Texas Gamers Norton, Kan Sas La Puente , California

Texas gamers Old Westbury , New York Deltona , Florida TOP SECRET® game Ad min s to trad e Expe ri enced GM will teach hon­ Forming an RPGA"' Network Clu b modules. est ga m ers with good im ag inat ions. Will pla y any Write or call David Ulrestad, 1574 Re uven Le rn e r is lookin g for TOP Malaluka St. , Deltona , FL 32725, (305) SECRET® game Admins to trad e mod ­ game. Write or ca ll: Neal Con­ 574-6236 . nett, 4300 Luna 'Tra il, George­ ule s, etc ., with. Writ e: 21 Old Westhur_v town, TX 78626, (512) 863 -6701. Road , Old Westbur .v, New York l 1568.

Marbury, Alabama Van Nuys, California Looking for D&D ® game players Starting an FRP club Prairievillle, Louisiana Billy Power y is looking for D&.D game Gonza les area playe rs. Write or call Rt. 2 Box 18, Write Michae l Savage , 8040 Saloma Marb ury, AL 36051 , (205) 755-9616 Ave., Van Nuys , CA 91402 , or call Experie n ced AD&D® game playe rs (no collect calls ). (213) 781-1832 after 5pm. need ed in Prairievillle. Write or call Donovan Hicks , Rt. 3 Box 428-B , Prairieville , LA 70769 , (504) 622-4305 (after 6pm).

Moreno Valley, California La Puente , California Starting an AD&D® gaming group I need gamers to play , OM, Players and DMs needed. Call (714) write , design, work conven­ 924-4591 6pm - 9pm weekdays. Then­ tions , a nd co rr espo nd w ith . All Cheektowaga, New York agers preferr ed. Ask for Wes. are in vited to wr ite: Jim Barrow , AD&D ® gamers wanted 1115 N. Con lon Ave., La Puente , Jeff Jasinski wa nt s AD&D game play­ CA 91744. ers for Satu rday games. Call 668-9167 (after 6pm). Norton, Kan sas

Looking ior AD&D ® game players and DMs to tr ade id eas Marionville, Missouri DMs and players needed for AD&D® a nd modules? Write: Kevin Hey you in Los ,\ngeles! Fredde, R.R. 3, Norton, KS games. Write Jon Tho mas , Rt. 2 Box 255D, Marionville, MO 65705. 67654. ,\I ember Do v Freed man is sta rti ng an IIPC A :'1/etwork duh and wants memb e rs frorn Ilw gn:ater Los Angeles area . lle 's moved, so w ri te Oakland, Californ ia to him at :l2 I 'ort h Svcarnore , Lo s STAR FRONTIERS ® game players Ange les, C,\ !J00'.lfi, or !'al l him needed Atte ntion Kentuckians! between 7:00 and I I :00 at (2 I :ll Joshua Weinstein is looking for STAR NA'ID, an officia l RPGA"' Network 935-8996. FRONTIERS game players in the Bay Club based in Somerset, is looking for area. If inte reste d , send a SASE to members statewide. For more infor­ Joshua Weinstein , 721 60th St., Oak­ mation contact club presiden t Mike land , CA 94609 . Hail at 4051 Hwy 39, Somers et, KY 42501. Peekskill, New York 28-year-o ld beginning AD&D® game playe r wishes to join weekend gam­ ing group within 35 miles. Write or San Antonio, Toxas call Wayne Hadady , 1-P Rolling Way, Peekskill , NY 10566 , (914) 737-5134. Looking for gamers West Point, New York Jesse Torres is looking for matur e POINTCON VIII gamer s. Write 824 Hays, San Antonio, POINTCON VIII Conven tion will be TX 78202. held on Marc h 30-31, 1985 at the U.S. Militar y Academy , West Point , New York. Events include boardgames , Little Falls , New York miniatures , ro le-pla y ing tourna­ OM from Friday 's "Desert of Deso la­ Samplements , demonstrations , and open file Fairfie ld, Connecticut tion" at GEN CON® 17 Game Fair gaming. Admiss ion is free. Interested wan ts address of the thief from Los parties shou ld contact Cadet Joh n Fo r ming an RPGA™ Network Club Ange les who DMed "Jester Quest :• Surdu , P.O. Box 3206 , West Point , NY Mike Hanna , 28 Top Notch Road , Lit­ Write or call Tom Ciacchi , 877 South 10997. Pince Creek Rd., Fairfield , Connecticut tle FaUs, NY 13365. 06430. (203) 259-7423 . ~ #.. ,. J ; . '"'1 I ,~~/Kt. •

' ~ - '/ , -

... Sample file Contents

Cover Stor y 6 Encounters - by James M. Ward. Ren Grakkan searches for the white cloak of enchanting.

Special Feature 13 Witchstone - by Carl Smith. The RPGA 'MNetwork AD&D® tournament module used at GEN CON® South 1983 Game Fair makes it to the pages of POLYHEDRON"' Newszine.

Features 9 Why gargoyles don't have wings, but should - by E. Gary Gygax. 10 Take co mmand of a Titan! - by Roger E. Moore. "Big Ship" campaigns in the STAR FRONTIERS® game. 21 More of your NPCs - A mixed bag of NPCs provided by RPGA"' Network members. 23 Module buildi n g from A to Z - by Roger E. Moore. Creating adventures for your campaigns (and for publication). 29 Dispel Confusion - by Penny Petticord and Frank Mentzer.

About the cover Departments At the request of his lady, Ren Grakkan searc hes in the cold northlands for the 5 Not es from HQ white cloak of enchanting. See page 6 for 8 Observat ions from a veteran gamer - by Sonny Scott the article by James M. Ward. Cover art 12 Spelling Bee - by Frank Mentzer. An old favorite returns. by Tim Truman. 29 The RPGA Network Scor ing System

POLYHEDRON'"Newszine (the official chang e to insure unint errupted delivery. newsletter of TSR's ROLE PLAYINGGAME ASSOCIATION'" Networ k) is published Material published in POLYHEDRON NEWSZINE bi-monthly by TSR, Inc. The mailing address Newszine becomes the exclusive property of is POB 509, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. the publis her upon publication, unless special Volume 4, Number 6 Tulephone number (414) 248-3625. written arrangeme nts to the contrar y are Issue #21 made prior to publication. POLYHEDRON Newszine welcomes unsolicited submissions of written material DUNGEONS&,DRAGONS , D&D, ADVANCED and artwork. No responsibility for such DUNGEONS&, DRAGONS, ADVANCEDD&D , Editor submissions can be assumed by the publishe r BOOT HILL, GAMMAWORLD , TOP SECRET, Mary Kirchoff in any event . No subm issions will be returned DRAGONa nd STARFRONT IERS are Editorial assistance unless accompanied by a self-addressed, registered trademark s owned by TSR, Inc. Roger E. Moore Charles Ramsay stamped envelope of suffic ient size. "TM" designa tes other trademarks owned by RPGA"' Network Coo rdinator TSR, Inc . unless otherwise indicated . ROLE Penny Petticord POLYHEDRONNewszine is mailed free to all PLAYINGGAME ASSOCIATION, RPGA and Production RPGA'" members . Membership rates: 1 year GEN CON are service marks owned by TSR, Roger Raupp - U.S. Bulk Mail= $10. 1 year - Foreign Mail Inc . MARVEL SUPER HEROES, SECRET Contributing artists WARS, and all Marvel characters are RogerSample Raupp Tim Truman • $ 14. 1 year - Foreign International Air Mail file Joseph Pillsbury • $25. All pr ices are subject to change tradema rks of the Marvel Comics Group. without notice. Changes of address for the THE ADVENTURESOF INDIANAJONES"' delivery of subscriptions mus t be rece ived at Game is a trademark of Lucasfilm, Ltd. C> least 30 days prior to the effec tive date of the 1984 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Issue #21 Notes from HQ. __ _

H o, ho, ho! And happy holidays to all! and your ideas help to shap e future pro­ (Not eve ryone here plays the games, so May you each find an ioun stone in your grams . the more clearly you identify the subject stocking. Speaki ng of part icipat ion, member of your inquir y, the less cha nce there is of Sonny Scott has contribut ed an article it going to the wrong depart ment.) The First the good news shari ng his thoughts on the thin gs that more departments your letter has to be make a campai gn great. I' m sure each sent to, the longer it will take for you to Features one of us has an idea to share on that receive your reply. The module feature for December is a subject, so write in and trade your ideas! If you want us to respond in writing, wintry scena rio with a lot of big surpri ses. please enclose a self-addressed, sta mped Other News Some of you may already be fam iliar with envelope for a reply. Priority is given to it. Ca rl Sm ith 's "Witchsto ne" was orig i­ The memb ersh ip di rectory is proceeding answeri ng letters with self-addressed nally designed as an official RPGA tou r­ on schedu le. We expect to release the stam ped envelope, and due to the sheer nament for GEN CON® South; then it 1985 directory in Februa ry of the upcom­ volum e of mail ( over 200 letters/wee k), was used at severa l smalle r conventions in in g year (provi ded the compu ter demons we often do not get to the others at all. the Mid west during the last year or so. don 't eat our membership listings). It will Catalogs You asked for it and you got it! Back at be mailed free of charge to all curr ent the members meeting at GEN CON® 17, memb ers, and new members will each Many of you have written to ask for your you asked Gary Gygax to write for receive a copy in their member ship pack­ Mail Order H obby Shop catalogs so that POLYHE DR ON"' Newszine, and I'll be ets . you can order gaming merc hand ise with the 10% RPGA Network discount. The a kobold's cous in if there wasn't a pair of And now for the bad ne ws ... art icles on the editor's desk within a week Mail Order H obby Shop has had a prob­ after the con. You 'II find the first of them Th is is the farewe ll issue for our fine lem with gettin g its new catalog print ed, just a few pages from here . Let us know editor, Mary Kirchoff , who almost single­ and it will not be ava ilable unt il spring. what else you'd like to see - it's your hand edly brought the POLYHEDR ON As soon as they are in, the H obby Shop reques ts that make it happe n . Newszine up to its current standard of will do a mass ma iling to all RPGA mem­ Issue #21 marks the return of an old excellence. We wish her luck on her new bers. Until then, we cannot provide you favorite for you fantasy buffs - the writing career, but we' ll miss her talents. with a full listin g of the ir merchandise. "S pelling Bee" colum n by Fra nk Men t­ I will be taking her place as editor, at least However, if we can arrange it , a few zer. In it you 'II find interes tin g note s and for the time being. But I will have to pages of the next POLYHEDRON expa nsions on spells from the AD&D® learn as I go, so please excoos the miss­ Newsz ine will be devoted to a "m ini ­ game which ma y start you thinkin g of spelligs. catalog" and order form . We will not be new ways to use the same old stuff. Correspondence able to list all the stock ava ilable from the Other items of interest this issue Mai l Or der H obby Shop since their ca ta­ include the first of a 2-part article by We are mak ing progress, but we are still log is longe r than ou r newszine, but we Roger Moore (suspected of being a far behind on answer ing corresponde nce will list the RP GA members-on ly deranged cybo rg in disguise) on big ship s due to backup from conve nti on season , produc ts and as many of the most popular for the STAR FRONTIERS® Game, vaca tions, tra nsfers, etc . Please bear with items as we can. us while we work through the backlog. If with not es on using the material in other Tournament Rankings space role play ing systems as well. Jim you have writt en and not received a Ward's "Enco un ters" featur e will give the response, please be patient. We will get to Th e new Internatio nal Scorin g Points details and outcome of the frosty dilemma you as soon as possible. Plea se do not system is still under const ruction. We pictured on the front cover. wr ite another letter! It will only make the expect to release the details of the new Heard about the new scorin g system congestion worse. If you have a problem system and the latest conventio n rankings used at the RPGA-Network sponsored that can't wait, call us instead. in the next issue. We think you' ll like the tourna ments this year? Wond er ing how it In the mea ntim e, you can ensur e a many ways to participate and accum ul ate works? All the detai ls on the new (or faster respo nse by separat ing your corre­ points, beca use you can have fun at th e rat her, the old) system are laid out in this spondenc e with us by catego ry. That is, if same time! issue. It's a different concept than some of you have a qu est ion about you r member ­ you have everSample exper ienced before, bu t it ship, put it in a separa te letter from your file Unt il next issue , works. We'd like to hear your comm ents catalog request. Put all your game ques­ and suggestions rega rding the system . So tions in one lett er, and identi fy clear ly Best Witches! communi cate! After all, this is your club, which game system you are askin g about. Pen ny Petticord

POLYHEDRON Encounters

.. -~.$ f~:

. ,,,,:. ....

·~- ·.•· ·' .,. ·~·

;, . by James M. , W~_rd . Young p;ladins are an i~pressi~~ 'abl~ lot, :•·...-, and Ren Grakkan was no ex~~ption. When his lady asked him to undertake the quest of the Greatest Gift, he rushed out like a thunderbolt to do her bidding. Little Sampledid he realize that it would take him tofile the frozen ends of the earth where he would battle ice creatures. Her heart's desire was to possess the flame tongue • 1/•3 versus cold % IN Lair: Nil most potent of all artifacts, the white TREASURE TYPE: Nil cloak of enchanting. Ren didn't know Unadjusted THACO = 18 NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 where it was or what guarded it, but DAMAGE /ATTACKS : 3-36 when his lady spoke, he acted. He vowed The scene SPECIAL ATTACKS: Cold that it would be in her soft hands before SPECIAL DEFENSES: +J or better the next rising of the full moon. At the foot of a mile-high mo un tain of ice weapon to hit Through the expenditure of over half is a huge cave . The glaring sun bounces MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard his wealth and with the use of a sage, Ren off of sheets of ice everywhere. At the INTELLIGENCE: Low discovered the location of the cloak. Years entrance to this cave stands a nine-foot­ ALIGNMENT: Neutral before, the cloak had been stolen during a tall ice humanoid. The creature holds a SIZE: L blizzard from its rightful owner, a power ­ shard-spear of ice in its hands and is PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil ful barbarian lord from the snowy north­ clearly ready to defend the cave entrance. Attack/Defense Modes: Nil/nil lands. The barbar ian and all of his At its cone-shaped feet lie the bones of Level/X.P. VALUE: VII/2850 + 15/hp retainers were killed during the attack by several other adventurers. You move things called " ice creatures." forward a half step, and the ice lumbers Ice creat ur es can ma inly be found on the The cloak resides in the mountain den toward you, waving its weapon threaten­ Para-elemental Plane of Cold. They are of the humanoids, guarded by those who ingly. slow-moving creatures of low intelli gence. stole it. Naturally, the knowledge of these Ice creatures invariably create icy slides to terrible adversar ies didn't daunt Ren in DM information guard their dens, and place their treasures the slightest. in small alcoves guarded by falling ice Ren paid a hipp ogr iff and its rider a The cave traps. large sum to transport him to the site at Ice para-elementals have a funn y cul­ the base of the mountain of ice. Three ­ An ice guards the entrance, but it is slow tural quirk of making sculptures of the quarters of the way there, they double­ and can be manu eve red around. The ene mies they've vanquished. Th ese crossed him and left him with only the cave has a slide at the entran ce that glides statu es are almost always perfect repro­ items on his back , leading him to realize down for 100 feet. Ren must make four du ctions of the foes they've faced. An the true nature of neutrals. checks of his Dexterity to see if he man­ ice's physical ability and prowess can be Out of necessity, he captured and ages to keep from slipp ing. Ifhe rolls easily determi ned by the numb er of sculp­ tamed a wooly mammoth. Th e only more than his Dexter ity, he falls and is tures it has in its den. things that kept him alive in the frigid affected by the ice spears at the bottom of Ices requ ire powerful magic items to wastelands were his flame tongue sword the slide. reproduce their kind ; they seek out these and the body heat of the creature he rode. The DM rolls 1d6 spears hitting Ren items in a one hundred-mile radius He was determ ined that noth ing would for 1d4 points of damage per spear. around their dens. The mere presence of keep him from his qu est . At this point the chara cter may see fully charge d wands or misce llaneous The mounta in of ice and the cave at its tunnels to his left and right. T he tunnel to magic items will slowly att ra ct other of base were easy to find. Unfortunately for the right is filled with two lumb er ing ices their kind to the sour ce of m agic. Ren, the ice creatures were equal ly easy who are movin g toward the intrud er. The Fire-based attacks do double damage to to find. tunne l to the left curves out of sight a few ice creatu res. T hose coming within ten paces from the entrance, but a bright feet of a creature take 1-4 points of dam ­ Ren Grakkan glow from its depths reflects around the age per round due to the intense cold that RACE/SEX: Human male corner. surrounds its being. ARMOR CLASS: 0 The area from which the two ice crea­ HI T POINTS: 49 tur es emerge contai ns seven ice statues of White cloak of charming FIGHTER: 4th-level paladin fighters in various poses of battle. The MOVE: 12H bright glow in the other section is cast by Thi s unusually white cloak will increase NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 the cloak; it lies on three half-formed ices. the magical effectiveness of several types DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-812-16 If the cloak is grasped, the ice undern eat h of spells. It will modify the saving throws SPEC IAL ATTACKS: Nil it will create a fall of ice which will do 4d8 by -2 on all illusionist spells. It modifi es SPEC IAL DEFENSES: +2on save, points of damage. If the cloak is carefully by -3 all hold, charm, suggestion, and immune to diseases lifted and the creatures underneath are confusion spells of the magic-user. These MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard somehow dealt with before the cloak is spells are further modified by a factor of SIZE: M(5'9H) fully off of them, the ice fall will not -1 when worn by a female. ALIGNMENT: Lawful good occur. PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil The ices move and attack so slowly that Final notes S: 18 (76%) I: 9 W: 13 it is possible to move pa st them and trust D: 18 C: 18 CH: 17 to luck that they won't hit. If R en succeeds in bringin g this item ba ck to his lady love, her face will fill with the Bonuses: •2Sample to hit/•4 on dama ge, •1 ,500 Ices joy of the filegift. But in years to come, th e wt. allowance, 1-4 to open doors , 30% FREQUENCY: Very rare winters in their land will become unusu ­ bend bars/lift gates, •3 missiles/attack NO. APPEAR ING: J ally har sh. It is quit e possible that some­ adj., -4 def. adjustment ARMOR CLASS: 3 day during the worst of blizzards, MOVE: 6H something big, mean , and ugly may come Magic items: bracers of defense (AC 4), HIT DICE: 8, 12, or 16 knock ing at her door. ~

POLYHEDRON '1