Dragon Magazine #236
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The dying game y first PC was a fighter named Random. I had just read “Let’s go!” we cried as one. Roger Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber and thought that Mike held up the map for us to see, though Jeff and I weren’t Random was a hipper name than Corwin, even though the lat- allowed to touch it. The first room had maybe ten doors in it. ter was clearly the man. He lasted exactly one encounter. Orcs. One portal looked especially inviting, with multi-colored veils My second PC was a thief named Roulette, which I thought drawn before an archway. I pointed, and the others agreed. was a clever name. Roulette enjoyed a longer career: roughly “Are you sure you want to go there?” asked Mike. one session. Near the end, after suffering through Roulette’s “Yeah. I want a vorpal sword,” I said greedily. determined efforts to search every 10’-square of floor, wall, and “It’s the most dangerous place in the dungeon,” he warned. ceiling in the dungeon, Jeff the DM decided on a whim that the “I’ll wait and see what happens to him,” said Jeff. The coward. wall my thief had just searched was, in fact, coated with contact “C’mon, guys! If we work together, we can make it.” I really poison. I rolled a three to save. wanted a vorpal sword. One by one they demurred, until I Thus ensued my first player-DM argument. There wasn’t declared I’d go by myself and keep all the treasure I found. supposed to be contact poison on that wall, and I knew it. But “You go in?” asked Mike. there was no going back; Roulette was dead, and I’d just have “You bet.” to roll up another PC. After just a few scenes, I was back into “OK. You’re dead. Roll up a new character.” the game and loving it, arguing with another player over the “What! What killed me?” mule his PC insisted on bringing into the dungeon. “I can’t tell you. You might want to go in again, and your Jeff’s older brother Mike was also a DM. He had created his new character wouldn’t know what’s in there.” own world, complete with detailed maps he’d carefully drawn The jerk! I rolled up another fighter, since that was easier and colored. He even slipped them into plastic folders to guard than picking spells or working out thief percentages. I named against our teenaged rowdiness. We thwarted him, though. him Uther II in wary defiance. We chose a less threatening pas- Within a week, Jeff and I tumbled across the gaming table, sage and entered as a group. Thirty feet in, the floors opened struggling over a plastic sword, and spoiled the gorgeous cam- up, and giant gears ground my PC to hamburger. Uther III. paign map with spilled lemonade. That one blew up while opening a treasure chest. Uther IV Despite the ill omen, we started Mike’s campaign that Friday sank into the swamp. Uther V. That one burned to the ground afternoon, traveling from blurred city to smeared dungeon with and sank into the swamp. Uther VI, Uther VII, Uther VIII . the usual plan: to kill the monsters and take their stuff. Soon we Mind flayers, pools of acid, a beholder, scythe traps, a trio realized that this campaign was deadly. After the first hour, of gorgons, crushing walls . you name it, it killed my Uthers. three of us were rolling new PCs to replace our casualties. That weekend did wonders for me, now that I think it over. Before the end of the night, we’d lost almost a dozen characters Never since have I had a tantrum after a character — even a among us. I’d named my latest fighter Uther, since I’d been favorite one — died during a game. I’d just pick up my trusty reading Mary Stewart. sixers and roll a new one. In a way, Mike did me a big favor. “I told you this was tough,” said Mike. We took it as a chal- Either that, or he was still really hacked about that wet map. lenge, so back we went the next day. “Here,” I said, pointing at a place labeled, cleverly enough, ‘The Dungeon of Death.’ “There’s got to be some great magic in here.” The other players needed a little persuading, but Mike had been stingy (we thought) on magical items. “There is some great stuff in there,” said Mike. “But it’s far too dangerous for you. Dave Gross You can go there if you want, though.” Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-in Chief Editor Art Director TSR, Inc. Brian Thomsen Pierce Watters Dave Gross Larry Smith Associate Editor Editorial Assistant Subscriptions U.S. Advertising U.K. Correspondent/Advertising Michelle Vuckovich Lizz Baldwin Janet Winters Cindy Rick Carolyn Wildman Printed in the USA DRAGON #236 3 December 1996 Volume XXI, No. 7 Issue #236 Heroes of Faith Brian Linville Create your own specialty clergy with these new Skills & Powers. Page 8 The Seldarine Revisited Chris Perry Never before seen, the forgotten deities of the elven pantheon. Page 12 Elemental Summoning Gone Wild Ed Bonny lf anything can go wrong . Page 18 Mystics, Miracles, and Meditations James Wyatt New priest kits and proficiencies for the Masque of the Red Death setting. Page 26 The Ruin of Adlersburg Ed Stark A haunting in the Havens of the Great Bay. Page 30 Tracking the Faith Lachlan MacQuarrie Keep those priests in line with Piety Points. Page 42 Children of the Night Paul Culotta Three unusual new vampires for the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting or your own campaign world. Page 80 4 DECEMBER 1996 Columns 3 . The Wyrm’s Turn Dying to play? Arcane Lore: 6 . D-Mail™ Demihuman Your thoughts on issue #234 and more. 52 . RPGA® Network News Priest Spells Out of the gaming closet. Robert S. Mullin Spells for the dwarven, elven, 73 . The Role of Books gnomish, and halfling priests of your campaign. John C. Bunnell picks and pans new fantasy and Page 34 sf novels. 78 . Cons & Pros The WINTER FANTASY™ convention isn’t the only hot gaming ticket this winter. 91 . Forum Paper bullets of the brain for the continuing war of words on every gaming subject. Wyrms 96 . Sage Advice of the Mysteries of the FIFTH AGE™ game explained! North: 108 . Role-playing Reviews Deszeldaryndun Don’t overlook the small press games. Silverwing 120 . The Current Clack Ed Greenwood What’s up in gaming. When you’re on the run from Balagos, who can you turn to? Page 54 Other Material 99 . Knights of the Dinner Table 100 . DragonMirth 102 . Gamer’s Guide 104 . Floyd 116 . TSR Previews 62 Legendary Heroes Ben Bova An unsung hero in Heorot. DRAGON #236 5 and “Dragonmirth.” The reviews were To get to the point, those books have useful, especially for Night Below and inspired me to write my own fantasy Undermountain: The Lost Level. However, books. So far I’m on my first book, and I both of those products have been out don’t know how many more are to be for a while. It would be helpful if the expected. (I don’t even have a title for review and the product came out closer the book yet.) I’m not even sure how far together. I am on my first book; it seems to make What I’d like to see: First, more itself up along the way! I’m writing you GREYHAWK® material, either in DRAGON because I’ve no idea where else to start. Magazine or in new products. This world, If you could please give me some advice more than any other, is AD&D. Second, about getting my book(s) Illustrated, what happened to the NPC column? Did published, sold, etc. I’d be very grateful. it just skip a month? Finally, I buy DRAGON If you’d like to have a copy of my Magazine off the stands, and I’d like to be “book” (however far I am at the time), able to see what I’m buying ahead of just call, write, etc. I’d love to have your time — I don’t like the shrink wrap! opinion. That’s it for now. Keep up the good I’d be happy just with the info that How to contact us work! you can get to me without any trouble. If you have a comment, opinion, or ques- Phil Rhodes Alan Scott Clover tin for the editors of DRAGON® Magazine, Waco, TX Cincinatti, OH write us a letter. We’d love to hear from you. In the United States and Canada, send Take a peek at the DRAGON Magazine Rare is the fan of fantasy fiction who any mail to “D-mail,” DRAGON® Magazine, 201 Sheridan Springs Road, Lake Geneva, WI Annual (if you haven’t already) for a short hasn’t at some time had the desire to write a 53147 USA. In Europe, send mail to “D-Mail,” but interesting addition to the GREYHAWK set- book or series. We often receive letters or DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, ting. More articles on that classic campaign manuscripts with requests that we read and Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United world are in the works, and the next could comment upon a first novel. Unfortunately, Kingdom. appear as early as our March issue. we can’t possibly do so. (So please don’t You can also send letters for “D-Mail” and “Rogue’s Gallery” also appears in the send them!) The best advice is still the sim- “Forum.” as well as article inquiries, to Annual, though there’s another slated for an plest: Write, write often, and rewrite.