® ADVENTURES FOR TSR ROLE-PLAYING GAMES JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1991 ISSUE #27 COVER: The arrival of adventurers interrupts a lesson in "The School of Nekros." Tom Miller's cover shows the necromancer Mephista and the skeletal red dragon from whom she is learning lost spells. "If I Made Games For TSR ..." The Readers LETTERS 4 At the 1990 GEN CON® Game Fair, two editors from TSR's Games Department (Anne Brown and Andria Hayday) con- ducted seminars to learn what gamers think about TSR products. I've just received a long report detailing what the Charles TARFIL'S TOMB gamers who attended these sessions had to say, and I couldn't Neverdowski (D&D® game, levels 10-14) A simple help but wonder how these preferences match with those of DUNGEON Adventures readers. cleric has a complicated vision—and Here are three suggestions that the GEN CON convention you've become part of it 8 participants wanted to see in TSR products: 1. "More visual aids and player handouts for adventures" (maps, notes from NPCs, menus, wanted posters, just about Roger E. Moore JUGGERNAUT anything that the DM can hand to the players). While we can't ® add loose items to DUNGEON Magazine (and I know you hate (AD&D game, levels 4-7) Meet a to cut up your issues!), we have been trying to include more of goblin who has the best (and these sorts of things; see the deck of many things in issue 19, deadliest) toy around 20 for example. What other kinds of visual aids and handouts would you like to see that you think would be possible to in- clude in DUNGEON Magazine's format? 2. "Make the modules more DM friendly." The DMs at the Ted James COURIER SERVICE seminars asked for anything that will cut down their prepara- Thomas Zuvich (AD&D game, levels 3-6) Only two tion time and make games run more quickly. This included such things as monster-statistics tables, more complete statis- things are certain: taxes . and tics, more subheads to direct the DM through the text, etc. To death 24 this list, I would include boxed text (on which we've had quite a debate in the past). For longer adventures with lots of mon- sters, we've used summary tables. Do you like these? In what other ways can we make DUNGEON Adventures more DM Craig Barrett BRIDE FOR A FOX friendly? (AD&D Oriental Adventures game, 3. "Add more flavor to adventures, particularly more com- levels 4-8) Treachery so deep that plete personalities for NPCs, and more detailed settings." I even the villains can't find the hope you've noticed that I insist on personality for NPCs and bottom 40 even monsters. And I look at each dungeon, castle, tavern, and town with an eye toward how functional it is for the creatures who live there. How are we doing in this regard? Does the Lisa Smedman THE SCHOOL OF NEKROS Continued on page 38 (AD&D game, levels 6-12) The halflings loved their river until it filled up with dead things. That's Vol. V, No. 3 when they called you 54 PUBLISHER: James M. Ward ART DIRECTOR: EDITOR: Barbara G. Young Larry W. Smith Scan, OCR & proofing by Zenobia, ver 2 ASSOCIATE EDITOR: CARTOGRAPHER: Diesel (has some slight corrections) Roger E. Moore TYPESETTING: TSR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Graphic Arts Services Faire shields, gay steedes, bright armes be my delight: Dale A. Donovan SUBSCRIPTIONS: Those be the riches fit for an advent'rous knight. Janet L. Winters The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser LETTERS Money Talks—Loudly excellent magazines they are today, and I am sure they will continue to grow Down With Moonmelons! I finally feel compelled to respond to and improve into the future. However, I'm a Dungeon Master running a low- one of the many criticisms I have heard in order to do so, it will always be neces- level AD&D® campaign, and I recently voiced over the years concerning both ® sary to insure that the bills are paid, ran "Of Kings Unknown" by Randy this magazine and DRAGON Maga- and I hope TSR, Inc. always will choose Maxwell (issue #25). Randy deserves a zine. Readers are constantly complain- to sell more advertising over raising the hearty round of applause! The players in ing about the amount of magazine space price of these extremely enjoyable and my group were shocked to see orcs with devoted to advertising, the most recent informative magazines. horns, antlers, and eyestalks wreaking complaint being in the Letters section of ® As a final note, I am very much in havoc on their hapless PCs. In fact, when DUNGEON issue #26. favor of the new plastic mailing bags they found the melons from whence the Here is some clarification from an used for the magazines. I know they are orcish oddities originated, they destroyed avid gamer who also happens to be an not as environmentally beneficial as the them all in disgust, thus never collecting accountant. TSR, Inc. is first and fore- paper ones, but I've just gotten fed up the 100 gp per moonmelon. most a business enterprise. As such it with having my magazine arrive with Dylan Black exists to make money. The company has torn pages and frayed edges. No Address Given people and bills to pay. The fact that Debra L. Maxwell this business has the integrity to be Seattle, Washington genuinely concerned with the welfare of Perfect Since #1 its consumer public and attempts to bring us its products at the lowest possi- Going Monthly? I don't understand it at all. For over ble cost is a fantastic bonus but not I disagree with Chris Moulthrop (issue four years now, you guys have given the necessarily a requirement. #26) who wrote that using outside ad- role-playing world a special treat at a There are two methods by which a vertising in DUNGEON Magazine was very affordable price. Each and every publication makes money: the price a form of cheating us. All the ads you've module you print is outstanding, the charged for the product, and income printed so far seem perfectly legitimate. mix of different types of adventures you from advertising revenues. Therefore, The product I sent for was inexpensive, present is fair to everyone, and the the primary ways to increase revenue arrived quickly, and did everything that cover and inside artwork are like noth- (whether for the company's benefit or to was promised. ing else. Yet, in every issue, I see com- cover rising production costs), are to With all of these other changes going plaint after complaint about your increase advertising sales and/or to on, I'd very much like to ask when, if magazine, and I'm sick of it. increase the sale price of the magazine. ever, is DUNGEON Adventures going It seems that every time you decide to We have been fortunate that TSR man- monthly? DRAGON Magazine has had try something new, whether it's perma- agement has most often desired to do this advantage for longer than I can nent or for just a couple of issues, the the former and rarely has resorted to remember. We're all tired of waiting two letters come pouring in. Oh, sure, there the latter. It should be clear that there long months for five or six modules are always a few nice people who com- is a direct and opposite relationship which can be played in one month's mend you for the innovation, but there between the price of a magazine and the time. are always many more negative, often amount of advertising therein. By in- Mike Kinol cruel remarks demanding that you creasing the advertising space sold, the Nome, Alaska publish only a certain type of game. company can cover rising production Take the MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ costs without resorting to a price in- We've had several discussions here adventure you printed in issue #25, for crease. It has also been my observation about the feasibility of producing example. Just because you thought an that, with increased advertisements, DUNGEON Adventures as a monthly experiment with a different type of the magazine has typically increased magazine. I have so far been reluctant to game system would be nice (and it was), the number of pages per issue to main- suggest this because I don't feel that the everybody had to write in and tell you tain the amount of space devoted to volume and quality of adventures we how much they hated it. gaming material. receive is sufficient to fill a monthly I am truly sorry that you receive so It has been my experience that these magazine. I want to keep the quality many of these awful letters, and can publications have continually improved high, even if you have to wait a bit only imagine how seeing them ruins in quality over the years to become the longer for each issue. your day. Your magazine has been per- DUNGEON® (ISSN 0890-7102) is published bimonthly by TSR, Inc. 201 Sheridan Springs Rd., Lake Geneva, WI 53147. The mailing address for all material except subscription orders is DUNGEON, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147; telephone (414) 248-3625. Subscriptions: Subscription rates via second-class mail are as follows: $18 in U.S. funds for six issues sent to an address in the U.S. or Canada, $35 in U.S. funds for surface mail delivery to any other address, and $52 in U.S.