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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4797134" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 120: April 1987part pun/5108 pages. We're approximately a third of the way through this mad adventure. Course, as is the nature of D&D adventures, it was the easiest third. If this was a game, I'd be well into name levels, and trying hard to find CR appropriate challenges, mowing through lots of time wasting encounters intended for lower level characters on the way. Or getting horribly drunk like the people on our april fools cover with my ill-gotten gains. But no. I've got to be the disciplined one, so the rest of you can enjoy yourselves. Lets see what ludicrity they've cooked up this year, and how much longer it'll take to get to the halfway point of this journey. See you on the other side. In this issue: Letters: A letter from Vince Garcia with some errata to one of his recent articles. Once again, it's problem fixing time. Another letter, about some errata in the adventure trivia. Ahh, the joys of rules lawyering and down not being equal to dead. A letter saying that they ought to split off the non fantasy RPG's to their own magazine. Um, they tried that 4 years ago. It died a horrible death in less than a year. I don't think they're gonna do that again anytime soon. Forum: Richard Wiedeman is not particularly in favour of clerics getting to hyperspecialize in weapons in issue 115's article. Logic will not make your D&D game better. Keep it simple. David van Domelen thinks training costs are a big problem, particularly for classes that are supposed to not value money and figure things out for themselves. There really ought to be more flexibility in this area. And just what are those trainers doing with that money themselves? Where is that goddamn unionbreaker? Kristin Marquardt is surprised to find that some people think fantasy is a male-dominated genre. Where she lives, it's always been pretty well balanced. Funny how local variations like this happen. What can we learn from this? Randy A Donohue thinks that Dan Tejes was reinforcing outmoded and stupid stereotypes. The best thieves don't look unsavory, (all the easier to steal if no-one suspects you) long beards get in the way of mixing chemicals and stuff, and women can fulfill both roles with aplomb. Candace Miesen has had to deal with sexist crap, both of the patronizing, and the over polite kind. Can't a girl just engage in a little wholesale killing and taking of stuff  with everyone else? We are not some delicate flower that will faint at the merest hint of rape and other unsavoury activities. Leave worrying about that for when you meet some real mythical creatures. Jeanne McGuire thinks that the reason girls don't become roleplayers more often is because of peer pressure. They're under more pressure than boys not to be "nerdy" as a teenager, and to be ostracized if they do. Hmm. How things have changed. I guess in an odd way, this corroborates Kristin's view. If something becomes seen as normal in an area, it becomes much more accessible to other people. Our most important advice, once again, however, is not to stereotype people. It helps no-one. Drew Martin reminds us that no social order is unbending and perfectly adhered too, especially in D&D, where a whole set of the alignments imply disobedience to established order. Playing it like that, and never bending the rules for prices and social order simply isn't realistic or fun. Spells for everyone: The april fools section this year starts with another case of the non-spells. Is this rehash I smell? I suppose like the filks, as long as they mock different things, it's ok. So yeah. It's amazing what you can do if you put a little effort in. Dig tunnels, talk to animals, drown underwater, check people's pulses, and escape from trouble via groveling and running away. Laugh? I nearly raised an eyebrow. Well, I wasn't particularly amused first time either. Not surprising that it would have even less impact this time round. The pun is mightier than the sword: So, how are jesters to prove their superiority to other jesters? Comedy is a serious business. If you fail to amuse, then you will make no money, get no bookings, and then before you know it, you'll be a mere street performer, barely a step up from a mime. You must pun! Or no other jester will respect you! Of course if you do, the rest of the world won't respect you, but such is life for a jester. So who'll be the butt of your jokes when you battle? Who will you pick to prick at their ego? Now this is more like it. A joke article that also has workable, if not particularly balanced crunch. If you're playing a jester PC, this is a perfectly valid addition to their repertoire. I may well allow this in my game. Muahahaha!!! The illustration is pretty amusing as well. Are you ready to have some pun? The ecology of the picklebug: Hmm. A creature that pretends to be a normal pickle and lives in the brine jars eating the other gherkins? How very strange. I guess in the D&D universe, there have been many stranger creatures adapted to equally small and improbable ecological niches. Like many an april fool, this has an interesting message, in this case listen to those pontificating sages, for even if what they say seems random, there is usually some valuable stuff contained therein. Also, wizards are not inclined to save people from their own stupidity. Muahahahaha!!!! and all that. An entertaining but inconsequential read.</blockquote>

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