D RAGON I Publisher: Mike Cook Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan An open letter . Editorial staff: Marilyn Favara Gali Sanchez To all of you who entered our Dun- Contents geon Design Contest, and those who Roger Raupp Patrick L. Price can’t wait to find out who won: The judg- Vol. VII, No. 8 February 1983 Business manager: Debra Chiusano ing will be well under way by the time Office staff: Sharon Walton you read this, and we‘re hoping to be SPECIAL ATTRACTION Pam Maloney able to publish one of the winning entries Product design: Eugene S. Kostiz as soon as the March (#71) or April (#72) MECHlCA . 35 Layout designer: Ruth M. Hodges issue. Our plan is to try to wade through A new AD&D™ adventure Contributing editors: Roger Moore the 200+ entries and establish winners in Ed Greenwood two categories every 30 days. Even at National advertising representative: that rate (which time wilt tell if we’ll be OTHER FEATURES Robert LaBudde & Associates, Inc. able to maintain), it’ll be 10 months 2640 Golf Road before we can tell the world about the The Smith . 5 Glenview IL 60025 Phone (312)724-5860 winners in all of the 20 categories, Have Metal working for humans only patience, and we’ll do our best. To all of you who have written En over . 8 This issue’s contributing artists: The hull truth about speed Dean Morrissey Larry Elmore the last few months asking for writers’ faster Big ships should be Keith Parkinson Roger Raupp guidelines: The reason you don‘t have Jim Holloway Phil Foglio ‘em is because we don’t have a sheet of Giants can be awful Jeff Easley Dave Trampier or awe-ful . 14 instructions completely prepared. A half- draft has been gathering dust and coffee Using GITE characters properly DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub- lished monthly for a subscription price of $24 stains on Ye Olde Editor’s desk for quite 27 per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR a while now. YOE has finally come to Dwarves in Space . Hobbies, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI Joining fantasy and SF gaming 53147. realize that the thing isn’t going to write itself, and he hereby promises to finish it DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby A second volley . 31 stores and bookstores throughout the United up and get it ready to send out before the More firearms in AD&D terms States and Canada, and through a limited number end of February. Have patience, and of overseas outlets. Subscription rates are as we’ll do our best. follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to a U.S. or Cana- How to make the most out of dian address; $50 U.S. for 32 issues sent via To all of you who have submitted FRP tournaments . 48 surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air mail computer programs for our considera- to any other country. All payments must be in tion: We almost bit off more than we . 60 advance. The game within a game could chew when we asked for reader- Characters as chess players A limited quantity of certain back issues of DRAGON Magazine can be purchased directly submitted programs. We got a lot of from the publisher by sending the cover price them; unfortunately, we didn’t also get a plus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue big block of time to sit down at a key- REGULAR OFFERINGS ordered. Payment in advance by check or mon- ey order must accompany all orders. Payments board and try them out. The work is pro- cannot be made through a credit card, and ceeding slowly but surely. Evaluating Out on a Limb. 3 orders cannot be taken nor merchandise re- letters from readers served by telephone. Neither an individual cus- programs is especially difficult — tough- tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub- er than assessing the quality of regular scription order or a back-issue purchase unless From the Sorceror’s Scroll: prior arrangements are made. article manuscripts — because (a) we Social status & birth tables . 11 have to judge every program on a rela- The issue of expiration for each subscription tive basis; that is, how does it stack up A ‘caste’ of characters . 12 is printed on the mailing label for each subscrib- Falling damage. 13 er’s copy of the magazine. Changes of address against other programs designed to ac- for the delivery of subscriptions must be received complish the same thing? and (b) we at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the Deities & Demigods change in order to insure uninterrupted delivery. have to be real sure that any program we of Greyhawk . accept and print is Perfect: no typos, no All material published in DRAGON Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the publisher glitches, no nothin’. Have patience, and Figure Feature: Knights. 24 upon publication, unless special arrangements we’ll do our best. First in a series to the contrary are made prior to publication. To all of you who’ve read all the way DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited sub- missions of written material and artwork; how- through this without finding anything Castles by Carroll . 30 ever, no responsibility for such submissions can that interested you: If you do have a sub- III: Jericho be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission which is accompanied by a self- ject concerning any of our policies and addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size procedures that you’d like to know about, Convention schedule . 64 will be returned to the contributor if it cannot be published. drop us a short line, and in a subsequent Off the Shelf . 67 issue maybe we’ll use this space to DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish- answer your question, Have patience, Book reviews ing’s monthly adventure playing aid. All rights on the contents of this publication are reserved, and . heck, you know the rest. Game reviews: and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part without prior permission in writing Citybook I . 70 from the publisher. Copyright © 1983 by TSR Civilization . 71 Hobbies, inc. 73 Daredevils . Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Wis., and additional mailing Offices, What’s New . 75 POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110 Lake Geneva Wormy . 77 WI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D, and TOP SECRET are registered trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies Inc. ™ designates other trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. 2 FEBRUARY 1983 he roots of fantasy role- playing are planted in the soil of northern European culture, but that doesn’t mean your campaign can’t branch out to explore other climates and other social systems. That fact illustrates the secondary purpose behind our pub- lication of MECHICA, this month’s spe- cial feature. (The primary purpose is for you to have fun!) DMs and players alike doubt that small group of people would be Tides and rivers happy to see at least an occasional article on should find it interesting, to say the least, one of their favorites. But the vast majority of to deal with a situation and a society that Dear Editor: those who buy this magazine would have no aren’t typical of the circumstances in I found David Axler’s article on weather use for such material, and for that reason sel- which most FRP adventures take place. (issue #68) to be quite interesting and very dom do we devote space to such games. MECHICA is not the only “un-typical” useful. He’s obviously taken a great deal of Our specialty is coverage of the D&D® and element in this issue; just in case any of time to assemble a system that is greatly AD&D™ game systems — the most popular you faithful readers were starting to detailed and accurate — aside from a couple role-playing games available today. If Space think we were getting predictable, the of small points. Opera, or Champions, or any other role- articles you’ll find inside should shoot I refer specifically to the section on tides playing game ever equals or exceeds their and currents (Appendix B). To begin with, popularity, it would certainly be to our benefit that theory full of holes. On that topic, anyone who’s spent any time near or on the — and the benefit of our readers — to change check out “A Second Volley,” contribut- ocean knows that there are two high tides the content of DRAGON Magazine to reflect ing editor Ed Greenwood’s further exam- each day, not one as would be implied by Mr. the change in the public’s preference. We ination of primitive firearms that might Axler’s explanation. The proper explanation know we can’t make everyone perfectly happy, be adapted into an AD&D milieu — if should read, “High tides will occur when the so we have to “settle” for doing the greatest both the DM and the players are very moon is overhead and when it is on the other good for the greatest number. — KM careful how they’re used. side of the planet. Low tides will occur when Ed’s other offering is “The Smith,” a the moon is on the horizon (at a 90” angle).” (This explanation can be further developed Staples and cards new NPC born from the opinion that when one considers the effects of lag — the humans ought to be able to work with time it will take the tidal swell to get through Dear Editor: metal as well as dwarves can — if they narrow channels, up rivers, etc.; I’m not famil- There are a couple of things I think would specialize in the craft and work long and iar with the maps for Greyhawk, and therefore help make your magazine a little better.