SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS Issue #168 Vol. XV, No. 11 But seriously, folks . April 1991 9 Our annual catch of the wacky and perverse. Thomas Schlosser Publisher How to Role-play in One Easy Lesson James M. Ward 10 All the secrets of role-playing, with none of the calories. Mertys Manual of Magical Merchandise Editor 14 Robin C. Ashmore and Michele Batter Roger E. Moore Breathe flame and surprise your friends with these great treasures. Fiction editor Bazaar of the Bizarre William Wilson Goodson, Jr. Barbara G. Young 18 Another half-dozen treasures that Dungeon Masters will love. Assistant editor OTHER FEATURES Dale A. Donovan Official Ballot for the ORIGINS Awards 1990 Art director 21 The race is on to find the best game products of all VOTE NOW! Larry W. Smith Role-playing Reviews Ken Rolston Production staff 32 When the DMs away, these board games youll play (and enjoy). Gaye OKeefe Angelika Lokotz The Voyage of the Princess Ark Bruce A. Heard Tracey Zamagne 41 Destroyed and reborn: the all-new Princess Ark! Subscriptions The Role of Computers Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser Janet L. Winters 47 Bane of the Cosmic Forge vs. The Secret of Monkey Island. U.S. advertising Thor Goes Fishing fiction by Lois Tilton Roseann Schnering 58 A completely serious and authentic tale of life in Asgard. You bet. Novel Ideas Marlys Heeszel U.K. correspondent 66 A trilogy and a sextet are on the way from the world of Krynn. and U.K. advertising Bronwen Livermore The MARVEL®-Phile Steven Schend 71 The MARVEL UNIVERSE, where change is the only constant. Look Sharp! Raymond C. Young 76 A bonus for fantasy gamers: an AD&D® game crossword puzzle. Treasures More Real Scott Williams 79 Do away with boring treasure hoards, and make the players think! Harpers Bold Ed Greenwood 84 Two heroes of note in the lands of the Forgotten Realms. Why Spy? Michael L. McDaniel 86 Espionage RPGs: The odds are you wont live to see tomorrow. Through the Looking Glass Robert Bigelow 103 Dwarven kings, drow elves, and . Grox Blox? DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters 26 Convention Calendar 94 Dragonmirth 6 Editorial 56 Sage Advice 96 Twilight Empire 23 Forum 64 TSR Previews 100 Gamers Guide COVER Curiously enough, Michael Weaver began painting this issues cover on the day the Persian Gulf war startedand he finished it on the day the war ended. The red dragon and its rider wanted to use the rocky perch for their own, but the perch was better defended than theyd thought. Odd how reality and fantasy come together sometimes, isnt it? 4 APRIL 1991 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 and Canada except subscription orders is: DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111 (201 Sheridan Springs Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.; telephone. (414) 248-3625. The postal address for all materials from Europe is: DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom; telephone: (0223) 212517 (U.K.), 44-223- 212517 (international), telex: 818761; fax: (0223) 248066 (U.K.), 44-223-248066 (international). Distribution: DRAGON Magazine is available from game and hobby shops throughout the United States, What did you think of this issue? Do you have Dear Dragon, Canada, the United Kingdom, and through a limited a question about an article or have an idea for a My party of adventurers has just slain a gold number of other overseas outlets. Distribution to the book new feature youd like to see? In the United dragon. We asked the DM what we could do trade in the United States is by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distributed States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON® with it. All he knew was to take it to a taxider- to the book trade in the United Kingdom by Random Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, mist and get it stuffed. Isnt there anything we Century Group and TSR Ltd. Send orders to: Random U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON can do to make something? All we got from it House, Inc., Order Entry Department, Westminster MD was 50,000 gold pieces, and that had to be 21157, U.S.A. Newsstand distribution throughout the Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry United Kingdom is by Seymour Press Ltd., 334 Brixton Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. divided into seven portions. It seems that all that Road, London SW9 7AG, United Kingdom; telephone: hard work was for nothing, because when we 01-733-4444. got back into town the gold got stolen. Isnt Subscriptions: Subscription rates via second-class mail are as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent That time again there anything we can do with the organs and to an address in the U.S. or Canada; £16 for 12 issues guts? sent to an address within the United Kingdom; £24 for 12 issues sent to an address in Europe; $50 in US funds The following letters were actually received A cookbook should solve the problem with the for 12 issues sent by surface mail to any other address, Magazine by the editors of DRAGON and, except internal organs. Cooked dragon tastes just like or $90 in US. funds for 12 issues sent airmail to any for minor editing, appear as they were written. other address Payment in full must accompany all chicken, so use any appropriate recipe. If you subscription orders. In the U.S. and Canada, methods of invite a party of paladins, rangers, priests, and payment include checks or money orders made payable Dear Dragon, dragon lovers over to share the meal, you to TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA One of my characters is in love with a chaotic- credit cards; send subscription orders with payments to: should tactfully avoid discussing where you evil wizard. What are the chances of him loving TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 5695, Boston MA 02206, U.S.A. In her back? I read your article on alignments, but shop. You might wish to debone the meat, too, the United Kingdom, methods of payment include as even the least astute warrior knows there is cheques and money orders made payable to TSR Ltd, or I am still wondering. Please write back soon. no entry in the Monstrous Compendium for charges to a valid ACCESS or VISA credit card; send subscription orders with payments to TSR Ltd, as per that Chaotic-evil wizards make disappointing “Chicken, giant.” address above. Prices are subject to change without prior boyfriends, as any article on alignments should notice. The issue of expiration of each subscription is Dear Dragon, printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy of make clear. Sit down with your character and the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of explain the hopelessness of her situation in Please pass the enclosed copies on to any experimenters who might be interested. I have subscription copies must be received at least six weeks calm, reasonable terms. If she refuses to listen, prior to the effective date of the change in order to assure erase her. sent copies to 12 SciFi conventions mentioned uninterrupted delivery. on the next to last page in Analog SciFi. You Back issues: A limited quantity of back issues is available from either the TSR Mail Order Hobby Shop Dear Dragon, are welcome to use any information that might (P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.) or from In a campaign I am now running, there is a stimulate further experiments. TSR Ltd. For a free copy of the current catalog that lists battle going on. But this is no ordinary kind of P.S. Your experimenters, if they use this available back issues, write to either of the above method, will find that the mentally guided addresses. battle. Its a custody battle! Ill give you the facts: Submissions: All material published in DRAGON The whole custody battle is over an orc baby psychic photography effect will enable them to Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the pub- found in its lair by our fun-loving party. The see close up a space academy existing in a space lisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are paladin of the party decided he would bring up empire controlling 20,000 solar systems. The made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes time distortion effect can enable the users to unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork; this baby in an upright manner so that this orc however, no responsibility for such submissions can be would be civilized and good when it grew up, experience the effect of apparently attending assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission instead of savage and chaotic. the academy as students, for one to five years, accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of in an actual time of only half an hour. We could sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published. But when the party visited the city of Ilbon, We strongly recommend that prospective authors write where they split up, Sir Ronis the paladin left learn much about advanced space-propulsion for our writers’ guidelines before sending an article to us. the baby in the care of Andre Owganhowban, engines. In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed, our neutral-good fighter.