THE RPGATMNETWORK MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY IS BACK!

Want to contact other gamers? Find new players for your campaign? Organize an official club? What better place to look for top players and DMs than right here within the RPGA™Network! We're all mem­ bers of the same organization and we ought to know each other. So we've started working on a new type of membership listing which will be available only to RPGA Network members and clubs . Details on how to get one will appear in a future POLYHEDRON™ Newszine when the new directories are ready to go. (PLEASE don't shower us with requests before the announcement!)

Before we start things rolling , we want to offer you the option of with­ holding your name from the directory . If you want to be listed in the directory for your state, you don't have to do a thing. If you do NOT want to be listed , fill out the form below and mail it to RPGA HQ at the address on the form below.

Deadline for mail receipt of your declination is November 16, 1984. If we haven 't heard from you by then, your name and address will appear in the directory.

~£I'"" ______. Clip & Mail~~.,~~ I I I Mail to: RPGATMNetwork, P.O. Box 509, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 I I ------I § NO, I do not want to be in the RPGA Network Membership Directory. Please with- I I hold my name and address from the listing . I I (Please type or print clearly in ink.) I Name ------1 Street 1 City/State ______SampleI Zip Code ______RPGA # ______file_ I I RPGA and POLYHEDRON are trademarks of TSR, Inc. ::,u,r,,l'.,_,.l.l.l..,.~fl _...... ,..flFF..,..WA""'fflEEE

Issu e n.20 POLYHEDRON "

Sample file Contents POLYHEDRON . Cover Story 21 E ncounte rs - by J ames M. Ward. The ® game Aquabot destroys the crystal city of the R adioactivists.

Special Feature 13 The 384th In carnat ion of Bigby's Tomb - by . A "new" module , created for the AD&D ® game tournament at the 1984-Winter Fantasy mini-convention.

Features 6 Cryptic Alliance of the Bi-month - by James M. Ward. The H ealers. 8 The Proton Weapon - by Kim Eastland. A new ® game technological item. 10 The Druid - by James M. Ward. The archetyp ical AD&D game druid character. 21 Women in Role Pl ay in g - by Roger E. Moore. Notes for the . 23 N ow that it's over - by R oger E. Moore. Looking back at the ® 17 About the cover Game Convention. A near ly indestructable GAMMA 25 Di spel Confusion - by , Penny Petticord, and Frank Mentzer. WORLD® game Aquabot descends on the un suspecting mutated inhabitants of Departments the main city of the R adioact ivists . Cover by Roger R aupp. 5 Notes from HQ

POLYHEDRON™Newsz ine (the official news­ Newszine becomes the exclusive pro pert y of POl .\ 'HEDHON' " letter of TSR's ROLE PLAYINGGAME ASSO· the publisher up on pubHcation , unless special CIATION™Network) is publis hed bi-monthly wri tten arrangements to the contrary are NEWSZINE by TSR, Inc. The mailing addr ess is POB 509 , made prior to publication. Lake Geneva , WI 53 14 7. (414) 248-3625. Volume 4, Number 5 DUNGEONS &. DRAGONS, D&.D, ADVANCED POLYHEDRONNewszine welcomes unsolic­ DUNGEONS&. DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&.D, Issue #20 ited submi ssions of written material and BOOT HILL, GAMMA WORLD, TOP SECRET, artwork. No responsibility for such subm is­ DRAGON, , AMAZING, and Editor STAR FRONTIERS. ROLE PLAYING GAME Mary Kirchoff sions can be assumed by the publisher in any Editorial assistance event. No submissions will be ret urn ed un less ASSOCIATION, RPGA, and GEN CON are Roger E. Moore Jam es M. Ward accompanied by a self-addr essed , stamped trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. THE Patrick Price enve lope of sufficie nt size. ADVENTURES OF IND/ANA JONES, game elements , and character names and like­ RPGA'" Network Coordinator POLYHEDRONN ewsz ine is mailed free to all Penn y Petticord nesses are trademarks of Lucas film Ltd ., used RPGAT• members. Membership rates: 1 year Production under authorization. Toon is a trademark of - U.S. Bulk Mail • $10 . 1 yea r - Foreign Mail Marilyn Favaro Steve Jackson Games. Star Trek is a trade­ Roger Raupp • $14. 1 year - Fore ign Internat ional Air Mail mark of FASA. MARVELSUPER HEROES is a Sample• $25. file Contributing artists All prices are subject to chan ge with­ trademark of the Marvel Comics group . Roger Raupp out notice. Changes of address for the deliv­ Dragonriders of Pern game is a trademark of Jeff Easely ery of sub scriptions must be received at least Mayfair Games. James Bond 007 is a trade­ Joseph Pillsbury 30 days prior to the effective date of the mark of Victory Game . Lost Worlds is a trade­ change to insure uninterrupted delivery. mark of Nova Game Design. 101984 TSR, Inc. Material published in POLYHEDRON All Rights Reserved.

4 l88Ue #2,0 Notes from 09, ___ _

We've got a lot of important notes this read ily, but there will be a ceiling on the our GAMMA WORLD® game tourna­ issue, so we'll take it one piece at a tim e. number of eve nts we can take. We m ay ment. It featured advent ur es aboard a even go to a pre-registration only system , truly unique ship with a mysterious GEN CON® Game Fair with no at-t he-door regist ration at all so mutant who might or might not be on Now that we've almost recovered from that we will know how ma ny sign-ups your side. And member Kelley Foote GEN CON 17 Game Fair, it's time to there are for each even t and can allocate came to our rescue by allowing us to use take a look at the RPG A ™ Network activi­ enough space ahead of time. It gives us a his scenario as ou r GANG BUSTERS™ ties there. We had a members-only tour­ little more control of the situ ation. game event. "Federa l Crac kdown" is a nament for each of the TS R games concerted effort by the govern ment to currentl y in print except THE The tournaments clean up the bootleggers and speakeasys ADVE NTUR ES OF INDIA NA in Lakefront City. JO NES™Rol e-Playing Game, which was Gee Whiz! I wanted a really dynamite This year we went back to the or igin al so new we could n't find any qualified AD&D® tourn ame nt thi s year, so I asked RPGA Netwo rk scorin g system - vot ing judges. Most of the scenar ios were taken Fr ank Mentzer to write one for us. T he style. For those of you who aren't famil iar from modu les soon to be released by resu lt was "Need le," a 3-roun d tourna ­ with it, instead of advancing whole tea ms, TS R , so the judges and players got a ment about an obelisk in the jung le. The we advance the best few players from preview of adven tur es yet unpub lished. characters came with full-page back­ each team, as determin ed by player and Du e to a compute r mixup, our event s grou nd sheets which not only outlined DM votes. I don't have the space to did n 't make it into the pre-registration the ir persona lities, but gave each charac ­ explain it in full , bu t it bears closer exa m­ brochure, so people didn't know how to ter's perceptions of all the others to pro­ ination, so watc h for an ar ticle within the sign up. Consequently, some of the events mote role-playi ng interact ions. Th e next issue or two . were very poorly attended, although a scena rio had a little bit of everythi ng - a We chose a first, second , and third special conve ntion offer we made helped m aze, a retrieval operat ion requiring place winner from each of the final rou nd to avert a total d isaster. We offered a free several months of game time and hun­ teams and awarded pr izes. First place ticket to the RPGA Network event of dreds of workers to comp lete, a sea bat tle, winners received a I-year membership your choice with purchase of a new mem­ political intrigue and trad in g negotia­ extens ion , $10 in gift certificates good at bersh ip at the regular $12 price or an tions, as well as encounte rs with bad the RP GA Network booth or through extensio n of your existing membershi p . natives and bad puns. Gee Wh iz! It was a mail order, and a set of limit ed run blue Those who couldn't get into desired lot for the DM s to handle, but they all did dice with hand-painted silver numb ers. events took advantage of the offer, as well an excellent job. And as for the final Seco nd place winners received a 1-year as a few smart people who realized that round, all I can say is "Gee Whiz!" membership extension an d $5 in gift they could use this to sign up for 4 events Th e MARVEL SUPE R HEROE S certificates, and third place winners per day instead of the 3 they could get game tourname nt was taken from the received a 6-mont h membership exten­ through event registrat ion . We got so upcoming modu le MH4 "Co ncrete J un ­ sion and $3 in gift cert ificates. All will ma ny new mem bers through that offer gle" by Bru ce Nesmit h . For the D&D® receive pri ze certi ficates to ha ng on the alone that we may very well make it a tournament, we had part of mod ule CM3 wall as soon as we get them in. GEN CON Game Fair custom. "Sabre Ri ver," a Co m panion leve l adven­ If any of you did n 't pick up your pr izes While the rest of the con was sufferin g ture that continues what "Test of the at the con , drop me a line and we'll send from no-show judges, the RPGA Network Warlords" and "Deat h 's Ride" started. the gift certificates out. Th e membership events had almost perfect judge atten­ The STAR FRONTIER S® game event extensions are being processed and you dance. It just goes to show that RP GA was SFKH 3 "Face of the Enemy," by will be gett in g new cards as soon as we Network judges take the ir responsibilities member Ken Rolston. It starts with an can make the m. seriously and wouldn't dream of lett ing investigation of the pecu liar happen ings In ternational scor ing points will be players down . Our judges will certa inly with the Moreas, an d leads to a full awarded for this tourname n t and the one be asked to do more in future years. assault aboard the mothe rship of "the at Atlanticon. We are curre ntly reva mp ­ Speaking of next year, we're looking at enemy." "Baron of San Andreas" by Troy in g the system , and we hope to have the limi ting theSample size of the convention (num ­ Denning was the BOOT HILL ® game player andfile DM rank ings ready for next ber of events and attendees). GEN CON event. For TOP SEC RE T® game fans we issue, along with an article explain ing Ga me Fair gets bigger every year, and had "Seventh Seal" by Evan Robinson, a how the points are awarded. we're starting to run out of space to put it frantic attempt to stop a terrorist gro up all. So next year we'll be going for quality from blowing up Los Angeles. Dave Cook instead of qu antity. Eve nt s from judges provided us with " R apture of the Deep" with good track records will be accepted (or "Face of the Anemone") as Please turn to page 31.

POL'i'HEDRON 5 Cr yptic Allianc~t- ...-- ... --__,,.,,,,..· oi the rrhe ---- ...... -~ -~~ -.,,,.-.,, ------~ -- i-month He~s / B ..., -----­---- by James M. Ward ------.,,,------__._.. -----.----- From the chaos of the Ancient wars rose a -- - --­ Crypt ic Alliance that was to be a truly ...... _,,,,,-----­ calmin g influence on a world gone mad. - The quasi-monastic order calling them­ ------selves the H ealers were able to give man­ -- kind and mutantkind islands of peace and hope in a world beyond recogn ition . Geographic location Th e main base of the Healers is an island in a body of water that covers what was once greater Chicago. It is a small com­ plex, ju st a mile in radius. The tree­ covered island is rich in natural resources and physical beauty. Th e Healers have purposely left it in as natural a state as possible. 90 % of the complex itself is underground. In habitants The population in the main complex fluctuat es between 2,000 and 10,000 inhabitant s, depending on the type of instruction goi ng on. The population is almost evenly divided between mutants and pure strain humans (the re is a slightly ljr greater numb er of mutants). The inhabit­ .....,....~ ...... ~ ants of this island are some of the most powerful and technologically able beings - .,. 'V ~~~~ -= in the world. - ....~ ,, -- ,// ---- passed down through generations. the island discovered a plant ab le to ge n­ Histo ry Early in the history of the island the erate a sound frequency that soot hed all During the war years, the city of Chicago desire for peace became a driving force. non-intelligent creatures who heard it. sank into Lak e Mich igan. However, the Generation after ge nerat ion sought to live The plant's powers were copied, and a land was in a state of constant physical in harmony with the environment and the special compact sound generat or was and social upheaval, and one section of beings they came into contact with in the created for every Healer who left the the town rose above the water to became outside world. The medical skills of the island. This frequency generat or is the a rather large island. Th e newly-formed islanders became valuable to all outs ide grou p 's greatest secret and protection rugg ed island and the life that developed peoples, and some skills were developed against attack. in the lake itself created a peaceful haven even further than the already high state of for those who were able reach it. the Ancients. The abilities of intelligent Leader of th e Healers The complex itself is built from the mutants only increased the efficiency of Mar Mere ruins of a military installation. A great the Healers as a whole, and soon medical deal of medical equipment was left intact teams of humans and mutants were doing HIT POINT S: 108 here after the war years. This mat eria l amazing feats in the field of medicine. All RANK: 20 was designedSample for quick learning and easy surviving groups who met the Healers MS: 12 file use by all military perso nnel. It was also realized the value of beings who were able IN: 18 designed to last for years. It became a to take care of the sick and wounded. DX: 15 simple matte r for the su rvivor s who found Soon the Healer s were welcomed almost PS: 9 their way to the island to learn the medi­ everywhere. CH: 22 cal techniques. The se skills have been About 100 years ago the inh abitants of CN:18

6 Is s u e # 20 Her policy of advising but never forc­ are to stimul ate studies in science and ing groups has been highly successfu l, philosophy. Fin ally, the Healers are to both on the island and in the world at always present an air of confidence and large. She is now working on several peace no matter what they feel. It is ------.:::::::---::.. - - -. medical projects that will totally reshape hoped that these conditions will promote ____...... -~~ --~--.....-----:.--... ------==---- - the world. If her plans succeed, the dam­ order and bring peace to land s where ., agi ng influences of radiation will be grad­ danger constantly threatens . ually wiped from the face of the planet. This does not make the Healers very Materials common to - -- · outside bases -- popular with the Rad ioactivists . ♦- -- ~ Mar Mere does not encourage the crea ­ - -- Defenses of the main base tion of bases throug hout the GAMMA ------There are several different types of natu­ WORLD game setting. It has always --- -~------ral defenses that surround the Hea ler been her policy to travel light and move comp lex. The land around the lake is often. This has caused the order to filled with powerfu l mutant animals who become wanderers, moving across the create problems for any non-Healer who face of the planet , spread ing the word of tries to trave l through that land. peace and tranquility. The aquat ic life of the lake is savage To aid wandering Healers, there are and hungry. On ce, ten war canoes set out hidden supply areas which only H ealers to cross the the lake to raid the island for know about. These caches are filled with its supposed riches - none of the canoes medical supp lies and spare parts for the made it even half the way. highly technical medical tools that each The above ground portions of the com­ Healer carries. plex are completely covered by forest, Truly ded icated Healers who leave the making it impossible to spot from the air. Finall y, near the comp lex is a powerful frequency generator that even soothes most intelligent beings. This device is always in operation, and was especia lly useful the two times the island was The symbol of the Healers invaded by flying mutants. Base interior chambers Many of the mut ant inhabit ants have unusual digging capabil ities. This has allowed the underground portion of the island are given the same materia ls and co mpl ex to grow to easily fill all the space must complete the tra inin g provided at needs of the inhabitants. T here are sev­ the complex. These be ings carry sma!J eral huge sections devoted to biolo gical medical kits which allow them to do quick ~ - , ....- research, sections for surgery, and sec­ field operations . In this kit are several tions for the study of the phys ical sciences packets of powerful medicines, cures for ,✓ . . • t:.. ---=--- ~ and many other programs that are almost almost all of the diseases known to the DESCRIPTION: Mar Mere is without a equa l to the achievements of the Ancients. world. doubt the most amazing pure strain The kit also contai ns several different human of the GAMMA WORLD® game Concepts and policies types of stun weapo ns which will usually age. Her brillianc e and dedication to the The Healers stro ngly promote peace and stop even the most aggressive attacker . betterment of the allian ce has made it the understanding wherever they go. important force it is in the world. Although they follow the ways of peace, Legends She is cur rentl y 30 years old, and they do not let their followers throw away One of the most vivid and popular leg­ became the leader through her highly their lives. All mutants traveling outsid e ends of the Heal ers concerns a boy named capable adm inistrativ e skills. H aving the island must ha ve several powerfu l Lue of the Sky. According to the story , made several extensive field trips in her mut ational powers so that they ca n cope thi s young lad learned to walk in the sky, you nger years, she is able to bri ng a with the dangers and pressures found and he developed a force that was ab le to knowledg e of the lands of the GAMMA everywhere in the GAMMA WORLD heal the sick and bring peace to the trou­ WORLD game that few possess to the game. Pure stra in humans are always bled. There are numer ous stories con­ island . Her temperance and cons iderat ion given seve ral different types of stun cern in g this lad, espec ially about his for all life ha s become the watchword for devices wh ich are created on the island. kna ck for gettin g in and out of trouble. this cryptic Samplealliance. Few beings who have Th ese allow the Healer s to fend off the Another file popular legend deals with a met her are able to resist her innate intelligent creatures who are unaffected mutant named Bencassy, who is said to charm and manner. This ability has by the frequency soot her. wa nd er the world healing those who have allowed her to bring outsid e factions Th e goa ls established by Mar Mere are been harmed by radiat ion. Legend says which have been waring for generations simple but pow erful. Th e Heal ers are to that a touch of his hand will cure even the to peace. support all efforts towards peace. Healers worst case of radi atio n contamination. ~

POL\'HEDRON "1