Ian Livingstone does a very short editorial asking what genres might be covered in the future of gaming, although he doesn’t get much of an answer.
This cover is by Terry Oakes, his first for White Dwarf although he will only do one other cover, issue 50. This may be because he is too busy, as there is a vast array of art in his back catalogue. Some of his most notable works also include covers for several Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
On the Cover
A group of soldiers put up a mostly valiant fight against a group of huge robot warriors. Most of the robots seem to be taking severe damage, but one of the soldiers is just curled up in a ball at the feet of the robot in the foreground. A vast spacecraft flies overhead, although it’s unclear who it belongs to, or if the robots are the attackers or defenders.This cover is by Terry Oakes, his first for White Dwarf although he will only do one other cover, issue 50. This may be because he is too busy, as there is a vast array of art in his back catalogue. Some of his most notable works also include covers for several Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
Features
- Games Day ‘81: A one page report on the fun being had at the recent Games Day at the Horticultural Halls. There is also the announcement of the (17 categories of) Games Day Awards. To be honest, it’s much as you’d expect with D&D, Citadel, Diplomacy, and TSR taking much the same awards they did last year. Monopoly still gets an award. Really people, even in 1981 there were better options! But as its now the 1980s it is interesting the see the Rubik’s Cube claim the Best Abstract Game award. Ask your grandparents about it if you don’t know it, and whatever they say, they couldn’t do it either without taking a screwdriver to it.
- The Magic Jar (Andy Slack): While for the most part the best way to “convert” characters is just to rebuild them from the start, this isn’t a bad idea. Andy Slack basically presents a set of tables to convert one dice range to another, such as the results of 3d6 into a percentage range. Using these tables you can then convert pretty much any character into any system, at least in terms of basic attributes and skills. He also offers very solid examples for using these tables to change En Guarde to AD&D, Spacequest to Traveller, AD&D to Chivalry and Sorcery and Spacefarers to Traveller. I’ve not heard of either Spacequest or Spacefarers, so if you have please comment!
- On Target (Steve Cook): This article is a huge pile of tables (lot of tables this issue!) detailing hit locations in Traveller (although it would work for plenty of other games). I’m not sure it’s really necessary, but if you like more granular combat it’s a solid set of tables to get wound specific with.
- Operation Counterstrike (Marcus Rowland): This adventure builds on the previous series of articles on AD&D in Space. After an invasion from a very H.G. Wells form of alien (Martian) invader, the player characters set out to rescue a Druidess and her team who have been kidnapped by the aliens. Once you arrive it’s essentially a dungeon (and the text in all capitals is tricky to read) but it’s nicely off the wall from the usual dungeon set up.
Regulars
- Character Conjuring: This issues’ new class is the Warsmith by Roger E. Moore. This is a very solid class that is a lot more than a simple fighter subclass. Essentially it’s a fighter who can craft their own weapons and use magic to enhance them. If you want an atheist cleric with more of a punch or a fighter with a little magic, this is the one for you.
- Letters: A variety of opinions and criticism this issue. There is sideways praise for the D&D in space articles with some additional notes about how some of the weirder fantasy worlds might work beyond physics. Another dungeon architect mentions how he made corridors tight enough to divest PCs of their 10 foot poles. Another reader asks why we should play any other games once you’ve found one you like. If you are playing D&D, change it for the better rather than play something else, especially after you’ve bought so many books. Although I’d argue you might not know what to change unless you read other systems. We also see a return to an old argument over whether Fiend Factory is doing things right by not matching the AD&D standard format entirely and keeping the Monstermark. Finally a player character writes in to complain that the 5sp he spends on each issue (while not wasted at all) could easily have bought 5 pints of mead or 16 chickens as per the equipment tables, making it a little pricey.
- News: There is a lot of figure news this issue, mainly from Citadel who will be releasing some official Runequest figures very soon. AD&D will see more modules from TSR (I1: Dwellers in the Forbidden City) and Judges Guild will release more solo adventures with its usual crop. There is a little more news on the forthcoming Call of Cthulhu and Thieves’ World boxed sets from Chaosium but they are not quite out yet. Finally, GDW has more Zhodani related releases on the way, both for Traveller and their board game lines.
- Starbase: We have a mini-adventure/encounter this issue called “Sorry!” It’s designed to do a bait and switch on a group of trigger happy PCs. They come across a fight between a wild animal and one of the local intelligent species, and may well choose to “save” the wild animal by shooting the person they should be meeting.
- Treasure Chest: A simple set of magic items this issue. Just four this time, Webbing Devices that unsurprisingly deliver web spells, Boot of Adhesion that are good for climbing walls, Jeckyll’s Potion that changes alignment and my favourite, the Sea Sword, an interesting blade that feels unbalanced on land but works very well under water.
Fiend Factory
We almost get a mini-adventure this issue, with a collection of woodland monsters. There is also a quick note that voting for the best and worst of Fiend Factory has been extended so the results will be coming later:- Birch Spirit (C. N. Cartmell): An evil, twisted and somewhat undead form of dryad.
- Black Unicorn (Alan & Anthony Howcroft): Not (as you might expect) an evil unicorn. This is simply a unicorn variant that might change things up a little for those used to fighting the standard version.
- Chameliad (R. D. Bowes): A pretty chill tribal creature that live in the trees and can change their skin colour to blend in and stay hidden.
- Driver Ant (Albie Fiore): Army ants for AD&D and a very nasty thing to encounter as a swarm. As such they get the record highest Monstermark ever (nearly 30k).
- The Whispering Tongues (Simon Miller): These telepathic plants whisper to each other about what they “see” and psychically share that information with those who care for them.
Open Box
This month’s reviews are:- Double Adventure 4: Marooned/Marooned Alone, Adventure for Traveller and Supplement 8: Library Data (A-M), Supplement for Traveller (GDW): The adventure is an interesting take on the standard format. Rather than two different adventures, Marooned Alone is the solo play version of Marooned. Nice idea but I wonder if it took off. Library data is more interesting than it appears, being an A-Z (well A-M in this case) of the Traveller universe. It’s essentially half the setting guide, although Library Data N-Z will only be out in another year’s time in 1982.
- Fiend Folio, Supplement AD&D (Games Workshop/TSR): So, reviewed at last! Games Workshop’s entry to the pantheon of Corebooks for AD&D.
- I.C.B.M. Wargame (Mayfair Games): This two player game pits the rival USA and USSR throwing nuclear weapons at each other in the hope of a victory. It is possible to win, but it is not likely that there will be much of the world left when one of you does.
- The Ley Sector, Supplement for Traveller (Judges Guild): An interesting departure from adventures; this is a 3rd party guide to a whole section of space in Traveller, a sort of mini campaign.
- Undead, Mini-game (Steve Jackson Games): This is a game I well remember (and possibly a precursor to “Fury of Dracula”) which I remember playing over and over in my formative gaming years. Damn good value for what you got inside it even if the paper may have not lasted very well. One player is Dracula trying to hide from the hunters chasing him. Each time they find the fiend there is a fight where timing is everything. Who will survive?
