TSR [Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon
- Thread starter (un)reason
- Start date
(un)reason
Legend
TSR RPGA No. 3: Winter 1981-2
part 3/4
Figure Painting: Another familiar article topic here as we get a primer on how to paint minis. That turned up several times in Dragon as well, sometimes as a one-off and sometimes building up more depth over the course of a series with the same writer. Not surprised we have one here as well, as wargaming is still a substantial part of what they do. It's a pretty good one for it's length too, with the writer giving advice based on their own unique painting style rather than what seems most easy and obvious, and doesn't talk down to the readers. Hopefully the target audience of the newszine will continue to be a little more hardcore than a general sales magazine, as that'll keep it interesting for me.
Convention Wrapup: Another of these, this time covering Gen Con East and the original one in Wisconsin. Unsurprisingly, this is where they debut several classic modules, Frank Mentzer's R1-4 series, which really put the players through their places. The winning players and the DM's both get credited, and there's a fair number of familiar names amongst them that would go on to work or freelance for TSR in the future. We're still at the stage where it's not too hard to go from dedicated fan to part of the machine if you live in the right places and know the right people. That'll probably decrease rapidly as the fanbase balloons.
Top Secret Gadget Contest: Merle can't keep Top Secret going all on his own. They've got to stimulate those freelance submissions if they want the game to grow and keep releasing interesting new material. So yeah, send in your ideas for James Bond style gadgets. Like D&D traps, they may be highly situational, but there's near infinite variations on the idea of cool stuff that might just save your life. Hopefully we'll get to see the winner a few issues later, because they should be able to come up with some pretty ingenious stuff.
Codebook: Merle's own contribution this month is on the classic topic of cryptography. Every spy needs a basic training in sending messages in a way that ordinary people can't understand even if they intercept it. This is one article that definitely feels a bit dated, as simple codes like the ones detailed here could be cracked in seconds by a modern computer, while the encryption systems used regularly in modern computers to communicate across the internet would take lifetimes to decrypt using pen and paper, putting them outside the ability of our brains to solve them directly. I don't feel particularly inclined to use it, as the real challenge would be making cryptograms that are solvable by the players and don't just make them give up or use their character's powers to solve it gordian knot style. It's not the kind of way I want to challenge my players.
Mutants: The Trek Droid sees Jim engage in some humorous copyright violation, with android replicas of historical and TV characters showing up in random caches, recreating the dramas and relationships of their past. They can have very useful skills and insights, but overuse may damage your sense of immersion in a serious game. (yeah, yeah, playing Gamma World? What are the odds?)
Torel Plants are semi-intelligent mutated Morel mushrooms that use their psionics to sense intelligent life, and spew acid at it. If I wanted that I could just go on Twitter. This does give the local ecosystem a chance to recover, at least.
Fluter are psychic sunfishes that hunt by creating air bubbles to suffocate other fishes with. They also have poisonous spines just for good measure. Still won't save them if they ever run up agains undead, which are immune to both.
Sorbel are eugenicist humanoid fish-mutants that once again, you guessed it, instinctively hate all other intelligent life and will do their best to exterminate it on sight, or trick and screw it over if that's not a viable option. Coming up with nuanced personalities and motivations really isn't his strong point is it.
part 3/4
Figure Painting: Another familiar article topic here as we get a primer on how to paint minis. That turned up several times in Dragon as well, sometimes as a one-off and sometimes building up more depth over the course of a series with the same writer. Not surprised we have one here as well, as wargaming is still a substantial part of what they do. It's a pretty good one for it's length too, with the writer giving advice based on their own unique painting style rather than what seems most easy and obvious, and doesn't talk down to the readers. Hopefully the target audience of the newszine will continue to be a little more hardcore than a general sales magazine, as that'll keep it interesting for me.
Convention Wrapup: Another of these, this time covering Gen Con East and the original one in Wisconsin. Unsurprisingly, this is where they debut several classic modules, Frank Mentzer's R1-4 series, which really put the players through their places. The winning players and the DM's both get credited, and there's a fair number of familiar names amongst them that would go on to work or freelance for TSR in the future. We're still at the stage where it's not too hard to go from dedicated fan to part of the machine if you live in the right places and know the right people. That'll probably decrease rapidly as the fanbase balloons.
Top Secret Gadget Contest: Merle can't keep Top Secret going all on his own. They've got to stimulate those freelance submissions if they want the game to grow and keep releasing interesting new material. So yeah, send in your ideas for James Bond style gadgets. Like D&D traps, they may be highly situational, but there's near infinite variations on the idea of cool stuff that might just save your life. Hopefully we'll get to see the winner a few issues later, because they should be able to come up with some pretty ingenious stuff.
Codebook: Merle's own contribution this month is on the classic topic of cryptography. Every spy needs a basic training in sending messages in a way that ordinary people can't understand even if they intercept it. This is one article that definitely feels a bit dated, as simple codes like the ones detailed here could be cracked in seconds by a modern computer, while the encryption systems used regularly in modern computers to communicate across the internet would take lifetimes to decrypt using pen and paper, putting them outside the ability of our brains to solve them directly. I don't feel particularly inclined to use it, as the real challenge would be making cryptograms that are solvable by the players and don't just make them give up or use their character's powers to solve it gordian knot style. It's not the kind of way I want to challenge my players.
Mutants: The Trek Droid sees Jim engage in some humorous copyright violation, with android replicas of historical and TV characters showing up in random caches, recreating the dramas and relationships of their past. They can have very useful skills and insights, but overuse may damage your sense of immersion in a serious game. (yeah, yeah, playing Gamma World? What are the odds?)
Torel Plants are semi-intelligent mutated Morel mushrooms that use their psionics to sense intelligent life, and spew acid at it. If I wanted that I could just go on Twitter. This does give the local ecosystem a chance to recover, at least.
Fluter are psychic sunfishes that hunt by creating air bubbles to suffocate other fishes with. They also have poisonous spines just for good measure. Still won't save them if they ever run up agains undead, which are immune to both.
Sorbel are eugenicist humanoid fish-mutants that once again, you guessed it, instinctively hate all other intelligent life and will do their best to exterminate it on sight, or trick and screw it over if that's not a viable option. Coming up with nuanced personalities and motivations really isn't his strong point is it.
(un)reason
Legend
TSR RPGA No. 3: Winter 1981-2
part 4/4
Gamma World Art Contest: You may have noticed there's not much artwork for these new monsters, and what there is pretty scrappy. So here's a second contest in quick succession as they try and get free artwork out of their readers. (All rights surrendered to the company, of course, don't forget the SASE so they don't even have to pay to tell you if you won or lost.) Even as a company rockets upwards into a multimillion empire, they'll still exploit the free labor of fandom when they can get it. Sigh. Same as it ever was.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: Another 10 ideas for how to screw the players over with deceptive dangers and double-bluffs. Casting spells on a Gas Spore to make it more convincing as a fake beholder, letting monsters actually use their magical items to buff themselves, and good old pit traps, but used in unexpected ways. Muahaha. Yeah, these aren't going away any time soon. Just how many can you fit in your game before the players become so paranoid that nothing gets done due to distrusting everything and questioning the DM on everything they see before making any moves at all?
Notes From Overseas: Don Turnbull fills in another small article showing how things differ in the UK. We don't need to pay for the first year's membership, it comes for free with the D&D basic set if you can be bothered to fill out the form! The joys of living in a mildly more socialist country. Little acts of generosity can more than pay for themselves by increasing the long-term userbase, spreading the costs and getting better network externalities. How many more people got into roleplaying in europe because they're not saddled with vast amounts of medical debt eating up their income or just plain dead? Man, would that be a complicated question to actually answer. I don't think I have the tools to tackle it just for a little review like this.
Spelling Bee: So, the first spell to get a full column devoted to analysing it is the ever popular invisibility and it's many variants. Unsurprising, as like any illusory effect, it's far more subjective and susceptible to rules-lawyering than a simple blasting spell, and it's too common in the source material to ban from the game. Because it's simpler to adjudicate, most of them treat it as a one-time creature-linked effect, so anything picked up by the invisible creature remains visible, while anything leaving their possession becomes visible again, until the whole thing is dropped and another spell is cast. This contrasts with psionic invisibility, which is a clouding of the mind rather than bending light or turning things transparent, or a Harry Potter style cloak, which conceals everything underneath it and makes for easy adding of new items to the effect. So there's one way it generally works in D&D, but they're aware of other ones, and given the exception-based nature of powers, it's entirely possible to add new ones that use the other methods. This shows rules lawyering is already alive and thriving, if anything made necessary by the vagueness of the rules as written and the generally adversarial nature of play. You've got to fight for every advantage you can both in and out of game if you want your character to survive and advance levels when characters are fragile and the DM doesn't pull punches.
Saga of Marnie: They set up two competitions this issue. Now they show the other side with a report by a winner of a previous one. Marnie Bosch led her team in kicking much ass in the first RPGA tournament, and as a result she got to go to another convention for free as a guest of honor and meet Gary & Frank, who were thankfully in non-cantankerous mode for hobnobbing with the fans. One of those little reminders that there were women in gaming even in the early days, and they were often the ones doing the invisible work to organise groups, make a party get along and work as a competent team. One person only has one set of actions per round, no matter how twinked they are. Get a good team and stick with them if you really want to win the game, as the real winning is in having fun playing.
Incomplete Convention Schedule '82: The final page is filled up with the dates, locations and contact details of 22 different conventions coming up that year. Some of them look like they were more general fantasy/sci-fi than roleplaying specific, but it still shows you'll have no trouble finding geek-friendly places to go anywhere in the USA. They also show one in Canada, and one in Germany. Things may have spread more slowly back then, but gaming still became an international thing fairly easily. Definitely going to be interesting seeing how this side of the newszine grows over the years.
The increase in size definitely makes for another substantial leap forward this issue, letting them provide more material that's generally useful for gaming rather than just what's up in the conventions of the day. It's indicates that there are definitely going to be some more old school gems in here that deserve a wider audience, and this trek will be worthwhile for the readers, not just a historical curiosity no-one but me cares about. Time to see how 1982 fares from this perspective.
part 4/4
Gamma World Art Contest: You may have noticed there's not much artwork for these new monsters, and what there is pretty scrappy. So here's a second contest in quick succession as they try and get free artwork out of their readers. (All rights surrendered to the company, of course, don't forget the SASE so they don't even have to pay to tell you if you won or lost.) Even as a company rockets upwards into a multimillion empire, they'll still exploit the free labor of fandom when they can get it. Sigh. Same as it ever was.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: Another 10 ideas for how to screw the players over with deceptive dangers and double-bluffs. Casting spells on a Gas Spore to make it more convincing as a fake beholder, letting monsters actually use their magical items to buff themselves, and good old pit traps, but used in unexpected ways. Muahaha. Yeah, these aren't going away any time soon. Just how many can you fit in your game before the players become so paranoid that nothing gets done due to distrusting everything and questioning the DM on everything they see before making any moves at all?
Notes From Overseas: Don Turnbull fills in another small article showing how things differ in the UK. We don't need to pay for the first year's membership, it comes for free with the D&D basic set if you can be bothered to fill out the form! The joys of living in a mildly more socialist country. Little acts of generosity can more than pay for themselves by increasing the long-term userbase, spreading the costs and getting better network externalities. How many more people got into roleplaying in europe because they're not saddled with vast amounts of medical debt eating up their income or just plain dead? Man, would that be a complicated question to actually answer. I don't think I have the tools to tackle it just for a little review like this.
Spelling Bee: So, the first spell to get a full column devoted to analysing it is the ever popular invisibility and it's many variants. Unsurprising, as like any illusory effect, it's far more subjective and susceptible to rules-lawyering than a simple blasting spell, and it's too common in the source material to ban from the game. Because it's simpler to adjudicate, most of them treat it as a one-time creature-linked effect, so anything picked up by the invisible creature remains visible, while anything leaving their possession becomes visible again, until the whole thing is dropped and another spell is cast. This contrasts with psionic invisibility, which is a clouding of the mind rather than bending light or turning things transparent, or a Harry Potter style cloak, which conceals everything underneath it and makes for easy adding of new items to the effect. So there's one way it generally works in D&D, but they're aware of other ones, and given the exception-based nature of powers, it's entirely possible to add new ones that use the other methods. This shows rules lawyering is already alive and thriving, if anything made necessary by the vagueness of the rules as written and the generally adversarial nature of play. You've got to fight for every advantage you can both in and out of game if you want your character to survive and advance levels when characters are fragile and the DM doesn't pull punches.
Saga of Marnie: They set up two competitions this issue. Now they show the other side with a report by a winner of a previous one. Marnie Bosch led her team in kicking much ass in the first RPGA tournament, and as a result she got to go to another convention for free as a guest of honor and meet Gary & Frank, who were thankfully in non-cantankerous mode for hobnobbing with the fans. One of those little reminders that there were women in gaming even in the early days, and they were often the ones doing the invisible work to organise groups, make a party get along and work as a competent team. One person only has one set of actions per round, no matter how twinked they are. Get a good team and stick with them if you really want to win the game, as the real winning is in having fun playing.
Incomplete Convention Schedule '82: The final page is filled up with the dates, locations and contact details of 22 different conventions coming up that year. Some of them look like they were more general fantasy/sci-fi than roleplaying specific, but it still shows you'll have no trouble finding geek-friendly places to go anywhere in the USA. They also show one in Canada, and one in Germany. Things may have spread more slowly back then, but gaming still became an international thing fairly easily. Definitely going to be interesting seeing how this side of the newszine grows over the years.
The increase in size definitely makes for another substantial leap forward this issue, letting them provide more material that's generally useful for gaming rather than just what's up in the conventions of the day. It's indicates that there are definitely going to be some more old school gems in here that deserve a wider audience, and this trek will be worthwhile for the readers, not just a historical curiosity no-one but me cares about. Time to see how 1982 fares from this perspective.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 4: Jan/Feb 1982
part 1/4
16 pages. So, they've finally figured out their identity, and this is where the newszine as we know it really begins, just as Dragon started out as the somewhat less catchy Strategic Review for a year before transforming into the form we're more familiar with. The cover art takes a step up too, with Larry Elmore giving his take on the sexy world of cinematic espionage. Let's roll the bombastic orchestral theme tune, make Shirley Bassey an offer she can't refuse to come out of retirement for one last job, and prepare the circular matte background for the credits sequence.
Polyhedron
Nothing rhymes with polyhedron
So writing a theme song for it is really dumb
Beyond even the musical skills of … Joss Whedon
Polyhedron
POLYHEDRON!
It's rolls rule your heart, which is really ironic
For as a shape, it is purely platonic
You think you can roll just one, but you're wrong
Polyhedron
Though it may be, translucent or opaque
It can never be relied on,
There's a chance that you must take when you roll
Polyhedrons!
What would a game be without polyhedrons?
The most skilled always the champion
Does that sound fun?
Polyhedron
POLYHEDRON!
Inextricably linked with roleplaying
Don't hide your rolls or we'll know that you're faking
Roll low or high? Depends which game you're playing
Polyhedron!
POLYHEDRON!!!!!
Letters: Our first letter is from someone confused about what's going on with Gen Con East. They had problems with the previous venue and it's staff, so they've moved it to a new one next year.
Our second letter sees Gary comment on the interview of Jim Ward. If anything, it understated just how chaotic he is as an employee and a gamer. Be very wary of letting him into a position of authority. Muahaha!
Thirdly, we have someone floating the idea of a DM training camp. For this to work they'd need both expert DM's to teach, and people willing to pay money to be taught. Are the logistics there for this to work? Now that's a very good question indeed, and if properly advertised in a place like this, probably. Watch this space.
Finally we have someone complaining that polyhedral dice are too expensive. Are they really worth that much? Probably not, but as a small print specialty item, the network externalities aren't there yet. This'll definitely get better as time goes on, and even better still once 3D printing becomes a thing enabling small custom runs of all sorts of unique dice at much lower production costs.
part 1/4
16 pages. So, they've finally figured out their identity, and this is where the newszine as we know it really begins, just as Dragon started out as the somewhat less catchy Strategic Review for a year before transforming into the form we're more familiar with. The cover art takes a step up too, with Larry Elmore giving his take on the sexy world of cinematic espionage. Let's roll the bombastic orchestral theme tune, make Shirley Bassey an offer she can't refuse to come out of retirement for one last job, and prepare the circular matte background for the credits sequence.
Polyhedron
Nothing rhymes with polyhedron
So writing a theme song for it is really dumb
Beyond even the musical skills of … Joss Whedon
Polyhedron
POLYHEDRON!
It's rolls rule your heart, which is really ironic
For as a shape, it is purely platonic
You think you can roll just one, but you're wrong
Polyhedron
Though it may be, translucent or opaque
It can never be relied on,
There's a chance that you must take when you roll
Polyhedrons!
What would a game be without polyhedrons?
The most skilled always the champion
Does that sound fun?
Polyhedron
POLYHEDRON!
Inextricably linked with roleplaying
Don't hide your rolls or we'll know that you're faking
Roll low or high? Depends which game you're playing
Polyhedron!
POLYHEDRON!!!!!
Letters: Our first letter is from someone confused about what's going on with Gen Con East. They had problems with the previous venue and it's staff, so they've moved it to a new one next year.
Our second letter sees Gary comment on the interview of Jim Ward. If anything, it understated just how chaotic he is as an employee and a gamer. Be very wary of letting him into a position of authority. Muahaha!
Thirdly, we have someone floating the idea of a DM training camp. For this to work they'd need both expert DM's to teach, and people willing to pay money to be taught. Are the logistics there for this to work? Now that's a very good question indeed, and if properly advertised in a place like this, probably. Watch this space.
Finally we have someone complaining that polyhedral dice are too expensive. Are they really worth that much? Probably not, but as a small print specialty item, the network externalities aren't there yet. This'll definitely get better as time goes on, and even better still once 3D printing becomes a thing enabling small custom runs of all sorts of unique dice at much lower production costs.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 4: Jan/Feb 1982
part 2/4
Where I'm Coming From: Typical editorial stuff in here. A list of the things coming up in the issue, and a couple of questions on what we want in the future. Many of them are familiar, especially the hints of new spells, which would appear in Dragon and then Unearthed Arcana. Things that are originally tested on a small audience then get refined and spread to wider ones if they're successful. That's the kind of thing I'm definitely looking forward to seeing as I go through this again.
Wizard"s Gold Giveaway: A little cross promotion with Grenadier, their official minis licensee. If you find a gold-plated mini in your box, let them know and you'll win an ounce of actual gold. That's actually a pretty decent prize, looking at the market rate. Less immediately useful than the equivalent amount of cash, but cooler in terms of prestige. That'll drive a fair bit of sales as people try to find the golden soldier.
RPGA Interview with Jake Jaquet: Looks like these interviews are going to be a regular column for quite a while, especially if the people involved are so verbose they keep having to spread them across multiple issues. So this time it's Jake Jaquet (who's real first name is Gary, but there's too many Gary's around here, so he got stuck with a more alliterative name.) who gets to tell us his history and what he's up too. He definitely has an interesting perspective on things, and while not ranty like Gygax, he certainly has no hesitation about throwing shade at other TSR employees and criticising his own work, as well as digressing completely into speculations about politics that are very interesting in hindsight, with the rise of social media resulting in echo chambers and increasing political polarisation. (but let's hope Gamma World isn't our future, because that would suck.) These guys were never media-trained, and their writing is all the more entertaining for it. Long may they keep that hobbyist spirit.
White Rabbits: The fight to get everyone properly credited for their work is endless. This is particularly a problem with new publications who don't have someone full time to handle all that bureaucratic stuff. So this is them apologising for not crediting their artists in the first three issues, printing a full list of them here, and promising to do better. This is a very familiar story in any creative field that's only got worse in the internet age. Credits and payment are neither for men. You'll be sending invoices again and again.
part 2/4
Where I'm Coming From: Typical editorial stuff in here. A list of the things coming up in the issue, and a couple of questions on what we want in the future. Many of them are familiar, especially the hints of new spells, which would appear in Dragon and then Unearthed Arcana. Things that are originally tested on a small audience then get refined and spread to wider ones if they're successful. That's the kind of thing I'm definitely looking forward to seeing as I go through this again.
Wizard"s Gold Giveaway: A little cross promotion with Grenadier, their official minis licensee. If you find a gold-plated mini in your box, let them know and you'll win an ounce of actual gold. That's actually a pretty decent prize, looking at the market rate. Less immediately useful than the equivalent amount of cash, but cooler in terms of prestige. That'll drive a fair bit of sales as people try to find the golden soldier.
RPGA Interview with Jake Jaquet: Looks like these interviews are going to be a regular column for quite a while, especially if the people involved are so verbose they keep having to spread them across multiple issues. So this time it's Jake Jaquet (who's real first name is Gary, but there's too many Gary's around here, so he got stuck with a more alliterative name.) who gets to tell us his history and what he's up too. He definitely has an interesting perspective on things, and while not ranty like Gygax, he certainly has no hesitation about throwing shade at other TSR employees and criticising his own work, as well as digressing completely into speculations about politics that are very interesting in hindsight, with the rise of social media resulting in echo chambers and increasing political polarisation. (but let's hope Gamma World isn't our future, because that would suck.) These guys were never media-trained, and their writing is all the more entertaining for it. Long may they keep that hobbyist spirit.
White Rabbits: The fight to get everyone properly credited for their work is endless. This is particularly a problem with new publications who don't have someone full time to handle all that bureaucratic stuff. So this is them apologising for not crediting their artists in the first three issues, printing a full list of them here, and promising to do better. This is a very familiar story in any creative field that's only got worse in the internet age. Credits and payment are neither for men. You'll be sending invoices again and again.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 4: Jan/Feb 1982
part 3/4
Turnbull Talking: Don decides to do the thing where he tells us about his characters. Interestingly enough, it turns out his current favourite is an illusionist. He enjoys having powers that you have to use intelligently and flexibly instead of blasting your way through problems. I definitely approve of that. You don't have to take the most powerful options, and the game is more fun with figuring out how to use the quirkier ones. This is why they made random ability score generation the default in the first place. Too much emphasis on game balance and character optimisation makes designers eliminate the weird stuff that's hard to place on the scale and that's just boring. I could get to like him.
Spelling Bee: Time for a complete turnaround from the previous column, to tackle those good old combat staples Magic Missile, Fireball and Lightning Bolt. The interesting thing here is that they're not just different types of damage that various things will be selectively resistant too, they're different shapes as well. Magic Missile is relatively weak and limited but precise, while Fireball is a volume, and in a confined space it may stretch in surprising and unpleasant ways that result in the wrong people getting caught in the blast. Lightning bolt reflects, so never shoot it in a parallel line to the grid system, or it could bounce back on you - aim it carefully instead and you can fry a lot more enemies by thinking like a snooker player. Combat spells shouldn't just be interchangeable blasts of escalating power as you gain levels, they should have other effects that a clever spellcaster can exploit both for tactical uses, and use inventively for noncombat tricks as well. Definitely take this into account when designing new spells of your own. I approve of this column.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: This column tones it down a bit, curiously, with only three new tricks, none as sadistic as previous issues, and a load of basic organisational advice about how to prepare for a session making up the difference. Get your stats, maps, and basic math for the common rolls you're going to be making and everything will flow much more smoothly. All very true, but much less useful to me. Guess they've got to appeal to the less experienced members as well as the hardcore conventioneers. Well, we aren't starting right at the beginning this time, so I shouldn't be surprised we got to that phase much sooner than Dragon did.
part 3/4
Turnbull Talking: Don decides to do the thing where he tells us about his characters. Interestingly enough, it turns out his current favourite is an illusionist. He enjoys having powers that you have to use intelligently and flexibly instead of blasting your way through problems. I definitely approve of that. You don't have to take the most powerful options, and the game is more fun with figuring out how to use the quirkier ones. This is why they made random ability score generation the default in the first place. Too much emphasis on game balance and character optimisation makes designers eliminate the weird stuff that's hard to place on the scale and that's just boring. I could get to like him.
Spelling Bee: Time for a complete turnaround from the previous column, to tackle those good old combat staples Magic Missile, Fireball and Lightning Bolt. The interesting thing here is that they're not just different types of damage that various things will be selectively resistant too, they're different shapes as well. Magic Missile is relatively weak and limited but precise, while Fireball is a volume, and in a confined space it may stretch in surprising and unpleasant ways that result in the wrong people getting caught in the blast. Lightning bolt reflects, so never shoot it in a parallel line to the grid system, or it could bounce back on you - aim it carefully instead and you can fry a lot more enemies by thinking like a snooker player. Combat spells shouldn't just be interchangeable blasts of escalating power as you gain levels, they should have other effects that a clever spellcaster can exploit both for tactical uses, and use inventively for noncombat tricks as well. Definitely take this into account when designing new spells of your own. I approve of this column.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: This column tones it down a bit, curiously, with only three new tricks, none as sadistic as previous issues, and a load of basic organisational advice about how to prepare for a session making up the difference. Get your stats, maps, and basic math for the common rolls you're going to be making and everything will flow much more smoothly. All very true, but much less useful to me. Guess they've got to appeal to the less experienced members as well as the hardcore conventioneers. Well, we aren't starting right at the beginning this time, so I shouldn't be surprised we got to that phase much sooner than Dragon did.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 4: Jan/Feb 1982
part 4/4
Dispel Confusion: If I blew my chance to learn a spell, when can I re-roll? (When you get smarter. This may take a long time, or a lot of luck on treasure rolls.)
Why doesn't Dispel Illusion affect all illusions (Because 1e is nonstandardised, and illusionists are a whole different class in this edition, not just a type of specialist wizard.)
Does holy water affect lycanthropes (No. They might be bad, but they're not cosmically eeeeevil.)
Can you slice people in half with a wall of force (No. That's not clever rules lawyering, that's outright reading something that isn't there.)
Basically Speaking: Looks like it's not going to be all tournament games for the hardcore in here, Jon Pickens starts up another regular column aimed specifically at Basic D&D games. That is interesting, given how little of that they did in Dragon, with the Princess Ark series in the 90's the only notable one. I wonder how much they'll be able to find to say about it before it gets pretty advanced anyway. But it will not be this day, as this really is ultra-basic, aimed at people who are daunted by even a 128 page softbound book, advising them that they should learn the mechanics before they get stuck into all the lists of spells, monsters and magical items. Given where they put it, I don't think it will reach it's target audience very effectively, and it's definitely of no use to me. Probably could have used this bit of space more constructively.
Notes From HQ: Another round of errata and growing pains. Not that they don't want to grow, as they only have 4,000 members internationally at the moment, but logistically, they can only handle so much, and so a lot of things are slipping through the cracks. As long as they're aware of the problems and taking steps to fix them, they'll get there in the end. You've got to build up the bureaucratic machinery so your regular members can have more fun in the long run, counterintuitive as it may seem.
NOR: Looks like we'll be having some comics in here as well, just like Dragon. A spaceship gets shot down and crashlands on what looks like a medieval fantasy planet, so they can cater to both their D&D and MA fans. What adventures and misunderstandings will they get up too in future issues?
Some more interesting development here. Between settling on their long-term name, more articles aimed at inexperienced players, and putting lots of effort into becoming bigger and more organised, they definitely seem to have a plan for their future, and are going full steam ahead towards it. Which makes it easy and fun reading for me. How long will they be able to keep up the rapid growth and general optimism that comes with it before it becomes a grind again? Let's keep going and find out.
part 4/4
Dispel Confusion: If I blew my chance to learn a spell, when can I re-roll? (When you get smarter. This may take a long time, or a lot of luck on treasure rolls.)
Why doesn't Dispel Illusion affect all illusions (Because 1e is nonstandardised, and illusionists are a whole different class in this edition, not just a type of specialist wizard.)
Does holy water affect lycanthropes (No. They might be bad, but they're not cosmically eeeeevil.)
Can you slice people in half with a wall of force (No. That's not clever rules lawyering, that's outright reading something that isn't there.)
Basically Speaking: Looks like it's not going to be all tournament games for the hardcore in here, Jon Pickens starts up another regular column aimed specifically at Basic D&D games. That is interesting, given how little of that they did in Dragon, with the Princess Ark series in the 90's the only notable one. I wonder how much they'll be able to find to say about it before it gets pretty advanced anyway. But it will not be this day, as this really is ultra-basic, aimed at people who are daunted by even a 128 page softbound book, advising them that they should learn the mechanics before they get stuck into all the lists of spells, monsters and magical items. Given where they put it, I don't think it will reach it's target audience very effectively, and it's definitely of no use to me. Probably could have used this bit of space more constructively.
Notes From HQ: Another round of errata and growing pains. Not that they don't want to grow, as they only have 4,000 members internationally at the moment, but logistically, they can only handle so much, and so a lot of things are slipping through the cracks. As long as they're aware of the problems and taking steps to fix them, they'll get there in the end. You've got to build up the bureaucratic machinery so your regular members can have more fun in the long run, counterintuitive as it may seem.
NOR: Looks like we'll be having some comics in here as well, just like Dragon. A spaceship gets shot down and crashlands on what looks like a medieval fantasy planet, so they can cater to both their D&D and MA fans. What adventures and misunderstandings will they get up too in future issues?
Some more interesting development here. Between settling on their long-term name, more articles aimed at inexperienced players, and putting lots of effort into becoming bigger and more organised, they definitely seem to have a plan for their future, and are going full steam ahead towards it. Which makes it easy and fun reading for me. How long will they be able to keep up the rapid growth and general optimism that comes with it before it becomes a grind again? Let's keep going and find out.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 5: Mar/Apr 1982
part 1/4
16 pages. Even though it's not the title of the magazine, they still have a dragon on the cover. I guess they are in the name of their biggest game, so they still have good reason to use them, but hopefully it won't be every year, otherwise they'd be stepping on their other magazine's toes. Let's see what they're up too, and how differentiated it is from their other products this time around.
Notes from HQ: Well, straight away they remind us that their primary focus is on conventions and tournament games in a way that Dragon wasn't. Come to both Gen Con's, meet the big name designers, and get very very drunk with them. Should be fun. As I noted last issue, it's still a good way from media training and focus groups blanding everything out, and they haven't been big long enough to get a strong separation between the designers and regular players. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Notes from overseas: Getting more international penetration is an important part of their expansion plan. We already know from issue 3 that the UK has it's own semi-independent RPGA branch, which is actually more popular per capita than the USA one. So here they tell us what other countries also have at least one member, and which ones will very shortly as people are sending applications as they speak. Mostly european countries, but there's at least one on every continent. Another of those pleasing little signposts that shows how fast roleplaying was expanding back then.
White Rabbits: Yet another apology that things are going to be late and cost more than they thought they would. They're doing their best, but logistics are still an eternal struggle. It'll be worth it in the end, and they'll even throw in a few more cool goodies for you to buy if you like. This is getting repetitive, so nothing more to say here.
part 1/4
16 pages. Even though it's not the title of the magazine, they still have a dragon on the cover. I guess they are in the name of their biggest game, so they still have good reason to use them, but hopefully it won't be every year, otherwise they'd be stepping on their other magazine's toes. Let's see what they're up too, and how differentiated it is from their other products this time around.
Notes from HQ: Well, straight away they remind us that their primary focus is on conventions and tournament games in a way that Dragon wasn't. Come to both Gen Con's, meet the big name designers, and get very very drunk with them. Should be fun. As I noted last issue, it's still a good way from media training and focus groups blanding everything out, and they haven't been big long enough to get a strong separation between the designers and regular players. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Notes from overseas: Getting more international penetration is an important part of their expansion plan. We already know from issue 3 that the UK has it's own semi-independent RPGA branch, which is actually more popular per capita than the USA one. So here they tell us what other countries also have at least one member, and which ones will very shortly as people are sending applications as they speak. Mostly european countries, but there's at least one on every continent. Another of those pleasing little signposts that shows how fast roleplaying was expanding back then.
White Rabbits: Yet another apology that things are going to be late and cost more than they thought they would. They're doing their best, but logistics are still an eternal struggle. It'll be worth it in the end, and they'll even throw in a few more cool goodies for you to buy if you like. This is getting repetitive, so nothing more to say here.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 5: Mar/Apr 1982
part 2/4
Letters: Our first letter asks what kind of articles they'd like to see from the public. They're not in a position to be picky yet, so send them all, then we can grab the best. You have a chance to influence the direction of the RPGA! The joys of being in on the ground floor.
The second letter is in favour of the RPGA, but from the skewed perspective that someone needs to keep young players from being ridiculous power-gamers. Yeah, they'll pretty much have to do that as soon as they get into the Living Campaign stuff to keep things from breaking down.
The third letter asks how D&D got started. Gygax did it. There's a lot of places that retell the story in more detail by now.
And finally, we have a request for more high level adventures. They are planning some, but hindsight shows that in the long run, they'll always be a minority of published stuff simply because only a minority of groups ever get that far. It's just mathematics. The ridiculously powerful stuff may look cool, but it won't be used nearly as often as the bread & butter staples.
RPGA Interview with Jake Jaquet pt 2: The second half of Jake's interview concentrates on his ideas for Dragon magazine. The importance of maintaining enough independence that you can criticise other products by the same company, and not just be a promotional house organ, as well as making sure you cater to all RPGers, not just D&D players. Both things they'd eventually lose, and which were sorely missed when they did. The importance of listening to your fanbase and giving them what they need, not just what they say they want. This applies even more to the RPGA, where the membership is what really makes the games fun, and the rules are just there to facilitate that and keep a few naughty words from ruining it for everyone else. If you don't keep listening they'll drift away before you know it. That's definite foreshadowing. There will be rough times ahead, and I'll have to go through them again from this perspective as well. Let's hope they're the interesting kind of bad, not the boring kind.
Where I'm Coming From: Huh. Just a year in, and Frank is already being moved to another department and off the editor's job on the Newszine. I knew he'd be busy with the BECMI series at some point, but I didn't think he'd leave here this quickly. His replacement is Mary Kirchoff, who also worked on the TSR issues of ARES, and googling says she stays in the company in one job or another until 2004. We shall see how much of that is with the newszine, and how much she stamps her own personality on it in future issues.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: This column moves away from random sadism, encouraging you to pick a number of monsters that would be a fair challenge for your party rather than roll the No: Appearing which often varies by many orders of magnitude. That way you can pace sessions better, putting regular ones in the middle, and the big climactic battle that might actually consume some resources at the end. And if you are going to keep that degree of swinginess, make sure they have a chance to run away if they're overmatched. Fair enough. Most DM's don't really want to kill their players, and if they really wanted too, there are quicker ways than slightly too many common monsters wearing them down in a lengthy fight. Another reminder that the truly old school phase of D&D didn't actually last that long, and we're already reaching the end of it. 3e and strictly defined CR ratings'll be here again before we know it.
part 2/4
Letters: Our first letter asks what kind of articles they'd like to see from the public. They're not in a position to be picky yet, so send them all, then we can grab the best. You have a chance to influence the direction of the RPGA! The joys of being in on the ground floor.
The second letter is in favour of the RPGA, but from the skewed perspective that someone needs to keep young players from being ridiculous power-gamers. Yeah, they'll pretty much have to do that as soon as they get into the Living Campaign stuff to keep things from breaking down.
The third letter asks how D&D got started. Gygax did it. There's a lot of places that retell the story in more detail by now.
And finally, we have a request for more high level adventures. They are planning some, but hindsight shows that in the long run, they'll always be a minority of published stuff simply because only a minority of groups ever get that far. It's just mathematics. The ridiculously powerful stuff may look cool, but it won't be used nearly as often as the bread & butter staples.
RPGA Interview with Jake Jaquet pt 2: The second half of Jake's interview concentrates on his ideas for Dragon magazine. The importance of maintaining enough independence that you can criticise other products by the same company, and not just be a promotional house organ, as well as making sure you cater to all RPGers, not just D&D players. Both things they'd eventually lose, and which were sorely missed when they did. The importance of listening to your fanbase and giving them what they need, not just what they say they want. This applies even more to the RPGA, where the membership is what really makes the games fun, and the rules are just there to facilitate that and keep a few naughty words from ruining it for everyone else. If you don't keep listening they'll drift away before you know it. That's definite foreshadowing. There will be rough times ahead, and I'll have to go through them again from this perspective as well. Let's hope they're the interesting kind of bad, not the boring kind.
Where I'm Coming From: Huh. Just a year in, and Frank is already being moved to another department and off the editor's job on the Newszine. I knew he'd be busy with the BECMI series at some point, but I didn't think he'd leave here this quickly. His replacement is Mary Kirchoff, who also worked on the TSR issues of ARES, and googling says she stays in the company in one job or another until 2004. We shall see how much of that is with the newszine, and how much she stamps her own personality on it in future issues.
Notes For the Dungeon Master: This column moves away from random sadism, encouraging you to pick a number of monsters that would be a fair challenge for your party rather than roll the No: Appearing which often varies by many orders of magnitude. That way you can pace sessions better, putting regular ones in the middle, and the big climactic battle that might actually consume some resources at the end. And if you are going to keep that degree of swinginess, make sure they have a chance to run away if they're overmatched. Fair enough. Most DM's don't really want to kill their players, and if they really wanted too, there are quicker ways than slightly too many common monsters wearing them down in a lengthy fight. Another reminder that the truly old school phase of D&D didn't actually last that long, and we're already reaching the end of it. 3e and strictly defined CR ratings'll be here again before we know it.
(un)reason
Legend
The Polyhedron Issue 5: Mar/Apr 1982
part 3/4
The Round Table: Oh, now this is an interesting but of crossover between their various publications, as it follows on from Dragon issue 49, and their assessment of the Slaver modules. As with that, it's a detailed assessment of the flaws in their current tournament system (while acknowledging that it is still fun overall) and what they could do to improve it. As with it's precursor, Frank then replies to point out that while some of those are ideas worth taking on, others are logistically impractical or don't fit his vision for how they should best grow and improve. As with any big organisation, it's going to be a big messy body politic even when it's running smoothly, as everyone has different ideas and experiences. The trick is being able to filter out the bad ideas, and make the good ones commonly used. Definitely looking forward to seeing how they handle it over the next few decades, and what dramas crop up in the process.
Dispel Confusion: What happens if enlarge is reversed and shrinks you over 100% your size? (Your math is wrong. It's 1/x, not minus x.)
Does dragons breath get weaker as they're injured? (Varies by edition. Very exception based design here.)
How much can you fit in a saddlebag? (A fair amount, but not as much as some treasure hoards you'll encounter. You'll soon be craving upgrades if your DM tracks encumbrance strictly. )
How do you handle clones and dopplegangers? (Muahaha. It's most fun if you keep the player replaced in on it, but don't tell the others.)
Bag of Tricks: To complement the sadistic tricks aimed at the DM, here's another column of them aimed more at the players. Stockpiling of continual light and darkness spells to disorient your opponents. Taking doors off their hinges to use as cover or battering rams and facilitate quick escape later. Use of Druid & Ranger magic to make friends of things you wouldn't normally be able to communicate with and use them both tactically and logistically. Have a travelling spellbook so your full one doesn't get destroyed by fire or water in your misadventures and render the wizard helpless. So as usual, some ideas that would go into common use, and some that would be mostly left behind with the passage of time because they're too specific, labor-intensive or out of genre. Like it's counterpart, this makes for very entertaining reading indeed, at least in small portions.
Spelling Bee: Instead of picking at existing spells, this column has a good look at some new spells (that would go on to appear in official books in a few years) This is even more important to do, as you can actually change them if they're too strong or weak for their level. Crystalbrittle could probably be dropped a level or two, as it's useful, but very specialist, and no-ones going to use one of their valuable 9th level spells on it unless they know they're facing something powerful but weak to it that day. Energy Drain, on the other hand, fully deserves to stay at 9th level, as level drain is one of the most hated and mechanically fiddly powers in the game, and they've been making it weaker and rarer with every edition change. Who wants to give the players access to that and have to recalculate your big bad's stats mid-battle when they use it? Once again, I approve of this message. Playtesting and revision is vital to making a game solid and functional, and ensuring rules lawyers can't turn themselves into virtual gods via unintended loopholes. (which is not to say they shouldn't be able to become gods if they work at it and get enough XP.) It's good to see these spells go through that development process, not just flung out into the world for us to cope with them on our own.
part 3/4
The Round Table: Oh, now this is an interesting but of crossover between their various publications, as it follows on from Dragon issue 49, and their assessment of the Slaver modules. As with that, it's a detailed assessment of the flaws in their current tournament system (while acknowledging that it is still fun overall) and what they could do to improve it. As with it's precursor, Frank then replies to point out that while some of those are ideas worth taking on, others are logistically impractical or don't fit his vision for how they should best grow and improve. As with any big organisation, it's going to be a big messy body politic even when it's running smoothly, as everyone has different ideas and experiences. The trick is being able to filter out the bad ideas, and make the good ones commonly used. Definitely looking forward to seeing how they handle it over the next few decades, and what dramas crop up in the process.
Dispel Confusion: What happens if enlarge is reversed and shrinks you over 100% your size? (Your math is wrong. It's 1/x, not minus x.)
Does dragons breath get weaker as they're injured? (Varies by edition. Very exception based design here.)
How much can you fit in a saddlebag? (A fair amount, but not as much as some treasure hoards you'll encounter. You'll soon be craving upgrades if your DM tracks encumbrance strictly. )
How do you handle clones and dopplegangers? (Muahaha. It's most fun if you keep the player replaced in on it, but don't tell the others.)
Bag of Tricks: To complement the sadistic tricks aimed at the DM, here's another column of them aimed more at the players. Stockpiling of continual light and darkness spells to disorient your opponents. Taking doors off their hinges to use as cover or battering rams and facilitate quick escape later. Use of Druid & Ranger magic to make friends of things you wouldn't normally be able to communicate with and use them both tactically and logistically. Have a travelling spellbook so your full one doesn't get destroyed by fire or water in your misadventures and render the wizard helpless. So as usual, some ideas that would go into common use, and some that would be mostly left behind with the passage of time because they're too specific, labor-intensive or out of genre. Like it's counterpart, this makes for very entertaining reading indeed, at least in small portions.
Spelling Bee: Instead of picking at existing spells, this column has a good look at some new spells (that would go on to appear in official books in a few years) This is even more important to do, as you can actually change them if they're too strong or weak for their level. Crystalbrittle could probably be dropped a level or two, as it's useful, but very specialist, and no-ones going to use one of their valuable 9th level spells on it unless they know they're facing something powerful but weak to it that day. Energy Drain, on the other hand, fully deserves to stay at 9th level, as level drain is one of the most hated and mechanically fiddly powers in the game, and they've been making it weaker and rarer with every edition change. Who wants to give the players access to that and have to recalculate your big bad's stats mid-battle when they use it? Once again, I approve of this message. Playtesting and revision is vital to making a game solid and functional, and ensuring rules lawyers can't turn themselves into virtual gods via unintended loopholes. (which is not to say they shouldn't be able to become gods if they work at it and get enough XP.) It's good to see these spells go through that development process, not just flung out into the world for us to cope with them on our own.
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