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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4510985" data-attributes="member: 27780">The Dragon Issue 36: April 1980part 1/272 pages. Another april fools issue gets an extensive collection of joke articles, gathered into a mini magazine within the magazine. Nice to see they're taking their humour seriously. Or something like that. Apart from that, there's no particular theme to this month's issue. The regular columns continue, and there are articles aplenty on games of all sorts. To the specificsmobile!In this issue: Dragon rumbles: Once again we deal with the tricky issue of playing in groups of different ages, and the conflicts this causes. D&D was originally intended as a game for adults, or at least people with adult attention spans, and the ability to play games without being disruptive and throwing tantrums when they lose. And as it increasingly attracts a younger audience, this becomes more of a problem. We've already seen gary's statement of intent to make basic D&D more friendly to newcomers. Its obvious that some assistance is needed with this. And quite a bit of it needs to come from the current players, as D&D is a bitch to learn on your own. Out on a limb: A letter complaining about the magical plusses given to Fafhrd and the mouser's weapons, and pointing out that their weapons were given the same names no matter what weapons they had. To which the writer of the piece replies that they had the bonuses to reflect how badass they were and make them superior to regular characters of the same level. To which I say, Isn't level supposed to be the determiner of personal skill? Why not just make them higher level then? They're already around 20th level. What's a few more levels? So much for logic. A letter praising most of the dragon's content, and complaining about the temporary dropping of Giants in the earth, and also that their shop sells out of issues too quickly. Which seems to be a common complaint. Guess readership is increasing faster than the circulation increases can keep up with at this point. Three letters on monty haul and the problem overpowered characters present. Overinflation is always a problem. There comes a point when you just have to retire characters and start again. A philosophy they seem to be hard-coding into 4th edition. And finally, another letter of generalised praise. They seem to be printing letters that fit a theme this issue. I guess they have enough to pick and choose from now. Fiction: The cube from beyond, by Gardner F Fox. A 6th niall story. And he actually gets to do something significant without his demon goddess patron, and be the primary driver of the plot again. But he's still seriously non politically correct. What is the attraction in forcibly taking someone, and why was it so common in books by writers of both genders? The perseid war: A new Scenario for stellar war, by Steve Jackson (yes, that one. He already seems to be a pretty big player in gaming by now) Designed to support a style of play that is hard to manage in most scenarios, and also includes some new rules. Which is cool. He's the original designer, so the new rules should be well thought out and properly balanced. Painted ladies and potted monks: Prostitutes and drugs in gaming, and the ramifications of exposing ....... younger players to them. Do you teach them that sex and drugs are bad things to be feared, even in a fantasy world, or a perfectly natural and healthy form of recreation? How much do the games that children play shape their attitudes in adulthood? Will presenting characters of religion or color in the game positively or negatively influence their prejudices with respect to real people. Heavy questions, presented with a light and humorous touch, without the oh noes hysteria that so often acompanies this topic. And they even mention homosexuality positively. (although its the first time they have at all, as far as I can recall.) Overall, this is a very good article indeed, promoting positive liberal attitudes and social responsibility without getting too preachy about it. (Which is a good example of the neutral good way and how it can be distinguished from lawfull or chaotic good, for those of you still involved in that debate.) From the sorcerers scroll: Gary gives the stats of Conan at various ages, from teenager to ancient king. As is the case for virtually every character published here, he is not a legal character by D&D rules, developing in a decidedly odd way in two different classes simultaneously, and having a whole bunch of special abilities PC's can't acquire. You decry twinks and rulebreakers, and then turn around and present us with overpowered and illegal characters of your own, What kind of an example is that to set us? Ends with a blatant begging bowl asking for freebies in exchange for reviews. Which is pretty distasteful all round really. Sage advice: As this is getting increasingly lengthy, I'm gonna break up the questions into new lines from here on, to make it easier to read.Must spellcasters use books to store their spells? (only magic-users and illusionists, but yes, they MUST. (The days of alternate methods of recording spells are still quite a way away)) Can paladins condone or participate in suicide and euthanasia? (Hell no, not even tacitly. There is always a reason to live and keep fighting, and you've got to do your best to convince them of that or lose your specul powerz. Of course, it helps when you have magical healing and disease curing to back up this conviction.) Must paladins be celibate. (Depends on their religion and the DM, but I personally encourage it. No sexx041ng for you when I'm DMing.) How do 1st level magic users get their spells(from the person who apprenticed them, silly) Why can't demihumans be sages (they can actually, they just aren't very often. Also, don't try and send me money. I don't work in the right department, and it won't help you get better rulings.) Can you recharge charged items or not? (only as long as they still have at least one charge in them. (What's all that about then?)) Will you become permanently invisible if you overuse a ring of invisibility. (no, this ain't middle earth, and you ain't a slave of sauron.)Can you automatically tell if an item is magical (no, unless it's glowing or something like that.) What am I to I do with this pesky lawfull gooder in my party not letting me attack wounded creatures without provocation? ( I fail to see the problem <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> And if there is one it is purely a roleplaying matter, not a rules one, so it's not my business anyway.) Does being resurrected make you lose constitution (yes) Why cant half orcs be raised? (Once again, they have no SOULS!! Don't believe me, ask Gary. Gary, do half orcs have souls? Gary: Bitch be hollow and empty inside. Jean: See. Get that through your stupid heads. Unless they go all little mermaid on you (which would make a cool story, actually, ) they simply die when they die. Do not pass go, do not get reincarnated, do not get an afterlife. Are we crystal clear, or are you going to keep fighting? Krusk:That's right. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ) Honorable designer Speaks! The designer of Samurai gives us a brief runthrough of his game. An article that reads like a combined advert and history lesson, trying hard to convince people that the game is cool so they buy it. Ah so. You must learn greater subtlety, Mr Campagna.</blockquote>

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