1 — The Magazine of Fantasy, Swords & Sorcery, and Science Fiction Game Playing — Because this issue had to go to press much earlier than usual, the return of Out On A Limb has been delayed one month. We are trying to get back on what we once called our schedule, and we are gearing up with a new printer with a longer lead time. Sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment. — Ed. ******** This issue contains an article sure to arouse the ire of many fantasy purists. I’m referring, of course, to the RAIL BARON piece. It is sure to set off howls of anguish in some quarters, and yet, even knowing that, I feel it should be published, and have done so. The big question now must certainly be WHY? Why, indeed? The reason is more substantial than the fact that I really enjoy playing RB any chance I get (regrettably too seldom): I feel that RAIL BARON will prove to be a classic game, and deserves exposure. It is certainly no less a fantasy to become a railroad magnate than to fight Features monsters, or explore outer space, though admittedly the scope is less sweeping. Search for the Nile Revisited — The Designer Replies .................... 3 ******** The Hall of Mystery — A do-it-yourself D&D Module ................... 14 Rail Baron — A Future Classic Dissected .............................. 16 After all the bad news in last month’s RUMBLES, I have even more this That “Other” Dungeon! — an old favorite rejuvenated ................... 24 month. It seems the paper situation is worsening, and supplies are getting Monty Strikes Back — The Return of Monty Haul ...................... 26 even tighter. If that isn’t bad enough, the news that paper prices are going Finieous Fingers ................................................... 28 up an additional 13% in December was not heartily received. As over 60% Design/ Designer’s Forum of our costs are for paper, you can surmise what that does to us. Just after The Other Humorous Side of D&D— Killer DMs ....................... 6 we are forced to raise our prices for the first time in two years, another What Do You Call A 25th Level M-U? — lofty appellations ............... 7 inflationary broadside has belted us, eating up our entire margin of safety. “Same Old Monster” Blues — a quick cure .............................. 8 We are vigorously exploring all avenues of recourse in light of the Encounters with Personality — livening up your game ................... 11 staggering news. ******** Variants Inflation in D&D — burning up excess loot ............................. 9 We have some “good stuff,” as Chuck Barris would say, coming up in Prophet Proofing — Warding off the evil eye ............................ 9 future issues for your delectation. Next month will see the publishing of the Boot Hill Encounters — what to do between bank-jobs .................. 10 first International DM List. The response was somewhat less than Sensible Sorcery — some limits on spell research ........................ 10 expected, but a good one nonetheless. Reviews We have a new Gardner Fox tale that will be published in Feb.; another The Dragonlords ................................................... 7 saga of Niall of the Far Travels, created especially for TD. Olympica ......................................................... 13 In a more general vein, we have a number of kettles boiling for future King Arthur’s Knights .............................................. 22 issues, including another odd game or two, and some more outrageous The Silmarillion ................................................... 25 songs, as well as some as-yet-unpublished charts and tables for Adv D&D. I urge all of you reading this that consider themselves pretty good dungeon or encounter designers to enter the Module Contest. We are giving a lot of valuable prizes, and the winner, and perhaps others, will appear in TD. The staff of TSR Periodicals wishes you all a pleasant and safe holiday Publisher E. Gary Gygax Art Dept. Dave Sutherland season. A Managing Ed. T.J. Kask David A. Trampier TD Editor T.J. Kask Tom Wham LW Editor Joe Orlowski Circulation Mgr. Joe Orlowski If your mailing label says TD 21 — this is your last issue Publisher’s Statement THE DRAGON is published monthly by TSR Periodicals, a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc.. P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva. WI 53147. It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $24 per 13 issues. Single copy and back issue price is $2.00, but availability of back issues is not guaranteed. Subscriptions outside the U.S. and Canada are $28 per 6 issues, and are air-mailed overseas. (Payment must be made in U.S. currency or by international money order.) All material published herein becomes the exclusive property of the publisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are made. Subscription expiration is coded onto the mailing list. The number to the right of the name, prefixed by “LW” or “TD” is the last issue of the subscription. Notices will not be sent. Change of address must be filed 30 days prior to mailing date. Unsolicited material cannot be returned unless accompanied by a stamped return envelope, and no responsibility for such material can be assumed by the publisher in any event. All rights on the entire contents of this publication are reserved, and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. Copyright 1978 by TSR HOBBIES. INC. Second-Class Postage paid at Lake Geneva. WI 53147 2 Search for the Nile Revisited: Designers Notes, Addenda, Clarifications & Response by David Wesely ED. NOTE: As soon as he had finished his article on Search for the Nile, & direction of rivers when it became obvious that the only playtesters who (Published in TD last month) Gary Gygax mailed a photocopy to Dave. wanted us to include these diagrams were the computer-trained ones who Because of press-time, the inherent delays in using the U.S. Mails, etc., Mr. could read them! Wesely's reply was not in time for the last issue, and it came in the form of a The “main sequence” format breaks down when there are topics that letter. However, it makes an excellent follow-up article and provides some must be referred to from several other rules, e.g., NATIVES: fascinating ideas and insights. Having been infected with “SftN Fever" by POISONING EXPLORER could follow NATIVES: NEGOTIATION, my publisher, I am now among the ranks of admirers of this fascinating EXPLORER SPECIALTIES: EVANGELISM or EXPLORER game. SPECIALTIES: MEDICINE. To handle this the rules do have a TABLE Length OF CONTENTS which gives the location of any rule to which one is As we say on page 2 of the rule book exploring the whole of Africa at one referred. sitting is a marathon task. Our playtesters found it to take about 8½ hours. Completeness of Rules Of course fans of Drag Nach Osten will find this to be nothing - but for As you remark, the rules are reminiscent of the original D&D@. In part people with more moderate gaming tastes, we recommend a 20-turn limit. this is because both attempt to leave room for imagination and creativity That is, each player is given 20 turns to get organized, get into Africa, make on the part of the player. This similarity also arises from the fact that both some significant discoveries and (if he survives) to publish them. (Knowing sets of rules had to be cut down to be published, with the hope of releasing when to quit is the most important skill in the game. The greatest killer of further material as suppliments. Our first suppliment, called “Tributary” is expeditions is STUPIDITY. In a 20-turn game one is forced to pick an being prepared for release around December 1, '78 and will answer a good objective that can be accomplished in a reasonable time - e.g. finding the many questions that other people have asked us. source of the Benue, not the Nile.) A 20-turn game, with a full six players ( 120 turns in all) can be played in about 2 hours, once the players are used to Clarifications the rules. While some turns can be much longer-with mapping, discovery DISASTERS: O.K. I’m game. Although I prefer to make retribution of natives, negotiations, battles, more negotiations, trading, and hunting for being too stingy to hire a guide more certain, your suggestion is more all happening in a single turn - the average player turn will run about 1 realistic. minute in length. EXPLORING: MOVEMENT. As you point out, through a I wish we had been more specific in our recommendation as to time-limit combination of rules, Jungle Swamp hexes are impossible. They were games. In the rules we left limits to players’ discretion; this has evidently left intended to be impassible. However, there are two exceptions. First, a number of players with the impression that you have to try to explore the canoes can follow the coast thru a jungle-swamp hex (or any other kind of whole map in each game. hex, for that matter). Secondly, where guides can be hired in a jungle After playing a 20-turn game, we recommend that the players leave its swamp hex, they know ways through the hex that may be used by either results on the map, and treat the unerased, published hexes from the first canoes, men or horses. game as preprinted, known territory in the next. If effect, while the map as A related question is what happens if an expedition moves into an printed shows Africa as known in 1821, and the players first game will start unknown hex and finds terrain it cannot enter (i.e., an expedition on in 1821, the next game will start at some later date, say 1831.