TSR Inc. published Dragon #105 in January 1986. It is 100 pages long and has a cover price of $3.00. This issue features invisibility, parallel worlds, and a new AD&D adventure!
The cover, by Robin Wood, depicts a spectacular battle between a wizard and a giant bat. Interior artists include Roger Raupp, the Marvel Bullpen, David Trampier, Ted Goff, A.J. Toos, Joseph Pillsbury, Richard Tomasic, E.B. Wagner, Stephen Hearon, and Larry Elmore.
This month’s special attraction is “Betrayed!”, an AD&D adventure by Jim Bengston for character levels 3-5. Brannod Colnet, the nephew of a prosperous spice trader, was kidnapped by orcs while on a camping trip. The characters are offered a rich reward to retrieve him. It turns out that Brannod is being held in the mountain home of a firbolg named Gador, who is aligned with a rival merchant family. Gador’s trickery and the family intrigue add some interest to this adventure, but many of the individual encounters feel rather flat. This was Bengston’s only RPG publication.
In “Leomund’s Tiny Hut,” Len Lakofka turns his critical eye toward the new subraces introduced in Unearthed Arcana. He finds that many of them (e.g. duergar) are overpowered and suggests some fixes. In an editorial postscript, Kim Mohan explains that the problem arose from an effort to keep the subrace descriptions consistent with earlier depictions of these creatures in various monster books.
“Travel works both ways” by Paul Vernon expands the encounter tables in the Dungeon Masters Guide to include many more NPCs, such as beggars, tinkers, scribes, and messengers. Each new entry includes a capsule description containing some interesting tidbits, though some are overwritten. Vernon authored many RPG articles across various magazines, mostly concerning the depiction of medieval societies.
In “Seeing is believing,” Geoffrey Meissner explores invisibility in depth. He divides the phenomenon into three categories: physical invisibility, mind-control invisibility, and illusory invisibility, and then explains the properties of each. It’s a thoughtful article that includes new spells and a Q&A section. This was Meissner’s only RPG publication.
“The rest of the papers” is a brief follow-up to “The Centaur Papers” in Dragon #103 and includes refinements to the height and weight table, among other trivia. The simulationist tendencies of the era are on full display here.
In “The well-equipped victim,” Ed Greenwood shares a series of treasure tables for 0-level NPCs, such as labourers and farmers. It’s obviously well researched, but only a few of the items would be of much interest to an adventurer.
“A world of difference” by Fraser Sherman suggests introducing parallel worlds to spice up your D&D campaign. He describes a parallel world as another prime-material-style world that sits alongside the player’s home world--similar but different in key areas. The fun comes from changing a few premises in these new worlds and exploring the results. Sherman gives examples such as a flat world, a world where everyone has psionic powers, and a world dominated by technology. It’s also an opportunity to send the characters into other game systems, like Gamma World and Boot Hill. The article is long but contains a great deal of insight. Sherman published several pieces in Dragon and has since published various stories, articles, and books, mostly in the realm of geekdom.
Merle M. Rasmussen returns with another edition of “Spy’s advice,” answering the latest fan questions about Top Secret. Examples include “What is the rate of fire for the .45-caliber M3 submachine gun?” and “Why is high-explosive incendiary ammo more effective against vehicles than armor-piercing incendiary?”
“On the Rocks at Slab’s” is a short story by John Gregory Betancourt. A holy emissary seeks a powerful relic inside a disreputable tavern, and the shifty owner must scramble to hide the truth. This is an entertaining and deftly written comic piece with good pacing and a strong premise. Betancourt went on to publish many short stories and novels.
“The role of books” returns with John C. Bunnell’s reviews of the latest in Fantasy and SciFi literature.
Finally, the ARES Section is back, presenting about a dozen pages of science-fiction and superhero gaming material. It includes five articles:
The cover, by Robin Wood, depicts a spectacular battle between a wizard and a giant bat. Interior artists include Roger Raupp, the Marvel Bullpen, David Trampier, Ted Goff, A.J. Toos, Joseph Pillsbury, Richard Tomasic, E.B. Wagner, Stephen Hearon, and Larry Elmore.
This month’s special attraction is “Betrayed!”, an AD&D adventure by Jim Bengston for character levels 3-5. Brannod Colnet, the nephew of a prosperous spice trader, was kidnapped by orcs while on a camping trip. The characters are offered a rich reward to retrieve him. It turns out that Brannod is being held in the mountain home of a firbolg named Gador, who is aligned with a rival merchant family. Gador’s trickery and the family intrigue add some interest to this adventure, but many of the individual encounters feel rather flat. This was Bengston’s only RPG publication.
In “Leomund’s Tiny Hut,” Len Lakofka turns his critical eye toward the new subraces introduced in Unearthed Arcana. He finds that many of them (e.g. duergar) are overpowered and suggests some fixes. In an editorial postscript, Kim Mohan explains that the problem arose from an effort to keep the subrace descriptions consistent with earlier depictions of these creatures in various monster books.
“Travel works both ways” by Paul Vernon expands the encounter tables in the Dungeon Masters Guide to include many more NPCs, such as beggars, tinkers, scribes, and messengers. Each new entry includes a capsule description containing some interesting tidbits, though some are overwritten. Vernon authored many RPG articles across various magazines, mostly concerning the depiction of medieval societies.
In “Seeing is believing,” Geoffrey Meissner explores invisibility in depth. He divides the phenomenon into three categories: physical invisibility, mind-control invisibility, and illusory invisibility, and then explains the properties of each. It’s a thoughtful article that includes new spells and a Q&A section. This was Meissner’s only RPG publication.
“The rest of the papers” is a brief follow-up to “The Centaur Papers” in Dragon #103 and includes refinements to the height and weight table, among other trivia. The simulationist tendencies of the era are on full display here.
In “The well-equipped victim,” Ed Greenwood shares a series of treasure tables for 0-level NPCs, such as labourers and farmers. It’s obviously well researched, but only a few of the items would be of much interest to an adventurer.
“A world of difference” by Fraser Sherman suggests introducing parallel worlds to spice up your D&D campaign. He describes a parallel world as another prime-material-style world that sits alongside the player’s home world--similar but different in key areas. The fun comes from changing a few premises in these new worlds and exploring the results. Sherman gives examples such as a flat world, a world where everyone has psionic powers, and a world dominated by technology. It’s also an opportunity to send the characters into other game systems, like Gamma World and Boot Hill. The article is long but contains a great deal of insight. Sherman published several pieces in Dragon and has since published various stories, articles, and books, mostly in the realm of geekdom.
Merle M. Rasmussen returns with another edition of “Spy’s advice,” answering the latest fan questions about Top Secret. Examples include “What is the rate of fire for the .45-caliber M3 submachine gun?” and “Why is high-explosive incendiary ammo more effective against vehicles than armor-piercing incendiary?”
“On the Rocks at Slab’s” is a short story by John Gregory Betancourt. A holy emissary seeks a powerful relic inside a disreputable tavern, and the shifty owner must scramble to hide the truth. This is an entertaining and deftly written comic piece with good pacing and a strong premise. Betancourt went on to publish many short stories and novels.
“The role of books” returns with John C. Bunnell’s reviews of the latest in Fantasy and SciFi literature.
- Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane is about a pair of teenage wizards on an underwater adventure, and “may well be the best fantasy book published in 1985.”
- Liavek by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull presents a shared-world fantasy anthology whose eleven tales “are uniformly excellent.”
- Mustapha and His Wise Dog by Esther M. Friesner is an Arabian Nights-inspired story in an “exceptionally well-crafted world.”
- Children of the Dragon by Rose Estes tells of three children in a dragon-haunted kingdom and is “a welcome surprise.”
- A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce is the second book in a trilogy and is “well above average.”
- Masters of Glass by M. Coleman Easton centres on an intriguing form of magic worked through coloured-glass talismans but feels like “the first draft of a novel.”
Finally, the ARES Section is back, presenting about a dozen pages of science-fiction and superhero gaming material. It includes five articles:
- “Rites of Passage” by Danny Kretzer initiates you into Gamma World’s Cryptic Alliances.
- “The Marvel-Phile” by Jeff Grubb shares Marvel Superheroes stats for the Serpent Society.
- “Villains & Variants” by John J. Polojac suggests optional rules for Villains & Vigilantes.
- “The Big Guns” by William Wilson Goodson, Jr. has Marvel Superheroes stats for military equipment.
- “Expanding the Frontier” by William Tracy describes exploration in the Star Frontiers universe.
