vagabundo
Adventurer
Was Gajin not used in the Oriental Adventures sourcebook? If so, why would Skip disapprove?
Let's read the entire run
- Thread starter (un)reason
- Start date
Was Gajin not used in the Oriental Adventures sourcebook? If so, why would Skip disapprove?
(un)reason
Legend
Any resembelance between Skip the badass sage who puts the pages in the mages and the real Skip Williams is purely because I couldn't think of anything fun to say. 
In this case, a little commentary about how standards of racism have changed since then seems entirely appropriate.
In this case, a little commentary about how standards of racism have changed since then seems entirely appropriate.
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 152: December 1989
part 2/5
Sage advice: Which polearms do double damage against charging creatures (The ones with straight spikes. Co Mon Sense. Do you have it?)
Can you see magical radiation. (Not unless you have appropriate powerz. )
How do you find out exactly how many charges an item has (not easily. A lot of the time, you'll have to just trust the DM, and hope it doesn't run out at a crucial moment)
Can you taste a potion and find out what it does immediately (If you're willing to risk it )
Why don't the XP tables go above 20 (because we want you to stop there. The game just cannae handle it if you go much higher. You want really high power games, play BD&D instead
)
Do clerics stop getting better at turning undead at level 14 (yup. Again, you want high level scaling, play BD&D. It's far better suited to that. )
What happened to the -10 rule (it's still around)
Does a cloak of poisonousness have a save (No. Instant screwage. Hee Hee. Don't matter if you're black or white. )
How quickly can you become invisible again after attacking (next round)
Who can use an amulet against undead. (Anyone! Bitchin!)
Shouldn't staff-spears have a chance of being +6 (no)
What's the risk of using a helm of teleportation. (Landing in the wrong place, just like the regular spell )
What level can a wizard specialize (normally only 1st. Allowing them to do so afterwards is purely optional, and remember, they'll have to erase a load of spells to do so. )
Can nonwarriors have % strength (No change here dear)
Do halflings get combat modifiers for their size (wait till next edition dear. )
Can you wear clothes if you have strength 1 (Hee. I can't think of an answer to that that isn't funny. Well, maybe apart from the classic words of Richey Edwards about anorexia.
I want to walk in the snow
And not leave a footprint
I want to walk in the snow
And not soil its purity.
Now there's a downer for you. Let's get away from that pronto.)
Why are there spell failure chances for wis below 9 (if you've had it drained, you don't completely lose your deific connection)
Can nonelven characters find secret door (1 in 6! Wark! 1 in 6! Basic training! Pieces of eight!)
Do gnomes get poison resistance like dwarves (no)
Do you need to spend a slot to fight with two weapons (Hmm. That'd nerf it even more. Skip quite likes that idea. )
What's the range limit on undead turning (240 yards, plus line of sight)
How long does druid shapechanging take (3 segments. Lest you forget AD&D rules. that means 18 seconds. Realisticly, you could do all sorts of stuff to them that you can't in the rules. )
Rouges make different checks for setting snares to warriors (First, it's rogues, not rouges. Skip will rouge the next person to make that mistake with their own blood. Second, that's another mistake. Use dex for both.)
Does 90% cover protect you from spells (only if it has a physical manifestation like a fireball )
Can you use special powers on a surprise round (This is very much recommended. Taking out your enemies before they can act is the best way to fight.)
Does the lifetime henchman limit count if they graduate rather than died (Technically, but you may want to house rule that )
Can you pick how many people you Hold (yes)
How much does one day's food weigh (Way too bloody much. Skip hates extended arctic adventures)
Can specialists cast spells from opposing schools using scrolls (yes)
What's the initiative modifier for protection spells (+3)
Do specialists get an extra spell per level! (No, per spell level they can cast. That's somewhat less. )
Fools gold has errata (Yeah? It's a tricksy spell. Obviously it got recursive. )
Do bards have to learn a musical instrument (Depends what style of entertainer they are)
Can you attack with one weapon and parry with the other (no. This is D&D, not swashbuckling adventures. You want off-hand protection, use a shield.)
Can tongues communicate with animals (They have no language. So they will just look blankly at you. )
How near do you need to be before attraction/avoidance takes effect (1 foot.)
If you cast light on chalk, do you write glowing messages. (No. That's what faerie fire is for. )
The ecology of the umber hulk: Another underground special, another monster than dungeoneers are likely to encounter. Umber hulks are important in the underground ecology because they actually create quite a lot of tunnels. They're smart enough to engage in some nasty tactics in the process of killing you and taking your stuff, but generally ornery enough that you won't be able to keep them from attacking for any length of time. They can be used in quite a number of ways, both alive and dead, and this does have the usual advice on that kind of stuff, making them both more dangerous, and more desirable to kill. Seems like a return to playing it safe territory, with an ecology that's competent, but hardly groundbreaking. Still, better that than the failed attempts of last issue.
part 2/5
Sage advice: Which polearms do double damage against charging creatures (The ones with straight spikes. Co Mon Sense. Do you have it?)
Can you see magical radiation. (Not unless you have appropriate powerz. )
How do you find out exactly how many charges an item has (not easily. A lot of the time, you'll have to just trust the DM, and hope it doesn't run out at a crucial moment)
Can you taste a potion and find out what it does immediately (If you're willing to risk it )
Why don't the XP tables go above 20 (because we want you to stop there. The game just cannae handle it if you go much higher. You want really high power games, play BD&D instead
)Do clerics stop getting better at turning undead at level 14 (yup. Again, you want high level scaling, play BD&D. It's far better suited to that. )
What happened to the -10 rule (it's still around)
Does a cloak of poisonousness have a save (No. Instant screwage. Hee Hee. Don't matter if you're black or white. )
How quickly can you become invisible again after attacking (next round)
Who can use an amulet against undead. (Anyone! Bitchin!)
Shouldn't staff-spears have a chance of being +6 (no)
What's the risk of using a helm of teleportation. (Landing in the wrong place, just like the regular spell )
What level can a wizard specialize (normally only 1st. Allowing them to do so afterwards is purely optional, and remember, they'll have to erase a load of spells to do so. )
Can nonwarriors have % strength (No change here dear)
Do halflings get combat modifiers for their size (wait till next edition dear. )
Can you wear clothes if you have strength 1 (Hee. I can't think of an answer to that that isn't funny. Well, maybe apart from the classic words of Richey Edwards about anorexia.
I want to walk in the snow
And not leave a footprint
I want to walk in the snow
And not soil its purity.
Now there's a downer for you. Let's get away from that pronto.)
Why are there spell failure chances for wis below 9 (if you've had it drained, you don't completely lose your deific connection)
Can nonelven characters find secret door (1 in 6! Wark! 1 in 6! Basic training! Pieces of eight!)
Do gnomes get poison resistance like dwarves (no)
Do you need to spend a slot to fight with two weapons (Hmm. That'd nerf it even more. Skip quite likes that idea. )
What's the range limit on undead turning (240 yards, plus line of sight)
How long does druid shapechanging take (3 segments. Lest you forget AD&D rules. that means 18 seconds. Realisticly, you could do all sorts of stuff to them that you can't in the rules. )
Rouges make different checks for setting snares to warriors (First, it's rogues, not rouges. Skip will rouge the next person to make that mistake with their own blood. Second, that's another mistake. Use dex for both.)
Does 90% cover protect you from spells (only if it has a physical manifestation like a fireball )
Can you use special powers on a surprise round (This is very much recommended. Taking out your enemies before they can act is the best way to fight.)
Does the lifetime henchman limit count if they graduate rather than died (Technically, but you may want to house rule that )
Can you pick how many people you Hold (yes)
How much does one day's food weigh (Way too bloody much. Skip hates extended arctic adventures)
Can specialists cast spells from opposing schools using scrolls (yes)
What's the initiative modifier for protection spells (+3)
Do specialists get an extra spell per level! (No, per spell level they can cast. That's somewhat less. )
Fools gold has errata (Yeah? It's a tricksy spell. Obviously it got recursive. )
Do bards have to learn a musical instrument (Depends what style of entertainer they are)
Can you attack with one weapon and parry with the other (no. This is D&D, not swashbuckling adventures. You want off-hand protection, use a shield.)
Can tongues communicate with animals (They have no language. So they will just look blankly at you. )
How near do you need to be before attraction/avoidance takes effect (1 foot.)
If you cast light on chalk, do you write glowing messages. (No. That's what faerie fire is for. )
The ecology of the umber hulk: Another underground special, another monster than dungeoneers are likely to encounter. Umber hulks are important in the underground ecology because they actually create quite a lot of tunnels. They're smart enough to engage in some nasty tactics in the process of killing you and taking your stuff, but generally ornery enough that you won't be able to keep them from attacking for any length of time. They can be used in quite a number of ways, both alive and dead, and this does have the usual advice on that kind of stuff, making them both more dangerous, and more desirable to kill. Seems like a return to playing it safe territory, with an ecology that's competent, but hardly groundbreaking. Still, better that than the failed attempts of last issue.
vagabundo
Adventurer
Any resembelance between Skip the badass sage who puts the pages in the mages and the real Skip Williams is purely because I couldn't think of anything fun to say.
Lol.
Orius
Unrepentant DM Supremacist
Any resembelance between Skip the badass sage who puts the pages in the mages and the real Skip Williams is purely because I couldn't think of anything fun to say.
It's probably not too far off anyway. The dumber the question to the Sage, the snarkier Skip got. The column is really entertaining to read in the April issues, probably because he saved a lot of really goofy letters for them (like the one in April '96 about blowing up gem thrones).
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 152: December 1989
part 3/5
In a cavern, in a canyon: Mining! One of the biggest producers of both valuable materials and future dungeons for adventurers to explore. Where would we be without it? And amazingly enough, this is a topic the magazine hasn't covered before as well. This is promising. But could also be very dull. Curiously, it manages to be both, capturing both the months of grindy tedium, and the interesting bits that happen during that time, as you find cool stuff, monsters find you, you have to deal with collapses, pockets of bad gas, seams running dry, and the omnipresent legal crap from other people when you actually try and sell the stuff. Seems like the kind of thing that would be good to incorporate when you've got to the domain management stage, and can skim through several years in a single session building up a history with the aid of a few dice rolls. Once you've done your share of killing things and taking their stuff, you've got to give back to the community, ensure that future generations have things to kill and take the stuff of. Not a classic, but certainly not a bad article either. Good to see them fill in another avenue for adventuring in a fairly plausible manner.
The wanderers below: More random encounter tables? Now taking advantage of the stuff in the Dungeoneers survival guide. This time tailored for specific regions of the underdark based upon what major features and dominant humanoid creatures are in the vicinity. I can get plenty of use out of that. A two page article that does what it says, no more, no less. The underwater one is a bit sketchy, but that's proably because there's not enough aquatic underground creatures to draw upon. Otherwise, the 9 tables are interestingly interconnected, and cover a decent range of creatures. Just be ready to run if you're a low level character, for monsters of all power levels occupy the same regions, not divided into neat depth levels like some dungeons. So much for the safety gloves, muahaha.
Reichstar? I don't remember that. Anyone have any info on it?
Role-playing reviews decided to go modern military this month. Tactics, all sorts of cool weaponry, and evil dictators to kill. For dungeon crawlers, it's like a home away from home. Just remember, you don't have magic healing to save you.
Twilight 2000 is another possible future that is now well into the past. WWIII is not going particularly well, and your soldiers are stuck behind enemy lines. This leaves your characters free reign to take any actions they choose to survive, advance the cause, and get home. This highly focussed premise lets you get into action easily, and the design, using lots of little booklets in a boxed set, helps avoid so much flipping slowing things down. It's built up a whole load of modules in recent years, expanding on the setting options quite considerably. It definitely puts it's own spin on combat heavy modern roleplaying.
Commando is the millitary sourcebook for Top Secret/ S.I. If you want to get in, your characters need to be the best of the best. But fear not, this is not material for twinks, the enemies will be similarly badass, and both sides will have pretty scary equipment. Pleasingly, the reviewer not only points out errata, he also consults the designer to get an official response for said errata. That's one advantage of working for the same company.
Brushfire wars is a set of little adventures for said Commandos. Since they are heavily military oriented, they're only really useful in an appropriate campaign. And they are pretty tricky. No froofy narrativist stuff here. Let's get planning, then hit 'em hard and fast.
GURPS high-tech is actually focussed on modern day and near past weaponry, and other equipment. It has the same reliable clarity and detail as the rest of their supplements. No adventures here, but it shouldn't be too hard to convert them from the other games covered with these tools.
Heroquest imitates D&D by putting out an advanced edition. Games workshop like making lots of money.
Servants of the jeweled dagger: What would one of these themed bits be without an examination of some of the natives. We had Drow in issue 129, and Svirfneblin in 131. Mind flayers got attention just a couple of issues ago. Goblinoids are well covered. So Duergar seem like a good choice for a humanoid race that needs a little depth building. Superficially, they may seem slightly more similar to regular dwarves than Drow do to regular elves. But with their acceptance of trickery, magical abilities, and near complete lack of any kind of sense of humour or affection make them rather less pleasant to spend time around. This is another of those ones that seems pretty familiar to me because most of it's ideas were repeated in later 2nd ed books mentioning them. Add to that the fact it's not very long, and my world is very much not rocked. Yawn. Looks like diminishing returns is already becoming a problem for this topic as well.
Fiction: The first notch by R A Salvadore. So the master hack (if that isn't a contradiction) gives dragon magazine some fiction. Set in the Realms, what seems like a basic dwarves vs goblins scenario becomes a more complicated one, in which both sides have to work together to survive an ettin. He manages a nice line in both banter and dramatic combat sequences, establishing individual personalities, and resolving things quickly and efficiently. A quite palatable little read, and one that hews closer to D&D than most of their fiction. I actually rather like this. Let's hope he can keep the schlock-o-meter from going into the red.
part 3/5
In a cavern, in a canyon: Mining! One of the biggest producers of both valuable materials and future dungeons for adventurers to explore. Where would we be without it? And amazingly enough, this is a topic the magazine hasn't covered before as well. This is promising. But could also be very dull. Curiously, it manages to be both, capturing both the months of grindy tedium, and the interesting bits that happen during that time, as you find cool stuff, monsters find you, you have to deal with collapses, pockets of bad gas, seams running dry, and the omnipresent legal crap from other people when you actually try and sell the stuff. Seems like the kind of thing that would be good to incorporate when you've got to the domain management stage, and can skim through several years in a single session building up a history with the aid of a few dice rolls. Once you've done your share of killing things and taking their stuff, you've got to give back to the community, ensure that future generations have things to kill and take the stuff of. Not a classic, but certainly not a bad article either. Good to see them fill in another avenue for adventuring in a fairly plausible manner.
The wanderers below: More random encounter tables? Now taking advantage of the stuff in the Dungeoneers survival guide. This time tailored for specific regions of the underdark based upon what major features and dominant humanoid creatures are in the vicinity. I can get plenty of use out of that. A two page article that does what it says, no more, no less. The underwater one is a bit sketchy, but that's proably because there's not enough aquatic underground creatures to draw upon. Otherwise, the 9 tables are interestingly interconnected, and cover a decent range of creatures. Just be ready to run if you're a low level character, for monsters of all power levels occupy the same regions, not divided into neat depth levels like some dungeons. So much for the safety gloves, muahaha.
Reichstar? I don't remember that. Anyone have any info on it?
Role-playing reviews decided to go modern military this month. Tactics, all sorts of cool weaponry, and evil dictators to kill. For dungeon crawlers, it's like a home away from home. Just remember, you don't have magic healing to save you.
Twilight 2000 is another possible future that is now well into the past. WWIII is not going particularly well, and your soldiers are stuck behind enemy lines. This leaves your characters free reign to take any actions they choose to survive, advance the cause, and get home. This highly focussed premise lets you get into action easily, and the design, using lots of little booklets in a boxed set, helps avoid so much flipping slowing things down. It's built up a whole load of modules in recent years, expanding on the setting options quite considerably. It definitely puts it's own spin on combat heavy modern roleplaying.
Commando is the millitary sourcebook for Top Secret/ S.I. If you want to get in, your characters need to be the best of the best. But fear not, this is not material for twinks, the enemies will be similarly badass, and both sides will have pretty scary equipment. Pleasingly, the reviewer not only points out errata, he also consults the designer to get an official response for said errata. That's one advantage of working for the same company.
Brushfire wars is a set of little adventures for said Commandos. Since they are heavily military oriented, they're only really useful in an appropriate campaign. And they are pretty tricky. No froofy narrativist stuff here. Let's get planning, then hit 'em hard and fast.
GURPS high-tech is actually focussed on modern day and near past weaponry, and other equipment. It has the same reliable clarity and detail as the rest of their supplements. No adventures here, but it shouldn't be too hard to convert them from the other games covered with these tools.
Heroquest imitates D&D by putting out an advanced edition. Games workshop like making lots of money.
Servants of the jeweled dagger: What would one of these themed bits be without an examination of some of the natives. We had Drow in issue 129, and Svirfneblin in 131. Mind flayers got attention just a couple of issues ago. Goblinoids are well covered. So Duergar seem like a good choice for a humanoid race that needs a little depth building. Superficially, they may seem slightly more similar to regular dwarves than Drow do to regular elves. But with their acceptance of trickery, magical abilities, and near complete lack of any kind of sense of humour or affection make them rather less pleasant to spend time around. This is another of those ones that seems pretty familiar to me because most of it's ideas were repeated in later 2nd ed books mentioning them. Add to that the fact it's not very long, and my world is very much not rocked. Yawn. Looks like diminishing returns is already becoming a problem for this topic as well.
Fiction: The first notch by R A Salvadore. So the master hack (if that isn't a contradiction) gives dragon magazine some fiction. Set in the Realms, what seems like a basic dwarves vs goblins scenario becomes a more complicated one, in which both sides have to work together to survive an ettin. He manages a nice line in both banter and dramatic combat sequences, establishing individual personalities, and resolving things quickly and efficiently. A quite palatable little read, and one that hews closer to D&D than most of their fiction. I actually rather like this. Let's hope he can keep the schlock-o-meter from going into the red.
(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Magazine Issue 152: December 1989
part 4/5
Cyberspace by I.C.E. What with cyberpunk and shadowrun coming out around the same time, it looks like we have a bit of a fad going on. Obviously, not all of them will survive, as with any bandwagon.
In quest of adventure: Hmm. Questing to achieve goals for some higher power, or atone for some misdeed. Certainly something with plenty of literary antecedents. This could stand a little more incorporation into D&D. On the other hand, it's also something that could be handled very wrongly, as the crappy fiction at the start of this article shows. Arbitrary railroading for some piddling infractions while ignoring other ones is a textbook way to get a pissed off party. On the other hand, getting levels restored or a bud raised is a very expensive business, and doing a quest for that kind of thing rather than paying is a much more dramatic option, that can lead into all kinds of spin-off adventures as you encounter people along the way, and take on their adventures as well. This is a good demonstration of the fact that it's much easier to build adventures for a character if they have some strong principles or goals, as you have carrots and sticks to work with and riff off. It's also a good reminder that if the characters are becoming too powerful, you can reduce them in capability by removing stuff or putting them in a situation where they can't use it without making things worse, allowing you to reestablish a degree of drama without starting a whole new set of characters. So if you wanna kick it second edition stylee, this is a good article to draw upon. If not, treat with great caution.
Palladium reminds us that they liked TMNT before it was cool and got it's own show and movies. Don't think it's going to be all kid friendly like the new stuff.
The game wizards: One of the few people still present who was part of the company nearly from the beginning, Jim Ward is now one of the most senior figures in TSR, and has responsibilities to match. This includes a whole bunch of silly little things, like making sure the mail goes to Lake Geneva, USA, not the original Geneva in Switzerland. And not getting out of touch and remembering how to have fun, and produce games that are fun for you. He makes a few jokes about becoming an evil dictator, which probably are less funny if he's being leaned upon by TSR's real evil overlord :wolves howl, organ music plays, evil laughter: And he gives a few hints as to next year's upcoming products. Despite the touches of humour, this isn't as informative as the last couple of years end articles, and feels like worrying foreshadowing. Soon the problems you jest about will be happening in all seriousness. And you will be the one responsible for passing down the cycle of pain, making sure someone produces all the Buck Rogers stuff. How do you justify that to yourself? Definitely something worth thinking about.
The role of computers: Dragon Wars shows that even 8 bit systems can have pretty decent graphics. Another adventure game where you start from nothing, and become a serious badass and overthrow the evil ruler of the land. Assemble a party, learn a wide variety of spells, and get exploring. The usual mix of fighting, puzzle solving and talking to annoying villagers ensues. They give it 5 stars.
The Kristal is based on a stage play, of all things. Take the role of Dancis Frake
and engage in space piracy. Piloting, swordfights, and the incredibly annoying problem of landing. It does have a few programming glitches, but overall, is another fun tricky game for you to grab for christmas.
Indiana Jones and The last crusade - The graphic adventure is one of the many tie-ins to George Lucas' big summer blockbuster. A point and click adventure puzzle game, you find items, solve puzzles, and talk to people to progress through the game and get top score. This'll probably take quite a few playthroughs, and consulting a hint book for the last few points. With a whole bunch of different tricks to master, they give it 5 stars. Lucasfilm do seem to put quite a bit of effort into these things.
Beyond the black hole is a stereoscopic 3D game Put on the 3d glasses, and enjoy a distant, far more sophisticated descendent of Pong. It also gets 5 stars for it's spectacular visuals and interesting gaming challenges. They are being generous today. Ahh, the joys of gimmicks. So glad we can do proper 3D games without needing stuff like that these days.
TSR Previews: Another all D&D schedule this month. On the generic side, we have the updated battlesystem rules. Are you ready to add a little mass to your combat again? No? Wimps.
More significantly, we have the complete fighter manual. Splatbooks may have been around for quite a while, but here's where they really start making their mark. Say hello to kits, lots of new toys, and all the bloat that goes with them.
The forgotten realms is really doing well again this month. The third monstrous compendium compiles a ton of creatures, many of which probably got their first appearance in the magazine, and updates them as per usual. They give us the trail map for Kara-Tur. FR9: Bloodstone lands shows you how to play really high level adventures of your own. And Pool of Radiance becomes a novel, having already been a computer game and a module. How many people will have both the desire and money to snap all these 4 up?
Regular D&D continues to quietly do increasingly strange things, with PC2: Top Ballista! Not a very informative name, this bemused me when I first heard of it. Still, skyship flying techie gnomes have potential, otherwise we wouldn't return to them. Hopefully these guys'll be less irritating than their krynnish counterparts.
part 4/5
Cyberspace by I.C.E. What with cyberpunk and shadowrun coming out around the same time, it looks like we have a bit of a fad going on. Obviously, not all of them will survive, as with any bandwagon.
In quest of adventure: Hmm. Questing to achieve goals for some higher power, or atone for some misdeed. Certainly something with plenty of literary antecedents. This could stand a little more incorporation into D&D. On the other hand, it's also something that could be handled very wrongly, as the crappy fiction at the start of this article shows. Arbitrary railroading for some piddling infractions while ignoring other ones is a textbook way to get a pissed off party. On the other hand, getting levels restored or a bud raised is a very expensive business, and doing a quest for that kind of thing rather than paying is a much more dramatic option, that can lead into all kinds of spin-off adventures as you encounter people along the way, and take on their adventures as well. This is a good demonstration of the fact that it's much easier to build adventures for a character if they have some strong principles or goals, as you have carrots and sticks to work with and riff off. It's also a good reminder that if the characters are becoming too powerful, you can reduce them in capability by removing stuff or putting them in a situation where they can't use it without making things worse, allowing you to reestablish a degree of drama without starting a whole new set of characters. So if you wanna kick it second edition stylee, this is a good article to draw upon. If not, treat with great caution.
Palladium reminds us that they liked TMNT before it was cool and got it's own show and movies. Don't think it's going to be all kid friendly like the new stuff.
The game wizards: One of the few people still present who was part of the company nearly from the beginning, Jim Ward is now one of the most senior figures in TSR, and has responsibilities to match. This includes a whole bunch of silly little things, like making sure the mail goes to Lake Geneva, USA, not the original Geneva in Switzerland. And not getting out of touch and remembering how to have fun, and produce games that are fun for you. He makes a few jokes about becoming an evil dictator, which probably are less funny if he's being leaned upon by TSR's real evil overlord :wolves howl, organ music plays, evil laughter: And he gives a few hints as to next year's upcoming products. Despite the touches of humour, this isn't as informative as the last couple of years end articles, and feels like worrying foreshadowing. Soon the problems you jest about will be happening in all seriousness. And you will be the one responsible for passing down the cycle of pain, making sure someone produces all the Buck Rogers stuff. How do you justify that to yourself? Definitely something worth thinking about.
The role of computers: Dragon Wars shows that even 8 bit systems can have pretty decent graphics. Another adventure game where you start from nothing, and become a serious badass and overthrow the evil ruler of the land. Assemble a party, learn a wide variety of spells, and get exploring. The usual mix of fighting, puzzle solving and talking to annoying villagers ensues. They give it 5 stars.
The Kristal is based on a stage play, of all things. Take the role of Dancis Frake
and engage in space piracy. Piloting, swordfights, and the incredibly annoying problem of landing. It does have a few programming glitches, but overall, is another fun tricky game for you to grab for christmas. Indiana Jones and The last crusade - The graphic adventure is one of the many tie-ins to George Lucas' big summer blockbuster. A point and click adventure puzzle game, you find items, solve puzzles, and talk to people to progress through the game and get top score. This'll probably take quite a few playthroughs, and consulting a hint book for the last few points. With a whole bunch of different tricks to master, they give it 5 stars. Lucasfilm do seem to put quite a bit of effort into these things.
Beyond the black hole is a stereoscopic 3D game Put on the 3d glasses, and enjoy a distant, far more sophisticated descendent of Pong. It also gets 5 stars for it's spectacular visuals and interesting gaming challenges. They are being generous today. Ahh, the joys of gimmicks. So glad we can do proper 3D games without needing stuff like that these days.
TSR Previews: Another all D&D schedule this month. On the generic side, we have the updated battlesystem rules. Are you ready to add a little mass to your combat again? No? Wimps.
More significantly, we have the complete fighter manual. Splatbooks may have been around for quite a while, but here's where they really start making their mark. Say hello to kits, lots of new toys, and all the bloat that goes with them.
The forgotten realms is really doing well again this month. The third monstrous compendium compiles a ton of creatures, many of which probably got their first appearance in the magazine, and updates them as per usual. They give us the trail map for Kara-Tur. FR9: Bloodstone lands shows you how to play really high level adventures of your own. And Pool of Radiance becomes a novel, having already been a computer game and a module. How many people will have both the desire and money to snap all these 4 up?
Regular D&D continues to quietly do increasingly strange things, with PC2: Top Ballista! Not a very informative name, this bemused me when I first heard of it. Still, skyship flying techie gnomes have potential, otherwise we wouldn't return to them. Hopefully these guys'll be less irritating than their krynnish counterparts.
JoeNotCharles
First Post
What's your deal with Buck Rogers? It's a classic Sci-Fi series, seems like a fair target for a licensed game. I remember the CRPG being pretty fun, although I never played the rest. I can't stand the Forgotten Realms, but you don't see me going, "And they're releasing more Forgotten Realms crap this month, why are they pushing this on us so hard?" (I mean, one reason is that I'm not reading these previews, clearly, but if I was I wouldn't be saying it...)
Doug Sundseth
First Post
No version of Buck Rogers made money for TSR. Buck Rogers products were, however, a fine way to transfer money from the corporation directly to the pockets of the licensors of the Buck Rogers franchise. One of the beneficiaries of this largess was Lorraine Williams, the head of TSR, and one of the people (perhaps the only person) employed by TSR who actually pushed the product line.
This was bad enough when TSR was a money machine. When the money stopped flowing at the same rate, the dead-weight that Buck Rogers represented was one of the many things that killed TSR.
OTOH, Forgotten Realms was a cash cow. Whether you like the world* or not, publishing FR product unequivocally made good business sense.
The two are qualitatively very different.
* I'm not especially a fan of that world, FWIW.
On the one hand, they lacked the stupid long names, fast-talking patter and record of spectacular failure of Krynnish gnomes. On the other hand, they called each other "gunny" and flew WWI-era biplanes.
So, it may be a tough call.
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