Sample File Table of Contents

Sample file Table of Contents

RUNES by Stewart Wieck 3 We are always looking for good freelance writers and artists. The writer's guidelines presented here will help you prepare your work for us.

From the Pack responses by Stewart Wieck 4 Some advice on choosing a game and why to be wary of the suggestions other people give. Also, some praise for issue #23.

Meta-Physical Problems by John Terra 6 a DC Heroes adventure for your own heroes by the author of Mayfair's "New Teen Titan Sourcebook." Put an end to a get-rich-quick scheme.

Stormfront by Wayne Ligon 18 a villain group for use with Champions. These villains have the powers of the elements and can be deadly in battle.

Items for Any Realm by Vince Garcia 30 detailing scrolls in Quest of the Ancients. Learn the difference between greater and lesser scrolls.

Caspule Reviews by Line Reviewers 34 This section continues to grow as we attempt to offer short reviews on all new products. We'll actually achieve that goal someday.

Tabletop News by Ken Cliffe 44 The superhero miniatures front is rather slim, but "Brush with Destiny" gives more help for preparing miniatures Samplebases. file

Applied Sciences by Stewart Wieck 47 a Torg adventure for the Nile Empire setting. A Weird Scientist goes a little too far with an experiment and touches realms best left undisturbed.

Silicon Dungeon by Jim Trunzo 53 A close look at two computer games based on boardgames created by FASA Corp., plus capsule reviews of two other games.

PBM Corner by Paul Brown 58 The president of Reality Simulations Inc. shows you what the first few turns in a game of Alamaze look like.

A Dagger of Jade by Terry Amthor 61 This sparkling I.C.E. personality presents a fine adventure set in Shadow World for Rolemaster in which the characters travel to a forgotten island and must choose sides between an order of fanatic priests and a prehistoric Dragon Cult.

On the Horizon 72 A preview of the fine material you will find in the next issue of WHITE WOLF Magazine, the annual science fiction issue. Annual Superhero Issue Credits Advertiser Index FebruaryIMarch 1991 Alternate Dimension Enterprises 36 Publisher: White Wolf Bash Con 44 Editor-in-Chief: Stewart Wieck Better Games 53 Assistant Editor: Lisa Stevens Classified Information 5 Contributing Editor: Stephan Wieck Collectors Item 46 Art Director: Richard Thomas Creative Keys 20 Cover Artist: Michael Weaver Cutting Edge Games 39 Cartographers: Ken Cliffe and Chris McDonough Cyborg Games 56 Typesetting: Nicole Lindroos Emprise Game Systems 32 &46 Advertising Director: Stewart Wieck Enchanted Horizons 31 Distributor Sales: Lisa Stevens Fantasy Workshop 35 Staff Writers: Ken Cliffe, Jim Townsend and Jim FASACorp. back cover Trunzo Game Designers' Workshop 29 Line Reviewers: Gene Alloway, Keith Eisenbies, Game Systems, Inc. 30 Matthew Gabbert, Phillip Hessel, Sean Holland, Allen Mixson, Herb Petro, David L. Pulver, Anthony Games Without Frontiers 72 Ragan, John Setzer and Craig Schaefer. Gamemasters Association 58 Art Credits: Tom Dow (pages 51,62,69), Ed Gamescience 71 McKeogh (pages 19,22,24,25,26), and Richard Graaf Simulations 45 Thomas (pages 6, 8) Iron Crown Enterprises 37 Miniatures photo: Ken Cliffe Koplow Games 14 Lance and Laser 60 Printed in the United States of America. Marquee Press 54 Mayfair Games 9 Special thanks this issue to: Mediagenics inside front cover Midnight Games 21 Iron Crown Enterprises for the Rolemaster adven­ Museum Replicas Limited 52 ture"A Dagger of Jade." Sample NAARPfile 65 Paper Tigers 28 Reality Simulations Inc. for the article for this issue's Ral Partha 10-13 PBM Corner. Reality Simulations Inc. inside back cover Silver Griffin 38 Unicorn Games for providing the Quest of the An­ Steve Jackson Games 57 cients article for "Items for Any Realm." T.C. International 59 Twenty-First Century Games 60 Twin Engine Gaming 23 Waterford Publishing 16 White Wolf 17, 27,33,41 e mailing address for all administrative items is: White Wolf, 1298 Winter Place, Anniston, AL 36201 . The phone number is (205)-835-1059. For distributor sales, the mailing address is: White Wolf, 4153 Indian Manor Dr., Stone Mountain, GA 30083. The phone number there is (404) 292-1819; FAX is (404) 292-9426. WHITE WOLF is distributed through subscription and distribution services throughout the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Japan. Overseas subscriptions are available. All subscriptions are priced as follows: any U.S. address= $22, any Canadian address= $32, overseas via surface mail= $45, overseas via airmail= $80. All rates are for twelve issues. Checks or money-orden should be made payable to White Wolf. Subscribers are given constant notification of the last issue of their current subscription by the number following their name on the address label. WHITE WOLF Magazine, Ars Magica, The Challenge, Campaign Book, Storypath Cards, Whimsy Cards, Vampire, The Order of Hermes, The Stormrider, JumpStan Kit, Covenants, The Broken Covenant of Calebais, The Tempest, Saga Pack, White Wolf Adventures and White Wolf are all trademarks and copyrights of White Wolf. All material printed in these pages is the exclusive propeny of White Wolf unless prior arrangements have been made with the authorfanist. None of the material may be reproduced in whole or in pan without prior written permission from the publisher. Third Class postage is paid at Carrollton, GA. Postmaster: Please send address changes to White Wolf, 1298 Winter Place, Anniston, AL 36201. The mention of or reference to any companies or products in these pages is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned. 2 WHITE WOLF Magazine Credits AI!. WHITE WOLF Maga­ a great example of this. The zine continues to grow, I find article provides good material that we are using freelance and the author demonstrates writers more and more. familiarity with the game Sometimes, these freelancers system. are writing pieces that I never expected would be done by ~Wehave anyone other than a magazine decided to allow fiction in the staft"member. This includes magazine again. However, items such as our Capsule Re­ there is a huge prerequisite. views, which are now prepared The fiction must be game- re­ by an energetic and capable lated, meaning that the group offreelancers. events of the story must be set To assist you in prepar­ up in a RPG game world ing material for po88ible publi­ (Torg, Shadowrun, Reich cation in WHITE WOLF Maga­ by Stewart Wieck Star and other games all have zine, I have decided to dedicate evocative settings suitable for this month's RUNES column to this). printing our 1991 Writer's Guidelines. These guidelines should also give you some indication Single Items' We can always use new monsters, magic of the direction we plan to take this coming year (e.g. fiction could items, spells, technological devices, etc. for any of the games that return to these pages). we cover. I hope to see something from you soon. Line Reviewers' In the past, all reviews for the magazine General Information have been prepared by the staff, but recently, we decided to establish Line Reviewer positions. Under this arrangement, you The editors ofWlllTE WOLF Magazine welcome your send two sample reviews for a game system (e.g. Star Wars) and if unsolicited submi88ions. We encourage you to display your artistic you prove yourself capable of writing an insightful review, we will or writing talents for us. Much ofWlllTE WOLF Magazine is add your name to the magazine masthead, give you a free sub­ freelance written and illustrated, so it is partially up to you, the scription, and provide you with free review copies of the new reader, to determine the kind of material we print. releases for that system. In return, you must prepare 500-word reviews of all the new releases for the line. Call to see which posi­ The Query Letter tions are still open. Please precede all lengthy written submissions with a query letter. The letter should be no more than two pages long and &:tim should describe what you intend to send us. What is the plot of the Interior artwork for WHITE WOLF Magazine is done on adventure? What information do you provide in your article? A assignment only. Cover art slots are open to unsolicited submis­ query letter could save you time and money in the event we are not sions. Send slides of your work and we will either ask to use one of interested in your idea or already have a similar article or adven­ your current, unpublished pieces, or we will commission a new ture ready to print. piece. Artists should send all of their work and samples to A Few Pointers Richard Thomas, the Art Director of WHITE WOLF Magazine. He may be contacted at 320 Lernonte St Philadelphia PA 19128. The following general guidelines should be observedSample for file submissions sent to WlllTE WOLF Magazine: Special Sections 1) Submissions should be typed and double-spaced on one Submissions prepared specifically for an upcoming special side of an 8.5 x 11" sheet of white paper. section of the magazine will be treated much more kindly than 2) Always include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped other submissions. Please observe the following deadlines for ma­ Envelope) with any submission. If you do not include a SASE, then terial for these sections: we may be unable to respond to your submission. Science Fiction= February I, Play-by- Mail= April I, Fantasy= June I, Horror= August I , Modern= October I, Super­ The Games we Cover hero= December 1. There is a large assortment ofRPGs on the market and while we attempt to cover all of them, ultimately that goal is im­ Payment Rates practical. Therefore, we have established a single rule to govern Our current rate for written material is two cents per word. our selection of games. The pme must be supported with new Interior artwork is worth $10 per piece and cover art payment is material rel__ d by the company which currently pub­ $250. lish_ the pme. ~ Examples: F ASA continues to release new material for We hope to see many submissions from you very soon. Shadowrun, so we will print material for that game. However, no Please send all non-art submissions to: new Chivalry and Sorcery supplements are being printed by FGU, so we will not cover this game until more material appears. WHITE WOLF Magazine 1298 Winter Place Specific Suggestions Anniston, AI.. 36201 Adyentures' Focus on plot, characters, and roleplaying (205) 835·1059 encounters. We do not want an adventure that is simply a "hack and slash- festival. Into the Heart of Darkness, printed in issue '19, remains a fine example of the balance of encounters we like in adventures. ----· '- . Articles' Tell us about something useful. Provide some new c-/. information that players of the game in question could make im­ mediate use of in their campaigns. The Torg article in issue '24 is

RUNES February/March Issue 3 FroID the Pack

letters from your fellow readers them to be the center of a story. They may still be pawns in a more powerful or crafty villain's plans, but even if tricked, the end result is dependent on the characters, so why Choosing an RPG shouldn't the action focus on them? At heart, I am a writer Dear Mr. Wieck, of fiction, so I guess I view the characters as the main I have a favor to ask you. I am fairly new to RPGs protagonists in a novel. Just as good characters in a novel Oittle experience with D&D), but I find them fascinating. I will take control of the events and direct the hand of the have read your columns and reviews, and you seem to be writer, so should the characters in an adventure direct the very knowledgeable and informative in them (I know it's hand of the gamemaster. your job). On this basis, I recommend two games. I feel that A group of friends and I are interested in getting these two games are the very best on the market. Fortunately involved in a RPG, but are uncertain what to play. We for you, they are both fantasy games. That seems to be your want to try something different than D&D but similar, I genre of choice. The first is Chaosium's Pendragon. The guess. We want magic and monsters as well as new and background and presentation ofPendragon establishes the unique experiences. era of King Arthur as the campaign environment for this As I will probably garnemaster, I need a system that game. When run correctly, this game allows a gamemaster is easy to learn and teach as well as vast enough to keep to create an epic story for his players. In my opinion, everyone interested. I have gone to local hobby stores to Pendragon is the very best RPG produced thus far. See my look at various games reported on or advertised in your review of the new 2nd "edition of the game in WWM #24. magazine. Ars Magica and Runequest sound interesting, I reviewed the other game in WWM #11. ArB Magica but GURPS pledges to be very easy to learn and teach and (ArM), now published by White Wolf, is specifically de­ compatible with others. Worlds Beyond, Rolemaster, signed to help players create a campaign environment with and others all sound interesting too. Could you please covenants of magi (wizards). Please don't mistake the fact suggest a game system that you think will suffice to fill our that White Wolf publishes ArM as a reason for my promo­ needs? I won't hold it against you ifit doesn't work out; I tion of it. In fact, please accept it as yet another reason to just don't want to spend too much time and money trying to consider ArM - the quality of that game was a big part of find the right system. White Wolf Publishing's decision to merge with Lion Rampant. Steve Bush Sample fileHowever, heed my original advice. Accept my recom­ Nashua, NH mendations of these games based on what I have said I look for in a game. There are several other very good RPGs that present interesting settings for stories, and anyone one of [Steve, them is likely to thrill an interested gamer. Torg, You're right, roleplaying games are fascinating. And Shadowrun, Runequest, Space 1889, and others are also they are certainly a lot of fun. I can help you find games worth investigating.] that 1 consider to be very good, but as in all things, and especially in art, as which I feel roleplaying can be classi­ fied, the ultimate determining factor is personal preference. One Opinion of Issue #23 What you want from a RPG and what 1 want can be very different. I feel that the best RPGs are ones that help Dear Mr. Wieck, people tell exciting stories. The players of the game should First, I would like to say that this letter is from a feel as if they are intimately connected to the events of the reader, not a contributor, so my comments should be campaign. It's more than a matter of simply playing a hero without bias (yeah, sure!). [Editor'B Note: ChriB iB the who stumbles upon a town that is in trouble. The kind of author of the Call of Cthulhu adventure, "The Key adventure, or story, that I desire to tell is one in which the and the Gate," in isBue #23.} My failure to respond to hero is somehow drawn to the town because HE is the one the reader survey shamed me into writing this long who must help out. Basically, it's a matter of destiny, not overdue letter. I'll limit my comments to a brief list. chance. 1. Issue #23 can be considered a Best of WHITE Some would argue that this is deux ex machina, but WOLF Magazine. It contains some of the best articles, when a game master is creating a story for a group of adventures and reviews I have ever read in any magazine. players, anything he establishes is deux ex machina. Even a For instance, although I do not play the game, the "Shad­ "random" event for the characters was determined by the owrun Novice Archetypes" rules seem like a fun alternative gamemaster for them. I simply feel that it is important for a to character generation and Mr. Thomas' illustrations (in gamemaster to tailor the story to the characters and allow color!) capture the mood of the game as I imagine it.

4 WHITE WOLF Magazine From the Pack 2. "Reign Storm" is an ideal adventure - compatible the overall layout (headings, stats, etc.) was excellent. with any game system and playable with any level of You have an excellent (and ever-improving) maga­ character. Most importantly, the encounters are imagina­ zine. Keep up the good work. tive and unforgettable. Mr. Earley did an excellent job with the atmosphere and imagery which he says is so important Chris Hind to the encounter. Again, Mr. Thomas' illustration is North York, Ontario incredible. 3. The addition of photographs in "Tabletop News" must continue at all costs. A written description of a The Same Opinion of Issue #23 miniature does not help a reader decide whether it is worth buying as much as a photo does. Dear Stewart, 4. I will probably never get to visit the BattleTech Got White Wolf #23 the other day and I want to Center in Chicago, but Ms. Stevens' review (with photos!) comment on it. First off, I am very surprised that you pay was certainly exciting. so much attention to your reader survey and pleased that 5. "Giving the Devil His Due" was informative and you do. I like the "full poster" effect of the front page. The useful, but I think it could have been improved by some article on "Giving the Devil his Due" was excellent and I examples of how evil spirits figure into folk-lore and am happy that someone else feels that subtle and sneaky, literature. For instance, Mephistopheles in Christopher and not just overt power plays, deserves to be in RPGs. Marlowe's Dr. Faustus springs to mind as an example of "The Key and the Gate" was well written and made for "Demons as Encouragers of Vice." good reading. (I do not have a CthulhulChill type cam­ 6. In "From the Pack," you discussed the possibility of paign, but I do enjoy reading the genre.) I thought "Reign increasing WW to 96 pages. Right on! I'm certainly willing Storm" was choice and will use it in my fantasy world. to part with an extra $1 every two months. Except for the PBM section, I read White Wolf 7. Finally, I think that the author of "The Key and from cover to cover. Every time. You have a responsive the Gate" is very pleased with the presentation of his magazine with very well-written, intelligent articles. adventure. And he should be! The illustrations by Tom Dow were stunning. I look forward to seeing more of his art Allen Mixson in the pages ofWW. Also, the maps were well-rendered and Anaheim, CA

In the belt there is no law ...

Sample file l 7l~ I I l~ l 7 lll~ 1 I 1 I \

people who currantly play P.B.M. games. Corruption, pollution, BELTER is a 100% computer moderated crime, terrorism ... game.

Earth is a cesspool. You've decided to create SEND FOR A FREE START-UP your own society, but will it be any better? PACKET INCLUDING RULE BOOK­ LET AND A STARTING POSITION As the CEO of a large corporation you've WITH TWO FREE TURN CREDITS. made the decision to establish a colony in the asteroid belt b.:Itween Mars and Jupiter. You CLASSIFIED INFORMATION can choose to control vast mining operations, manufacture high-tech products or become P.O. BOX 39 the rogue of the belt. The decision is yours, for SANDY. UT. 84091 there is no law except survival of the fittest. Turn fees: $1.50 single turn For an unparalleled gaming experience, sign $3.00 double turn up for BELTEA and join the thousands of C 1990 by Classified Infomalion. All rights reserved.

From the Pack February/March Issue 5