Recent content by M.T. Black

I enjoyed this issue, but I have to agree with you. The "Point of View" articles were phenomenal back in the day, and when you match them up with things like Greenwood's article on the Nine Hells - well, the current content does not compare.

I have training costs in my 5E game, but they are fairly modest (50 gp at 1st level) and scale with tiers. I also ask the players to write a short explanation of what training looks like for that level, and what skills they gained.

Dragon Publishing released Dragon #97 in May 1985. It is 100 pages long and has a cover price of $3.00. The cover is titled "Music Lover" by Robin Wood, a whimsical piece showing an old silver dragon listening to a bard. It was the first of many covers Wood painted for TSR. The interior...

Thanks for sharing this Mike. Quite a few of us have been concerned about his sudden disappearance, so this is good news. I sent an email to his workplace a few weeks ago asking about his welfare. They responded that they couldn't share any information for privacy reasons, but that my note had...

lol, I must be a curmudgeon as well! I just never found the joke articles very funny - they were clearly straining for a gag. Folk such as Roger Moore who were great at creating gaming content are not necessarily going to be skilled humorists... I'm imagining an alternative timeline where Kim...

Dragon Publishing released Dragon #96 in April 1985. It is 100 pages long and has a cover price of $3.00. This issue features character backstories, Star Trek deck plans, and the ecology of the otyugh! The cover is by Jack Crane and is titled "Andragon." It's a typically quirky Crane piece...

Man, that guy is everywhere these days...

I am now including regular festivals in my ongoing D&D campaign. They've been popular with the players and have provided marvelous opportunities for character development. I have a list of 20, and I write them up and try to make them gameable when the characters attend one. Last night we have...

As an addendum, it has only just clicked for me that Arthur Collins, who wrote the taxation article, is the same person as the "Rev. Arthur W. Collins" who wrote "Reflections of a real-life Cleric" back in Dragon 41. Collins eventually wrote 21 articles for Dragon and also published other...

This issue features the cockatrice, fantasy taxes, and a Forgotten Realms adventure! The cover is by Dean Morrissey and depicts "Toad's Cloak Armorsmith Shop," where old metal is fashioned into armour. It's a peculiar but memorable blend of genres. Interior illustrations are by Roger Raupp...

Quite possibly! Do you know which of the older adventurers were good introductions?

We just finished our first adventure with Lord of the Rings 5E (it was interrupted by school holidays and some other games). Overall, it was a good experience. The guys who were way into Tolkien loved it, unsurprisingly. Everyone else found it enjoyable. Some random thoughts: The poor...

I purchased this as soon as I saw it, and it looks excellent so far. I hope it sells well and we see more content like this on D&D Beyond.

I ran Mothership for the first time last week. My D&D group did it as a fill-in one shot because some folks were away. We played "The Haunting of Ypsilon 14", which is considered the classic introductory scenario. The scenario does not hold your hand! I rewrote the hook, and, my players pretty...

Yes, I usually allow myself just one paragraph of about 100 words per article. It's by no means a deep dive! Like you, I enjoyed dipping into el-remmens write-up of this issue.