Let's read the entire run

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 198: October 1993


part 5/6


Soul-swords & Spirit-slayers: Back to 1e for the first time in a while for another oriental flavoured article. Like the Al Qadim article, this has an interesting mix of ideas, giving you some nicely flavourful alternate uses for your honor points. You can gamble your honor in crafting an item, or invest part of your soul to make it permanently magical. However the mathematics on this one are rather iffy, especially since AD&D nonweapon proficiencies are roll low anyway, so the system they use for determining success simply doesn't work. This means I'm really not sure what to make of this one, as I want to like it, but it'll need ripping apart and reworking before actually using. Rather a pain, really.

Kamigoroshi are also a fascinating idea, but a bit of a headache mechanically. A monster that survives by consuming honor points? That raises the question of exactly what they represent. How can a monster absorb the degree of esteem others hold you in? I suppose it's magic, you shouldn't think about it too hard or it unravels. But combine that with the fact that they have no actual damage inflicting powers, and are perfectly vulnerable to normal weapons, and they become like rust monsters, an irritant that will wind up being killed fairly easily, it's merely a question of how much you'll lose in the process. That's a bit wonky in actual play. I think this makes this article qualify as a failed experiment, albeit an interesting one.


Novel ideas: A real bit of showing off this month, as they celebrate their hardcover releases. It's a step towards being Serious Literature, something that will endure for the ages. Or something like that. There are worse things to aspire too, even if it can be funny to see people trying too hard, I can't say I wouldn't want to be in their position, able to write and publish multiple bestselling hardcover books every year. Drizzt continues to go from strength to strength. And my god P. N. Elrod is having way too much fun with the Strahd gig. We must get inside the heads of these dark sexy brooding vampires. And I must force my husband to cosplay as him! She's basically just a squeeing pervy fangirl made good, isn't she. What are we to do with her? Aw hell, let's just rake in lots of money and keep the angst purely IC for a change. This one's just too much fun to dislike, even if it is basically just promotion.


Fiction: The dark warrens by Lois Tilton: An interesting spin on I am Legend this month. In a world where vampires are supreme, the few remaining free humans are a primitive and ignorant bunch, struggling to survive and stay free against creatures smarter and more powerful than them. Some people are immune to being turned, and obviously as the years have gone by, this proportion has grown simply due to the intensity of the vampire depredations. This kind of info is presented in a textbook example of show not tell, which lets you figure out a good deal about the setting and metaphysics without spelling it out via heavy exposition. It's pretty good gaming inspiration too, giving me an idea of how to combine horror with Dark Sun-esque survivalist struggles. Horror really can be a spice that mixes well with all sorts of other genres. And as long as they have stuff like this, that popularity will be justly maintained.


Swordplay is distracted by internal monologuing. Ogrek gets joe out while the drow are distracted by searching for the vampire's weakness. Dragonmirth gets in on the horror theme. Twilight war'll need to do some fast talking to say everything it needs to say while fighting. Maybe they should take lessons from Wolverine.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Dragon Magazine Issue 198: October 1993
Fiction: The dark warrens by Lois Tilton: An interesting spin on I am Legend this month. In a world where vampires are supreme, the few remaining free humans are a primitive and ignorant bunch, struggling to survive and stay free against creatures smarter and more powerful than them. Some people are immune to being turned, and obviously as the years have gone by, this proportion has grown simply due to the intensity of the vampire depredations.

I never have understood the 'Vampires win' scenario. If there are only Vampires left (with a scattering of Humans) what the heck do they use to remain undead? Unless they can survive by drinking the blood of other creatures (OMG, Vampire Bunnies!!!), the population numbers should correct themselves reasonably quickly. That's the problem with sentient kill-em-or-turn-em-into-us predators.

 

[jonesy]

I never have understood the 'Vampires win' scenario. If there are only Vampires left (with a scattering of Humans) what the heck do they use to remain undead? Unless they can survive by drinking the blood of other creatures (OMG, Vampire Bunnies!!!), the population numbers should correct themselves reasonably quickly. That's the problem with sentient kill-em-or-turn-em-into-us predators.

Depends on the flavour of vampire. Some do eat animal blood. Some don't need blood at all, but the thirst eventually drives them mad. Some have it under control. Some get scientific and invent fake blood to suck on.

 

[humble minion]

I never have understood the 'Vampires win' scenario. If there are only Vampires left (with a scattering of Humans) what the heck do they use to remain undead? Unless they can survive by drinking the blood of other creatures (OMG, Vampire Bunnies!!!), the population numbers should correct themselves reasonably quickly. That's the problem with sentient kill-em-or-turn-em-into-us predators.

I've always liked (from a gaming point of view!) the idea of human farms to deal with this problem. I assume the vampires would reduce the humans to the level of cattle - keeping them ignorant, starving and naked in pits, breeding them relentlessly until the women die of exhaustion, probably tearing out their tongues to limit their ability to organise and rebel. Feeding them minimally on a gruel of whatever crops their slave-labour can raise, and occasionally on the chopped-up drained bodies of their fellows when a hungry vampire gets a bit too carried away with dinner.

You don't have to be all that creative to come up with some memorably horrible stuff once you've started down that train of thought.

 

[Orius]

I never have understood the 'Vampires win' scenario. If there are only Vampires left (with a scattering of Humans) what the heck do they use to remain undead?

That's because vampire fans are silly poseurs, and wish they were vampires, at least that's how I see it. Me, I have no illusions about vampire greatness, they exist only to be staked, their mouths stuffed full of eucharistic wafers and garlic, decapitated, and dumped into a deep, fast-running river at high noon.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 198: October 1993


part 6/6


Through the looking glass: Things go from bad to worse in the minis section. The lead bill has ground through committee at last in new york, and lots of states are considering following suit. The combination of increased prices and general uncertainty amongst both retailers and public has really done a number on sales, which means the companies have shortages of money and are likely to cancel entire lines to try and survive. This really is the straw that breaks wargaming's back, isn't it. It fought on gamely through the 80's, still getting plenty of promotion at the conventions despite dropping sales, but now it's withering away, a whole bunch of factors simultaneously conspiring against it and draining the enthusiasm of everyone remaining still trying to treat this as an industry rather than a hobby. This also probably helps explain why games workshop ended up on top. As a brit based company, this chaos would have had less impact upon them, putting them in a good position to scavenge off the remains and consolidate their own position. Well, it sounds like a good bit of theorising. Anyone want to talk a bit more about the realities of the next few years in wargaming, since detailed info probably won't be forthcoming in the magazine?

But anyway, lets see what minis he's dug up this month. A mysterious cloaked, winged figure to haunt your dreams. A dragon with another mysterious cowled figure riding it, which wouldn't be at all out of place in Tolkien's setup. A diorama of adventurers discovering a treasure chest. This is not without it's dangers. A huge, oddly mawed worm bursting from the ground. A trio of hunched over ghouls, one with a natty hat. Two sets of three skeletal undead, with rather impressive weapons. Death on a Motorcycle, as we've seen on heavy metal album covers and will see parodied soon in the Discworld. Some nicely dressed muthafunkin tremere, ready to cast spells, drink blood, and look really sharp while doing so. And a set of 4 minis representing a wolfwere in it's myriad forms, from TSR's official line. Keep the ones you're not using hidden, so you don't spoil the surprise.


TSR Previews: The forgotten realms comes out looking good again. FRS1: The dalelands gives you some more info to help you adventure close to where Elminster can hear your cries of agony. A whole bunch of little independent states is perfect grounds for you to take one over if you're feeling evil as well. There's also Pool of Twilight by Jim Ward and Anne Brown. Once again, they try and recapture the magic of their famous mixed gender writing teams. See yet another generation of heroes come into play, possibly prematurely in this case. Oh well, child heroes are a well established fantasy trope. No reason D&D can't do them.

Al-Qadim expands upon genies in ALQ4: Secrets of the lamp. Now that's one that makes perfect sense, and will probably get pretty good sales. You can even get to adventure in the city of brass, although not in as much detail as 3e. Sweet.

Dragonlance is still busy, but less constructively. Leaves from the inn of last home gets reprinted, which I really don't think is worth the promotional space unless they've made some revisions and additions as well. And The Dwarven Kingdoms get a boxed set, tying in with their latest trilogy. Go them.

In Dark Sun, on the other hand, it's the elves that are getting another splatbook in DSS3. They're quite different from generic elves, and their kits and equipment reflects that. Watch them like a hawk, or they'll have your equipment too.

Lankhmar returns after a years gap. City of Lankhmar appears to be a reboot of sorts, giving us a new core. Seems like this is their only setting not being driven onwards by metaplot and timeline advances.

Our Generic product this month is another historical one HR5: The glory of rome. Combine with the Celts one for extra conquering and oppressing fun.

Gamma World has another adventure. GWQ3: Home before the sky falls. Ancient robot war machines have been reactivated. Sounds like this could require some gamma knights. That or discretion and finding a weak point. The usual adventurer dilemma then.


As is often the case with the october issues, the familiar and popular theme means they get lots of high quality articles in to choose from, giving us a fairly strong issue overall. Combine that with Sandy Petersen contributing two full-on classic articles on top of everything else, and this is a real home run even though the overall quality of the magazine is sliding. It makes their accomplishments feel all the more heroic, in a way, because things are becoming a genuine challenge again. A bit of fear and tension is just what the doctor ordered.

 

[(un)reason]

I've always liked (from a gaming point of view!) the idea of human farms to deal with this problem. I assume the vampires would reduce the humans to the level of cattle - keeping them ignorant, starving and naked in pits, breeding them relentlessly until the women die of exhaustion, probably tearing out their tongues to limit their ability to organise and rebel. Feeding them minimally on a gruel of whatever crops their slave-labour can raise, and occasionally on the chopped-up drained bodies of their fellows when a hungry vampire gets a bit too carried away with dinner.

You don't have to be all that creative to come up with some memorably horrible stuff once you've started down that train of thought.

To quote the master in buffy: Mass production! And diablerie, of course. Nothing like eating a few subordinates every now and then to keep the rest in line.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

I've always liked (from a gaming point of view!) the idea of human farms to deal with this problem. I assume the vampires would reduce the humans to the level of cattle - keeping them ignorant, starving and naked in pits, breeding them relentlessly until the women die of exhaustion, probably tearing out their tongues to limit their ability to organise and rebel. Feeding them minimally on a gruel of whatever crops their slave-labour can raise, and occasionally on the chopped-up drained bodies of their fellows when a hungry vampire gets a bit too carried away with dinner.

You don't have to be all that creative to come up with some memorably horrible stuff once you've started down that train of thought.

I quite agree, but how often do you actually see anything like this? Too much of Vampire fans wanting their cake and eating it too. (Or drinking it? )

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 199: November 1993


part 1/8


124 pages. It's blatant sadism time, with monsters being this issue's special theme. Like Magic, this is almost ridiculously broad a topic, that they really ought to focus a little more finely so as to reduce the frequency with which they repeat themselves. Guess they can only control what they get so much. Have the freelancers sent in some good stuff, or will we have to rely entirely on the staff writers again? Another day, another issue to fill.


In this issue:


Letters: A letter from someone amused to see a baffled boyfriend dragged along to game night for a change. Statistically, it had to happen at some point.

A letter from someone wondering what happened to Rillifane in monster mythology. We've already sorted that out. Twice. Let's hope the back issues are still available.

Another person who wants Roman stuff. By no co-incidence, they have a sourcebook out, oh, round about now. Gotta collect 'em all!

A request for the addresses of some other gaming companies. This is no trouble for them to fix.

A question about their old products from the 70's. This proves a little trickier. Their record keeping was apparently not the greatest in the early years of TSR. It's no wonder they keep getting dates wrong and forgetting old products.

And finally, a question asking what happened to Judges Guild. They died, but many of their properties live on! Don't hesitate to pursue the new editions. (even if they might suck compared to the old stuff)


Editorial: So the day has finally come for Rogar of Mooria to seek out new adventures. He's being promoted from mere editor to the title of Product Group Leader. A pretentious corporatespeak title that translates as guy who bosses around and co-ordinates the developers for all the different AD&D campaign worlds. (At least, that's what it looks like) Which means he'd like to thank all the people that helped him make the magazine as good as it could be over the last 7 years. Mwah, mwah, you're all stars in your own way. It's all pretty short and predictable for this kind of departure. What he does not say though, is who is replacing him. And flicking back to the contents page, it's Kim again! Weird. Well, I suppose he did leave the company for a few years to go off gallivanting with Gary. That probably set him back a few rungs on the career ladder when he did return to TSR. So it's quite possibly going to be all change again in the next few months. And they've already lost quite a few columns recently. Guess it's going to be interesting times again until they get a new pattern down. And the editing may suffer in the meantime. Still, at least it's not abrupt chaos like Kim's original departure. I guess we'll have to wait for TSR's collapse for some of that action.


Opening the book of beasts: David Howery once again shows us that bad artists imitate, while great ones steal. Fresh and tanned from exploring africa, he heads back to medieval europe, and discovers that there's still a surprising number of creatures unconverted from there. Plus of course, there's the many mythological distortions of real world animals, created by imaginative naturalists with little real world experience of their subjects, and chinese whispers descriptions of African animals. Those are almost completely lacking from D&D, pushed out by the soppy revisionist witterings of PETA girl. Making even the mundane creatures fantastical would help reinforce the game against those tedious stickers for realism in fantasy as well. And I approve of both these objectives. On top of the alterations to existing creatures both real and magical, there's several new ones too.

Calopus are horned pumas, making them fairly versatile in terms of attack mode, but not actually much more scary than regular big cats. Still, it'll make the adventurers wonder and maybe get paranoid, which is usually pretty fun.

Monocerus are somewhere between the magical unicorn, and the mundane rhino in appearance and behaviour. They do have some weird quirks, and are pretty much impossible to tame, which means they won't be studied easily either. Best to just drive them to extinction then.

Sea Orcs are presumably drawn from sightings of killer whales, aka orcas. They're described as being more like crocodiles, but you know how these things change via chinese whispers. In any case, they're big, somewhat intelligent, and quite capable of smashing your little boat and gobbling up the party.

Sea monks & bishops are curiously benevolent creatures, living in small enclaves under the sea. Since they do all have fairly substantial clerical powers, getting on their good side can result in much needed healing during adventures underwater.

Serra are giant fishes that use their upper fins like sails to travel at high speed on the surface and slice straight through your boat. Even Jaws was never that awesome. The kind of thing you include just to see the looks on the players faces when they pull their signature move. It's no wonder sailors were a superstitious lot who got drunk and blew their money first chance they got. The sea has a lot to be afraid of.

Yale have appeared here before, in issue 101's creature catalog. And from the looks of them, David remembers this, as the stats are virtually identical apart from being converted to 2e. I quite approve, and hope Greg Detwiler won't mind this uncredited recycling either.

Bestiary Dragons are based on those long, snaky, frequently poisonous western ones that kill by constriction more often than they do by bite. Whether they have any magical abilities on top of that is up to you. As the legends show, spiky armor may well be a lifesaver. Just because you're adventuring in traditional lands, doesn't mean you won't profit from using your brain to solve problems. I think this is a pretty good little milieu opener.

 

[(un)reason]

I quite agree, but how often do you actually see anything like this? Too much of Vampire fans wanting their cake and eating it too. (Or drinking it? )

In V:tM, it seemed like the Tzimisce got more of that kind of imaginativeness than the other clans put together, with the Tremere coming a distant second. Vicissitude! It's not just a special power, it's an entire lifestyle and associated subculture.