Let's read the entire run

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 137: September 1988

part 3/5

The fairest of the fairs: A quite different approach to a topic they've covered fairly recently. Issue 118 had a sample fair, including maps, and NPC's. This is more about the reasons to have something like this. Not that people really need an excuse for a party, but it helps if it happens regularly, so people know when to show up. And if you can placate some cranky gods at the same time, it's all for the good. So here's lots of sample reasons and appropriate times of year, to help you build your own. This is pretty nice, with both generic and campaign specific examples. In contrast to the weather stuff, this seems like the kind of thing you can whip up fairly quickly, and even if it doesn't make a huge amount of sense, it'll still add nicely to your world to throw in offhand references to them when characters are in a town.


The game wizards: The Hunt for Red October game gets a belated shill piece here this month. Must not be selling too well. Understandable though. After all, when you spent over $1000 just buying books for research, you really want your work to be a success. Doug Niles does his best to make the game seem appealing and drum up enthusiasm, and also do some errataing. Is my enthusiasm rising? Is my enthusiasm rising? :looks down: Um. No. Aww. So much for that plan then.


Up and running in the land of mutants: Gamma world's article this month is on speeding up character generation and advancement in the new edition. This involves lots more tables. Man, they are having a ridiculous number of those this issue. Once again, they look like they work, but still make decidedly tedious reading. It's becoming pretty obvious that I am not in the mood for what they currently want to serve.


Sage advice: What level do paladins cast spells at (We've already had this one. Do you forget so soon? Level-8)

Can you volantarily drop protection from evil ( Yes. Remember, attacking or forcing the protection up against them lets them come in. Violation of pax and all that. )

When do cavaliers and paladins get to use missile weapons (once they have free proficiency slots after learning all their required weapons. This may take a while )

Do paladins get extra spells for high wisdom ( no)

Can druids change into the same animal type more than once a day (no. Each of the orders is it's own power. Mammal, bird, reptile. Yes, that may put a crimp in your plans. Better study up on your zoology for maximum versatility. )

Do druids get bonus spells for high wisdom (yes)

Can druids identify plant's from unfamiliar terrains (Possibly. If not, they should be able to pick it up after a few weeks living out there. )

Why are all dwarven clerics so old! (Game balance. We never wanted you to be one in the first place so even though you whined us into giving in, we ain't going to be generous. )

What's the starting age of a drow cleric. (same as any other elf)

What happens when a character with % strength gains a point (they get 10% Crawlspeeeeeed, man.)

How much do bows for exceptional strength cost ( Ask Odysseus)

Where does it say fighters can do lawnmower attacks against creatures with less than 1 HD (page 25 of the PHB. Be very grateful for this power. )

What happens if a fighter is attacking a combination of creatures. (Then they'll have to choose between the regular rate or lawnmowering the mooks. One or the other, not both. I'd take out the kobolds. You never know when they might be using type E poison and kill everyone. )

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 137: September 1988

part 4/5

The marvel-phile is also in a rather sagacious mood this month. Skip dresses up as Uatu the Watcher to keep things running.

What is a FEAT Roll (Only like the universal resolution mechanic of the entire goddamn game)

What do you mean a blocking character can't perform any other action (What part of stay still and do nothing else does not make sense? If you want to avoid damage and move, you shoulda selected dodge instead)

How do you convert Resources into money (You don't. Your wealth stays abstracted at all points throughout the transaction. )

How did you design the leaping table (Looking at real world figures and then making up)

How do you detect invisible creatures. (Using your other senses. Lots of powers can deal with this problem, one way or another)

How big is an Area. (Like a room, you ought to be able to tell from context. )

Do new characters use the ability modifier table (no)

How do rank numbers correlate to named ranks. (Each rank is a range of numbers. Advancing from one to the next is Sloooooow)

What are the stats of a megalodon (Just a simple scaling up of a regular shark)

Please send me stats for 100 characters. (That's the kinda number that makes up a whole sourcebook. Ain't no way you're getting that for free.)

How do you measure the distance for falling damage (Differential math. Don't worry, any hero with half decent toughness will shrug off even the longest fall.)

Can you use Agility to do a full move and attack in the same round (no, Endurance. Speedsters also need some toughness to make the most of things)

Do you get any bonuses when fighting hated enemies (only if you take it as a specific power)

Is there a limit to rogue's absorption powers (only the plot)

Does Iron man do more damage using both repulsors (No, he's just a bit more likely to hit. )

Can you use psychic powers on insubstantial things (Hell yeah. It's a standard technique. )

How do I stop my players from looting fort knox (Giant robot guards)

How do you build a class 1000 object (Godlike power)

Can you attack insubstantial characters with high power body armor slams (no)

Is there an addenda for the ultimate powers book (2 in fact)

How does someone made of electricity knock someone over (ask reality)

How much damage does regeneration heal (look at the table to translate ranks into points per round)


Role-playing reviews goes espionage this month:
James bond 007 game has been around for quite a while now. It has a decidedly quirky character generation system that encourages you to make extreme characters. While it uses a universal resolution table, said table is rather less clearly designed than it could be. The reviewer considers it cool, but not brilliant.

Top secret/S.I, on the other hand, gets a very positive review, to the point where I start to become skeptical of their impartiality. This is becoming an increasing problem, with the reviewers seeming to favour the TSR product in any direct comparison. Are the suits leaning on the reviewers? Any backstage info would be welcome here.


Robotech II, the sentinels now available on VHS (ha) A cancelled series, the three episodes have been edited into a single feature. The palladium sourcebook is also out now.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Dragon Magazine Issue 137: September 1988

What do you mean a blocking character can't perform any other action (What part of stay still and do nothing else does not make sense? If you want to avoid damage and move, you shoulda selected dodge instead)

Robotech II, the sentinels now available on VHS (ha) A cancelled series, the three episodes have been edited into a single feature. The palladium sourcebook is also out now.

Eye beams. 'Nuff said.

Why do you laugh? I've got it. (Of course, it may have been a little late coming out. Been awhile...)

 

[(un)reason]

Eye beams. 'Nuff said.

Why do you laugh? I've got it. (Of course, it may have been a little late coming out. Been awhile...)

Amusement at the way the series progressed. The first material in the series that wasn't kludged together from translated and adapted stuff, and they cancel it after three episodes.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 137: September 1988

part 5/5

The role of books: Invitation to camelot, edited by Parke Godwin, and Arabesques, edited by Susan schwartz are both um, shared setting books. Yeah that's the ticket. One uses an arthurian background, and the other an arabian nights one. Both are pretty decent, although Arabesques probably wins in terms of depth and scope.

Resurection inc by Kevin J Anderson is a nice bit of hard sci-fi. Two thought provoking technological advances, and their moral implications are examined. It wouldn't be easy to adapt for a game though.

Tales of robin hood by Clayton Emery doesn't hang together very well, trying to mix gritty realism with a mishmash of mythology. If you try doing more than one thing at once, you've got to integrate them.

The year of the ransom by Poul Anderson is a highly complex Time Patrol tale. While not for inexperienced readers, the interesting plot, told from multiple viewpoints, is worth the effort to unravel. Read the earlier books in the series first to see if you like it.

Shrine of the desert mage by Stephen Goldin is another interesting bit of arabian nightsesque storytelling. This is doubly the case because the actual protagonist is also a storyteller, resulting in a cleverly multilayered story full of magic, genies, and interesting tidbits you can steal for your own games.


TSR Previews: AD&D is getting lots of stuff this month. First up is Greyhawk Adventures, which has either been delayed or double-dipped again. They need to be more careful with that. Secondly, we have FR5: The savage frontier. Venture to the lands surrounding waterdeep, and do a little pacifying. How else is a city all on it's ownsome surrounded by wilderness to survive? Waterdeep itself isn't neglected either, with the City System. They are filling up the Realms fast.

Curiously, Ed Greenwood himself is actually more busy in the Known world, with GAZ8: The five shires. How will he flesh them out and differentiate them from tolkien hobbits?

Top Secret is also reaping the fruits of it's labours this month. TSAC5: Commando gives you back your realistic modern day action, while also upgrading the military hardware allowed. TSAC2, on the other hand is the Agent 13 Sourcebook, providing you with all your pulp gaming needs. Odd that it should be released out of order. Were there delays on the writing side, or due to licencing crap?

Speaking of Agent 13 and top secret, we have another Double Agent novel out this month as well. GLITCH!/The Hard Sell gives us a couple more rollicking spy capers.
Dragonlance is also getting another novel. Stormblade. The mines of Thorbardin fall into chaos as the dwarves fight over who should weild the lost blade. But first they have to find it. Finders keepers and all that.

And finally, we have a third, unconnected novel. St John the Pursuer: Vampire in Moscow. Another fairly self-explanatory synopsis follows. There's a vampire loose in moscow. Guess who winds up having to stop it.


The role of computers: Ultima V: Warriors of destiny is yet another game in this highly popular series. And the reviewers certainly think it lives up to those standards, while not being too dependent on being an established player. The graphics have improved considerably, and it retains the same depth of play and complex morality as the last few. Another one to bash your brain up against for months trying to solve all the puzzles.

Oids also gets 5 stars, being a highly addictive combination of several arcade game styles. Space and ground travel are both used as you try and foil the alien invaders. It even includes a level editor, so once you finish it, you can design fun new stuff for your friends.

Out Run is rather less impressive, being yer basic racing game where you have to do each bit of the course before the time limit runs out, and it gets extended if you do. You do get to choose both your route, and the music, so it doesn't get too repetitive too soon. Probably more impressive in the arcade where you're using an actual steering wheel.

Ebonstar is another space game. You race round a black hole, and have to knock your rivals in while surviving yourself. Seems most fun when played multiplayer.

The universal military simulator is another heavily customisable game, allowing you to set up scenarios from past and future. While it has some crashing issues on certain platforms, it has tons of depth in both unit and landscape detail.

Intellitype is a typing tutor program. Wait, come back! It's not actually that tedious! They are being rather generous with their 5 star marks this month. Hmm.


Snarfquest gets a-racing. Dragonmirth is absent.


A slick but tiresome issue here. With the table fetish in the articles, and the tendency towards self-promotion in even the supposedly objective bits of the magazine, it all feels very corporate, very powerpoint, flow charts, mobile phones, and sales targets. An excellent example of the fact that good content is just as important as presentation, if not more so when the eventual goal is having fun. Lets hope horror is a bit more conductive to exciting articles than the wilderness.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 138: October 1988

part 1/5

108 pages. Another bit of rather good artwork on this month's cover. This comes at a price though. Roger Raupp has finally decided he can't take the pressure of TSR's new corporate structure anymore and departed. So another of the old guard is bumped of, and his immediate subordinate Lori Svikel moves up to take his place. Hmm. Meanwhile, in the editorial, the hard work setting up this year's convention has finally paid off, and our remaining Roger talks about the madness that he enjoyed there. There's still plenty of fun going on at the ground level, whatever's going on in the company. And hopefully he's brought some of that back with him.

In this issue:

Letters: A letter about indexing. It's been more than 2 years since the last one, and some people are compulsive about that kinda thing. Roger says they're certainly thinking about it. But it is a lot of work.

Some errata. You know the drill by now.

Two letters filled with more amusing last words. See, your characters dying can still make for a fun game.


Sky galleons of mars. Part of the space: 1889 series. Sounds pretty cool.


Forum: Brian Estes has a suggestion for speeding up mecha combat in Star Frontiers. It shouldn't be vastly more hassle than regular combat. Quite agree with you there.

Joseph Goldlust also wants thieves to get XP from actually, y'know, thieving. He suggests giving the challenges they overcome levels equivalent to monsters, and calculating from that. This is particularly easy to figure out when picking pockets.

Mark Crane rebutts the people who distrust paintball, and stereotype ninjas. Interesting combination there. Hee.

S. D. Anderson has some comments on the new roman gods from issue 13, with a particular focus on Eris. Why should a spreader of discord have a problem with demons? Good question.

Jeffrey M Carey thinks that as RPG demographics are settling down, companies ought to concentrate more on getting as much money as possible out of established gamers, particularly older ones with disposable incomes, with lots of supplements designed to be as universally applicable as possible. I find this very amusing.

A Patrick Connery is another of the people that thinks magic-users being weak at first, then becoming more powerful is entirely acceptable. Gary knew what he was doing. It does not ruin the game.

Sean Jump thinks that evil PC's should get more equal screentime, with classes and adventures designed for them. There's plenty of fun to be had being bad, don't be such spoilsports.

Tim Emrick gives us some advice on making fold-up buildings, including a rudimentary house in the letter. Very interesting indeed.

Eric Burns has a bunch of suggestions to power up low level magic-users. You know, even with a d12, you can get 1 or 2 hp, and be painfully fragile throughout 1st level.


Through the looking glass: Great. Actual crafting tips. It's been way too long since this magazine carried any of those. This is a definite step upwards. This is all about skeletons. Which is fitting, I guess. And they do require techniques a little different to painting people. Put a black base coat on before adding lighter colours. Pay lots of attention to the ribs. Lots of thin layers is the way to go, making sure each is properly dried before moving on to the next one. Drybrushing is hard on brushes so use a different one to the other bits. Remember, these are undead. Make their stuff look well worn. Interesting and very specific bits of advice. I quite enjoyed this. Combined with the fact that the photographic quality has improved quite considerably since they last did this, with lots of full colour photos, and this looks pretty promising. How long will it take this to settle into a comfortable pattern and start boring me? All things must rise and fall. We shall see.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Dragon Magazine Issue 138: October 1988

Sky galleons of mars. Part of the space: 1889 series. Sounds pretty cool.

Didn't this come first? Never owned or played it, I'm afraid. I did own Space:1889, but never got to play it, either.

 

[(un)reason]

Didn't this come first? Never owned or played it, I'm afraid. I did own Space:1889, but never got to play it, either.

Yup. They obviously knew they were onto a good thing, and already planning the followups when they did that advert.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 138: October 1988

part 2/5

Sage advice gets in with the theme, as it so often does:

Are undead affected by web (If they only have a body)

Can you talk to undead (yes, but they still instinctively loathe everything living and want to kill you, eat you or turn you into one of them, probably not in that order. Squick prejudice cuts both ways. )

What creatures become undead. (Anything with a suitable body or soul. Lets keep it on the down low for now, but you'll be seeing lots of weird undead in later books. )

What happens to the connection to the negative plane when an undead is shifted to an outer plane. (Nothing. They're now off being an abomination against life somewhere else. Annoyed outsiders may come knocking on your door to bring back the trash if you make a habit of this. )

Can undead be affected by psionic attack (probably, as long as they have minds )

Can undead be psionic (sure, why not.)

Are undead affected by blasty spells (Mostly. Anything not forbidden is allowed.)

How do skeletons see without any eyes. (This is a mystery man was not meant to know. However they do it, they manage perfectly well. )

Can paladins keep ghouls at bay with their holier than thou aura. (yup)

What does powerless in sunlight really mean. (they can't attack, move things, or do anything other than cower or float away. Poor ghosty creatures. )

Can you turn a banshee (you can in BD&D, but not in AD&D, weirdly enough. )

What is a lesser vampire ( The enslaved minion that you'll become if you don't watch out. )

Can a staked vampire drain levels (No. Be thankful for this.)

The GDQ modules and the monster manual contradict each other on the subject of holy symbols and vampires (No they don't. This is what happens when vampires break their own rules. There is a reason they normally recoil from holy symbols )

How do spells affect nilbogs (opposite world is upsideown. No saves, no limits. Be very afraid)

Where are the stats for amphisbaena ( Snake! Snake!)

Can you get lycanthropy from being clawed (No. )
Isn't 2+2 a bit much for small Scorpions (They're still 3-4 foot long and toughly armoured. How's that for nightmare fuel. )

How much bigger are higher HD green slimes (3 square foot per HD. Better bring the toilet duck along )

Are spell attacks delivered by touch normal weapons (Hell no! What is your DM smoking. Skip says don't do drugs, kids! Or you'll end up like this poor guy, unable to make the most elementary logic work.)

How good is succubi and alu-fiends shapechanging (pretty good. And by good, we of course mean Totally Hawt. Skip would say no, but that is because Skip is totally awesome and can have any woman he wants anyway. Hey kids, become a sage and you can be totally awesome too. Learn the Elminster patented dirty old man seduction method(tm). Guaranted to work on all women from barmaids to greater godesses or your money back.)

Can I bribe a time elemental to take me back to kill my enemies before they're old enough to be a threat ( With what? What could you possibly offer them that they couldn't travel back and take before you found it if they wanted it. Even if you do convince them, Skip does not reccommend letting it be that easy. Remember, the universe is a big place, and even a well intentioned time elemental may struggle to find the right place and time.)

Need more info on barghests. Description insufficient ( Question recieved. Processing information. Delivering information. Another satisfied customer. Backup answertron for when skip has bunked off early deactivating itself. )


The black book and the hunters: Call of cthulhu gets another article full of forbidden mind imperiling lore. Shub-Niggurath has a lot of offspring, and summoning them is as viable as dealing with any other monstrosity from another realm. Like pages from the mages, this follows the formula of presenting an IC grimoire, which is also described IC by a character, and then giving us the stats for the new spells contained within. Which is still a pretty entertaining way of doing things, especially when the narrator hasn't completely mastered the powers on offer, and isn't sure if they really want too either. They can sell us a few more of these in my reckoning.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 138: October 1988

part 3/5

The ungrateful dead: Tom Moldvay gives us another installment of undead reexaminations. Stepping away from the vampires he covered last time, he goes back to basics, with a whole load of variants for skeletons, zombies and ghouls. They certainly aren't lacking in folklorish antecedents, and you can have considerable amounts of fun varying the powers of familiar looking creatures.

Bloody bones are the skeletons of evil people who lurk and engage in sneaky criminal behaviour. This means fighting them is going to be a very different experience to regular skeletons.

Skeleros are skeletons who used to be skilled fighters, and have retained a bit of their old skill. Not hugely interesting, as they have exactly the same niche, just to higher level characters.

Dry Bones are exactly the same as they appear in the mario games. You knock them down, and they keep on getting back up. They might seem weedy at first, but there is a definite creeping horror factor involved here. Like phoenix spiders, these make me go muahaha and itch to use them in my game.

Gem Eyes are the generic knockoff versions of eyes of fear and flame. They get different spell-like abilities to unleash on you depending on what specific stones are set in their eyes. One of those monsters you could run an interesting adventure using nothing but different variants of, plus a boss.

Shock Bones are skeletons with a permanent electrical charge. Anyone attacking them with metal weapons automatically gets a nasty shock. How very castlevania. Just another way to screw over unsuspecting players.

Walking dead are zombies that lose limbs as you damage them, becoming less and less effective. Just like in the movies. It amuses me that zombies could wind up suffering more from wound penalties than living creatures in D&D.

Hungry dead are of course zombies that eat braaaaiiiiiinssss. If you don't hit the right body part, they just keep coming. You've seen these in tons of movies as well, so I don't need to say any more.

Collossi are massive constructs made of tons of dead bodies mulched and pasted together. Just the thing for if you want to get kaijuey. The smell must be terrible.

Le Grand Zombie is another name for zombie lords. These have completely different stats to their 2nd ed version, and were probably developed independently. They are probably a bit too scary for most parties, with truly excessive spellcasting abilities, they're more like zombie emperors than lords. Ease up a bit there mate.

Ghula are ghouls as drawn from arabian myth. Many of them are capable of passing for human, and have some magical ability. Like zombie lords, although they would appear again in Al-Qadim, the stats are obviously not the same.

Baka are an excellent example of cult membership continuing beyond the grave. Eating flesh even before they died, now they're back, and badder than ever.

Gelloudes are greek creatures, related to lamias or harpies, who's preferred prey is babies. If they can't get babies, they'll de-age you in the process of draining your life force. Interesting, and ingeniously scary, that puts a different spin on fighting level draining monsters.

Spirit-Ghouls are people who've been possessed. Statistically, they're pretty similar to regular ghouls, but of course with these guys there's the possibility of curing them, which adds extra complications and moral dilemmas to fighting them. Damn good idea.

Black Annis is of course the inspiration for one of the types of Hag. But D&D has never been shy about having multiple monsters for the same niche so she can be an undead creature that hunts the wilds as well. And since she's pretty scary, it'll take some serious work to put her down.

Wendigo, of course is even scarier, with it's near godike powers, and ability to drive you to cannibalism. If it weren't such a short-sighted creature, it could enslave entire civilizations and turn them into monstrous hives of depravity. Hmm. This is definitely worth further consideration.

Callicantzari, on the other hand are almost as limited as vampires by their own stupidity and quirky weaknesses. This means even smart peasants have a chance against them, despite their strength. They seem perfectly designed to make scenarios like an 80's cartoon, with the scheming leader who rages at the comical incompetence of their underlings, and is defeated but not killed regularly, as they retreat whenever their latest scheme is foiled even if they could probably defeat the heroes singlehandedly in a fight. A very entertaining way to finish off what has been an excellent article overall.


Methods to your madness: Call of Cthulhu has been fairly popular for a good few years now. It's made having your character gradually go insane be considered a fun playstyle. So lets transfer the idea over to D&D. There are plenty of mad things that happen in the game that it would make sense to have some lasting impact on your mental health. You can play this in a serious, tragic way, or a comical one, and this article touches on both styles. Similarly, it could be fun to play, or it could seriously mess up your game if a player uses it as an excuse to go fishmalky. Still, I think this article handles it decently, if a little shallowly. This could definitely have benefited from being a bit longer, particularly as it advocates making sure that mental illness in D&D isn't too similar to reality. Oh well. They're still maintaining the run of good articles this issue.