Raven Crowking
First Post
Exactly. I wish I had the entire Ed Greenwood "Cult of the Dragon" quote at hand. If I remember right, it somewhat described Athas. Of course, I could be remembering wrong.
RC
RC
Let's read the entire run
- Thread starter (un)reason
- Start date
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 183: July 1992
part 1/8
124 pages. Up to space again, in an issue that looks like it mixes fantastical and sci-fi approaches to going up up and away. I don't believe we've had a combo like that before, and it allows them to cover other systems more than usual, so this is a very positive choice. UFOs have plenty of books and movies dedicated to them, but not an RPG, yet. Come on, keep trying to expand the market.
In this issue:
Letters: Lots of stuff from Roger here as he plays with the usual formula again. Instead of actually publishing the letters, he just gives the answers to them, so he can get more done in the space allocated. Very cheeky. Course, what the questions were is usually pretty obvious. Chalk it up to multiple people sending the same questions in.
We also get one token letter, in which they point out the existence of Creeks and Crawdads, the roleplaying game of semi-intelligent postapocalyptic crustaceans. If your kinks involve something like that, I really don't want to know.
Editorial: The old married couple theme returns with Roger again trying to spice up his and our gaming life. The fiction department in the magazine is consistently proving to be one of the least repetitive and most emotionally engaging parts of the magazine. It'd be a rather good idea to imitate that, and pick up some books that don't fall into the usual tolkien/conan axis of fantasy knockoffs If you want to shake off the boredom. For whatever reason, he picks The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs, and The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. He points out what makes then unusual from a gaming point of view, and makes translating that into AD&D rules seem pretty simple and easy. It's not hard, introducing new tricks. It's just that they'll soon grow routine as well, and then the next variant, and the one after that, and so so, and so on. Let's just hope that by the time we run out of ideas again your players'll be keen to go back to basics.
Magic and technology meet at last: Gamma World is back. And no surprise that they're trying to get articles for it going again when it's previous editions got so many in the magazine. Kicking off is an obvious topic. Converting between it and AD&D. Since we also had this in the 1st ed DMG, the at last bit of the title isn't really accurate, but meet again doesn't have quite the same ring to it. This is a quite easy business really, as like Buck Rogers, the new system is pretty closely related to AD&D. But what changes there are are very interesting indeed. Armour class is inverted, starting at 10 and going upwards. And there's a perception attribute along with the regular 6. Both changes that are needed back in D&D land, actually, and it's interesting to realise they already know this. But of course the slow edition cycle means one won't be implemented for 8 years yet, and the other'll be awkwardly kludged into a form which is still a pain today. This conversion is set up in such a way that both sides have very little resistance against the other's powers, and stuff happens on the terms of whoever is most proactive, but stuff taken into other worlds tends to lose it's abilities, which prevents inter-universe trade from seriously altering your campaign world. So when going interdimensional raiding, hit fast with blasty powers and keep the enemy off guard. Offence is the best defence. Now let's hope the PCs don't all get disintegrated in the first round of combat by enemy lasers. Very interesting, as it reveals some of the design assumptions that are currently running in the TSR offices, and how certain writers would probably like to revise D&D. That's well worth knowing, whether you're looking to play it like X, or just engage in a little edition warring fun, and want something vaguely resembling facts to throw at the enemy. So this is a nice one both for use and obsessive microexamination. A good way to kick things off.
part 1/8
124 pages. Up to space again, in an issue that looks like it mixes fantastical and sci-fi approaches to going up up and away. I don't believe we've had a combo like that before, and it allows them to cover other systems more than usual, so this is a very positive choice. UFOs have plenty of books and movies dedicated to them, but not an RPG, yet. Come on, keep trying to expand the market.
In this issue:
Letters: Lots of stuff from Roger here as he plays with the usual formula again. Instead of actually publishing the letters, he just gives the answers to them, so he can get more done in the space allocated. Very cheeky. Course, what the questions were is usually pretty obvious. Chalk it up to multiple people sending the same questions in.
We also get one token letter, in which they point out the existence of Creeks and Crawdads, the roleplaying game of semi-intelligent postapocalyptic crustaceans. If your kinks involve something like that, I really don't want to know.
Editorial: The old married couple theme returns with Roger again trying to spice up his and our gaming life. The fiction department in the magazine is consistently proving to be one of the least repetitive and most emotionally engaging parts of the magazine. It'd be a rather good idea to imitate that, and pick up some books that don't fall into the usual tolkien/conan axis of fantasy knockoffs If you want to shake off the boredom. For whatever reason, he picks The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs, and The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. He points out what makes then unusual from a gaming point of view, and makes translating that into AD&D rules seem pretty simple and easy. It's not hard, introducing new tricks. It's just that they'll soon grow routine as well, and then the next variant, and the one after that, and so so, and so on. Let's just hope that by the time we run out of ideas again your players'll be keen to go back to basics.
Magic and technology meet at last: Gamma World is back. And no surprise that they're trying to get articles for it going again when it's previous editions got so many in the magazine. Kicking off is an obvious topic. Converting between it and AD&D. Since we also had this in the 1st ed DMG, the at last bit of the title isn't really accurate, but meet again doesn't have quite the same ring to it. This is a quite easy business really, as like Buck Rogers, the new system is pretty closely related to AD&D. But what changes there are are very interesting indeed. Armour class is inverted, starting at 10 and going upwards. And there's a perception attribute along with the regular 6. Both changes that are needed back in D&D land, actually, and it's interesting to realise they already know this. But of course the slow edition cycle means one won't be implemented for 8 years yet, and the other'll be awkwardly kludged into a form which is still a pain today. This conversion is set up in such a way that both sides have very little resistance against the other's powers, and stuff happens on the terms of whoever is most proactive, but stuff taken into other worlds tends to lose it's abilities, which prevents inter-universe trade from seriously altering your campaign world. So when going interdimensional raiding, hit fast with blasty powers and keep the enemy off guard. Offence is the best defence. Now let's hope the PCs don't all get disintegrated in the first round of combat by enemy lasers. Very interesting, as it reveals some of the design assumptions that are currently running in the TSR offices, and how certain writers would probably like to revise D&D. That's well worth knowing, whether you're looking to play it like X, or just engage in a little edition warring fun, and want something vaguely resembling facts to throw at the enemy. So this is a nice one both for use and obsessive microexamination. A good way to kick things off.
A2Z
Adventurer
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 183: July 1992
part 2/8
Advice to a high lord: A second TORG article (see issue 174) Well, it's more than most 3rd party games get these days. And once again they make it seem like a pretty cool game, that I vaguely regret not having got into at the time. It's been out for around 2 years now, and has both supplements and novels. And here's some GM advice on how to make sure it's idiosyncrasies are an advantage to your game rather than a problem. Interestingly, the writer also explains things in a way that makes them pretty clear to people who don't own the rules either. After reading this I have a much better idea of the effects and limitations of the drama deck, for example. It also reads nicely as a throwdown to other games to have dramatic over-the-top plots that give players a greater than normal degree of plot control. So it's useful both for owners of the game, and in selling it to people who may have seen the adverts, and are still on the fence. Another very good result. If only their official themed articles could balance their promotional and add-on aspects that well.
Avast ye swabs and heave to!: How could we have a space issue without a spelljammer article? And how could you have ship-based adventuring without boat-to-boat combat and piracy playing a part? Beats me, but Rich Baker seems to think too many campaigns are leaving them out. In the case of ship-to-ship combat, that's probably because the rules are a pain, so like grappling, people ignore tactics that work well in reality because of the game's poor modelling. But the rest is easy enough to fix. The long months of waiting around for ships to actually pass by can be skipped over. And the joys of never knowing how badass the people you'll meet can be simulated effectively by random table. Really, it's less dangerous than dungeon delving, and if you go privateer, you still get to have a homebase in civilisation as normal. And if it goes wrong, you might even get arrested instead of just killed, which leads to other adventure styles if you know how to run it. This is a bit more pessimistic about the prospects of lawbreaking and the relative morality of who you're killing and taking the stuff of than I'd like, but I suppose they have their family friendly image to consider. So a cool topic, presented in a middling manner.
Unidentified gaming objects: We finish off the section with a system free look at modern UFO mythology. The usual ideas about them being secret weapons, fae, creatures from the clouds, parallel dimensions, even molemen from the centre of the earth. It's all very amusing. People come up with a ridiculous amount of crap, much of which can't be the truth simply due to mutual exclusivity. As is often the case, the magazine can barely scratch the surface, but it makes up for this by having a good bibliography at the end that'll take quite a while to read. Seems like a decent enough way to turn on people who've previously had no interest in the topic, and indicative of it's growing popularity at the time. Funny to think that this is more than a year before the x-files comes out. Wonder if that'll get any mentions in here.
Shadowrun gets it's second edition. Which is probably a good thing, as I've never heard anyone say 1st edition was better than the following ones, despite how the 2/3/4 edition wars rage.
The voyage of the princess ark: Just west of Bellayne is the mysterious nation of Herath. Seemingly just an ordinary Magocracy, (as far as there is such a thing) it's actually a nation comprised largely of Araneas who have developed the ability to assume a humanoid shape. This is of course a huge secret that no-one in the setting must be allowed to discover, and they will go to any lengths to keep it. And as usual when there's an elephant in the room like this, the protagonists come close to discovering it right away where everyone else who spent years there failed.
Oh, plot, how depressingly predictable you are. We also see the start of the Wrath of the Immortals metaplot event brewing, as the wizard king drops cryptic hints to Haldemar. What does this bode for the Ark and it's crew? Nothing good, I'll wager.
On the OOC side we of course have stats for the advancement of Araneas, which means they can be used as PC's, but this might be tricky, given their hefty XP penalties, and serious social restrictions. After all, keeping a big secret like that from the rest of your party may cause conflict, and if you do let them know IC, that marks the entire crew for some serious trouble from other Aranea. And while it may seem fun at first, once you've dodged the dozenth magical death squad, you may find it a bit tiresome. This does make this one of the more troublesome installments of this series.
part 2/8
Advice to a high lord: A second TORG article (see issue 174) Well, it's more than most 3rd party games get these days. And once again they make it seem like a pretty cool game, that I vaguely regret not having got into at the time. It's been out for around 2 years now, and has both supplements and novels. And here's some GM advice on how to make sure it's idiosyncrasies are an advantage to your game rather than a problem. Interestingly, the writer also explains things in a way that makes them pretty clear to people who don't own the rules either. After reading this I have a much better idea of the effects and limitations of the drama deck, for example. It also reads nicely as a throwdown to other games to have dramatic over-the-top plots that give players a greater than normal degree of plot control. So it's useful both for owners of the game, and in selling it to people who may have seen the adverts, and are still on the fence. Another very good result. If only their official themed articles could balance their promotional and add-on aspects that well.
Avast ye swabs and heave to!: How could we have a space issue without a spelljammer article? And how could you have ship-based adventuring without boat-to-boat combat and piracy playing a part? Beats me, but Rich Baker seems to think too many campaigns are leaving them out. In the case of ship-to-ship combat, that's probably because the rules are a pain, so like grappling, people ignore tactics that work well in reality because of the game's poor modelling. But the rest is easy enough to fix. The long months of waiting around for ships to actually pass by can be skipped over. And the joys of never knowing how badass the people you'll meet can be simulated effectively by random table. Really, it's less dangerous than dungeon delving, and if you go privateer, you still get to have a homebase in civilisation as normal. And if it goes wrong, you might even get arrested instead of just killed, which leads to other adventure styles if you know how to run it. This is a bit more pessimistic about the prospects of lawbreaking and the relative morality of who you're killing and taking the stuff of than I'd like, but I suppose they have their family friendly image to consider. So a cool topic, presented in a middling manner.
Unidentified gaming objects: We finish off the section with a system free look at modern UFO mythology. The usual ideas about them being secret weapons, fae, creatures from the clouds, parallel dimensions, even molemen from the centre of the earth. It's all very amusing. People come up with a ridiculous amount of crap, much of which can't be the truth simply due to mutual exclusivity. As is often the case, the magazine can barely scratch the surface, but it makes up for this by having a good bibliography at the end that'll take quite a while to read. Seems like a decent enough way to turn on people who've previously had no interest in the topic, and indicative of it's growing popularity at the time. Funny to think that this is more than a year before the x-files comes out. Wonder if that'll get any mentions in here.
Shadowrun gets it's second edition. Which is probably a good thing, as I've never heard anyone say 1st edition was better than the following ones, despite how the 2/3/4 edition wars rage.
The voyage of the princess ark: Just west of Bellayne is the mysterious nation of Herath. Seemingly just an ordinary Magocracy, (as far as there is such a thing) it's actually a nation comprised largely of Araneas who have developed the ability to assume a humanoid shape. This is of course a huge secret that no-one in the setting must be allowed to discover, and they will go to any lengths to keep it. And as usual when there's an elephant in the room like this, the protagonists come close to discovering it right away where everyone else who spent years there failed.
Oh, plot, how depressingly predictable you are. We also see the start of the Wrath of the Immortals metaplot event brewing, as the wizard king drops cryptic hints to Haldemar. What does this bode for the Ark and it's crew? Nothing good, I'll wager. On the OOC side we of course have stats for the advancement of Araneas, which means they can be used as PC's, but this might be tricky, given their hefty XP penalties, and serious social restrictions. After all, keeping a big secret like that from the rest of your party may cause conflict, and if you do let them know IC, that marks the entire crew for some serious trouble from other Aranea. And while it may seem fun at first, once you've dodged the dozenth magical death squad, you may find it a bit tiresome. This does make this one of the more troublesome installments of this series.
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 183: July 1992
part 3/8
Role-playing reviews: We are of course in theme here, with a couple of sci-fi games. And a bit of complaining about the difficulties of selling hard sci-fi in RPGs. When people actually have to pay close attention to what's possible, and carefully justify and examine the ramifications of what isn't, sales are hit. But we keep plugging away, for the speculations in them are useful for reality in a way star wars never can be.
Mechwarrior second edition doesn't do too great. Character generation is a real pain, with tons of number crunching, derived stats, and general sluggishness. Combat is similarly complex, and of course it's incomplete without the mechwarrior game to actually handle the giant robot side. Rick once again demonstrates that he's not patient enough to regularly play games that heavy. Still, he appreciates it for what it is, and the cool setting stuff, even if the system isn't his cup of tea.
Aliens adventure game gets an even worse review. Tons of random dice rolling in chargen, tons of dice rolls for even simple actions in game, brutal and unpleasant combat, it all seems heavily focussed on realism over fun. It also doesn't do horror very well, being far more focussed on the second film's military violence than the first film's atmosphere. Unless you want a very specific flavour of game, leave this out.
Rick also gives us a quick rundown of most of the Buck Rogers RPG supplements. The line may be running down rapidly now, but of course they still have lots of unsold stock to shift, and he gets roped into doing his part. NEO in the 25th century and the Luna sourcebooks come off best in his opinion.
The role of computers: Civilisation is one I've spent many frustrating hours with. Gods, that game can eat up tons of your time. Course, that is because it's fun, and incredibly open-ended. Will you rush to the spacefaring stage, or take advancement slow and concentrate on taking over the world. Read the manual, because it's big, and really will help.
Bard's title Construction Set allows you to build landscapes for your fantasy game. It also includes stuff for noting down your game's idiosyncracies of equipment, spells, monsters, etc. It uses point and click design, which makes it a good deal more user friendly than old programs. And the graphics and memory improvements of recent years allow you to both save a decent amount of stuff and print off images. That means you won't be completely tied to your desktop come game night.
The viking's dragons: I thought last month's selection of Linorms was missing a few. Multi-part special articles have decreased in frequency over the years, but we have one here. As with last month, here's five more highly malevolent dragon types to terrify your players with. Since we've covered the basics already, let's get straight to the monsters.
Flame linorms make red dragons look decidedly weedy, having substantially greater physical abilities and slightly better magic too. They're definitely another one for the high level adventurer who really needs that extra bit of challenge.
Gray linorms rub in how much bigger linorms grow than normal dragons by being described as relatively small-bodied, when their bodies are still actually bigger than most chromatics and metallics, while their tails are longer than a even a gold dragon's combined total length. One of the less powerful and smart Linnorms, they're still more than powerful and magically versatile enough to be confusing and deadly to fight.
Rain linorms are relatively small and weedy physically and in terms of spells, but get tons of cool innate abilities, including exceedingly good regeneration at their uppermost levels. They manage to be even more egotistical and greedy than normal dragons, which is quite a feat really. A little comeuppance before they get too big for everyone's boots would be a good idea.
The corpse tearer is an absolutely terrifying singular horror with energy draining claws, a breath weapon that may well leave you permanently crippled if you survive, and enough undead slaves to conquer a small country. It's wealth is similarly substantial, and it really does make an epic foe that would be a good climax for an entire campaign.
The Midgard linorm is even bigger and more powerful even than corpse tearer, but seems a good deal less aggressive and proactive in it's seeking of food, wealth and temporal power. Which is a bit of a relief really, as you really don't want the world serpent peering it's enormous eyes into your window as a prelude to eating your house whole. Actually, in some respects it's less powerful than a regular great wyrm, as it has neither discretionary spells or flight, but you'll still need both power and luck to get this monster. And flavour-wise this is a definite success. It's easy to get jaded with dragons, forget just how nasty they actually are. This lot bring that right back.
part 3/8
Role-playing reviews: We are of course in theme here, with a couple of sci-fi games. And a bit of complaining about the difficulties of selling hard sci-fi in RPGs. When people actually have to pay close attention to what's possible, and carefully justify and examine the ramifications of what isn't, sales are hit. But we keep plugging away, for the speculations in them are useful for reality in a way star wars never can be.
Mechwarrior second edition doesn't do too great. Character generation is a real pain, with tons of number crunching, derived stats, and general sluggishness. Combat is similarly complex, and of course it's incomplete without the mechwarrior game to actually handle the giant robot side. Rick once again demonstrates that he's not patient enough to regularly play games that heavy. Still, he appreciates it for what it is, and the cool setting stuff, even if the system isn't his cup of tea.
Aliens adventure game gets an even worse review. Tons of random dice rolling in chargen, tons of dice rolls for even simple actions in game, brutal and unpleasant combat, it all seems heavily focussed on realism over fun. It also doesn't do horror very well, being far more focussed on the second film's military violence than the first film's atmosphere. Unless you want a very specific flavour of game, leave this out.
Rick also gives us a quick rundown of most of the Buck Rogers RPG supplements. The line may be running down rapidly now, but of course they still have lots of unsold stock to shift, and he gets roped into doing his part. NEO in the 25th century and the Luna sourcebooks come off best in his opinion.
The role of computers: Civilisation is one I've spent many frustrating hours with. Gods, that game can eat up tons of your time. Course, that is because it's fun, and incredibly open-ended. Will you rush to the spacefaring stage, or take advancement slow and concentrate on taking over the world. Read the manual, because it's big, and really will help.
Bard's title Construction Set allows you to build landscapes for your fantasy game. It also includes stuff for noting down your game's idiosyncracies of equipment, spells, monsters, etc. It uses point and click design, which makes it a good deal more user friendly than old programs. And the graphics and memory improvements of recent years allow you to both save a decent amount of stuff and print off images. That means you won't be completely tied to your desktop come game night.
The viking's dragons: I thought last month's selection of Linorms was missing a few. Multi-part special articles have decreased in frequency over the years, but we have one here. As with last month, here's five more highly malevolent dragon types to terrify your players with. Since we've covered the basics already, let's get straight to the monsters.
Flame linorms make red dragons look decidedly weedy, having substantially greater physical abilities and slightly better magic too. They're definitely another one for the high level adventurer who really needs that extra bit of challenge.
Gray linorms rub in how much bigger linorms grow than normal dragons by being described as relatively small-bodied, when their bodies are still actually bigger than most chromatics and metallics, while their tails are longer than a even a gold dragon's combined total length. One of the less powerful and smart Linnorms, they're still more than powerful and magically versatile enough to be confusing and deadly to fight.
Rain linorms are relatively small and weedy physically and in terms of spells, but get tons of cool innate abilities, including exceedingly good regeneration at their uppermost levels. They manage to be even more egotistical and greedy than normal dragons, which is quite a feat really. A little comeuppance before they get too big for everyone's boots would be a good idea.
The corpse tearer is an absolutely terrifying singular horror with energy draining claws, a breath weapon that may well leave you permanently crippled if you survive, and enough undead slaves to conquer a small country. It's wealth is similarly substantial, and it really does make an epic foe that would be a good climax for an entire campaign.
The Midgard linorm is even bigger and more powerful even than corpse tearer, but seems a good deal less aggressive and proactive in it's seeking of food, wealth and temporal power. Which is a bit of a relief really, as you really don't want the world serpent peering it's enormous eyes into your window as a prelude to eating your house whole. Actually, in some respects it's less powerful than a regular great wyrm, as it has neither discretionary spells or flight, but you'll still need both power and luck to get this monster. And flavour-wise this is a definite success. It's easy to get jaded with dragons, forget just how nasty they actually are. This lot bring that right back.
Mark Hope
Hero
Corpse Tearer! Yeah, baby! I remember this guy well. Used him in a high level game (as the guardian of the soul of a dead god the PCs needed to retrieve from the Grey Wastes) with great success. Kicked ass in a major way - all but one PC got killed, heh heh. That PC fled and returned later to retrieve the bodies of her fallen companions before Corpse Tearer ate them. All's well that ends well
.Love the linnorms in general and so happy to see them still featuring in the game!
Last edited:
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 183: July 1992
part 4/8
Werewolf: the Apocalypse, coming in august. They're certainly moving forward and capitalising on their success. Interesting to note that white wolf now occupies higher billing than esdevium.
TSR Previews: Al-Qadim gets it's first boxed set, Land of Fate, which actually gives us the geographical details to back up the rules. Strange that the core would be a single book, but then the line got so many boxed sets after that. Normally it's the other way around. I wonder why.
Spelljammer goes back to touch base in SJR5: Rock of Braal. It certainly never got the same kind of iconic status as sigil, but it's still a trading nexus where you can meet all kinds of weird creatures from across the spheres. Have fun.
Dark Sun continues to put the PC's almost centre stage in the metaplot. DSQ2: Arcane shadows sees the preservers trying to strike while the iron is hot, give the sorcerer kings a few more sharp knocks. Before you know it, half of them'll be dead, and the rest on the defensive. Hey ho.
Greyhawk fills in one of the characters who got mentioned in the old skool stuff, but not in much detail. Rary and Robilar. Traitorous wizard and his fighter sidekick. Man, the circle of 8 hate these guys. Can you solve the problem those great wizards couldn't, and exact a brutal killing and taking of stuff?
Dragonlance gets it's turn to have an introductory module. DLQ1: Knights sword. For a 1st level knight of solamnia and their buds. You know the drill. Proving yourself to the NPC's is likely to be as important as killing things.
The Forgotten Realms continues the cleric quintet, with Night Masks. Cadderly is still having trouble with assassins, despite the class being removed. Suspect everyone!
The generic stuff this time is more rehashed compilations. The magic encyclopedia, vol 1, is the first part of an attempt to compile every magical item published in every D&D product ever. In 64 pages? That's barely enough to index them. Oh, and there's also another bunch of collectors cards to fuel your obsessive trading urges.
D&D gets away from the little novice adventures they've been sticking too recently, and does the exact opposite. The Wrath of the Immortals boxed set revises the rules for playing them, and features a brand new adventure which completely
s up Mystara. Can you make a difference, and save Alphatia, at least in your game?
Gamma world boots up the supplement mill, hope once again trumping experience. GWQ1: Mutant Master sees you foiling the plans of the mutant supremacist alliance. But what if you want to exterminate those stuck-up pure strains. We never get to have any fun. : pouts:
And finally, our standalone book this month is The nine gates, by Philip Brugalette. More fantasy where the fate of the universe is at stake? Iiiiits psychodrama time.
Fiction: Gryphon's nest by Ardath Mayhar. Hmm. You're back again, are you. Well, well. I suppose it has been quite a while since she got a successive onslaught of slating reviews in the book section. Mixing ecology and comedy of errors isn't a combination I would have come up with. But it seems to work, albeit going by rather too quickly for me to really get attached to the characters. It raises some interesting questions about the youth and raising of weird hybrid creatures, and unlike last time, the comedy is definitely intentional. It also reminds me of cartoons where intelligent talking animals are the stars, and they all seem to be able to communicate with each other and have vaguely human sensibilities. The illustration works well with the story, capturing the intended flavour quite nicely. Interesting.
part 4/8
Werewolf: the Apocalypse, coming in august. They're certainly moving forward and capitalising on their success. Interesting to note that white wolf now occupies higher billing than esdevium.
TSR Previews: Al-Qadim gets it's first boxed set, Land of Fate, which actually gives us the geographical details to back up the rules. Strange that the core would be a single book, but then the line got so many boxed sets after that. Normally it's the other way around. I wonder why.
Spelljammer goes back to touch base in SJR5: Rock of Braal. It certainly never got the same kind of iconic status as sigil, but it's still a trading nexus where you can meet all kinds of weird creatures from across the spheres. Have fun.
Dark Sun continues to put the PC's almost centre stage in the metaplot. DSQ2: Arcane shadows sees the preservers trying to strike while the iron is hot, give the sorcerer kings a few more sharp knocks. Before you know it, half of them'll be dead, and the rest on the defensive. Hey ho.
Greyhawk fills in one of the characters who got mentioned in the old skool stuff, but not in much detail. Rary and Robilar. Traitorous wizard and his fighter sidekick. Man, the circle of 8 hate these guys. Can you solve the problem those great wizards couldn't, and exact a brutal killing and taking of stuff?
Dragonlance gets it's turn to have an introductory module. DLQ1: Knights sword. For a 1st level knight of solamnia and their buds. You know the drill. Proving yourself to the NPC's is likely to be as important as killing things.
The Forgotten Realms continues the cleric quintet, with Night Masks. Cadderly is still having trouble with assassins, despite the class being removed. Suspect everyone!
The generic stuff this time is more rehashed compilations. The magic encyclopedia, vol 1, is the first part of an attempt to compile every magical item published in every D&D product ever. In 64 pages? That's barely enough to index them. Oh, and there's also another bunch of collectors cards to fuel your obsessive trading urges.
D&D gets away from the little novice adventures they've been sticking too recently, and does the exact opposite. The Wrath of the Immortals boxed set revises the rules for playing them, and features a brand new adventure which completely
s up Mystara. Can you make a difference, and save Alphatia, at least in your game? Gamma world boots up the supplement mill, hope once again trumping experience. GWQ1: Mutant Master sees you foiling the plans of the mutant supremacist alliance. But what if you want to exterminate those stuck-up pure strains. We never get to have any fun. : pouts:
And finally, our standalone book this month is The nine gates, by Philip Brugalette. More fantasy where the fate of the universe is at stake? Iiiiits psychodrama time.
Fiction: Gryphon's nest by Ardath Mayhar. Hmm. You're back again, are you. Well, well. I suppose it has been quite a while since she got a successive onslaught of slating reviews in the book section. Mixing ecology and comedy of errors isn't a combination I would have come up with. But it seems to work, albeit going by rather too quickly for me to really get attached to the characters. It raises some interesting questions about the youth and raising of weird hybrid creatures, and unlike last time, the comedy is definitely intentional. It also reminds me of cartoons where intelligent talking animals are the stars, and they all seem to be able to communicate with each other and have vaguely human sensibilities. The illustration works well with the story, capturing the intended flavour quite nicely. Interesting.
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Peraion Graufalke
First Post
It was basically just an index, though one of these (vol. 2, I think) also featured a sample magic shop owned by ultra-high-level spellcasters.
Orius
Unrepentant DM Supremacist
TSR management supposedly was really big on boxed sets back in the day.
That's what I've heard about the set, that it was just a big glorified index. Concerns about a big damn chunk of the sources being out of print led to the Encyclopedia Magica.
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 183: July 1992
part 5/8
The marvel-phile: Enough leftovers! Let's cover some characters who are hot off the press. Cerise and Kylun from the Excalibur comic. An extradimensional adventurer, who's still a bit of a mystery. And a mutant who's spent ages in another dimension, and changed quite a lot in the meantime, but still has quite a bit of self-doubt despite his character development. Both get pretty decent history and roleplaying notes, even if their powers are nothing too exceptional. We get to find out a bit more about the Marvel universes many parallel dimensions, and get another good example of how characters can be brought back years after their last appearance. And also how heroic characters can wind up on opposing sides due to misunderstandings. The drama is still going consistently in the UK as well.
Forum takes a break from satanicness and goes back to sexism, with a whole batch of letters from female readers on the issue. Still an ongoing problem then. What are we to do with human nature? Can we get on with the genetic engineering please, because merely educational solutions don't seem to be getting the job done.
Clarissa Fowler is being highly proactive in attempting to make a community for female gamers. She's also pretty aggressive in pointing out the shortcomings of most rpg books in terms of female appearances and roles. The statistics are quite damning. Stand up and be counted! Burn your chainmail bikinis! Equal time for both pronouns! (you'll like Eden Studios then) The agenda Will move forward.
Leslie A. King delivers a Reader, I married him story. Now she's the co-owner of a gaming store. This puts her in a good position to examine the demographics of gaming. It seems that the proportion of girls is increasing at the moment. That may be a case of cause and effect though, as if you're running the shop, it's less likely to be a skuzzpit.
Shirl Phelps has the usual horror stories of guys hitting on her or talking over her when she just wants to play the game. She's finally managed to get a drama free regular game going. Stand your ground, make sure the twits get the message politely but firmly.
Sarah Brundage thinks there needs to be more games that appeal to a female audience. Going into dungeons and killing stuff does seem like a very male kind of fantasy. Once again we see the limitations that come from the first game having wargaming ancestry and others copying it rather than being inherent in the idea of playing a role.
Alan Kellog moves things onto fantasy racism, and how the various races can learn to co-exist, if not trust each other. Just as in the real world, trying to kill the orcs all the time is just too much bother, especially when you can stick them in crap jobs and profit off them for centuries instead. Course, humans do that to their own race as well. Maybe we are the evil ones after all.
L. Leon Adrian points out the problems that might occur when a bunch of wizards start selling continual light spells to normal people. The lantern maker's guild will send assassins! Other wizards will start competing, driving prices down. Clerics will decry this violation of the natural order. You know, all of those sound like springboards to more adventures to me. Change and the tensions that result from it are an ideal driver for interesting yet realistic plots.
Michael Miller decides to chat about time travel. Unlike our previous forumite, he is in favour of magic being applied in a technological fashion and different eras varying widely. The more variety of places people have to adventure in, the less likely they'll be bored.
Jackson Caskey brings up another endless problem, that of cheating twinky players. They change their ability scores between sessions! They metagame relentlessly and throw a strop when you use monsters and magic items in books they don't have! They refuse to treat your carefully written setting as anything more than a flimsy backdrop to their killing and taking of stuff. Bleah. Yeah, that's a problem alright. If they're all like that, just find a new group. Let them enjoy their monty hauling together.
John A. Tomkins has a more positive story. To keep his players all involved in his setting and aware of what's going on without endlessly repeating himself, he started making newsletters. This proved so successful that when he moved across the country, his old group still wanted them sent to them so they could keep up with his new adventures and worldbuilding. Now that's a good example of successful player engagement.
Christopher Newton encourages you not to be afraid of having your players make big changes in the setting. He also raises the idea of treating your game and creativity as Art. Swine!
oints finger: Burn him!
Donna L. Beales talks about her recent spate of gaming funk, and the things that did definitely not work to shake her out of it. All the IC cool toys in the world won't help if you're not getting enough control or spotlight time. Don't forget fun is the first priority.
part 5/8
The marvel-phile: Enough leftovers! Let's cover some characters who are hot off the press. Cerise and Kylun from the Excalibur comic. An extradimensional adventurer, who's still a bit of a mystery. And a mutant who's spent ages in another dimension, and changed quite a lot in the meantime, but still has quite a bit of self-doubt despite his character development. Both get pretty decent history and roleplaying notes, even if their powers are nothing too exceptional. We get to find out a bit more about the Marvel universes many parallel dimensions, and get another good example of how characters can be brought back years after their last appearance. And also how heroic characters can wind up on opposing sides due to misunderstandings. The drama is still going consistently in the UK as well.
Forum takes a break from satanicness and goes back to sexism, with a whole batch of letters from female readers on the issue. Still an ongoing problem then. What are we to do with human nature? Can we get on with the genetic engineering please, because merely educational solutions don't seem to be getting the job done.
Clarissa Fowler is being highly proactive in attempting to make a community for female gamers. She's also pretty aggressive in pointing out the shortcomings of most rpg books in terms of female appearances and roles. The statistics are quite damning. Stand up and be counted! Burn your chainmail bikinis! Equal time for both pronouns! (you'll like Eden Studios then) The agenda Will move forward.
Leslie A. King delivers a Reader, I married him story. Now she's the co-owner of a gaming store. This puts her in a good position to examine the demographics of gaming. It seems that the proportion of girls is increasing at the moment. That may be a case of cause and effect though, as if you're running the shop, it's less likely to be a skuzzpit.
Shirl Phelps has the usual horror stories of guys hitting on her or talking over her when she just wants to play the game. She's finally managed to get a drama free regular game going. Stand your ground, make sure the twits get the message politely but firmly.
Sarah Brundage thinks there needs to be more games that appeal to a female audience. Going into dungeons and killing stuff does seem like a very male kind of fantasy. Once again we see the limitations that come from the first game having wargaming ancestry and others copying it rather than being inherent in the idea of playing a role.
Alan Kellog moves things onto fantasy racism, and how the various races can learn to co-exist, if not trust each other. Just as in the real world, trying to kill the orcs all the time is just too much bother, especially when you can stick them in crap jobs and profit off them for centuries instead. Course, humans do that to their own race as well. Maybe we are the evil ones after all.
L. Leon Adrian points out the problems that might occur when a bunch of wizards start selling continual light spells to normal people. The lantern maker's guild will send assassins! Other wizards will start competing, driving prices down. Clerics will decry this violation of the natural order. You know, all of those sound like springboards to more adventures to me. Change and the tensions that result from it are an ideal driver for interesting yet realistic plots.
Michael Miller decides to chat about time travel. Unlike our previous forumite, he is in favour of magic being applied in a technological fashion and different eras varying widely. The more variety of places people have to adventure in, the less likely they'll be bored.
Jackson Caskey brings up another endless problem, that of cheating twinky players. They change their ability scores between sessions! They metagame relentlessly and throw a strop when you use monsters and magic items in books they don't have! They refuse to treat your carefully written setting as anything more than a flimsy backdrop to their killing and taking of stuff. Bleah. Yeah, that's a problem alright. If they're all like that, just find a new group. Let them enjoy their monty hauling together.
John A. Tomkins has a more positive story. To keep his players all involved in his setting and aware of what's going on without endlessly repeating himself, he started making newsletters. This proved so successful that when he moved across the country, his old group still wanted them sent to them so they could keep up with his new adventures and worldbuilding. Now that's a good example of successful player engagement.
Christopher Newton encourages you not to be afraid of having your players make big changes in the setting. He also raises the idea of treating your game and creativity as Art. Swine!
oints finger: Burn him! Donna L. Beales talks about her recent spate of gaming funk, and the things that did definitely not work to shake her out of it. All the IC cool toys in the world won't help if you're not getting enough control or spotlight time. Don't forget fun is the first priority.
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