Search results

They deal with it using the weapon proficiency system, which I think is a very elegant subsystem in the game. Vanilla wizards and clerics *can* use a sword, but they don't get to add their proficiency bonus to attack rolls, and the flat math means you are really not going to pick up a sword...

The Dragon Issue 16 was published in July 1978. It is 40 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. In this issue we Eric Holmes talks Cthulhu, we learn why clerics and wizards can't use swords, and Gary Gygax hits back at his critics and talks about realism in D&D! I must start by mentioning...

Wow - that's a great and helpful quote. It suggests that Gygax NEVER really used miniatures for his RPG sessions. That surprises me!

That's a good point, Rune. If I get the chance I might drop an email to Rob Kuntz and ask for clarification.

The Dragon Issue 15 was published in June 1978. It is 36 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. In this issue we get a whole bunch of random tables, Monty Haul returns, and a legendary RPG designer makes his debut! Editor Tim Kask celebrates another milestone while decrying some poor...

* I wonder if the "other guys" from Minnesota had connections to M.A. R. Barker (beyond location), yet another soon to be disgruntled author for TSR? * The "other guys" were Dave Megarry (designer of Dungeon! board game) and Mike Carr (designer of Dawn Patrol). I believe the Barker connection...

* Most of us went from DnD to Advanced DnD 1st Edition and didn't really give Basic DnD a glance back then honestly. * I started playing 1983 and Moldvay Basic was my gateway in. About a year after that I started playing AD&D but kept my Basic campaign going, eventually getting the Mentzer...

*Arneson was never in the company per se.* Arneson was on payroll for about a year in 1976. But he was never a shareholder and not really in management. According to Rob Kuntz, Gygax believed Arneson (and the other guys from Minnesota) attempted to engineer a takeover of the company at an...

The Dragon Issue 14 was published in May 1978. It is 36 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. In this issue, Gary Gygax explains Basic vs. Advanced D&D, we have an interview with a rust monster, and we meet the famous Monty Haul for the first time! It is another triumphant editorial, with...

I think you find a lot more Howard tropes in D&D than Tolkien tropes. Something like "Tower of the Elephant" could easily be translated into a D&D adventure, but I agree that's not the case for all Conan stories.

R_Chance, I do agree. I mean, they had hobbits and balrogs!

I didn't mention the cover, which I liked. I feel like the covers "levelled up" around this issue.

Yeah, I always thought the lawsuit must have influenced these columns (Gygax has a similar one coming up at some point). I don't think Kuntz is disengenuous, though. I think D&D generally does play much more like something out of Howard, Leiber, de Camp, and Pratt. My young self was always...

The Dragon Issue 13 was published in April 1978. It is 32 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. In this issue, Rob Kuntz talks Tolkien while Jim Ward tells us how to win D&D! Editor Tim Kask is pleased to announce that this is the first of their monthly issues and also notes that it...

I keep meaning to give Quag Keep a try, but comments like these scare me off. They kinda make me want to have a look at it!

I haven't read the thing but it looked pretty bad. It kicked off an industry worth 100s of millions though!

The Dragon Issue 12 was published in February 1978. It is 32 pages long, with a cover price of $1.50. This issue saw the appearance of great Cthulhu! Editor Tim Kask proudly points to the magazine's first statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation, printed in compliance with US...

It's an oz-fest on here :-)

Thankyou! If I ever get time, I'd like to put together a 7 or 8 levels for that, but it's not looking likely at the moment!

Thanks mate - I better write the next one!