Dragon Magazine #119
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CONTENTS Magazine Issue # 119 Vol. XI, No. 10 SPECIAL ATTRACTION March 1987 9 DRUIDS: Those who know Mother Nature best. Publisher Underestimating Druids (is a bad practice) Carl Sargent Mike Cook 10 Druids are much more powerful than you might think (or might hope). Editor 18 Is There a Doctor in the Forest? John Warren Roger E. Moore A little holistic medicine goes a long way in the woods. Assistant editor Fiction editor 22 On Becoming the Great Druid William Volkart and Robin Jenkins Robin Jenkins Patrick L. Price Great Druids are made, not born and the process is difficult and long. 28 Cantrips for DruidsNaturally Rick Reid Editorial assistants Bird calls, bug repellent, and a cure for poison ivy. Marilyn Favaro Barbara G. Young Georgia Moore Eileen Lucas 30 King of the Jungle Ed Greenwood The best friend a druid ever had: the beastmaster. Art director Roger Raupp OTHER FEATURES Production assistant Gloria Habriga 36 The Uldra Calle Lindstrand A new demi-human for those who like dwarves, gnomes, and the northern forests. Advertising Subscriptions 42 The Ecology of the Korred Ed Greenwood Pat Schulz Mary Parkinson Come and join the dance you may not be able to resist it. Creative editors 46 The Dragons Bestiary The Readers Ed Greenwood Jeff Grubb Not everything in the forest is small, cute, furry, and helpful. Contributing artists 54 Henchmen and Hirelings Charles Olsen Paul Arpino Martin Cannon An update and review of the rules on those special NPCs. Darlene Jeff Easley Larry Elmore Jim Holloway 59 The Game Wizards Jeff Grubb Remembering the Forgotten Realms . and things to come. Daniel Horne Marvel Bullpen Richard Tomasic Dwain Meyer 63 The Pawns of Crux Steven Saylor David Trampier A slavers game becomes a crucible for courage. 77 Politics Amid the Rubble Douglas Lent More of the rubble rousers of the GAMMA WORLD® game. 79 The Role of Books John C. Bunnell Punk elves, shared worlds, and more. 82 The Marvel®-Phile Jeff Grubb The newest X-Man has her telepathic eyes on you. 84 This is Only a Test Lawrence Liao If this had been an actual emergency, your agent would have been dead. DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 88 TSR Profiles 97 Snarfquest 4 World Gamers Guide 90 TSR Previews 100 Dragonmirth 6 Forum 92 Gamers Guide 102 Wormy 74 Sage Advice 94 Convention Calendar COVER Daniel Horne, our cover artist this month, was in the mood to do a historical subject. His painting, entitled The Real Reason the Romans left Britain, depicts a little-known episode in British history, in which two Roman foot soldiers have bumped into Kostchtchie, the surly fellow from page 40 of the Monster Manual II. Of the unsquashed legionnaire, Daniel writes, Boy, is he going to get it! 2 MARCH 1987 LETTERS One for Michael It happens now and then that role- playing gamers feel called upon to explain why they like gaming and what they enjoy about it. A lot of devoted entirely to science-fiction articles? I am interesting excuses are trotted out, Finding Chainmail a player of the D&D game but prefer science- most of them perfectly valid -- but fiction games more. In fact, there seem to be perhaps missing the main point of it Dear Dragon: quite a few good science-fiction game articles all in the attempt to prove that I have been playing the D&D® and AD&D® when you glance through the index published in games for about five years and have rarely been issue #112. A lot of SF role-players might like gaming has some redeeming social disappointed. Im proud to say that Ive only the magazines SF material published under one value. played about three prepared dungeons in my cover. How about it? It is certainly true that you can life and found them to he very boring and There is another idea I have been thinking learn a lot from role-playmg games. limiting. I enjoy using the three original books about for a few years With all the good articles The amount of incidental learning (Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, DRAGON Magazine has been running on the can be outstanding; I know more and Monster Manual ), although I have all the background and mechanics of a fantasy world, about medieval pole arms now than books and sometimes use Unearthed Arcana why not put them together in one volume called I did before I first played in a D&D® and Legends & Lore. What I want to know is, Fantasy Source Book? Articles such as those on game, for example. In a more seri- what ever happened to the Chainmail rule running a castle, currency, sailing ships, and book? Ive only heard that it was the original weather could be included Such a book should ous vein, weve received a number game. What was it like and how does it differ be a generic type, not orientated strictly toward of letters from teachers and parents from todays game? Im asking because the idea the D&D or AD&D game. It should be some- who give glowing reports on stu- of a more basic system appeals to me. I find thing that a person with a different fantasy role- dents who formerly had academic plenty of adventure in fighting with NPCs, and I playing system would want to buy just as an problems or lacked interest in read- treat monsters as rarities, preferring to use information source. Also included in this book, ing until they discovered role- basic monster types (i.e., trolls, giants, and at the end of the articles or as a separate article, playing. Then, there was no way to dragons). Let me know whats what. should be a critical bibliography. Something that stop the students from exploring the Richard Roughgarden would say, If you can buy only one or two local libraries to research ancient, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil books on the subject, buy these, or If you want a complete collection and have the money, buy modern, and speculative hooks and The Chainmail rules are a set of wargaming it otherwise, pass it by. I think DRAGON papers usually for use in gaming, rules for medieval miniatures, written by Gary Magazine did one or two articles on bibliogra- of course, though the teachers and Gygax and Jeff Perren in the mid-1970s. The phies in the past already A well-done Fantasy parents pointed out that this behav- booklet is only 44 pages long, and the majority Source Book could be a hot-selling item in TSRs ior generalized. Students in role- of it is devoted to historical medieval military line of products. playing seem to develop stronger units (such as Swiss pikemen, Turkish archers, George F. Cooper III interests in reading than they did arquibusiers, and feudal knights). A special 14- Parma, OH before their gaming habits started. page section covers fantasy combat rules; when Other people point out that role- compared to the current state of the AD&D and We, too, have considered a “Best of" science- playing games are mind-expanding. D&D games, these rules look very “basic” fiction collection, and other readers have sug- indeed! gested the same idea. What we need most now The games present unusual thought The silver-covered Chainmail rules may be is feedback from our readers: Would you be problems to gamers which they purchased from the TSR® Mail Order Hobby interesting in such a collection? What games must then solve, using only their Shop. For a catalog, write to: The TSR Mail and articles would you most like to see in such a imaginations and a set of rule books. Order Hobby Shop, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva collection? What about super-powered hero It is conceivable that one could not WI 53147. From the sound of your letter, I articles? only learn new ways to solve prob- would guess that you might also want to see the Fantasy Source Book, our As for the current lems in general, but could also gain original D&D game rules if you want a less- series of “Best of” Anthologies seem to fill the the spark of creativity itself from complicated game system than the AD&D game, bill already. Anything we could produce would gaming. Gamers reward the unique though the current edition of the D&D game greatly overlap the material in all of the pre- (particularly using the Basic, Expert, and Com- vious anthologies. However, we are always idea, the bizarre plan that works, panion rules alone) serves very well. The origi- taking new ideas for articles that should be the solution no one else thought of. nal D&D game rules (those three little tan collected for future anthologies; see the follow- There are lots of other good things booklets that you hear so much about) are not ing letter. — RM about gaming, hut the one that has Chainmail well polished and make use of the meant the most to me is rarely men- rules in some places, but they are extremely tioned. When I remember the best interesting. times that I had while gaming, I Running a fantasy campaign using the Chainmail rules would be a challenge — on the A module think about the people I met and the other hand, we did receive a letter from an friendships that gaming forged. Australian gamer who had run exactly such a anthology? There's Bill, for example, who was campaign for several years. Anything’s possible. with the very first gaming group I — RM Dear Dragon.