CONTENTS Issue #133 Vol. XII, No. 12 May 1988 REGULAR FEATURES Publisher 8 The Ecology of the Carnivorous Ape David Howery Mike Cook What does a 600-lb. carnivorous ape eat for breakfast? Any adventurer it wants. Editor 10 Bazaar of the Bizarre The Readers Roger E. Moore Q-&-A time again unusual quivers and arrows, that is. Assistant editor Fiction editor 12 Notice Anything Different? Thomas Ruddick Robin Jenkins Patrick L. Price Perception: a new ability score for sharp-eyed player characters. Editorial assistants 16 Role-playing Reviews Ken Rolston Eileen Lucas Barbara G. Young Three AD&D® tournament supplements enter the reviewers arena. Art director 26 The Imperial Gods Eric Oppen Roger Raupp The pragmatic gods of the Roman Empire, from divine emperors to Jupiter. Production Staff 34 The Role of Books John C. Bunnell Marilyn Favaro Lori Svikel If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a graphic novel worth? Subscriptions Advertising 40 Wards Against Evil Parker Torrence Pat Schulz Sheila Meehan Arm your shukenja with real power against spirits. Creative editors 42 The Game Wizards James M. Ward Ed Greenwood Jeff Grubb The latest report on computerized AD&D games from the wizards at SSI. 46 The Role of Computers Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser Enter the fantastic worlds of Quarterstaff and Dragons Lair. 54 Agents for Hire William Van Horn Money talks in the TOP SECRET® game, and contract agents listen. 68 Success by Conventional Means John Dunn Read this article before you start your own wargaming convention! 74 Surprise! Leigh L. Krehmeyer If a svirfneblin meets a drow, who is the more surprised? The DM, of course. 76 The Wild Warriors Tom Griffith Berserker NPCs: too crazy to live long, too dangerous to die quickly. 82 The Dragons Bestiary Kent Colbath Even the early bird would have a tough time with these worms. 88 The Marvel®-Phile Jeff Grubb and David Martin All the heroes and villains in one place: The Ultimate Marvel Index! DEPARTMENTS 3 Letters 72 Sage Advice 94 Convention Calendar 6 Forum 75 TSR Previews 98 Dragonmirth 66 Gamers Guide 86 Index to Advertisers 100 SnarfQuest COVER A sudden confrontation between a hot-tempered barbarian and a marauding sea troll is the subject of this months cover painting by veteran cover artist Daniel Horne. If you have a good (meaning humorous) title for this cover, send it to us. Well print the best ones in a later issue, as we did for the cover of issue #127. 2 May 1988 LETTERS Other guys Eleven years ago, I wandered into a hobby store and picked up a copy of The Space Gamer. I liked it and began hunting for other gaming magazines until I found a purple either Barbara (70007,2367) or myself (Roger; copy of DRAGON® issue #3. At that An artful reply 70007,2064), we’d love to hear from you. For point, I became an RPG magazine more information on the CompuServe Informa- Dear Dragon: tion Service, contact: enthusiast, attracted by the maga- Your magazine is great! You are doing a won- zines color, variety, and liveliness derful job! The cover art gets better and better CompuServe Corporate Headquarters even if I never played the games every issue! Have you ever thought about creat- 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. that they described. ing a portfolio of all your artwork? It would be Columbus OH 43220 Eleven years later, my interest in a great-selling item. (800) 848-8199 toll free gaming magazines has only grown Jason Sauvie (614)457-0802 (if calling from Ohio or stronger, though for very different Flint MI Canada) reasons. Now, I look at them with an evaluative eye: What does this maga- Well, thank you very much! Funny you should See “The Island in Your Computer,” in DRAGON ask about an art collection, because we’ve done issue #128 for more information. zine do that makes it attractive and exactly that. The Art of DRAGON® Magazine is popular? Why do I like or dislike now on sale from TSR, Inc. This wonderful this magazine? How could it be volume sells for $16.95 (£9.95 in the UK), and is Four questions better? What lessons can be learned available from the Mail Order Hobby Shop (see from it to improve our own periodi- the mail-order address on page 4) or in a hobby Dear Dragon: cals? Knowing the problems and shop or book store near you. I am sending this letter to help answer some concerns we face each month to questions that have been on my mind for quite produce DUNGEON® Adventures, some time now: Compu-Service 1. When will there be a Best of DRAGON AMAZING® Stories, DRAGON Maga- Magazine Anthology, volume VI? zine, and POLYHEDRON Newszine Dear Dragon: 2. When will there be a Best of DUNGEON has deepened my appreciation for Rather than running your own bulletin board Adventures Anthology? the other guys when I find a maga- system, why not run (or maybe even share) a 3. When will the second edition of the AD&D® zine that looks particularly good. forum on the CompuServe® Information Serv- game be released? Here, then, are a few of the other ice? There is a very active RPG section on Com- 4. Having a nice day? guys in the fantasy and science- Johnny Melton puServe that would fit right in with your fiction gaming field. Rather than products. It would save you the capital invest- Toulon IL overlapping the coverage of gaming ment of your own equipment and would pro- provided by DRAGON Magazine, vide space for an excellent data library for 1. We are tentatively scheduling an anthology downloads. Your Mail Order Hobby Shop is of the best modules to have appeared in they complement it with their focus represented in CompuServes Electronic Mall. DRAGON Magazine for early 1989. on other areas of interest to RPG Jim Kelker 2. A similar anthology of the best modules to players. Hayward CA have appeared in the first year or two of American Fantasy: The Maga- DUNGEON Adventures is scheduled for release zine of Contemporary Fantasy and You’ve made a good point. In fact, DUNGEON® in late 1989. Horror. American Fantasy previews Adventures editor Barbara Young and I have 3. As of this writing, the second edition is still and reviews new game releases in been appearing on CompuServe’s Gamers undergoing playtesting by selected gaming fantasy, horror, and science-fiction Forum for several months now. We occasionally groups, which are coordinated through the media novels, anthologies, graphic leave messages in the message base or take part RPGA™ Network. In July, the game will undergo in on-line conferences (COs) to answer questions another editorial revision based on the playtest- novels, art books, movies, and VCR from gamers around the world. We’re also ing results. Limited playtesting will take place tapes are all represented. Game uploading our writers’ guidelines and other after that, and the game should be released in designer Greg Gorden has a brief materials into the data libraries (though this is early 1989. game-review column, and interviews taking some time to do). If any CompuServe 4. So far, it’s been okay. with noted writers and artists (as subscribers want to leave electronic mail for (continued on page 4) well as short stories) appear in each issue. I like Wolff & Byrd: Coun- selors of the Macabre, a comic about two defense lawyers who take OOPS! hilarious cases from supernatural clients. This is a sharp-looking and Errata for Hotel Reservations entertaining publication, edited by 1988 GEN CON®/ORIGINS™ Game Fair Bob and Nancy Garcia. American Fantasy is a 64-page quarterly maga- Important information was left out of the 16- This information is extremely vital to insure zine, available for $16.00 for four page 1988 GEN CON/ORIGINS Game Fair proper hotel confirmation for you; without it, issues. The cover price is $4.95 insert in DRAGON® issue #132. The Official hotel reservations cannot be made for you and ($6.95 in Canada). Write to: Ameri- Housing Application form, used for making your party. We apologize for any inconvenience can Fantasy, P.O. Box 41714, Chicago hotel reservations, is grossly in error. Before you that this has caused. IL 60641-0714. send this particular form to the Housing Bureau, Sincerely, Mark Olson Paper Mayhem: The Informa- write down your arrival and departure dates in Promotions/Convention Manager tive PBM Magazine. One of the the space above the table listing hotel rates. (continued on page 4) 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. D RAGON 3 (continued from page 3) of the Mensa Fantasy Gaming SIG lesser-known fields of gaming is that (special interest group). Sorcerers of play-by-mail games, in which Scroll is an 18-page bimonthly news- The price for Columbia Games’ “Harn players correspond directly with a letter, available for $8.00 for six Pilots’ Almanac,” as advertised on page 13 of DRAGON® issue #132, was misprinted game company to take part in strate- issues (the subscription also includes as $19.95 on the order coupon. The correct gic or role-playing games that oper- two issues of another Fantasy Gam- price is $25.00. ate over long periods of time. Paper ing SIG publication, The Spell Book). Mayhem is the best established and A free copy of Sorcerers Scroll is (as its subtitle suggests) most inform- available by sending a legal-size, self- ative of the PBM game periodicals.