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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4575013" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 62: June 1982part 2/2Half-orcs: Ahh, the other second stringer PC race. Good to see them getting the spotlight as well. This is as much about orcs as it is about half-orcs. Their culture, their likely upbringing, the predjudices they have to face. They don't have an easy life. Is is any wonder they resent elves so much? This article completely glosses over the rape issue, but goes into considerable detail about the inherent sexism in orc society. (Because it's perfectly fine to depict your villains as sexist, and casual killers, but as rapists? That's going too far <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll eyes    :rolleyes:"  data-smilie="11"data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> ) It also goes into a quite good explanation of why they are suited to certain classes and not others. All, in all, it is probably an above average installment of this series. Unlike halflings and gnomes, they seem perfectly comfortable inventing all kinds of little details. But then, it is easier to tell interesting stories about bad guys than good guys. The gods of the orcs: :groans: Dear oh dear. Slipping a sly muppets porn reference in? You get two demerits for that, Roger. The rest of the pantheon is serious enough. Luthic, Bahgtru, Ilneval, Shargaas and Yurtrus. A lovely family and bunch of hangers-on. You really really don't want to go if they invite you for dinner. Once again, this article is considerably more useful and entertaining than the halfling or gnomish one. The jaded temple: A 14 page Top Secret module is this month's centerpiece. Spy movie, meet martial arts movie. Includes special rules for making expert martial artists more badass, plus a pretty decent bit of starting fiction, plus campaign rules make this a very ambitious module that its almost a full-on supplement. Apart from the usual slightly dodgy names for the bad guys, I'm very impressed by this one. Fiction: The feline phantom by Gordon Linzer. Tigers can astrally project too. An amusing little tale, if not as striking as some of the recent ones. Still, it's a pretty solid addition to the list, with a protagonist I wouldn't mind seeing again sometime. Leomund's tiny hut: Len goes goes into some detail on the mercantile guilds, and the precautions they go too to avoid being robbed in a world full of untrustworthy adventurers and monsters. A lot of this involves low level spells, which they seem to be able to pick up with considerably less time and expense than PC magic-users (and of course, their spells are in a different secret language, so if PC's kill them and take their stuff they won't be able to use them) This assumes a rather more high (or at least common) magic setting than Gary's article above, which is interesting to note in itself.  I'd think very carefully about using this in a game, but as  a historical footnote, this is interesting and informative. Zadron's pouch of wonders: Oooh. A random item producing magic item. One of those things that are great fun, but virtually impossible to balance in XP/Challenge terms, precisely because they're so unpredictable. Will you get something badass, something quirky but useful if you're clever, or something that's a pain in the ass? Anyway, I'm sure you'll have hours of fun with this, particularly as it is one of the more lenient examples of its kind, with well over half of its products being useful ones. Will it save you in a tight spot, or just make everyone groan in exasperation when you get the rabbit in an egg again. (don't ask)The mount st helens dragon, who's goal is to burn up all the pollution threatening earths atmosphere?! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll eyes    :rolleyes:"  data-smilie="11"data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> That's rather captain planet, isn't it. Leave it out. It's too early for this eco-crap. The dragon's augury: Fifth frontier war is a largescale wargame set in the traveller universe. Can the zhodani conquer the spinward marches? It'll certainly be an epic conflict, whichever side wins. Question is, will you enjoy it enough to play it all the way to it's conclusion? And will you lose a load of the 720 pieces after playing it a few times? That's the problem with epics, they do take quite a bit of effort to get through. The free city of haven is a city for Thieves Guild. Well, a third of a city, as they plan to come out with two more volumes on it. This pisses off the reviewer, especially as the fact that it is incomplete isn't clear on the cover, so you're suckered into buying the others to get the full picture. However it is good enough that that is a real temptation. While it might not be a Ptolus, it is certainly one of the most detailed fantasy cities yet made. Off the shelf: Revenge of the horseclans by Robert Adams is another strong adventure in this series, which seems to be a reviewer favourite. Rite of passage by Alexi Panshin is a coming-of-age story, albeit set on another world in the far future. While some things may change, human nature remains the same wherever you put it. War of omission by Kevin O'Donnel. Ahh, bureaucracy. Ghastly stuff. Now there's something I can get behind a war on. Combine that with a good bit of speculative sci-fi, and I think we have a winner on our hands. Congratulations. You get the first distinction of first review that really makes me seriously want to buy the book reviewed. The gray prince by Jack Vance may be a reprint from quite a while ago (what, can't even authors as well known as him keep their books in print consistently) but it still outclasses more recent books in terms of plot and characterisation.The napoleons of eridanus by Pierre Barbet puts an amusing spin on the alien abduction trope, with several twists along the way. The warlock unlocked by Christopher Stasheff Shows what happens when a real wizard starts gaining powers on a planet founded by the SCA. If that's as amusing as the premise, I'm not sure, but it certainly sounds interesting. Wormy doesn't have the patience to play Expanded Grottos and Goblins properly. Once again we see how odd it is dealing with sentient creatures of different sizes and shapes. What's new reminds us just how much physical exertion actual adventuring would be. Dragonmirth has the usual punnery and witticism. In general, this has been quite a good issue. Both entertaining and informative, it has once again revealed a bit more of the TSR staff's conception of D&D, and some of the context surrounding it. Maybe not quite a full birthday spectacular, but they can't have one every year, especially now they're past 5. They can save that for the big numbers.</blockquote>

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