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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4560132" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 57: January 1982part 1/284 pages. Welcome to another year. Once again, they seem to be jiggling up the issue format to keep things fresh. We say goodbye to one long-running column, hello to a few more, and the running order seems to be different this year. Gary is really at the reins again, there's far more concrete setting details, and wargames are fading into the background. Still plenty of stuff on other RPG's, though. Lets enjoy that while we can. In this issue: Out on a limb: Ha. A player who independently played a winged character is somewhat peeved about the winged folk, as there are lots of other similarities between his character and them, and he doesn't want to be accused of being a copycat. They tell him not to be ashamed, as the stuff from Dragon is meant to be used anyway. A letter criticizing the editing and design errors in Cavern Quest. One of which they admit, but the rest they poohpooh, saying he's the one in error.And that's your lot. Only 2? You people are slipping. Come on, we need more rants. Modern monsters: Ooh. Welcome to our first attempt at D&D modern, courtesy of Ed Greenwood. He gives us lots of conversions of modern stuff: weaponry, cars, people. Neither side has it too easy, as the adventurers won't know how to use modern equipment, which is considerably more dangerous than medieval weapons, while the modern people have no access to spells. If the adventurers behave as adventurers stereotypically do, there are likely to be a lot of casualties on both sides. As with most of Ed's work, this is very well researched and considered, with proper footnotes and everything. He does err a little on the side of realism over game workability, and concepts such as abstracting machine gun fire don't seem to be common design parlance. But these are minor quibbles in the face of the overall quality. Leomund's tiny hut: Ha. Len just went to the SCA. Len just went to the SCA. [/taunt] Which means he's back, all bright eyed, bushy tailed and eager to give us new, more "realistic" house rules based upon his observations there. New rules for shields and weapon proficiency training. With lots of tables. Seems pretty similar to his usual modus operandi. Pass me the glasses with eyes painted on so I can snooze through this one. From the Sorceror's scroll: Gary continues his trip round the greyhawk map, updating us on current events. Another 10 nations get synopses of the recent geopolitical happenings between them. Ice barbarians, snow barbarians, frost barbarians? I guess he can't be accused of creating a monoculture for an area. Even the monsters get to be, if not equal players in D&D geopolitics, important and not all divided up by species. In search of a james bond: What Top Secret class would James Bond have been in? Multiclassed between three of them actually. Yes, that is distinctly suboptimal by the current rules. I guess he's just that badass. This writer wants to see more of that in his games, so he introduces rules that make that kind of build a bit easier. Which includes an early instance of dramatic editing rules. Very interesting, if of course somewhat overpowering compared to standard characters. But if you want cinematic in a game not equipped for it, I guess you've got to be prepared to make rules hacks if you want to change a game's play experience. I can't really begrudge them this one, when they're trying so hard. (what was the first canon appearance of a metagame luck/fate mechanic? ) Plus it makes running a game for smaller groups easier, and that's always handy. The rasmussen files is imitating sage advice this month, with merle answering questions about the rules in general. How do you raise your language fluencies? (as you advance in other Areas Of Knowledge. Or take a course) When your life is reduced to 0 by a limb shot, do you die (you're unconcious and die from bleeding if not treated in 5 minutes. How do you determine if a lie to other PC's succeeds? (by roleplaying. No-ones thought of social conflict mechanics yet, and I don't think I'd like that idea anyway. If I'd heard of it, which I haven't.)How do you maintain continuity when handling multiple teams (with a good deal of personal effort, and possibly some notekeeping. There's no magic secret to it.)How do you have PC's communicate without revealing their identities? (secret notepassing to and from the GM) Why don't shots that miss hit bystanders (frankly, my dear, I couldn't be arsed. Here's a rough kludge of a rule if you're really keen to try it.) Where and what is the Intercept chart (something we cut at the last minute and forgot to remove all the references to. We may put it in Dragon in a future issue.)What happens if you shoot an unconcious person ( You scumbag. Anyway, if their non-subdual hit points are reduced to 0, they die if not treated, just like normal.)Can a spy be affiliated with a foreign agency (yup. If they're caught, they're in the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. But you knew that when you signed up anyway. It's just a matter of which side wants to kill you. )What's the purpose of each bureau(to use a metaphor, they are all like the various parts of a human body. I'm sure you can work out which. ) What is point blank range (a meter or less)Should you keep a low profile, or go in guns blazing(Up to you, but we reccomend using intelligence. It is a spy game, after all) Will top secret get more stuff published (I certainly hope so. I have no shortage of ideas.)What's thermite (nasty stuff that flares really bright for several seconds. Good for both distractions and melting through solid steel) What are light intensifier goggles? ( amplifiers for any existing light in the area, so you can see clearly when it's almost dark. Watch out for sudden bursts of light though. )What are the stats for Shuriken? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt="(:" title="Smile    (:"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname="(:" />rolleyes: Bloody ninja wannabes. Oh alright, here you go.) How much damage do knives do? (look at the special knife-fighting rules. Yes, this is exception based design. )How do you determine animal's offence ratings(you don't. They just have flat to hit and damage bonus'. See the table.)</blockquote>

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