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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Glyfair" data-source="post: 2907065" data-attributes="member: 53">The Dragon #23 March 1979<img src="http://paizo.com/image/product/magazine_issue/dragon/23/cover_120.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> "Dragon Rumbles" is mostly about the state of conventions.  At this time, typically there were a wide spread of gaming conventions across the summer months.  Origins, however, is in a mess this year.  SPI and Avalon Hill have "taken over" Origins this year, and had the people that did PennCOn setting it up.  However, they decided that the facilities were inadequate, and insisted it be held on a college campus (remember the days when gaming conventions were usually held on college campuses?).  So, because the Eagles trained at Widener College from July on (haveing exclusive use of the facilities), they had to run in June.  Essentially, Tim comes down on SPI & Avalon Hill for turning the convention from a convention for gamers first into a convention for their interests first.  Using a local group to organize it, and setting them up to fall.Unfortunately, while the information may be accurate, the whole thing is tainted by the history of the conflict.   It's no secret that TSR (with GenCon) and AH/SPI, and later GAMA (with Origins) built up a major feud between the competing conventions.  This is likely the beginning of this."En Garde in Solitaire" is a set a rules for playing a solo game of the RPG.Gary has a brief bit in "Good News for Gaming."  He points out that 10 years ago the only company showing games at a trade show.  This year, for the 42nd Annual Hobby Industry Convention and Trade Show, there were 500 exhibits.  He also lists the companies from "our own portion of the hobby industry."  It's an interesting list of companies. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">(THE) ARMORY</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">DIMENSION SIX</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">EON PRODUCTS</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">EPIC GALLERY IN MILITARIA, LTD</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">EURO IMPORTS</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">GAME DESIGNERS WORKSHOP</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">GAMESCIENCE</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">GHQ</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">GRENADIER</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">HERITAGE MODELS</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">HIGHLANDER TOY & MINIATURE MILITARY HOBBIES, INC</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">METAGAMING CONCEPTS</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">RAL PARTHA</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">SPI</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">THE AVALON HILL COMPANY</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">TSR HOBBIES</li> </ul>Gardner F. Fox gives us another Niall of the Far Travels story; "The Thing from the Tomb" (how pulp Sword & Sorcery is that title?)We have a psi-flavored D&D Variant article "Mind Wrestling."  This gives an alternate system for using psionic combat, focusing on moving along a track, until one is "pushed too far."  An MA Variant, "Water Adventures on the Starship Warden" lists a stats for a number of water oriented creatures that could be found in water areas of the starship."It Weighs What?!!!" shows that nitpicking over "historically accurate" armor weights isn't just an artifact of 3rd edition.  The author states that D&D adds 15-20 extra pounds to plate armor, and Chivalry and Sorcery's rule of armor weighing 2/3 the wearer's weight is complete nonsense.Gary becomes guilty of creating a charticle in this issue's "From the Sorcerer's Scroll:  Random Generation of Creatures from the Lower Planes."  In the vein of an earlier article from The Dragon, we have a number of charts for generating random statistics and features of creatures from the lower planes.  Gary notes this chart will be official and appear in the upcoming DMG.In "Damage Permanency or How Hrothgar One-Ear Got His Name" Jim Ward gives us a system for crippling player characters that doesn't involve the typical critical hit system.  Instead whenever significant damage is taken by a character, they have to roll on a chart.  50% of the time it's temporary, and 30% of the time there is some serious permanent damage (that can only be healed by 5th level cleric spells - in the old 7 level system, or wish).The Design Forum article "Dungeons and Prisons" is another sign of the times.  Essentially the article has rules for imprisoning high level characters (even worthy of discussion today), to keep "super characters" from running around a campaign world (the sign of the times).  No comics appear this issue, although Fineous has a brief bit explaining they need a month off.The main focus of this issue is the Niall of the Far Travels story.  Nothing here really stands the test of time (unless you like random evil outsiders).  We get a view of the dysfunctional convention atmosphere of the times.  We also see that some of the lessons of that time have been forgotten with WotC clearly backing GenCon, like TSR used to clearly back GenCon.</blockquote>

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