D RAGON 1 22 45 SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS In the center: SAGA OF OLD CITY Poster Art by Clyde Caldwell, soon to be the cover of an exciting new novel 4 5 THE CITY BEYOND THE GATE Robert Schroeck The longest, and perhaps strongest, AD&D® adventure weve ever done 2 2 At Moonset Blackcat Comes Gary Gygax 34 Gary gives us a glimpse of Gord, with lots more to come Publisher Mike Cook 3 4 DRAGONCHESS Gary Gygax Rules for a fantastic new version of an old game Editor-in-Chief Kim Mohan Editorial staff OTHER FEATURES Patrick Lucien Price Roger Moore 6 Score one for Sabratact Forest Baker Graphics and production Role-playing moves onto the battlefield Roger Raupp Colleen OMalley David C. Sutherland III 9 All about the druid/ranger Frank Mentzer Heres how to get around the alignment problem Subscriptions Georgia Moore 12 Pages from the Mages V Ed Greenwood Advertising Another excursion into Elminsters memory Patricia Campbell Contributing editors 86 The chance of a lifetime Doug Niles Ed Greenwood Reminiscences from the BATTLESYSTEM Supplement designer . Katharine Kerr 96 From first draft to last gasp Michael Dobson This issues contributing artists . followed by the recollections of an out-of-breath editor Dennis Kauth Roger Raupp Jim Roslof 100 Compressor Michael Selinker Marvel Bullpen An appropriate crossword puzzle for our centennial issue Dave Trampier Jeff Marsh Tony Moseley DEPARTMENTS Larry Elmore 3 Letters 101 World Gamers Guide 109 Dragonmirth 10 The forum 102 Convention calendar 110 Snarfquest 69 The ARES Section 107 Wormy COVER Its fitting that an issue filled with things weve never done before should start off with a cover thats unlike any of the ninety-nine that preceded it. The artwork is actually a paper sculpture created by TSRs Dennis Kauth, who built up shapes and surfaces from a flat background to produce this scene of a faerie dragon serenely gliding along the edge of a stream, while the sword and the small pile of coins suggest that some other creature had come this way before. The sculpture was turned into a photograph after being illuminated to bring out the three- dimensional aspects of the piece, and for an extra touch we tossed in some color on the dragon and the Dragon and had the colored part of the cover embossed. Why purple? Because a purple faerie dragon is the oldest and most powerful of its kind. And the faerie dragon itself is symbolic of DRAGON Magazines contribu- tions to the AD&D game; the description of the creature, originally written by Brian Jaeger, appeared in issue #62 and was later picked up for inclusion in Monster Manual II. 2 AUGUST 1985 Memories are made of this Issue Number One Hundred has more significance for me than you might ex- pect. And if youll allow me a little ran- dom reminiscing, Ill try to explain why Well, not really. This month, the Letters everyone who has received an answer understand thats so. column should more properly be called “An- why it was so long in coming, and it will serve as On the day this magazine starts roll- swers.” We decided to spend some space in issue fair warning for anyone who might write in the ing off the press, it will have been ex- #100 to deal with some questions that get asked a months to come. actly six years since I sheepishly walked Our schedule runs on a cycle that repeats itself lot (or that we suspect get asked a lot), but which in the door at TSR Periodicals. about every four weeks, and we keep track of don’t fit well into the format of our regular Let- When I first laid eyes on Tim Kask, ters column. time in a backward fashion. The day after we the editor of what was then known as Two qualifications before we start: First, you send an issue off to the printer is not deadline should understand that a lot of statements in plus 1, its deadline minus 29. For Roger The Dragon, I had to fight back the these answers are expressed in absolute terms for Moore and me, at least two weeks out of every impulse to run the other way not the sake of brevity, and we don’t necessarily four are spent in production that is, doing because Tim was ferocious, but because mean them to be taken entirely at face value. In things that contribute directly to making the next I was scared stiff. other words, assume the word “usually” in front deadline. During that production time, we have Even though I had worked as an of every verb. Second, the statements and opin- little if any opportunity to dig into manuscripts, editor for more than nine years, I had no art submissions, and other correspondence. (In ions expressed here are the sole responsibility of reason to suppose that my credentials addition to what he does for this magazine, Pat the Editor-in-Chief and do not necessarily repre- would impress a guy who didnt know sent the opinions of TSR, Inc., my boss, or Price also has to contend with getting an issue of me from a hole in the ground. I thought anybody else who isn’t me. And now, the first AMAZING® Science Fiction Stories out the door envelope . every 60 days. I wont even try to explain what I knew a little bit about this game called his schedule is like.) D&D (which had not yet earned its Why didnt you answer the letter I wrote? So, what that leaves us with is two weeks at circle-R) but all too soon I found out Our reasons for not answering a letter are just most out of every month to deal with four just how little I did know. about as numerous as your reasons for writing weeks worth of articles, letters, and art samples. I took a deep breath and started my one. The major causes boil down to these: Obviously, its a losing battle. I consider myself speech. Ive got some experience as an You asked us about something we arent caught up if I can get to the point where Im editor, and I was wondering if you guys qualified to talk about, such as a game or other answering letters that arrived three weeks previ- could use some help. Not exactly a hard product put out by TSR, Inc. For instance, this ously, and I dont get caught up very often. is not the place to direct questions or observations Manuscript evaluation lags even farther behind sell, but . about The Book of Marvelous Magic, or about a than regular correspondence, because it often Tim listened, and talked, and talked TSR module for the AD&D® or D&D® game. We takes almost as much time for us to evaluate an some more. He ended up deciding that, cant help anyone with questions like Where can article submission as it took the author to write it. sure, there were probably some things I I get a copy of issue #13? or How much is my If you get an answer back on your submission could help with, and I might be able to copy of issue #2 worth? or with other similar within six weeks from the time you sent it to us, pick up some money by working as what questions pertaining to out-of-print back issues. then you must have hit us at a good time. Or else he called casual labor. We dont hand out information on other depart- your submission was very good . or very bad. As a test of what I could or couldnt ments and sections of TSR, Inc.; if you want to do, he dug out a few manuscripts and submit your novel, write to the book department, How do you handle a manuscript submis- and if you want to solicit an assignment to illus- sion? gave them to me to take home over the trate a module, then contact the people in the art Article submissions go to Roger Moores desk weekend. I worked on them in anything department. This category covers a lot more first. He weeds out the ones that are obviously but a casual fashion, peppering them ground than these examples indicate please unacceptable or inappropriate, and then forwards with red marks to show how I thought understand that our sphere of knowledge is the potentially good ones to me. This group they ought to read. relatively limited. We cant take the time to dig includes manuscripts that he thinks are good Less than a week later, it looked like I up answers that we cant quickly provide, and we enough to print as is, plus some other pieces that had proved myself judging by the fact wont speculate about things we dont know he thinks might pass muster if theyre revised to that Tim was giving me more to do and about. some extent. Then I read them and pass my I was wearing out red pens almost as fast You asked a question that has also been recommendations back to Roger, and in most asked by several other people, and for which we cases he takes care of corresponding with the as I could take off the caps. intend to publish an answer in the magazine. The authors to give them the good or bad news. Less than a month later, I attended best recent example of this is the avalanche of Its essentially a simple process, but on a one- my first convention an experience letters we got pertaining to the druid/ranger by-one basis, decisions about particular manu- that is still so clear in my mind that it alignment problem; Frank Mentzer has answered scripts are often very complex.