Issue #184 SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS Vol. XVII, No. 3 NPCs to the Rescue! August 1992 9 A player has one character, but a game master has a thousand. Courts and Courtiers Larry Granato Publisher 10 Castle lords need soldiers-and diplomats, cooks, and jesters, too. James M. Ward Really Good Bad Guys Derek Jensen Editor 16 Theres everyday scum, and then theres scum with imagination. Roger E. Moore The 7-Sentence NPC C. M. Cline 22 Turn your nonplayer characters into people in just seven simple lines. Associate editor Dale A. Donovan You Again! Scott Sheffield 26 The worst enemies are those who never forget (and never stay dead). Fiction editor Barbara G. Young FICTION Editorial assistant How Nemra Added a Line to the Book of Thieves fiction by Wolfgang H. Baur 84 Dan Crawford Nemra, master of master thieves, could do anything almost. Art director Larry W. Smith REVIEWS Production staff Gaye OKeefe Angelika Lokotz The Role of Computers Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser Tracey Zamagne 57 On-line games: Your opponent is just as devious as you are. Role-playing Reviews Rick Swan Subscriptions Ever wish someone would make a role-playing game for beginners? Janet L. Winters 72 Through the Looking Glass Robert Bigelow U.S. advertising 112 An angry wizard makes a great miniature. Cindy Rick OTHER FEATURES U.K. correspondent The Referees Code of Honor John Setzer and U.K. advertising Six things you can do to run a better AD&D® game. Wendy Mottaz 33 The Voyage of the Princess Ark Bruce A. Heard 41 The readers respond! More letters on the D&D® game. The Game Wizards David Wise 66 TSR Trading Cards: better than ever, and heres why. Novel Ideas Sue Weinlein 88 Author Troy Denning sheds light on his DARK SUN novels. Magic With an Evil Bite Jason M. Walker 92 The vilest race in the SPELLJAMMER® universe just got worse: Audible Glamour Not Clamor Mike Shema 96 Words are a game masters most powerful tools. Son of Pen Power the DRAGON® Magazine staff 100 One last chance to vote and be heard and win a prize! DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters 47 Convention Calendar 102 Dragonmirth 6 Editorial 52 Sage Advice 104 Twilight Empire 39 TSR Previews 78 Forum 108 Gamers Guide COVER If player characters are so smart, why is this one having his pocket picked? Cover artist Robh Ruppel offers an innovative black-and-white look at a game masters best friends, the nonplayer characters, and the kinds of fun they can have. 4 AUGUST 1992 DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756 (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, United States of America. The postal address for all materials from the United States of America and Canada except subscription orders is: DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. 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(the recap of the strip, which ran in States is by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON® issue #178). The recap said that Kalil was an elf, House of Canada, Ltd. Distribution to the book trade in the Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, when in fact he is a faerie. This is something United Kingdom is by TSR Ltd. Send orders to: Random House, Inc., Order Entry Department, Westminster MD 21157, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON like confusing a rifle with an Uzi: While both U.S.A.; telephone: (800) 733-3000. Newsstand distribution Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry are guns, they possess quite different character- throughout the United Kingdom is by Comag Magazine Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. istics. These differences will become more Marketing, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE, United Kingdom, telephone 0895-444055. apparent as the series progresses. Subscriptions: Subscription rates via second-class mail are Etymologically yours, Steve Sullivan. as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent to an address in the U.S. or Canada: £21 for 12 issues sent to an address within the United Kingdom; £30 for 12 issues sent to an address in Cro-hah, emberi! Europe; $50 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent by surface mail to any other address, or $90 in US. funds for 12 issues sent air Cro-hah #2 mail to any other address. Payment in full must accompany all Dear Dragon, payment include checks or money orders made payable to I happen to be of Hungarian descent. As such, TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA credit cards; I couldnt help but notice that the lizard men (or Dear Dragon, send subscription orders with payments to: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box I am writing to point out the futility of contin- 5695, Boston MA 02206, U.S.A. In the United Kingdom, trogs, or whatevers) in the latest TWILIGHT methods of payment include cheques or money orders made EMPIRE installment seem to speak my parents uing to print the TWILIGHT EMPIRE comic payable to TSR Ltd., or charges to a valid ACCESS or VISA language. So, whats the scoop? How did these strip. It is quite obvious that Robinson S. Edgar, credit card; send subscription orders with payments to TSR being from New Hampshire, is going to escape Ltd., as per that address above. Prices are subject to change monsters come to know Hungarian? And how without prior notice. The issue of expiration of each subscrip- about a translation? I know igen means yes from the world hes lost in and make his way tion is printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy of and emberi means something like people or home with no problem. New Hampshirites, as the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of subscrip- everyone knows, are indefatigable, brilliant, tion copies must be received at least six weeks prior to the humans, but the rest is a bit hazy. effective date of the change in order to assure uninterrupted D. Mark Griffon shrewd, and generally unstoppable. Besides, no delivery. Kenosha WI one who had ever seen New Hampshire would Back issues: A limited quantity of back issues is available give it up for cheap adventure or magic or from either the TSR Mail Order Hobby Shop (P.O. Box 756, lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.) or from TSR Ltd. For a free We turned your letter over to Steve Sullivan, anything like that. This unfortunately spoils the copy of the current catalog that lists available back issues, the writer for the TWILIGHT EMPIRE strip, and story by giving away its ending. If you dont feel write to either of the above addresses. like ending the story, perhaps you should reveal Submissions: All material published in DRAGON Magazine he had this reply: becomes the exclusive property of the publisher, unless special About the language of the hideous Toad-Men that Rob was born in Vermont or Boston or arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. of Valdor in my strip, THE TWILIGHT EMPIRE: some place like that. Thank you for your time DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions of and attention. written material and artwork; however, no responsibility for Yes, it is indeed related to Hungarian. I find it such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in any useful to base fantastic languages on those of Tim Denby event. Any submission accompanied by a self-addressed, our Earth less to make up that way. Lucasfilm Goffstown NH stamped envelope of sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published. We strongly recommend that prospective authors did the same sort of thing in Star Wars. (Theres write for our writers’ guidelines before sending an article to us. also a rationale for this within my series, though In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed, Im not ready to reveal what it is yet.) stamped envelope (9½” long preferred) to: Writers’ Guidelines, Wheres the teeth? c/o DRAGON Magazine, as per the above address; include I chose Hungarian for the Toad-Men because sufficient American postage or International Reply Coupons the words I was looking for sounded appropri- with the return envelope. In Europe, write to: Writers’ Guide- ately guttural and exotic in that language. From Dear Mr. Moore, lines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd; include sufficient I can only assume that you are the sadist return postage or IRCs with your SASE. there, I modified the language to suit exactly Advertising: For information on placing advertisements in what I was looking for. 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