Dragon Magazine #113
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10 SPECIAL ATTRACTION 88 Publisher 53 Cardboard Dragon designed by Dennis Kauth Mike Cook All the parts you need to make it fly Editor-in-Chief OTHER FEATURES Kim Mohan 10 Welcome to Hades Bruce Barber Editorial staff Shedding a little light on the Three Glooms Patrick Lucien Price 28 A capital idea Vince Garcia Roger Moore Owning a business can be quite an adventure, too Robin Jenkins 32 The role of books reviews by John C. Bunnell Editorial assistance 36 The tales people tell Thomas M. Kane Eileen Lucas Folklore can add flavor to a campaign world Georgia Moore 40 Magic and morality computer game review by Mike Gray Art, graphics, production 42 Clout for clerics James A. Yates Roger Raupp Followers and doctrines for high priests Advertising 46 A saddle isnt enough Mike Albers Mary Parkinson The significance of the lowly stirrup 49 Combat complexity William Carlson Subscriptions Extra rules for battle in the CONAN® game Pat Schulz 62 A Difficult Undertaking Harry Turtledove This issues contributing artists A bird in the box is worth building a story around Robin Wood 72 Easy as 1,2,3 Rick Swan Roger Raupp How to quickly create interesting and consistent NPC personalities Dennis Kauth Hank Jankus 74 One roll, to go Larry Church Janet Aulisio Binomial tables make dice rolls easy to deal with Bruce Mackley 76 Top (Secret) Guns Patrick Rice Joseph Pillsbury Jet fighters and TOP SECRET® game agents Dave Trampier Richard Tomasic 80 MINIMAGIC Miniature dioramas by Mike Sitkiewicz Tara Hoffman 82 Cold Steel Scott A. Hutcheon Lawrence Raimonda Hunter-class robots for GAMMA WORLD® gaming Larry Elmore 88 Star Cops! Terrence R. McInnes Joining the TRAVELLER® interstellar police DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 59 Convention calendar 96 Wormy 4 World Gamers Guide 60 TSR Profiles 99 Dragonmirth 6 The forum 94 Gamers Guide 101 Snarfquest 58 TSR Previews COVER Robin Wood's third contribution to our cover is a haunting scene entitled What a Knight for Apparitions. The idea behind the painting, in Robins words, is this: A person had been given a geas to present a magic sword to whatever hero won into this area. The geas was so strong that even after she died, she had to stick around and see it through. The place fell into ruin, and still she haunted it, until this young knight got there. He fought his way into the innermost chamber, and broke his own sword in the process. Now they both get their reward. 2 SEPTEMBER 1986 How I spent my summer This was going to be the summer that I acted like a normal person. I was going to take some vacation time, take it easy, and maybe even get a suntan for the first (particularly the surprising neutral good ranger- time since I became responsible for Rogers reasoning druid combination for certain elves, elaborated putting food on the table. Things were upon by Frank Mentzer in DRAGON issue #100, going to be different this summer. Dear Roger Moore, page 9), a ranger-thief is not unthinkable. It Well, I was right about that I just Seeing my article (Hooves and green hair) in even sounds workable and reasonable. didnt realize how different this summer the pages of DRAGON #109 was a great plea- Consider a ranger-thiefs abilities and outlook. was going to be. I immersed myself in sure. Thank you very much not only for your Here is a powerful scout, one equipped to the great outdoors, but I did it sitting at a decision to print it, but for your encouragement infiltrate enemy positions, commit sabotage and computer terminal instead of lying on and editorial advice along the way. theft, and rescue kidnapped victims of human- My players and I were curious about some oid armies. He or she is the best alternative to the beach. If it was possible to get a things that made it into the published version. using an assassin when one needs a spy. The suntan from the glow of a screen filled You may want to answer these questions in your ranger-thief is an espionage agent and com- with little letters, my face would be Letters column, because I suspect some other mando warrior with ties to both wilderness and permanently bronzed by now. readers might also be wondering. urban areas. If he or she does not belong to a From early April until just about the (1) Ranger/thief has been added to the list of thieves guild, then the necessary training is time youre reading this, I spent practi- multi-class options available to the half-satyr and gamed through a military or paramilitary force cally every spare hour I had on the crea- half-dryad. However, in Unearthed Arcana, page controlled or aided by rangers. tion of the Wilderness Survival Guide, 7, it says that rangers must be of a good align- Why did I place it in your article? This is the latest hardbound book in the AD&D® ment, and thieves must be of a non-good align- harder to answer. I fear that on occasions I may ment. This doesnt seem to leave anything over tinker with certain articles, adding new material game system. Visions of blizzards, des- for the ranger/thief. I seem to remember a that seems appropriate to the nature of the erts, and overloaded mules danced comment somewhere that thieves may be topic and, in my feeling, that makes the articles through my head. I learned more about allowed to shift toward good alignment as they more complete and enhances their usefulness. how to get along in the wide open spaces ascend in level, but this is not mentioned in UA, For example, I added half-(aquatic) elves to the than I ever thought I would need to and anyway wouldnt seem to help the hapless mariner NPC class (DRAGON issue #107) and know, and I did my best to translate all half-breed ranger/thief, who must start off with additional information on broken arrows to that knowledge into rules that work both professions simultaneously. the Agents and A-Bombs article in issue #108. I within the context of the AD&D game. (2) In the discussion of armor permitted to try to avoid gilding the lily, so to speak, and I Im not after sympathy here. I did it multi-class half-satyrs and half-dryads, the text confine my tinkering to minor additions. reads: Multi-classed characters may use the Given the nature of half-satyrs and half- because I wanted to. In fact, I practically armor and weaponry available to either of their dryads as outlined in your article, the ranger- leaped at the chance. Its an honor of the classes, so long as the armor does not interfere thief combination seemed very reasonable for highest order to join the small group of with the performance of the abilities of their them which it does (to my way of thinking) people who can point to an AD&D rule classes. For example, a half-satyr fighter/magic- for elves and half-elves as well. book and say, I did that. user would wear no armor . Is this part of a 2. This point is very confused in the AD&D The point I want to make, and which new rule that multi-class magic-users cannot rules. The Players Handbook implies that elves Im finally getting around to, is that this wear armor? Does it apply to elves and half- (page 16) may apparently use armor and cast kind of writing is not easy. Now that Ive elves as well? This would represent a major magic-user spells at the same time, and even done a rule book, I have even more change for such characters. implies that gnome and half-elves may do the (3) I was a bit disappointed that you left out same with their illusionist and magic-user tal- respect for my predecessors and more magical chain mail as an option for these two ents, respectively. Yet the book also specifically understanding of why their books arent races. I had included it (along with elfin chain) forbids magic-users from wearing any sort of perfect just as Wilderness is far from on the basis of the fact that its available to armor, for martial training is so foreign to perfect. Its impossible to think of every- bards, who, with their druidic training, are also magic-use as to make the two almost mutually thing that could be covered, and it would nature-oriented characters. exclusive (page 25). Yet again, the Monster be impossible to contain all of it in a Bennet Marks Manual (page 39) notes that a multiclassed elf book of manageable size anyway. Its not Palo Alto, Calif. has a chance of using magical armor. And yet easy to be sure that what you said on again, Unearthed Arcana (page 13) repeats the page 32 is consistent with a related piece 1. A large number of gamers prefer to use the ruling that magic-users and illusionists cannot earlier ruling, established in the Players Hand- wear armor. The Arcana update article of information on page 97. Churning out book (page 27), that thieves may start the game (DRAGON issue #103, page 16) says that a multi- words is one thing; making all of those as neutral good. Granted, Unearthed Arcana has classed character may use any armor and words interlock and support each other changed this rule so that thieves may only be weapons available to any one of the classes is something else.