Dragon Publishing released Dragon #86 in June 1984. It is 100 pages long and has a cover price of $3.00.
The cover is by Denis Beauvais and depicts a pair of knights battling on a multi-level chessboard. Beauvais painted many Dragon covers. Interior artists include Harry Quinn, Roger Raupp, Dave Trampier, Dennis Kauth, Kurt Erichsen, Jerry Eaton, Craig Smith, Jeff Butler, and Larry Elmore.
This issue's special attraction is "Great Stoney," a miniature cardboard castle designed by Arthur Collins and adapted for print by Dennis Kauth. This unusual feature offers readers a complete cut-and-assemble castle, including detailed floor plans and campaign-ready background material. TSR was experimenting with cutout terrain, which was also featured in B6: The Veiled Society, which was released the same year. Arthur Collins later worked on DMGR2: The Castle Guide.
Ed Greenwood presents "The Ecology of the Slithering Tracker," offering fresh insight into this underutilized predator. Delivered as the notes of the wizard Aluthandee, the article describes the monster's appearance, hunting tactics, and reproduction. Greenwood now has these articles down to a fine formula, including an evocative piece of fiction with the game information in the endnotes and an appendix. The slithering tracker first appeared in 2E and then was dropped, reappearing in 5E.
In "Familiars with a Special Use," Stephen Inniss notes that evil magic-users seem to have the most potent supernatural familiars. To balance things, he proposes new supernatural familiars called the galadur and the lomendur. He also proposes the burzugdur as an overall term for imps, quasits, and other weak fiends. I like the idea of minor celestials, but none of these terms caught on. Inniss published many articles for Dragon.
In "The Suel Pantheon," Len Lakofka introduces some gods worshipped by the Suel people of Greyhawk. Lakofka was a good friend of Gary Gygax, and he notes that this information came directly from him. The article describes just two gods: Lendor, Prince of Time, and Norebo, God of Luck, but future articles will add to the pantheon.
"Dragons and Their Deities" by Alan Zumwalt introduces the surprising (but logical) idea of dragon clerics. The article is ok, but the narrow focus means it doesn't deliver on the excellent title. A broader look at the theological and devotional lives of dragons could have been fantastic. Zumwalt published two articles with Dragon but has no other RPG credits.
Craig Barrett brings us "The Warrior Alternative," a DragonQuest variant introducing non-magical characters. The core rules severely penalize characters that don't practice magic, so this option seeks to address that. Barrett published about a dozen articles in Dragon and other magazines.
"Five New Enchanted Objects" introduces unique AD&D magic items to surprise seasoned players overfamiliar with those in the Dungeon Master's Guide. These items, by various authors, are Staff of the Couatl, Scepter of Defense, Rust Dust, Necklace of Alteration, and Dragonhelm. Overall, they are well-crafted and flavorful. Dragon used to have a regular column of new magic items called "Bazaar of the Bizzare", and it's a shame they dropped it.
"Mzee" by Charles R. Saunders is the story of Imaro, a young outsider hoping to earn his tribe's respect. It is set in a richly detailed African savannah and explores themes of resilience, belonging, and destiny. The author skillfully develops Imaro as a sympathetic protagonist with a lyrical style focusing on character growth rather than overt action. Saunders was known for pioneering the "sword and soul" sub-genre and featured Imaro in a series of novels.
The Ares Section has 14 pages of science fiction and superhero content and includes four articles:
The cover is by Denis Beauvais and depicts a pair of knights battling on a multi-level chessboard. Beauvais painted many Dragon covers. Interior artists include Harry Quinn, Roger Raupp, Dave Trampier, Dennis Kauth, Kurt Erichsen, Jerry Eaton, Craig Smith, Jeff Butler, and Larry Elmore.
This issue's special attraction is "Great Stoney," a miniature cardboard castle designed by Arthur Collins and adapted for print by Dennis Kauth. This unusual feature offers readers a complete cut-and-assemble castle, including detailed floor plans and campaign-ready background material. TSR was experimenting with cutout terrain, which was also featured in B6: The Veiled Society, which was released the same year. Arthur Collins later worked on DMGR2: The Castle Guide.
Ed Greenwood presents "The Ecology of the Slithering Tracker," offering fresh insight into this underutilized predator. Delivered as the notes of the wizard Aluthandee, the article describes the monster's appearance, hunting tactics, and reproduction. Greenwood now has these articles down to a fine formula, including an evocative piece of fiction with the game information in the endnotes and an appendix. The slithering tracker first appeared in 2E and then was dropped, reappearing in 5E.
In "Familiars with a Special Use," Stephen Inniss notes that evil magic-users seem to have the most potent supernatural familiars. To balance things, he proposes new supernatural familiars called the galadur and the lomendur. He also proposes the burzugdur as an overall term for imps, quasits, and other weak fiends. I like the idea of minor celestials, but none of these terms caught on. Inniss published many articles for Dragon.
In "The Suel Pantheon," Len Lakofka introduces some gods worshipped by the Suel people of Greyhawk. Lakofka was a good friend of Gary Gygax, and he notes that this information came directly from him. The article describes just two gods: Lendor, Prince of Time, and Norebo, God of Luck, but future articles will add to the pantheon.
"Dragons and Their Deities" by Alan Zumwalt introduces the surprising (but logical) idea of dragon clerics. The article is ok, but the narrow focus means it doesn't deliver on the excellent title. A broader look at the theological and devotional lives of dragons could have been fantastic. Zumwalt published two articles with Dragon but has no other RPG credits.
Craig Barrett brings us "The Warrior Alternative," a DragonQuest variant introducing non-magical characters. The core rules severely penalize characters that don't practice magic, so this option seeks to address that. Barrett published about a dozen articles in Dragon and other magazines.
"Five New Enchanted Objects" introduces unique AD&D magic items to surprise seasoned players overfamiliar with those in the Dungeon Master's Guide. These items, by various authors, are Staff of the Couatl, Scepter of Defense, Rust Dust, Necklace of Alteration, and Dragonhelm. Overall, they are well-crafted and flavorful. Dragon used to have a regular column of new magic items called "Bazaar of the Bizzare", and it's a shame they dropped it.
"Mzee" by Charles R. Saunders is the story of Imaro, a young outsider hoping to earn his tribe's respect. It is set in a richly detailed African savannah and explores themes of resilience, belonging, and destiny. The author skillfully develops Imaro as a sympathetic protagonist with a lyrical style focusing on character growth rather than overt action. Saunders was known for pioneering the "sword and soul" sub-genre and featured Imaro in a series of novels.
The Ares Section has 14 pages of science fiction and superhero content and includes four articles:
- "Know Your Enemy" by James Ryan is a guide to supervillain groups.
- "A World Gone Mad" by James M. Ward describes the moon in Gamma World.
- "Fast and Deadly" by Carl Smith contains new ships and scenarios for the Knight Hawks game.
- "Interstellar Athletics" by Michael Brown is a new career for Traveller.
- Battlesuit by Steve Jackson Games is a man-to-man combat board game set in the Ogre universe. Players maneuver armoured infantry units on a gridless map and exchange deadly fire, creating a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic. The components are eye-catching, and the scenarios offer great replayability. It's an intense, fast-playing "shoot-'em-up" experience, and reviewer Jerry Epperson thinks it "well worth picking up."
- Phantasy Conclave is a fantasy RPG boxed set containing dice and three small books. The rules evolved from a gaming club of the same name, and though they are clearly derived from AD&D, they lack depth and balance. No monsters, incomplete combat guidelines, and an underdeveloped magic system hinder playability. It is a game by enthusiastic amateurs, and reviewer Steve List concludes it "cannot really compare to other products of this type on the market."
