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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8979227" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 135: April 1999part 2/5Member Spotlight: Databases are apparently a big deal at the moment on both sides of the pond, as they put the spotlight on David Papay, the guy who runs the Living City one. Mildly surprised they don't use the same one for the UK and USA branches but I guess they can get quicker response times this way. He's been part of the RPGA since 1982 and was personally recruited by Frank Mentzer, making him one of the very earliest members. Despite this, he only started playing Living City in 1994 and doing the database work in '96. If anything, he plays more Dragon Dice than D&D, as that feels less like a job these days. You've got to be careful not to overdo a hobby by turning it into a job and burn out on it. Another reason why the RPGA should keep on supporting other games even if the number of people playing them is only a small fraction of D&D. It keeps them from leaving entirely when they need a break and they're more likely to come back later if they're still playing in the same social circles.Internet 101: This column gets in theme, giving us a bunch of links focussed on cults. They're not going to comment on the big religions, but the little ones, particularly ones like Heaven's Gate that have already imploded are fair game. How to identify a cult, the usual techniques they employ to get people to join up and stick around, the ways they can go horribly wrong. (in ways that are good for an adventure) As usual, only 2 of the 8 links are still functional now, the rest being long gone, or in one case converted into domain parking redirecting to a dating site. Another one that's far less useful today than it was at the time then. You'll have to google some fresh links if you want to find out about the state in the art in religious kookery.Elminster's Everwinking Eye: Our alphabetical tour reaches the city of Myrinjar. This is definitely on the more tyrannical end of things, controlled by a pair of powerful wizards who use their magic to inflict inventively horrible fates on people who dispute their rule. (or simply don't pay the high taxes they use to fund their research.) Random scrying, sending dream visions en masse when they want to send a message to everyone in the city, transforming transgressors into monsters and setting them to guard places, it sounds like a pretty high stress place to live. Definitely one that could do with a group of wandering adventurers to set things right, preferably one who recognise that a lot of the challenges they'll encounter on their way hate their masters and will be very pleased if you turn them back and let them join in the revolution. Stock up on your dispels and divination counters if you want to win the day. Another good example of what happens if you let high level evil spellcasters go unchecked and give them time to build up a big stash of magic items and contingencies. Eventually they'll screw up an experiment in the pursuit of ever more power and blow themselves up, going by the cycles of history in the Realms, but that's small comfort to the people caught in their rule for centuries and then blown up along with the rest of the country. Very much business as usual for a high magic setting then, which does at least make for plenty of adventure opportunities for characters of all levels. I can easily see how this could be expanded out into a full hundred-odd page sourcebook/adventure, like many of these entries.</blockquote>

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