except for the of little help, and violence was out of the and had come to capture him. The king cloaks’ delicate golden trim or the occa- question. At Voxpopulix’s insistence, we barely had enough time to escape and sional glint of armor. Their helms all bore left without further argument. He feared continue his quest—truly alone this time. large deer antlers, and in the eerie morn- for our safety, for the druids could be There was no time to waste. I had to ing mist they looked like surreal creatures cruel when offended. Clearly, our pres- find the king. Surely, there must have of the forest. Without waiting, the knights ence was offensive. been more orcs around. It would serve no and their king all rode away. Burymir 15: At last, we made it to the good purpose if the king died now. Voxpo- The bard alone remained. “They always camp—but it was empty. Someone had pulix and the knight argued against inter- do that,” he said, “but don’t let that intimi- ransacked it. Voxpopulix pulled a black vening; Almighty Breig would watch over date you, my lord. They enjoy playing arrow from one of the tents. “Cassivellonis him, they said. In a pig’s eye! No Immortal hard to get. Comes with the antlers. I —a northern orc tribe,” he said. “What are is worth three feet of cold steel and good guess we’ll have to walk, then.” With an they doing here?” It was hard to tell magic to boot when it comes to orcs. This inspired sigh, he added, “Might I compose whether the king had been caught. was war! a sonnet for our journey back to the royal Their tracks in the wet soil were easy to Burymir 15—Talasar, from a later camp?” follow. We had been trailing the orcs for account: “And what sort of a cleric are “Er, thank you, but no. We’ve already hours when, inexplicably, the tracks end- you, stranger?” the young druid asked. had our morning ballad, truly.” ed. There, a small path seemed to wind The apprentice had been observing me for “Oh,” he sniffed, disappointed. through the thicket. I suspected an am- some time, clearly impressed with my On our way to the camp, our new friend bush when I heard leaves rustle. I could hammer. “Do you honor Tuatis?” and guide, the bard Voxpopulix, told us have sworn someone whispered my name, I gathered that Tuatis was the local name more about our bizarre encounter. The but it could not have been one of my for Thor, a powerful Immortal in the king was on a quest. Druidic tradition companions. Myojo readied his great bow, north, patron of wars. The young druid, demanded that he return to the hallowed expecting the worst, when a majestic stag Cucurbita (Pepo to his friends), proudly forest to meet his end should he fail his stepped out of the bushes. It calmly gazed showed me his own wooden war mallet, a duty. He had until next summer’s druids’ at us, then sprang back into the brush. rather large one that he had used to crush gathering to complete his quest. He had to This couldn’t be the orcs’ doing. We several orcish heads in the past. do so alone, without help from anyone, to followed. The stag appeared a few more As we spoke, another druid came run- prove his valor. This was very serious times, always at a fair distance ahead. ning down a path. He brought news of a business for the druids. In this case, he Oddly, every time I glanced back, I could nearby fire in the woods, obviously the was to slay a mother dragon, Greudnax. no longer see the path we had followed. work of Greudnax the dragon. The hour The one he had destroyed this morning Obviously, we were. being led somewhere. was grave; everyone marched toward the was her daughter. The king was still seek- Fog rose again, muffling sounds and mask- blaze. Neither Nyanga or I wanted to stay ing Greudnax’s secret lair. ing our sight. behind, and so we joined in the effort. The It soon became clear we were well in- Suddenly, in a swirl of the mist, a shape druids displayed great skill and magic in side the druids’ hallowed forest. This walked by, ignoring us completely. Gro- fighting the fire. Fortunately, my hammer caused great discomfort to both Talasar tesque and hunched, the figure snorted could extinguish flames, too. I had used it and Nyanga. My first officer detested and cursed in a guttural voice. Myojo was to this effect a number of times on wood- treading uninvited upon others’ sacred ready, knee to the ground and arrow en ships. Its magic is potent. grounds; Nyanga had a great respect for cocked. Voxpopulix was nowhere to be This impressed the druids tremendously. things of nature, especially forest spirits. seen. Naturally, my wand found its way Later in the night when the fire was con- A billowing fog rose from the ground. It into my hand. tained, the Great Druidess declared, was so thick it could only be someone’s The fog dissipated somewhat, revealing “Priest of Razud, the iron in your hammer uncanny magic. Suddenly, a net fell from about 30 orcs and a chieftain crouching we dislike, but its power to smother fire is above. We were captured with ease; with- behind bushes in a narrow gully, watching a good portent. Your help was precious to in minutes, we and our bard friend stood the tracks they had left earlier. Their us. You and your friend warrior are free before the druids. scouts had probably spotted us earlier, and to come and go as you please until the The druids were angered. Bound and their chieftain had set up an ambush. The return of your companions.”

DRAGON 43 Pepo stood by me, his hand on my shoul- bite. He was a true warrior. used as a crystal ball. There, in the trou- der. “He’s my friend!” he said proudly. I In desperation, Greudnax reared back bled fluid, she saw the mangled carcass of guess we won’t end up being nailed to an and breathed a vast cone of red flame a red dragon. Beside it stood an orc chief. oak after all. upon the king. The monster had fire left He dipped his sword into the beast’s ichor, Burymir 16—Haldemar: The knight, inside her! The dragon’s thunderous raised it, and with ugly cries exhorted his Ariovix, woke me up when he jumped laughter shook the cavern as the king followers to revenge. I assumed that the from a branch in a tree. “There was fire in cried out in agony, wreathed in flames. king’s quest had been successful. the south last night,” he said. “It was The dragon turned toward us and thun- For the next several hours, the druids Greudnax’s work, but the druids smoth- dered, “You are next, wizard!” I lifted my worked around the cauldron, bringing ered it. I heard the dragon fly by just after wand at Greudnax, meaning to disinte- various ingredients from the forest. When sunset. Her lair could be close. Breig must grate her ugly head. the brew was ready, the Great Druidess have guided us here.” “No! Leave her to me!” cried the king. blessed it, and all present partook of the Indeed, we found a cavern by sunrise. Limping and bearing horrible burns, he beverage. Nyanga and I were invited to The ground had collapsed recently, open- dragged his sword behind him as he stag- join. It gave us strength, so much that I ing an entrance to a deep cave. The drag- gered into battle. “‘Twas I who slew thy could wield my hammer with unusual on must have moved there no more than a daughter, evil beast! And I shall slay thee, ease. The druids planned to battle the few months ago. as well!” orcs, and there would be no survivors Voxpopulix and Ariovix refused to go The dragon glanced at the wounded among the defeated. We set out at once. any farther. If the dragon was there, so king and brushed him away with her tail. By nightfall, we had reached the savage was the king, and this dragon was the Greudnax turned calmly back toward me. horde. The battle was brief but deadly. object of the king’s quest before Almighty “Go ahead, wizard. Use your wand, if you Against us were many hundreds of orcs, Breig. I could not convince them other- dare! Slay me, and you’ll sentence your ogres, and trolls. The orcs, infuriated by wise. Myojo and I moved on. king to death as well.” the death of their living idol, showed no We reached a ledge overlooking a deep What could I do? Either I slaughtered fear of the druids and displayed great cavern. The king was at the bottom. When this wyrm and the king would have to die cunning in their tactics. Despite their he saw us, he yanked down the grappling before the Great Druidess, or I didn’t—and knowledge of the forest and their powers hook he had used to climb down, denying the dragon would certainly kill the king over the forces of nature, many druids us a way to reach him. Brandishing his then. Either way, the king was a dead died. Pepo did well with his wooden mal- sword, he shouted, “Return whence you man. I supposed that I could talk some let, and I saw him bash to death an ogre came, wizard! She’s mine!” sense into these superstitious druids later who hadn’t seen him coming. As I pondered on a way to help, we on. So be it. At the height of the battle, something heard a beastly breathing from the sky. “Well, old wizard, I want your answer,” odd happened. The sound of a hunting The dragon was flying back from a night taunted the dragon. “Hesitating, are we?” horn echoed through the forest. Fog rose of devastation. I hoped she had expended I drew myself up. “It seems my choices from the ground, allowing our force to her fire. are limited indeed, dear Greudnax, but retreat up a small hill. Suddenly, bears, Greudnax landed nearby, then crawled you know—I really don’t care!” I raised my eagles, stags, boars, wild cats, black and slithered past without noticing us. The wand and aimed right at Greudnax’s head. wolves, and even clouds of buzzing insects king ducked behind a rock. Within mo- At my answer, the dragon opened her charged the orcs. Leading them was a ments, Greudnax coiled up in a corner of eyes wide in astonishment. Ah, but this ghostly knight with antlers. the cave and fell asleep. was one lucky beast. With horror, I saw Buckling before the wild charge, the The king left his hiding place and began my magic strike the monster—then fizzle orcish horde finally escaped down a small to move toward the dragon, his sword out. and gurgle as it liquefied on the dragon’s trail. I learned later that spirits of the Movement caught my eye then. Above the scales, dripping to the ground as nauseat- forest had changed the path and led the king, on a ledge, an orc was watching. I ing, putrid ectoplasm. My wand should orcs to a deadly cliff. No one could see far saw the humanoid open his mouth to have disintegrated the beast—but she had in the mist, and the entire horde met its warn Greudnax—but his breath was cut resisted it. She laughed again and cried, doom over the ravine’s jagged rocks. short when one of Myojo’s arrows struck “Now you are mine!” Burymir 18—Haldemar: Ariovix and him in the head. He slumped silently. She took a deep breath, ready to fry Voxpopulix somberly carried their wound- Greudnax snorted, then sniffed. She Myojo and me, when suddenly the king ed king. He hadn’t uttered a single word opened an eye, just enough to see what stood up before her and stabbed his since his battle against Greudnax. The was happening. From where he stood, the sword into the dragon’s neck. Valiantly, the other two said little more. By luck, we saw king could not have noticed the dragon’s king twisted the blade in the wound and, no sign of the orcs. We reached the druids’ awakening. With a spell of ventriloquism, I ripping a gash through her scales, jammed camp this inglorious afternoon. whispered a word of warning to the king. it up to the hilt into the dragon’s throat. The Great Druidess was waiting, stand- He responded with an angry look in my Deep in shock, Greudnax had to release ing among her entourage. Ariovix helped direction. the fiery storm she had built up inside her the king to his feet. “Great Druidess,” he Suddenly, the dragon’s head whipped chest. She turned and breathed heavily at said, “the time has come to return to thee toward the king. The king was ready for the king, but no infernal blaze shot forth. my father’s sword and shield, for I have her. With his heavy broadsword, he Instead, a few flames hissed and sizzled sinned in my quest. The beast has died, hacked off a piece of the dragon’s lip, through her throat wound. Then, unex- but fate allowed the hand of strangers to infuriating the wyrm. Her cavernous roar pectedly, Greudnax’s entire chest blew up, disgrace my endeavor. And for this, I long was a deafening, blood-curdling sound. sending flesh, ribs, scales, and bits of to embrace the spirit of Breig.” Scores of orcs appeared on the ledge, incandescent ichor flying through the Whispers rose among the druids. “The alerted by the dragon. They encountered cavern at us all. honor is yours, Edwix, son of Othual. You Myojo and me instead. We barely succeed- So died the red dragon Greudnax at the have done well. The land flourished under ed in stopping their assault, using spells hands of King Edwix I, the Night Harrow. your rule, and so will it bloom again. Your and arrows. The orcs came in waves, Burymir 17—Talasar, from a later wish will be granted, O King of Robrenn.” indifferent to their casualties. Meanwhile, account: I witnessed a strange activity I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. the king was engaged in a heroic fight among the druids. Immediately after a How could they part with such a great against Greudnax. Several times Greudnax messenger arrived, the druids sacrificed a man? All this clerical mumbo-jumbo irri- nearly caught and swallowed him whole, lamb. They spilled its blood into a large tated me to no end. A horrible feeling of but always he managed to avoid her lethal cauldron, which the Great Druidess then guilt and doubt clutched my heart. Des-

44 JANUARY 1992 perate, I stepped forward and cried, after fleeing the marching armies of Hule, to the creation of these laws; thus, few “Great Druidess! I must respectfully far to the north. The fair climate and actually resent them. Becoming a chosen object!” generous forests were a boon to this dru- one is a sign of honor. In this society, Angry muttering rippled through the idic society. The braided warriors thrived, knights can rise only among the ranks of gathering, but I plunged on. “I ask you, though over the centuries their barbaric armed citizens. who else but Almighty Breig could have culture ebbed before a new age. The tribal Druids are eminently powerful among led us to defeat your foes? Was it not She chiefs formed a nobility that allowed a the nobility; they make the laws and de- who cleared the way to King Edwix? Was feudal system to progressively replace the cide on the penalties. Nobles are responsi- it not She who guided my hand at the tribal structure. With the druids’ guid- ble for enforcing these laws. The Great heart of the battle? This was Her will. I see ance, the nobles then formed a confedera- Druidess also may name which noble is to no disgrace here!” cy under the rulership of a new king, succeed a king when his dynasty is extinct. The Great Druidess silenced the crowd. Robrenn I, chosen by the druids. Only a legitimate wife, son, or daughter “Your intentions are noble, O Wizard, but Since then, Robrenn’s descendants inher- may succeed a king. If none are alive, the this is not our way. There are other mat- ited his title. Should his lineage become druids intervene. ters than the death of a beast. In time, all extinct, the druids would then choose one The druids also permit, disallow, or even that lives shall die, and all that died shall of the current nobles as the new ruler. In demand that armed conflicts be started or be reborn. Indeed, it was Breig who guid- all other respects, this is a feudal society, specific battles occur. Druids affect the ed your hand—but She desires he who with the druids replacing the more tradi- Confederacy’s ability to attack another embodies Her land to stand by Her side. tional clerics. Nobility and knights must realm, or the ability of two dominions to You shall take the sword, the shield, and swear allegiance to the ruler and follow fight each other. The latter is permissible the story of Edwix to his palace at Eyf, and the ways of the druids. in the case of a dispute between two no- present them to the son of the Night Har- Men and women are of equal impor- bles of the Confederacy that the druids row, for it is time for him to be king.” tance in this society. It is the belief of the cannot resolve. Considering the deeply Burymir 20: It was with no pleasure Robrenn that their chief patron Immortal, rooted respect this society has for druids, that I greeted the rising sun this day. Breig, is the mother of nature. As a result, disobeying them is almost unheard of and Ariovix led us to the great hall at Eyf, the highest functions among the druids could lead to a civil war. where we met the king’s son. Our host are often limited to women. However, in A thick forest covers a vast area of the knew what to expect when he saw his order to maintain universal balance, right Confederacy; this is the druids’ Hallowed father’s sword and shield. of birth usually (but not exclusively) favors Forest of Carnuilh. It is a sanctified area My actions caused this young man’s males. For example, the first-born male that no one but the druids may enter. At sorrow, and I was powerless to ease his has priority over a female in the succes- its center is a holy grove where the druids pain. He took the sword and shield and sion for a nobility title or the ownership of meet once a year, on midsummer’s eve. placed them before the throne. He then a family heirloom. In general, all that is There, they discuss mystic topics, consult gazed into my eyes, looking for a sign, but mystical or linked to nature and creation auguries, and resolve problems. it was he who bore the sign, for I could is the realm of women; all that is material Every 12 years of continuous rulership, see in his eyes the dark, intense look of his or linked to warfare and destruction is the the king of Robrenn must go on a quest. If father. Truly, the father was reborn. realm of men. he succeeds, he remains king for another The young monarch finally left to The Confederacy maintains a small 12 years. If he fails, he must seek the mourn. I was lost in sad thoughts when I standing army, the Guard, to enforce its Great Druidess’s grove in the Hallowed felt a hand on my shoulder. Ariovix stood laws and guard its borders. A vast reserve Forest of Carnuilh. Legends say that he by me. “Grieve not, my lord. You listened of trained and armed citizens also exists. returns to the earth that he embodies, to your heart. You who scorn the Immor- The druids provide a set of weapons and thereby allowing the land to flourish tals should understand that they weave armor to each family’s first child, when he again. He is magically “absorbed” by the your fate and wove that of others before or she comes of age at puberty. If a fe- forest, thus ending his life in this world. you.” He handed me a braid of black hair, male, the child bears the right to refuse No succession may take place until the bound in a golden cap. “He wanted you to the weapons only if young male exists in king dies or returns to meet his fate. If he have this, and remember. Leave in peace, the family. flees in shame and dies elsewhere without O Prince.” This “chosen one” must leave the family fulfilling his duty at the grove, years of and remain with the Confederacy’s Guard hardship may threaten the kingdom. “At the song of a mage to learn the art of war. Three years later, The Robrenn honor a wide variety of “She roared all her rage, the young adult earns the title of “armed Immortals. Their belief is that all life came “But the daughter of Nyt citizen” and may return home. Once a from Breig, also known as the Mother of “By a king met her blight. year, an armed citizen must provide a Nature, the Great Oak, and the Spirit of month military service to the Confeder- Eyf. She heads the Robrenn pantheon. “As her blood soaked the earth of acy, to support its defense and to be ready Although a druid may choose one Immor- “A new lord saw his birth, for war. In times of war, all armed citizens tal over another as his or her primary “For the King of Robrenn must join the Guard until the threat is patron, they all meet at Carnuilh. Regard- “In Breig’s arms shall remain.” gone. When an armed citizen dies, the less of their individual philosophies, all deceased warrior’s weapons and armor go druids follow the same basic principles To be continued... to the family’s next in line (if old enough), that maintain their coherence as a mysti- who is placed under the guidance of the cal order. They all revere the Great Druid- The Confederated Kingdom of druids. If no heir exist, the druids keep the ess Maud, daughter of Trestana. Maud is a Robrenn equipment until another chosen one follower of Breig. There may be other Robrenn—Capital: Eyf (Pop.: 25,200— comes of age. Great Druids elsewhere in the world, but, humans, demihumans, some woodland The druids systematically enforce this as far as the Robrenn are concerned, beings); Ruler: King Edwix II, son of “The system, sometimes quite ruthlessly. Any Maud’s the only one. There have been few Night Harrow”; royal lands include all of perceived lack of enthusiasm or poor male Great Druids in Robrenn’s past; wom- the Hallowed Carnuilh Forest. physical fitness can lead a citizen to be en have commonly held this position. Robrenn is a confederation of sovereign banished or sacrificed to the Immortal Much of Robrenn lore is spoken. Little dominions. The people of the present Taranos. The Robrenn are a fierce and has been written down (although the kingdom are descended from ancient brave people. It was their personality people are literate), because the druids barbarian tribes that moved to this region more than any need for warriors that led believe that the memorizing of legends

46 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON 47 and prayers sharpens the mind and pre- reincarnation. nonmagical woodland animal. The druid vents their holy knowledge from being Taranos: (alias Odin/Wotan)—Master of can do this at will, back and forth, any vulgarized by ink and vellum, and thus the skies, storms, and mighty lightnings, reasonable amount of equipment appear- possibly misused. Bardic tradition enables this Immortal is not as influential among ing with the druid when regaining his or history to be told, establishing the bard as the Robrenn as he would be in the Known her normal shape. a key element of the Robrenn culture. World’s Northern Reaches. Unless there is a vacant spot among the Much of this culture is affected by the Tuatis: (alias Thor)—An old-time favor- Circle of Nine (at 30th level or above), the druids’ dislike of all that “never lived.” This ite of the Robrenn, Tuatis remains the druids eligible to fill that position must distaste includes man-made objects of warriors’ patron, the unchallenged lord of compete with each other to advance in metal or stone; the druids prefer wood, wars and bravery. levels. The druids do so by inventing new leather, cloth, etc. This practice has pre- druidic spells or potions, or furthering the vented the Robrenn from building much The Confederated Dominions druidic cause during quests, by returning with stone. Their forts and towns are Duchy of Avernos—Symbol: Boar; a long-lost relic to the grove, etc. All the usually made of wood, with very little Capital: Arax (Pop.: 8,500—humans and druids from the Circle of Nine and above stone except for fireplaces or roads. This dwarves); Ruler: Duke Blergix the Tall, son (except the petitioners) vote for the best has been the source of many disasters, of Medonix; Typical NPC: blacksmith; achievement during a special gathering at especially in times of war. Patrons: Belsamas or Tuatis. the Hallowed Forest of Carnuilh. The plateaus to the north of the Ro- County of Morguen—Symbol: Deer; Upon reaching 3,500,000 XP (or death), brenn teem with orcs and ogres. Armed Capital: Cernumna (Pop.: 13,700—humans, the Great Druid of Robrenn becomes one horsemen constantly patrol the northern halflings, and elves); Ruler: Countess On- with the hallowed forest, effectively end- edge of the Confederacy, watching for nena the Sylvan, daughter of Subellos; ing life in this world. Depending on the invasions in the making. A number of Typical NPC: druid sage; Patrons: Breig or campaign, the dying Great Druid either murderous wars with the humanoids have Cernuínn. attains Immortality (if eligible) or becomes nearly ruined the Confederacy, and great County of Suerba—Symbol: Rooster; a forest spirit (at the DM’s discretion). A attention is paid to this threat. Capital: Ogmna (Pop.: 4,800—humans and forest spirit has a cumulative 10% chance As the centuries passed, the Robrenn elves); Ruler: Count Brevoel the Swift, son per day of spotting visitors in its assigned developed trade with other nations, espe- of Maloel; Typical NPC: champion archer; forest. Some of the physical manifestations cially with Texeiran and Vilaverdan mer- Patrons: Arduínna or Leug. of these spirits include unicorns and spell- chants. Robrenn exports wine, mead, Barony of Avarica—Symbol: Raven; casting dryads (for female druids) or spell- sausage, corn, wheat, medicinal herbs and Capital: Dubrax (Pop.: 9,800—mostly hu- casting treants and actaeons (for male potions, spices, and amber. Red steel is of mans); Ruler: Baron Eusgetorix the Stormy, druids). Forest spirits can cast any spell no interest to them. They would rather son of Aduatucas; Typical NPC: adventurous from the druidic spell list once per hour; obtain payment in serfs, to be used as a bard; Patrons: Cernuinn or Leug. they can also cause paths to change, leaves labor force for the nobles; Guardiano Barony of Nemausa—Symbol: Au- to whisper messages, fog to rise, or ani- tradesmen will indeed trade common roch; Capital: Morrigamna (Pop.: 11,200— mals to act in certain ways (such as help- criminals for goods. Silver is otherwise mostly humans); Ruler: Baron Calturix the ing a lost party find its way or attacking acceptable, which Robrenn need for their Bloodthirsty, son of Demiatix; Typical NPC: unwanted visitors with up to 12 HD of coinage. fearless horseman; Patrons: Breig or animals per hour, etc.). Forest spirits can Tuatis. only be destroyed if their entire forests The Robrenn pantheon Barony of Sedhuen—Symbol: Ram; are razed to the ground. Breig: (alias Ordana)—She is the Mother Capital: Venatis (Pop.: 14,900—mostly of Forests, Patron of Robrenn, and head of humans); Ruler: Baron Teuthoel the Merci- New druidic spells the pantheon. Her philosophy allows only ful, son of Trestana; Typical NPC: peaceful female druids, though men and particular- farmer; Patrons: Breig or Belnos. Ironwood (5th-level druidic spell) ly elves follow her precepts. Barony of Uthuinn—Symbol: Ship; Range: Touch Arduinna: (alias Diulanna)—Her sphere Capital: Senerobriva (Pop.: 3,700—humans Duration: Permanent of interest includes willpower, archery, and halflings); Ruler: Baroness Brivaela the Effect: Wooden objects and hunting. Her philosophy is restricted Sagacious, daughter of Clothual; Typical to female druids. NPC: quiet fisherman; Patrons: Belnos or This spell bestows the strength and Belnos: (alias Asterius)—The patron of Taranos. flexibility of metal to wood, without alter- healers, trade, and journeys abroad, Bel- ing its appearance. It can affect objects up nos is popular among halflings. Robrenn druids to 1,000 cn of encumbrance. It is tradition- Belsamas: (alias Kagyar)—He governs Robrenn druids start as druids at level 1 ally used to create one set of armor or one the art of forging, metalworking, and (use the Cleric Experience Table in the weapon for a druidic knight, often with construction. He is a common patron of D&D rules). Druidic spells are available the help of a warp wood spell. This spell the dwarves. immediately from level 2 on. All usual cannot affect magically enchanted items Cernuinn: (alias Faunus)—An impor- druidic limitations apply. Druids must made of wood. tant figure among the Robrenn pantheon, have the Nature Lore and Ceremony skills. Cernuinn is often represented as a tall Their next available skill choices must be Seasons (6th-level druidic spell) man with either the head or antlers of a used to acquire the following skills: Heal- Range: Touch deer. He governs the sphere of forests, ing, Snare, Survival, and Tracking. At level Duration: 1 turn songs, poetry, and bards, and is also the 3 and higher, Robrenn druids must meet Effect: Undead within a 60’ radius in- patron of woodland beings. Some say that at the Hallowed Forest of Carnuilh during doors, or undead within a 180’ radius all male Robrenn are related to him. the midsummer’s eve celebration. outdoors Leug: (alias Zirchev)—A fairly recent At 10th level, a druid becomes immune figure among the Robrenn pantheon, to poison and gains the use of the charm The spell is used to destroy or neutralize Leug’s interests include demihumans, plant spell (see the 7th-level wizard spell). undead monsters. The season of the year wisdom, and the arts. At 20th level, a druid can use his cauldron determines its effect, which is not under Nyt: (alias Hell—Although no druids as a crystal balls. When reaching the Cir- the druid’s control. follow her precepts, Nyt is acknowledged cle of Nine at 30th level, a druid can create Spring—This causes 1d8 points of dam- as part of the beginning and the end of all. a magical torc used by that druid alone. It age per round of exposure to all undead in Naturally, Nyt’s interests are death and allows the druid to shapechange into any the area of effect (no save). Humanoid

48 JANUARY 1992 undead reaching 0 hp are “revived”—that humans (especially halflings or elves) and a bard succeeding his skill check by a is, raised from the dead at their lowest- woodland beings. A druidic knight cannot margin of two points would make 3 cp per possible experience levels or Hit Dice, and have more Hit-Dice worth of hirelings person. If he uses his charm ability, as- with no relevant memories of their past. than his druidic spell-casting level. In sume he automatically succeeds, though if Revived creatures become servants of the other words, if a druidic knight can cast his skill check failed this bard will not be druid, as if magically charmed. spells as a 3rd-level druid, he may not viewed very positively by his victims when Summer—This creates an area of blind- have more than 3 HD worth of hirelings the charm wears off. ing magical sunlight, burning undead accompany him. (Special thanks to K. Boomgarden and creatures exposed to the area of effect at —The druidic knight must assist any N. Ewell for their very Celtic help.) the rate of 1d8 points of damage per woodland being asking for help with two round of exposure (no save). A vampire exceptions: He does not have to help crea- Letters caught in this light will flee immediately tures opposed to the druidic philosophy In GAZ14 The Atruaghin Clans, you have (no save) and not return until fully rested. and goals; and if the knight is on a mission the Children of the Viper on the map, but Autumn—Each undead caught in the for a higher authority (such as on a quest, not in the text. Instead, the Players’ Guide area of effect must make a saving throw serving a duke, etc.), he may offer only a mentions the Children of the Tiger. Are each round of exposure. A failed saving small amount of help. Assistance never they the same? The Players’ Guide men- throw causes an undead to wither, drop- involves the donation of money or items, tions three rivers in the vicinity of the ping various parts of its body (if material) only the offering of personal services for a Children of the Horse, but the map shows or fading away (if immaterial). Each failed short time. only two. Which is correct? saving throw reduces any undead’s hit —A druid of the Ninth Circle or higher Yes to question #1. The Children of the points by one-quarter (rounded down). may summon a knight to escort him to Viper should be called the Children of the Winter—Each undead caught in the gatherings at the Hallowed Forest of Car- Tiger (the map is wrong). The late Chil- area of effect must make a saving throw nuilh. The knight must remain with the dren of the Beaver, now dormant, took each round of exposure. A failed saving druid until the end of the celebration. This care of the pesky third river (i.e., the text throw causes an undead to go dormant call supersedes that of a liege. was wrong; only two rivers are present). until the next full moon. The bard How did the reactor of the F.S.S. Beagle Druidic knights Bards are an essential part of the Rob- (the source of the Radiance in Glantri) end Only neutral traveling fighters may renn culture. They are played using the up under the Great School of Magic? As become druidic knights. They must have thief character class as a starting point. far as I can tell, Blackmoor is way off to adopted the philosophy of the druids prior The bard must choose music, singing, and the northeast. Did the Immortals move it? to reaching knighthood and must swear storytelling skills, but he does not have the Yes to question #2. When the Immortals fealty to a prince, king, or emperor faith- backstabbing and pickpocket abilities bestowed their magic upon it, they moved ful to the ways of the druids. A druidic (druids frown upon theft). it and buried it deep under the region that knight may not wield metallic weapons At 3rd level, the bard gains the charm would later become Glantri. After the nor wear metallic armor and shields. The person ability once per day, as per the planet changed its angle of rotation, the knight must use wooden armor and weap- magic-user spell. He affects a number of ancient land of Blackmoor became a fro- ons magically shaped and hardened by the Hit Dice or levels equal to one-third his zen, uninhabitable wilderness. The Im- druids. These items are usually lacquered own level (rounded down). The attempt mortals sensed Glantri would become a or varnished, and include curvilinear requires the bard to recite poems, sing, or more auspicious region and would serve decorations, delicate leaf carvings, and play an instrument for three rounds. He their plans better. fine scrollwork tooled into the wood. The must make a skill check on the weakest of knight must repay the druids for these his three mandatory skills. If he fails the Where did the magic in the F.S.S. Beagle precious items, usually in terms of several skill check, his victims get a +3 to their come from, and where are the effects of years of routine service when not called saving throws. The bard fails completely if the Radiance located in the Known World? upon by a liege. interrupted or wounded. Likewise, the The F.S.S. Beagle was a starship. The In addition to all obligations and advan- bard may use this ability to negate another Immortal’s magic was added to its reactor tages common to knights, a druidic knight bard’s charm attempt. after it crashed on Blackmoor. The effects also has the following abilities: At 9th level, the bard may extend his of the artifact do not reach the Hollow —A knight can detect danger (as per the charm ability to intelligent monsters (ex- World. Should you (as the DM) decide to druidic spell) once per hour, simply by cept undead, as per the fourth-level wiz- affect the surface of the Hollow World, the concentrating (range of 5’ per spell-casting ard spell, charm monster). At 15th level, area would be located exactly six hexes level). The knight cannot use that ability his ability extends to plants as well (as the north of Fort Xichu in the Azcan Empire. and attack on the same round. seventh-level wizard spell, charm plants). The effects cover a 5-hex radius. Care to —If the knight’s Wisdom score is 13 or A successful saving throw vs. spells always populate this desolate wilderness with more, the character can cast spells (from negates the charm. Hollow World wizards? the druidic spell list only) as if he were a The bard may use his charm ability to druid of one-third his actual experience affect Morale (either a +2 bonus to his Where is the basic module Journey to level (rounded down). If a fighter becomes companions, or a -2 to his opponents), or the Rock based? a druidic knight right at 9th level, he’ll their eagerness to fight ( + 1 to hit for his Nowhere. It was a ‘suitable with any immediately gain the druidic spells of a 3rd- companions, or - 1 to hit for his oppo- campaign” design. Journey to the Rock level druid. With a lesser Wisdom score, nents). These effects are automatic after was not set in any particular area of the the fighter can still be a druidic knight but three rounds (no save). Known World. Should you need to place it, will have no spell-casting ability. The bard can make a living from his perhaps the best place would be in the —The druidic knight learns how to trade. He can earn up to 5 cp per person vast unexplored region northwest of the meditate and cast spells as druids would. every time he sings, plays his music, or Known World. He can do so at someone’s behest, but at a tells stories in public (boost the reward to price—set at the DM’s discretion—that gold pieces if performing for a noble). He I love the CREATURE CRUCIBLE™ series. must involve a service to nature or to must make the appropriate skill check. If I would like to see additional supplements woodland beings. he fails, he gains nothing. If he succeeds, for role-playing monstrous creatures. —Druidic knights cannot turn undead. he makes 1 cp per person ( + 1 cp per —Druidic hirelings may include demi- point scored under his skill). For example, Continued on page 73

50 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON 51 by Skip Williams

If you have any questions on the games For example, a mekillot has 11 HD but wisdom scores, just as any priestly spell- produced by TSR, Inc., “Sage Advice” will only animal intelligence (1), so it automati- caster does. The sorcerer-king, however, answer them. In the United States and cally dies. Creatures with at least 4 +2 HD always has the option to deny some or all Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON® and and an intelligence of 5 or better save spells to a templar who has offended him. Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI vs. breath weapon or perish as well. Even Templars as a character class have no 53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage if the save succeeds, the affected creatures weapon restrictions (Rules Book, pages 33- Advice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 still suffers an initiative penalty (Rules 34). However, a sorcerer-king might de- Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge Book, page 61, “Effects on Living Crea- cree restrictions of his own, and these CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We are no tures”). If there are no plants in the area might change from time to time. longer able to make personal replies; and all the animals save, the dragon gains please send no SASEs with your questions no spell energy but can use stored energy Does a sorcerer-king know his (SASEs are being returned with writers’ instead. templars’ thoughts when granting guidelines for the magazine). Details on how the dragon of Tyr stores them spells? In other words, can a Join the sage this month as he tours the energy will be revealed in the Dragon templar be an undiscovered traitor planet Athas, the world of the new DARK Kings hardbound. and still receive spells? SUN” campaign setting. The Rules Book The exact extent of the sorcerer-kings’ and Wanderer’s Journal are found within To which spheres do clerics and power over their templars is unrevealed, the DARK SUN boxed set. A second DARK druids receive access? but I don’t find anything in the rules that SUN “Sage Advice” column will appear Clerics receive major access to their implies that they know what’s on all their next month. elemental sphere of worship and minor templars’ minds all the time, or that the access to the Sphere of the Cosmos (as act of granting spells allows the sorcerer- stated on pages 29 and 59 of the Rules king to know all a templar’s thoughts. Are DARK SUN specialist mages Book). Many additional priest spells will be Since all sorcerer-kings are accomplished restricted to being illusionists-only, presented in the Dragon Kings hardbound, psionicists, however, they would carefully or are the Rules Rook sections on along with rules for incorporating all examine the thoughts of at least their illusionists intended only as Tome of Magic spells into the DARK SUN higher-level templars; this makes it un- examples? spheres. For now, I suggest you allow a likely that “moles” exist in any city’s tem- The text on page 26 of the Rules Book, priest major access to his elemental plar hierarchy. Likewise, a city-state’s under the “Defiler” heading, and similar sphere, plus major access to the Sphere of totalitarian government, the general popu- text on page 28, under the “Preserver” the Cosmos; if you don’t, no priest will lace’s hatred and distrust of the templars, heading, make it clear that Athasian mages ever get to cast a curative spell better than the sorcerer-king’s shrewdness, and the are free to specialize in any school they cure light wounds (as one reader pointed obvious rewards available to any templar wish. Illusionists receive their own sub- out), and priests of earth will get no who embarrasses a superior or crushes a headings because that’s the way they’re fourth-level spells at all (as another reader misbehaving subordinate make it pretty treated in the Player’s Handbook (which pointed out). However, if incorporating all unlikely that any disloyal templar will uses them as a general example for all the spells from Dragon Kings and Tome of survive for long. Finally, consider that all specialist mages). Magic, only allow clerics to have minor templars are either neutral or evil, and access to the Sphere of the Cosmos. that the quickest way a templar can be- The Rules Book (page 59) says that Page 59 of the Rules Book is in error come wealthy and powerful is to remain the dragon of Tyr’s defiler magic regarding druids. Druids receive major loyal but corrupt. I don’t think there harms animal life. Does this also access to the Sphere of the Cosmos. A would be undiscovered traitors in the extend to monsters and characters? druid should receive major access to one templar ranks even if there could be. If so, how does this work, and how elemental sphere, plus major access to the does the dragon “store” magical Sphere of the Cosmos, and perhaps minor What is the maximum range over energy? access to a second elemental sphere also which a sorcerer-king can grant The dragon’s defiler magic is baneful to associated with his guarded lands; this spells? all life. Exactly how this power might gives druids a level of power that matches A sorcerer-king can grant spells over an affect characters will be revealed in the their reputation in the Wanderer’s Journal. effectively unlimited range on the world Dragon Kings hardbound, to be released Templars have, according the rules, of Athas. this spring. An appearance by the dragon major access to all spheres. Templars are is a major disaster on Athas, and no DM the only priestly spell-casters who have a Are characters with wild psionic should be tempted to use the dragon light- connection to anything than even re- talents allowed to have attack and ly. Here are some unofficial suggestions motely resembles a deity, and their spell defense modes? until official rules arrive: selection should be accordingly great. Yes, but very rarely, First, understand Use the Defiler Magical Destruction that each attack and defense mode is a Table in the Rules Book, page 60. All plants Do templars gain bonus spells for psionic power all by itself, and it functions and plantlike creatures in the area of high wisdom scores, or is this at the in the game just like any other psionic effect perish, getting no saving throw. All whim of the sorcerer-king? What power, Characters with wild talents roll other creatures having less than 4 +2 HD kinds of weapons can templars use? once each on Table 12 in The Complete or an intelligence of 4 or less also perish. Templars gain bonus spells for high Psionics Handbook (pages 20-21) to deter- 52 JANUARY 1992 mine their powers. Since all the attack and receive double hit points from their hit strength portion of Table 1 in the PHB defense modes are telepathic sciences or dice, not double hit dice; a third-level half- (page 14), and other characters don’t. devotions that are not listed on Table 12, giant, for example, easily could have 60 hp While a nonwarrior on Athas might be the character can get them only if he rolls or more but still is subject to sleep spells. blessed with a great strength score, he a 90 and gets to pick any two devotions, or doesn’t have the training or discipline that rolls 91-00 and gets to roll on Table 13 (if Are Athasian halflings really lim- allows a warrior to develop a strength he’s very lucky and rolls a 00, he can pick ited to a 16 strength? Since charac- score of 18 into something outstanding. a devotion and roll on Table 13). Since ters must meet their ability require- I know of one non-Athasian campaign attack and defense modes also are not ments before applying racial adjust- that dispenses with extraordinary strength included on Table 13, the character can ments, this appears to be the case. altogether. Under this house rule, a war- get them only if he continues to be lucky You have read the rules correctly. A rior with a 13 strength gets the benefits of and rolls one of the “choose any” results character must refer to the Racial Ability an 18 strength, a warrior with a 14 on Table 13. Barring such good die rolls or Requirements table (actually Table 1; Rules strength gets the benefits of an 18/01 some type of DM intervention, characters Book, page 3) before applying the modi- strength, and so on up to strength 18. The with wild talents don’t get attack and fiers from Table 2 (also on page 3). Atha- DM I met who used this rule claimed it defense modes. sian halflings, however, probably should made having that elusive 18 strength score be at least as strong as halflings on other less vital to the warrior. Nonwarriors, who Can a sleep or hold person spell worlds, and maybe stronger. It’s not un- have less physical training, used the regu- affect a thri-kreen? A half-giant? A reasonable to give Athasian halflings a lar strength table. Even if you adopt this mul? Since half-giants get to double final strength limit of 18; however, Atha- rule, however, you’ll still have a situation their hit dice, are their hit dice dou- sian halflings with 18 strength still do not where a nonwarrior with a 19 or better bled with respect to spell effects roll for extraordinary strength, as their strength score has vastly better combat governed by hit dice, such as sleep, small bodies just don’t carry enough modifiers than characters—even warriors cloudkill, etc.? muscle. —who have strength scores of 18 or less. A sleep spell can affect any creature that falls within the spell’s hit-die limits, unless Since many nonwarrior characters Can thri-kreen use sign language, the creature’s description specifically on Athas can have strength scores or do their nonhuman hands make makes it immune. Athasian thri-kreen of 19 or higher, how do you treat this impossible? Why can’t thri- don’t sleep, but they are not immune to the extraordinary strength roll for kreen be thieves or templars? If any sort of magically or psionically in- an 18 strength on Athas? they can, what are their level limits duced sleep. As the Rules Book clearly Strictly speaking, you treat extraordi- and thief skill adjustments? states, all character races except thri- nary strength exactly the way you do on A thri-kreen’s hands and arms can cer- kreen are subject to the hold person spell any other world. That is, warriors with tainly perform sign language of some kind. (see spell description, page 95). Half-giants strengths of 18 roll on the extraordinary- Since the Athasian sign language is the closest thing to a planet-wide tongue that Athas has, it’s probably safe to assume that sign language takes into account and ad- justs for differences between human and thri-kreen hands. (Even with all the differ- ences described in the rules, there would literally be millions of gestures that both thri-kreen and human hands could pre- form.) The DM, however, might decide that the thri-kreen have their own version of sign language or that the physical dif- ferences in hands cause an ability-check penalty when humans or demi-humans use sign language to communicate with thri-kreen. I’ll spare my regular readers the stand- ard sermon about racial-class and level restrictions and why they are necessary for game balance, and I’ll plunge directly into a discussion about why thri-kreen don’t become thieves or templars: Thri-kreen are born hunters and war- riors. Those thri-kreen who have a talent or liking for stealth and concealment become rangers, not thieves. Skulking about and playing with locks, traps, poi- sons, and other nefarious devices just doesn’t suit this race. Thri-kreen also are hive creatures who are very dedicated and loyal to their group, even if there are non- thri-kreen in it and even if the individual thri-kreen in question is evil. The deceit, corruption, disdain for underlings, and disrespect for superiors displayed by the templars is completely alien to the thri-kreen.

54 JANUARY 1992

Might and Magic III (New World Computing)

Save the Isles of Terra in Might & Magic III

We always appreciate your cards, let- [about damage to your disk by using that other game aids listed in our column when ters, and faxes, but we must draw the line hint], you will have to pay to replace your using your original game disk. This is not when folks start faxing clues from a pub- disks. [Origin] says if you use this hint at an idle warning! It is extremely important lished hint booklet! The only clues we will the start of your game, you will have that everyone understand that this publish are those that you, our readers trouble with your disks.” column’s game hints are submitted by a and fellow gamers, have uncovered your- We must repeat to all readers that you wide variety of readers. We warn every- selves when playing a game. If you can’t should not try any of the hints, tricks, or one that any hints should be used when write about your own game investigations, gaming with a backup of the original disk please don’t tie up our fax machine with (such as copying the game files to your others’ work. hard drive or onto floppy disks). A basic Computer games’ ratings rule for all to follow is that you should KnightLine never play any adventure using your We received a fax in September from an X Not recommended original game disk! unhappy player who stated that a hint for * Poor If you need hints, U.S. Gold has a bulle- Ultima VI, published in DRAGON® issue ** Fair tin board for gamers with modems, upon #173, page 60 (regarding “spam” and *** Good which you can access all kinds of tips and “humbug”), damaged his game disk. The **** Excellent news for this company’s wide range of faxer warned that the hint is not a secret ***** Superb offerings. The bulletin board number is: cheat menu. “If you call Origin Systems (408) 296-8800.

DRAGON 57 H.E.L.P. Matthew McHale of Dayton, Ohio, and “Septinius” of Austin, Tex., have come to the aid of Jon Timmons, who requested “riddle” assistance with The Bard’s Tale II in DRAGON® issue #173. Both offered the same advice for the riddle in Dargoth’s Tower. Matthew writes: “The strange mage wants two words: FREEZE PLEASE. In the Grey Crypt, at (1E,7N), is a sphinx. It requires you to name a creature of the crypt. You may tell it “Death Sword” to make the exit reap- pear, or you may tell it “Wise One” to make stairs appear that lead to the second level. The stairs appear in the northern area of the crypt at (0E,18N). For those in Dargoth’s Tower, ‘reverse tiny and late’ are both the 7th and 8th answers. The an- swers are LARGE and EARLY. Finally, the code for the Dreamspell is ZZFO.” “Septinius” has a different view: “For the Grey Crypt, have you found the teleport in the area of darkness? When you enter the area of darkness, turn left, take 17 steps (3E,4N), turn right, then take one step. You will hit a teleport that takes you to (3E,13N). Go to the north wall and find the door. Enjoy.” Brian Emparges of Minneapolis, Minn., answers the call for help with Ultima VI that appeared in this column in DRAGON® issue #173: “To find Exodus in the Shrine of Diligence, look for a secret passage in one of the pillars. Go down the ladder inside and beware of daemons when talk- ing to the statue. Exodus is one demon I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley!” Joshua Hornbacher of Sebewaing, Mich., answers a reader’s query concerning Ultima IV (from issue #171): “Here is the answer: INFINITY. You get the answer when you become an Avatar in the eight Might and Magic III (New World Computing) virtues. The visions you receive are decod- ed with the player reference card. One problem, though: Some of the letters are land sound equipment will delight in not icon. Click on the up thumb, and the ‘J.’ However, in Latin, there is no ‘J’; the only the opening theme music, but the action is completed. Click on the down letter ‘I’ replaces the letter ‘J.’ Put the letter sound track that accompanies your party’s thumb, and your action is canceled. ‘I’ in place of all [vision] letters that resem- various stops in this excitement-rich world The main display window for this game ble ‘I,’ and that should spell INFINITY.” (e.g., if you enter a dungeon, cautious occupies two-thirds of your screen. Within “stalking” music follows your party’s inves- this window is a first-person view of the tigations). If you ever get tired of the mu- action. Around the border of the window Reviews sic (we didn’t), you simply access the screen are various elements that represent game’s control panel by pressing the TAB the ability to use skills acquired in the Might and Magic III: Isles of key, and you can turn it off with a click of game. A bat at the top center of the win- Terra ***** your mouse or joy-stick button. You can dow opens and closes its jaws should one New World Computing (818-999-0626) also enter the letter of the element you of your party possess the ability to sense PC/MS-DOS version $59.95 wish to change. oncoming danger. If your questers are New World Computing has released an The user interface is quite enjoyable. We about to be attacked, the mouth indicates enjoyable fantasy role-playing adventure. preferred the mouse method of play, but danger is near. This sequel to the smash hit Might and joy-stick and keyboard interaction are When starting the game, you may use Magic II is a vast improvement, thanks to a fully supported for those who don’t have the prerolled characters that come with much-improved graphic interface, truly other I/O devices for the computers. Com- the game disk or create your own. We had random encounters, automapping, and a mands are handled through various win- such miserable luck with our first created character system that requires party coop dows that appear when something party that we decided to use the prerolled eration for success. Might and Magic III requires your attention. For example, set until we became more familiar with (M&M3) is bound to be a leading contender when you encounter a fountain, a window the geography of the isles and their dan- for the best adventure game of 1991. with dialogue box appears, asking if you gers. That was a good idea! The prerolled This game is a huge enterprise. Just wish to drink or throw a coin into the set has more than basic skills and equip- locating a starting point for this review is gurgling fluid. You can directly answer ment and allows you to wander inside the quite a task, as there is so much that is with “Y” or “N,” or you can move your first town (Fountainhead) while testing good here. Upon booting, those with Ro- mouse cursor to an up or down thumb your outdoor skills as well. A map of

58 JANUARY 1992

Roland is effective and well written. Heartiest congratulations to New World Computing! M&M3 is a winner.

Gateway to the Savage Frontier * * * * SSI (408-737-6800) PC/MS-DOS version $49.95 Gateway to the Savage Frontier (GSF) is SSI’s latest Gold Box offering. Based in an entirely new location within TSR’s AD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting, this game is an exciting adventure that finds your party trying to halt an invasion of evil marauders. GSF offers wilderness adventures and detailed outdoor battle scenes. You can add allies to your adventuring party and must also use mystical power to halt the beasties. What GSF doesn’t offer is any technological advance in gameplay. Unlike SSI’s Eye of the Beholder, GSF plays like all Might and Magic III (New World Computing) of SSI’s other Gold Box games. It seems redundant to discuss the same features Fountainhead appears in the game manual but you’ll find yourself constantly taking that we’ve discussed in our other SSI Gold to guide those first steps. notes on rumors from taverns and mes- Box reviews. GSF requires mapmaking The Isles of Terra are a rather danger- sages on dungeon walls. You’ll obtain hints skills to ensure that you find your way ous place to reside. Riches exist, but noth- when you least expect them. You’ll also around inhabited areas and copious notes ing of value comes easily, and you never want to note the sectors where you might to follow up on the messages you read in seem to have enough money. You can hire find mysterious statues, important points your Adventurer’s Journal. two adventurers to join your initial set of of interest, and other goodies that you will However, don’t think that just because six, but—as you will wish them to be of need to complete the game but will have the back cover of the game box states that continual assistance to your group—you to investigate later. you have a “rare chance to begin a spec- will probably train them to raise their We did have problems Equipping some tacular new quest” that you’re getting experience levels. This means paying their items. For example, we needed to Use an something different from other SSI adven- daily rate increase as well. If you haven’t item and delved into the Item window. tures. You’re not. What you are getting is the funds to pay your hirelings, you might When clicking on the icon we wanted to the tried-and-true SSI engine, but without find yourself stranded without that Use, we received a dialogue window that the innovation programmed into Eye of fantastic hireling spell-caster facing a stated the item had to be Equipped. first. the Beholder horrible situation. When we then clicked on the Equip item, As technology advances, SSI should Money is also required to buy food, we received a second dialogue item stating consider releasing new products in the better weapons for your fighters, and the particular item couldn’t be equipped. same vein as Eye of the Beholder. To have additional spells for our spell-casters. The This made it impossible to use many items VGA/MCGA graphics support really means latter must acquire membership in town of possible value. We had to figure out little when the graphic elements of the guilds before they are allowed to purchase other ways around the need for that item. game are reminiscent of earlier releases. magicks. Perhaps an alien bug infested our com- Granted, the AdLib sound drivers now Your adventurers must also acquire puter, but this is definitely an inconven- enable you to hear the whoosh of your various skills such as cartography (to ience if it was a programming error. sword as you strike at your attacker, and access the game’s automapping feature) to M&M3 is a superb adventure. Color, the subsequent scream of the beastie as it succeed. One important skill, mountain- animation, sound, and intriguing quests is slain, but otherwise there is little new in eering, costs a whopping 5,000 gold pieces and characters all blend to provide gamers the way of sound enhancement. to acquire, so remember to save your with a topnotch offering. Should anything GSF breaks no new ground, but it is a money (and your game). Gems are impor- untoward happen to your characters, challenging game. GSF opens a new TSR tant to your spell-casters, so don’t surren- their portraits reveal something is amiss. If adventuring frontier for adventures but der them. As M&M3 allows you to save a character drinks too much, his portrait leaves us a little disappointed due to its your game at any time, we saved our game reflects his inebriated state. Should a lack of innovation. We were hoping for a before spending money or gems on poten- character become poisoned, obvious signs little more in a game that opened new tially false promises. show in his portrait. territories to the computer gamer. The background for your quest is well Obviously, New World Computing has By the way, as was so aptly noted by documented in the game manual. The evil advanced its skills to match the increased Gregg Sharp of Buckeye, Ariz., we agree Sheltem has twice attempted to destroy level of capabilities within PC/MS-DOS that SSI should come up with a “PRINT the Isles. Corak the Mysterious searches gaming, but this requires some computing CHARACTER” option for its games! for Sheltem and has enlisted your aid. power for your system. You now need Corak has gone on before you, the manual more than four megabytes of free space Martian Memorandum *** being a record of his writings to assist you on your hard disk to handle the game files. Access Software (phone n/a) in the search for Sheltem. You must uncov- Although VGA/MCGA video boards and PC/MS-DOS version Price n/a er the evil one’s scheme and try to stop monitors are getting cheaper, they still This graphic adventure debuts on your him from succeeding. It’s no easy task! cost about $250 or so for a combination screen with some very cool jazz music. A full-color map and a reference card board/monitor set that is built well. With Those with Roland sound boards will also accompany the game. With animated AdLib and SoundBlaster sound support, really enjoy the soundtrack throughout encounters and super sound, M&M3 has you don’t necessarily need the Roland the game. Martian Memorandum also held us captive for three weeks. The sound capabilities to enjoy the musical sports some extremely well-devised digi- game’s automapping feature is a real boon, score, but the music available with the tized video sequences, as well as speech. It

60 JANUARY 1992 why bother programming in a GOTO command? You don’t use GOTO to move to a new location; that’s handled by the TRAVEL command. The second inconsistency rests with the uses of the animated portrait of any NPC talking with you. First of all, a portrait of the individual appears (Access picked some really good faces for these por- traits!). Then, digitized speech is heard for that character—but not in all circumstanc- es. Normally, when you respond to an NPC’s question or statement, you hear speech. When you offer another response, only a text window appears with the conversation—no speech. You never know what you’re going to receive. (You ought to see the face of one Rhonda Foxworth when you offer her a rose you have pur- chased especially for her. She looks abso- lutely nauseated, despite the fact that roses are rare in this post-nuclear society). However, when the digitized speech and animated portrait do combine successfully, they are a marvelous addition to your Martian Memorandum (Access Software) enjoyment of this adventure. requires at least 10 MHz CPU speed and select the END icon. The third problem is that when you 640K of RAM. Artful and humorous conversations will select a location, you normally find a The adventure’s premise is somewhat intrigue you as you go about trying to graphic display of that location on your trite (the kidnapping of an heiress), but the locate the victim, but you have to watch screen. However, just when you expect to settings are certainly exotic, ranging from what you say. The conversation you’ll have see the next area you are investigating, Earth to Mars. You become Tex Murphy, with one secretary in particular can end you get a general-purpose city or alley PI. The year is 2039. Your personality is up with you having something tossed in view with a textual description of your that of the hard-boiled detectives featured your face, or perhaps you’ll be so boring desired location. It seems as if Access in hundreds of movies in the 1940s. she’ll fall asleep. wanted to get this adventure to market by Marshall Alexander, the president of One rule all games normally follow is a specific date and simply didn’t have Terraform Corporation, hires you to locate that of a consistent interface. The problem enough time to code in all of the niceties his daughter, whom he claims was kid- with Martian Memorandum rests in the that should be in the adventure. That’s napped. Others that you contact disagree, fact that this adventure’s interface is in- really too bad, because the way Martian feeling she has run away. By following the consistent. In this game, for example, Memorandum plays now, it’s not on a par clues, you eventually solve this mystery. when you click on the GOTO icon while in with graphic adventures recently released The interface is good, although not on par a room, then move your cursor over an by other companies, with Sierra’s or LucasFilm’s methods. object in the room, you usually won’t be A fourth problem is that we have just When you enter a screen, a full-color able to move toward that object; you have completed our review of Dynamix’s Heart display is presented of either the area to click on GET and place your cursor of China (see issue #176). When you’ve where Tex is located or of an external over the object in order to retrieve the played one of the best graphic adventures location. Yellow text offers a lengthy intro- item. Your on-screen persona doesn’t move available on the market, the shortfall of ductory paragraph to each new circum- an inch! It’s as though the object was magi- other graphic adventures seems magni- stance. Sometimes the text is a little hard cally teleported from its location to Tex’s fied. Even though our Heart of China to read. inventory. A window pops up and tells you review may have tainted our view of sub- Once you click your mouse or joy-stick Tex now possesses the item. sequent material that’s not up to par, it’s button, the screen dissolves and usually But, in some of the major scenes in the part of a company’s charter to compete returns with a view of the location you game, you’ll find your character is quite with the latest technology and program- have requested. Across the bottom of the able to walk to various locations. If your ming skills to make its product a viable screen are icons; clicking on an icon acti- character can’t retrieve a useable item, competitor. vates a course of action. When you encounter someone you wish to talk to, his picture appears on-screen and his digitized speech might present you with a statement or a query. You must select from as many as three preset re- sponses. When you’ve read your allowed responses in an on-screen window, you click on the response number that coin- cides with the answer you wish to use. You can also offer the other party some- thing from your inventory or can ask about a subject. To end the conversation before its normal conclusion (such as when you are backtracking to see if you’ve missed some information, and you don’t Martian Memorandum (Access Software) need to relive the entire conversation),

DRAGON 61 Martian Memorandum offers an unusual twist on an otherwise mundane kidnap- ping case, sports some extremely well- crafted graphics and animations, and offers digitized sound that, unfortunately, sounds really lousy on an AdLib board (for the best speech results, try the Sound- Blaster). The user interface is easy to learn. We feel this adventure suffers from design inconsistencies that detract from the game’s overall enjoyment. Martian Memorandum does, however, make an interesting acquisition for those die-hard graphic adventure gamers out there. With a little more consistency, it would certainly be rated as a must-buy.

Wing Commander II ***** Origin (512-328-0926) PC/MS-DOS version $79.95 You’re the famed hero of the original Wing Commander game, a pilot from the carrier Tiger’s Claw. You defeated the Kilrathi Empire in the Vega Sector. In the first add-on disk for Wing Commander, entitled Secret Missions, you and your fellow pilots from the Tiger’s Claw found and destroyed a Kilrathi secret weapon. During Secret Missions 2: Crusade, you flew a Kilrathi ship undercover to locate the Kilrathi’s plans for a holy war, and you saved the Firekkan race. But your flying days were suddenly numbered. While the Tiger’s Claw attacked the K’tithrak Mang, you noted that several enemy fighters faded from sight and from your ship’s radar. With the Tiger’s Claw having other concerns, you decided not to In WC2, in addition to having twice the alarm your carrier with what you believed number of missions as in WC, you can was a radar malfunction. Upon your re- land on carriers, space stations, and even turn, however, the Tiger’s Claw was de- planets. While you are flying on missions, stroyed by the enemy fighters that had cinematic scenes may reveal a new objec- disappeared from your radar! tive that you must accomplish, one that Landing on another carrier, you learn wasn’t revealed in your battle briefing. you are the only pilot who witnessed the In the barracks, you can exit to DOS, “stealth fighters.” Your flight recorder disk save your game, go to the next mission, or mysteriously disappears from your fighter exit to a cinematic scene through the after you landed. Facing a general court barracks door. The cinematic scenes in martial, your claims of the deadly fighters WC2 are longer and far more involved went ignored, but the counts of treason than those in WC. Whether you see them against you are reduced to negligence, due or not depends on how well you accom- to lack of evidence. Certain flag officers plish your missions, whether your continue to blame you for the destruction wingmen are still alive or not, and other of the Tiger’s Claw. Your career appears to game factors. These scenes reveal other be over. characters in the game and many times Wing Commander II (WC2) takes over at reveal various subplots. For instance, we this juncture. Many game enhancements viewed scenes that reveal a traitor aboard make this adventure worth your attention. the carrier we were on. We have also The awesome ship-to-ship combat anima- witnessed friction between our character tions continue to inspire your senses, as and other fighter pilots who blame our do the heart-pounding music soundtracks. guy for destruction of the Tiger’s Claw. WC2 adds more missions and longer cine- One game enhancement is the introduc- matic scenes, and you feel as though you tion of new Confederation and Kilrathi Wing Commander II (Origin) are participating in a science-fiction movie. ships, weaponry, and features. The biggest Characters can be newly created or change we saw was the Confederation’s for a longer period of time, so it can by- transferred from Wing Commander (WC). Broadsword and Sabre, two new bombers. pass the target’s phase shields. This tends In WC, you were briefed on your missions Bombers carry torpedoes that are capable to make your bombers rather juicy targets while aboard the Tiger’s Claw. You would of destroying an enemy capital ship with a for the enemy fighters, so bombers have return to that carrier once your missions single shot. The tactical problem is that left, right, and rear turrets for defense. By had been completed. the torpedo must be aimed at the target selecting a different view using the key-

62 JANUARY 1992 board, you can switch to one of the tur- Spider-Man ***** a heavy weapon while robots turn your rets and keep the Kilrathi at a distance. Sega of America (415-508-2800) party into chutney. Other new features include the chaff Sega Genesis version Price n/a 3. If you board a Mercurian Medium pod and the tractor beam. Chaff is used to Spider-Man, the super hero of comics Cruiser and capture it, you’ll find enough divert enemy missiles away from your and cartoons, has made his debut as a plasma launchers to outfit nearly your ship. The drawbacks are that these pods video-game star for the Sega Genesis. His entire party. must be used only at the instant before is an excellent action game with well- Neil Johnson missile impact. This only works with mis- balanced animation and sound. Brooksville FL siles currently targeting your ship and In this adventure, Spider-Man must find only diverts such missiles. The tractor and disarm a bomb, hidden by the master Death Knights of Krynn (SSI) beam allows you to lock onto a small tar- criminal Kingpin, in New York City within 1. To defeat the evil forces in Turf, you get (like an ejected pilot) and pull it into 24 hours. Our hero must face a city whose must battle the forces in the center of your ship. populace has turned against him, and town—twice in a row. Go to the right, Another feature Origin finally installed some of Spidey’s most ruthless enemies enter the center door, and defeat three in WC2 is replay. Though not perfect, it also oppose him: Doctor Octopus, the blue dragons. Then Skomp departs, and allows you to view combat or maneuvers Lizard, the Hobgoblin, the Sandman, Elec- you find the boar’s carcass. Give it to the that you have just completed, giving you a tro, and Venom. dwarf making stew, and he’ll give you a chance to watch the combat from various This certainly sounds like an impossible Short Sword +2. viewpoints and see what happened. The task! However, if anyone can accomplish 2. When Dalcimer defeats the Liche drawback to this feature is that the replay this seemingly Herculean task, it’s Spidey. Guards twice, fight him. The next time cannot be saved. It can be viewed only Using his powerful fists and feet, Spider- you fight him, he won’t have any guards. once within a minute or so after the com- Man can climb walls and onto ceilings. He If you can disrupt the zombie giants’ card bat; then it is lost. has a web-shooter, a device that can entan- game, you can get a Long Sword +4 and The biggest feature is reserved for those gle his enemies, shield the web-slinger, or other goodies. who have SoundBlaster sound boards allow him to safely swing out of danger. 3. When you get the Dream Stone, go to installed in their computers. Digitized Spider-Man doesn’t have an inexhaustible Kalaman and find the Dream Pavilion. Go speech can then be utilized, adding new amount of webbing, though; he can occa- to Vingaard and see the Dream Merchant depth to the game. A speech pack is availa- sionally find some during his travels, or he about the dream. Be sure to defeat the ble from Origin, so you don’t have to read can earn money to purchase more. creatures in his head, or you won’t be able on-screen messages; instead, you listen Spider-Man, also known as Peter Parker, to rest or memorize spells. and view certain cinematic sequences, You is a photographer for the Daily Bugle. 4. Segbas sends you on a mission to can also hear your wingman talk to you on Peter, as Spider-Man, can earn $50 to $150 prove your worthiness. The first mission a mission. per photo taken of the action he faces, He is to the High Clerist’s Tower, and the If you don’t mind giving up 12-15 mega- can take three photos per scene. second is to the Dragon Pit. bytes of hard disk drive storage (or 16-22 Spidey isn’t invincible. If he takes 5. When you are near Cekos, watch out megabytes when installing the speech enough damage he is captured by the for the kuo-toa. You have no choice but to pack), you are in for an extremely addict- police. The game can be continued, but in free the slaves on the ship, if you encount- ing and well-designed game. WC2 will not doing so valuable time is lost. Spider-Man er them. disappoint you. You must have at least a can also go back to his apartment to rest, Jason R. Moore 286 PC system, VGA, 640K of RAM, and 12 but this also takes a considerable amount Charlotte NC MHz CPU speed. However, to fully enjoy of time. Remember, he has only 24 hours the game, you will need at least 16 MHz to find the bomb! Hero’s Quest (Sierra) and 1-2 megabytes of RAM. The system Spider-Man is quite a good game. The 1. For unlimited money, go north from requirements are this game’s only draw- animation, especially that of Spidey, is the first plaza at the start of the game, back, causing us to reduce an otherwise excellent. The intermissions between enter the magic shop, and type “Sell perfect six-star rating to a five-star evalua- rounds are well detailed. Beard” to receive 10 dinars. You can repeat tion. Too few in the gaming community One problem we faced with the game this as many times as you wish. will have the necessary hardware to run was in getting used to the game-controller 2. To really unload yourself, use the this game. For those who have the re- buttons. Once mastering the buttons, the hint above and go to the weapons shop. quired fast and powerful computers, WC2 controls are actually quite useful. We liked Purchase 99 daggers; then repeat twice is well worth your investment. the many options available: the web shield, more. If you now look at your statistics, photographs, and the ability to leave a you’ll see that your encumbrance is below Space Quest I ***** scene to rest. This is a great game for any zero. If you purchase more than 400 dag- Sierra On-Line (209-683-4468) Spidey fanatic, gers, each set of 99 additional daggers PC/MS-DOS version $59.95 earns you extra dinars. Sierra has redesigned this classic 3. The tree in the mountains east of science-fiction adventure to take advan- Clue corner Two gives you Fruit of Compassion if you tage of new PC/MS-DOS technology, in- accomplish the following: hug it, say its cluding the upgrade of the graphics to 256 BUCK ROGERS? Countdown to name, tell it about yourself, and give it colors (VGA). The parser has been im- Doomsday (SSI) some dirt. proved and is now the expected point-and- 1. If you ready heavy weapons (such as 4. Buy the X-ray glasses and wear them click interface Sierra has used for Space rocket launchers, plasma launchers, and to Rasier when you meet the princess. Quest IV and King’s Quest V. The music is grenade launchers) before a fight, they’ll You’ll receive a nice surprise. also much improved, and digitized speech be ready to fire on the first round. This 5. Don’t buy more than one packet of has been added to some sections. means you won’t have to waste a charac- incense, or you will not be able to capture If you haven’t played Space Quest I ter’s first combat turn loading a heavy the fire elemental. before, now is definitely the best time to weapon. This is especially helpful when 6. In the warriors’ guild, kill him. pick up this updated version. The game going up against robots. 7. If your character stops in the middle plays far better than before and is highly 2. A good idea is to ready each heavy of an alley, there is something there. enjoyable, richly deserving its fame. weapon as soon as you finish a fight. If 8. You must search carefully to find the you do this, you won’t be surprised and secret mages’ guild. watch helplessly as each character readies 9. Try using the oil to move the anvil.

64 JANUARY 1992

10. Some advertisements may not be bat with a servant of Tanetal and his ele- teleported to the fourth world. fake—such as the sign over the weapon mentals immediately after your fight with 4. There is another warp link in the makers. Kalistes and the drow. fourth world. Find it in the same way, and Brian Bucklew 4. Thorne is accessible through the Drag- you are teleported to the final world. Plantation FL on Aerie, next to the Crater of Verdigris. 5. If your ship is damaged when you 5. Don’t accept the ring from the fire enter the last world, you may wish to Might and Magic III (New World Comp.) giant mage. purposefully die. Then you can continue 1. In Fountainhead, find Cypher. For 25 6. There is a sage in Moander’s ear who at the beginning of that world with your gold, you’ll learn a lot. can provide you with magic weapons and full energy. 2. Check out the Cyclop’s Cavern for an training. Aeghwat is in the wound on 6. Use the “cat’s eye” to see the invisible all-important key. Moander’s arm. Tanetal is in Moander’s tanks on this world. 3. If you can afford 500 gems, give them heart. Talk to the Guardian for a way to 7. You can and should use just about all to the statue at B1 (X1,Y1) for 5,000 gold deal with the sticky slime. of your special equipment. Make sure you pieces and some great items. 7. Arcam is a wimp. save one “super cannon” to defeat the final 4. Destroy the sprite’s hut at B2 (X6,Y10) Gregg Sharp enemy. and earn 1,000 experience points! Buckeye AZ 8. When the Annihilator is beamed 5. To release Morphose, the servant of down, charge up to it while firing your Gaiam and the protector of Fountainhead, Secret of the Silver Blades (SSI) super cannon. you must slay the Rat Overlord. If you 1. The reason Vala goes crazy is that she Mike Jatczak succeed, you’ll learn a great fact about one dislikes charming spells. Livonia MI of the fountains, as well as earning 2,500 2. The door with three keyholes and gold pieces and various weaponry. lightning running through it in the castle That’s all for this issue. Keep those hints 6. To enter the Fortress of Fear, you’ll is an illusion. Bash the door down, coming in for your fellow gamers! Our need the yellow key. 3. When battling Sargatha the medusa H.E.L.P. line assists hundreds stuck in 7. If you can return the Golden Alicorn and her guards after you pass through the crazy quests and adventures full of beasts to the Unicorn Shrine, he will be released. first great door, keep in mind that Sarga- and goodies. Mail your letters to us at: 521 Look in the swamplands. tha has the ability to cast spells. Czerny Street, Tracy CA 95376, U.S.A.; or, 8. Try instant travel between towns by 4. After you beat the Golden Warrior fax your communication to us at: (209) uttering the destination phrases required. and the 16-headed hydras, I recommend 832-5742. Until next month, game on! 9. If you dig at Al (X13,Y8), you might beating the lich and his guards (storm locate something rather magical, giants and Banite priests) by casting Fire- BUCK ROGERS is a trademark used under license 10. Remember “RATS” if you wish to ball spells to kill the guards, then casting from The Dille Family Trust. thoroughly search all of the caverns. Disintegrate on the Dreadlord. The Lessers 5. The Dreadlord’s soul is to the north of the Throne Room. Pools of Darkness (SSI) Ethan Chamberlain 1. Use the option to search in the Phoenix AZ Knight’s Tomb. After defeating the elemen- tals, light the four braziers in the corners Stellar Seven tDynamix/Sierra) of the second floor tower and ring the 1. If you’re tired of being challenged, What’s a SASE? tower bells. these hints should help you win this game A SASE is a self-addressed, stamped 2. Tanetal is found by going up the dark far more easily and quickly. First, make tower near Myth Drannor, killing Marcus certain to set your difficulty level to “easy.” envelope. If you send a submission (go back several times to the Spectral 2. Do not use any special weapons or to DRAGON® Magazine and hope Servant if you’ve destroyed all of the desti- items until the final world. for a response, include a SASE with nations it gives you for Marcus), then go to 3. On the first world, you should con- your letter, gaming article, short the vessel of Moander. centrate on the obstacles. One of the ob- story, or artwork. Make sure the 3. Kalistes is found by going through the stacles can be blown up if it is shot enough SASE is large enough (and has temple at the bottom of the drow caverns times. Don’t worry if you can’t find the enough postage) to allow the return under Zhentil Keep. Prepare for a pair of correct obstacle right away. Once the of your material if necessary. Cana- tough fights. It seems as though a game obstacle is destroyed, a blue warp link dians and residents of other coun- glitch in version 1.0 has you enter a com- appears. Enter the warp link and you are tries should enclose international postal coupons, available at their lo- cal post offices. We are not respon- sible for unsolicited submissions; be sure to enclose that SASE.

DRAGON is a trademark of TSR, Inc. ©1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

66 JANUARY 1992

68 JANUARY 1992 SWANCON 17, Jan. 24-27 This three-in-one convention will be held at the Ascot Convention Center in Perth, Western Australia. Events include SF/F panels, an anime festival, and numerous role-playing and board games with the PARSEC game convention. Guests include Terry Dowling, Nick Statho- poulos, and Philippa Madden. Accommodations will be available. Write for costs. Write to: SWANCON 17, P.O. Box 227, North Perth, West- ern Australia 6006, AUSTRALIA; or call Jeremy: * indicates a product produced by a company other than TSR, (09) 340 8901 during working hours. Convention Calendar Policies Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the companies publishing those products. The use of the name of any product without mention of its trademark status should not CANCON 14, Jan. 25-27 This column is a service to our readers be construed as a challenge to such status. This convention will be held at the University worldwide. Anyone may place a free listing of Canberra in Bruce, ACT, Australia. Events for a game convention here, but the follow- JANCON II, Jan. 17-19, 1992 CT include Australian ancients titles, DIPLOMACY* This RPGA™ Network club-sponsored conven- ing guidelines must be observed. games, and 20 role-playing tournaments, includ- In order to ensure that all convention tion will be held at the Quality Inn in New ing several RPGA™ Network events. Write to: listings contain accurate and timely infor- Haven, Conn. Events include Network tourna- CANCON, c/o Wes Nicholson, GPO Box 1016, mation, all material should be either typed ments, a benefit for the Literacy Volunteers of Canberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA 2601; or call: (06) America, and AD&D®, BATTLETECH*, CALL OF double-spaced or printed legibly on stand- 254-9926 days. ard manuscript paper. The contents of CTHULHU*, DIPLOMACY*, WARHAMMER*, and STAR FLEET BATTLES* games. Other each listing must be short and succinct. FANTASY WORLD ‘92, Jan. 25-26 The information given in the listing must activities include a costume party, a miniatures- This convention will be held at the Handels- include the following, in this order: painting contest, a movie room, and an expand- beurs in Antwerp, Belgium. Events include a 1. Convention title and dates held; ed dealers’ area. Send an SASE to: JANCON II, celebration of J. R. R. Tolkien’s 100th birthday. 2. Site and location; c/o TimeWarpers, P.O. Box 55552, Bridgeport CT The special guest is Dave (Darth Vader) Prowse. 3. Guests of honor (if applicable); 06610; or call: (203) 371-4330. Other activities include a parade, swordfighting 4. Special events offered; and martial-arts demos, board and role-playing 5. Registration fees or attendance re- PANDEMONIUM IX, Jan. 18-19 games, graffiti art, a castle-model auction, quirements; and, This convention will be held at the Ryerson music, films, and miniatures and paintings 6. Address(es) and telephone number(s) Hub Cafeteria, Jorgenson Hall, Ryerson Poly- exhibitions. Write to: Palantir vzw, P.O. Box 461, where additional information and confirma- technical Institute in Toronto, Ontario. Events 2000 Antwerp 1, BELGIUM. tion can be obtained. include two game auctions, over 60 games, a miniatures contest, and many local dealers. Convention flyers, newsletters, and other GAMICON BETA, Jan. 31-Feb. 1 IA mass-mailed announcements will not be Prizes will be awarded to tournament winners. This convention, sponsored by the SFLIS, will Registration: $20 (Canadian)/weekend, or $15/ considered for use in this column; we be held at the Wesley Foundation in Iowa City, prefer to see a cover letter with the an- Saturday and $10/Sunday. Write to: PANDEMO- Iowa. David “Zeb” Cook will be our guest of NIUM IX, c/o 17B Wales Ave., Toronto, Ontario, nouncement as well. No call-in listings are honor. Events include AMBER*, AD&D®, CALL accepted. Unless stated otherwise, all CANADA M5T 1J2; or call: (416) 597-1934. OF CTHULHU*, PARANOIA*, ROLEMASTER*, dollar values given for U.S. and Canadian TORG*, VAMPIRE*, STAR FLEET BATTLES*, conventions are in U.S. currency. WRIGHT STATE U. GAME FAIR CHAMPIONS*, COSMIC ENCOUNTER*, WARNING: We are not responsible for Jan. 18-19 OH ARKHAM HORROR*, TOON*, and NUCLEAR This convention will be held on the main incorrect information sent to us by conven- WAR* games. Other activities include historical tion staff members. Please check your campus of Wright State University in Fairborn, games and a dealers’ area. Registration: $15. All convention listing carefully! Our wide Ohio. Events include introductory sessions on games are free! Write to: GAMICON BETA, c/o role-playing by Shield Games, a parents’ session circulation ensures that over a quarter of a ICON, P.O. Box 525, Iowa City IA 52244-0525; or million readers worldwide see each issue. on role-playing games, and RPGA™ Network call: (319) 354-2236. Accurate information is your responsibility. events. Registration fees have not yet been set, but there will be discounts for attending both Copy deadlines are the last Monday of REDCON ‘92, Jan. 31-Feb. 1 each month, two months prior to the on- days, for RPGA™ Network members and qualify- This gaming convention will be held at the ing GMs. Write to: Scott Hala, Game Fair Direc- sale date of an issue. Thus, the copy dead- Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, line for the December issue is the last tor, WSU Adventurers’ Guild, PO. Box 31016, Ontario. Events include role-playing, strategy, Dayton OH 45431-0016. Monday of October. Announcements for tactical, and miniatures games. Guests include North American and Pacific conventions Sam Lewis, Margaret Weis, and Tracy Hickman. must be mailed to: Convention Calendar, PROJECT GENESIS X, Jan. 19-20 CA Registration: $10 (Canadian)/weekend. Write to: This P.A.L. Publishing convention will be held at DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Combat Simulations Group, ATTN.: OCdt Yarker Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. Announcements the Hacienda Convention Center in Fresno, Calif. (6 Sqn), Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontar- Events include BATTLETECH*, AD&D®, STAR for Europe must be posted an additional io, CANADA, K7K 5LO; of call: (613) 541-6322. month before the deadline to: Convention FLEET BATTLES*, TOON*, and STAR WARS* games. Other activities include computer games, Calendar, DRAGON® Magazine, TSR VANDERCON II, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 T N anime, a miniatures contest, and a swap meet. Limited, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, This convention will be held at the Sarratt Registration: $12. Make checks payable to P.A.L. Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. Student Center on the campus of Vanderbilt If a convention listing must be changed Publishing. Dealers and judges are welcome! University in Nashville, Tenn. Events include because the convention has been can- Write to: P.A.L. Publishing, 5415 E. Washington, CIVILIZATION*, EMPIRE BUILDER*, TALIS- celled, the dates have changed, or incor- Fresno CA 93727; or call: (209) 456-1668. MAN*, AD&D®, WARHAMMER 40,000*, and CAR rect information has been printed, please WARS* games. Registration: $5/weekend. Judges contact us immediately. Most questions or GENERICON VIII, Jan. 24-26 NY are welcome! Write to: W. Bozarth, League of changes should be directed to the maga- This convention will be held on Rensselaer Gamers and Role-players, Box 4447-B, Vanderbilt zine editors at TSR, Inc., (414) 248-3625 Polytechnic Institute’s campus in Troy, N.Y. Univ., Nashville TN 37235; or call either: (615) (U.S.A.). Questions or changes concerning Events include an AD&D® tournament, plus 421-6209 or Wayne at (615) 421-6209. European conventions should be directed CHAMPIONS*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, PARA- NOIA*, WARHAMMER 40,000* and The Avalon to TSR Limited, (0223) 212517 (U.K.). EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN ‘92, Feb. 7-9 IL Hill Game Company’s games. Registration: $14 This convention will be held at the Student preregistered, and $17 at the door. Please make indicates an Australian convention. Center on the campus of Southern Ill. Univ. in indicates a Canadian convention. checks payable to R.S.F.A. Write to: R.S.F.A., Carbondale, Ill. Events include RPGA™ Network indicates a European convention. Student Union, R.P.I., Troy NY 12180-3590; or AD&D® and MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ tourna- call Ben at: (518) 276-7949.

DRAGON 69 ments, plus WARHAMMER 40,000*, SHADOW- and open gaming. Registration: $25/weekend single loonie”; admission to tournaments is RUN*, and CHAMPIONS* games. There will also until Feb. 1; $30/weekend or $15/day at the about $10 (Canadian) each. Write to: UAPGC, be a game auction and a miniatures contest. door. Write to: DUNDRACON, 386 Alcatraz Ave., Box 46, Students Union Bldg., Univ. of Alberta, Registration: $8/weekend preregistered; $10/ Oakland CA 94618. Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6G 2J7. weekend or $3-$5/day at the door. Single-day passes will be available. Send an SASE to: SIU ORCCON 15, Feb. 14-17 CA WESCON II, Feb. 28-March 1 CT Strategic Games Society, Office of Student This convention will be held at the L. A. This gaming convention will be held at the Development, Southern Ill. Univ., Carbondale IL Airport Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles CA. Events Holiday Inn in Cromwell, Conn. Events include 62901-4425; or call: (618) 529-4630. include all types of family, strategy, and adven- RPGA™ Network tournaments, with MIGHTY ture board, role-playing, miniatures, and com- EMPIRES*, BLOODBOWL*, TALISMAN*, WARCON ‘92, Feb. 7-9 TX puter gaming. Other activities include flea GURPS*, and AD&D® games. Other activities This convention will be held at the Memorial markets, an auction and an exhibitor’s area. include board games, war games, SCA demos, a Student Center on the campus of Texas A&M Write to: STRATEGICON, P.O. Box 3849, Torr- human chess game, a miniatures-painting con University in College Station, Tex. Events in- ance CA 90510-3849; or call: (310) 326-9440. test, dealers, an art exhibit, and an auction. clude AD&D® CHAMPIONS*, CAR WARS*, STAR Guest artist is Batton “Wolff & Byrd” Lash. FLEET BATTLES*, AXIS & ALLIES*, WAR AT VISIONQUEST 2, Feb. 14-16 MO Registration: $15/weekend before Jan. 31, or SEA*, SIXTH FLEET*, CYBERPUNK*, GURPS*, This convention will be held at the Quality Inn $20 thereafter. Send an SASE to: Games & Stuff, SPACE HULK*, TORG*, and SHADOWRUN* North in Springfield, Mo. Events include RPG 501 Main St., Middletown CT 06457; or call: games. Other activities include numerous WWII and WRG tournaments, plus WARHAMMER (203) 344-8895 during business hours. war games, naval miniatures, microarmor, and 40,000* games, open gaming, Star Trek activi- computer games. Registration: $10/weekend ties, a dealers’ room, plus costume and figure- OWLCON XIII, March 6-8 TX preregistered, or $12/weekend at the door. painting contests. Registration: $12.50 before This gaming convention, sponsored by WARP Write to: MSC NOVA, Box J1, College Station TX Jan 31; $15 at the door. Send an SASE to: VI- and RSFAFA, will be held on the campus of Rice 78440-9081; or call: (409) 845-1515. SIONQUEST 3821-D S. Campbell, Springfield University in Houston TX. Events include RUNE- MO 65807; or call: (417) 886-8482, 2-8 P.M. only. QUEST*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, PARANOIA*, CLUB CON I, Feb. 8-9 OH CAR WARS*, TRAVELLER*, DIPLOMACY*, This RPG-only convention, sponsored by an ECLECTICON VI, Feb. 15-17 CA ILLUMINATI*, CIVILIZATION*, BATTLETECH*, RPGA™ Network club, will be held at the Holi- This SF/F convention will be held at the Sacra- ASL*, and STAR FLEET BATTLES* games. Open day Inn Hudson in Hudson, Ohio. Events include mento Hilton Inn in Sacramento, Calif. Guests gaming and other tournaments will be held. RPG tournaments featuring AD&D®, PARA- include George R. R. Martin and Delight Pres- Registration: $12/three days before Feb. 25; $14/ NOIA*, TORG*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, CHAMPI- cott; the dead guest of honor is Mary Shelley. three days, or $5-6/day at the door. One-day ONS*, SHADOWRUN*, RAVENLOFT™, and STAR Activities include panels, seminars, workshops, passes will be available. Registration will be held WARS* games. Other activities include a and a blood drive on Feb. 16. Registration: $40. in Sewall Hall. Write to: WARP, OWLCON Prere- miniatures-painting contest and a dealers’ room. Write to: ECLECTICON VI, #176 P.O. Box 19040, gistration, PO. Box 1892, Houston TX 77251. Registration: $11.50/weekend preregistered; Sacramento CA 95814. Make checks payable to WARP $13.50/weekend or $8.50/day at the door. Write to: CLUB CON I, PO. Box 142, Kent OH 44240- TOTAL CONFUSION VI, Feb. 21-23 MA PLATTECON EPSILON, March 6-8 WI 0003; or call: (216) 673-2117. This convention will be held at the Best West- This convention will be held at the Student ern Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, Mass. Center on the campus of the University of BSC’s WRATH OF CON, Feb. 14-16 NY Events include AD&D®, GURPS*, BATTLE- Wisconsin-Platteville in Platteville, Wis. Events This convention will be held at Ketchum Hall TECH*, SPACE HULK*, DIPLOMACY*, CHAMPI- include AD&D® games, a miniatures contest, a on the State Univ. of New York College campus in ONS*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, CAR WARS*, and LAZER TAG* tournament, and a special guest. Buffalo, N.Y. Events include role-playing games AXIS & ALLIES* games. Other activities include Registration: $5/weekend or $4/day preregis- and dealers’ tables. Registration: $4/weekend RPGA™ Network events, a miniatures-painting tered, $8/weekend or $5/day at the door. Write preregistered, and $5/weekend at the door. contest, and a costume competition. Registra- to: Platteville Gaming Assoc., Student Center, 1 Single-day and Saturday & Sunday passes are tion: $22/weekend or $8.50/day preregistered, University Plaza, Platteville WI 53818. available. Write to: Michael Desing, Tower 3 $10/day at the door. Write to: TOTAL CONFU- Room 730C, SUCAB, P.O. Box 5119, ML Box 730C, SION, P.O. Box 1463, Worcester MA 01607; or SCRYCON ‘92, March 7 NY Buffalo NY 14213-5119; or call: (716) 878-6374. call: (508) 987-1530. Sponsored by the Seekers of the Crystal Monolith, this convention will be held at the CHIMERA CON VIII, Feb. 14-16 NC GAMER’S DELIGHT ‘92, Feb. 22 Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Events This SF/fantasy convention will be held at the The Quebec Gamers’ Assoc. presents this include AD&D® games and other RPGA™ tour- University of North Carolina Student Union in gaming convention at the John F. Kennedy naments, a miniatures contest, and a used-game Chapel Hill, N.C. Events include panels, work- School, 3030 Villeray, Montreal, Quebec, Activi- flea market. Registration: $6 preregistered; $8 shops, games, and an auction. Registration: $15. ties include an AD&D® 2nd Edition tournament, at the door. Send an SASE to: SCRYCON ‘92, P.O. Write to: CHIMERA CON VIII, 6H Kingswood an art show, war games, board games, and role- Box 896, Pleasant Valley NY 12569. Seating is Apts., Chapel Hill NC 27516. playing games. Registration: $12 (Canadian) limited: please preregister! preregistered before Feb. 14; higher fees there- CONTINUITY V, Feb. 14-16 AL after. Write to: Quebec Gamers’ Assoc., C.P. 63, BASHCON ‘92, March 13-15 OH This SF&F/gaming convention will be held at succ M, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA H1V 3L6; This convention will be held in the University the Parliament House in Birmingham, Ala. or call Christine at: (514) 596-0115. of Toledo’s Student Union Auditorium in Toledo, Guests include Harry Turtledove, Brad Strick- Ohio. The special guest is Michael Dorn. Events land, David & Elissa Martin, and Jerry &, Sharon JAXCON ‘92, Feb. 28-March 1 FL include RPGA™ tournaments, AD&D®, PARA- Ahern. Activities include role-playing, board, This gaming convention will be held at the NOIA*, and other games. Other activities in- miniatures, and computer gaming, with a hospi- Radisson Inn at the Jacksonville International clude panels, anime and SF films, a dealers’ tality suite, a video room, an art show, a dealers’ Airport in Jacksonville, Fla. Events include role- room, plus miniatures and board games. Regis- room, a costume contest, a dance, and panels. playing, board, and war games. Write to: JAX- tration: $3/weekend; or $1-2/day. Games are Registration: $20 until 1/19/92; $25 thereafter. CON ‘92, P.O. Box 4423, Jacksonville FL 32201; $.50 each. Send an SASE to: Student Activities Dealers are welcome! Write to: CONTINUITY or call Kathy at: (904) 778-1730. Office, UT-BASH, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo 620 80th Place S., Birmingham AL 35206; or call: OH 43606. (205) 836-6460. TOURNAMENT IN SHADOW Feb. 28-March 1 CALCON 7, March 13-15 DUNDRACON XVI, Feb. 14-17 CA This convention, sponsored by the Univ. of This convention will be held in the Sandman This convention will be held at the San Ramon Alberta Phantasy Gamers’ Club will be held at Inn in Calgary, Alberta. Events include tourna- Marriott, in San Ramon, Calif. (Mention DUN- the Student Union on the Univ. of Alberta ments in role-playing, board, war, and minia- DRACON for special hotel rates.) Events include campus in Edmonton, Alberta. Events include tures gaming. Other activities include a dealers’ over 120 games using virtually every system AD&D®, CYBERPUNK*, WARHAMMER FANTA- room, computer gaming, a games auction, and a now in print. Other activities include seminars, SY BATTLE*, and TALISMAN* games. Other miniatures-painting contest. Registration: $8 board games, miniatures games, a flea market, a activities include a video room and a miniatures- before Feb. 14. Write to: CALCON 7, Gulf Cana- miniatures-painting contest, a dealers’ room, painting workshop. Admission to the event is “a da Sq., RPO 401, 9 Ave. SW, Box 22206, Calgary,

70 JANUARY 1992

Alberta, CANADA T2P 4J6; or call either: Brian P.O. Box 338, New York NY 10150-0338; or call: MIDSOUTHCON XI, March 27-29 TN at (403) 282-0945, or Paul at (403) 275-0761. (908) 721-1537. No collect calls, please. This SF&F convention will be held at the Airport Hilton in Memphis, Tenn. Guests include DEMICON III, March 13-15 MD SPRING OFFENSIVE III, March 20-22 IL Margaret Weis, Beth Willinger, Glen Cook, and This gaming convention will be held at the This convention will be held at Illinois Central Belinda Anderson. Activities include AD&D®, Holiday Inn Chesapeake House in Aberdeen, Md. College in East Peoria IL. Events include Napole- CHAMPIONS*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, CYBER- Events include AD&D®, WARHAMMER*, onics, ADEPTUS TITANICUS*, CHILL*, ASL*, PUNK*, ROBOTECH*, BATTLETECH*, RIFTS*, SHADOWRUN*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, PARA- and other role-playing, board, and miniatures SHADOWRUN*, and board games, plus panels, a NOIA*, BATTLESYSTEM™, BATTLETECH*, CAR games. Registration: $3/day or $5/weekend, and dealers’ room, an art show, an auction, filking, a WARS*, and TALISMAN* games. Other activities $1 per game. Write to: Tri-County Gaming con suite, and open gaming. Registration: $25. include a dealers’ room, a miniatures contest, and Assoc., 116 Walnut St., Washington IL; or call: Write to: PO. Box 2279, Memphis TN 38122; or seminars. Registration: $16 before Feb. 15; $20 (309) 444-4640. call: (901) 353-9439 or (901) 274-7355. thereafter. Write to: DEMICON III, Hartford Adventure Soc., c/o Strategic Castle, 114 N. Toll AGGIECON XXIII, March 26-29 TX ABBYTHON 10, March 28-29 KS Gate Rd., Bel Air MD 21014; or call: (301) 569- This convention will be held on the campus of This convention will be held at the Commu- 4025. Texas A&M University in College Station, Tex. nity Center in Abbyville, Kans. Registration: $10 Guests include Barbara Hambly and David preregistered only. Players will receive materi- SIMCON XIV, March 19-22 NY Drake. Activities include a dealers’ room, game als to create their own ABBYTHON characters. This convention, sponsored by URSGA, will be shows, a costume contest and ball, an art show, Prizes will be awarded to top ten players. Write held at the University of Rochester’s River children’s programming, Japanimation, SF films, to: ABBYTHON Adventure Guild, PO. Box 96, campus in Rochester NY. Events include CYBER- a party room, RPGA™ tournaments, SCA demos, Abbyville KS 67510; or call: (316) 286-5303. PUNK*, STAR FLEET BATTLES*, CHAMPIONS*, and 24-hour open gaming. Registration: $13 STAR TREK*, TRAVELLER*, and fantasy role- before March 1; $16 thereafter. Write to: AG- DREAMCON ‘92, March 28-29 MO playing games. Other activities include board, GIECON XXIII, MSC Cepheid Variable, Box J-l, Sponsored by the NMSU Fantasy Club, this tactical, and 15-mm and 25-mm historical minia- College Station TX 77884; or call: (409) 845-1515. convention will be held at Ophelia Parrish Hall tures games. Registration: $7 before March 2; on the campus of Northeast Missouri State $10 thereafter. Write to: SIMCON XIV, c/o MAGNUM OPUS CON VII, March 26-29 SC University in Kirksville, MO. Events include URSGA, CPU Box 227146, River Station, Roches- This convention will be held at the Greenville AD&D®, CHAMPIONS*, and PARANOIA* games. ter NY 14627-7146. Hyatt and the Greenville Holiday Inn in Green- Other activities include a movie room, a cos- ville, S.C. Guests include Marion Zimmer Brad- tume contest, merchants and more games. LUNACON ‘92, March 20-22 NY ley, Lois McMaster Bujold, Chelsea Quinn Proceeds will benefit the Dream Factory of St. This convention will be held at the Rye Town Yarbro, Roger Zelazny, Robert Asprin, and Louis. Write to: NMSU Fantasy Club, SUB- Hilton in Rye Brook, N.Y. Events include 24-hour Sergio Aragones. Activities include panels, a NMSU, Kirksville MO 63501-4988; of call: (816) open gaming, RPGA™ tournaments, and the costume contest, a dealers’ room, a fashion 785-5152. state’s premier SF convention. Registration: $25 show, fencing, gaming, and talent show. Regis- until Feb. 22; $35 at the door gains admission to tration: TBA. Send an SASE to: MOC, P.O. Box all convention events. Write to: LUNACON ‘92, 6585, Athens GA 30604. How effective was your convention listing? If you are a convention organizer, please write to the editors and let us know if our “Convention Calender” served your needs. Your comments are always welcome.

Catalog! Write for your free Free catalog of games and gaming sup- plies! In the United States and Can- ada, write to: TSR Free Mail Order Hobby Shop, c/o TSR-, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI Free 53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: TSR Mail Order Catalogue, TSR Ltd, 120 Church Free End, Cherry Hin- ton, Cam bridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. Send for Free it today!

72 JANUARY 1992 Princess Ark Where is Hule? detailed in the upcoming Wrath of the Continued from page 50 Looking at the Outer World planetary Immortals boxed set. Beings also known as map provided in the HOLLOW WORLD™ fiends exist in the FORGOTTEN REALMS There is a new CREATURE CRUCIBLE boxed set or in the Rules Cyclopedia, Hule setting. As far as the D&D universe is supplement coming in 1992 (Night Howl- would be located at the southwestern edge concerned, the FORGOTTEN REALMS ers), covering the werewolves of Glantri. of the Black Mountains, north of the Ser- setting is part of a separate reality, and the They are forming a “legitimate” principali- pent Peninsula, just east of the Yazak AD&D game’s Orcus and Demogorgon are ty with the support of some members of Steppes. If you have the older Master’s DM different entities. They are similar in that the Glantrian Council. There are no plans Book, check the map inside the cover; they are the embodiment of all that is evil at present for more in this series. Now Hule is located between areas #26 and #27. in both game worlds. would be the best time to voice your opin- ions and preferences as to the format, I was hoping you would be able to an- When Wrath of the Immortals is re- goal, or topics of future offerings. Your swer a few more questions on Immortals, leased, will there be three interlocking letters are always appreciated, and they especially since the update on the Immor- worlds (Known World/Hollow World/ do affect our decisions. tals will come out until 1992. Why weren’t Wrath)? When is it due out? the Lawful Order of Forsetta and the Wrath of the Immortals is not a game I’d like to see additional CREATURE Temple of Spuming Nooga mentioned in setting. It provides hefty background and CRUCIBLE supplements. Why not publish GAZ7 The Northern Reaches? What are rules for the D&D game’s Immortals and a a few more on topics such as intelligent the alignments, spheres, and powers of campaign saga. As a setting, it provides undead or dragons? Since these monsters the following immortals: Thendara, Arik, information on outer planes and a magical are a lot more powerful than traditional Gorm, Usamigaras, Madarua, Chardastes, city, sort of a neutral safe ground where adventurers, you could always provide and Lepta (B1-9 In Search of Adventure); Immortals can meet without danger. adventures made exclusively for these Cretia, Tubak, and Yamuga (GAZ12 The types of player creatures. Golden Khan of Ethengar), Orcus and As an avid D&D game player and reader Indeed, these characters are difficult to Demogorgon (Dungeon Masters Compan- of your column, I would like to take this mix with standard adventurers. Adven- ion); Tallirai, Sharpcrest, Slizzard, Malafor, opportunity to make a few points to my tures exclusively for such odd beings seem Kallal, Gorrzlok, Crakkak, Polunius, and fellow gamers. too restrictive. Part of the solution consists Saasskas (PC3 The Sea People); and, finally, 1. Are you fed up with there being few in providing a very specific campaign Bozdogan (this column in DRAGON issue specific articles for the D&D game in setting for use with these critters, along #173). Are Wildeye Auger, Minroth (GAZ9 DRAGON® Magazine? The solution is sim- with plausible reasons for the setting to Minrothad Guilds), and Chiron (PC1 Tall ple: adapt other things! In my campaign, I exist and solid ways for the DM to keep it Tales of the Wee Folk) now Immortals? am using five of the seven characters from under control. This works with lycan- Eeep! I passed this question along to last year’s AD&D trading cards. My main thropes. With more powerful individuals, Aaron Allston, who is currently working PC is Caramon Majere, now a 17th-level such as greater undead or especially drag- on the upcoming Wrath of the Immortals paladin of Halav. I created his background ons, there are still a number of problems boxed set (due out in August 1992). His for the D&D game, and he turned out to to iron out (their Experience Progression answer: “Argh! Please, no more Immor- be an interesting character to play. Tables reach daunting heights very quick- tals!” When Aaron did the preliminary 2. Do you want more monsters? Either ly, for example). Those two ideas will research on Immortals, he ended up with buy the D&D game’s Creature Catalogue require lots of development time. over 100. At the time we received this or the AD&D 2nd Edition game’s Mon- letter, it was hard to tell whether or not strous Compendium volumes. Bear in I heard you were going to publish “Al- we would be able to include all these mind that although you may need to make manacs” in 1992. What are they going to fellows (we’ll try, trust us). superficial changes to the monsters, the be like? Several other things may happen. Some experience-point values in the AD&D The Poor Wizard’s Almanacs are a series of these Immortals might have gone away game are often quite high; for example, a of pocket books that provide Jots of infor- to other dimensions, some might have D&D-game beholder is worth 5,100 XP, mation on the Known World and the Hol- been destroyed in some fantastic battle, against the AD&D game’s 14,000. I use the low World in a simple, easily accessible and some might be separate identities of Monstrous Compendium as a source of format. Each book consists of two major other Immortals. For example, Bozdogan is D&D-game species variants. sections. One section deals with past cam- none other than Loki. The Immortals 3. The SPELLJAMMER™ setting: Should I paign information (a “Who’s Who” of the favored by the people of Robrenn are yet use it? Yes and no. Use it if you think your D&D game world, with geographical and another example of this. This approach campaign is ready for it. In my campaign political information and too much other helps keep the number of Immortals un- (AC 1003), skyships are becoming popular material to enumerate here). The other der control. For the moment, we can in magically comfortable regions (Alphatia, section provides about a year’s worth of assume Chiron, Auger, and Minroth still Thyatis, Darokin, Karameikos, and Glan- “future” world events to puzzle your play- haven’t made it to Immortality. Until the tri). Spelljamming helms are rare, though, ers and occasionally rock the D&D game final design is complete, I’d rather not and should be limited to Alphatia or Ser- worlds. If our plans hold together, one reveal too much, since this may conflict raine, as they have an abundance of sky- Almanac should appear each year, with with the final material. Thanks for the list, ships and experience in the matter. the newest one including the most impor- by the way; you named a few that we had tant information published in the previous overlooked. More later. ones. Announcement! Who or what is Orcus? In what way is We are pleased to announce that the When will the D&D boxed set and the Orcus of the D&D game connected to the D&D game will finally be blessed with a Rules Cyclopedia be printed in French, Orcus of the Bloodstone module series, set brand-new series of novels. Coming in German, and Swedish? in the AD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS® the fall of 1992, the first novel in the The boxed set is currently being printed campaign setting? Penhaligon Trilogy, The Tainted Sword, in German and French; it is going to be a In the D&D game, Orcus was a demon. will reveal the story of a great knight, his while longer before we see the Swedish For various reasons, we are now calling companions, and a long-time enemy who version. Translations of the Cyclopedia will these creatures fiends. They are a type of has sworn his doom. Don’t miss it! also have to wait. Immortal creature originally described in the older Immortals Set. They will be

DRAGON 73

“Forum” welcomes your comments and opin- good PCs should be strictly punished. If this is do not feel inferior to him in any way. An old, ions on role-playing games. In the United States the case, Mr. Curtis can probably solve his seasoned adventurer whose fighting skills have and Canada, write to: Forum, DRAGON® Maga- problem simply by “reminding” the PCs of their faded seems hopeless, but his many years of zine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147 U.S.A. alignment and warning them of the penalties experience might make him valuable. This also In Europe, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine, for going against one’s alignment. promotes role-playing, because after the NPC TSR Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, However, this subtle approach may not work; yells to the PCs what he thinks they should do, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We ask it sounds as though his players are more inter- they get to do the actual fighting and decision- that material submitted to “Forum” be either ested in wholesale hacking and slashing than making. The NPC should not just be an informa- neatly written by hand or typed with a fresh they are in actually role-playing their charac- tion booth, however. He could be old and may ribbon and clean keys so we can read and ters. Therefore, he may have to use a more need protection. Naturally, the PCs do not want understand your comments. heavy-handed tactic. He could, for example, to lose a valuable source of information, and he explain to the players ahead of time that he will might have no valuables worth killing him for! I would like to respond to Andrew M. Curtis’s be introducing an NPC into the game and that On the other hand, you could actually make dilemma in DRAGON issue #172 on how to keep its purpose is to aid the party. He should then the NPC strong enough to stand on his own party members from slaying the NPCs that the point out that the NPC is important to the against the PCs, while retaining his wisdom and DM introduces. design of the adventure and the campaign, and experience. I wouldn’t allow that NPC to kill any As a DM for the AD&D 1st Edition game, I that anybody acting directly against the NPC PCs, though, if a fight should occur. You can try have run into this problem before. I found that will quickly earn the DM’s extreme displeasure. to discourage this by showing how easily the the best solution is to take points off the offend- Most players should realize exactly how difficult NPC handles other opponents and exudes an ing character’s charisma. Charisma, as described the DM can make things for them if he wants aura of experience. If the PCs play their cards by the Players Handbook, is the measure of the to. This is a rather crude method, so I don’t like right, they could learn a lot from their “big character’s combined physical attractiveness, to use it often, but with some players it may be brother.” persuasiveness, and personal magnetism. It is the only option that will work. In either case, the NPC can be used to gently important to all characters, as it has an effect on If neither of these methods work, my sugges- steer the party in the right direction during a dealing with others, like NPCs, mercenary tion would be to just not give them an NPC. If game. He can become a storyteller, offering hirelings, prospective retainers, and monsters. the players aren’t going to “play nice” and adventure hooks. In order to keep the NPC as While losing points from charisma does not cooperate, then let them suffer from not having an advisor and not the leader, occasionally have affect low-level characters to a great degree, it the NPC to rely on. If you want to be really the NPC give some bad advice that the PCs can can come back to haunt them when it is time to mean, put an NPC into the party and make no detect, so they can make their own unbiased receive followers. For clerics, this would be a objection when the party does its regular stab- decisions on what to do. die modifier for the amount of troops they him-in-the-back routine. Then, design an en- If the PCs insist on attempting to kill this NPC, receive. Simply convert the Reaction Adjust- counter of some sort in which the party is on have the loss of knowledge and experience be ment Modifier into a single number; e.g., 20% the losing side, and the only way to win would felt. Perhaps the old man knew a secret en- becomes - 2, and 25% would become - 3 have been through the aid of the now-deceased trance to an area that is heavily guarded; now (always round up). Rangers would use the NPC. Don’t kill anybody, but rough them up the PCs will have a much harder time getting in. modifier to determine which sub-table to use in enough so they will regret not keeping the NPC I hope this helps anyone with this problem. the Dungeon Masters Guide. Rogues use the around. C. J. Calo Reaction Adjustment Modifier to determine the This brings up another question: Why are Tuckahoe NY levels of their underlings. there NPCs in the party in the first place? From If this does not keep the party from slaying his letter, it sounds like Mr. Curtis is using NPCs This is in response to Mr. Curtis’s “Forum” NPCs, it is time to dust off the FIEND FOLIO® as full-time party members, which is something letter in DRAGON issue #172. Just reading it tome and turn to page 51. The offending char- I don’t like to do in my games. At most, NPCs bothered me, as there are always two sides to acter has angered his god and is visited by a should serve as henchmen or squires to one of every story. I’ve been a DM for over 11 years, hound of ill omen to bring the character back the party members, not as the party’s cleric, but I’ve never run into anything like this. Per- into line. This should only be used as a last thief, etc. The whole point of the game is to let haps your NPCs are toting around really good resort. the players role-play their characters, and they stuff that the characters have a hard time I hope this helps your party interact with should sink or swim based on their own abili- finding any other way. Try equipping the NPCs NPCs better. Remember if you are going to take ties. An NPC should be a tool to help the party, with more mundane items, the kind the group points from a character’s charisma for bad play, not a crutch for it to lean on. If your party already has or doesn’t want. . . . you should also give points for good play. needs another fighter, then you either need a You could also take the players’ hints and Harald Jeffery few more players or you need to tone down simply stop using NPCs. If they don’t go out of Ft. Irwin CA your adventures a little. In the long run, plug- their way to hire them, and they are surviving ging the gap with an NPC won’t solve anything. well enough on their own, forget it! If you insist I am writing in response to Andrew Curtis’s Ian Johnsson on trying, however, either your players are letter in “Forum,” DRAGON issue #172. Indeed, Asheville NC trying to bug you or are hopelessly sadistic. having your NPCs survive their first encounter Now, it could be your fault, too. Do these with your PCs can be difficult, but it sounds as I am writing in reply to Andrew M. Curtis’s NPCs constantly act like an annoying celebrity— though his problem is especially bad. letter in DRAGON issue #172 concerning the use a Danny DeVito dwarf or an Alan Alda thief, for It’s not easy to say for sure without knowing of NPCs in his campaign. I am also the DM for example? Perhaps the NPCs appear too mild and what his party is like, but the first thing that an adventuring group on occasion. Andrew present themselves as easy pickings. . . . The comes to my mind is the fact that these PCs may states that he has problems when he makes the NPC in question could always be a sibling or be acting way outside of their alignment. As- NPCs too powerful and they dominate the game. other relative to a party member. That should suming that the party is basically good, then I would suggest that Andrew create an NPC put at least one character on his side, but the cutting down a person in cold blood just to steal that is not powerful as a combatant but rather way you’ve described these guys, they would his equipment is a very evil act, one for which is a source of information, In this way, the PCs probably rob their own mothers. As a final

DRAGON 75 solution, if the party has only three or four However, there are two major downsides that their characters can write the course only of characters, have a mercenary group (20-30 I have noticed in using pregenerated materials. minor histories. All the major plot lines and NPCs) hire them on to help on a crusade, but First, if I can buy them, so can my players. My adventures are preordained. When I ran my after seeing their treasure the NPCs try to rob current circle of gamers would never stoop to first campaign in my world, the outcome was and leave the PCs for dead. The PCs may just cheating, because they play for the surprise and always in question. The effect that the PCs had think twice before their next murder! adventure of our cooperative world, but in the on the worlds history depended on the effort You may print my address if you want. good old days we had many players who some- they put into their adventure. This is how Jeff Ibach how knew how to trigger that hidden passage- adventuring should be, in my opinion. There 9 Gallavan Way way, where to look for the treasure, or even are some who would argue that a preordained Mercerville NJ 08619 which spells would be the best to have for the history is acceptable for an AD&D campaign. No adventure. Some of the other players were doubt they are among those inclined to debate I would like to comment on Christine DMs, too, and were familiar with the material the theories of time after seeing a Back to the Wellman’s comments in DRAGON issue #166, because they had used it as well. My group got Future movie. The DM should only go so far to concerning alignment and tendencies. I compli- in the habit of announcing which modules were tell a world’s history, as extensively as he wish- ment her and her fellow gamers for the system going to be purchased and asking the other es, describe the world itself, and detail its high- they developed for tendencies. Such a system players not to use them. We also took the pre- profile characters. promotes role-playing rather than role- caution of never running a module in its pure The only acceptable prewritten history would assumption. . . . I would like to point out that form, but rather taking a tavern from here, a be a day-by-day weather and natural-event ICE/Hero Games’ CHAMPIONS* game dealt with nobleman from there, and combining these calendar. Not only would this calendar be ac- this in its Disadvantage rules from the very first select elements with our own creations to make ceptable, it would be downright great. Perhaps edition, encouraging the development, of non- a totally unique campaign. It saved a lot of time a yearly almanac could be published for the point tendencies to add depth to PCs and NPCs. and preserved the element of surprise. respective worlds. I already have a format Steve Jackson incorporated it into the slightly- Second, money is a factor. Buying all those developed, so I am certain that it’s feasible. similar GURPS rules as “quirks,” used to round source books and campaign supplements can In conclusion, pregenerated campaigns have out the character and complete the balancing easily run into hundreds of dollars. One of the every right to be in DRAGON Magazine, as they process. GMs may benefit from perusing other things we used to love about gaming was that make up a substantial portion of the gaming games even if they have no intention of ever we could always afford it: one or two rule genre—but that portion is being given far too playing them, simply searching for ways to books, a handful of dice, your character sheet much print space for its relative size. I agree express character traits and game nuances that and a pencil, and taa daa! You were there! My completely with Mr. Hardie when he says that their favorite system may not have dealt with in first campaign was completely unique, pulled these worlds and campaigns should not be given detail,, if at all. from the recesses of my own imagination, priority over the articles that assist the mem- In fact, combining functional elements of my mistakes and all, and my players loved every bers of this society who make up the greatest favorite games is one of the reasons I’ve stayed minute of it. I would just like to remind every portion, the players and the DMs. with gaming as long as I have. When I first one that it can still be done that way, and it is Please remember us, and resume the excellent started gaming, the gaming lines were strict— just as much fun as using pregenerated format of the magazine that made me an avid not that it stopped us. My gaming group was materials—maybe more. Every single piece of reader. nurtured on comic books in which barbarians pregenerated material had to start as a hand- Angelo Barovier with swords fought side-by-side with cyberwar- made and self-created campaign in someone’s Toronto, Ontario riots, and mages regularly blew holes in both living room once upon a time. spaceships and mutants. We adapted our games William Lee Williams I am writing concerning the article “Care For with our creativity, and we were the better for Denver CO a Drink?” (DRAGON issue #171). Though the it. Dimension-hopping Roman foot soldiers with article mentions uses for the decanter of endless M-16s and journeys to the Vietnam War were a I am writing in response to Craig Hardie’s water as an offensive weapon, it failed to men- constant, confusing reality challenge (and role- letter in DRAGON issue #166. I generally agree tion its defensive uses, and these can be great. playing challenge) for our AD&D characters. with what he has said on the subject of pregen- First, when used as a defense against dragons, Ten years ago, we were the weirdos of the local erated campaign worlds in the AD&D and the the decanter (in geyser model can block most gaming circuit. Now we’re “vogue.” D&D® game systems. breath weapons. By pointing the geyser into the All of this current “cross-gaming” is fabulous, He and I share a common history in that I, dragon’s mouth, fiery breath is extinguished or but comparing systems and doing a little tasteful too, began DMing shortly after I began playing. reduced in effect. The same holds for heat swap-and-borrow to improve playability is more It seems that those of our ilk are destined to breath. In the case of the white dragon’s cold important than ever. There are many excellent have the desire to create our own unique breath, this would freeze the geyser, which— concepts on the market, and I can’t wait to try worlds, I, however, have only been DMing for with expert aim—could at that time be halfway all of them, from West End Games’ TORG* game five years, so I doubt that my world is as com- down the poor beast’s throat (painful!). to TSR’s SPELLJAMMER™ campaign. If. I find a plete as his. Yet I can assure him that my crea- Against gas and cold breath weapons, aiming part of a game that seems lacking or needed, it’s tive desire is just as great. the geyser straight up to produce rain will worthwhile to have numerous examples at hand All of the above creates a somewhat contra- cleanse the air almost instantly, though walking of how other systems have dealt with that dictory situation. As a DM who takes pride in in acidic water could prove hazardous. section. to save me valuable time as a GM and to the detail and the diversity of my game world, I The one case in which the use of the decanter help me develop a fair and balanced addition to have always wanted players to appreciate this is not advised is against lightning breath. Salt the rules. work of “art.” Gradually, this desire to share my water should not be used, as that will conduct I would also like to address the issue of pre- world has grown into dreams of putting it on electricity. generated gaming materials, brought up by the RPG market. It is very likely that this is the But enough of breath weapons. There is one Craig Hardie in the same issue. I don’t have an way in which some game worlds got on the very powerful use for the decanter as a weap- organized argument for or against it, but I do market today. [It is.—The Editor.] In one sense, I on. Placing a heavy or sharp object in the neck have a few points of personal experience to add. am sympathetic to the creators of these worlds, and then calling a geyser will shoot out a very I work 40-50 hours a week, in addition to yet I am also jealous that their worlds get so deadly missile (even more so if the object is attempting to attend school and get my degree much coverage in DRAGON Magazine that the wedged in so that pressure builds up first). sometime before I turn 30. I love gaming with a helpful articles that assist the building of my But I thought we were supposed to be nice passion, but I simply don’t have the hours of world are becoming few and far between. guys. Help the world, use your decanter to research time to devote to it like I did when I Mr. Hardie is quite correct, in my opinion, work the perfect irrigation system! was in high school. Without pregenerated about the place for pregenerated campaigns. Rick Tazzle materials, I would have been forced to give up Not that they aren’t worthy of regular folk, but London, England the quality of detail in my campaign and per- that they are ideal for the situation. Yet I realize haps the campaign itself, years ago. In addition, that TSR, Inc. is a business and not a service, so I play and DM the AD&D game and Oriental there are thousands of details about medieval/ I will not press the issue. I know that there is a Adventures, and I have found that the Oriental fantasy sociology and technology to which I market for these pregenerated campaigns, and classes promote individual player actions and have been only superficially exposed, and the removing them from the store shelves is not my discourage cooperation, making life very diffi- combination of novels and pregenerated source goal. The issue that I would like to take, if I may, cult for the DM. books have given me tremendous amounts of refers to the subject matter of the campaigns. The barbarian class cannot associate with wu material to work with. Many players that I know resent the fact that jen or spirit folk. Any monk in the party is

76 JANUARY 1992 probably learning martial arts special maneu- satisfied with a fee for the marriage license, lamellar, were used extensively into the later vers, and so must spend six hours per week some are known to have enforced their ancient periods. In Poland, a type of full-body scale training with his master; this restricts the party right to the first night with the bride. armor was highly popular throughout the late to a very small area for adventuring. The ya- Of course, the peasant class as a whole repre- 1600s and early 1700s. kuza class lacks the climb, find/remove traps, sented the economic basis of the feudal pyra- Although chain mail was better than scale, hear hoise, and backstab abilities, which means mid, but as long as some manpower was scale armor still ran a very close second. they are very weak outside their home territory. available, the individual serf’s well-being mat- Joe Piela The samurai and ninja classes both have mas- tered little. Merciful care for the commoners Tallahassee FL ters whom they must obey, and the sohei class is was extolled by the Church, precisely because it the worst, earning only half experience when was not implied by the system as such. Where I’ve just finished reading the editorial from not on a mission for their monasteries. The manpower was in short supply, on the other issue #164 of DRAGON Magazine. I know this is shukenja’s restriction on killing is fine as long as hand, such as for clearing forested areas or a little late, but the shop where I get my maga- he can subdue his opponents, but if the party is resettling a region emptied by plague, serfdom zines at the moment gets DRAGON Magazine fighting one or two strong monsters, all of his proved unsuitable; any motivated work force three to four months late. I’d like to give my subduing efforts are ruined by his sword- had to be recruited from the yeoman popula- comments on the topic of what character types swinging companions. tion, with tax exemption, reduced military I like, so here goes. All this means that the DM must come up with obligations, and choice of land being the usual I’m a 17-year-old senior at Afcent Internation- an extraordinary set of events for each encount- incentives. al High School in the Netherlands. I’m a Canadi- er to satisfy each character. The rules should If the serfs’ lives were any less miserable than an stationed here with my parents. Next year, I encourage cooperation within the party, not depicted here, one wonders why so many plan to go to university to study computer send them off in different directions. attempted to flee to the precincts of a city, living science. I’m not really a big guy, and most peo- Tony Martin in suburban slums, for the chance of shedding ple like me, but my favorite characters are half- Dubbo, Australia all obligations to their lord if he did not track ogre fighters. I mean really big, mean, ugly, and them down and claim them within a year and a usually extremely dumb brutes. I’ve always I recently acquired the DMGR2 Castle Guide day. I fail to see any game-related reason why enjoyed the thought of stomping along through supplement and was immediately taken by the the AD&D game’s feudal system should differ so the street of some town scaring the daylights history of and rules on castle building. While much from historical fact on this subject. I have out of the local population and maybe taking the these core chapters of the book are simply tried to keep my remarks as short as possible, heads off a few annoying people with a big excellent, the same cannot be said, unfortu- and I hope you will find room to print them. sword. It’s not like I’m being mean or anything, nately, of the introductory chapters on feudal Stefan Schulz, M.A. it’s just that I like my PCs to be able to do such society. Although I’m well aware that the DRAG- Bonn, Germany things and not really being blamed for doing ON editorial staff is not directly responsible for them; it’s just the way half-ogres are. TSR products, I am addressing my comments to I would like to make some commentary on the Another character I like is being a ranger,, be your magazine as the best vehicle for communi- scale-armor issue brought up by the letter from he a human, elf, or half-elf. The thought and cation with AD&D players out there. Dave, Jon, and David Timmons, in DRAGON feel of being alone and independent while not I am quite aware of both the simplifications issue #167. actually being so is great. The main reason that and the alterations necessary to merge the I am a professional armorer in the Society for I like elves is that they are such a fair, long-lived historical facts of an era dominated by Chris- Creative Anachronism. In my decade of experi- race. Imagine all that knowledge of the world tianity with the magical, polytheistic universe of ence with armor and its use in combat, I and a contained in one middle-aged elf; one could. the AD&D fantasy world. For this reason, I shall multitude of others have found scale armor to have lived during Shakespeare’s time and told not start nitpicking about every detail. However, be an excellent form of defensive protection. us today with first-hand experience what it was I should like to challenge one point that tends to Granted, the weapons we use are made of all really like. It’s a fascinating concept. distort the whole picture of the Middle Ages: rattan, but one can easily calculate what the I actually feel that I have two favorites: the the repeated assertion that medieval serfs were effects would be with steel. Scale armor is huge, rolling idiot of destruction, the half-ogre; not as miserable as one would think, and were wondrously flexible, very good at distributing and the wise, independent elven, ranger. I regret certainly better off than the slaves of ancient weight of blows, and also “breathes” well, not to that the half-ogre was not included in the civilizations. mention the fact that it was much less expensive AD&D 2nd Edition game. In fact, the opposite would seem closer to the than chain mail. It would not crack or be cut Beejay Johnson truth. A slave, bought for a considerable price away completely, as the Timmons say in their Belleville, Ontario and unable by law to care for himself, could letter. The scales themselves have no more normally expect to be kept alive and in good reason to crack than any other steel armor. A This is an issue that has bothered me for quite working trim, if only out of his master’s busi- properly made coat would have its scales over- some time. Many male gamers have very out-of- ness sense, while the serf would be left to fend lapping and mounted with rivets (reinforced date attitudes toward female gamers. I’m sick for himself in daily matters. It is also worth with washers) in stout leather. This would keep and tired of the looks of horror and amazement noting here that the word serf is derived from scales tearing loose to an absolute minimum. I receive when going into the local game store, the Latin servus, designating both the slaves of The only time any of the scales in my armor especially if I’m wearing a skirt. Various looks ancient Rome and the bondmen of medieval have come loose have been in spots where the I’ve encountered seem to say, “What is she doing times (both treated by the Encyclopaedia Britan- leather backing has rotted from years of use. in here?” and “She must have the wrong shop.” I nica, incidentally, under the overall heading of Scale has its disadvantages, like any armor. It admit this reaction has improved, though, as I “Servitude”). makes a large amount of “ringing” as one moves now make a habit of going in the store more Certainly serfs were free as to their person— about, and is particularly susceptible to thrusts often. i.e., they did not belong bodily to the lord of the from below. Chain mail, in comparison, is Does this happen to other female gamers, or manor. However, the manorial land to which superior overall to scale, but it can be rent and are there just a lot of male chauvinists in my they were hidebound did, and this was the basis torn by cuts and thrusts. The Timmons’s re- area? Thankfully, enlightened males do exist. for lifelong hardship. Spending most of their mark that chain mail can be easily repaired by Issue number 2 of Gamesman (sexist title—see time working the lord’s fields or fulfilling other riveting is somewhat absurd. The rivet and what I mean?) has an article in it where the GM chores for their tenure, they had little time to surrounding metal would be the last thing to is also referred to as “her.” A miracle must have cultivate the patch supposed to sustain them as break, being locked tight and thicker than the happened. Are female gamers really rare? They well as pay for all taxes and fees mentioned in rest of the link. A mail link would most likely be can’t be! My gaming group of six has only one the Castle Guide. cracked or shorn somewhere along the circle male gamer. The rest of the group (DM includ- Upon closer scrutiny, even a serf’s personal where it is thinner. In the scenario on “bearded” ed) are female. Another group I know of is freedom did not go very far. No travel was (steel-edged) weapons that the Timmons postu- divided equally, male and female. allowed except with the lords consent, for any late, the opposite would be true: A “bearded” All male chauvinists reading this letter (I fee the latter chose to name; the assertion to the axe would shear more easily through chain apologize to all enlightened males): Isn’t it about contrary, on page 24 of the Castle Guide, is mail, rather than the higher-ridged scale armor. time you rethought your attitudes? simply not true, as any history book on the A further testimony to scale armor’s worth is [The writer asked that her name be withheld, period will show. No marriages were permitted the fact that it never totally fell into disuse. without the lords agreement, either, with chil- Examples can be cited where it was integrated An irate female dren from a mixed serf/yeoman marriage be- in with plate armor throughout the Middle England coming serfs. While most lords would be Ages. Its cousins, the brigantine and Oriental

DRAGON 77

by Scott Davis and Steven E. Schend

Castaways II: Women, wicked and wily

I warned Dale, but he wasn’t prepared. Talents: Madame Hydra has an Excellent His ordeal is over now, and our kind read- rank in marksmanship, as well as being a ers have three more fantastic MARVEL Weapons Specialist with a scimitar. SUPER HEROES” characters to add to their games. Unfortunately, it will take HISTORY: The only fact known about Dale’s nerves a few weeks to settle down Madame Hydra’s history is that she pro- after editing this month’s column. gressed through the ranks of HYDRA You see, the three ladies herein were rapidly and was promoted to the position quite miffed when they didn’t appear in of Madame Hydra because of her fanatical MU7 The Gamer’s Handbook of the devotion to HYDRA’s cause. She is the sixth MARVEL UNlVERSE™, 1991 Character person to be called Madame Hydra. Updates. No one was around to warn me One of her first major missions as Ma- when they paid a visit to my office late dame Hydra was to capture Nick Fury of one night. We have problems enough SHIELD for the Deltites, a faction of around here with nosy wizards smoking advanced artificial lifeforms who wanted odious pipes, but try playing reluctant the leader of SHIELD so they could dupli- host to women wielding katanas or cyber- cate the Infinity Formula from his body netic claws! They expressed their disap- (see “Marvel bulletins”). After failing in her proval over their plight, and I promised mission to deliver Fury and discovering they’d be appearing in the pages of this that the Deltites had been manipulating magazine. This seemed to calm them her, she temporarily allied herself with slightly, but they vowed to check on this SHIELD. During her temporary alliance, later. Afterward, I told Dale to watch it she continually badgered and bantered while he edited these entries, but he didn’t with Alexander Pierce, a SHIELD agent, believe me. It’s amazing what kind of ultimately coming to regard him as a fel- haircut you can get with foot-long, razor- low warrior. sharp blades. I think the slashes and After defeating the Deltites on SHIELD’s scorches in the carpet can be fixed. Some satellite, Madame Hydra was found to be characters just don’t take well to being criminally insane and was remanded to edited! the Tyler Foundation for the Criminally Insane to undergo psychiatric treatment. Her time at the sanitorium was spent MADAME HYDRA” writing notes to Pierce, on whom she was Real name unknown fixated as her true love. An old woman, pretending to be a F RM(30) Health: 80 nurse, teleported both herself and Ma- A EX(20) dame Hydra out of the institution, to an S GD(10) Karma: 50 island in the China Sea. Madame Hydra’s E EX(20) battle prowess was immediately tested R GD(10) Popularity: -5 when she was attacked by a group of men. I EX(20) She easily defeated them, passing the test. P EX(20) Resources: MN(75) w/HYDRA She then reclaimed her title and status as Madame Hydra. POWERS: None. Meanwhile, Nick Fury and his agents were alerted to Madame Hydra’s escape. EQUIPMENT: They quickly tracked her general location Scimitar: Madame Hydra carries a scimi- and headed out in pursuit. Madame Hydra tar of Excellent material strength that the sled and a movable one on the railing. was in a meditative trance, awaiting the inflicts Good (10) Edged Attacks damage. The skysled has the following statistics: arrival of her new master, when the group Skysled: The skysled is a two-person Control—RM(30), Air Speed—RM(30) and arrived on the island. The SHIELD agents vehicle capable of flying 50 miles before Body—RM(30). The three lasers each cause were ambushed and defeated by the ser- refuelling. The weapon systems consist of Remarkable (30) damage at a range of vants of Madame Hydra’s new master, the two fixed lasers mounted in the front of eight areas. Yellow Claw. They took Alexander Pierce

DRAGON 79 and left the rest of their foes unconscious, LADY DEATHSTRIKE™ TALENTS: Lady Deathstrike possesses the to be conquered again in the future. Yuriko Oyama Oriental Weapons and Martial Arts A, C, Madame Hydra brainwashed Pierce into Cybernetically enhanced mercenary and E skills. being her consort. In a climactic battle with Fury, Pierce broke free of Madame F IN(40) Health: 100 HISTORY: Growing up as the daughter of Hydra’s influence and struck her down A EX(20) Kenji Oyama, alias Lord Dark Wind, was just as she was about to kill SHIELD agent S GD(10) Karma: 46 not easy for the young Yuriko. Her father Kate Neville. Madame Hydra was captured E RM(30) was a kamikaze pilot who, during World once again, but she managed to cause a R TY(6) Popularity: - 10 War II, survived an assault on an Ameri- disturbance that allowed her a chance at I EX(20) can battleship. He felt ashamed that he yet escape. Pierce followed her, and Madame P EX(20) Resources: EX(20) lived; his face was scarred during the Hydra was forced to break open a capsule attack, reminding him of his “failure.” He that exploded in a green cloud of gas. POWERS: Lady Deathstrike’s body has scarred the faces of his children to resem- Whether she managed to pull off another been cybernetically modified in Spiral’s ble his own disfigurement. escape or was killed in the explosion hasn’t Body Shoppes. This body has a number of Lord Dark Wind discovered a process by been determined yet—though she is cur- cybernetic enhancements, including: which human bone could be bonded with rently listed as being dead. The lack of a —Incredible (40) material-strength claws, adamantium. He intended to create an body, however, prevents confirmation of capable of causing Remarkable (30) Edged army of super-soldiers for Japan, but his this theory. Attack damage; and notes were stolen before accomplishing —Remarkable (30) protection against his goal, and it took years for him to recre- ROLE-PLAYING NOTES: Madame Hydra physical damage and Incredible protection ate them. is exceedingly ruthless and revels in death (40) against energy attacks. In Lord Dark Wind’s eyes, Japan had and destruction. She treats other warriors become weak in the years after the war. with respect only after they have proven He brought the assassin Bullseye to Japan themselves in her eyes. Anyone not strong and repaired his damaged bones with enough to fight is not worthy of her atten- adamantium substitutes, hoping that tion except perhaps to be killed. Bullseye would assassinate the Japanese Minister of Trade for him. However, Dare- devil had followed his sworn enemy, Bullseye, to Japan to bring him to justice. Once there, Daredevil encountered Yuriko, who was intent upon exacting revenge on her father for her disfigured face and for the death of her bothers, who had died in the service of Lord Dark Wind. The young man Yuriko loved, Kira, was in the service of her father, and she didn’t want him to be hurt. Yuriko led Daredevil to her fa- ther’s private island, where Daredevil fought Bullseye again. The assassin eluded capture and escaped from the island. Yuriko killed her father just as he was about to kill Daredevil. Kira, upon hearing of his lords death, committed suicide in despair. This event changed Yuriko’s outlook on life, and she came to see things more as her father had. She became convinced that Wolverine had gained his own adamantium-laced bones by the process that had been stolen from her father. She donned the garb of a samu- rai, called herself Lady Deathstrike, and led a group of her father’s warriors to regain what had been stolen from her family—namely, Wolverine’s bones. Wol- verine and Vindicator (Heather Hudson) fought off Lady Deathstrike and her min- ions. During the battle, Lady Deathstrike wielded a sword that emitted destructive energy. It was destroyed when the energy shield of Vindicator’s suit caused the sword to shatter. Later, Lady Deathstrike was trans- formed into a cyborg by the otherdimen- sional being known as Spiral. She then led Macon, Cole, and Reese—former Hellfire Club enforcers who had also been trans- formed into cyborgs—against Wolverine, but again Wolverine emerged victorious. Donald Pierce, a cyborg himself, reor-

80 JANUARY 1992 ganized the splintered group of villains Captain Britain, Meggan, Shadowcat, and “Ross” has also said that she is going to called the Reavers by adding Lady Death- Nightcrawler joined together to save Phoe- gain the powers of Phoenix and Shadow- strike and her cyborg cohorts; this gave nix, then decided to stay together as a cat. What she exactly meant by this and him another chance to strike at Wolverine. team: Excalibur. how she proposes to accomplish this are The new group ambushed the mutant Soon after the founding of Excalibur, still unknown. hero at the X-Men’s Australian base and Courtney Ross was attacked and overcome Recently, she befriended Kitty Pryde and crucified him on two large stumps. With in her apartment by an exact double; sponsored her education at St. Cyril’s the aid of the youthful Jubilee, Wolverine whether this is an other-dimensional ver- School for Young Ladies while Excalibur managed to escape the cyborg group. Lady sion of Saturnyne or some other being was still traveling between dimensions. Deathstrike had the opportunity to kill hasn’t been established yet. After the What she intended to accomplish by this is Wolverine from a distance. She stayed her transfer, Brian visited the woman he unknown, as Kitty and Excalibur were hand though, as she wanted to defeat him thought was Courtney and noticed a defi- eventually reunited successfully. face-to-face in honorable combat. nite change of personality. This woman’s Before being reunited with Kitty Pryde, Lady Deathstrike also participated in the true identity hasn’t been revealed yet. though, Excalibur caused so much disrup- Reavers’ attack upon Muir Island, but they Later, “Ross” played a card game with tion to the omniversal continuum with its were repelled by the mutant defenders of her employee Nigel Frobisher at the Lon- jaunting through dimensions that Opal that isle. Recently, the teleporter Gateway don branch of the Hellfire Club. He lost Luna Saturnyne had the group transmit- sent Lady Deathstrike to Wolverine’s loca- one million pounds—which he didn’t have. ted to the Hub, her base of operations. tion in Canada, but some sort of energy “Ross” has since forced Nigel into perform- The Hub is a world where power abounds storm threw her, Wolverine, and Puck ing certain tasks for her, such as acting as and people possessing superpowers are back in time and space to Spain in 1937. her liaison between the Technet and its commonplace. Saturnyne had placed a Deathstrike allied herself with the Nazis to leader, Gatecrasher. “Ross” put an earring bounty on Phoenix’s head, as she consid- get within striking distance of Wolverine, into Nigel’s left ear, warning him never to ered the Phoenix entity a threat to reality. but during her battle with him, her part- take it out or else suffer dire conse- Excalibur escaped the Hub after fighting ners ran over her hand with a tank. At quences. Nigel bargained with Gatecrasher many superpowered foes and by disguis- that point, the energy storm returned and on behalf of “Ross” in order to rescue ing Phoenix as Kitty Pryde. Saturnyne swept them back to the present. Lady Brian Braddock’s brother, Jamie, from his actually aided them along the way, giving Deathstrike has not yet gained her “venge- captor, Joshua N’Dingi (alias Doc Croc). ance” on Wolverine. Jamie was freed and brought to London. Continued on page 95 ROLE-PLAYING NOTES: Yuriko is ob- sessed with getting back Wolverine’s ada- mantium bones; this will, in her eyes, restore her family’s lost honor. She will not ambush Wolverine, as she feels the ada- mantium must be recovered honorably for her family’s honor to be restored.

SATURNYNE™ Opal Luna Saturnyne Omniversal Majestrix

F TY(6) Health: 32 A GD(10) S GD(10) Karma: 70 E TY(6) R EX(20) Popularity: 0 I EX(20) P RM(30) Resources: MN(75)

POWERS: None exhibited.

TALENTS: Monstrous rank ability in Governmental and Leadership skills.

HISTORY: Opal Luna Saturnyne holds the title of Omniversal Majestrix. This title, she claims, gives her total responsibility for the maintenance of order and reality of the multiverse that includes Marvel-Earth. Saturnyne seems to have many counter- parts in the multiverse, the most prominent being a woman, Courtney Ross, who is a vice-president of Fraser’s Bank in London. She was the college girlfriend of Brian Brad- dock, Excalibur’s Captain Britain. Saturnyne hired the Technet to capture Phoenix, alias Rachel Summers, because Saturnyne believes that Phoenix is a threat to all reality due to her great powers. T.M. DRAGON 81 Defenders Artwork by Jim Holloway

rolls and saving throws. The effects last for one turn, and this may be invoked of the once per day. Restrictions/Taboos: None

Notes Hearth Arvoreen is worshiped whenever war is expected, usually on the eve of a battle. Services can be held anywhere, though clerics prefer to perform them within a temple’s confines. Temples of Arvoreen are Halflings and their circular in shape, with the altar (a raised platform with an engraved, silvered shield on it) in the center. Weapons (preferably specialty priests those of former enemies) are treated with silver and placed upon the shield; a thick by Chris Perry oil is then applied to the weapons, and all are set ablaze. Due to the oil’s special So many stereotypes have been applied mixture of chemicals, the weapons quickly to halflings that it is no wonder so few heat up, causing them to shatter. The altar people take them seriously. They are seen glows dim red, then bright yellow, then as naive and rural, yet many people clutch blinding white as the weapons are con- their moneybags when they see a halfling sumed by divine fire. The priests wear coming, for halfling thieves are said to be silvered helms and chain mail during the so sly and dexterous that one can steal the ceremony, silently holding hands around gold from your pockets (and the fillings the blazing altar and focusing all of their from your teeth) in broad daylight. Little thoughts on Arvoreen and their plight. has been said about halfling priests, how- When the flames die down, the priests ever. This article details the specialty leave, touching the altar with their weap- priests of that people. ons as they go by. The high priest leaves Specialty priests are an elite order with- last, gathering the fragments of the sacri- in a priesthood, usually in the minority but ficed weapons so that new weapons can wielding powers that normal clerics lack. be made from them later. Services on the Since most halfling priests cannot be Arvoreen the Defender field of battle are less formal. multiclassed, the specialty priests found Intermediate power of the Seven Heavens, LG Priests of Arvoreen are concerned with here are well balanced. Few halfling Symbol: Sword with shield the defensibility of halfling communities priests will ever reach 9th level, and only Portfolio: Defense, warriors (halflings) and help patrol the surrounding lands. the wisest and luckiest achieve 12th level. Worshipers’ alignment: All good and neu- Their temples are full of cunningly laid Halfling specialty priests worship the tral (halflings) traps. One of their favorites is known as halfling gods found in AD&D 1st Edition Priests’ alignment: LG the “knee slasher,” which consists of two game books Legends & Lore and Un- Requirements: Strength 12, wisdom 12 blades placed opposite each other in a earthed Arcana. Plenty of room is left here Weapons allowed: Any doorway or corridor. Each is built into the for the DM’s creativity, so change what Armor allowed: Any walls and carefully disguised ( -20% on you don’t like and keep the rest. New Major spheres: All, Combat, Divination, thieves‘ attempts to find traps). They are spheres of influence from The Tome of Guardian, Healing, Law, Protection, triggered when anyone over 100 lbs. Magic have been added as well. War, Wards walks on the trigger plate within the floor. Minor spheres: Animal, Necromantic, Sun The blades have a THAC0 of 9 and cause Magical items allowed: Same as cleric, plus 1d6 +2 hp damage each. If one blade hits, all weapons and armor the victim’s movement rate is reduced by half until the damage is healed. If both Granted powers blades hit, the victim’s movement is limited 1. A specialty priest of Arvoreen may to 3 until the damage is healed. T&rig- turn undead as a normal cleric. ger plate can easily be avoided by those 2. A specialty priest of Arvoreen is treat- aware of the trap, and the blades are ed as a fighter of equal level when at- placed about 42” above the ground. Thus, tempting to parry (see the PHB, page 100, a halfling can safely run past the trap for details on parrying). If the parrying without setting it off, while larger beings optional rule is not used, the DM may give are seldom so lucky. an armed priest’s opponents a - 1 penalty Specialty priests comprise 35% of Arvo- on attack rolls when using hand-held reen’s clergy, getting along well with both weapons against him. the regular clergy and the community. 3. At 5th level, a specialty priest of Arvo- Dogs and wolves are often trained by reen can invoke courage in himself and up Arvoreen’s priests, and they usually have to six others, granting those affected im- 3d4 of these animals around at any one munity to fear and a + 1 bonus to attack time, each animal knowing 1d4 + 1 tricks.

82 JANUARY 1992 day (as per the wizard spell). 5. Brandobaris tends to favor his more adventurous followers, and the most dar- ing ones may gain a special reward from him. Those who pull off a very dangerous and rewarding venture may be granted an additional experience level, should Brando- baris be impressed (1% chance, possibly higher if the DM warrants it). Only a half- ling of 10th level or lower can be given this boon, which can be gained only once in that particular halfling’s lifetime. 6. Brandobaris constantly wanders the Prime Material Plane and occasionally enlists the aid of his talented followers. There is a 1% chance per level over the 10th that a halfling thief will be visited by Brandobaris, who will appear as an ordi- nary halfling rogue. Other thieves may join in on the adventure, but nonhalflings may find some of their possessions missing afterward. The reward equals the danger, both of which are great. This will happen only once in that halfling’s lifetime.

Restrictions/Taboos 1. Specialty priests of Brandobaris can- not turn the undead. 2. These specialty priests are limited to 12th level as thieves, regardless of how dexterous they are. 3. Specialty priests of Brandobaris do not Brandobaris, Master of gain the ability to use scrolls that other Cyrrollalee the Faithful stealth thieves get when they reach 10th level. Lesser power of the Seven Heavens, LG Demipower of the Prime Material Plane, N They can still cast clerical spells from Symbol: An open door Symbol: A halfling’s foot scrolls, though. Portfolio: Friendship, trust Portfolio: Thieves, adventurers Worshipers’ alignment: Any good Worshipers’ alignment: Any nonlawful and Notes Priests’ alignment: LG nonevil (halflings) Priests of Brandobaris hold ceremonies Requirements: Wisdom 12, charisma 13 Priests’ alignment: N for him on nights of the full moon. Tem- Weapons allowed: All bludgeoning Requirements: Dexterity 16, wisdom 13 ples that venerate him differ greatly from weapons Weapons allowed: As per thief one another and, depending on the toler- Armor allowed: Chain mail and shield, Armor allowed: Leather armor, no shield ance of the local residents, are often hid- maximum Major spheres: All, Charm, Chaos, Crea- den. Services are informal, consisting of Major spheres: All, Charm, Creation, Divi- tion, Divination, Healing, Protection, the sacrifice of stolen goods or treasures nation, Guardian, Healing, Law, Protec- Sun, Travelers found while adventuring. tion, Wards Minor spheres: Guardian, Time Priests of Brandobaris wear leather Minor spheres: Summoning, Sun Magical items allowed: Same as clerics and armor of all styles and colors, though they Magical items allowed: Same as clerics thieves prefer blacks and browns due to their camouflage effects. Custom-made armor Granted powers Granted powers with hidden pockets and the like com- 1. A specialty priest of Cyrrollalee may 1. A specialty priest of Brandobaris is a mand top prices from the priests. It should turn the undead. multiclassed cleric/thief, with full powers be mentioned that practically anything 2. A specialty priest of Cyrrollalee is and abilities except as noted later. that can normally be bought from the immune to all enchantment/charm spells 2. A specialty priest of Brandobaris may thieves’ guild can be bought from these of 3rd level or lower. In addition, she is haste himself once per day. The spell lasts clerics. (Even poisons can be provided if immune to mass charm and mass sugges- for five rounds, plus one round per level the right poisons are sought and you talk tion spells. over the 6th level of experience. Luckily, to the right priests, and the DM allows it.) 3. A specialty priest of Cyrrollalee may the priest does not magically age every Brandobaris’ priests are expected to go use a soothing word once per day for time he uses it. adventuring at least twice a year, barring every four experience levels. This can be 3. At 3rd level, a specialty priest of Bran- sickness or imprisonment. Specialty used to remove fear from one person, or it dobaris may cast a blur spell once per day priests make up 30% of Brandobaris’ cler- can be used to calm down a group of (as per the wizard spell). gy, though recently more halflings enter- characters (equal to twice the priest’s 4. At 6th level, a specialty priest of Bran- ing this clergy are choosing to be specialty experience level in hit dice); its range is dobaris may cast a fumble spell once per priests rather than simple clerics. 30’. Thus, a 5th-level priest could calm

DRAGON 83 down ten 1st-level characters, two other “Flaunting” would be too strong a word, 2. A specialty priest of Sheela may speak 5th-level characters, or any combination but as one young priest said, “We are tired with plants at will. thereof. The priest can then talk to them, of wearing sack-cloth! Let’s get some color 3. At 5th level, a specialty priest of influencing their reaction favorably by one in here!” Their elders are not amused, but Sheela may cast a hold plants spell once category on the encounter reaction table they are tolerant of these individuals and per day, in addition to other spells she has. (page 103 of the DMG). continue to wear the older, simpler styles. 4. At 7th level, a specialty priest of 4. At 5th level, a specialty priest of Cyr- Most of Cyrrollalee’s followers are nor- Sheela may cast a charm plants spell (as rollalee may cast a prayer spell once per mal halflings, though some warriors pray per the wizard spell) once per week, in day in addition to all other spells and for her protection as well. Specialty clerics addition to all other spells she has. powers she has. account for 30% of all priests. Relations 5. At 11th level, a specialty priest of 5. At 11th level, a specialty priest of are between clerics and the specialty Sheela may cast a sunray spell once per Cyrrollalee may cast a symbol of persua- priests are excellent. month, in addition to all other spells she sion once per week. has. The strain of casting this spell is so 6. If a follower of Cyrrollalee is in grave great that the priest must make a constitu- danger within her own home, there is a tion check (at -2) or lose 2d4 hp. If the small chance (5%) that the goddess will loss is greater than the priest’s current hit help by animating a small piece of furni- points, she falls unconscious and risks ture (five cubic feet maximum; AC 6; HD 2; death, as per the normal game rules. THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6), that will then attack the enemies for five rounds. That Restrictions/Taboos halfling must then do a service for Cyrrol- 1. Specialty priests of Sheela cannot turn lalee, who will indicate in a dream what or command undead. she wants done. The task varies, but it 2. At the start of her career, a specialty shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. priest of Sheela must spend three of her nonweapon proficiencies on weather Restrictions/Taboos sense and herbalism. She may choose to 1. All priests of Cyrrollalee are expected spend the other proficiencies as she to turn over 10% of their wealth to the pleases. church. Any useful magical or nonmagical items may be sold to the church for 60% Notes of its market value (it is considered used Priests of Sheela are more colorful than goods, after all). most halfling priests, wearing flowers in 2. Priests of Cyrrollalee are expected to their hair and robes of bright green, with keep their word. If a person gives a priest elements of other colors of the rainbow. a secret with the understanding that it They gather at both cultivated and untilled must not be revealed, the priest must keep fields on nights of the full moon to wor- it. She is free to reveal a secret if keeping ship their goddess. There they throw it would result in harm or anguish to seeds into the wind, watching them scatter another creature, however. and divining portents as a result. Special festivals are held in Sheela’s honor every Notes spring and fall, during the time crops are Cyrrollalee is worshiped on the first day planted or harvested. The community of each month. It is interesting to note celebrates and joins in the party, which that, like Yondalla, she is worshiped in the ends the day before Yondalla’s holy day. home. Cyrrollalee protects halflings inside Temples dedicated to Sheela are like their homes and strives to keep them in huge farms or gardens, for surrounding good spirits. On the day of her worship, all such places are vast fields of wild flowers the followers converge upon the temple to Sheela Peryroyl the Wise (daisies can be found everywhere). In the say a short prayer of thanks. Thereafter, Intermediate power of Concordant Oppo- spring and summer, great swarms of but- the priests go around blessing every house sition, N terflies cross the skies, feeding on the and burrow-hole in the community and Symbol: A daisy nectar of flowers. The temples themselves renewing the spells of warding that some Portfolio: Agriculture, nature, weather are square, each with an inner courtyard people pay to have cast. The ceremonies Worshipers’ alignment: Any set aside for an indoor garden where the end in the evening, when the halflings are Priests’ alignment: N priests grow plants during winter. These safe in their homes and the last prayers Requirements: Constitution 12, wisdom 13 priests have just recently learned how to are said. Weapons allowed: Club, dagger, dart, flails crossbreed certain trees and plants, and Priests of Cyrrollalee wear plain brown (all), knife, sling they have bred some very strange fruit robes to symbolize their simple nature and Armor allowed: Leather or studded leath- trees. to keep greedy thieves away. While it is er, no shield Specialty priests of Sheela make up 15% not a sin to have wealth, priests of Cyrrol- Magical items allowed: As cleric and druid of Sheela’s priests. 80% of them are lalee find it prudent to show it only spar- druids, and 5% of them are regular cler- ingly. Among the younger priests, though, Granted powers ics. Druids command the church, but the there is a growing trend toward wearing 1. A specialty priest of Sheela may iden- clerics perform many valuable missions in more colorful and expensive clothing. tify any plant or animal. Sheela’s honor.

84 JANUARY 1992

tery, and weaponsmithing. 3. At 6th level, a specialty priest of Uro- galan gains immunity to all petrification attacks. 4. At 10th level, a specialty priest of Urogalan may cast a stone to flesh spell once per week.

Restrictions/Taboos Specialty priests of Urogalan cannot turn the undead.

Notes According to halfling lore, Urogalan is Urogalan the Shaper the one who keeps the ground from shak- Lesser power of Concordant Opposition, N ing and helps bring spring to the land. He Yondalla the Provider (good tendencies) is also a skilled artisan, giving his inspira- Greater power of the Seven Heavens, LG Symbol: A hand holding a rock tion and knowledge to those dedicated to Symbol: A shield Portfolio: Earth, earthen craftsmanship their craft. He is prayed to whenever a Portfolio: Halfling life, fertility, protection, Worshipers’ alignment: Any halfling seeks insight about the earth, the death Priests’ alignment: N, NG underground, and the causes of a late Worshipers’ alignment: Any good or neutral Requirements: Wisdom 13 spring. Priests of Urogalan are talented Priests’ alignment: LG Weapons allowed: Club, dagger, hand axe, craftsmen, teaching others their skills Requirements: Wisdom 13 footman’s mace, short sword, sling, when possible. While they get most of Weapons allowed: Same as cleric warhammer their materials from the dwarves, some- Armor allowed: Any Armor allowed: Any times they must go out and seek their own Major spheres: All, Astral, Creation, Divi- Major spheres: All, Combat, Divination, sources of metal, which often brings them nation, Guardian, Healing, Law, Necro- Elemental (earth/fire), Healing, Protec- into conflict with Underdark dwellers like mantic, Protection, Summoning, Wards tion, ‘Ravelers, Wards derro and duergar. As a result, they have Minor spheres: Combat, Sun Minor spheres: Creation, Guardian, Sun the same hatred that surface dwarves Magical items allowed: Same as cleric Magical items allowed: Same as clerics have for these “dark dwarves.” Urogalan is worshiped mainly by half- Granted powers Granted powers ling miners and earthworkers, though he 1. A specialty priest of Yondalla may 1. A specialty priest of Urogalan is astute is venerated to some extent by halfling turn undead. at detecting the magical properties of an craftsmen of other kinds. Temples dedi- 2. At 3rd level, a specialty priest of Yon- item. By holding an item for one round, he cated to him are set in natural caves, with dalla gains immunity to paralyzing attacks can tell how many “to-hit” bonuses it has, rooms carved from the rock around it. and fear. if it’s cursed, or if it has any powers that The caves are shallow, rarely reaching 80’ 3. At 6th level, a specialty priest of Yon- are earth-related (a yes-no answer). It or so underground. Priests of Urogalan dalla can absorb (as a rod of absorption) takes three rounds to check for all of the wear clothing of red, dull orange, or any one spell of third level or lower di- above. He cannot tell how many charges brown. His symbol is carried on each rected specifically at her. If the spell has a are in a charged item, however, and a priest in the form of a brass pin. Holy days wide area of effect, the spell cannot be cursed item might be activated by the occur during the winter solstice and absorbed. The priest can activate this priest in the process of picking it up. spring equinox, when hand-crafted items power only once per day in anticipation of 2. A specialty priest of Urogalan gains a are sacrificed to him by burial. magical attack and hold it ready for one + 1 bonus when using any of the following Urogalan’s priesthood is small in num- turn; during this time, she cannot cast any nonweapon proficiencies: armorer, black- ber. Specialty priests make up 20% of the spells. Once a spell is absorbed, the priest smithing, brewing, leather-working, pot- total of Urogalan’s priests. can use the energy to cast extra spells of

86 JANUARY 1992

The answers! ©1991 by Lawrence Schick

1. Depending on who’s telling it, the seems needlessly eccentric, but, as the D&D® game was first published in rules explain, most people can multiply November 1973 or January 1974, so I’ll two single-digit numbers easily and accept either year. (5 points) often with less trouble than adding 2. You can’t be a circus clown in the two-digit numbers. Try not to think CHILL* game. In view of the other about it. (4 points) exciting character options available to 18. A—e; B—c; C—d; D—a; E—b. a SAVE investigator, how this obvious (1 point for each correct answer) and useful character class was over- 19. The GAMMA WORLD game has never her own within 24 hours of its absorption, looked is beyond me; clearly, it was an won a Best Role-Playing Rules award at on a level-for-level basis (e.g., an absorbed editorial oversight. (4 points) the ORIGINS* convention. (4 points) second-level spell would allow the priest to 3. The MONSTERS! MONSTERS!* game, 20. Only the SPAWN OF FASHAN* game, cast two first-level spells or one second- by Ken St. Andre, is a game in which possibly the most unintentionally silly level spell of her own). After 24 hours, the the player characters are monsters RPG ever published, could present a spell energy is lost. who are out to get all those nosy, pious feature like the Body Roll Charts with adventurers. It is based on Ken’s TUN- a straight face. (4 points) Restrictions/Taboos NELS & TROLLS* rules. (4 points) 1. All priests of Yondalla must give 10% 4. A—a; B—g; C—b; D—h; E—c; F—d; Scoring of their monetary wealth to the church, G—e; H—f. (1 point per correct 0-20 points: Don’t you play anything but which is used to maintain the church and answer) the AD&D game? help the community. 5. The system with proctology is THE 21-35 points: Not bad; you know a thing or 2. Priests of Yondalla often serve as EXPENDABLES* game, a pretty decent two about role-playing games. judges when crimes are committed, and SF space-adventure system that is not 36-50 points: You are obviously an experi- they also arbitrate disputes between op- otherwise hilarious. (4 points) enced hand and know your way posing groups. They must be fair in their 6. Only the WARHAMMER FANTASY around the RPG field. assessment of the situation at hand, and ROLEPLAY* game is bereft of a Vi- 51-75 points: You are an expert, qualified cannot be biased or take bribes. kings supplement. (4 points) to answer RPG questions of any sort. 7. This could only be the WOOF MEOW* 76-100 points: You’re a big cheater, and if Notes game, in which you can role-play a you ever play in my game I’m going to Yondalla is worshiped by most halflings, domestic house pet. As it says on the watch every dice roll. who set aside the fifth day of each week back cover: “Cats and Dogs . . . As Unless otherwise noted: for her worship. This is called Safeday, You’ve Never Seen Them!” (4 points) ® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR, and the daylight hours are spent relaxing 8. A—b; B—e; C—c; D—a; E—f; F—h; G—d; Inc. and enjoying oneself. At night, when the H—g. (1 point for each correct answer) ™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. last meal is served, food and drink are set 9. The Argent Wombat is the only mon- METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA and COMMANDO are aside for Yondalla in remembrance of ster described in the ROLEPLAYER* owned by TSR, Inc. what she has done for them. Yondalla’s game. Why would you need any oth- * indicates a product produced by a company other priests are not idle during this time, for ers? (4 points) than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the companies publishing those products. they visit the people, making sure that 10. The nine color clearance levels, in The use of the name of any product without mention their needs are taken care of. Priests also order, are infrared, red, orange, yel- of its trademark status should not be construed as a serve as judges, arbitrators, and represent- low, green, blue, indigo, violet, and challenge to such status. Non-TSR products atives of the local community in regional ultraviolet. If you are not cleared for mentioned in this article (and their manufacturers or copyright holders) include: ALMA MATER (Oracle discussions with other leaders. Since Yon- this information, please report for Games); BEHIND ENEMY LINES (The Companions); dalla presides over the lives of halflings, termination immediately. Thank you CALL OF CTHULHU (Chaosium); CHILL (Mayfair her priests perform the necessary rituals for your cooperation. (4 points) Games); CRETAN CHRONICLES (Penguin Books); during funerals and help pregnant women In a PHOENIX COMMAND* game CYBORG COMMANDO (New Infinities Productions); 11 DRAGONRAID (Adventure Learning Systems); in childbirth. melee, you can’t do better than to DRAGONROAR (Standard Games); DRAGON Yondalla’s priests wear clothing made of wield a chair—two-handed, of course. WARRIORS (Corgi Books); EMPIRE OF THE PETAL bright yellow or pastel green. They find (4 points) THRONE (Different Worlds Publications); THE cloaks of orange-yellow attractive, and 12. A—c; B—h; C—d; D—b; E—g; F—f; G—a; EXPENDABLES (Stellar Games); ETERNAL SOLDIER (Tai-Gear Simulations); FANTASY HERO each wears a miniature painted shield H—e. (1 point for each correct answer) (Hero Games); FIELD GUIDE TO ENCOUNTERS made of pewter on her armor and cloak; 13. MECHA DOGS is the fictional entry. (Judges’ Guild); FRINGEWORTHY (Tri-Tac); the shield shows her rank. Yellow shields The REALM OF YOLMI* game is an SF GHOSTBUSTERS (Columbia Pictures Industries/ are worn by low-level priests, orange space-adventure game; THE CRETAN West End Games); GOLDEN DRAGON (Grafton Books); GURPS (Steve Jackson Games); INFINITY shields are worn by lesser leaders of the CHRONICLES* game is a British game- (The Infinity Company); LEGACY (Legacy Press); church, while checkered orange-and- book series; the UUHRAAH!* game is a MONSTERS! MONSTERS! (Flying Buffalo); yellow shields are worn by the high caveman system; the MUTAZOIDS* MUTAZOIDS (Whit Productions); PARANOIA (West priests. Adventuring priests not tied to a game is science fantasy; and the End Games); PHOENIX COMMAND (Leading Edge Games); REALM OF YOLMI (Avant-Garde specific temple wear shields of green, FRINGEWORTHY* game is an SF post- Simulations Perspectives); ROLEMASTER (Iron while adventurers tied to a temple wear holocaust system. Honest! (4 points) Crown Enterprises); ROLEPLAYER (Roleplayer checkered shields of yellow and green. 14. A—e; B—c; C—a; D—b; E—d. (2 points Enterprises); RUNEQUEST (Chaosium/The Avalon Specialty priests comprise 40% of Yon- for each correct answer) Hill Game Company); SPAWN OF FASHAN (Games of Fashan Co-op); STORMBRINGER (Chaosium); dalla’s clergy. As is common with funda- 15. I bet you thought Studying was the TALISLANTA (Bard Games); TIMEMASTER mentally good beings worshiping a bogus one, didn’t you? Actually, there (Pacesetter Games/54°40’ Orphyte); TORG (West fundamentally good deity, relations be- is no Psychic Awareness in the ALMA End Games); TUNNELS & TROLLS (Flying Buffalo); tween the clerics and specialty priests are MATER* game. (4 points) TWERPS (Reindeer Games); TWILIGHT: 2000 (GDW); UUHRAAH! (Blackhawk Games); exemplary. 16 Published in 1978, the first AD&D® WARHAMMER (Games Workshop); WOOF MEOW module was G1 Steading of the Hill (Game Systems); WORLD ACTION AND Giant Chief, by Gary Gygax. (4 points) ADVENTURE (M. S. Kinney Corp.); YSGARTH (Ragnarok Enterprises). 17 In the CYBORG COMMANDO* game, when you roll two 10-sided dice, you ORIGINS is a trademark owned by the Games 88 JANUARY 1992 multiply one die by the other. This Manufacturers Association.

do not make the rules of Magik Natu- reel. I do but abide by them. The folk of our small village by the sea have never fully understood. They Human think I raise the storms I warn them of, fear I cause the shipwrecks I fore- tell. Still, they come to me, for I do know the spells and magiks within human power. And I know the payment for them, who better? I pay Voices for my powers every day of my life, with solitude and loneliness and occasional persecution when a scapegoat is in order. So when Piers Grandman caught a mermaid in his net, where would he come but to me? “Throw her back,” I told him, standing in the hold of his wee boat, convinced at last that he had told me the truth. I cannot see my own fortune, you understand, a blindness of all those with the power. So when blond, bronzed Piers came to me that night with a tale of a mer- maid tangled in his net— by Jean Lorrah We were of an age, Piers and I. I loved Piers when we were both wee childer in the schoolroom. He protected me from the taunts of the others when my newly wakened powers made mischief—but naught came of it. We grew up, I took my inevitable place as wise woman, and Piers had no dearth of young women eager to capture him— until all three of his boats went down in a storm. Two good men drowned, and Piers lost everything but his life. It took him five years of hard labor on other men’s boats to buy the tiny craft he now sailed out every morn- ing and home every night . . . alone. Perhaps it was the way all the young women who had so eagerly pursued him turned away when he was penniless that soured him. Whatever the reason, now that he was on his way back up on fortune’s wheel, those who tried to catch his eye flirted in vain. He kept to himself, working all day, taking a solitary tankard of ale in the tavern in the evening, and then retiring to his boat. I often thought about him, all alone in the night, for although his hard life had made him old beyond his years, he was still a fine figure of a man and everything I had ever desired. So when he lured me on board his boat in the darkness, my heart beat apace and I climbed eagerly down the lad- der. Piers turned up the flame in the lantern—and I saw her. She was a mermaid, no doubt of it, although for a mo- ment I doubted she was alive. Then the fishy tail twitched, and she raised a hand to cover her eyes against the light, baring one breast from the concealment of her long dark- gold hair. There was also no doubt that, from the waist up, she was a perfectly formed, beautiful woman. Her breathing was labored. Her lips were bluish green, a certain sign that a normal human being was gravely ill, perhaps dying—but what did I know of a normal mermaid? “You must put her back into the sea,” I told Piers. “She cannot live on land. Listen to her breathing. She is drowning in the air as surely as a man who follows her into her element drowns in the sea.” “Help her,” Piers insisted. Illustrations by Martin Cannon At his voice, the mermaid took her hand away from

DRAGON 91 over her huge sea-green eyes and reached out to Piers, “Whur ye goin’ lass?” making plaintive little noises. “Never you mind,” I told him. “It’s nowt to do wi’ “She’s begging you,” I said, tears burning my throat. you.” “You can’t keep her, Piers!” “When the witch-woman goes to Grandman’s boat, it’s “You know medicines!” he insisted. “Give her some- to do wi’ all of us. Three days he’s sat in harbor, never thing. She must live!” He grasped the hand the mermaid stirring. What’s he got in his hold, lass?” held out to him, and I saw the look that passed between “Nothing for you to stir yourselves about.” them. I suddenly pictured this creature watching Piers day “‘Tis some creature of the devil, some sea-monster!” after day, fearful yet attracted, until one day she found the put in old Captain Torrity. “I seen it. I seen Grandman courage to approach his net. pull summat up in his net three days since—summat no Mermaids do not become entangled in fishermen’s nets, God-fearing man would have truck with!” certainly not in calm seas. Nor do men survive shipwreck “Aye!” said Lindstrom. “Summat he’s kep’ in the hold in our fearful spring storms. I remembered Piers, washed of his boat, pouring buckets of sea water on it and threat- up on the rocks, unconscious. Accidentally washed up? Or ening any who came near. You know what ‘tis, lass. You carried there by some shy sea creature who had pined ever tell us.” since for his strength and beauty? Ah, Piers. Little notion “Aye, tell us afore Grandman curses the whole fleet!” you had what nets you cast for female hearts! added Torrity. I told myself it was pity for the poor suffering creature That brought mutters from the other men, but I that set me searching through my grimoires, but in truth clutched the potion safe in my pocket and stood my it was that I could deny Piers nothing. Most of what I ground, staying safely clear of the edge of the walkway. found merely defined mermaids or warned of how their “I’ll do better than tell you!” I said defiantly, staking the beauty lured sailors into the sea to drown. Finally, though, mermaid’s life, and perhaps my own, that I had done the one dusty old tome provided the information I sought: the potion right. “If you’re curious enough to delay sailing for formula to turn a mermaid into a human woman. a few minutes more, I’ll show you why Piers Grandman It was hard reading, written in a crabbed hand in some has spent the last three days aboard his boat—and you’ll archaic dialect. I had to guess at translating some of it. laugh at yourselves and envy him!” The ingredients for the potion were plain enough—I knew With that I pushed past them and boarded Piers’s boat. all the old names for herbs and simples—but the instruc- He stood in the hatchway, glaring at the men behind me tions for treating them were in metaphors strange to me. as if daring them to step on board. None dared. “Swing beneath the milk pails” I took to mean when the “Have ye got it, lass?” he asked eagerly as he shut the Big and Little Dippers were in view, and “Flavor with a hatch door behind us. drop of home” I decided had to mean a drop of sea water. “Aye, and I hope for all our sakes it works!” But what of “Mate with a maiden” or “Grind when the I bent over the mermaid, who by this time was much dog chases his tail”? I was sure that last was a reference to the worse for her time out of her native element. Her eyes the weather or to some astronomical configuration, but stared at me dully, like the eyes of a dead fish, accusing. then on my way home from gathering herbs in the hills I Her hair was brittle and lifeless, like dried-out vegetation saw an actual puppy chasing his tail, and dashed home to blown along the shore. grind the numage. I pulled the vial from my pocket, lifted my skirt to point It took the better part of three days to perform every to my feet, then pantomimed drinking down the liquid. step at its appointed hour, but at last I had distilled a tiny She apparently understood, for her eyes came to life. She vial of clear green potion. I read through the formula one reached eagerly for the vial and poured the contents down last time, making certain I had done everything to my her throat without pausing for breath. honest best. How one mated a potion with a maiden I still The transformation began at once, her pallor receding did not know; I decided the mermaid must be meant, if into normal human rosiness, her hair resuming its silki- not my own maidenhood which was, alas, intact. The ness, her lips turning from waxen pale to the greenish cast translation of the last sentence also eluded me, but finally they had had when I first saw her, and then ruddy. I thought I made it out: “The transformation will be Then she began to thrash, her great tail heaving as she short-lived.” moaned and squealed. So—all my work and all the mermaid’s suffering would Footsteps sounded on the deck above us. Someone gain her . . . what? A few hours? A few days, perhaps, to pounded on the door. “What have you got down there?” walk upon the legs of a human woman before she returned The mermaid sobbed and screamed, sounding like a to her natural form and the sea reclaimed her? She might human woman in childbirth travail. Piers climbed the have Piers for a short time, but afterwards? ladder to face the men on deck, and though my curiosity The mermaid had broken through the barriers he had yearned to watch the final transformation, my concern for erected against love. When she was gone he would be Piers made me follow him, as if I could protect him. lonely . . . and I would be understanding. Blinking in the sunlight, the mermaid’s cries wafting I returned to the quay with the vial of potion at dawn of from the hatch behind us, we faced the angry sailors. a bright day. The other fishing boats were preparing to set “Show us, Piers Grandman! Let us kill the devil’s spawn sail, one or two already bobbing on the horizon. I thread- ye’ve brought among us!” ed my way carefully along the narrow planks until one of “‘Tis no devil’s spawn,” Piers replied. “You’ll see soon the men, Captain Lindstrom, blocked my way. enough what beauty I’ve found. No wicked thing could be

92 JANUARY 1992 so beautiful! ” known!” “Beautiful to your evil mind!” said Captain Torrity. “Lad, she was an evil thing, the Whore of Babylon,” “Mayhap it takes ye over. We mus’na gaze upon such said Captain Torrity. evil!” “No!” said Piers. “She was—” “Aye!” came the shouts from the others. “Destroy the His words were interrupted by a splashing in the water devil-creature! ” beside the boat, a scream, followed by choking sounds. Someone picked up a lantern, unlit, and smashed it on We all turned to look and saw the mermaid thrashing in the deck, splashing oil across the planks of the boat Piers the water, her lovely hair tangled over her face, her arms had worked so long and hard for. waving wildly. “Burn the demon out!” cried Torrity, although he had Piers must have known instantly what had happened, no fire. for he threw off his jacket and shoes and leaped into the “No!” Piers cried, leaping for Torrity’s throat. The water, swimming strongly to the terrified woman. She other men immediately dragged him off the old man and threw her arms about his neck, and they both sank under held him, struggling and shouting, as Captain Lindstrom the water. picked up a piece of sailcloth, dipped it in the oil, and Only then did I know what I had done. attempted to strike a light to it. “Help them!” I cried. “She’ll drown him!” The other men fell silent, only Piers struggling and But no man on the deck would move to save Piers, who raving as they threatened to destroy the boat that had had chosen the woman they despised. And I? I am a become his life and the life within her that had become his witch-woman. I cannot go into the sea. It would reject obsession. I muttered an invocation to the winds, and a me, and then these men would take me up and burn me, fresh breeze kept the sparks from landing on the oil- and the fire would take me gladly. soaked cloth, but I could do no more than delay for brief So I stood at the rail of Piers’s boat, watching the water. moments. The waves lifted and fell smoothly. There was no sign of The boat rocked in the wavelets the breeze produced. I life. heard the hatch door open behind me. Then the men The bodies washed ashore the next day, twined together froze as one, staring beyond me to the hatchway. like lovers. Another sailor drowned for the love of a mer- I turned. The mermaid stood framed in the hatchway maid . . . but this time not alone. . . . mermaid no longer. She was a woman, surely the For in making her able to live on land, I had rendered most beautiful ever to walk upon two perfectly shaped the mermaid incapable of living in the sea. She, too, had legs. In naked, unashamed glory she pulled herself up the drowned. ladder by the rope handles to stand on uncertain feet in the sunshine, displaying all the greatest beauties of earth I am an old woman now, with my memories and my and sea. knowledge of the unalterable rules of Magik Natureel. Her hair glowed with sunlight, but her eyes were the The young come to me for love spells, and I warn them: sea incarnate. They sparkled when she saw Piers, and her Do not love out of your element. You may have a single soft red mouth smiled to reveal the only teeth I have ever moment of glory . . . but is it worth your life? seen that truly did seem pearls. She held out her arms and tottered toward him stiff legged, like a toddler child, and such was her perfection that her gait seemed no flaw but the mark of her newness, her innocence. My heart ached in my throat, not with jealousy but with the ancient knowledge that nothing so perfect is ever allotted more than one moment of splendor. The men fell back before the impact of her unblemished grace, leaving Piers free, holding out his hands to her, tears rolling down his lined face as pure joy lighted his eyes. If only for one moment, I had made him happy. She placed her hands in his, and it was as if a spell were broken. “Whore!” roared Captain Torrity, unable to com- prehend naked innocence. “Seize the slut!” cried Captain Lindstrom. “Brazen, disgusting, naked—” As the sailors moved threateningly toward her, the mer- maid turned from Piers, her eyes wide with terror. He tried to put a protective arm about her shoulders but, slippery as a fish, she eluded his grasp and dived over the railing into the safety of her native element. Piers was one step behind her, halting at the rail to see the tips of her pink toes disappear beneath the foam. “Gone!” he cried in agony. Turning to the sailors, he shouted, “You’ve driven away the only love I’ve ever NEW PRODUCTS FOR ry, culture, military strategies, and day-to-day HHQ1 Fighter’s Challenge way of life. AD&D® 2nd Edition game module JANUARY 1992 Suggested Retail Price: $9.95/£6.50 by John Terra Product No.: 9344 This, the first of a series of one-on-one adven- DS1 Freedom tures for the AD&D® game, takes a lone fighter AD&D® game DARK SUN™ module Dark Heart PC into a remote, dangerous village. Only the by David “Zeb” Cook DRAGONLANCE® Saga Meetings Sextet, bravest warriors will unravel the secrets that lie This, the first adventure set in the new DARK Volume Three within. This adventure is tailored for a SUN™ campaign setting, is presented in the by Tina Daniell beginning-level fighter but is suitable for all PCs. versatile two flip-book format first used in the The story of the beautiful, dark-hearted Suggested Retail Price: $6.95/£4.50 DARK SUN™ boxed set. These books are twice Kitiara Uth Matar, from the birth of her twin Product No.: 9330 as big and come with full-color art, packaged in brothers Caramon and Raistlin, can now be told. a folder that doubles as a DM’s screen unique to Kitiara’s youthful mercenary deeds and her GR1 Strongholds the adventures. This package also includes a growing fascination with evil lead her to the AD&D® 2nd Edition game source box short story found nowhere else. company of a roguish band of mercenaries by TSR staff Suggested Retail Price: $12.95/£7.99 whose fate is intermingled with her own. Over the last few years, TSR, Inc. has published Product No.: 2401 Suggested Retail Price: $4.95/£3.99 numerous products featuring our 3-D Product No.: 8342 ADVENTURE FOLD-UPS™. This source box RR3 Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires brings the best of these buildings together in AD&D® game RAVENLOFTTM accessory one convenient place. Use these ADVENTURE by Nigel Findley NEW PRODUCTS FOR FOLD-UPS” as props during a role-playing game Within this 96-page accessory for the session, as scenery for miniatures games, or just RAVENLOFT™ Gothic horror setting, Dr. Ru- FEBRUARY as a toy-building hobby kit. dolph Van Richten, one of Ravenloft’s foremost Suggested Retail Price: $18.00/£12.99 lore masters and vampire hunters, shares his DSR1 Slave Tribes inc. VAT vast knowledge from decades of research and AD&D® game DARK SUN™ accessory Product No.: 9353 experience with these “kings of the undead.” Dr. by Bill Slavicsek Van Richten details vampiric powers, weakness- In the wastelands of Athas, tribes of escaped Pools of Darkness es, and feeding and sleeping habits, as well as slaves fiercely defend their independent lives FORGOTTEN REALMS® novel their varied relationships with others of their from their former masters and the elements. by James M. Ward and Anne K. Brown kind. Old myths are dispelled, new facts are Former gladiators rule over artisans, craftsmen, The sequel to 1989’s Pool of Radiance, this book discovered, and the experiences of both vam- and others who have gained their freedom. This takes up the story some years later when Ren, pires and those who hunt them are recorded 96-page accessory, the first for the DARK SUN” Shal, and Tar1 are again called upon to protect the for your safety and enlightenment. world, takes your campaign beyond the cities to city of Phlan—which has vanished from the face Suggested Retail Price: $10.95/£6.99 the untamed wilderness of Athas. of Toril itself! Our heroes unite with a shape- Product No.: 9345 Suggested Retail Price: $10.95/£6.99 shifting cat, an undead ghost-knight, and others Product No.: 2404 in order to find and save the city. MC11 Monstrous Compendium, Suggested Retail Price: $4.95/£3.99 FORGOTTEN REALMS® Appendix Quest for the Silver Sword Product No.: 8491 AD&D® 2nd Edition accessory D&D® game module by Lots o’TSR Folks by William W. Connors This, the second Monstrous Compendium In this introductory-level adventure, your Unless otherwise noted: Appendix for the FORGOTTEN REALMS® set- player characters are sent into a wizards keep ® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. ting, includes all the latest monstrosities from to stop a horrible curse. The PCs must retrieve ™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. ©1991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. the manic minds of many of TSR’s maniacs. the fabled Elven Silver Sword to save their Keep your FORGOTTEN REALMS® campaign village. This adventure is ideal for PCs about to PCs on their toes by adding some of these bridge from 1st to 2nd level of experience. beasties to your DMing menagerie. All 64 pages Suggested Retail Price: $6.95/£4.50 are full of new creatures to sic on your party, Product No.: 9342 and each page is hole-punched for easy addition Check Your Mailing Label! to either of the MC binders. CR1 Wizard Spell Cards Suggested Retail Price: $10.95/£6.99 AD&D® 2nd Edition game accessory If it’s time to resubscribe, fill out the Product No.: 2125 by TSR staff reply card inside this magazine, or TSR, Inc. now makes it easier than ever to simply write your name and address DLR2 Taladas: The Minotaurs play an AD&D® game wizard. Players can on a sheet of paper, then send it along AD&D® game DRAGONLANCE® accessory assemble their PCs’ “spell books” with these with your payment to: by Colin McComb cards that contain every spells vital game infor- The warlike race of Taladan minotaurs is mation like casting time, range, etc. Each card DRAGON® Magazine striving to become the dominant military and details one spell with handy graphics to allow P.O. Box 5695 cultural force on Krynn’s continent of Taladas. for quick location of the necessary information, Boston MA 02206 In this 64-page reference guide, you’ll uncover Suggested Retail Price: $18.95/£13.50 important information on the minotaurs’ histo- inc. VAT DRAGON is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc. ©1991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Product No.: 9356

94 JANUARY 1992 The MARVEL®-Phile Continued from page 81 them the correct coordinates for their the emotional conflicts the memories team was off Earth in the first Secret Wars home dimension, just to get them to where incurred) have caused him to have a ner- campaign, and she naturally fell in love they belonged. vous breakdown. Harry’s breakdown with Johnny while Ben stayed on the Other versions of Saturnyne that Excali- restored his full memory—including his Beyonder’s planet. When her ploy was bur has encountered include an older identity as the second Green Goblin and discovered, she confessed and led the version of her who rules the Great Britain his knowledge that Peter Parker, his best team to where Paibok the Power Skrull of an alternate dimension. On another friend, was Spider-Man! Green Goblin II and his legions were holding Alicia. During such alternate earth, Captain Briton met confronted Spider-Man recently, but, the battle against Paibok, Lyja sacrificed Opal Lun Sat-yr-nin, Majestrix of the Em- meeting little resistance from Peter, the her life to save Johnny from being shot by pire of True Briton. She was a ruler of a Goblin couldn’t kill him. The Green Goblin a Skrull. Alicia Masters is now freed from fascist nation and was the lover of the fled and has been missing for some time; suspended animation and is attempting to hero called Kaptain Briton. This counter- at the time of this writing, Harry’s wife Liz adapt to months of lost time while the part bears the greatest resemblance to the hasn’t been notified of Harry’s regression quintet tries to return to Earth. woman who attacked the real Courtney to his villainous alter-ego. Terrax: Terrax has possessed the hu- Ross. Hobgoblin: Hobgoblin’s demonic na- man form of Harmon Furmintz, the direc- ture has driven him utterly insane (Reason tor of Genetech. Terrax’s personality ROLE-PLAYING NOTES: Saturnyne is a of Poor), and he acts as if his human side apparently eradicated Mr. Furmintz’s mysterious character with a lot of author- and his Hobgoblin identity are separate mind, and his new body has both stabi- ity. How she became the Omniversal Ma- people or personalities. The Hobgoblin lized the cosmic energy and soil particles jestrix and how she continues to hold that considers himself an agent on Earth for that comprised Terrax’s former form and position are unknown. There is at least good, stopping evil ones from corrupting incorporated them into a new permanent one characteristic shared among all of her the innocent by killing them, while his form. His powers are approximately the other-dimensional counterparts: All “Sa- human side wants to return to the relative same as before, though he can no longer turnynes” are fond of (at the very least) normalcy of his mercenary life. The Hob- travel off-planet without aid of some kind. Captain Britain or Brian Braddock, his goblin’s body has not totally accepted his Thanks to the Silver Surfer, ‘Ierrax was civilian identity. metamorphosis, and his face switches at removed from Earth and marooned on times from his demonic goblin face to his Pluraris VI, a relatively new planet light Marvel bulletins normal human features. This change years from Earth with no native sentient Demonica: This new “continent” was occurs randomly (roll 1d10 every round; if life forms, raised from the ocean floor between Ha- a 10 is rolled, he changes form), and Hob- waii and California by Dr. Demonicus and goblin must make an Incredible intensity That’s it for this month. Stay tuned as his Pacific Overlords. It has been granted Endurance FEAT when it occurs or else we continue our “Castaways” feature next admission into the United Nations, but its collapse. The pain subsides after one month! political, social, and economic organization round, and for 1d10 - 5 rounds (minimum has yet to be determined. Demonica’s of one round) he remains human and effects on shipping are currently un- relatively coherent. The Hobgoblin has Marvel characters appearing in “The MARVEL-Phile” and the distinctive names and likenesses thereof are trademarks of known as well. Its foreign policies are become one of the most unstable and Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and are used with permis- vague, but it is known that the Avengers unpredictable villains active today, as can sion. Copyright ©1991 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. All West Coast branch is not welcome on be attested by recent foes like Moon Rights Reserved. Demonica, having fought its ruler while Knight, the Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man. the continent was being created. Kingpin: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, was Fury, Nick: It hasn’t been an easy year finally defeated by the one foe he thought for this former Howling Commando. crushed long ago. Through Daredevil’s About 2,500 new recruits for SHIELD various manipulations (with indirect aid by were killed in an explosion at SHIELD SHIELD), all of the Kingpin’s holdings, Central in New York. These deaths and legitimate or illegal, were destroyed by LOOKING FOR subsequent others were caused by the HYDRA. This loss directly caused Fisk to MORE GAMERS? newly resurrected and thoroughly evil lose control of his organization, and his You may think you’d have to travel HYDRA, led by Fury’s long-time foe, Baron status as the crimelord of New York fell to another planet to find a game Wolfgang von Strucker. Given all the stress until he became just a homeless killer on convention. Finding friends who and the pain of those losses, Nick had been the streets. He has survived, however, and on the verge of insanity, but he has recov- it is unknown just how far he will go to are also gamers can be a problem, ered his strength of will. Unfortunately, a regain his power. too. Put your scoutsuit away and conspiracy has kept him from receiving Outlaws: Silver Sable has officially turn to the Convention Calendar in his dosages of the Infinity Formula, a sanctioned and collected a semi-permanent this magazine. There may be a serum that has retarded his aging since quick-strike team of superhuman and game convention closer to your World War II, and Fury’s years are quickly highly skilled operatives called the Out- home than you think — and conven- catching up to him. In game effects, Nick laws. Team members include Sable as the tions are a great place to find is losing - 1CS of Fighting, Strength, En- leader, with the Prowler, Rocket Racer, the friends who share your interests. durance, and Agility every four days until Will-o-the-Wisp, and a some-time member, Whether you like board games, his actual age (approximately 70-80 years) the Sandman. role-playing games, miniature war manifests itself, leaving him with Feeble Storm, Alicia Masters: She is not! Yes, scores in all those abilities. retroactive continuity strikes again, as the games, or just browsing around, a Green Goblin II: Once again, Harry blind sculptress who married Johnny game convention can be all you’ve Osborn has been under a lot of pressure, Storm (the Human Torch) was a Skrull spy hoped for. Plan to attend one soon. and memories of his abusive father (and named Lyja. She replaced Alicia while the

DRAGON 95 Artwork by Todd Lockwood

So, what’s it really like to own an elephant?

If you want to hunt tigers in the tall long-legged pachyderm. A senile beast has grass, you need an elephant—or so goes half normal hit points, causes a -5 on all the Indian proverb. AD&D® game adven- Animal Training proficiency rolls (negating turers might extend this principle to the the bonuses described later), and walks hunting of orcs, yuan-ti, or even small three movement points slower than nor- dragons. Since 3,500 B.C., people have mal. Elephants with foot cancers move at tamed elephants for stunts, work, and half speed and die after 1-20 months. war. The AD&D game’s 2nd Edition Play- Yellow-eyed beasts suffer no known handi- er’s Handbook includes elephants in its cap, but in a fantasy world they may carry equipment list for PCs who wish to buy a curse or hold an evil spirit producing them. Parties might also seek wild ele- variable game effects. An elephant’s tusks phants, to capture them or to magically (if it has any) weigh 70-120 ((1d6 X 10) + 60) commune with these lords of the jungle. lbs. each. According to the AD&D 1st According to the PHB, on page 68, a Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, ivory is labor elephant costs 200 gp and a war worth 3-6 gp per pound, so the owners elephant costs 500 gp. These prices apply will get some return on their investment. only in areas where people commonly trade elephants, since a pachyderm would Care and feeding cost many thousands of gold pieces in There is a Nepalese proverb that goes: If other climates. As with all live-animal you want to take revenge on your enemy, purchases, some elephants are worth give him an elephant. First he must thank more than others. Albino and giant-eared you humbly for your generosity. Then the pygmy elephants would probably sell for beast will eat him out of house and home. up to ten times the normal prices. Charla- Elephants consume about 500 lbs. of tans often try to sell aging beasts, and food and 60 gallons of water per day. They other poor specimens have elongated legs need a variety of foods. In the Washington or foot tumors. One can spot an old ele- Park Zoo, for example, each elephant phant by looking for pink streaks or wrin- receives 90 lbs. of hay, 3 lbs. of oats, 46 kles on its ears. A superstition in the real lbs. of carrots, 46 lbs. of lettuce, a handful world warns that yellow-eyed elephants of vitamins, and a quarter cup of pure salt. bring ill fortune, which would make them In the wilderness, a tame elephant may about 50 gp cheaper in fantasy lands. obtain 300 lbs. of daily food by grazing. In game terms, characters must pass an Owners must provide the rest. Nepalese Animal Handling proficiency check to mahouts (elephant tamers) carry elephant detect undesirable elephants. Subtract one food as 30-lb. kuchis, or leafy bundles of point of movement from the speed of a sugared rice.

96 JANUARY 1992 In most AD&D worlds, trainers probably domly determined directions for 6d6 Mahouts in Burma and Thailand try to catch their elephants wild. Although a few BATTLESYSTEM turns. Riders may either starve bulls out of musth, while Indian modern zoos breed these animals in cap- leap to safety or try to cut the animals’ tribes feed them coconut shells filled with tivity, no fantasy culture could do so with- throats, using normal attack rules. Only opium. In game terms, the DM should out “magical resources such as food- spell-casters using animal friendship or secretly roll 1d6 each month to see if a producing spells. Under the best circum- charm monster spells can attempt to calm bull enters musth. On a roll of 1, the stances, a female elephant reaches matu- or rally them. musth begins. After 1d10 days, when a PC rity at 12 years old and can produce 4-5 Historically, Hannibal lost all but one of gives some routine command, the elephant calves in her lifetime, waiting at least his 37 pachyderms when he fought Rome, attacks in fury and remains deranged for three years between each birth. and the survivor did little in battles. Para- 2d10 days. Handlers may observe the Most real-world trainers capture ele- doxically, the beasts probably helped him onset of musth before it occurs by passing phants by chasing them into pens called most while being marched through the an Animal Lore proficiency check. A suc- keddah. These corrals should be small; if Alps. Several mountain tribes that planned cessful Animal Handling check at a + 5 the panicked animals can move, they will to loot his army refused to approach when penalty can reduce the duration of the injure themselves by ramming the sides. A they saw the unknown monsters guarding madness by half. fantasy mahout must pass an Animal Han- Hannibal’s supplies. Wild elephants live in tribes led by the dling proficiency check at - 4 to calm a eldest females. Only the most dangerous newly captured elephant (naturally, a Role-playing notes bulls dwell alone. Legends say that free struggling wild elephant attacks its captor, Individualized pets always add color to elephants possess a sort of culture. They if possible). One begins training an ele- an adventure, and elephants are famous dance, meditate, and cherish privacy. phant when it reaches age 14. It can do for their distinctive personalities. Common Some mated pairs grow deeply romantic light work at 19 and reaches full maturity quirks seen in these creatures include about each other and die of “broken at 25. The creature will live to be around phobias, obsessions, and the inability to hearts” if separated. Other elephants are 50 years old, although legends say that realize that they are not humans. Beasts said to commit adultery or seek revenge some have reached 130. with the last delusion attempt to climb on unfaithful mates. Elephants lead their stairs or enter houses, or appear to fall in sick to medicinal plants and occasionally Capabilities love with people. commit mercy killings. No person has ever The PHB, on page 78, allows elephants to Pachyderms like to wash themselves and seen a wild elephant die naturally. carry up to 500 lbs. at full speed and up to powder with dust afterward. Most ele- The people of the jungle say that ele- 1,000 lbs. at one-third speed. Normally, a phants have a habit of picking up anything phants have secrets. Fantasy pachyderms mahout never loads a working elephant people drop. This can be annoying, but might remember magic that men do not, with more than 600 lbs., including riders. occasionally it saves prized possessions. particularly arts of healing, and may have Full parade gear for one elephant can An infant elephant will occasionally mis- fabulous treasures. Real-world rumors weigh up to 1,000 lbs. A particularly take explorers for its mother. If humans once spoke of elephants with pearls in strong elephant (costing at least 1,000 gp) respond, the real mother often assumes their skulls. Others say that bulls in musth might carry up to twice the normal bur- they are kidnapping her calf and attacks. sweat a fluid from their necks that can be dens, The Third Book of Maccabees de- Some elephants are cowards, and few brewed into philtres of love, potions of scribes war elephants that each carried 32 animals are more dangerous than a pan- extra-healing, elixirs that restore hair, or a warriors. Japanese supply officers suppos- icked elephant. Fortunately, chronically universal poison antidote. There does not edly burdened pack elephants with up to nervous pachyderms occasionally become really seem to be an “elephant graveyard.” four tons of ammunition each during the braver if their owners keep them in the However, in the 18th century, explorers Imphal Offensive of World War II, but this same pen as more courageous ones. Ele- found something like this in a part of does not mean the animals normally car- phants do not particularly fear mice, but Angola not frequented by any known ried this much (during the same campaign, they worry about any small, ticklish thing human tribe. The explorers discovered a Japanese logistics manuals suggested that that might slip into their trunks. The scent heap containing four tons of tusks, an officers feed their soldiers by letting the of tigers terrifies them, but one can train unidentifiable wooden fetish, and count- men eat grass). war elephants to overcome this fear. Many less skulls of men. Interesting, no? An elephant normally walks at 4 MPH, or stampedes begin when chained elephants MV 12. It may charge at 25 MPH (MV 75) smell a jungle cat and panic, fearing that Bibliography for a maximum distance of 150’. Elephants they will be unable to escape. The following sources may especially cannot jump at all, so even small ditches Elephants learn quickly, and characters interest DMs who want to feature ele- block them (you see this tactic used in with the Animal ‘Raining proficiency phants in their adventures. zoos all the time). should receive a -2 bonus on success A war elephant’s strongest weapon is rolls with these beasts. Elephants perceive de Camp, L. Sprague. Elephant. New York: terror. Few foot soldiers dare resist an other things, too, that their handlers never Pyramid Publications, 1964. elephant’s charge; when they do, the mean to teach them. They discover how to Dinerstein, Eric. “Elephants.” Smithsonian pachyderm often goes berserk, trampling disassemble gates and know quite well magazine (Sept. 1988): 70. friends and foes alike. Cautious generals when they can get bribes by refusing to Tisdale, Sallie. “Elephants.” New Yorker use elephants to carry archers or their budge. The saying about elephants never magazine (Jan. 23, 1989): 38. own palanquins, to give the riders a safe forgetting is true, as these animals have vantage above the battle without testing been known to take revenge on particular the beast’s temper in close combat. Of humans years after suffering mistreat- course, if a charge scares away the enemy, ment. In a fantasy world, they might re- the elephants need never fight. veal secrets long forgotten by people, if In the AD&D BATTLESYSTEM™ rules, questioned by speak with animals. any troops faced with an elephant attack For unknown reasons, Asian bull ele- Out of Supplies? should make a special morale check, in phants periodically go insane. Scientists Write for a free catalog from the addition to any others that may be re- debate whether this insanity, called musth, quired. When the elephants take casual- relates to a rut, and if African elephants Mail Order Hobby Shop, c/o TSR, ties, they must also check morale. If this experience it. In musth, an elephant grows Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI check fails, the elephants charge and lethargic and dirty. The slightest distur- 53147 U.S.A. attack whoever they can, moving in ran- bance sends it into a murderous frenzy.

DRAGON 97

©1991 by Michael De Wolfe New high-tech equipment for SJG's GURPS® SPACE game

If the future is good at one thing, it's Temporal compressor (TL 13) infrared energy) becomes light, visible producing new technological surprises for A temporal compressor field is a warp light (green through violet) becomes ultra- spacefaring characters. The following are generator of sorts; it speeds time within violet, and high-energy radiation becomes some new items for use in Steve Jackson the field. this has a number of interesting deadly radiation. For each dilation level, all Games' GURPS® SPACE game. Use them— effects. Electromagnetic energy leaving electromagnetic energy doubles in fre- but don't lose them! the field is increased in frequency: heat quency (hertz, abbreviated as Htz). Thus, violet light (3 X 1014 Htz) placed under The cost of a temporal compressor unit At each Tech Level above 9, reduce the dilation level four (doubled four times) in dollars is found by using the following cost of the factory by 10%. becomes soft x-rays (4.8 X 1015 Htz). Some formula: 5,000 X [maximum field size frequency ranges of electromagnetic radi- (cy)] X [(maximum dilation value) ÷ 2]. A Watcher-floater camera (TL 10) ation follow: base cost of $25,000 is added to this for Able to hover as it records images and Light: 6 X 1014 Htz the final result. sounds, a watcher-floater camera can be X-rays: 3 x 1016 to 6 x 1020 Htz The weight of a temporal compressor used for surveillance, movie production, Hard radiation: Above 3 X 1019 Htz unit in pounds is found by using the fol- or video-log records. The camera can be One rad (radiation absorbed dose) of lowing formula: [(maximum field size programmed to remain in place, follow a radiation equals 3 X 1019 Htz; 10 rads are (cy)) X 5]+ [maximum dilation value] + 20. given person or object, or follow a prese- thus equal to 3 X 1020 Htz. Divide the fre- Every 20 lbs. (and fractions thereof) of a lected course. A watcher-floater camera quency of radiation by 3 X 1019 to find the temporal compressor takes up one cubic has a limited, dedicated artificial intelli- amount of rads it represents. yard. At TL 12, reduce the weight of a gence (IQ 7) to help in decision-making; Note also that objects and beings within temporal compressor by halt. At TL 13, when the camera thinks ii is in danger, it the field receive (and perceive) outside reduce the energy cost by half. Table 2 can eject its tape to ensure the latter’s electromagnetic energy at a fraction of its shows two examples of TL 13 temporal safety. A watcher-floater camera can re- normal frequency, based on the field’s compressors (maximum dilation level 5). cord 20 hours of information per tape. It dilation level. Consequently, the dilation has a Move of 10 and no practical maxi- level also serves as protection against Biological factory (TL 9) mum altitude. A watcher-floater camera outside radiation. Through the miracle of genetic engineer- uses one C-cell power cell and has DR 2 Living objects suffer just as startling an ing, a biological drug factory can be in- and HT 2/6. This device costs $2,000 and effect. If the majority of a lifeform is in- stalled inside a living being. This artificial weighs 5 lbs. At TL 10, taping time dou- side a field, all parts of the body outside (but organlike) item is usually attached to bles, artificial intelligence goes to IQ 9, and take 1d -4 points of damage per second an existing gland. The factory feeds on the Move to 14. At TL 11, a watcher-floater per dilation level from the superaccelera- body’s natural metabolism to synthesize camera requires a B-cell power cell, has all ted blood flow and nerve synapses. If the the drug of the user’s choice (use the lists TL 11 advantages, but has a Move of 16. majority of the iifeform is outside the of drugs available from the GURPS CYBER- For another $200, this device can be fitted field, those parts inside take 1d - 3 points PUNK and GURPS ULTRA-TECH rules with a transmitter having a range in miles of damage per second per dilation level books). Note that the factory can produce equal to its Tech Level cubed (TL³). from gangrene, as blood flow stops in the only one sort of drug, and it must be “slow” parts of the body. “built” for that purpose, so it cannot later Video glasses (TL 8) Each dilation level doubles the time change the sort of drug it creates. If the Jammed with TL 8 technology, these expansion. Each dilation level requires gland to which the factory is attached is glasses arc also fully functional, bifocal twice as much energy as before. Table 1 an internal one (e.g., an adrenal gland), the video cameras. They appear to be slightly charts the expansion. The basic field size dosages can be given only to the user; in bulky sunglasses. Inside the frame and is one cubic yard, and the field is always this situation, the drugs can be useful for lens are all the gadgetry required to pro- spherical. Doubling the field dimensions someone who is chronically ill. If the gland duce and transmit video images, which are cubes the energy use. Basic energy use is can give off external products (e.g., sweat sent to a booster that must be located figured as follows: gland, tear gland, etc.), the drugs can be within a number of yards equal to the administered to others. A soft switch manufacrurer’s Tech Level; in turn, this [Field size (cy)] X [dilation level] X 100 = implanted beneath the skin at a certain booster transmits the images for a dis- wattage use location is pushed to release the drug or to tance in miles equal to the Tech Level stop the drug’s production, unless the cubed (TL³). The video glasses weigh 6 oz. [wattage use] ÷ 1,000,000 = factory is to produce the drug constantly. and cost $2,000. To have “normal” clear megawattage use The cost of this item in dollars is based lenses, rather than the darkened “sun- on the cost of the drug it makes, using the glasses” style, the cost is $5,000. For each following formula: Tech Level above 9, the cost is reduced by half the previous TL value, and the weight Table 1 100 X [single drug-dosage cost] X [number is reduced by 1 oz. down to a 1 oz. mini- Temporal Compressor Field: of daily uses] mum value. Expansion Ratios For example, Quickheal goes for $50 a Level Ratio dose. A biological factory that produces 1 2:1 one such dose per day costs (100 X 50 X 1) 2 4:1 = $5,000. 3 8:1 A GM may rule that some drugs cannot 4 16:1 be synthesized. Dosages are not cumula- 5 32:1 tive. If a character with a biological facto- 6 64:l ry suffers starvation or a major disease, a Table progression continues. Health roll must be made. Failure means the delicate wetware of the factory is destroyed.

Table 2 Examples of Temporal Compressors (TC)

Item cost Weight Basic wattage use Booth-sized TC (2 cy) $ 50,000 35 lbs. 200 Vehicle-sized TC (10 cy) $150,000 75 lbs. 5,000 EATING RIGHT IS HlGHLY LOGICAL.

100 JANUARY 1992

102 JANUARY 1992 By Barbara Chris Adams DRAGON 103 104 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON 105 106 JANUARY 1992

108 JANUARY 1992 DRAGON 109

Croissant Miniatures does not make direct sales to the public, but it can supply you with the names of its dealers. GHQ and Croissant offer Combat Command packs, scaled-down groups of vehicles that provide ready-to-use combat groups.

Desert Storm—the air war On January 16, 1991, the world ob- served a rare sight. We actually watched an air raid on a hostile nation on TV, and we saw it from the point of view of the target. The tracer rounds racing across the Baghdad sky made an interesting light by Robert Bigelow show, but they didn’t accomplish much ©1991 otherwise. Part of the reason for this was a little-known operation that nullified the Photography by Mike Bethke Iraqi air-control system. Almost from the moment the first Coalition aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the United States and her allies had probed Iraqi airspace to find its holes and weaknesses. Operation Normandy targeted the early-warning radars and was accomplished using a flight of Apache helicopters that launched Hellfire missiles, which destroyed radar sites and vehicles. As the air war got underway, F-117a Stealth fighters came in and dropped special bombs on targets to further neu- tralize the Iraqi radar system. Tomahawk cruise missiles hugged the ground and hit targets of all types. In the first two weeks of the Persian Gulf war, these targets included command, communications, and supply facilities. Iraqi antiaircraft ranged from elaborate radar-guided systems to eye-aimed trailer-mounted guns, but as radar systems died, the guns became almost useless. Coalition forces soon reigned supreme in the sky. Iraqi Scud missile sites, both mobile and fixed, had to be hit again and again by the Coalition. Even then, many incoming Scuds had to be destroyed by Patriot mis- siles. Iraqi planes were targeted to prevent them from delivering ordinance that in- cluded possible chemical or explosive loads. Iraq had the SU-24, which com- Where were you a year ago on January 16th? pared favorably with the F-111B and could carry almost any bomb load. The Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft could have hurt Allied supply lines if it had gone un- Before we get into the Desert Storm Croissant Miniatures, Inc. checked, and the Mirage fighter could section, I want to include the addresses of P.O. Box 510 have attacked shipping in the gulf—but the companies making modern military Lakewood CA 90712-0510 they never got the chance. miniatures, which so many of you have If you want to find out more about the requested. Please check your hobby stores Simtac, Inc. Persian Gulf war, I recommend Gulf Wars, first for these figures; if they are unwilling 20 Attawan Road by Richard Jupa and Jim Dingeman, from or unable to get the miniatures for you, Niantic CT 06357 3W Publications; it’s an excellent capsule write to: (203) 739-3609 history that’s easy to read and well illus- trated. Another good book for pictures of C-in-C Precision in Miniatures the air forces involved is Osprey Books’ 8090 University Ave. NE Miniatures’ product ratings Air Power: The Coalition and Iraqi Air Fridley MN 55432 Forces. (612) 780-8554 * Poor Now, on to the reviews: ** Below average GHQ *** Average 2634 Bryant Ave. South **** Above average Minneapolis MN 55408 ***** Excellent

112 JANUARY 1992 Reviews

Grenadier Models, Inc. P.O. Box 305 Springfield PA 19064

Grenadier Models UK Ltd. 19 Babbage Road Deeside, Clwyd, Wales UNITED KINGDOM CH5 2QB

Gren 5000 FANTASY WARRIORS * game * * * * ½ One of the best ways to get someone into the hobby of miniatures is to present him with a game that contains both the rules and enough pieces to play the game out to an equitable conclusion. In the past, these sets have been few, being usually limited to historical games or the SILENT DEATH* game by ICE (see this column’s review of the latter in DRAGON® issue #165). Now, we have a set of playable fantasy miniatures rules—with miniatures. This set comes in a colorful yellow and red box, the back of which shows a pic- ture of the figures included, both painted and unpainted. Painting instructions are on the sides of the bottom box half, with suggestions on how to modify your pieces for individuality. The paint list is good, but the instructions do not include any step- by-step pictures for the novice to refer- ence, and this isn’t remedied in the rules. The rule book is 56 pages long, including army lists and a set-up sheet that must be copied several times before battle. The rules are clear, having ample illustrations and examples to reinforce them. The rule book also gives players ideas and advice by using a talking orc and dwarf that tell personal stories. The game sequence is laid out step by step, from picking a play- ing surface to setting up the terrain. It details army organization and the differ- ent steps in combat, and presents an inter- esting twist in its use of boasts by leaders to lend strength to a unit, as long as the boasts hold true. A list of boasts is offered from which players may choose; I can see some interesting possibilities for role- playing here, with players coming up with new boasts. The rule set includes scouting as a form of battle initiative, with the loser having to set up first and possibly having to fight at an inopportune time of day. The box includes a full set of paper counters that are needed to mark the figures. The troops all share some basic beards drop to their knees. A knife is status of the units involved. These attributes. They are made out of plastic molded on each of the non-missile-firing counters include ammunition, unit morale and have 1” -square bases with mold lines. troops, and they all have back plates. The (bloodlust, shaken, etc.), magic points used Each figure has a very annoying stub of missile-armed dwarves are equipped with in combat, attack standards, “hold,” a large plastic in the middle of its back; this stub axes and undetailed crossbows. Their section of walls, and two 12” rulers for must be carefully cut away unless you arms are much too short but can be ex- movement. There’s also a turn gauge that, want to glue a shield on the figure’s back. tended with a little work; a mold line runs when used with the hourglass, sets the There aren’t enough shields for all the around each figure and must be trimmed. time of the battle at either day or night. figures, but shields may be jury-rigged by The other two types of dwarven figures This day/night option benefits certain using buttons from any fabric store. are armed with either a spear or an axe. monsters who otherwise wouldn’t stand a The dwarves are dressed uniformly in The orcs all wear chain mail covered by chance under certain lighting conditions. long chain-mail suits with plates on their tunics or jerkins. All facial detail is plain The box also contains six groups—three shoulders and arms, high shoes, and and includes jutting fangs. Their arms are types of dwarves and three of arcs—of 17 rounded helmets, each with a ridge in bare from shoulders to bracelets. On two plastic figures each, for a total of 102 front. Their faces are stern, and their figure types, head hair is visible but with

DRAGON 113 poor detail; the last figure has a hood that Ral Partha Enterprises ined having some of the more unusual probably protects his eyes (he is an 5938 Carthage Court figures in an adventuring party. archer). All the orcs have extra weapons Cincinnati OH 45212 The halfling rogue’s figure stands 18½ that range from short swords to knives, mm and is mounted on a circular base and all have spare pouches or bags. The Ral Partha Enterprises with cobblestone detail. Detail is excellent, orcs’ major weapons are halberds, bows, c/o Minifigs with the hair on his feet and head appear- or curved, serrated swords. 1/5 Graham Road, Southampton ing to show every strand. He wears simple This is an excellent game to get people UNITED KINGDOM S02 0AX pants and shirt, with his coat and short started on miniatures gaming. I do have cape held by a simple clasp. He has several some suggestions for everyone who wants 20-809 Mauler ***** pouches attached to his belt, and a dagger to play this game: This lead figure is for FASA’s BATTLE- lies on his right hip. His face is more hu- 1. Mount the paper counters on larger TECH* game, and it conforms to the pic- man than halfling, but there is a distinctive circular counters that have metal edges or ture of the 90-ton Mauler ‘Mech shown on eye patch over the right eye. The figure are fairly thick. This way, a counter can be page 203 of FASA’s Technical Readout actually has a sling in his right hand, com- picked up with a magnet or by hand with- 3050. It has a height of 47 mm and a width plete with rock. out bending or damaging it. of 30 mm. There was minimal flash, and The enchantress is 24 mm tall and is 2. Make a photocopy of the back cover the figure was easily constructed from the scantily clad in flowing silks from the of the rule book immediately, as handling pieces provided. Mold lines are camou- waist down. Her gown is secured by a the rule book leaves fingerprints that can flaged by actual plating ridges. My only very thin belt that holds up a pouch and obscure future photocopies. Keep one complaint is that the edges could have leaves her legs bare. She wears rope san- clear photocopy in a plastic bag as a mas- been slightly sharper on the torso auto- dals. The figure has a bare midriff and a ter for future use. cannon. Care should be taken when prim- cut-off shirt-type top. Her left arm sup I personally don’t like the counter sys- ing this figure, as detail will disappear ports a well-detailed cat. Jewelry accents tem, as counters tend to clutter the gam- with thick primer coats. This figure is her bare arms and shoulders. A staff is ing area; this system also takes time to get highly recommended if you have the Maul- raised in her right hand, and she appears used to it. Movement is slow when you er in your lance and want to play with to be yelling. Her long hair is well done play on a 4’ X 8’ table or larger, but you miniatures instead of stand-up cardboard and looks like it partially covers a back- can adopt your own movement rules. figures in BATTLETECH games. It costs pack. The only error on this figure is a Gamers in my club complained that after a $5.50. crack on the right thigh at the junction of couple of games the orcs always seem to the hip. lose, but the rules do seem to be balanced. 10-510 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® The cleric is Oriental in appearance. The figures are too big for standard 25- Basic Heroes Set ***** Detailing is excellent, including holy water mm scale but should work well with Once upon a time, there were large bottles on his belt, a water skin under his Games Workshop’s “large” 25-mm figures. numbers of miniatures sets that contained left arm, and a holy symbol hanging from Last, but least, can’t anyone make any a basic party for people who were just his belt. He wears chain mail beneath his fantasy race but dwarves? starting to play either the AD&D® or multilayered frock. Belts support his water This game is an excellent buy at $30, D&D® game. These generic sets started to sack and the sun shield strapped to his even if all you want are the 102 figures for disappear, and it became hard to choose back. A large hammer is lofted over his about $.30 each. an all-in-one product. Now, Ral Partha has head in a striking position. introduced a generic set for the Basic The female fighter is well armored ex- D&D game that could also be used in an cept on her thighs. Her boots and armor AD&D game. The set contains 10 lead are ornate. She wears gauntlets and brac- figures, all in 25-mm scale. These are nice, ers on her arms, and bolos and a potion though I’m not sure I would have imag- bottle hang from her belt. She has a sword

114 JANUARY 1992 in her right hand; her left hand is open. Her head is thin, but her features are good and she has a necklace. Her layered hair goes back into a pony tail. This is another good figure. The swashbuckler looks like a well-done refugee from an Errol Flynn pirate film. A buckler is held on his left wrist, and he is preparing to throw a knife with that hand. Chain mail is visible under his shirt. There is excellent add-on detail, like chains and pennants, and the figure would make a good leader for a boarding party at sea. The female thief is almost comic. This good-looking female wears tight pants and blouse, with her bodice slightly open and no apparent weapons (or place to hide them). She innocently gestures, “Who me?” as she walks forward, her right hand hidden behind her short cloak. In that hand (surprise!) is a short sword. It’s a well-done figure with a cute twist. The rakasta fighter is an armored, hu- manoid cat standing on his back legs. With the snarl on his face and the prominence of his teeth, you know he’s in a fighting mood. His base is cobblestone. This set is pretty good, even if I don’t The elf fighter has very prominent fea- agree with all the choices. The price for tures, including a sharp, angular face, the set is $12.95. pointed ears, and drawn-back hair. He is dressed in fancy leather armor with tights FA-78 Dark Elf War Chief * * * * * and a long cape. His sword is raised over The Dark Elf War Chief is scaled to 25 his head in his right hand, and daggers mm and is made of lead. The figure is 24 stand out from his belt. A quiver of ar- mm to the eyes and is mounted on a large, rows and a bow on his back proves that undecorated oval base with a small mold another character is loaded for bear. This line that can be easily fixed. The figure is is one of the better male elf figures I have dressed in a chain-mail suit that extends seen lately. His base is covered with leaves, just past his hips; he also wears a pair of and he is charging to the fray. high, soft boots with leather tops and The mage figure is tall at 26 mm, and he fringes. A form-fitting breast plate extends appears even taller with a cane or staff to cover part of his back. His right arm raised over his head in his right hand. His and hand are covered by a gauntlet, and left hand holds a wand as if to fire at a foe. he holds a bastard sword with upturned He has a gaunt face with a thin beard, guards and a jewel at the end of its pom- rather like Uncle Sam. A hat covers his mel. His left hand holds a triangular shield head, and his face has a look of intense with a bas-relief front. His face is thin and concentration. His puffy pants and blouse angular, and he seems to yell defiance. The look like the traditional garb of a Cossack; facial detail is excellent, although some of an ornate vest is also present. His belt it is shallow. His hair streams down his supports multiple boxes of pouches and a shoulders, and individual hair detail is knife. As if to emphasize that he is a mage, good. an owl, presumably his familiar, rides on I highly recommend this figure to any- his shoulder. one with a dark elf army. It could be a This party couldn’t afford a pack mule, champion, leader, or common soldier. It’s so it brought a dwarf fighter. This small well done and a bargain at $1.50 each. guy must be the mobile weapons platform of his unit. He has a pole arm, a mallet, a Dark Elf Princess ***** mace, three throwing axes, a knife, and a This female figure is mounted on a weird shield with a snarling bobcat in bas- round base with a undetailed surface. It is relief. For extra equipment, he has a pick molded to true 25 mm scale and is 23 mm axe, lantern, several belt pouches, a blan- at the eyes. She wears chain mail with ket or bedroll, and a big backpack. He is form-fitting plates over her abdomen, wearing no visible armor except a groin chest, and stomach. The chain mail ends protector and something under his pants the upper thigh. Her legs are bare but protecting his shins. His clothing is gath- slightly angular, with hard ridges from a ered in spots, causing it to puff out, and mold line that is easy to clean up, and with Chief. Her face is excellent, with her his beard looks strange in ringlets and high boots with engravings and chains at mouth open slightly as if casting a spell. braids. He has a gruff look on his face and the ankles. The chain mail ends at her Her hair is swept back and falls down to appears to be slightly angry, maybe be- elbows; her arms are “decorated” with midback. cause he’s just stepped on a skull. We may bracers. A ring showing prominently on This figure could serve several different have just found the complete dwarf figure her left hand, and her right hand holds a functions in a drow army. It is highly for the D&D game. sword almost identical to that of the War recommended at $1.50 each.

DRAGON 115 and eyelashes visible. The iris, cornea, veins, and tear duct are also seen in great detail. This is a striking set that could serve as a centerpiece for a pewter collection. I feel that it is an excellent value at $75.

RAFM Company, Inc. 20 Parkhill Road E. Cambridge, Ontario CANADA N1R 1P2

4006 Dark Elf Cursed Spider Mount **** 4003 Dark Elf Fighter * * * * ½ These are two of several sets now availa- ble in the Dark Elf line. They are scaled to 25 mm, the fighter being 24 mm tall. The figures are made of soft lead and come with few extras. The cursed spider mount has a leg span of 80 mm long by 50 mm wide when standing. The figure comes in six pieces: four separate legs, the insect body, and the mutated human torso. The figure comes rear and serves as the backdrop for the packed in such a way that it rests flat square pedestal level and support for the against the ground. This is easy to fix by wizards mirror. The square platform is gently bending the middle legs and alter- also blocked at the edge and serves as a ing the cut slightly on the legs, which also stage. ensures a better fit. You will then have to On center stage is a wizard who mea- carefully bend the glued-on legs after the sures 55 mm tall. He is dressed in simple, adhesive dries to achieve the height you flowing robes with large vertical creases want. The abdomen of the spider includes flowing slightly to one side as if blown by the holes for spinning webs and several a breeze. His left hand supports a spell warty protuberances. Hair extends across book that has detailed runes on the front the back of the spider’s body and up its cover, and his right hand stretches out “human” back. The fit between the body over a brazier. His face is gaunt with high segments and legs is good but could be cheeks and a look of concentration. Peek- better. The cavity in which the human ing from behind his high pointed hat is torso sits is clear and without flash. You either a pseudo-dragon or an ugly imp will have to cut off a small part of the ball who looks perturbed. joint on the bottom of the human part to To the wizards left is a set of intercon- make it fit well. The upper body has flab- necting tables. The main table is a flat by skin and long arms ending in claws. board graced with a demon skull with You will need to trim or file the armpits if twin tusks and a fleece, with ram’s horns you want the figure to look right. The growing from its forehead to support a despairing face has a fanged mouth, buggy pentagram-shaped tabletop. The top sup- eyes, a bulging skull, a thin jaw with high ports a candle and holder, another spell cheekbones, and pointed ears. book, ink, rings, and spell components. The figure comes with a headstone The table’s base also supports a brazier topped by a bas-relief of a skull, and two Black Dragon Pewter that is joined to the tabletop; the brazier staves topped by human skulls and flap- 2700 Range Road looks like a large torch with a shell top. A ping ribbons. There was little flash on this North Bellmore NY 11710 lizard is crawling along the base of the kit, and it could be excellent with a little brazier. On top of the demon’s skull is a filling. Its cost is $5. 9233 The Sorcerer ***** drop of liquid, the result of a spill; it gives The fighter is a nice piece. He wears I want to introduce a set that should the appearance of being mercury. The metallic boots that are hinged and have have shared the holiday-gifts column, but back shelf contains a well-melted candle at plates that protect his shins and knees. it arrived too late. This set is made of the far right, a pitcher with a jeweled The legs are bare and blocky, with flat pewter and is about 53-mm scale. The stopper and a lizard handle, and what backs that belie true muscle structure. scene is a busy one, with small detail and looks like an incense burner or jar. The figure wears chain mail with a groin an impressive addition. The final background detail of the piece and buttock protector. His shirt is secured The base consists of two levels. The is a holographic “mirror” behind the wiz- by a thin belt; a pouch with a clasp and bottom level is a three-quarters oval with a ard. The support is a skeletal demon with skull hangs on his right side, and a sheath flat back, measuring 65 mm at its widest outstretched arms and curled-up legs. The hangs on his left. A suspender-type ar- spot. It has engraved, rough stones around mirror frame is a rough-cut stone circle rangement supports his shoulder plates, the edge, with dirt between the edge with a flying dragon on the upper right and anchoring to his belt. His right arm stones and the square center level. The and a multilevel castle on the lower left. has a bracer on the wrist and a dagger in flat back of the base is engraved with the An owl sits on top of the frame. The mir- his hand. His left hand is covered by a name of the piece, bas-relief fruit and ror itself is a well-done holograph of the gauntlet and holds a long sword. Both leaves, and a flower that faces out to the human eye, with skin creases easily seen weapons are held ready to attack.

116 JANUARY 1992 The dark elf’s face is thin and seems to trimmed. be concentrating. His hair is cut in a long, The figures are well done but not up to triangular shape and stands straight up. high standards. They are an interesting mix On the left side of his head, a pointed ear and are a good value at $4 per pack of four. is clearly visible. This figure is accompanied by a stand molded to represent a cave floor. The Alternative Armies stand is well done, but I think it could 6 Parkway Court have been left out to lower the price. The Glaisdale Parkway, Nottingham cost is slightly high at $1.75, but it’s a good UNITED KINGDOM NG8 4GN figure. (Available to hobby stores in the U.S.A. through Armory Distributors)

The Viking Forge OH2-Hobgoblin Raiders ***½ 1727 Theresa Lane These lead figures are presumed to be Powhatan VA 23139 scaled to 25 mm. The figures all have irregular, oval-shaped, undetailed bases 5001 Dwarf Army Command * * * * that will require some work to remove This dwarf set from Viking Forge con- flash and mold lines. The pack contains sists of four different figures, all made of five fighters, all too small in scale size to lead and scaled for 25 mm. All figures be hobgoblins, as per the AD&D® 2nd have round bases with surfaces molded to Edition Monstrous Compendium, and too resemble grass or dirt, and all are armed. big and too well armored to be regular Figure #1 is a falconer dressed in a set of goblins, unless you’re playing with larger scale mail that falls to below his knees and figures. a pair of heavy boots. Two shrunken heads Figure #1 is in a crouched position, dangle from his wide belt. Both hands are wearing plate armor with spikes over the covered by gauntlets; his left hand upper part of his torso. Breeches that end clutches a four-hooked mace with back- at high-topped boots are worn over his facing spikes, and his right supports a lower torso. His bare arms have good shield with a warped, twisted face that muscle detail, but they appear to be al- looks almost as if the shield should belong most molded solid with the legs and there sword pointed at the ground. His left arm to an orc rather than a dwarf. A fur cloak are rough spots and flash. His right hand holds a circular shield of wood with a drops from his shoulders, and a hood holds an axe, and his left holds a buckler metal plate and rivets. A belt holds a con- covers his head. A falcon sits on his right shield with a large spike. His head is cov- tainer behind the character’s back. Gobli- shoulder. The dwarfs facial detail is fair, ered by a helmet with cheek guards. The noid features are obvious, and the mouth but the eye patch and beard are good. flat face, fangs, and nose are evident, but is open in a scream of fury. His head is Figure #2 is the standard bearer and is his eyes are not clearly defined. This is the covered by a three-horned helm. The also the pack mule for the group. He is worst figure in the set and is definitely not horns are uneven and have flash, and dressed in a quilted armor that leaves only up to industry standards. flash can be found between the figure’s his boots exposed. (My sample has flash Figure #2 is dressed in a chain-mail shirt torso and arms. around the boots that will need special and cloth kilt. The legs are bare except for The last figure appears to be wearing work, with much work required to fix the a knee protector on the left leg and high simple mail from shoulder to mid-thigh, area between his left leg and the simple boots. A rope belt supports a dagger on with leggings, spiked knee pads, and high round shield.) His belt rides low and has a the right side and several pouches at the boots. The figure has a wide belt with a double pouch on the right side. His front is rear. His arms are bare; the right arm has skull-shaped buckle, and a pouch is slung criss-crossed by straps and belts. On his a spiked bracelet and holds an undetailed from his belt; his bare right arm clutches a back is a large pack with straps, a coil of sword. His facial features are clear, with machete-type sword. His left arm supports rope secured to the side of the pack, a his mouth open wide in a scream. Spikes a buckler, and the left hand holds a knife. wine skin, the haft of a weapon, and a decorate his helmet. Muscle detail is good, Little detail is on the hand knife or shield small holding pouch. His head is covered and there was little flash. straps. The helmet has three horns, plus by a simple Norman-style helmet. The Figure #3 wears padded armor that neck and cheek guards. The facial features facial detail is poor, with the eyes grossly covers the entire upper half of his body, are better than on the other figures. off level and having an Oriental shape. with laced plate mail over his torso. Trou- These figures are not up to Ral Partha’s The beard is not detailed, nor is the mus- sers and high boots finish his garb. The or Grenadier’s standards. At $6.99 for a tache; these grow together and drop to the belt supports a knife on the left side, a pack of five, they should be of better knees. The standard pole is a very simple double set of pouches on the back, and a quality. They can be used for monsters in pointed spear. With a little work, this pouch on the right, and it anchors a sword mixed sets of goblinoids, providing differ- figure could be good. laced in a sheath on his back. Both hands ent poses. Figure #3, the king, is dressed in chain hold a large, spiked club over his left mail with plates covering his shoulders shoulder. You should use a knife to scribe and chest. The boots are well done, and a line to emphasize the separation be- his cape is clearly visible. His stomach has tween the club and the head. The facial a distinct bulge, stretching out a wide, detail is not deeply done and may be lost if detailed belt that looks like tooled leather. heavily painted. The head is covered by a Mailed gauntlets cover his hands, and the helmet with spikes in all directions. Flash right hand clutches a long axe. A sheathed is between the legs and at the shoulders. sword is present under his left hand. His Figure #4 wears what appears to be a head is covered by a jeweled crown that full shirt of metal armor, with chain mail leaves a halo of hair at the crown’s bot- on the arms and legs. His right arm also tom. The king’s face has a tired and hag- has jointed plates from shoulder to elbow. gard look; his long beard is closely The mailed right hand grasps a curved

DRAGON 117 upright, showing that it isn’t yet good night for this knight. The knight’s head and a pole that fits into a hole on the back of the oval are two other pieces of this set; the pole has an open set of manacles and the remains of rope on it—obviously where the lady was held prisoner. The lady is a scantily clad 48-mm female wearing a string bikini bottom and brace- lets. Care should be taken in cutting off the mold tab to avoid bending or breaking her feet. The tabs should be cut short; the depth can be determined by placing them in the holes next to the knight’s head on the base. Muscle detail is good and ana- tomically correct. Detracting from this is the flash between the legs and a mold line that will require more than a light pass with a hobby knife. Her face is well done, with a perky, upbeat expression, and hair detail is good, dropping down in front to maintain decency. Her right hand is posed to touch the knight’s plume, while her left hand pets the dragon. The dragon consists of nine parts that form a good-sized figure. Its tail is bent to allow it to sit on the platform, but with careful planning you can bend the pieces to make the figure sit up straight whether on its base or off. The assembled dragon is close to 230 mm from nose to tail. Its left forepaw rests on the ground, and the right is curved to hug the female figure, as if posing for a trophy picture. Its long tongue hangs out, and you could swear it is grinning. The dragon needs some work, as some of the assemblies were loose and you will need putty to fill the joints. No mold lines were highly visible, and little flash was seen, except at the ends of the spine spikes. I intend to use the dragon as a spare figure for my 25-mm collection and as part of the diorama scene. In all fairness, the miniature assembly in the picture here is rougher than usual. During one afternoon, this set was dropped four times because people wanted to see the cute scene. The fact it survived as well as it did speaks highly for it. It’s a good buy at $26.95.

Stan Johansen Miniatures 128 Barberton Road Lake Worth FL 33467

Thunderbolt Mountain I new lead piece from Thunderbolt falls into JBR 20 Cossack Cavalry * * * ½ Miniatures this category. This piece is set to 54-mm By the time of the Boxer Rebellion, the 656 East McMillan scale. The kit consists of 13 parts, the Russian Empire was feeling its imperialis- Cincinnati OH 45206-1991 biggest of which is the oval base, which tic oats. The czar dispatched Russian measures 115 mm by 75 mm. My casting troops to many different places; these Thunderbolt Mountain had a mold line along the side, which soldiers were frequently Cossacks, feared Miniatures needed to be removed and cleaned. The horsemen of the Russian plains who often 70 Harcourt Street top of the base is shaped to represent served as the czar’s crack troops and Newark, Nottingham rough, rocky ground and has most of the specialized enforcement arm. UNITED KINGDOM NG 241 R4 body of a fallen knight molded onto it. The This pack consists of 15 separate parts. knights right hand clutches a bent sword; Four of the pieces are cavalry sabers that 1011-“My Hero”: Dragon, Knight, his left hand holds a battered shield, com- must be glued to the figures as needed. and Lady * * * * ½ plete with bite and claw marks. The jerkin Two bolt-action rifles can be glued so as to Humorous miniatures can be center- over his chain mail is ripped, and his legs, appear to be slung on the backs of the pieces for collections, but a dual-purpose covered with plate, are splayed out. His charging cavalrymen, and a small rod can humorous diorama is especially rare. This head, with helmet and broken plume, is be added to a figure to make a rider into a

118 JANUARY 1992 standard bearer. The figures wear identi- cal uniforms: a long loose blouse, baggy pants, and high boots that end just below the knees. All wear bandoliers for spare cartridges. The facial detail is only fair, and its shallowness will require careful painting. The Cossacks high beret is clear- ly seen, but you will have to remove a mold line from it. The figures come in two poses: a charging figure with his right hand up for a sword or standard, and a figure firing from horseback to his left. The horses also come in two poses: a galloping charge and a slow walk. The horses have fair detail, with clearly de- fined and thin reins, a thin saddle and blanket, and a rucksack over the neck. The tails are full, hanging out slightly on the galloping figure and down on the walking figure. The bases are rough ovals. The set is a good buy, though the figures are too small for side-to-side fighting with RAFM-made figures. There is flash on some pieces, but at $5 for a set of four, the price is right. These are recommended for GDW’s SPACE: 1889* game or for colonial miniatures warfare.

That’s it for this month. If you have any suggestions for this column, please contact write to me at: * indicates a product produced by a company other me at: (708) 336-0790. I’ll be there on Robert Bigelow than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday c/o Friends’ Hobby Shop owned by the companies publishing those products. The use of the name of any product without mention from 2 PM. to 10 PM.; or on Saturday and 1411 Washington Street of its trademark status should not be construed as a Sunday from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. You can also Waukegan IL 60085 challenge to such status.

This space provided as a public service. DRAGON 119