Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Glyfair" data-source="post: 2891199" data-attributes="member: 53">The Dragon  #18 Sept 1978<img src="http://paizo.com/image/product/magazine_issue/dragon/18/cover_180.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />In "Dragon Rumbles" Tim Kask covers Origins '78.  He mentions it's human nature to focus on the negative aspects in the short term, and the positive in the long term.  He stays true to this by mentioning the low points.  He does stress that he felt the staff did a fine job, and most felt the low lights were minor.  He mentions next issue will cover the D&D events will be covered next issue, but that the winning squad had two females on it.He mentions next years would be in Philadelphia (I wish I had been aware of this con that year, it's only an hour from me).  In a quote that is near and dear to me he says; "I can only hope that Origins stays on the East Coast for a few years. There is no need for both Origins and GenCon to be in the Midwest. In fact, I feel it is detrimental to both cons to be held so near to each other and so close together in time."  I understand the logisitics issues, but in practice, you  get the same people who can make both conventions (although many don't make both).  With WotC pulling out of Origins, I can only think finding a new area can only help differentiate them from GenCon.He lists the H.G. Wells and Charles Roberts award winners.  Notably, D&D wins both "All-time best roleplaying rules,"  "Greatest Contribution to the Hobby, Game or rules 1967-1977" and is inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Empire.  Dragon wins best professional magazine (Space Gamer wins best semiprofessional magazine).In keeping with this era of The Dragon, we have major coverage of a non-TSR game with "Traveller:  The Strategy of Survival."  It starts with an anecdote that's common in all games with random character generation, he meets someone complaining about having a UPP of 375A99 (in Travellar you would string stats together in order, converting numbers of 10 into letters, thus the A being a 10 - IIRC, the range to start with 2-12 but my memory is fuzzy).  He stands aghast at this.  He uses this example to point out how to use the stats to create a character, and the finer points of character generation in Traveller.  This very thorough article takes up slightly over 2 pages.  A lot of detail on using the character generation system, and using it to build up a character's history (with little mention of what to do when you die in the character generation).This article is followed with a review of Traveller.  It's very positive and comments on how much it differs from other RPGs at this time.  Also reviewed is Imperium (a board game also from GDW) and The Emerald Tablet (a set of miniature rules), Pellic Quest (a computer moderated roleplaying game, who would have thought?) and Cosmic Encounter (he likes it, but warns that the science fiction element is mostly just "patina").  Later in the issue we have a review of Alpha Omega (a Buck Rogers like strategy game)l.In a D&D Variant article with have "Insanity, or why is my character eating leaves?"  It introduces a saving throw for insanity and charts (of course) to determine what sort of insanity you have.  This is years before Call of Cthulhu would make a lasting effect in this area.Another D&D Variant article, "New Spells for D&D:  Cure for an ailing campaign or Killer of a Healthy one?" a list of spells created by the spell research ability from the author's campaign is given.  While the title would make it seem this would be about the viability and balancing of  this factor in a campaign, in fact the only discussion of this is in an added editor's note.  "Magic: Governed by the Laws of Theory" gives the Game Design forum an interesting discussion of the various magic theories (the law of contagion, similarity, etc) and using them within the game.The Design Forum gives us "Let Your Town Have a Purpose, or, How to Design a Town in Boot Hill."  A basic "dungeon building" type article, it gives advice on which buildings to create, and how to lay them out.  Later we have a charticle giving birth tables for Boot Hill.A D&D Variant article, "The Chamber of the Godgame" gives us a puzzle/trap that is inspired by a novel (John Fowles' The Magus) with apparently a dungeoneering feel to it.Jim Ward and Gary Jacquet take over "From the Sorcerer's Scroll" to give us "Gamma World: First Report; Setting Up a Campaign."  They mention that Gamma World was created when they realized a need to create a planet based version of Metamorphasis Alpha.  It discussses the Cryptic Alliances, using the map and placing the player characters in an area.  He recommends detailing about a 100 mile section initially.Jim Ward gives us "Guidelines for Mixing Campaigns: Androids, Wizards, Several Mutants, and Liberal Doses of Imagination, Well Blended."  In it he discusses mixing D&D and MA.  "Monkish Weapons and Monk Vs. Monk Combat" is a D&D Variant article giving us a system for combat between two monks.  This is a system where you each pick your maneuver and consult a chart to determine the result.  It also covers a number of martial arts weapons.Another, brief, D&D Variant article discusses "Effective Use of Poison."  It effectively just gives us several poisons to use with little discussion of the actual use of them, just their effects.In the comics area we have Fineous, Fred & Charly meeting the evil wizard who is after a dragon's palantir.  Wormy is involved in a ball game with very interesting balls.  Will McLean also has a number of very humerous 1 panel strips throughout the issue.  He's someone I wouldn't mind seeing more strips from (for example, the cleric & wizard talking about the change in the fighter since he hit 8th level - he has on a superman costume).  Tom Wham gives us a one page "All-Star Snit Review" of variant snits (spider-snit, siamese snit, etc).Harry O. Fischer gives us a story of "The Childhood and Youth of The Gray Mouser."  A friend of Fritz Leiber, Harry actually helped Fritz create the main characters and he expressed dissatisfactin with Fritz' take on the Gray Mouser's youth.  Fritz told him to create his own, and this is the story that came out of it.  In the introduction Fritz Leiber comments on the story and says it feels very right.In a final D&D Variant article, "Non-Player Character Statistics" we have some stats designed to help flesh out personalities of NPCs.  We are given Pride (Ego), Greed & Quality of Work.As we can see from this issue, The Dragon is something more than just a house organ at this point in time.  You wouldn't see 4-5 pages today on a non-WotC game (and it probably wouldn't sell more issues, either).</blockquote>

Verification