Dragon Magazine #239
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Carpe DM eize him!” they cried. I barely made it out of the room Then his buddy the invoker cast a real fireball down the alive. Sometimes it’s dangerous to mess with the players, tunnel, and none of the PCs tried to get out of the way. even if it’s only a little trick. OK, so that was pretty basic, but I think the best tricks are. Ed Carmien describes them in much better detail in this (Rolling back out of the window by the gaming table and land- issue’s installment of “Dungeon Mastery,” but what DM doesn’t ing on my feet was a pretty simple trick, too, when the alter- love to sit around talking about the sneaky, unfair, and down- native was to drown in a sea of thrown soft drinks.) right dirty little tricks he’s pulled on his players? Of course, you My other favorite dirty trick was also elementary. Of course, can’t boast about them to the players, since they seem to lack that’s why they all fell for it. the gene that makes such anecdotes amusing to those of us Except for mind flayers (ugh!), beholders had become the who run the games. Even the gentlest reminder of a past trick most feared monster in the campaign at one point. The play- can transform the best of player-DM friendships into some- ers didn’t really think I’d throw one of those at them, since they thing more akin to the loving relationship between James Kirk were still low-to-mid-level. After the fireball trick, though, they and Khan Noonian Singh. weren’t taking any chances. They had already planned their Of course, nothing in the world is so powerful as the urge tactics for assaulting a beholder should I become particularly to tell stories about your players falling for the simplest of ornery one session. tricks and traps. Those DMs who live to tell the tale all have “The paladin and ranger move to opposite sides, while the their favorites. I have two. wizard casts a phantasmal force of himself flying above the Now, I hate illusion magic. Sure, it’s fun, and no campaign thing. Meanwhile, the thieves slip underneath using Hide in seems quite right without at least one dastardly illusionist sub- Shadows and Move Silently to get a backstab on the big eye’s tly misdirecting the heroes from time to time. But then some blind spot.” clown will argue that if an illusory lightning bolt spell deals Not a bad plan, of course. The PCs had already fallen for the damage to him when he fails to disbelieve it, then that gas spore trick once before, so they waited until the beholder illusory bridge sure ought to work for his stupid half-ogre com- they’d encountered turned around and spoke to them before panion who mistook the mayor’s prized pig for the kidnapped launching their attack with all the speed and precision of a prince last week. Then you bring out the Player’s Handbook and Navy SEAL assault unit. the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide, and you go over it all yet again. Of course, they never stopped to think that a wizard might Still, when my PCs had finally tracked down their adversary, cast a magic mouth spell on the local gas spore. Poof! that aforementioned illusionist, he cast an illusory fireball down I wasn’t so quick to escape that day, but I reckon that walk- the tunnel at them. “Disbelieve!” cried the paladin. “Everybody ing with a limp for the rest of my days is still a small price to disbelieve!”And so they stood there, bracing themselves pay for fooling them again. But then, I’m a DM. against the imaginary flames. Some of them even made their saves right away, and they automatically succeeded in disbe- lieving the second bogus fireball to come roaring down the pas- sage. And so they stood there bravely, grin- ning into the darkness of the long tun- Dave Gross nel as the false firelight dwindled, daring the illusionist to cast another. Publisher Editor Associate Editor Art Director Pierce Watters Dave Gross Michelle Vuckovich Larry Smith Editorial Assistant Advertising Subscriptions Lizz Baldwin Bob Henning Linda Baerbock Printed in the USA DRAGON #239 3 September 1997 Volume XXII, No. 2 lssue #239 Sneaky Devils Skip Williams Nefarious tricks of the ocean’s most vile predators. Page 8 101 Dirty Orc Tricks John Baichtal Boring orcs? Here’s how to liven any encounter with humanoid opponents Page 14 Aurora’s Undermountain Sale Paul F. Culotta No underground explorer should be without a few tricks of his own. Page 20 Magical Locks Robert S. Mullin and Charles M. Andrulis Keep your treasure safe from lockpicks and knock spells Page 26 A Saga of Your Own! Stephen Kenson Love the SAGA™ system but want to play Drizzt? No problem! Page 36 4 SEPTEMBER 1997 Columns 3 .................... The Wyrm’s Turn™ “Fool me once, shame on you . .” 6........................................ D-Mail™ Wyrms of After reading the issue, don’t forget to write. the North: 74 ........... RPGA™ Network News Galadaeros Why play a Network tournament? Here are a few Ed Greenwood good reasons. Here is a true ladies' dragon. 84 ........................ Page 30 Bookwyrms™ Recommended reading for gamer and book- worm alike. Ecology of the Stirge Tim Richardson 86 .............................. Sage Advice Bloodthirsty little horrors. All about optional abilities, plus the lowdown Page 40 on big humanoid weapons. 90 .......................................... Forum Dragon's The saga of Stelgar the Supreme. Bestiary: 92 .............................. Cons & Pros The Little People The summer convention season continues. Brian Corvello Four tricky little fellows. 108 ......... Role-Playing Reviews Page 48 Rick Swan’s take on some of last year’s horror role-playing games and supplements. Acrane Lore: 120 ............. The Current Clack™ Larcenous The secret identity of Thorarinn Gunnarson revealed, and other fun news from the gaming Legerdemain industry. Jeff Dancey New spells for the criminally inclined. Page 57 Other Material Dungeon 99 .............. Knights of the Dinner Table Mastery: 100 ........................................... DragonMirth Mind Games 102 ...................................... Gamer’s Guide Ed Carmien How to trick your players 104 ............................................... Floyd into having more fun. 116 ........................................... TSR Previews Page 78 62 And a Ship to Sail Chris Pierson Adventure comes with a most unusual request in this sea-side tale of magic and romance. DRAGON #239 5 Magazine issue #235. I found this article sively. I’ve been playing role-playing extremely helpful, since I could identify games since I was 12. When I was 16, I with almost all the examples given. The spent most of the money I got that problems I have experienced with play- Christmas to buy the 2nd edition AD&D ers similar to the examples given in the rule books and numerous expansion article discouraged me, but after reading sets and PHBRs. I love roleplaying, and it I feel like I have the answers I needed at times I’ve spent hours tweaking a trap and a new hope for those players that or getting to know an NPC inside and can’t seem to keep their mind on the out. But after playing once a week for game. Are there going to be more weeks on end, even the most die-hard “Dungeon Mastery” articles? roleplayer gets bored. And so we put I would also like to share a technique down our DUNGEON MASTER® Guides (blas- that I use with players. I found it irritating phemy!) and Player’s Handbooks (heresy!) that when I told one player an observa- and pick up our SPELLFIRE® decks or tion his character made, all the other DRAGON DICE® collections or, on occasion, players heard and would know about the an old-fashioned board game, and we pit trap or about the person following the viciously (in good fun) tear each other to group, etc. So I started writing the infor- pieces. Perhaps Mr. Bonura would do If you have a comment, opinion, or mation a certain character noticed that well to pick up the DRAGON DICE game question for the staff of DRAGON® Magazine, the rest of the group didn’t on note cards. and feel the joy at tearing apart his write us a letter. We’d love to hear from you. I would slide the card over to the opponent’s lava elf army with his trusty In the United States and Canada, send player and it would be his choice dwarves. DRAGON Magazine is for gamers, letters to “D-Mail,” DRAGON Magazine, whether his character alerted the others. not just roleplayers, and I hope it 1801 Lind Avenue S.W., Renton, WA 98055, I don’t know whether other people had remains so. U.S.A. the same problem, but I hope they find Alex Lohre You can also send email to us at this tip useful. Golden Valley, AZ [email protected]. Please use regular mail I like what you’ve done with the mag- for change of address notices or subscription azine, but I have to agree with Frank V. Dicey Questions orders. Send them to: DRAGON Magazine, Bonura’s letter in issue #235 about the Dear DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 459086, Escondido, CA 92046. articles on card and dice games. However, I want to ask you about the DRAGON I strongly disagree with his opinion about DICE game. I have been playing for over Welcome Back the AD&D® game being played only by a year now and have introduced several I was shocked to have finally adults and that only adults “have the real of my friends to the game.