(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Issue 77: September 1983
part 1/2
86 pages
In this issue:
Out on a limb: A letter questioning why Ed greenwood referred to Sekolah as female. They reply that was because sahuagin are female dominated, so it makes more sense if their god is female as well. This is of course an entirely unofficial alteration.
A letter from someone who sent in a module, and then found one with a similar name on the gen con list of events, asking if it is his. They reply that no, they would have told him. Plaglarism is bad, but there are only so many monsters and scenarios, so unless you get all abstract and whimsical, chances are someone else'll do similar things at some point.
A letter from David Axler replying to the comments about his weather system article. Some are valid, some aren't, all will be useful in refining it for next time, you know the drill.
A letter criticizing Roger's all teamwork, all the time soapbox piece in issue 73. Another case where I say bloody well right too.
A letter from a person who's realized that the map of Launewt is actually Brittany rotated. Well spotted. As they've said before, judicious stealing creates far better verisimilitude than even the most careful wholecloth creation.
One of many letters they've received asking for the address of Starblaze editions Books. This is duly provided.
Tarot of many things: Random stuff. Muahahahaha!!! I do so love these articles. This brings an extra tactile edge compared to a regular deck of many things, because you can draw from a real deck to determine the results. And what fun they are. You character could be permanently enhanced or horribly debilitated based upon what they draw. Do you dare brave it? Some people would jump right in, while others would rather face a horde of energy draining undead led by a beholder. As this has to cover 78 cards, each with two effects, it spans 16 pages, effectively making it a full special feature in itself. The powers are split fairly evenly between good, bad and mixed blessings, although most are definitely more one or the other. As with any of these gambling things, the trick to them is to know when to quit, because if you keep on drawing, you will lose eventually. (Or cheat. Wild mages kicked ass pre 3rd edition. With an item like this, they could god mod themselves quite a bit. )Anyway, this is definitely a good way to kick off the issue, and another thing I would delight in using at some point.
The ecology of the unicorn: They really are pretty enthusiastic about this series, aren't they. Roger Moore asks PETA girl (who is a dryad, so the nature loving is to be expected. (great, now I want to put an urbanized dryad who's tree is in the middle of a city market square in a game)) about the unicorn, and gets a reply which turns into rather a love-in. Well, they are the insufferably pure mary-sues of the natural world, lusted after by many, but only accessable to virgins. (so most gaming groups are in with a pretty good shot
) What's not to hate? Not that the article is badly written, but it is too flowers and skippy-happy for my tastes. This starts the habit of putting game material in the appendix, although they still haven't started using footnotes yet. Still, good to see this series being developed and refined. Hopefully next time they'll pick a less twee creature to tackle.
Curses!: Ed contributes only a little article this month. A new selection of curses, slightly less brutal than the standard ones given for cursed scrolls and flasks, so low level adventurers have a decent chance of surviving if they find one in a pile. Which still means unpleasant and humiliating stuff happening to you when you least want it too. All part of the fun of old skool dungeoneering. One of those articles you can drop in pretty much any time, given it's modularity and lack of setting.
Nasty additions to a DM's arsenal: More items that are mostly pains in the ass, but can also be turned to useful ends by clever characters. Fun fun fun. We have the helm of enemy nondetection, which is basically a hitchikers guide joke transplanted to D&D. The ring of hypochondria, and arrows of conscientious objection, which do exactly what they say on the tin. The ring of gaseous form, which is very useful as long as you have someone around to help you get it off. The dagger of monster calling, which is just amusing. And the medallion of protection from thieves, which is incredibly useful as long as you're not in a situation where your group needs those abilities. Depending on the type of dungeon, that may not be a problem, particularly if you have spellcasters who can make a rogue redundant in any case. It's good to have peace of mind about the safety of your equipment. Another neat little article that you can drop in stuff from any time.
Elemental gods: Sometimes you don't want to populate your world with hundreds of deities for every concept under the sun, plus the sun itself. If you want to maintain a strong sense of theme, it can be better to have a limited cast of gods covering everything, worshipped under different names for different cultures and aspects. As an example, 4 elemental ones is a good place to start, as you can fit associations to most aspects of life easily enough under their umbrellas. And then you can start building your own. Try not to end up with the krynnish pantheon, as embarrassment and railroading may result. Remember, your job is to help the players make a story, not tell a story and drag them along as spectators. Even if your deities are active agents who's actions regularly impact upon the world, they still shouldn't overshadow the PC's. Anyway, this is a pretty solid worldbuilding article that is useful regardless of system. After all, very few worlds make religion completely irrelevant, even if they don't have D&D style granted spellcasting.
part 1/2
86 pages
In this issue:
Out on a limb: A letter questioning why Ed greenwood referred to Sekolah as female. They reply that was because sahuagin are female dominated, so it makes more sense if their god is female as well. This is of course an entirely unofficial alteration.
A letter from someone who sent in a module, and then found one with a similar name on the gen con list of events, asking if it is his. They reply that no, they would have told him. Plaglarism is bad, but there are only so many monsters and scenarios, so unless you get all abstract and whimsical, chances are someone else'll do similar things at some point.
A letter from David Axler replying to the comments about his weather system article. Some are valid, some aren't, all will be useful in refining it for next time, you know the drill.
A letter criticizing Roger's all teamwork, all the time soapbox piece in issue 73. Another case where I say bloody well right too.
A letter from a person who's realized that the map of Launewt is actually Brittany rotated. Well spotted. As they've said before, judicious stealing creates far better verisimilitude than even the most careful wholecloth creation.
One of many letters they've received asking for the address of Starblaze editions Books. This is duly provided.
Tarot of many things: Random stuff. Muahahahaha!!! I do so love these articles. This brings an extra tactile edge compared to a regular deck of many things, because you can draw from a real deck to determine the results. And what fun they are. You character could be permanently enhanced or horribly debilitated based upon what they draw. Do you dare brave it? Some people would jump right in, while others would rather face a horde of energy draining undead led by a beholder. As this has to cover 78 cards, each with two effects, it spans 16 pages, effectively making it a full special feature in itself. The powers are split fairly evenly between good, bad and mixed blessings, although most are definitely more one or the other. As with any of these gambling things, the trick to them is to know when to quit, because if you keep on drawing, you will lose eventually. (Or cheat. Wild mages kicked ass pre 3rd edition. With an item like this, they could god mod themselves quite a bit. )Anyway, this is definitely a good way to kick off the issue, and another thing I would delight in using at some point.
The ecology of the unicorn: They really are pretty enthusiastic about this series, aren't they. Roger Moore asks PETA girl (who is a dryad, so the nature loving is to be expected. (great, now I want to put an urbanized dryad who's tree is in the middle of a city market square in a game)) about the unicorn, and gets a reply which turns into rather a love-in. Well, they are the insufferably pure mary-sues of the natural world, lusted after by many, but only accessable to virgins. (so most gaming groups are in with a pretty good shot
) What's not to hate? Not that the article is badly written, but it is too flowers and skippy-happy for my tastes. This starts the habit of putting game material in the appendix, although they still haven't started using footnotes yet. Still, good to see this series being developed and refined. Hopefully next time they'll pick a less twee creature to tackle. Curses!: Ed contributes only a little article this month. A new selection of curses, slightly less brutal than the standard ones given for cursed scrolls and flasks, so low level adventurers have a decent chance of surviving if they find one in a pile. Which still means unpleasant and humiliating stuff happening to you when you least want it too. All part of the fun of old skool dungeoneering. One of those articles you can drop in pretty much any time, given it's modularity and lack of setting.
Nasty additions to a DM's arsenal: More items that are mostly pains in the ass, but can also be turned to useful ends by clever characters. Fun fun fun. We have the helm of enemy nondetection, which is basically a hitchikers guide joke transplanted to D&D. The ring of hypochondria, and arrows of conscientious objection, which do exactly what they say on the tin. The ring of gaseous form, which is very useful as long as you have someone around to help you get it off. The dagger of monster calling, which is just amusing. And the medallion of protection from thieves, which is incredibly useful as long as you're not in a situation where your group needs those abilities. Depending on the type of dungeon, that may not be a problem, particularly if you have spellcasters who can make a rogue redundant in any case. It's good to have peace of mind about the safety of your equipment. Another neat little article that you can drop in stuff from any time.
Elemental gods: Sometimes you don't want to populate your world with hundreds of deities for every concept under the sun, plus the sun itself. If you want to maintain a strong sense of theme, it can be better to have a limited cast of gods covering everything, worshipped under different names for different cultures and aspects. As an example, 4 elemental ones is a good place to start, as you can fit associations to most aspects of life easily enough under their umbrellas. And then you can start building your own. Try not to end up with the krynnish pantheon, as embarrassment and railroading may result. Remember, your job is to help the players make a story, not tell a story and drag them along as spectators. Even if your deities are active agents who's actions regularly impact upon the world, they still shouldn't overshadow the PC's. Anyway, this is a pretty solid worldbuilding article that is useful regardless of system. After all, very few worlds make religion completely irrelevant, even if they don't have D&D style granted spellcasting.
