Dragon Magazine #181
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SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS Issue #181 Vol. XVI, No. 12 The Secrets of Gaming Sorcery May 1992 9 Make the most of your magecraft. Sorcery & Strategy Thomas M. Kane Publisher 10 When it comes to warfare, dont get caught with your cloak of James M. Ward protection down. Editor Pages from the Mages Ed Greenwood Roger E. Moore 14 Why you dont want to be hit by a blackstaff spell, and more. That's Certainly Un-Familiar! Len Carpenter Associate editor 22 Turn your black cat familiar into more than a liability. Dale A. Donovan Fiction editor REVIEWS Barbara G. Young The Role of Computers Hartley, Kirk, and Patricia Lesser Editorial assistant 57 Trapped in your favorite computer game? The clues you need might Wolfgang H. Baur well be here. Role-playing Reviews Rick Swan Art director 72 Blood, axes, and plunder three views of Vikings. Larry W. Smith The Role of Books John C. Bunnell Production staff 82 Doc Savage, Tom Swift, and Dracula make their literary returns. Gaye OKeefe Angelika Lokotz Tracey Zamagne Mary Roath Through the Looking Glass Robert Bigelow 112 A mother dragon and her babies and the knight they invited to Subscriptions dinner. Janet L. Winters O THER FEATURES U.S. advertising Roseann Schnering Bazaar of the Bizarre Chris Hind 30 Two mystical new items from the Orient: dragon bones and a sword U.K. correspondent of storms. and U.K. advertising Bronwen Livermore The Voyage of the Princess Ark Bruce A. Heard 41 A point of honor leads to the wildest of chariot races. More Magic for Beginners Gregory W. Detwiler 52 You need magical items that wont unbalance your campaign? Look no further! Homebody Heroes Len Carpenter 66 If you dont go adventuring, what good are you? The Game Wizards David Zeb Cook 87 A game designer reveals all (a little late, perhaps). A Very Special Agent Tony Lee 90 A TOP SECRETS/S.I. game agent needs every advantage he can get. The MARVEL®-Phile Steven E. Schend 95 News you can use from the MARVEL UNIVERSE. DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters 64 TSR Previews 102 Dragonmirth 6 Editorial 78 Forum 104 Twilight Empire 35 Convention Calendar 99 Sage Advice 108 Gamers Guide COVER If you like hunting for odd little things in cover paintings, Robin Woods cover is a gem. False teeth for a skull, a gumball machine, a phone book, and Robin Woods name are all woven into the picture, as are Robins husband Michael, son Tony, and cat Bridie. The pictures name: Never Set the Cat on Fire. 4 MAY 1992 DRAGON@ Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) IS published monthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756 (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, United States of America. The postal address for all materials from the United States of America and Canada except subscription orders is DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A., telephone (414) 248-3625, fax (414) 248-0389 The postal address for all materials from Europe is DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cam- bridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom, telephone. (0223) 212517 (U.K.), 44-223-212517 (international), telex 818761, fax (0223) 248066 (U.K.), 44-223-248066 (international). What did you think of this issue? Do you have spell. By reducing the frequency to 5%, roughly Distribution: DRAGON Magazine IS available from game a question about an article or have an idea for a every twentieth spell rolled will be rare, which and hobby shops throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and through a limited number of other new feature you’d like to see? In the United means you’ll have to sift through seven or more overseas outlets Distribution to the book trade in the United States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON® wizards to find just one with a rare third-level States IS by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, spell. In all the DARK SUN adventures written House of Canada. Ltd. Distribution to the book trade in the United Kingdom IS by TSR Ltd. Send orders to: Random U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON to date, there aren’t seven mid- to high-level House, Inc., Order Entry Department, Westminster MD 21157, Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry wizards to encounter. U.S.A.; telephone: (800) 733-3000 Newsstand distribution Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. A great deal of thought went into this list and throughout the United Kingdom IS by Comag Magazine FORGOTTEN Marketing, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE, into the Random Spell Lists in the United Kingdom, telephone. 0895-444055 REALMS Adventures hardbound on which it Subscriptions: Subscription rates via second-class mail are was based, and into the Monstrous Compendi- as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent to an address in um that the US. or Canada: £21 for 12 issues sent to an address within Errata-NOT! frequency system on which was based. the United Kingdom; £30 for 12 issues sent to an address in The numbers get very tricky, but I’ll stand by Europe; $50 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent by surface mail to we ran the letter on DARK SUN the original Spell Frequency Table as written; any other address, or $90 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent air After mail to any other address. Payment in full must accompany all errata in DRAGON issue #178, we received a use it if you ever want to run into wizards with payment include checks or money orders made payable to letter from Timothy B. Brown, a games editor rare spells. TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA credit cards; Timothy B. Brown send subscription orders with payments to: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box here at TSR, Inc. and the coordinator of the 5695, Boston MA 02206, U.S.A. In the United Kingdom, DARK SUN setting materials we produce. We TSR, Inc. methods of payment include cheques or money orders made present his letter below: payable to TSR Ltd., or charges to a valid ACCESS or VISA credit card; send subscription orders with payments to TSR Ltd., as per that address above. Prices are subject to change Dear Dragon, without prior notice. The issue of expiration of each subscrip- After reading the letter in DRAGON issue Praise fiction! tion is printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy of #178 the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of subscrip- regarding the frequency of rare spells in tion copies must be received at least six weeks prior to the my article, “Random Magic for Organized Dear Dragon, effective date of the change in order to assure uninterrupted Minds,” in issue #173, I feel I must respond. Why is it that there are no letters praising the delivery magnificent short stories in each issue and their Back issues: A limited quantity of back issues IS available Hold on, there! Let’s look again before we from either the TSR Mail Order Hobby Shop (P.O. Box 756, drop the frequency of rare spells to 5%. The authors? In my opinion, the stories deserve as Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.) or from TSR Ltd. For a free writer’s calculations are accurate, but his con- many compliments as the informational articles, copy of the current catalog that lists available back issues, if not more! I hope there is no intention of doing write to either of the above addresses clusions are flawed. In fact, he touched upon Submissions: All material published in DRAGON Magazine the flaw in his letter, stating correctly that “each away with the stories to make room for more of becomes the exclusive property of the publisher, unless special individual spell in the “Rare” list is much more the glory-hogging information articles. arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. I hope that if this letter sees print, there will DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions of common than any single “Uncommon” spell.” written material and artwork: however, no responsibility for The key word is individual; as in the letter’s be a change. Readers should give some credit to such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in any example, a wizard is slightly more likely to this magazine’s short-story authors. They are event. Any submission accompanied by a self-addressed, water breathing one of the reasons I subscribe! stamped envelope of sufficient size will be returned if it cannot know (a rare spell) than he is to be published. We strongly recommend that prospective authors know blink (an uncommon spell), but he will Mathew W. Hurd write for our writers’ guidelines before sending an article to us. know more uncommon spells than rare spells. Utica NY In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (9½" long preferred) to: Writers’ Guidelines, Take, for example, a wizard with 100 third-level c/o DRAGON Magazine, as per the above address; include Credit also goes to fiction editor Barbara G. spells (a butch wizard indeed!). Statistically he sufficient American postage or International Reply Coupons should have 75 from the common list, 15 from Young and editorial assistant (slush-pile reader) with the return envelope In Europe, write to: Writers’ Guide- Wolfgang H. Baur, who select and edit the lines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd; Include sufficient uncommon, and 10 from the rare spells list return postage or IRCs with your SASE.