Equal time

The MPs found her wandering the streets in the 82nd Airborne Divi- sion area on post, and she was brought to Womack Army Hospital at Ft. Bragg, N.C., before dawn. I was the emergency tech in the psy- work. . . .”? I wasn’t sure if that was intentional chiatry and neurology clinic for the More last words or not, so I thought I’d mention it. Keith Martens day, so I went to the waiting room Dear Dragon: Charlotte MI where she had been sent after her I read your article “The Last Word’ in issue processing. She was in a wheelchair #129, and I have some suggestions for the As to the first point, it is proper to refer to the because no one wanted her wander- article’s sequel. They are: team of Greg and Tim Hildebrandt as either ing around the hospital. The MPs “We don’t need to post guards at night. We’re “The Brothers Hildebrandt” or “The Hildebrandt said she was saying lots of strange too powerful.“ Brothers.” Both references may be found in the things. “What’s that?” “Aw, it was nothin’.” many works on which they have collaborated. She seemed to be a normal, “I ain’t afraid of no giants.” As to the second point, “proofread” (with the healthy woman, soft-spoken though “Are those drums I hear?” “read” pronounced “red”) is the past tense of “Hey, fellas!” ”Shut up, Ernie!” “But guys—” “proofread” (with the “read” pronounced extremely childlike. She clutched a Cliff Frazier “reed”), and was the appropriate choice, since giant pink teddy bear that the MP West Valley UT the incident referred to in the editorial had report said she refused to give up. already occurred. But keep looking! Once in my office, I told her who I was and asked her name. Super errer found “Mary,” she said. I would have saved myself lots of time by asking Dear Dragon: Letter from the her last name then, but I was being I was on vacation, two days after the arrival conversational. We chatted for a of my author’s copy of DRAGON® issue #132. I editors finished reading the editorial, “Errers,” then while before she mentioned that she turned to page 70 to once again admire my Dear Readers: and her husband Joseph were flee- article, “A Little Less Super.” That’s when my As the cover of this issue notes, this is ing Egypt, and her son Jesus was own “errer” jumped off the page. In the first DRAGON® Magazine’s twelfth anniversary in still in the ER waiting to be resur- paragraph, I said, “the DC HEROES game mea- print. DRAGON® Magazine started as a little- rected. I nodded at this piece of sures power logarithmically” I should have said known gaming periodical and has grown into news and asked her last name. “geometrically” [The game’s] AP power levels the largest, most popular, and most widely “Magdalene,” she said with that increase in a 2:l geometric progression (each AP distributed role-playing game magazine there is. We could not have done it without you, and you soft, pleasant voice. doubles the power level of the AP preceding it). “Oh,” I said, and set my notepad Mea culpa. . . . have our sincere appreciation. Jon Slobins Sir Isaac Newton once noted in a letter that if aside. We chatted a bit more. Then I Damascus MD he saw farther into the realm of physics than had her wait in the office with others, “it is by standing upon the shoulders of another tech while I found the civil- No need to feel bad about it. We missed it, too. Giants.” The same may be said of our achieve- ian psychiatrist in the clinic. We ments in producing DRAGON® Magazine. We brought her in and talked about life extend our thanks and best wishes to everyone in ancient Rome while we tried to More errers? who contributed to this magazine in any part pin down who she really was. She over the years. Many of our writers and former finally mentioned a few names, we staff members are still active in the field of Dear Dragon: checked them out, and two days Since in the editorial of issue #132 you talked gaming and publishing. We particularly extend about errors, I thought I’d point out a couple our appreciation to Kim Mohan, who was for so later she and her bear were that I found. long the cornerstone upon which this maga- returned to her family’s custody. I First, on page 68 in “TSR Previews,” one of the zine’s very existence rested. filed the case, and that was that. contributing artist listings reads “the Brothers We’ve come a long way in twelve years — and In the five years I served as a Hildebrandt.” Shouldn’t that be “the Hildebrandt we plan to be around for a long time to come. mental health counselor for the U.S. Brothers”? Your comments and support make it all worth- Army, I talked with a number of Also, right in the editorial on page 88, the while. people with quite bizarre religious third to the last sentence of the article reads: Thank you! delusions. An ER tech decided to The editors and staff of “The writer proofread his own work. . . .” experiment with PCP crossed with Shouldn’t it say: “The writer proofreads his own DRAGON Magazine strychnine, which was what passed locally for heroin, and was shortly thereafter led down to P&N profess- Errata for Hotel Reservations ing his belief that he was Jesus 1988 GEN CON®/ORIGINS™ Game Fair Christ. A woman on outpatient treatment with a chronic schizo- Important information was left out of the 16- This information is extremely vital to insure phrenic disorder told me of her page 1988 GEN CON®/ORIGINS™ Game Fair proper hotel confirmation for you; without it, belief that she had to murder her insert in DRAGON® issue #132. The Official hotel reservations cannot be made for you and daughter, who was an angel, Housing Application form, used for making your party. We apologize for any inconvenience because her husband was the Devil. hotel reservations, is grossly in error. Before you that this has caused. send this particular form to the Housing Bureau, Sincerely, Mark Olson She recalled getting the idea from write down your arrival and departure dates in Promotions/Convention Manager the Book of Revelation, which I have the space above the table listing hotel rates. read several times without getting (continued on page 55) GEN CON IS a registered service mark of TSR, Inc. ©1988 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ORIGINS IS a trademark of the Game Manufacturers Association.

DRAGON 3 summit and a cave where once glowed two yellow eyes swallow at a time. The color was blood red, the smell like was still a considerable climb in front of me. But I needed burnt flesh, the taste bitter, bitter with greed and envy and to go no farther. hope. I uttered my desire. In moments, the transforma- I stopped to survey my world a final time. A gray sky tion was complete. The potion was as powerful as the loomed overhead, a tiny river threads its way in the dis- wizard claimed. Ever the son of man, I prayed for tance below. Dark forests on the lower slope concealed redemption. their mysteries and their bounty of game. Mountains and valleys spread out below me, a wrinkled I looked skyward, half-expecting to see two yellow eyes blanket covering the landscape. I am happy. I soar among and a pair of golden wings. Of course, the sky was empty. the clouds, looking upon the world with yellow eyes. I pulled the stopper from my flask and drank steadily, one

(continued from page 3) made. In some cases, the material serious one. I have no trouble the faintest idea of where this I’ve seen opposing RPGs understanding how some games, delusion originated. A housewife approaches the status of urban like lawn darts or those using in West Germany (who had not legend. The information is widely gunlike infrared-targeting pistols eaten in over a week and was heard and sometimes believed. or paint-pellet guns, could be rather emaciated) told me of her Even reputable sources in the called into question. But the case fears that the Devil was about to news media contribute to the against role-playing is confound- get her whole family; she mess, as CBS News did in a 60 ed with rumor, false information, addressed me as God at the very Minutes broadcast in September and sensationalism. How could start of our session. 1985, when it attempted to link a anyone take the opponents of Were I inclined to think that murder-suicide in Colorado to role-playing seriously when they religion causes people to go cra- role-playing. This was interesting have such difficulty acquiring zy, I could certainly claim to have in light of a subsequent interview facts to support their thesis? But seen enough evidence to support with the victims’ family, carried then, this is attempting to reason the idea. Yet I know that religion by the Associated Press during with an unreasoned response. If does no such thing. It is a corner- the week after the show, which you don’t want to believe that stone upon which the spiritual showed that the victims’ mother role-playing is helpful and fun, well-being of humanity is built. did not believe the D&D® game then you won’t. If you want the Religious delusions are often seen was connected with the tragedy. truth, you have to be open to among people with mental disor- Even the police investigating the more than one side of an issue. ders, but the disorders cause the case dropped any connection This issue of DRAGON® Maga- strange beliefs and behaviors — between the game and the event zine marks its twelfth year of not vice versa. — yet this tragedy is still connect- publication. We enjoy bringing This situation is analogous to ed in the minds of some with you the best in role-playing the claims in recent years that gaming, thanks to 60 Minutes — entertainment, and we plan to role-playing games are harmful which, to my understanding, continue doing so for many years in various ways to the gamers. never bothered to reinvestigate to come. We are proud of our The “evidence” linking role- the event. work. playing games to antisocial or The issue of whether certain And that’s worth a little equal destructive behavior is often ill- games are harmful or not is a time to us.

DRAGON 55