D RAGON 1 Publisher: Mike Cook Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan On this day. Editorial staff: Roger Raupp Contents Patrick Lucien Price Mary Kirchoff Vol. IX, No. 1 June 1984 Roger Moore On this day in 1976, the first issue of Layout designer: Kristine L. Bartyzel DRAGON® Magazine rolled off the press. SPECIAL ATTRACTION Subscriptions: Mellody Knull (Which day? Oh, sometime in June. When Contributing Editors: Ed Greenwood a magazine has a birthday, it lasts for a Great Stoney . .41 Katherine Kerr month.) Way back then, it was The Ken Rolston All the parts you need to make Dragon without the ®. It was produced Advertising Sales Administrator: a miniature cardboard castle Mary Parkinson by two people, and it was read by a healthy This issues contributing artists: proportion of all the people who were de- voted to the new hobby of fantasy role- Denis Beauvais Harry Quinn Roger Raupp Dave Trampier playing. Dennis Kauth Kurt Erichsen The name is different now, and the staff Jerry Eaton Craig Smith is a little larger, but some things never OTHER FEATURES Jeff Butler Larry Elmore change. DRAGON Magazine is still read The ecology of the DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is by the same kind of people. The hobby isnt published monthly for a subscription price of $24 slithering tracker. .9 new any more, and a lot more people are per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of involved in it, but the basic makeup of our Dont look now, but . TSR, Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishing for all material except subscription readership is the same now as it was when Familiars with a special use . .12 orders is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147; issue #1 was a reality (try to find one these Matching pets with masters the business telephone number is (414)248-8044. days!) and issue #86 was something that DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby could only be envisioned with a wish spell. The warrior alternative . .24 stores and bookstores throughout the United Maybe thats an obvious point, but we DRAGONQUEST game variant States and Canada, and through a limited number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates cant take it for granted. The main reason Five new enchanted objects . .26 are as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address that DRAGON Magazine has made it Magic items to surprise characters in the U.S., $30 in Canada; $50 U.S. for 12 through eight years of continuous publica- issues sent via surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air mail to any other country. All tion is because youve been reading what Presenting the Suel pantheon . .30 subscription payments must be in advance, and weve been printing. Whether youve been More gods for Greyhawk campaigns should be sent to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box with us for 86 issues or just a few, youre 72089, Chicago IL 60690. Dragons and their deities. .36 invited to celebrate your own anniversary as Clerics with breath weapons! A limited quantity of certain back issues of a reader. We wouldnt be able to pat our- DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the selves on the back for making it this far if Mzee..............................58 Dungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of available issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay- you had not come along on the journey. A story about coming of age ment in advance by check or money order must You expect a lot from us high-quality, accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made thought-provoking articles; artwork of ORIGINS 84 preview . .88 through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken nor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neither similar quality; and special features that an individual customer nor an institution can be make the magazine worth having even if billed for a subscription order or a back-issue you dont like anything else thats in a purchase unless prior arrangements are made. particular issue. We try to deliver, and in The issue of expiration for each subscription is return we expect a lot from you the cash REGULAR OFFERINGS printed on the mailing label for each subscribers it takes to buy this magazine, the money copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the that could be (but isnt) spent on something delivery of subscription copies must be received Out on a Limb . 3 at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the else instead. Letters and answers change in order to insure uninterrupted delivery. This is a business, and of course we need your cash to stay alive. But we realize that The forum . 6 All material published in DRAGON Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the in order to deserve your money, we first Opinions and observations publisher upon publication, unless special ar- have to earn your support and your appre- rangements to the contrary are made prior to ciation. On this day in 1984, what were Index to advertisers . .34 publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions of written material and really celebrating is the fact that we have Game reviews: artwork; however, no responsibility for such sub- earned those things, and by giving us what Battlesuit . .64 missions can be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission which is accompanied by weve earned youre making it possible for Phantasy Conclave . .65 a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient us to keep giving you what you want. That size will be returned if it cannot be published. is the stuff of which good relationships are The ARES Section. .69 made. And it looks like this is a relationship DRAGON is a registered trademark for 16 pages of SF gaming articles Dragon Publishings monthly adventure playing thats going to last a while longer. aid. All rights on the contents of this publication Convention calendar . .86 are reserved, and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part without first obtaining Gamers Guide .................... .90 permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright ©1984 TSR, Inc. Wormy . 92 Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Dragon Mirth ..................... .93 Wis., and additional mailing offices. ........................ .94 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Snarfquest Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147, USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848 DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D, AD&D, and GEN CON are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. 2 JUNE egular readers of this space might have trouble swallowing this, but it isnt easy to keep coming up with superlatives to describe the contents of every issue of DRAGON® Magazine. Read be- tween the lines, and youre liable to see me talking to myself with sentences like Thats going a little overboard and Who are you trying to kid, kid? Oh, but not this time. This time we really mean it. the active search column, then that chance should Weve never tried to do anything like Raise familiar? be 90% instead of 40%. One more thing Id like to add. Have you ever Great Stoney before, but the apprehen- Dear Dragon: considered publishing a listing of RPGers? I sion we feel at trying something new is I was very satisfied with A cast of strange think it would be a great way to get gamers in dwarfed by our enthusiasm for the most familiars in #84. I have one question about touch with each other, and it would be invaluable unusual and one of the best special inclu- familiars: Can they be resurrected? If so, are the to those of us in the military who are always sions weve ever offered. hit points restored that were lost by the M-U moving. I recall that you published a similar Its a castle that comes in cardboard when the familiar was killed? listing in #37, so why not now? pieces that you can (you should) cut out and Chris Fredericks Eric Field assemble, comparable in size and quality to East McKeesport, Pa. New Bern, N.C. products of the same sort that sell for more than the price of this magazine. And you Based on our interpretation of the spell descrip- Apparently Eric, you read the article on poi- tions for resurrection and raise dead, it isnt sons one more time than we did. The error in the also get complete instructions, background possible to bring a familiar back to life by these listing for the poisonous toad was in the original material, and floor plans so you can build means. Those spells, and other magic of a similar manuscript; what we published was a plain old Great Stoney and then use it as a feature of nature, apparently only work on humanoids and mistake, not a typographical error. To fix it, I your fantasy role-playing campaign. Were not just any sort of creature. The raise dead text think your first assumption is better; a 20% grateful to Arthur Collins for coming up specifically lists the creature types that can benefit chance to detect it without searching seems to be with the original plans, and to TSRs own from the spell, implying that other types of beings in accordance with the figures for other monster Dennis Kauth for turning those plans into a cannot be raised. Depending on the DMs ruling, venoms given in the chart, and thats what we cardboard sculpture. And if you like it, a wish spell might be able to bring a dead familiar would have done to repair it if we had seen the theres more where this one came from; in a back to life but unless the wish was phrased mistake before you did.