DRAGON 1 SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS 46 More Dragons of Glory Doug Niles and Tracy Hickman Advanced rules and new scenarios for DL 11 Publisher Mike Cook 51 Give us your 22 cents worth! Our latest reader survey tell us what you think Editor-in-Chief Kim Mohan OTHER, FEATURES Editorial Staff 8 A new loyalty base Stephen Inniss Patrick Lucien Price Revised tables for how others react to your character Roger Moore 16 The six main skills Jefferson P. Swycaffer Art, graphics, production A real-world examination of strength, intelligence, etc. Roger Raupp 22 Room for improvement? Kim Mohan Kim Lindau Thoughts on allowing PCs to improve their ability scores Subscriptions 26 Pendragon: Arthur would approve Review by Ken Rolston Pat Schultz 28 Harn was just the start Review by Eric W. Pass Advertising 30 The role of books Reviews by John C. Bunnell Mary Parkinson 34 The ecology of the sea lion Ed Greenwood Contributing editors One cat thats not afraid of water or anything else Ed Greenwood 38 For sail: One new NPC Scott Bennie Katherine Kerr The multi-talented mariner comes aboard This issue's contributing artists 44 Economics made easy Ralph Marshall Dean Morrissey Basic principles that can apply to any campaign Bob Maurus 60 When the rations run out Paul Hancock Roger Raupp How hunger and thirst affect characters fates Stephan Peregrine 65 Spys advice Merle M. Rasmussen Janet Aulisio Ernie Guanlao Questions and answers for the TOP SECRET® game Marvel Bullpen 68 Doomsgame J. B. Allen Jeff Butler Just where is the line between fantasy and reality, anyway? David Trampier Ted Goff THE ARES SECTION Stephen Hearon 74 Mutant Fever John M. Maxstadt Richard Tomasic Introducing disease and health in the GAMMA WORLD* game Joseph Pillsbury 77 One in a Million Roger E. Moore Larry Elmore A few statistics for super-powered hero campaigns 80 Tote that barge! Matt Bandy Interplanetary economics in the STAR FRONTIERS® game 83 The MARVEL®-Phile Jeff Grubb Canadian heroes and villains, part II 87 The Crusading Life Bruce Humphrey What do heroes do when they arent saving the world? DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 64 TSR Previews 96 Wormy 4 World Gamers Guide 92 Convention calendar 100 Dragonmirth 6 The forum 94 Gamers Guide 102 Snarfquest 62 TSR Profiles COVER Veteran cover artist Dean Morrissey is back, this time with a painting he calls Gargoth Disguised. The title pretty well sums up what the scene is about, but heres some extra information in Deans own words: Gargoth is disguised as an old itinerant peddler -- sort of a magnetic, benevolent, and magical traveler whose temporary per- sona belies the sinister character beneath. 2 MARCH 1986 Coming soon: a magazine full of modules Weve thought about it and talked important thing is to restrict the use of firearms about it among ourselves for quite a while, Beware of guns for the sake of maintaining game balance. If you let characters use guns the way they could use and now it can be told. Beginning in the Dear Dragon, them in the real world, your campaign will be late summer or early fall, were going to In issue #100 in The City Beyond the Gate, I shot full of holes sooner than you can say Bang, start producing a new magazine filled think the weapons section wasnt fully explained. youre dead. KM entirely with modules. Lots of decisions First, if a character took a .357/.38 revolver still remain to be made, but heres what and stuck it in a persons ear and fired, would the we already know for sure: character he dead? After all, the bullet would The magazine (which doesnt have a shatter the eardrum and enter the brain and do The next index name yet) will come out once every two brain damage. If the character lived, what would be the damage? Would there be hearing loss and Dear Editor: months. Our plan is to make it available a drop in intelligence? When is the next index of DRAGON Maga- by subscription only; you wont be able to Second, would these weapons affect creatures zine scheduled, or is there one scheduled at all? I buy it at a store. When we decide on that can only be hit by magical weapons? If silver hope you dont wait too long to do it. I think prices, well announce a rate for charter bullets were purchased, would a shot from the making an index every year or two would be subscriptions and give you information on pistol above greatly affect creatures like Gargoth? good. That way, it wouldnt be a huge project like how to order. In the 64 pages of each Peter Upitis the last index. Hope you consider the thought. issue, well present from 4-8 adventures, Stockton, Ill. Yong Pak each one designed for use with a certain Edmonds, Wash. TSR game. Questions like these demonstrate how difficult Roger Moore will be the editor of the it is to incorporate firearms into an AD&D® game Funny you should ask. As a matter of fact, we world. The game system isnt designed to handle just started making plans to produce another new magazine. He has been busy making weapons with an instant-kill capability nor does index in the August 1986 issue (#112). The plans, or at least formulating proposals, it generally take into account the specific location question of how often to put out a new index is for what hed like the new magazine to of a wound (except for special items such as a something that all of you will help us decide by contain and how he wants to operate. vorpal sword). Firearms and other forms of the way you respond to question 8 in part B of Within the next few issues of DRAGON modern technology dont really fit in the system, the reader survey in this issue. KM Magazine, youll be hearing directly from although they can be accommodated in special him on how the plans are coming together. cases (such as the module in #100) provided Some of the modules will be created by that the DM is willing to compromise on reality Compromising on reality generally takes the Now thats smart! TSR staff members, but the greater share form of limiting what a gun-toting character can of them will come from outside contribu- do with his weapon. To get around the problem of Dear Dragon, tors. In another month or two, well be point-blank discharges, you can simply rule that a I recently received #70 as a back issue, and was publishing writers guidelines for the new gun cannot be used except at a distance an amazed when I started reading Deities of the magazine in the pages of DRAGON arbitrary ruling, but a necessary one. If a player World of Greyhawk. Boccobs intelligence score Magazine, so that any of you who have insists on having his character stick the muzzle of is listed as 26, but the table in Legends & Lore designs on getting a module published will a .357 in someones ear, he might discover that only goes up to 25. I would like to know what know what we expect in a submission. the gun misfires, or that it has suddenly run out abilities are derived from having a 26 intelli- of ammunition. And even when a gun is used gence. Can other attributes (for gods, of course) Some of you may have already guessed against a target at a distance, a player character reach 26 or even exceed it? how all of this will affect DRAGON Mag- should have an extremely tough time hitting what David Solomon azine. Starting sometime in the near he aims at. You could double, triple, or even Brandon, Manitoba future, we will no longer use game adven- quadruple the normal non-proficiency penalty tures as special attractions inside not only is the PC obviously not proficient with Boccobs intelligence is also given as 26 in the DRAGON Magazine. We know that the weapon, but it is so alien to him that his WORLD OF GREYHAWK Fantasy Game modules have been a popular feature of chance of using it successfully is much smaller Setting, so if it is a mistake (which I doubt) then this magazine (and thats one of the rea- than normal. You can also boost the armor class at least weve been consistent. Heck, someone sons why we figure an all-module maga- adjustments for a gun used at medium or long whos called "the Lord of all Magics and Archi- range, and build in an adjustment for short range mage of the Deities (see issue #70) ought to have zine will go over well), but Im sure we as well. The effect of these modifications should a very high intelligence score. can use the space for other features that make it clear to any PC that swinging a sword or What abilities are conferred by a 26 intelli- youll enioy just as much. shooting an arrow is going to produce the desired gence? Extrapolating upward from the table on p. Starting-a-new publication is, to put it result much more often than pulling a trigger 7 of Legends & Lore, we get one small improve- mildly, a challenge. But its also very Personally, Id take the hard line on Peters ment: Minimum Number of Spells/Level goes up exciting. I hope you also feel a sense of second question. Guns are not magic weapons, so to 18. (The abilities in the other two categories excitement, and I hope youll stay tuned they cant hit creatures that are immune to non- cant get any better than they already are.) to these pages in the months to come as Can other deities have ability scores of 26 or magical attacks.