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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nostalgia Ward" data-source="post: 8491795" data-attributes="member: 6909862">By this issue, White Dwarf seems to have hit its stride. The first page of this issue greets readers with a full page of ads for various fantasy miniatures. What follows is a brief editor’s note from Ian Livingstone and the table of contents. This month’s topics cover the announcement of White Dwarf’s one-year anniversary, a statement regarding Games Workshop’s new headquarters, a small price increase, and the celebration of justified text in the magazine.[ATTACH=full]148682[/ATTACH]<h3>On the Cover</h3>An epic battle between a caravan of monsters and an airborne menace unfolds in all its visceral glory.<h3>Within the Pages of the Old Tome</h3>The first article is Combat and Armour Class by Robert Musson. In the essay, Musson laments the lack of realism in-game combat in D&D—especially about armor class—while offering alternatives for calculating AC and creating a more consistent approach to combat situations within the game. It ends with the idea that these changes will slightly weaken characters and make them think twice before rushing into a battle haphazardly. Directly following Musson’s article comes The Fiend Factory, a new feature to this issue, edited by Don Turnbull.In this article, readers meet:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Needleman (a zombie covered in spikes)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The throat leech (a leech that, well, attacks via the throat)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The bonesnaper (a carnivorous dinosaur)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Mite (a small subterranean humanoid monster)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Fiend (the descendants of mutated offspring of angels and Pan),</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Disenchanter (a creepy camel with a tentacle protruding from its mouth)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Nilbog (a goblin who gains HP when struck)</li> </ul>Each monster represents a creative, fun addition to role-playing games, both then and now. It’s pretty cool, honestly.Next up is Archive Miniatures by John Norris, reviewing gaming miniatures from the Archive Miniatures company. Middle Earth, D&D, flying monsters, and wizards are all represented to mostly positive reviews. After the miniature reviews, it’s time for the news. The biggest story for this issue: the Monster Manual was put on sale for $9.95, with Games Workshop picking up the license to publish it in softcover! Neat! Lew Pulsipher’s A Place in the Wilderness follows, offering a D&D scenario set-up based on Jack Vance’s The Dragon Masters.This month’s Open Box covers some exciting releases. The Endless Dungeon and Dungeon Decor are early versions of dungeon tiles, allowing game referees to design unique dungeons or occasionally build free-standing dungeons. A hexagon map book and a wilderness fantasy hex map received winning reviews as well. Finally, the game Labyrnthine—an adventure through a wizard’s stronghold—was received poorly and considered “not worth the money” by our reviewer Don Turnbull.This month’s letters are a mixed bag. One person writes in asking for help with Don Turnball’s Monster Mark system, while a few other letters come from White Dwarf contributors themselves. Lewis Pulsipher offers a five-step response to a previous letter in which a DM insisted on rolling all dice rolls, including for players. Bill Seligman wrote a letter in the previous issue criticizing Lew's article, D&D Campaigns: Philosophy in White Dwarf #3, with the argument that the DM should roll all the dice. Bill's are: 1) it's inconvenient for players to roll dice, 2) they might cheat while doing it, 3) telekinesis might effect their rolls, 4) computer generated randomized numbers are easier than dice so best for the DM to do it, and 5) players should be immersed in the game fully without regard to dice rolls. To which Lew responds: 1) nobody finds dice rolling inconvenient, 2) if you think players are cheating this much that you have to take over their dice rolls, you shouldn't play with them, 3) you can't be serious, 4) most DMs don't have access to computers (back then!), and 5) you can't prevent players from learning the mechanics of D&D.A spectacular battle plays out in the panels of David Lloyd’s Kalgar comic, which is always lots of fun. This month’s Treasure Chest is pretty short, containing only a few items.At only 24 pages long, this is one of the shorter issues of White Dwarf’s early run. The magazine hits its stride and narrows its focus as it heads into the next issue.</blockquote>

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