D RAGON 1 as it ever occurred to you how much big-time foot- ball resembles a fantasy adventure game? Players Contents prepare themselves in a dungeon (the locker room), set out for the wilderness (the field) at the appointed time, and then proceed to conduct melee after me- lee until a victor emerges. We’ve taken that line of reasoning SPECIAL ATTRACTION one step further with MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY, this MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY — A fantasy football issue’s special inclusion. You can choose and coach a team of game for two players . 35 AD&D™ monsters — and the team that wins isn’t always the one with the biggest players: that little guy with the hairy feet can OTHER FEATURES really kick! Dragon Rumbles: Guest editorial by E. Gary Gygax ...... 4 This month’s article section is chock full of new material for Blastoff! — First look at the STAR FRONTIERS™ game ... 7 D&D® and AD&D campaigns. In Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Len Weapons wear out, skills don’t — Variant system for Lakofka unveils a system for determining the quality of armor AD&D™ rules on weapon proficiency ................ 19 and weapons, which is complemented by Christopher Town- The Missing Dragons — Completing the colors .......... 27 send’s proposal for a new way of defining weapon proficiency. Timelords — A new NPC, any time you’re ready .......... 32 If new monsters are more up your alley, you’ll enjoy the official Tuatha De Danann — Celtic mythos revised ............. 47 descriptions of the baku and the phoenix in Gary Gygax’s Law of the Land — Give your world “personality” ........ 56 Featured Creatures column, followed by Richard Lloyd’s exam- WAR! — Every campaign can use conflict. ............... 63 ination of “The Missing Dragons.” The Pong papers — TOP SECRET® advice .............. 66 In the category of new character classes, we present another Module Design Contest — All you need to know ......... 71 of Lew Pulsipher’s inventions, the Timelord. And the main topic of From the Sorcerer’s Scroll is a description of new character REGULAR OFFERINGS classes and sub-classes from the notebooks of Mr. Gygax that Out on a Limb — Letters from readers . 2 are being considered for inclusion in the upcoming AD&D From the Sorceror’s Scroll — New character classes. 9 expansion volume. Greyhawk’s World — Latest campaign news ............. 11 In the second installment of his intermittent series on how to Leomund’s Tiny Hut — Weapon & armor quality. ......... 13 build a “realistic” fantasy world, Ed Greenwood spells out the Featured Creatures — The baku and the phoenix ......... 25 need for an adventuring environment to have its own set of laws Convention schedule ................................... 55 and customs — so that the world (or each part of the world) Up on a Soapbox — Playing styles ...................... 68 takes on a “personality” all its own and provides a vibrant, vital Dragon’s Augury: backdrop for the activities of the player characters. Immediate- Wizardry; Akalabeth; Crush, Crumble & Chomp ........ 73 ly following Ed’s article, Lew Pulsipher addresses a similar The Chamax Plague / Horde .......................... 75 issue from a different angle, suggesting that the presence of Empire Builder ....................................... 75 war and conflict — or at least the threat of it — is what keeps a What’s New ............................................ 76 campaign alive. Which, conveniently enough, brings us full Wormy ................................................ 78 circle, back to MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY — because if a Dragon Mirth .......................................... 80 football game isn’t a war, then what is? — KM Firing back be used, but development and use of major single normal person. A cannon of that size is firearms should be limited to NPC’s and the made to be used against forts, not people. Dear Editor: DM. If players insist on expanding their armo- Besides, the 14 rounds it takes to reload the Kwang Lee’s letter (“Out on a Limb,” issue ry by developing gunpowder, a DM-invented 8,000-pound monster is more than enough #63) against Ed Greenwood’s “Firearms” arti- threat can be extremely persuasive in halting time to get out of the gun’s line of fire, as they cle (issue #60) appeared to jump to several such activity. Or, better yet, the DM can say cannot follow moving targets (they have conclusions. that the character’s gunpowder just doesn’t enough trouble hitting fixed ones as it is). For one, Greenwood’s article was not an work (due to wetness, improper mixing, etc.). In combat situations, 5-50 is not as power- attempt to change the AD&D system into a If a player persists, and the DM is feeling ful as it may seem. A medium-level (6th level) historical simulation. Gunnery would remain particularly nasty, a percentage chance can magic-user spits out more damage in less more of an art rather than a science. Early be used to determine if the gunpowder acci- than one-seventh of the time (two fireballs for firearms were crude, cumbersome, and very dentally explodes (a 500-pound charge of 6-36 each, or 12-72 total); a red dragon can few in number. Their effect on the game as a gunpowder going off in a laboratory tends to inflict up to 164 points of damage on a party in whole would be minor, as the guns’ use would stop further research for a time). These meth- a single round! This does not include the 88 be extremely limited. Cold steel and magic, ods, both warnings and direct action, will pre- points of breath weapon available to some of rather than gunpowder, would remain as the vent “mad wizards” from abusing gunpowder. these creatures. The 50-point maximum of “great equalizers.” Lee also complains about the use of a can- the cannon pales when confronted by this Experimentation and further development non that does 5-50 points of damage when whirlwind of power. of these weapons should be firmly controlled normal people only have 3 hit points. Only a However, the final choice is up to the indi- by the DM. Suggestions from the players can fool would use an 8½-inch cannon against a vidual. If gunpowder is used in a campaign, 2 SEPTEMBER 1982 the DM should determine beforehand the allowing the character to meet the charisma amount of the guns’ use and the extent of their qualification as long as the character’s pre- effect. A pre-set limit on the evolution of the generated score for that ability is 13 or higher. weapons and the DM’s firm control of their I can’t explain the final “mistake” you point- use will make it impossible for the weapons to ed out by referring to a rule book, but I can ask disrupt the balance of the game. you to accept the “fact” that the jester, as Steven Zamboni presented in that article, is a unique character Sacramento, Calif. class, and dwarves and halflings who are Vol. VII, No. 4 September 1982 members of that class are likewise unique in their ability to manipulate (however ineffi- Publisher . Jake Jaquet ciently and unpredictably) some of the forces Editor-in-Chief . Kim Mohan Jester adjustments of magic. As support for that line of reason- Editorial staff . Bryce Knorr ing, I offer this month’s edition of “From the Marilyn Mays Dear Editor: Sorceror’s Scroll” (page 9), wherein Gary Gali Sanchez The article in DRAGON #60 about elves was Gygax describes his concept of a jester as a Sales . Debbie Chiusano superb, as were the sections on alignment character — which can be human, gnome, or Circulation . Corey Koebernick and cantrips. Then came a new NPC class, the halfling — with “some magic-user spells and Office staff . Cherie Knull Jester. I thought the Jester was very well illusionist magic.” If both he and we have Roger Raupp done, but I found three mistakes. made a “mistake,” then at least we’re in good Contributing editors . Roger Moore First, on Table I, the experience level is ten company. — KM Ed Greenwood levels higher for the first ten categories than it should be. A simple typographical error, but This issue’s contributing artists: still . Clyde Caldwell Mary Hanson- Second, according to the article half-orcs ‘Just a game’ Jim Holloway Roberts may achieve 4th level — but this is wrong. In Larry Elmore David Larson order to become a Jester, a charisma of 13 or Dear Editor: Jeff Easley Phil Foglio greater is needed, and no half-orc may pos- I have been playing D&D and AD&D for Ray Williams David Trampier sess a charisma rating higher than 12 (see three and a half years. I have found it very Paul Sonju Edward Atwood Character Race Table III, page 15, PH). enjoyable and interesting, and also quite Roger Raupp Finally, Jesters gain spell power as they harmless. DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub- advance in level. Unfortunately, halflings and Yet I am constantly reading articles by peo- lished monthly for a subscription price of $24 dwarves may advance to respectable level, ple who claim that D&D gets kids into demon- per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR thus gaining the ability to cast spells of a mag- ics, lowers their respect for life, and is anti- Hobbies, inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI ical nature. This is a power specifically prohi- religious. Some of these people claim to have 53147. bited to either race. I find this particularly played D&D. One man said he was going to DRAGON Magazine is available at hundreds ironic because Mr. Moore (the author) once raise money through donations and “buy as of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the wrote, “Dwarves do not use any magical many copies of the game as I can and then United States and Canada, and through a limit- ed number of overseas outlets.