TSR [Let's Read] Polyhedron/Dungeon

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 27: Nov/Dec 1985



part 2/6



The Thorinson Clan: Our cover image is once again a collection of NPC's without a particular plotline attached to them. It's also another demonstration of how to differentiate characters when they're mechanically very similar, as every one of these 5 is a dwarf fighter of medium level, not even a multiclass mixed in for variety. So the emphasis has to be on their backstories and personalities. Thankfully these are pretty decent, spinning a saga of a dysfunctional family tree. The father and mother, the favoured son, the black sheep, and the illegitimate grandchild none of them knew about until recently. And thanks to the long lifespans of dwarves, they could probably add several more links to that family tree before the top ones start dropping off. As with the ogres, this is pretty interesting reading, even if it does make me long for 2e and the introduction of kits to give them a bit more variety mechanically. You can definitely get a fair bit of use out of them over the course of a campaign.



She-Rampage: Our first Marvel scenario in here put 2 characters up against each other. The second racked that up to 4. This pits a full 6 heroes against the bad guy's minions. Keep on like this and you'll be up to Infinity Wars levels of escalation within a few years. 5 established marvel heroines, plus a superpowered self-insert of this fine publication's editor meet up to deal with fake images of themselves appearing in a girlie magazine …… with extreme prejudice. As this is the marvel universe, it turns out they're not just dealing with your basic drooling sexists, but interdimensional sexists with rocket boots, power armor and lasers who are part of a nefarious conspiracy to make the entire multiverse more sexist. Which to be honest is probably not even the strangest thing they've fought this month. So this is simultaneously very dated in some ways, and still all too relevant in others. The internet age has made porn and photoshopped images so common that hardly anyone's going to get worked up about a few fake nudes, but even the mightiest hero can be socially pwned online by a trolling noobmeister posting a particularly cutting meme, (except maybe Vision and a few of the more powerful reality-warpers) and even if they hunt down one troll IRL it's not going to stop the mockery. If anything, the Streisssand effect may make whatever they were trying to get rid of more widely seen. Sexism is still alive and kicking despite both grass-roots efforts and legislation. No amount of heroic asskicking will solve large-scale structural inequalities. But just maybe, we can get some light relief by playing make believe in a better world, and that'll give us strength to keep on trying to improve this one.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 27: Nov/Dec 1985



part 3/6



Fletcher's Corner: This column tackles another topic that's shown up over and over again. Problem players. No matter the system, no matter the era, this is always going to be relevant. The specific types of problem players he picks are slightly unusual though. People who know all the rules and monster stats, and always have the optimal response to every challenge?! By the time we get to the 3e era that's just normal, at least for people who read forums regularly. I suppose that illustrates how gaming culture has changed a fair bit over the decades, and technological advancement has made it much easier to have all the information casually at your fingertips. What's normal and what's a problem is entirely subjective on the group, and how they want to play the game.

The other group he singles out is also a bit unusual. People who try to micromanage the entire group. While I accept that too much of that is a problem, the opposite, where everyone in the group creates their characters in a vacuum and does whatever they want in battle without consideration for the group, is worse. That way lies blundering into traps, getting into unneeded fights because one impulsive jackass leapt to the attack instead of talking, and catching other PC's in your AoE blasts. You do need to discuss character builds and tactics with the other players, but you also need to accept that you'll have to listen to other's opinions and compromise, because one person can't order around all the rest even if their mastery of the rules is superior. So what I thought was going to be timeless advice actually turns out to be pretty dated, which shows how much the average player has increased in system mastery over the decades, and that the bar where you'll be stigmatised for being too nerdy even for a hobby packed with nerds has been raised by a fair amount. The kind of change you don't notice unless you have something to contrast it against.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 27: Nov/Dec 1985



part 4/6



Alignment Theory: Another nerdy one in quick succession, as we do a bit of set theory. In original D&D there was only Law & Chaos, which were frequently conflated with good and evil. So when the actual Good/Evil axis was introduced there was a tendency to see Lawful Good and Chaotic Evil as super good and super evil, the most extreme ends of the spectrum. This is not the case, the two axes are entirely independent, and you can move in one or the other independently based on your actions. The question is, how far can a neutral lean in one direction or another before they actually register as that alignment? Are they roughly equal divisions, or is true neutrality precarious and requires constant effort to do a balanced number of good and evil actions? Are partially neutrals a balancing force, or just so obsessed with one alignment descriptor as to make the other one irrelevant? While this does give some opinions on these questions, it's really just to get you thinking about them, as what alignment means can vary from campaign to campaign, and be debated endlessly. It's not the first word, and it definitely won't be the last, but it's more solid on a mathematical level than most, so I approve of it overall.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 27: Nov/Dec 1985



part 5/6



Dispel Confusion is entirely devoted to Star Frontiers questions this time around, most unusually.

Are you going to do any more modules featuring the Eorna? (not unless the line sells a lot more than it is now. )

What are the stats for the K'tsa-Kar system? (oops. Here you go.)

Does a rocket pack help you reorient in space combat (no more than any other method of propulsion)

Can I make my own computer program if I have the skills? (Like new magic items in D&D, you need GM approval for everything.)

How good are Sathar at repairing? (the slightly better option)

I want to know the history of the setting! (Buy Zebulon's Guide! :teeth ting

Does having more spaceship skills let you charge extra? (yes)

Can you upgrade a computer program? (Yes, but it usually costs as much as buying a whole new one, just like reality)

Why is the frontier map two-dimensional? (Because you couldn't handle the complexity of real space navigation. YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT MAN!!!!)



Gamma Mars: Following on from last issue, they give us a whole load of new martian monsters here. As with last issue, the martian creatures are noticeably less gonzo and more focussed in what special powers they have, as there isn't the same degree of radiation to cause random mutations. This is not to say they aren't dangerous, especially when they work together, as some of them have been selectively bred by the native martians to help them exterminate the human invaders. The result is a collection of creatures that are individually weak, but very dangerous collectively, as they enhance each other and provide a whole load of extra tricks to their creators. You're definitely intended to play these in a Tuckers Kobold's style, harrying, tricking and trapping the PC's to wear them down rather than facing them in a fair fight. Better hope they've figured out some inventive ways to use their own mutations in response. This series is turning out pretty well.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 27: Nov/Dec 1985



part 6/6



Review: This column once again picks only the best, giving us a positive review of Pendragon. It's easy to start, but not so much to finish, as it's designed so a campaign will take several years of real time, and multiple generations of game time. For that reason, he does not recommend using it as someone's first RPG. They'll need a stable group and to build up their stamina first if they don't want to crash out before Arthur even becomes king. Similarly, he recommends allowing the PC's to actually participate in the big metaplot events like the Grail hunt, not just watch from the sidelines while awesome GMPC's have all the fun. You'll just have to make more stuff up on your own if they manage to alter history. But despite those minor flaws, it still looks good, has rules which are well organised and well thought out to support the intended playstyle, and is packed with interesting setting details while still having plenty of room for further expansions. It was recommended then, and remains so now.



Another strong set of articles concludes what has easily been their best year so far, packed full of stuff that's still useful for games today. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as it was pretty much the peak of AD&D's popularity in general. Let's head into next year, and see how Gary's ousting and the corresponding upper management chaos affects this part of the company. Will it be business as usual for the RPGA, or half-assed filler and protests? Let's get through that tiresome auld lang syne business and keep going.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 28: Jan/Feb 1986



part 1/5



28 pages. Oooh. A flying adventure, eh? Dragon had a couple of flying themed issues (124 & 244) and they turned out pretty well. I'm pleased but not surprised that they'd do the same here at some point, as the sky is always waiting quiet and pale to inspire us from the moment we leave the womb. Let's see if this issue is immensely marvellous, or the kind of slackness & softness we ought to shun.



Notes From HQ: Another round of things they haven't got around too yet in the editorial. They're still wrestling with bugs in their computer database, which is a little worrisome considering how many months it's been going on. You'd think they'd have either got the hang of it or given up to try a different system by now. But they're still plugging away on getting their scoring system working smoothly and caught up with all the data from new tournaments (over half a dozen every month, even in off season), and slowly building the framework for their new city. (which includes all the tedious legal ass-covering.) The eternal bureaucratic war rages on.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 28: Jan/Feb 1986



part 2/5



Adventure Among the Clouds: Our cover article goes all Jack and the Beanstalk. Your characters are in a fantasy world, so why not make it properly fantastical, with solid clouds and things living on them? It means once you get to a level where your characters have easy access to flight powers, they can't just cheese most encounters by soaring above them and using missile weapons, as there's plenty of things up there to bump into and challenge you appropriately. It would also explain how cloud and storm giants can maintain viable breeding populations without dominating the earthly ecology and making humanity a minor species - they grow their own giant plants up there. It's like going to another plane of existence, only not quite as difficult or dangerous. Indeed, the whole tone of this article is very much planes-lite, right down to the lengthy description of how spells work differently up there, and a surprisingly strong focus on the physics and ecology of how cloud islands grow, shrink and move with the weather. So this isn't as over the top fantastical as it could be, but it's still a pretty interesting read that opens up another terrain for adventuring in. Just needs a bit more elaboration to fill it with actual scenarios. If you want something a bit more modern and high-flying in it's treatment, check out 13th age, which makes it's cloud overworld into a significant part of the setting rather than a tacked-on afterthought to gate away high level encounters.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 28: Jan/Feb 1986



part 3/5



The Great Bugbear Hunt: After showing us the clouds, our actual adventure is ironically the type of wilderness one that would be over much quicker if they just flew over big chunks of it. Frank Mentzer gives us another 16 page tournament module that takes up more than half the issue. Thankfully it's neither as silly or as linear as Needle was, instead sending the PCs into a particularly mazy and monster infested bit of woods to recover a stolen spellbook. There are indeed not only bugbears there, but regular bears, werebears, and a druid powerful enough to turn into a bear as well. Many of the encounters are not hostile unless provoked, so it'll reward players who don't just hack and slash through everything, but try sneaking and diplomacy instead. This is a cool sandbox that could be completed in a single setting if the PC's are lucky (it'd kinda have to be given it's tournament origins), but could also be strung out over several if they want to really explore every nook and cranny and clear the place out. This is one I'd have absolutely no problem using in a regular campaign.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 28: Jan/Feb 1986



part 4/5



The Specialist Mage: Well, this is a turnup for the books. Jon Pickens introduces another thing that would become core next edition, and stick around in all the subsequent ones too. We never saw this in Dragon, and it's very pleasing that I get to trace another thread of history back to it's relatively obscure genesis here. Even more interestingly, the mechanics are not the same as 2e specialists. While some elements are the same, like gaining a bonus to learning spells of your specialty and a penalty to the rest, they don't have the forbidden school wheel, instead imposing increasing xp penalties if your ratio of specialty spells to other ones drops below a certain level. (which is a bookkeeping nuisance for PC's, but isn't a restriction at all if you've already reached max level for your race) Overall, I think this implementation is more annoyance than benefit, and can definitely see why they changed it for wider publication. It's good to give things several years of playtesting so you can experiment with different approaches and iron out the kinks.

Along with the general principles, they give lots of new spells for the school that needs it most, the Necromancer. If you're going to make specialists a thing, you need to make sure they have several spells of their specialty to choose from every single spell level. Mildly irritatingly, only two of these will make it into the 2e corebook, which means 2e necromancers once again struggle with a lack of low level spells unless you buy a load of supplements (or just the complete necromancer's handbook ) So this is cool and historically significant, but also very much unfinished work. You still have a long way to go to make all the various types of specialist wizards both well differentiated and well balanced.

 

[(un)reason]

Polyhedron Issue 28: Jan/Feb 1986



part 5/5



Fletcher's Corner: This column fails to co-ordinate with their other departments, and returns to a topic they did only 3 issues ago - how to be a good GM in a tournament game. However, while that was focussed more on how to run a good individual game, this also looks at the logistics of creating a whole tournament from scratch, writing your own multi-part adventure to run the teams through, and getting enough players and GM's to run the whole thing. Which is a considerably longer and more challenging process than reading a preprepared module and sitting down to run it for 4 hours, then filling in a few forms, before grabbing some food and doing it all again for the next round. Unsurprisingly, the thing that comes up over and over again is to prepare in advance. Always prepare more than you think you will need, because the stress you'll be under if you try to wing it will be quite considerable. Make sure the modules aren't finished the night before (pointedly not looking at you, TSR staff writers), make sure you get them to the prospective judges soon enough that they have time to prepare too, make sure there are enough of them and make sure the space you're running the games in is big enough to accommodate all this. It's a bit repetitive, but you really do need to hammer that point home. So not a fun read, but a helpful one.



A curious issue, as there's much fewer articles than usual, but they're unusually long and significant. So it was interesting to read about, but I struggled to find as much to write about it as usual. Oh well, if that keeps up, maybe we can get through this a bit faster than I originally anticipated. Let's see if it's a trend or just another outlier.