August 1981 Dragon 1 Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2 Vol. VI, No. 2 August 1981 I Publisher. Jake Jaquet In somebody’s dictionary, a cliche A word of explanation about the inter- Editor-in-Chief. Kim Mohan should exist about dragons — some- view with the artist that begins on page Editorial staff . Bryce Knorr thing on the order of . You seen one 28: That three-letter word is a topic of Marilyn Mays dragon, you seen ‘em all . no, that’s not discussion, and Boris is a frank man who Gali Sanchez Sales. Debbie Chiusano it . A dragon in the hand is worth . no, doesn’t mind stating his opinions. A few Circulation . Corey Koebernick how ‘bout . There are as many different words relating to the human body that Office staff . Cherie Knull types of dragons as there are people to probably haven’t appeared on these Roger Raupp think them up. pages before are included in that context Contributing editors. Roger Moore Hmmm. A little rough, but it’ll do. — but there’s nothing — repeat, NO- Ed Greenwood Ahem. If you’ve been paying attention THING — about that part of the interview to the cover of this magazine lately, that we feel is anything but an honest This issue’s contributing artists: you’ve probably noticed a lot of dragons discussion of something we shouldn’t Boris Vallejo L. E. Boelman —and we don’t mean the word on top by get so upset about, anyway. James Holloway Chris Conly Roger Raupp Jon Hageman the price. Enough of reality; back to fantasy. Erol Otus Phil Foglio Three of our last four covers have fea- Obviously, we haven’t begun to ex- Corinna Taylor David Trampier tured our mythical namesake, or at least haust the possibilities for artistic expres- L. Blankenship the visions of three prominent artists as sions about dragons. More renditions to what a dragon is supposed to look will appear here, and for those of you DRAGON magazine is published monthly by like. Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR Hobbies, who can’t get enough of the noble mon- Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishing First there was Tim Hildebrandt’s vi- ster, look for the 1982 DAYS OF THE is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147; tele- sion (issue #49) — an impressive fire- DRAGON™ Fantasy Art Calendar. We’ll phone (414) 248-8044. breather laying waste to a moonlit castle. be featuring dragons — 13 of ’em at last DRAGON magazine is available at hundreds Gracing the cover of #50 was Carl count — using the AD&D™ Monster of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the United States and Canada, and through a limit- Lundgren’s vision: just the opposite — a Manual and past issues of DRAGON™ ed number of overseas outlets. The magazine mysterious beastie, shrouded by the magazine as inspiration. If you’re at the can be purchased directly from Dragon Publish- darkness of his lair. GEN CON® XIV Convention this month, ing by subscription. Rates are as follows, with all payments to be made in advance: $24 for 12 Tough acts to follow, admittedly. Not stop by the Dragon Publishing booth issues sent to a U.S. or Canadian address; $50 too many artists working today could do and take a look. U.S. for 12 issues sent via surface mail or $95 for it, but this issue’s cover certainly doesn’t 12 issues sent via air mail to any other country. pale by comparison. After all, it is a Our apologies to all of you who were A limited quantity of certain back issues of DRAGON magazine can be purchased directly Boris. so impressed with the description of The from the publisher by sending the cover price “I wanted to do something different,” Beholder in “The ’Zines” (issue #50) that plus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue Boris said after completing an oil paint- ordered. Payment in advance by check or mo- you sent money to England for a sub- ney order must accompany all orders. Payments ing that further demonstrates that there scription. We don’t know exactly what cannot be made through a credit card, and are as many different types of dragons as the situation is, but we do know that the orders cannot be taken nor merchandise “re- served” by telephone. Neither an individual cus- there are people to think them up. magazine is no longer being published tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub- Hence, the idea of hatching dragons. by Michael Stoner, like the article indi- scription order or back-issue purchase unless Ditto the delicate wings on his beast. cated. We received an urgently worded prior arrangements are made. Created in the fine brush strokes that cable giving us that information from The issue of expiration for each subscription is printed on the mailing label for each sub- mark Boris’ increasingly realistic style, Don Turnbull, managing director of TSR scriber’s copy of the magazine. Changes of ad- the work — which is untitled — demon- Hobbies (UK) Limited, a few weeks ago, dress for the delivery of subscriptions must be strates several of the artist’s trademarks. but just too late to allow us to get the received at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the change in order to insure uninter- There is, of course, his love of the human correction into issue #51. “Don’t send rupted delivery. form, as represented the beautiful wom- money to Stoner,” says Don, and we All material published in DRAGON magazine an who has graced many of his paint- (now that we know better) echo that re- becomes the exclusive property of the publisher ings. And the dragon looks . right — like commendation. Once again, our sincere upon publication, unless special arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. it really existed, a testimony to Boris’ apologies and regrets for any inconven- DRAGON magazine welcomes unsolicited sub- pre-medical studies in anatomy. ience or loss of money that the misin- missions of written material and artwork; how- Note also the depth of field — or focus formation caused. We have reports that ever, no responsibility for such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any — on the dragon, for example, that gives The Beholder is still going to be pub- submission which is accompanied by a self- the painting a three-dimensional quality, lished, somehow, by somebody, but our addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size will be returned to the contributor if it cannot be and the egg nodules floating in the two sources of information are in con- published. background which he said “emphasizes flict. We’ll try to unravel the mystery and DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish- the fantasy element.” give you the true facts next time around. ing’s monthly adventure playing aid. All rights Typical also is the speed with which on the contents of this publication are reserved, the 40-year-old New Yorker painted the and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part without prior permission in writing piece: four days from start to signature. from the publisher. Copyright 1981 by TSR Better yet, he said, after overcoming the Hobbies, Inc. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848. initial “artist’s block” he feels when fac- Second class postage paid at Lake Geneva, ing a blank canvas, “it was fun.” Wis., and at additional mailing offices. 2 August 1981 Dragon specialist Michael Kluever is back with a contribution entitled “Knock, Knock” (as in, let me in or I’ll batter your door down), an overview of siege warfare tactics and strategy through the ages. The first major addition to the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy World Setting that we’ve published comes from the typewriter of Len Lakofka and is presented in Len’s regular column, Leomund’s Tiny Hut. The article gives guidelines for determining the place of birth and the languages known by inhabitants of the Flanaess — plus an appendix by E. Gary rom Boris to Bounty Hunters, from Greyhawk to Gygax himself which describes the appearances of the races Gamma World, from clerics to conventions: This that inhabit this famous land. issue of DRAGON™ magazine contains articles The latest edition of Giants in the Earth presents Katharine and artwork that range far and wide across the vast Kerr’s interpretations of two “island enchanters” — Prospero, spectrum of fantasy and fantasy game-playing. from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the legendary Circe, in a Like the lettering on the cover proudly proclaims, the fanciest portrayal which is drastically different from the description of feature you’ll find inside is an eight-page interview with Boris her in the DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia. Vallejo, one of the best fantasy artists to ever lift a brush. For In Simulation Corner, John Prados gives us the first instal- proof of that, one need look no further than the scintillating lment of a series on the essentials of game design. More advice, cover painting Boris created especially for DRAGON magazine of a different sort, can be found in Up on a Soapbox, where Lew — but if you need more convincing, turn to page 28 and savor Pulsipher tells DMs how to make up for their mistakes and Tom the interview (conducted by staff member Bryce Knorr) and the Armstrong suggests how to get around the problem of the accompanying photographs and paintings which illustrate it. “know-it-all” player. All of you who’ve been clamoring for a GAMMA WORLD™ Our review section is larger in size and in scope this time adventure to appear on these pages can put away those laser around, with the addition of “Off the Shelf,” the first course of pistols.