The Dragon Issue 6 was published in April 1977. It is 32 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. In this column we see an influential science fiction game designer make his debut.
Editor Tim Kask notes, with pride, that this is the sixth issue of the magazine and that readership has increased fourfold over the first year of operations. He repeats his desire, expressed in the last issue, to cover more games, saying "The next year will see more attention to the rest of our field, without giving up any of what we’ve provided in the past."
In keeping with this intent, issue #6 covers three games, Metamorphosis Alpha, Empire of the Petal Throne, and Dungeons & Dragons. All of these were TSR properties, of course, but Kask notes that "the last year has seen a number of other good fantasy games come on the market" and promises to give them reasonable coverage.
There are four D&D articles included. "Sea Trade in D&D Campaigns" provides a simple mechanic for determining the profitability of merchant cargo, based on the assumption that the further you sail, the more valuable the cargo becomes. "Determination of Psionic Abilities" gives a new method for dealing with psionic potential, which was previously covered in the D&D book, Eldritch Wizardry. "Morale in D&D" contains a system for handling player character morale. It's a little cumbersome and interferes unduly with player agency. The final D&D article describes a new monster, the Death Angel.
It's notable how tightly written all of these articles are, with most of them contained to a page. It reminded me of the concise little rules options that were the hallmark of issue #1. Having said that, none of this material is especially memorable or usable, aside from the Death Angel. The creator of this creature, John Sullivan, seems to have written for many RPG fanzines around at the time (such as Interplay). He may also have contributed to the Red Dwarf RPG many years later (though I can't confirm that).
There are two stories in this issue. "Gnome Cache" grinds on with another chapter, but Gygax will abandon it soon. "The Forest of Flame" is an illustrated story by "Morno", a pseudonym used by artist Brad Schenck, whose work appeared in many RPG products at this time.
By far the most interesting article in this issue is "Clone Bank Alpha" by Guy W. McLimore, Jr., which presents a Metamorphosis Alpha variation in which you begin life as a ship-created clone rather than a barbarian from a shipboard tribe. The design is elegant, and the color text is fun and evocative.
This was McLimore's RPG publishing debut, and he was destined to make a big impression on the industry. After a couple of years spent working for Metagaming Concepts (publishers of Ogre), he formed Fantasimulations Association, who were then contracted by FASA to produce the highly innovative and successful Star Trek RPG. McLimore created a slew of supplements for the product as well as a sequel, and also co-authored the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game. He later founded Microtactix Games, whose products are still available on RPG.NET.
I enjoyed this issue, though I wish the D&D content was a little stronger. The next issue would see Gary Gygax start an argument that would divide gaming fans for the next forty years...
This article was contributed by M.T. Black as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. M.T. Black is a game designer and DMs Guild Adept. Please follow him on Twitter @mtblack2567 and sign up to his mailing list. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Editor Tim Kask notes, with pride, that this is the sixth issue of the magazine and that readership has increased fourfold over the first year of operations. He repeats his desire, expressed in the last issue, to cover more games, saying "The next year will see more attention to the rest of our field, without giving up any of what we’ve provided in the past."
In keeping with this intent, issue #6 covers three games, Metamorphosis Alpha, Empire of the Petal Throne, and Dungeons & Dragons. All of these were TSR properties, of course, but Kask notes that "the last year has seen a number of other good fantasy games come on the market" and promises to give them reasonable coverage.
There are four D&D articles included. "Sea Trade in D&D Campaigns" provides a simple mechanic for determining the profitability of merchant cargo, based on the assumption that the further you sail, the more valuable the cargo becomes. "Determination of Psionic Abilities" gives a new method for dealing with psionic potential, which was previously covered in the D&D book, Eldritch Wizardry. "Morale in D&D" contains a system for handling player character morale. It's a little cumbersome and interferes unduly with player agency. The final D&D article describes a new monster, the Death Angel.
It's notable how tightly written all of these articles are, with most of them contained to a page. It reminded me of the concise little rules options that were the hallmark of issue #1. Having said that, none of this material is especially memorable or usable, aside from the Death Angel. The creator of this creature, John Sullivan, seems to have written for many RPG fanzines around at the time (such as Interplay). He may also have contributed to the Red Dwarf RPG many years later (though I can't confirm that).
There are two stories in this issue. "Gnome Cache" grinds on with another chapter, but Gygax will abandon it soon. "The Forest of Flame" is an illustrated story by "Morno", a pseudonym used by artist Brad Schenck, whose work appeared in many RPG products at this time.
By far the most interesting article in this issue is "Clone Bank Alpha" by Guy W. McLimore, Jr., which presents a Metamorphosis Alpha variation in which you begin life as a ship-created clone rather than a barbarian from a shipboard tribe. The design is elegant, and the color text is fun and evocative.
This was McLimore's RPG publishing debut, and he was destined to make a big impression on the industry. After a couple of years spent working for Metagaming Concepts (publishers of Ogre), he formed Fantasimulations Association, who were then contracted by FASA to produce the highly innovative and successful Star Trek RPG. McLimore created a slew of supplements for the product as well as a sequel, and also co-authored the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game. He later founded Microtactix Games, whose products are still available on RPG.NET.
I enjoyed this issue, though I wish the D&D content was a little stronger. The next issue would see Gary Gygax start an argument that would divide gaming fans for the next forty years...
This article was contributed by M.T. Black as part of ENWorld's User-Generated Content (UGC) program. M.T. Black is a game designer and DMs Guild Adept. Please follow him on Twitter @mtblack2567 and sign up to his mailing list. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
