TSR Hobbies (UK) published Imagine magazine issue 2 in May 1983. It is 50 pages long and has a cover price of £1.00. In this issue, we have a first-level adventure, a report on GamesFair '83, and the Barbarian subclass!
The editorial notes that role-playing games are "developing, growing entities." Much new material has been published for D&D in particular due to "an enormous outpouring of talent." However, there is a caveat:
For this reason, Imagine has chosen to avoid the "trend" of publishing "new monsters, weapons, and other items." Instead, they will seek out articles that "add more pleasure to your gaming." In practical terms, this meant fewer gaming options in the magazine and more pages devoted to news, reviews, and advice columns. Let's have a look at this issue.
"The Beginner's Guide to Role-Playing Games" by Jim Bambra and Paul Ruiz provides a short "actual play" transcript of a D&D game. Unfortunately, they did the same thing in the first issue, so it feels a little redundant. However, a cute cartoon at the bottom of the page helpfully shows you how to roll up a character.
"Stirge Corner" by Roger Musson is also aimed at the inexperienced player. In this issue, he discusses what "winning" looks like in D&D. The focus on newbie players demonstrates that TSR saw Imagine as a vehicle to grow the hobby.
Next, Gary Gygax describes a new subclass in "The big, bad Barbarian." This feature appeared in Dragon Magazine nearly a year before, and was later published in the Unearthed Arcana book. There are some similarities to the modern barbarian class, though it lacks an equivalent to the cornerstone rage feature.
Paul Cockburn, the assistant editor, reflects on GamesFair '83, a gaming convention organized by TSR UK at Reading University. Graeme Morrison wrote the D&D Open adventure, which TSR later published as UK1: The Sentinel. Gary Gygax was the guest of honor, and Cockburn notes, "Many of the delegates were surprised at how approachable Gary is, after all the negative press he has received in the hobby." He goes on to relate this story:
I wonder if Gygax realized how infamous these comments would become!
Next up in the magazine is a little feature called "Horrorscope" by Chris Baylis, which presents a fantasy-flavored series of predictions. For example:
It's a fun idea but needed more development to make it shine.
"For the Honour of the Tribe" is an AD&D adventure for 4-6 first-level characters. Graeme Morris designed it specifically to introduce players to the barbarian subclass. An evil magician has stolen a magic mace from the tribe, and the characters must travel to his hideout to retrieve it. It's quite a straightforward affair but has a few intriguing features designed to test the barbarian's abilities, as well as a fun boss battle.
The four-page "D&D Players Association News" mini-magazine is back. In "Pan Pipings," Graeme Morris notes that Gygax is creating several new classes for the game, including the mystic, cavalier, savant, mountebank, acrobat, and jester. In "Dispel Confusion," Morris attempts to give semi-official answers to questions about TSR products, including D&D, Star Frontiers, and Top Secret. And in "Turnbull Talking," Don Turnbull explains how RPGs are different from other game forms. He notes:
The vibe of this quote does not entirely mesh with the editorial, which re-iterated the Gygaxian mantra that if you change the rules of AD&D, you are not playing AD&D!
"Tavern Talk" by Pete Tamlyn is evolving into a gossip column about the local industry. In this issue, he devotes substantial space to the DragonLords fanzine. This was founded by Marc Gascoigne and Ian Marsh, who went on to do significant work in the industry.
There are several game reviews. Star Explorer by Fantasy Games Unlimited is "an interesting game with some good ideas, but the components and rules show a lack of playtesting..." Operation Morpheus, a scenario for Aftermath by Fantasy Games Unlimited, is an "interesting, playable, and exciting adventure." Wilderness Hex Sheets and Dungeon Mapping Sheets from Games Workshop are "well designed... however, alternatives are available at less cost."
There is also an extensive review of The Morrow Project, a post-apocalyptic RPG written by military historian Kevin Dockery and published by TimeLine Limited. The characters are cryogenically frozen humans, awoken after the conclusion of World War III. The reviewer concludes that:
Sadly, the Morrow Project never reached such heights, but it retains a loyal following to the present day.
"Illusionary Script" presents a bunch of brain teasers with a D&D flavor. Here's an example:
Award-winning miniaturist Mike Brunton presents the sequel to last month's "Figure Painting" feature. Finally, Nick Pratt reviews Disney's The Island at the Top of the World, noting that "there is little to recommend a film which alternates uneasily between the dully predictable and the unintentionally comic."
This month's contributing artists include Les Edwards, Tania Long, Ian Williamson, Pete Young, Paul Ruiz, and Shoo Rayner.
And that's a wrap! My favorite article was the adventure, "For the Honour of the Tribe." Next month, we have fiction from Dave Langford, a comparison of Basic and Advanced D&D, and a new mini-adventure by Mike Brunton!
For this reason, Imagine has chosen to avoid the "trend" of publishing "new monsters, weapons, and other items." Instead, they will seek out articles that "add more pleasure to your gaming." In practical terms, this meant fewer gaming options in the magazine and more pages devoted to news, reviews, and advice columns. Let's have a look at this issue.
"The Beginner's Guide to Role-Playing Games" by Jim Bambra and Paul Ruiz provides a short "actual play" transcript of a D&D game. Unfortunately, they did the same thing in the first issue, so it feels a little redundant. However, a cute cartoon at the bottom of the page helpfully shows you how to roll up a character.
"Stirge Corner" by Roger Musson is also aimed at the inexperienced player. In this issue, he discusses what "winning" looks like in D&D. The focus on newbie players demonstrates that TSR saw Imagine as a vehicle to grow the hobby.
Next, Gary Gygax describes a new subclass in "The big, bad Barbarian." This feature appeared in Dragon Magazine nearly a year before, and was later published in the Unearthed Arcana book. There are some similarities to the modern barbarian class, though it lacks an equivalent to the cornerstone rage feature.
Paul Cockburn, the assistant editor, reflects on GamesFair '83, a gaming convention organized by TSR UK at Reading University. Graeme Morrison wrote the D&D Open adventure, which TSR later published as UK1: The Sentinel. Gary Gygax was the guest of honor, and Cockburn notes, "Many of the delegates were surprised at how approachable Gary is, after all the negative press he has received in the hobby." He goes on to relate this story:
I wonder if Gygax realized how infamous these comments would become!
Next up in the magazine is a little feature called "Horrorscope" by Chris Baylis, which presents a fantasy-flavored series of predictions. For example:
It's a fun idea but needed more development to make it shine.
"For the Honour of the Tribe" is an AD&D adventure for 4-6 first-level characters. Graeme Morris designed it specifically to introduce players to the barbarian subclass. An evil magician has stolen a magic mace from the tribe, and the characters must travel to his hideout to retrieve it. It's quite a straightforward affair but has a few intriguing features designed to test the barbarian's abilities, as well as a fun boss battle.
The four-page "D&D Players Association News" mini-magazine is back. In "Pan Pipings," Graeme Morris notes that Gygax is creating several new classes for the game, including the mystic, cavalier, savant, mountebank, acrobat, and jester. In "Dispel Confusion," Morris attempts to give semi-official answers to questions about TSR products, including D&D, Star Frontiers, and Top Secret. And in "Turnbull Talking," Don Turnbull explains how RPGs are different from other game forms. He notes:
The vibe of this quote does not entirely mesh with the editorial, which re-iterated the Gygaxian mantra that if you change the rules of AD&D, you are not playing AD&D!
"Tavern Talk" by Pete Tamlyn is evolving into a gossip column about the local industry. In this issue, he devotes substantial space to the DragonLords fanzine. This was founded by Marc Gascoigne and Ian Marsh, who went on to do significant work in the industry.
There are several game reviews. Star Explorer by Fantasy Games Unlimited is "an interesting game with some good ideas, but the components and rules show a lack of playtesting..." Operation Morpheus, a scenario for Aftermath by Fantasy Games Unlimited, is an "interesting, playable, and exciting adventure." Wilderness Hex Sheets and Dungeon Mapping Sheets from Games Workshop are "well designed... however, alternatives are available at less cost."
There is also an extensive review of The Morrow Project, a post-apocalyptic RPG written by military historian Kevin Dockery and published by TimeLine Limited. The characters are cryogenically frozen humans, awoken after the conclusion of World War III. The reviewer concludes that:
Sadly, the Morrow Project never reached such heights, but it retains a loyal following to the present day.
"Illusionary Script" presents a bunch of brain teasers with a D&D flavor. Here's an example:
Award-winning miniaturist Mike Brunton presents the sequel to last month's "Figure Painting" feature. Finally, Nick Pratt reviews Disney's The Island at the Top of the World, noting that "there is little to recommend a film which alternates uneasily between the dully predictable and the unintentionally comic."
This month's contributing artists include Les Edwards, Tania Long, Ian Williamson, Pete Young, Paul Ruiz, and Shoo Rayner.
And that's a wrap! My favorite article was the adventure, "For the Honour of the Tribe." Next month, we have fiction from Dave Langford, a comparison of Basic and Advanced D&D, and a new mini-adventure by Mike Brunton!
And when I'm in the DM chair, the best I can do is just make all of my rolls public (or roll them in the open, if I'm not on a VTT platform). I let the players see me react/respond to the same random numbers they are being asked to react/respond to.
