Issue 110, October/Novermber '04 ISSN 1743-6788 Flagship THE MAGAZINE FOR GAMERS TM D&D at 30! Play-by-Email, Roleplaying, Computer Games, Conventions, MMORPGs and more ... The sweep and grandeur of Tolkien’s Middle-earth brought vividly to life in an award-winning gaming system. Battle of the Five Armies is a simplified version of the Middle-earth Play-By-Mail game designed to provide new players with an introduction to the world of Middle-earth. Set in the time of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit some sixty years before the events portrayed in Lord of the Rings, you can take the role of commanding the Goblins, the Warg Riders, the Elves, the Dwarves or the Northmen of Middle-earth. You’ve seen the movie, now dare you take the next step and lead your forces in conquest of Middle-earth? Can you make the difference between victory and defeat? Contact us to find out. Special Introductory offer for new players Play a Full Game for only £10 www.MiddleEarthGames.com PO Box 680155, Marietta, GA 30068-0003 tel.: (770) 579 6813 email: [email protected] Report from FLAGSHIP the Bridge #110, October / November '04 Welcome to Flagship IN THIS ISSUE ... THERE’S A thrill in my editorial heart to be putting the 110th issue of Flagship together: it’s FEATURES such a nice big issue number, and you’ll find News plenty of good stuff here in its pages. Newsdesk ..................................................................................................................... 4 With this issue we have had more than half Meets & Conventions ............................................................................................... 48 an eye on European GenCon from October 14th- Reviews 17th, so I’m typing this with my fingers crossed Chaos Trail ................................................................................................................. 10 that we’ll make our production deadline. Witht Gunboat ..................................................................................................................... 18 hat in mind, I’m happy to greet anyone who Doom 3 ....................................................................................................................... 20 picks up a copy of Flagship for the first time. Fall of Rome ............................................................................................................... 26 Regular readers will know that we have Viking Fury ................................................................................................................ 29 always been an independent magazine and that Strategy, Design, Diaries and Guides we always try to be both accurate and fair. Austerlitz Nations: Great Britain .............................................................................. 24 Anyone who’s new to us may be interested to Total Conquest: The Flagship Game ......................................................................... 31 hear that Flagship has been running since 1983: Featured Articles we started with turn-based games, but now 30 Years of Dungeons & Dragons ............................................................................. 10 extend our coverage to include all types of Turning Digital ........................................................................................................... 14 gaming. We’ve always relied on our readers to How to become a Flagship Reviewer ........................................................................ 30 tell us about the games they play. So if we don’t GenCon USA ............................................................................................................. 32 feature the games that you’re interested in, it’s The Ridley Files ......................................................................................................... 34 not a deliberate omission: tell us about ‘em or, Introducing ... Tabletop RPGs .................................................................................. 36 better still, write them up for us yourself! You Sexy Wargamer, You! .......................................................................................... 38 Since issue #104 we’ve been listing games Pevans' Perspective ................................................................................................... 39 shops in our pages, putting a box round those On Screen ................................................................................................................... 40 which stock Flagship (thank you, stockists). However, although we’ll continue this effort to get copies into shops, we know that it would ruin REGULAR DEPARTMENTS us to aim for a more general newsagents Report from the Bridge (Editorial) .................................................................................... 3 distribution, because we write for a specialised Subscription details ............................................................................................................ 8 group. So we don’t plan to change from relying The Mighty Pen (Letters) ................................................................................................ 43 on subscribers for our readership base. If you Rumours from the Front (Your opinions on games) ....................................................... 44 subscribe, you keep us going and you keep me Advertisers Index ............................................................................................................ 47 keen, so please don’t be tempted to fall away: we Games Shop listings ......................................................................................................... 47 need your enthusiasm to maintain our own. Oh, Galactic View (PBM/PBeMgame listings) ........................................................................ 49 and it’s worth mentioning that we can start a Flagship subscription as a present for a gaming friend of yours, along with an appropriate card in your name: we’ll even add an extra issue to Founding Editors Contributors your existing subscription if you take up this Nicholas Palmer MP & Chris Harvey House Artist: Larry Deyell suggestion. Cover Art: © TSR / Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro The great pleasure for me in editing a games Editorial Team Illustrations: Dee Dreslough (p10), Simon magazine is that players have happy memories Editor: Carol Mulholland [email protected] Williams (p17). All other artwork copyright free, Consultant Editors: Nick Palmer, Mo Holkar © Larry Deyell or © the proprietors of the game of what they’ve already enjoyed playing, while Assistant Editor: Colin Forbes [email protected] or games mentioned in the accompanying article. at the same time there’s always something new Regular Correspondents: Paul Evans, Lisa Fordham, Articles & Reviews: John Davis, Colin Forbes, to cover. Maybe at a time when elections are 'Globetrotter', Eric Ridley Rick Ghan, Martin Helsdon, Mo Holkar, Webmaster: Tom Fyfe [email protected] Mark Hygate, Alex McLellan, Carol Mulholland, looming acrimoniously in the USA and will Advertising Manager: Colin Forbes [email protected] Dave Panchyk, Sam Roads ... follow, later, in Britain, the joy of real life seems ... plus our regular correspondents. diminished by political campaigning. I’m a- political myself, and find real life too tawdry for Printed by: Excel Printing: 351 Lichfield Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 7ST these pages. This is why I’m a great believer in Copyright © 2004 TimePatterns PBM Games. games as a civilised, creative form of SUBS, QUERIES & CONTRIBUTIONS Flagship, 14 The Hollows, Exmouth, Articles submitted to Flagship will be assumed to entertainment: it’s healthier by far to become a grant copyright for first publication and non-exclusive Devon, EX8 1QT republication by Flagship, unless otherwise agreed. monarch in a game than to aim for power in real (01395) 276632 (9am-6pm) The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily life. [email protected] www.flagshipmagazine.com represent the views of Flagship, TimePatterns PBM Keep it imaginary, that’s what I say. ADVERTISING: 2A Guinea St, Exeter, EX1 1BS Games or any of the editorial staff. Tel: 01392 420582 [email protected] Contributions welcomed for Flagship 111. By November 8th, please. 4 NEWSDESK ROLEPLAYING art throughout, a full-painted cover, and Knights Handbook and the Arthurian RPG construction from premium materials.’ Surely Campaign Guide. Their Blood and Space the Latin of its title is dodgy, though? (core rules), however, at $19.95 (print) or Their Complete Arcane details the use $8.95 (ebook) is a starship adventure Games of arcane magic by sourcebook ‘designed to supplement or extend A couple of books from West any D&D character. any of the popular d20 space based role- End Games serve to show how There’s also ‘a wealth playing games.’ different from each other the of material for www.rpgobjects.com settings for RPGs can be. D6 Spaceships at traditionally non- Gold Rush Games $12.95 offers guidelines for advanced ship magical characters, so offer Sengoku: design, rules for ship-to-ship combat, sample the tips and data Revised Edition at ships, and other information that’s useful for provided will assist $29.95 in paperback or any Dungeon Master working up a starflight all class types. In $7.95 to download. campaign. On the other hand, in their D6 addition to new feats, Sengoku is an RPG set Bloodshadows, ‘The sorcerer upstairs spells, prestige in C16th Japan, a time conjures too loud; tough detectives swap classes, and