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Issue #147 Vol. XIV, No. 2 SPECIAL ATTRACTION July 1989 Sorcerous secrets: Publisher 13 Where there’s a wizard, there’s a way. Mike Cook Getting Familiar — Patricia Nead Elrod Editor 14 If you get a toad for a familiar, be careful how you pick it up. Roger E. Moore Variety, the Spice of Magic — Vince Garcia Associate editor Fiction editor 22What can you do with a jar of fire bat ichor? Use it for a new spell Robin Jenkins Barbara G. Young component, of course. Assistant editor Editorial assistant "Gaze into my crystal ball...." — Krys Stromsted Anne Brown Kimberly J. Walter 26If it's your party, you can scry if you want to. Art director Spelling It Out — Douglas J. Behringer Lori Svikel 34Two ways to learn a new spell: the AD&D® 1st Edition way and the AD&D® 2nd Edition way. Production staff Paul Hanchette Angelika Lokotz WOW Your Players! — Richard Hunt Kathleen C. MacDonald Gaye O’Keefe 38Beer suds, attack rabbits, and three all-new wands of wonder. Subscriptions U.S. Advertising MAGUS! — Robert J. Kuntz Janet L. Winters Sheila Gailloreto 48A surprising game of magical conflict for 2-6 players. U.K. correspondent Christopher Christou OTHER FEATURES U.K. advertising Through the Looking Glass — Robert Bigelow, Kris Starr Jane Johnson 42Two dynamite dragons and the ultimate racing chariot. Role-playing Reviews — Ken Rolston 60In the beginning, there was only one magic system. But the gamers said, “Let there be many!” Lord of the Keep — fiction by Brenda K. Ward 72That which you ask for is rarely what you want. The Role of Computers — Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser 76 A voyage to the bottom of the sea, with stops at Mount Doom and Hillsfar. The Role of Books — John C. Bunnell 86A look at a world where cats, not apes, evolved into humans DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters 56 Gamers Guide 100 Dragonmirth 6 Forum 58 TSR Previews 10 Sage Advice 92 Convention Calendar COVER “I did it fast,” was Clyde Caldwell’s first comment on his cover painting for this issue. “I got tired of doing evil sorceresses, so I decided to do a good one,” he said, adding that he calls this painting “White Magic.” Clyde is a veteran cover artist for DRAGON® Magazine, his first cover gracing issue #53. 4 JULY 1989 Hill giants with lasers Once in a while, I had a taste for doing something really offbeat in the role-playing games I used to run. What did you think of this issue? Do you have ability of the Great Druid. The Archdruids and The more bizarre the idea, the bet- a question about an article or have an idea for a the Great Druid may each use their five animal ter the group seemed to like it new feature you’d like to see? In the United forms twice each per day, but the Great Druid well, most of the time (the fighter States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON® gains one extra animal form that may be used Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva, WI 53147, one time per day. It was my intention that this who fell into Winnie the Poohs U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON® ability be equal to the ninth-level magic-user heffalump trap had a few choice Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry spell shape change but limited to the single form things to say about it). It seemed like Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom. chosen with each use of this ability. This shape a criminal waste to have people changing has a duration equal to 1 turn per come over to my place and be Heyer & higher! level of the druid. bored, so I did my best to keep the Richard Hernandez players entertained. Kalamazoo MI The most offbeat scenarios I ever Dear Lori, ran were those produced by cross- Guess what! I just received notification that I Dear Dragon: won the Magazine Merit Award [for illustrations In “The New, Improved Druid,” the article ing two different gaming genres. for] 1988, from the Society of Children’s Book states that the druid has the power to shape The basic idea is to take a module or Writers, for the DRAGON cover, “Frog Prince.” change at will, but then it says that a druid who setting from one game system and I am really excited; this is a prestigious award, reaches 14th level uses the ability but once per adapt it for use with another game. and I feel we both share in it. day. Can you clarify this? The results can be terrific. Early Carol Heyer Chris Hubbell issues of DRAGON® Magazine and St. Louis MO Thousand Oaks CA The Strategic Review described The staff of DRAGON Magazine extends its The use of’ this ability “at will” means simply games in which SS troopers met an congratulations and appreciation to Carol Heyer that the druid may shape change simply by evil high priest and his allies, and in for her award-winning artwork (and to Lori willing the change to occur; the druid does not which a group of fantasy characters Svikel for picking it out as our cover for issue have to cast a spell to cause it to happen. The wandered through the starship #138). The Magazine Merit Awards are given in druid is still bound by the restrictions on shape Warden in TSRs old METAMORPHO- recognition of outstanding original magazine changing mentioned in the article and in SIS ALPHA game. Marcus Rowlands work for young people. We always believed our Richard's letter above. superb article, The Mix-&-Match contributors were the best. Module (from DRAGON® issue Imaginate that! #135), gives details on how to set up Druids & poisons and run cross-genre scenarios. The Dear Dragon: notes on The Ongoing Campaign in Dear Dragon: I am writing in response to the editorial the AD&D® 1st Edition Dungeon I am writing in regards to my article, “The column you published in issue #140 ("A failure Masters Guide are also helpful. New, Improved Druid,” published in issue #139. to imaginate”). I quite agree with you that arti- The following are some cross- There are several points I would like to clarify cles that differ from the “normal” medieval genre scenario ideas I invented for and explain. setting should also be published in DRAGON® the games I ran (some were even Under “Poisons,” it is stated: “A successful save Magazine because readers do like them. My used). It is hoped that another DM vs. X or XX poison causes the victim to take personal feeling is that for every reader who will borrow them or develop some damage equal to half his original (fully healed objects to an article, there are at least two who equally bizarre adventures with and restored) hit points.” This is incorrect and must have loved it but did not bother to write to should apply to XX poison only. A successful you about it. which to horrify gamers. save vs. X, Xa, or Xb poison reduces by half the For example: Other readers’ complaints aside, Land of the Giants: The RPG (for damage taken per round [round fractions up] I loved the special section on druids in issue GDWs TRAVELLER® or MEGA- until the victim is dead. #119. The articles improved the druid character TRAVELLER® game): Get out an old Under “Antidotes,” it states: “The victim [in the I was running so much that the former DM of copy of the AD&D® module G1 Stead- himself example] is given a Type A antidote the next that group is now playing a druid in our ing of the Hill Giant Chief (recently round and ends up taking 5 hp actual poison new campaign. And about the claims that druids rereleased as part of GDQ l-7 Queen do not fit into a medieval world: What about damage (10 hp were neutralized). Two rounds of the Spiders). Make up the statis- later, the same victim is struck again for 25 hp Merlin, who is the best-known wizard in all tics for a new hominid species, damage but ends up taking only 15 hp as the medieval literature? He was a druid! antidote is still active.” This is also incorrect, as Another example concerns the disputed Titanthropus sapiens, an Ancient- it was previously stated that a Type A antidote article on new undead, back in issue #138. You manipulated, 10'-tall human race negates 6 hp of poison damage, not 10. The should have seen the look on my players’ faces that lives in barbarism on a Red victim in the above case would take 9 hp of when the “dry bones” skeletons kept reassem- Zone planet on the Imperiums poison damage on the initial strike, and two bling themselves! The players were sure that fringe. Rework the Steading so that rounds later would take 19 hp instead of 15 hp. some hidden, evil spell-caster was continuously magical items become technological animate dead This damage is all added to weapons damage. casting just to annoy them! They items (the Titans have been raiding The poison brewing ability gained by instruc- were furious, especially when they figured out poorly armed scientific expeditions), tion at 3rd level is not taught by all druidic that the cleric must be of at least 11th level in and make up values for different sects, and it is left to the DM to allow it in his order to cast this spell four times a day.