Sample File DRAGON Issue 280 GAME ROOM February 2001 What’S New, What’S Happening, and What’S on Your Mind
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Sample file DRAGON Issue 280 GAME ROOM February 2001 What’s new, what’s happening, and what’s on your mind. Wyrm’s Turn......................................................................................8 Scale Mail..........................................................................................10 Profiles...............................................................................................16 Up On A Soapbox.........................................................................20 Convention Calendar.....................................................................22 Previews...........................................................................................24 Countdown ......................................................................................30 FEATURES New rules, campaigns, and idea generators. Your Sorcerous Life ........................................................................................................34 Robin D. Laws Polymorphology ................................................................................................................39 Johnathan Richards Magic in the Blood ...........................................................................................................46 Geoffrey McVey Better Living Through Alchemy...................................................................................50 Jesse Decker & Stephen Kenson Mastering Chance ............................................................................................................54 Jonathan Tweet Just the Facts Mage ........................................................................................................56 Robin D. Laws A Little More Familiar......................................................................................................60 Stephen Kenson Reel Heroes........................................................................................................................64 Eric Haddock, Matthew Sernett, Cory J. Herndon, Rich Redman, & Jeff Grubb ZoeSample Motion......................................................................................................................... file 65 Cory J. Herndon The Opal of Nah ................................................................................................................72 J. Gregory Keyes FAMILIARS Humor, puzzles, monsters, magic, and more. Dork Tower......................................................................................32 Vs. ......................................................................................................82 New Adventures of Volo............................................................84 When Rebecca Guay first began the cover she Class Acts........................................................................................88 had very little to go on. The only information Dragonmirth ...................................................................................95 she’d been supplied was the sorcerous theme Nodwick ...........................................................................................96 and the suggestion that the subject be “doing What’s New.....................................................................................114 something cool, like casting a spell.” WIZARD’S WORKSHOP Rebecca renders her vivacious subject with an Tools, tricks, and tactics to improve your game. impressionistic confidence. I feel she captures Forum ...............................................................................................98 the isolation that most sorcerers must endure. PC Portraits ....................................................................................101 Her painting suggests the loneliness of Van Gogh Role Models ...................................................................................102 while remaining decorative. The wyrm’s serpen- The Play’s the Thing....................................................................104 tine arrangement mirrors her figure and keeps Sage Advice..................................................................................106 my eyes easily travelling over the entire piece. Dungeoncraft ...................................................................................111 —Peter Whitley, Art Director 5 Group Publisher • Johnny Wilson Publisher • Wendy Noritake Editor-in-Chief • Dave Gross STILL Associate Editor • Chris Thomasson Assistant Editors • Eric Haddock, Matthew Sernett Contributing Editors • Ed Greenwood, Robin D. Laws, Christopher Perkins, Mike Selinker, Skip Williams, Ray Winninger ¢ Art Director • Peter Whitley 10 Designer • Ole Sørensen Circulation Director • Pierce Watters Advertising Sales Director • Bob Henning Production Director • John Dunn Production Manager • Bobbi Maas Circulation Assistant • Dawnelle Miesner can remember purchasing comic books that Advertising Intern • Alice Chung proudly∂∑ announced that they were “Still 10 I Cents.” The superhero comics had already raised their prices to 12 cents apiece, citing the usual blend of higher pro- duction costs (printing, paper, distribution margins, and so on). Fortunately, DRAGON Magazine (ISSN# 0279-6848) is published monthly I could always borrow superhero comics at my cousins’ houses, so I could for $34.95 per year by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 1801 Lind continue buying the Dell and Gold Key comics with my favorite animated Ave. SW, Renton, WA 98055, United States of America. Periodicals Postage Paid at Renton, WA, and at additional cartoon characters. mailing offices. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO DRAGON Magazine, P.O. BOX 469107, Of course, what I began to notice was that Dell and Gold Key were ESCONDIDO, CA 92046. ©2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. reusing material at a much higher frequency than the superhero comics All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced (except for review purposes) without the prior were. Even as a young child, it began to register that I was saving my two written permission of the publisher. Material published herein cents per issue, but seemed to be getting fewer new stories and fewer total does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., its employees, or its editorial staff, who are not pages. It was a lesson I have only forgotten on those occasions when I liable for opinions expressed herein. Most product names are doomed myself to sobering disappointment by going for price over value. trademarks owned by the companies that publish those products. Use of the name of any product without mention of Naturally, you know where I’m going with this. I’m going to try to con- trademark status should not be construed as a challenge to vince you that the extra dollar you now pay for DRAGON Magazine is worth such status. WIZARDS OF THE COAST; TSR; DUNGEONS & DRAGONS;ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS; D&D; AD&D; it. I’m going to suggest that the value overshadows the price increase. If FORGOTTEN REALMS;DRAGONLANCE;PLANESCAPE;RAVENLOFT; Sample file BIRTHRIGHT;MYSTARA;SPELLFIRE;GREYHAWK;DARK SUN; you’re one of our almost 20,000 subscribers, the value is definitely worth it, SPELLJAMMER;AL-QADIM;COUNCIL OF WYRMS;MASQUE OF THE because we haven’t raised subscription prices . yet. If you buy DRAGON off RED DEATH;MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM;ALTERNITY;STAR*DRIVE; DARK•MATTER;ALIEN COMPENDIUM;FIFTH AGE;DUNGEON the newsstand, you’re bound to wonder where the value resides. MASTER;PLAYER’S OPTION;DRAGON;DUNGEON;POLYHEDRON; In this and upcoming issues of DRAGON and DUNGEON, you’ll get a two-sided LIVING CITY;LIVING GREYHAWK;GEN CON; RPGA are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. dungeon tile to use in making random dungeon terrain. Plus, we’re planning to RAGON Star Wars is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. provide at least two D CD-ROMs as bonus features in your magazine ©1999 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. this year. Each will come complete with an unpublished DUNGEON adventure, *©1995, 1996, and 1998 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. some handy electronic utilities, printable “PC Portraits,” complete and revised Pokémon , Jungle, Fossil,Gym Heroes, Team Rocket, Game versions of popular features, and more. Boy, Gotta catch ’em all, and the official Nintendo Seal are trademarks of Nintendo. And that’s not all! (Shouldn’t I follow this up with a question like, “Now, how ©2000 Nintendo of America. much would you pay for a DRAGON magazine?” Naah! Too cliché even for a SUBSCRIPTIONS: Contact Publishers Creative Systems publisher!) We plan to publish two supplementary magazines that you’ll get at [email protected] or call 1-800-395-7760. In RAGON the UK, contact [email protected] or call along with D for the same cover price. These supplemental magazines +44-18-58-41-4713. will cover games using the d20 System, as well as Open Gaming License ADVERTISING: Contact DRAGON Magazine’s Advertising games outside of the fantasy genre. In this way, you won’t be cheated out of Sales Director, Bob Henning, at 425-204-7262. All ads are DUNGEONS & DRAGONS coverage, but you’ll get bonus coverage for the same subject to approval by Wizards of the Coast, which reserves the right to reject any ad for any reason. price. If you don’t like it, you can toss the bonus magazines. Advertisers and/or agencies of advertisers agree not to At Wizards of the Coast, we know that nobody likes a price increase. We hold Wizards of the Coast liable for any loss or expense from alleged wrongdoing that may arise out of the just hope you like