Dragon Magazine #121
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D RAGON 1 CONTENTS Magazine Issue # 121 Vol. XI, No. 12 May 1987 SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS Publisher Mike Cook 15 ORIENTAL ADVENTURING: The realms of Kara-Tur and Oriental Adventures. Editor Roger E. Moore 16 Whaddya mean, Jack the Samurai? Barbara Curtis A roster of Japanese names for Oriental characters. Assistant editor Fiction editor Robin Jenkins Patrick L. Price 26 The Deadliest Perfume John P. Brown The lotus blossom: a special sort of treasure. Editorial assistants Eileen Lucas Barbara G. Young 32 The Life and Death of a Castle David Zeb Cook Georgia Moore A Japanese castles tale, based on real-world history. Art director 38 The Geisya Gregg Sharp Roger Raupp Performer, poet, musician, magician a special NPC class. Production Staff 42 The Genin David Howery Marilyn Favaro Gloria Habriga A single-class ninja and master executioner in one package. Subscriptions Advertising 45 Sun Dragon Castle designed by Dennis Kauth, text by Robin Jenkins Pat Schulz Mary Parkinson A fold-up project thats not for amateurs: An Oriental castle! Creative editors Ed Greenwood Jeff Grubb OTHER FEATURES Contributing artists Jim Holloway Stanley Fukuoka 10 The Game Wizards David Zeb Cook Joseph Pillsbury Hank Jankus The readers responses to the most horrifying column we ever ran. Larry Elmore David Trampier Dwain Meyer Richard Tomasic 50 Love and Ale Nick ODonohoe Ron Kauth Bruce Simpson A special DRAGONLANCE® tale about . uh, well, love and ale. David Trampier Marvel Bullpen Dennis Kauth Richard Cameron 64 The Marvel®-Phile Jeff Grubb Ms. Marvel and the Augments of the Power Broker. 70 The Role of Books John C. Bunnell Cybernetic samurai, Wild Cards, and C.J. Cherryhs shared world of Merovingen. 74 Operation: Zodiac Merle Rasmussen, Jackie Rasmussen, and Roger Moore Twelve Space Shuttle missions for agent-astronauts in the TOP SECRET® game. DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 68 TSR Previews 89 Snarfquest 4 OMG Guide 81 TSR Profiles 92 Dragonmirth 6 Forum 84 Gamers Guide 94 Wormy 20 Sage Advice 86 Convention Calendar COVER Jim Holloways sixth cover was one he particularly enjoyed doing. Samurai clash, wu jen hurl spells, and the earth trembles beneath the ferocity of the battle, bring- ing the essence of warfare in Kara-Tur to life. Looking down over the chaos, a general solemnly weighs the outcome, as his fate and that of his fortress hang in the balance. 2 MAY 1987 LETTERS Something new One of the improvements weve made in DRAGON® Magazine in recent months is to add new fea- tures to it, to better the reader feedback we get (thank you for your run. For instance, when PCs travel through the cards and letters, by the way; weve Getting started: I wilderness, do you just say, Okay, you just read them all). This issue is no traveled 72 miles through some mountains exception. Dear Dragon: without any encounters, or would you go into For example, we have Oriental more detail? ® I find myself in a dilemma. I have been play- Adventures articles for AD&D game ing AD&D games for some time now. I moved A second question I have is about marching players who love ninjas and black order. How closely should it be followed? I to California and started off seven new people lotus dust, as well as other articles on to the world of role-playing. We have been know it determines which characters can playing now for two years. attack, but what if a party is searching a room Oriental castles and a complete, 3-D, My first dilemma is encouraging players to be for details and a monster shows up? Should I Oriental fortress that is decidely NOT DMs. I love playing as much as refereeing but use the marching order to determine who gets a toy. We have a brand new find it difficult to do so as of the last two years; to attack? DRAGONLANCE® fiction story, and none of the players feel qualified to be DMs, I Finally, when characters wish to recover hit we also present articles on diverse guess. Please publish an article on DMing if you points in a town, do you just roll for wandering topics like instant super powers, havent already. Maybe they will read it and be monsters each day until they are healed, or astronaut spies in space, and the further encouraged. should something else be happening at this future of the AD&D game (the infa- My second dilemma is that I am trying to get time? mous Who Dies: Part II). But new the gamers involved in the GAMMA WORLD® I think that an article for beginning DMs game, but their excuse is that there simply isnt would be greatly appreciated. articles are not the end of the line. enough info on it to play in depth. If you have Scott Sonsalla There is more we want to do. any such information, please let me know. Independence WI On page 4, youll find our My third dilemma is that I just recently start- annoucement for the Overseas ed trying to complete my collection of DRAGON Well, now we will hunt for some articles that Military Gamers Guide. Weve want- Magazines. I have seen issues where I can order help get new DMs started. Such articles would ed DRAGON Magazine to perform back issues, but they are currently outdated. certainly have helped me (as noted above). more gamer-related services to Please send or print a list of issues I may You are free to give as much or as little better the hobby as a whole, and acquire. description about the events of passing through Mark Tarrance the wilderness as you like. If you are primarily (having been stationed in West Ger- Riverside CA concerned with getting the PCs to the dungeon many for three years) this aspect of or castle they want to raid, its generally best to gaming is rather dear to my heart. Well check our files and see what we have on skip over the details and just let them arrive. Additionally, we are considering how to become a DM. However, you might However; its a nice idea to throw in an encount- other gamer services we could run. simply encourage one of the players to run his er or two on occasion to keep the players on Weve discussed a classified ads own game, keeping in mind that a novice ref- their toes. At the other end of the scale, you column, for example. Our concerns eree always makes lots of mistakes dont rub could roll for encounters as given in the DMG, right now are whether we actually it in when they do. When I first ran a D&D pages 47 and 182-189, or you could devise a have the space in which to run it, game, I rolled for monster encounters once per random-encounter table of your own, adding hour of game time, flooding the terrified charac- only the monsters you want the PCs to meet. and how much to charge for entries. ters with dragons and such. The players forgave When a monster is scheduled to show up in a Some readers want to know me but carefully pointed out that the game was dungeon, first ask the players to tell where their whats become of the WORLD OF a little slower paced than that. With their characters are and to describe what the PCs are GREYHAWK Fantasy Setting. We encouragement, I became almost tolerable as a doing. After youve chosen the direction from have some plans for that, too game master. which the monster is coming, it should be easy plans that tie in nicely with more Were a little confused on what your players to tell who will be attacked first. DRAGONLANCE information and think is missing from the GAMMA WORLD game When characters are resting in town, you can more on the FORGOTTEN REALMS in terms of in depthplay material. You might decide to roll for random encounters or not, as Setting. In a sense, this counts as a talk to them and get some specifics on what you desire, as per the earlier question on wil- theyre looking for, if they are really interested in derness encounters. Usually, its nice to let the reader service, too many cam- playing the game. Much of the work in detailing PCs rest without encounters, but sometimes its paigns are based on Oerth and the futuristic world of that game rests with the fun to toss in an attack by assassins or dopple- Krynn, and more information is game master i.e., you. You can make the future gangers, too. needed on those places. into any form you wish, leaving as much or as By the way, we will pass all future letters Our primary goal is to entertain little of the Ancients cultural debris lying around about how one should operate role-playing you, but we also hope to keep the as you like. games to our Sage Advice columnist for his hobby strong. Our Convention Calen- The back-issue advertisements for DRAGON® expert advice. dar, the World and Overseas Military Magazine are run frequently, but may be a little Gamers Guides, the Game Wizards irregular now and then. and Forum columns, Sage Advice, More columns? and the TSR Previews columns are meant to inform and promote, to Dear Dragon: keep gaming alive and well. If we can Getting started: II I am impressed with the new format and style do more, let us know. Were waiting for DRAGON Magazine. I thought that when the to hear from you.