TSR Periodicals published The Dragon Issue 34 in February 1980. It is 73 pages long and has a cover price of $2.50. In this issue, we have lots of articles about the Divine Right boardgame, a new column dedicated to traps, and "Doomkeep," a dungeon by Brian Blume!
This issue contains seven features about Divine Right, a fantasy boardgame released by TSR in 1979, where players control kingdoms engaged in warfare and diplomacy. The articles cover errata, variant rules, and some additional lore for the setting, Minaria. What is striking here is how much effort The Dragon put into promoting this game. They even announced a new semi-regular column to support it, called "The Minarin Legends." All this effort for a just-released game stretches the "we are not a house organ!" claim to the limit!
“Sage Advice” has the usual plethora of questions about rules minutia. For example, "One of my crazy friends has a Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User who also happens to be a human. In the Players Handbook under human, it says that humans are not limited as to what class they can become. Under the section on multi-classed characters, it says that only half-elves can be Clerics/Fighters/Magic-Users. Am I right in saying that his human can’t be a multi-classed character?" Important stuff!
"Leomund's Tiny Hut" proposes a more complex alternative to the standard AD&D initiative system--itself notoriously complicated. "Bazaar of the Bizarre" presents a detailed method for generating magic fountains. "Dragon's Bestiary" describes the Vilkonnar, a subterranean, energy-draining, and energy-blasting humanoid. The accompanying art is uninspiring, but the monster itself has some potential.
There is a new feature devoted to traps called "Dastardly Deeds & Devious Devices." The editor's introduction suggests readers were swamping the company with articles in this genre, and the published entry is a reasonably good example of a "Grimtooth-style" trap. For whatever reason, the series only saw one more entry (in issue #35) and then ceased.
We have variant rules for Risk, Avalon Hill's D-Day, and Snit's Revenge. For Dungeons & Dragons, there is a set of random monster tables, a fun little character name generator, and a list of quirks and minor curses to associate with otherwise useful magic items. I rather like some of the quirks, such as your touch kills green plants, or small fires within 10 feet of you sputter and go out.
“Dragon's Augury” presents a smaller than usual collection of reviews. The Bushido RPG by Tyr Gamesmakers Ltd is "worth the price to the person interested in developing a more cosmopolitan outlook." Quite a claim! But the game was widely reviewed and made quite an impact at the time. By contrast, Spacefarers Guide to Alien Monsters by Phoenix Games is "a shoddy and carelessly-produced product that has no place in any intelligence science fiction roleplaying game." Fortunately, Phoenix Games went on to do better work, including the second edition of Bushido!
Two fiction books get a review by Gary Gygax. Hammer's Slammers by David Drake is a "very good, action-packed work," while The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber is "enjoyable and worthwhile."
The longest article contains a 24-room dungeon called "Doomkeep," written by Brian Blume for the Second Official AD&D Masters Tournament. The 36 invited players divided into parties and then tried to complete as much as possible in the 3-hour time limit. The dungeon itself is a typical death-trap affair, with lots of puzzles, traps, mazes, and weird monsters. Here is a sample encounter:
Anything touching the blue beam, except for a naked arm, is instantly disintegrated. That's how things rolled in '79! The feature includes the scoring system and the original player scores, enabling readers to test their groups against the "Masters." Robin Hostetter of Georgia won the tournament, though he has seemingly disappeared from gaming history.
And that's pretty much everything of interest. It was weaker than some previous issues, though the inclusion of a full tournament dungeon was a highlight. Next month we have Traveller variants, an AD&D player rating system, and Gary Gygax discussing the future of TSR!
M.T. Black is a freelance game designer and a Dungeon Master’s Guild Adept. You can follow him on twitter here. Please check out his new Kickstarter, Nazi Dracula Must Die!
This issue contains seven features about Divine Right, a fantasy boardgame released by TSR in 1979, where players control kingdoms engaged in warfare and diplomacy. The articles cover errata, variant rules, and some additional lore for the setting, Minaria. What is striking here is how much effort The Dragon put into promoting this game. They even announced a new semi-regular column to support it, called "The Minarin Legends." All this effort for a just-released game stretches the "we are not a house organ!" claim to the limit!
“Sage Advice” has the usual plethora of questions about rules minutia. For example, "One of my crazy friends has a Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User who also happens to be a human. In the Players Handbook under human, it says that humans are not limited as to what class they can become. Under the section on multi-classed characters, it says that only half-elves can be Clerics/Fighters/Magic-Users. Am I right in saying that his human can’t be a multi-classed character?" Important stuff!
"Leomund's Tiny Hut" proposes a more complex alternative to the standard AD&D initiative system--itself notoriously complicated. "Bazaar of the Bizarre" presents a detailed method for generating magic fountains. "Dragon's Bestiary" describes the Vilkonnar, a subterranean, energy-draining, and energy-blasting humanoid. The accompanying art is uninspiring, but the monster itself has some potential.
There is a new feature devoted to traps called "Dastardly Deeds & Devious Devices." The editor's introduction suggests readers were swamping the company with articles in this genre, and the published entry is a reasonably good example of a "Grimtooth-style" trap. For whatever reason, the series only saw one more entry (in issue #35) and then ceased.
We have variant rules for Risk, Avalon Hill's D-Day, and Snit's Revenge. For Dungeons & Dragons, there is a set of random monster tables, a fun little character name generator, and a list of quirks and minor curses to associate with otherwise useful magic items. I rather like some of the quirks, such as your touch kills green plants, or small fires within 10 feet of you sputter and go out.
“Dragon's Augury” presents a smaller than usual collection of reviews. The Bushido RPG by Tyr Gamesmakers Ltd is "worth the price to the person interested in developing a more cosmopolitan outlook." Quite a claim! But the game was widely reviewed and made quite an impact at the time. By contrast, Spacefarers Guide to Alien Monsters by Phoenix Games is "a shoddy and carelessly-produced product that has no place in any intelligence science fiction roleplaying game." Fortunately, Phoenix Games went on to do better work, including the second edition of Bushido!
Two fiction books get a review by Gary Gygax. Hammer's Slammers by David Drake is a "very good, action-packed work," while The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber is "enjoyable and worthwhile."
The longest article contains a 24-room dungeon called "Doomkeep," written by Brian Blume for the Second Official AD&D Masters Tournament. The 36 invited players divided into parties and then tried to complete as much as possible in the 3-hour time limit. The dungeon itself is a typical death-trap affair, with lots of puzzles, traps, mazes, and weird monsters. Here is a sample encounter:
"10. You are inside a room which is 20'x20'. There are two doors. In the center of the room is a pedestal, intricately carved, which is about 5' high and 3' in diameter at the top. From the top, a beam of blue light rises to the ceiling and enters a similarly carved fixture. Suspended in the blue beam is a folded piece of parchment, apparently floating with no support."
Anything touching the blue beam, except for a naked arm, is instantly disintegrated. That's how things rolled in '79! The feature includes the scoring system and the original player scores, enabling readers to test their groups against the "Masters." Robin Hostetter of Georgia won the tournament, though he has seemingly disappeared from gaming history.
And that's pretty much everything of interest. It was weaker than some previous issues, though the inclusion of a full tournament dungeon was a highlight. Next month we have Traveller variants, an AD&D player rating system, and Gary Gygax discussing the future of TSR!
M.T. Black is a freelance game designer and a Dungeon Master’s Guild Adept. You can follow him on twitter here. Please check out his new Kickstarter, Nazi Dracula Must Die!
