TSR [Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 10: Jan/Feb 1983



part 6/6



Rune Scry's code looks like a digital clock face this issue. 2^7=128 different shapes are possible, which is more than enough for every number and letter if you fudge a bit. You can easily get your message across, even if the resolution may not be enough to satisfactorily depict 8008135 yet. Have fun figuring it out.



Modules: Ahh, the days when the number of modules they'd published could be listed on a single page. Yes, for some reason, they decide to do an index of them here. Probably to encourage all the new readers to buy them. Can't buy what they don't know about, after all. Gotta Collect 'em all! only works when people believe it's an achievable goal. Not very impressed by this. Come back when there's enough that it's actually a challenge to list them all, let alone play them.



Tournament Tips Too: It's a lot of people's first tournament lately. We already had one article on running your first tournament in issue 6. It's already time for another one. There's less personal storytelling this time, instead sticking to a bullet-pointed list of tips, most of which are basic organisational ones that can be applied to setting up and advertising any event. Like a lot of the articles in the past couple of issues, it's definitely aimed at a lower level of expertise than the previous one, as they try to cater primarily to their brand new readers. Which means it's less useful and interesting to me. This is going to be a problem for a while, isn't it.



Notes from HQ: This editorial has to repeat another PSA they did a few issues ago in greater detail. Stay in school kids! Don't become so obsessed with gaming that you abandon all your other hobbies, neglect your studies and alienate your friends. Otherwise you won't be able to get a job, and'll wind up living in your parent's basement with no-one to play with, and no money to buy more gaming products. (and how will we stay in business then? ) Another result of their rapid expansion at this point. Most of the new players are on the young side, and they have to deal with that and accept that they're now role models to some degree, whether they like it or not. They already have enough problems with the satanic panic people without giving people actual good reasons to be annoyed with them. Under those circumstances, making extra effort to simplify and explain the rules and keep new products family friendly seems perfectly reasonable, even if it's somewhat irritating to read about in hindsight.



Treasure Chest and Club Membership are identical to last time, which means the last 9 pages are of no great interest. Twice the page count does not mean twice the useful content, and it was inevitable padding would slip in at some point.



The trends from last issue intensify here, with a lot of emphasis on catering to the new arrivals and keeping things PG-13. They've set up their organised play systems, and now they've got to refine them and figure out how to get people to stick to them. Then, hopefully we can have even more fun together once the new guys get a bit more experienced.

 

[(un)reason]

The game was so video gamey back then. XD

Oregon Trail is grittier and more deadly than any edition of D&D.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 1/6



32 pages. Another trip back to WW1 for the cover. Dig that practical longcoat and leather gloves, and get ready for another excursion into hostile territory. Will this issue bring glory, or a slow messy battle like the trenches below? Sound the horns and let's make another foray into ancient history.



Notes from HQ: Mary's editorial is missing, and Kim's gets moved from the back to the front. Curious. And instead of repeating what's going to be in the magazine, they turn it into a general coming soon of TSR products. That became a regular monthly thing in Dragon, so I don't feel the need to repeat everything they say here. Just rest assured they're releasing several things every month for the foreseeable future. (and I definitely miss that kind of release schedule these days.)



Letters: First up, we have someone who wants to know if they sell fantasy clothes. They come down hard on that suggestion. We don't like no fancy-dressed LARPers round these here parts. Gitchore ass outta town before we release the hounds. Ah yes, several of the high ranking TSR people had a big hate-on for LARPing, which led them to ignore that market for years. The RPGA would probably have been even bigger and more interesting if they'd catered to both live action and tabletop games. There's an alternate history it'd be cool to speculate about.

Next, we have someone complaining they don't print the ages of people in the gamers directory. I don't want to write to little kids! They don't do it for the opposite reason, because if they did, that risks it being used as a database for people looking TO correspond with kids for less savoury reasons than roleplaying. Kind of a no-win situation. Besides, writing skill and age are not hugely correlated. Give them a chance. You can have lots of fun gaming with people of widely divergent ages.

Roger Moore writes in to point out that no-one he knows plays D&D or AD&D by the book, not even Gary. Does anyone really bother with all those fiddly little rules in the DMG? Why should they? They respond with an equally lengthy reply that points out that while it may tough sometimes, they have to adhere strictly to the rules for tournament games to be fair. It's the price they pay for being able to score and rank players and DM's. You're still free to house-rule to your hearts content in your own games.

An old oft-repeated question. What does TSR stand for? It used to stand for Tactical Studies Rules, now it just stands for itself.

Finally, they ask how RPGA members can get discounts. At the moment it's only through mail order, but they're trying to create a system that'd let you show your membership card for discounts elsewhere. Another of the many bureaucratic things that are a much bigger hassle than they seem from the outside.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 2/6



The Knight-Error gets his lance sharpened. This is not an innuendo.



The Allegory of the Party: As they said last issue, one of the big things the RPGA needs to do to handle tournament scoring is to moderate and sanction problem players. And there's a lot of things people can do that while not outright game-breaking like cheating, are still irritating and disruptive to the party dynamic. This humorously demonstrates a big chunk of them, as the reckless guy who just wants to get to the fights, the whiner, the thief who steals from the other players and the random guy who does the first thing that comes to mind bicker with each other and get nothing done, while the two straight men of the party are driven to despair by the nonsense surrounding them. It's all very familiar indeed from the likes of Knights of the Dinner Table. Another reason I really don't envy the jobs of the RPGA moderators. At least when you're herding cats, they can be easily mollified with tuna and scritches. Building a team that's not only competent at the rules of the game, but all get along with each other is not an easy task, as this illustrates all too well.



Getting Started: The ultra-basic introductory articles continue from last issue with one for Dawn Patrol. What is it good for, why is it fun, how big a group should you play it with, how long should you expect a game to last. Another one that's definitely intended for brand-new readers, as people who'd been reading the newszine from the start would have picked this stuff up by osmosis even if they'd never played the game. So yeah, it's not doing anything for me. Moving on then.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 3/6



Dispel Confusion is still large and multisystem. I need to label the divisions between systems better.

D&D

What is maximum level? (36 for humans, much lower for demihumans)

My friends contradict me about how magic missile works (that's because it works differently between D&D and AD&D)

What good is remove fear? (Are you forgetting to apply morale rules to your hirelings? Are you forgetting hirelings altogether. I guess you aren't the first party, and you definitely won't be the last if future editions downplaying those rules is anything to go by.)

How are there still lycanthropes if Cure Disease is so readily available? (Your understanding of fantasy world demographics is incorrect. Oh, and we made a mistake too, so you could never have known correctly anyway.)

AD&D

The game falls apart if I use all the new stuff from Dragon! (Well what did you expect. It hasn't been properly edited and playtested like the stuff in official books. Feel free to change things to get them back under control.)

Can an enlarged monk stun bigger creatures? (It would make sense)

I thought there was no magical elfin chain, but drow have some! (It's not magical, it's just very well made.)


Boot Hill

Is strength the same as hit points (No. Wound penalties are serious business in boot hill, because it's a much grittier, more realistic game.)

Why does firing lots of shots in quick succession make it harder to hit, not easier? (Recoil. Firing those little bits of metal that fast has a serious kick to it. You'd know that if you ever shot a gun in real life.)

Dawn Patrol

If a pilot lands behind enemy lines to rescue another one, what are their odds of being captured themselves? (none in the short term. Long term, you might want to use a different system designed to handle the on ground espionage stuff. I hear TSR does one of those.)

If your engine is on fire, does it suffer any more hits after being put out? (no)

Gamma World

How do you balance mutant animals? (You don't. You give them whatever powers are cool and appropriate for their role. Balance has no place in this system!)

What does a negation bomb look like (Since it doesn't affect organic matter, probably not very impressive to our eyes. To robot ones, on the other hand…..)

What happens if you use a laser underwater? (Massively reduced range)

Gangbusters

Does a starting P.I. really have no free money? (Yup. Better get on those cases pronto before the rent comes due.)

Can a grenade make a car explode (possible but unlikely, unless it's already damaged or surrounded by other flammable things.)

How often do you check the disguise skill (Once when made, then when circumstances change. Don't overdo it.)

Star Frontiers

Can a Dralasite divide themselves? (No)

Can a dralasite fit under a door. (Only if the gap is at least 10cm. They're not even as good or fast at shapeshifting as real world octopi.)

Can a Vrusk carry other characters on it's back (Not long term, unless it wants to do itself a slipped disk. )

What are unmarked items. (Too small and light to be worth tracking encumbrance individually. Don't push your luck on this though.)

Top Secret

Who is James Pong (An 11th level character from the designers personal game. You'll need to play a long time to get as good as him.)

Can I play a mercenary or bounty hunter? (They do seem like good grounds for new classes. We might just do them in a supplement.)

How many countries is Top Secret played in (A fair number, but not as many as D&D)

I've written a Top Secret module! Will you publish it? (Possible but unlikely. The competition is pretty stiff, and you need to jump through a bunch of legal hoops.)

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 4/6



Encounters: Dawn Patrol gets this month's cover based adventure. Adventure is pushing it a bit this time, as the actual description of the scenario takes up less than 10% of the page. Most of it is devoted to our dashing young cover star, how awesome he is, and why the players should feel honoured to be supporting him and flying in the same airspace he breathes. GMPCish fluff, in other words. So this is easily the least useful of these so far, as it's only useful for one specific game, doesn't really spark any further plot hooks either, and is of a kind of writing I just find irritating in general. I'll be dealing with enough of this when I go through the 90's again. I wasn't expecting to see it this early.



Notes for the Dungeon Master: Having spent a good page ranting about the invincibility and infallibility of deities last month, Frank now gives methods to retroactively restore the status quo if your players have already engaged in some god-killing. They WILL rule supreme and there's nothing you can do! It's all very tiresome. This may have flown in the days where episodic media was the norm, but these days, we know we can change and progress huge aspects of the setting and keep the game interesting. I don't feel the need to spend more time tearing down this nonsense, so I shall move on.



Mapping from Square One pt 2: Considerably more palatable is the second part of Frank's mapping lesson, which has a whole ton of useful symbols explained for you to use. The explanations aren't numbered, which makes tracking which one belongs to which symbol a bit of a nuisance, but most of them are pretty intuitive anyway. Make your symbols simple but clearly distinct and don't try to cram too many of them into one area and you can't go too far wrong. Definitely worth checking back on this one every now and then, to make sure your designs aren't falling into a rut and using the same few building blocks over and over again.



Under Construction: Our room this month is system-free, and so could be used in any game, even a fantasy one if you want that Barrier Peaks style fun. Actually, it's a three room crashed space shuttle, filled with lots of high tech gadgetry, and also an extremely fast-growing and dangerous fungus that'll spread through your world like a plague now the place has been unsealed unless you destroy it pretty quickly. So this could be just a single encounter that nets you some quirky treasure, or a plot hook driving a whole campaign, depending how tough and adaptable you want to make that fungus. That's the way to make this useful for lots of games across multiple systems. I definitely approve of this one.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 5/6



Spelling Bee: Now, if anyone's going to be able to stop a fungus that defeated the most advanced technological countermeasures, it's druids. So this column being devoted to druid spells is a pleasing bit of serendipity. Druids are nearly as good at curing as regular clerics, and their elemental connections also mean they're better at blasting stuff, especially at low level. Their main limitation is the need for regular supplies of mistletoe, which means they can't delve too deep into the dungeon for too long, even if they can create food and water for the party. But in the wilderness, they can be both excellent combatants, and sneaky tricksters solving problems in clever ways. This is another handy one to check back on, as it's tactical advice for spells remains true in most other editions of D&D too. Don't underestimate the nature guys.



Escalation and Blackmail: Gary's been playing D&D longer than anyone, so he knows the difference between a character that started at 1st level and gained every XP and magic item the hard way, and one that was handed all their cool stuff on a plate or created at a higher level. Don't let them have power they haven't properly earned, and remember you can always take it away. On the other hand, remember that you can always walk away from a game if it ceases to be fun, both as a DM or a player. Getting so attached to your party or world that you can be blackmailed over the ingame events shows an unhealthy relationship with fantasy over reality. Basically, what this boils down to is learning the right amount of delayed gratification. If you give players everything they demand straight away, they'll get bored or you'll hit the point where the system breaks down quickly, and you won't actually have as much fun in the long run. This is all pretty sensible advice, learned from hard experience, even if Gary sometimes presents it in a rather hyperbolic way. I guess that just adds to the fun, really.



Tournament Scoring System Pt 2: This continues from last issue with the actual rating forms, which have 12 scoring categories for the DM and 7 for the players, rated out of 10, each with different weighting to determine how they contribute to the final score. Once it's all totalled up, you could add up to 500 points to your profile if you had a perfect score in every category. Anyone who consistently goes to more than one or two cons a year will have no problem racking up 5 figure scores over the course of a decade. If they don't reset the whole thing next staff turnover or edition change, anyway. As with all of these long term things they're setting up, we shall see what works, what crashes and dies, and what mutates into an unrecognisable form through incremental changes over the years.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 11: Mar/Apr 1983



part 6/6



Computer Game Reviews: Ah yes, another of TSR's attempts to diversify and add more merch to their range. The technology really isn't there to properly recreate the dungeoncrawling experience yet, and these little handheld devices look exceedingly primitive and clunky. They can't even show the dragon properly, instead having an invisible assailant that you need to guess the moves of. It's no wonder that the USA computer market crashed with companies shovelling out cheap little things like this (which are actually not that cheap, especially when you factor inflation in), instead of building a system that plays multiple games and has the core processing systems to do them all justice. I definitely have no desire to hunt down one of these on ebay and replay them.



Modules has the same contents as last issue, but somewhat better formatted and has been erratad. All the better to plan what to throw at them next once they've finished the current one. Muahaha.



White Rabbits: In another attempt to grow their userbase, they encourage public libraries to write to them, and they'll send them free basic sets. I recall that this doesn't work out too well, due to a combination of the dice going missing, and an unusually high level of the books not being returned making them difficult to keep in stock, and most stopped trying pretty quickly. This is the trouble when your primary audience is teenage boys. At least they tried.



Rune Scry is carved on a blade this time. Can you figure out what it will be most effective at slicing?



Treasure Chest: They add some more items to the gift catalogue this issue. Doc's Island shows your high level party what happens next once you've got a phoenix egg. If you're just starting out, Rahasia will inject a little more plot and characterisation into your adventures than the old Keep on the Borderlands. And if you're racking up the modules, get a nice slipcase to store them in, safe and organised.



Still a fair few articles aimed at absolute beginners this issue, but less than last time, as they build on those introductory pieces and add to them. Given a few more in the same series, they'll work their way back to complexity again. Let's keep this organisation growing, because having to reexplain yourself to newbies repeatedly is better than slowly withering away for lack of them.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 12: May/Jun 1983



part 1/6



32 pages. A different genre of aerial dogfighting from last issue's cover, as a pegasus and rider try to hit the weak spot on a dragon with a lance. They might just be onto something with that idea. Let's see if there are any good clues to the development of RPG history inside.



From the Publisher: Our new management continue to make incremental changes every issue. You'll notice straight away that they've slightly increased the font size this time, slightly reducing the amount of content they need to fill the pages, but also making things look cleaner and easier to read. Just as important though, are the behind the scenes ones. They've moved Polyhedron to a different division of the company, so they can work more closely with their other periodicals, and enjoy the benefits of using experienced specialists on both. Weirdly enough, this actually moves them to a lower level of "officialness" though. Their pronouncements about the rules no longer carry the same weight as Gary's. (although technically, as company president, he could have contradicted them at any time anyway and had precedent. ) As they grow, the company hierarchy becomes increasingly complex and stratified, which may cause problems down the line. But for now, it's all upwards and onwards, as membership grows exponentially.



From the Editor: Mary follows on from Kim, talking about the same changes, but from her perspective. The reason they can change things this fast is because they support each other's ideas, and encourage each other to do do more, and better. Which is how collaboration ought to work. Everyone brings their own skillsets and ideas, and together you accomplish more than the sum of your parts. If you also get to joke with each other and affectionately take the piss in the process, that's even better. Sounds like they're finding ways to keep their jobs fun, which is good.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 12: May/Jun 1983



part 2/6



Letters: Our first letter asks what good a membership card is. You need it to get those discounts at conventions. What, did you think they'd just take your word for it?!

Second we have a request for group memberships. They have club memberships, which is almost the same thing. They're considering adding a lower tier, so groups smaller than 12 can enjoy at least some extra benefits. Or you could put the extra effort in to recruit a few more people and start your own club now.

Then we have to deal with the removal of the cthulhu mythos from repeat printings of Deities & Demigods. They didn't get in trouble for it, but thought they might in the future, so better safe than sorry.

Fouthly, we have to deal with the hassle of people sending letters to the wrong department. They have been doing a lot of reorganising recently, so it's quite reasonable if you aren't up to date with the latest addresses.

Fifthly, someone asks if monsters sent in can become official D&D ones. It's possible, but unlikely, as new monsters are one of the most common things submitted to them. The competition is fierce. (as are most of the monsters.)

A letter from someone who's seen the top prize for the membership drive, and asks if they can buy it. I believe that's called bribery, which is generally considered cheating. It'd have to be a pretty big bribe to beat the long term membership fees of all the people the top recruiters recruited anyway. Don't be lazy, go out and earn that top spot the proper way.

A request for reprints. Nope. Waste of money. You snoozed, you lose. At least until you can get all the issues for free on the internet, which won't be for a looong time.

Someone asking what kind of material they accept. As long as it's good for gaming, they'll consider it. Maybe not for very long, but they'll consider it.

And finally, someone complaining why Polyhedron gives you far less for your buck than Dragon. Economies of scale. It has more than 10 times the readership. Get more people to join the RPGA to fix this, and join with the multi-year subscriptions, as those will cost you less per month in the long run.



The Knight-Error strikes out trying to seduce an elf. You'll never get over the age gap.