Let's read the entire run

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 215: March 1995


part 5/8


Fiction: Where thingies rush in by J Robert King. April comes early in the fiction department, with a thoroughly ridiculous and punsome little story. Stealing the piked head of an archmage to give your podunk town more prestige? People have come up with dumber plots when drunk, I suppose. With a whole load of footnotes, and some fast paced comical action, this is quite amusing, has a clever ending, and doesn't outstay it's welcome. It's certainly not the deepest story they've ever published, but it's not trying to be, and you don't want that every month anyway. This fish will never be a cat, so let's just fry it up and eat it, not try and stroke it.


Role-playing reviews: This month is a Masterbook special. West End Games are finally trying their hand at a universal system, instead of building all new ones for each game. Unfortunately, the system chosen is TORG and Shatterzone's one, which scales well to all sorts of power levels, and has some very cool quirks in it's drama deck rules, but is also rather clunky and crunch heavy. Rick is rather dubious about it's ability to translate to any genre, despite TORG setting plenty of good examples. In any case, it's not standalone yet, so you have to buy a worldbook anyway. Hmm. Since their original RPG's, particularly Paranoia, are better remembered than this, this might not have been such a great move in hindsight. Too late to worry about now.

The world of Indiana Jones draws upon not just the movies, but also the books, comics, TV series, etc in creating it's setting. This means there is a certain amount of low key supernatural weirdness, but it's mostly about the action. The PC's are souped up a bit, but things are still a lot crunchier than the old TSR books. Overall, it doesn't get particularly praised or slated. I guess it'll do the job.

Raiders of the lost ark sourcebook, on the other hand, does get a 6 pip mark. All the locations, complete with NPC's and ideas for incorporating them into your own story. What more could you want? Well, the other movies as well, but all in good time.

Indiana Jones and the Rising sun sourcebook takes a sidetrack and shows us 1930's japan, with plenty of info on both the mundane and supernatural, plus an adventure. Again, it's workmanlike rather than brilliant. The farther away you get from the original movie, the less special it all seems. :/

The world of bloodshadows is not a WoD clone as I thought earlier, but a darkly humorous pulp noir meets horror movie mashup. PC's have abilities both subtly superhuman and downright bizarre, and the setting is highly imaginative and very different from mundane earth. If Raymond Chandler had preferred LSD to alcohol, then maybe we'd have more novels like this.

Galitia is a city sourcebook for Bloodshadows. It gets a pretty cursory review, not distinguishing itself that well from the setting in general. Maybe the world part of the setting is a misnomer, and it doesn't really have enough to support more than a monoculture. This is why TSR rolled a whole bunch of setting lines into Toril, for example.

Mean streets is the DM advice book. This gives you lots of bits and pieces to insert into your game, along with the usual GMing advice. As if often the case, this speeds up your adventure building quite a bit, especially if you're not familiar with the genre. Buying stuff like this'll keep the line going.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 215: March 1995


part 6/8


Tank girl RPG! Man, Jamie Hewlett has certainly gone on to some pretty spectacular things since then. We've got the cool shoeshine, a'right?


Sage advice: What do you mean by magical creatures and spellcasters (anything that casts spells or uses spell-like abilities. Are you saying our english isn't plain enough for you, punk? You ought to know by now what Skip does to people who disrespect Skip!)

What happens if someone's charmed mid-combat (They get all confusticated cos their friends are all fighting. Oh woes. We must settle this disagreement. )

How do you get even more specialized than normal in a weapon (play BD&D or buy the new PLAYERS OPTION books :teeth ting: )

Why are the rules for clerics losing levels on the planes inconsistent (Because the gods say so. Bodged compromise treaties suck, but they're better than open interplanar war all the time )

Can priests in sigil get spells (sure)

You forgot to mention the astral plane's time weirdness in the new planescape books (So we did. You can still use the old stuff with it if you like )

Do Alu fiends, cambions and manes have gating powers (no. They don't have enough respect in the general fiendish hierarchy )

I don't understand what stops fiendish regeneration (then you're not gonna be able to beat them. Better steer clear of the lower planes if you don't want to die horribly. That's what you get for being dumb)

How do Vecna's bits affect a character sitting with a card in the pool (Skip doesn't want to think about what Vecna would do with his withered lichy bits to some poor defenceless champion in a hot tub. Bad images man, bad images.)

When does a ring of shooting stars buff someone (when you want it to. But only once)

What happens when two monsters are fighting over treasure (it's a draw)
Can calm prevent caravans (no. What a silly question. Caravans prefer calm.)

 

[the Jester]

I just want to add another recommendation for the Diamond Age. It's a fantastic novel.

 

[jonesy]

Dream Web is another fail result, with buggy interface, confusing graphics, little discernable plot, and a serious lack of clues as to what you're supposed to be doing. Cool atmosphere and music does not a good game make. Seems to be a real problem around this era, as graphics improve so rapidly, and far too many designers fall into the trap of style over substance to get sales.

Whaat? Dreamweb is a cyberpunk classic. The only thing wrong with the game was how short it is.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 215: March 1995


part 7/8


Forum: Colin Cashman fills near a whole page with his solutions to the multiclassing problem. XP penalties, restricting kits to single class characters, restricting demihumans to their racial kits. Let's bring back human supremacy!

Robert Briggs is another person attesting that multiclassed characters fall behind at higher levels. This is particularly the case with triple class ones, which become seriously fragile compared to single class characters of the same XP. It all balances out.

Jeff Stone reminds us that multiclass characters also have the restrictions of both classes. This is particularly the case with speciality priests, who's gods will expect their demands to take priority over all their other classes. Tear them apart with commitments. But remember, if the player's a twink, they'll just look for another method. You have to address that side too.

Larry Sonders has a player who threw a tantrum and quit when low level characters didn't treat his 11th level mage with the respect he felt he deserved. Essentially the fantasy equivalent of Do you know who I Am. There's no magic badge that says you're whatever level, and even so, fame has to be constantly backed up with actions. Complacency can kill even 36th level characters.

Wilson Miner plays while hiking, and has developed a diceless system to use while on the go. That's a pretty cool idea actually, even if the implementation is a bit flaky. Sounds like it could degenerate into freeform all too easily.

Anne Butler thinks that you shouldn't stop a person from roleplaying just because they haven't read geek staples like star trek or LotR. That means they're less likely to fall into cliches. A fresh view is frequently interesting, and it helps keep roleplaying from ghettoising.

James R. Collier tells us exactly how rare magical items are in his campaign. Enough that you can get statistical with them, but rare enough that only the very rich and powerful will have any. Sounds about right for an average campaign.


The game wizards: Last month we had a whole load of Spellfire advice here. This time, it's the Blood Wars card game that's getting a similar treatment. The number and nature of the cards, rough details of the rules, and a selection of sample decks. A fairly standard promotional article, this sees them try to get in on the CCG market with more than one game in quick succession, and quite possibly split their buyer's market. After all, both draw heavily upon D&D lore to create a game of interplanetary battles. How is one to choose which to spend your money on at the store? And how much coverage will each get in the magazine? Does this mean we'll now be seeing twice as much CCG coverage for the next few years? Are more games already in development? A little tickle in the back of my head is saying Dragon Dice. I must resist the temptation to read ahead and find out before I actually get there. I may not be very keen on this stuff, but it's still interesting to see it rise and fall.


Ha. Highlander is getting a card game too. There can be only one, and all that.


Something is very wrong in Libram X. All is not as it seems. Swordplay faces near certain death again. Dragonmirth reuses the wish to be a god, become the GM joke. Yamara is about to have her skull terminally reposessed, unless Ogrek can do something.

 

[(un)reason]

Whaat? Dreamweb is a cyberpunk classic. The only thing wrong with the game was how short it is.

That is interesting to hear. Since they also struggled with Space Hulk, and gave it low marks because of that, I have to wonder how good jay & dee actually were as gamers, and how much time they gave these reviews.

 

[prosfilaes]

That is interesting to hear. Since they also struggled with Space Hulk, and gave it low marks because of that, I have to wonder how good jay & dee actually were as gamers, and how much time they gave these reviews.

There's going to be comments on that very subject coming up, and IIRC, you don't have to wait very many issues to find them.

 

[Orius]

Larry Sonders has a player who threw a tantrum and quit when low level characters didn't treat his 11th level mage with the respect he felt he deserved.

What a n00b. He's 11th level, he can cast disintegrate, death spell, chain lightning, etc. That should earn him all the respect he wants.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Magazine Issue 215: March 1995


part 8/8


Through the looking glass: As Robert's time here draws to a close, he reminisces a little about his most significant contribution to the magazine. It seems the thing people remember most is not his reviews, but his Battletech house rules back in 1990. Well, they both stood out, and were stretched across several issues. As much as they try and avoid multi part epic articles these days, those are the ones we are most likely to remember as classics. Perhaps that's another reason why the magazine isn't doing so well.

As usual though, this is mostly minis reviews. A trio of monks, made for Pendragon, but suitable for nearly anything medieval. A sky cycle from Rifts, which won't be nearly so convertible. An ancient table with some decidedly sinister tomes resting upon it. It is, of course, a trap, my dears. Four Knights, one with an axe and the others choosing the boring old sword attack. An absolutely massive wolf, easily twice the size of a man if it was standing up. Pretty Dire, really, especially if you get a pack of them. Even larger are some giant rats, with ratmen riders. By comparison, the trio of mecha that follow look a bit short and skinny. Different scales, I suppose. And male & female Virtual Adept, in full visor & gloves setup. These days, they could fit that technology into the rim of regular sized shades. Isn't living in the future great.


TSR Previews: More wodges of forgotten realms goodies this month. Ruins of Zhentil keep ties in with the recent moonsea sourcebook. A megadungeon boxed set? Those always lure in the punters. Remember, if you don't want them coming back you have to raze all the buildings, fill all the underground stuff in with concrete, dispel all the contingencies. and kill all the clones. Otherwise the place'll be infested with a pretty similar bunch of nasties in a few years time. Elminster's ecologies have obviously proved pretty popular, because we get two more of those. Two spooky little undead infested places in the midwest. Just the sort of places adventurers are likely to visit. Finally, we get Shadows of Doom by Ed Greenwood. See what Elminster was really up too during the avatar crisis. Making sure he could boff the new goddess of magic, I'll wager.

Dark sun has another splatbook. Thri-kreen of athas. Or four-handed death machines of wherever they choose to go. See that they're not just nomadic raiders, they have a whole bunch of castes and an encroaching empire to the northwest of the explored lands. Be ready to fight.

Mystara gets another expansion & audio CD. Glantri: Kingdom of magic. With Alphatia gone, they're now the biggest collection of wizards around. How have recent years been to them since their first sourcebook back in 1987?

Dragonlance starts a new series, The Warriors Series. Part one is Knights of the Crown by Roland Green. What's the bet the next two will be named after the other two Solamnic orders. On we go.

Ravenloft has another tale of woe and sadistic revenge. Baroness of Blood by Elaine Bergstrom. And so the cycle continues. Who will rid me of this accursed curse? Endless Quest is also in a ravenloft mood, with Night of the Tiger. Facing a rakshasa? That's never an easy one. Good luck and do your best to find the crossbow.

Our generic products are pretty interesting too. The Dancing hut of Baba Yaga sees one of our classic scenarios return for a third time. Lisa Smedman takes us into a expanded version of the extradimensional whimsy we've seen before in the magazine. There's also another attempt to squeeze a few more drops out of the splatbook format. The complete book of necromancers takes a rather different, more DM focussed approach to fleshing out the wizard speciality, with a sample setting down in Al-Qadim and the NPC's to go with it. Full of flavour, even if that flavour may be somewhat maddening.


Mostly pretty good stuff this month, with plenty of articles that are still pleasant to read and useful for me. There's still plenty of treasure to be found amongst the dross of this era, some of which has actually aged quite well. I guess next I shall have to see if they've still kept their sense of humour this year. Toot toot, all aboard.

 

[jonesy]

Mystara gets another expansion & audio CD. Glantri: Kingdom of magic.

New to me. What was on the audio CD?

Dragonlance starts a new series, The Warriors Series. Part one is Knights of the Crown by Roland Green. What's the bet the next two will be named after the other two Solamnic orders.

You would have lost that bet.

Maquesta, Theros and Soth got their books in between the Knights books. Incidentally, not a very good series in my opinion. Maquesta was just ok, and the rest were worse.