Dragon Magazine 197

Issue #197
Vol. XVIII, No. 4

September 1993
Publisher
James M. Ward
Editor
Roger E. Moore
Associate editor
Dale A. Donovan
Fiction editor
Barbara G. Young
Editorial assistant
Wolfgang H. Baur
Art director
Larry W. Smith
Production staff
Tracey Zamagne
Subscriptions
Janet L. Winters
U.S. advertising
Cindy Rick
U.K. correspondent
and U.K. advertising
Wendy Mottaz
FEATURES
10
15
The Ecology of the Giant Scorpion Ruth Cooke

Think invisibility will save you? Think again.
18
Two Years of ORIGINS Awards The editors

Is your game one of the best? Two years worth of
awards will let you know.
Think Bigin Miniature! James M. Ward

If a miniature could come to life, Ral Partha would be
the company to make it.
2 4
Perils & Postage Mark R. Kehl

How to play an AD&D campaign when each player
lives in a different city.
3 0
By Mail or by Modem? Craig Schaefer

An AD&D game works just as well by BBS as by USPS
(and maybe better).
3 4
The Dragons Bestiary Ed Greenwood

Its not a petting zoo: four new monsters from the
FORGOTTEN REALMS setting.
4 1
The Known World Grimoire Bruce A. Heard

The world of Mystara is changing, but how? Turn to
page 41 to find out.
6 7
Join the Electronic Warriors! James M. Ward

Whats in the works for computer gamers from the
team of SSI and TSR.
8 0
The MARVEL-Phile Steven E. Schend

Its a dirty world in the streetsbut your heros there
to clean it up.
DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published
Printed in the U.S.A.

2 SEPTEMBER 1993
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8 4
Beyond the Dark Horizon Gregory Detwiler

New spells, new magical items, and new trouble for
the DARK SUN world.
9 9
The Dragon Project: The Tide of Albrenegan Ken

Cliffe
In the ARS MAGICA* world, this dragons dreams are
worse than its bite.
FICTION
9 0
Ashes to Ashes fiction by Lisa Smedman

Lazra lived for her garden, but she might die for it as well:
a DARK SUN story.
REVIEWS
5 0
The Role of Books John C. Bunnell

Vampire Crusaders meet a vampire Nazi, and all Hell
breaks loose.
5 7
Eye of the Monitor Sandy Petersen

Our brand-new computer columnist takes a look at
shareware games, starting with a very dangerous castle.
7 4
112
Role-playing Reviews Allen Varney

The CHAMPIONS* game comes to lifefor the third time!
Through the Looking Glass Robert Bigelow
The miniatures flood continues, and a vampire leads the
way.
DEPARTMENTS
4
6
21
44
68
Letters
Editorial
Sage Advice
Convention Calendar
Forum
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102
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COVER
Gerald Brom, our cover artist, first
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DRAGON 3
What did you think of this issue? Do you have

a question about an article or have an idea for a
new feature youd like to see? In the United
States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON
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Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry
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"Unfair!" winners
Dear Readers,
The response to our You might be an unfair
Dungeon Master if you hear these quotes
collection has been heartwarming (if thats the
right word). It began with a letter in DRAGON
issue #193 from Michael A. Vidra (Pittsburgh,
Pa.), continued with a letter from Timothy
Sallume (San Diego, Calif.), and turned into a
flood of mail shortly thereafter. We hereby
present, with minor editing, the best of all the
imaginary quotes to unfair DMs from frustrated
players:
Each of the kobolds has a wand of Orcus?
So, this troll seems to be regenerating our
fire damage."
I know Im new at playing, but Im pretty
sure that a mace is a metal-tipped club, not a
mugger-deterrent spray."
Fighters cant use edged weapons?
I never heard of a sword of party member
slaying.
Since when is Gruumsh a wandering
monster?
You dont use saving throws?
Thanks. I always thought having two arms
wasnt challenging enough."
I was not aware that spells had a chance to
backfire."
But the A-bomb hasnt been invented yet!
I thought 25 strength was maximum."
No, seriously, how much damage did I take?
A pack of tarrasques?
I thought orcs had only one hit die."
Come on, in a first-level dungeon? It has to be
a gas spore."
Thats one tough kobold."
Tinker gnomes invented Uzis?
Exactly what is a 'pantheon,' and why is it
mad at me?
Just how many 30th-level evil wizards are
there in this village?
I never knew Tiamat had so many twin
sisters."
Thats its forty-third attack. Can we draw our
swords now?
How did BattleMechs get into this dungeon?
Our group decides not to go to the Castle of
Ultimate Pain, but instead back into town."
So youre saying if you cut off their eyes,
they grow into little beholders."
Spontaneous decompression is a spell?
Thats okay, the spikes broke his fall.
Do you think we could use store-bought
4 SEPTEMBER 1993
modules from now on?

Are we all being disintegrated, or is it just
me?
But Im already dead!
You might have a responsive reading of the
above before the start of your next gaming
session. Our thanks go out to Jeffrey Coomans
(Mesa, Ariz.), Obaida A. Eld (Cairo, Egypt),
Anthony Erdelji (Cerritos, Calif.), Ariel Khazzam
and George Cernico (Montreal, Quebec), Scott
Krol (Roswell, Ga.), David Larkins, Dennis Slade
(Cutchogue, N.Y.), Ryan Vandenberg (Little
Chute, Wis.), and Cam Walters. We also thank
Scott Haley (Seattle, Wash.) for this authentic
quote from his DM, made while rolling an attack
against the party: He hits, andIm going to
need some more dice."
The editors
Lake Geneva, Wis.
Putting ideas to
work
Dear Dragon,
After receiving issue #191 in March and reading
the article An African Genesis," I remembered a
letter you published in issue #176. The letter
discussed the lack of an African-based campaign in
the AD&D and D&D games. Brady English sent
this letter to you, the same person who wrote An
African Genesis." I would like to compliment Mr.
English for putting his idea to work. Its people like
him who make this such a great magazine. If all of
your readers took the time to send in what they
would like to see in your magazine, it would be
that much better.
Dusty Harbuck
Roswell, N.M.
Well put!
Paranoia
(game & life)
Dear Dragon,
Issue #194 (June 1993) was one of the best I
can remember in quite some time. I was very
impressed by the D.R.A.G.O.N.-bot ver 3.1
article for the PARANOIA* game system. Even
the trademark comment at the end of the article
was in proper PARANOIA fashion.
The reason I am writing is because of that issues
editorial. I thought that people had gotten over the
"banning" craze that we went through about 10
years ago. It is disappointing to learn that this is
not the case. I am still told how evil my hobby is
(playing the ADVANCED DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS game) by people that I know for a fact
know nothing about the game. Their comments
about my evil hobby are usually followed by
questions about how the game is played. I dont
understand how these people can tell me that the

AD&D game is evil and bad when they dont know
the first thing about it!
Recently, an acquaintance of mine from high
school got involved with my old gaming group.
His teachers saw that he had new friends and
were concerned because these new friends had
a reputation for playing AD&D games. The
teachers talked to the school counselor (who
also knew that those new friends played those
evil games), and the counselor in turn called
up this boys parents to tell them that their
young boy was running around with a bunch of
Satan worshipers. The boys life with his parents was never the same again.
My parents were more understanding than
this, for which I am thankful. When I took up
the hobby seven years ago, I was asked by my
mother, Are you planning to kill yourself? I
answered, No," and she has had no problem
with my hobby since then. I would guess it is
because she has been on hand for several of the
adventures we played at my house, and she saw
that we were not Satan worshipers but were
just a bunch of high-school chums having fun.
When will these people who try to ban everything and call our hobby evil ever grow up? I
can only hope it is before I have children and
they think their father is worshiping Satan
when he rolls those dice and says, Twenty!
Critical hit!
Allen Reeves
Ingleside, Tex.
Thank you for the comments on the Dragon
Project. We have some very bizarre dragons
coming in future issues, and we hope you enjoy
them as well. Its nice to see what other people
can do with the topica mind-expanding experience, if you will.
As for your second point. . . It was funny that
just as I was about to start this paragraph (and I
mean, at that exact moment), I got a phone call
from the executive area of TSR to come down
and pick up a fax. I did so and discovered that
an unknown person had faxed me a copy of a
newspaper column, My Turn, that appeared in
the Mesa Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.) on June 30, 1993
(page A 11). The writer, Anne Meade, was "disturbed to discover that the Mesa Public Library
was allowing kids to play D&D games there. She
states that after her son expressed an interest in
playing the game, she made some phone calls
(to clergy vice principals, mental health agencies, counselors, co-workers, and other parents") and was told by all that the D&D game
empowers evil. She then lists a host of horrible
things said to be connected with the game, and
concludes her column with a warning that
young people can innocently find themselves deeply involved with influences of evil
power.
The person who sent the column to me had
scribbled a note across the bottom of the sheet:
Write the Tribune today, or youll be playing
only checkers and go fish tomorrow. That was
Continued on page 8
Once upon a time . . .
Fairy tales are generally quite predictable. You know perfectly well from the first
few sentences in each story just how
things are going to go. The princess will be
rescued, the kingdom will be saved, etc.
Tragically, many role-playing adventures
are like that, too. Here is the most basic,
trite, cardboard-cutout, stereotypical plot
for a fantasy role-playing adventure that I
can think of. Does it sound familiar to
you?
THE PLOT
Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

a rumor about a dragon living nearby with
a big treasure hoard, and set off after
having a few brews. They kill a few orcs
along the way, find the dragons cave, kill
it after a huge battle, take all its treasure,
and go home to divide it up. Everyone
goes up a level. The End.
The problem here is that the story is
entirely self-contained. It has a beginning
and an ending, and whatever action oc-
curs between those two points has no

relationship to anything that happened
before or happens later (except that the
heroes win, gaining more treasure and
power). This leads to predictability.
The real world, on the other hand, has
no particular finish. You might win, but
you might not. Cause-and-effect relationships take place. The unexpected happens.
Adventures start out one way, get sidetracked, and end up somewhere else entirely. New adventures are spawned
directly from the old ones, so nothing ever
ends. Things are much less predictable
and thus more exciting.
Game masters want to know how they
can avoid the same old plots and keep
players constantly intrigued with their
campaigns. Heres my best suggestion:
Start with a trite plot to sucker the players
in, then screw it up. Keep the action flowing after that, so that the heroes must
withstand all of the consequences of the
screwed-up plot and their own actions.
Before long, they wont know whats going
Artwork by Lynnrae Troples
SEPTEMBER 1993
to occur next, but theyll be so pleased and

excited that they wont care. Theyll be all
over you like a cheap gelatinous cube,
begging for more.
The best example I can find to illustrate
these points has been appearing continuously in this magazine for many months:
the Yamara comic strip, by Barbara
Manui and Chris Adams. With every installment, a new twist appears in the plot
and the heroes are mired deeper and
deeper into trouble. You have no idea
whats going to happen next, and neither
do the heroes. Isnt it wonderful?
Using the tired old dragonslaying plot
noted earlier, lets invent some screwed-up
new plots and leave the endings
incomplete-just like in real life:
THE PLOT, ver. 1.1

having a few brews. On the way, however,
the adventurers become gravely ill because someone in the bar poisoned their
drinks. They are attacked by orcs using
nets, sleep-gas grenades, and clubs; some
of the adventurers are captured and
dragged away. The orcs (and the tavern
staff) work for the local dragon, who
rewards them for bringing in fine specimens of adventurers for the dragon to talk
to, torture a little bit, then eat. The dragon, who runs an extensive extortion and
protection racket across this region, goes
so far as to offer to ransom the captives to
the other heroes (sending messengers
around with the news), but it is lying and
intends to eat all the heroes it can find.
The captured heroes must escape becoming next weeks barbecue. The heroes who
escaped earlier must get their friends out
of trouble.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.2

having a few brews. When they get to the
dragons lair, the cave is empty but shows
signs of having been inhabited within the
last week. All of the treasure is gone, too,
except for the cheap stuff like copper
pieces. The group finds some kobolds
stealing the copper to make arrowheads
and bracelets, and the kobolds panic and
confess that they saw an old man walk
into the lair, then leave a day later. The old
man turns out to be an evil wizard who
trapped the dragon within a thing called a
spirit crystal (he dumped the dragons
valuables into a magical sack). The old
man, however, is disguised as a harmless
tinker. He catches wind of the heroes
before they figure out who he is, so he
arranges for the heroes to receive the
spirit crystal from a trusted ally of theirs,
with instructions to break it to bring luck
upon their group. Of course, breaking the
crystal will release the dragon, who is
simply furious at being captured.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.3

having a few brews. When they get to the
dragons lair, however, the dragon is already deada skeleton picked clean by
scavengers months ago. The treasure is
gone (taken by the earlier heroes who
killed it), except for some lead pieces and
sign with a snide comment on it. The
adventurers have been made the butt of a
local joke played on passers-by. Probably
quite enraged, the heroes return to town
but find that it has been burned to the
ground in their absence. The mate of the
slain dragon has returned, and shes
brought along Mom, Dad, and Grandpa
Dragon to help kill the puny humans. The
wilderness within a fifty-mile radius is
being turned into one big firestorm. The
heroes are asked by refugees from the lost
town to lead them to a place of safety, a
hidden valley some distance away. The
dragons would love to find them first,
however.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.4

along the way, but discover that when the
orcs die, they turn into the bodies of bears
and goats. The dragon has found a magical
artifact that allows it to magically change
any being into some other being, and its
having the time of its life turning peasants
and all local wildlife into orcs. The closer
the heroes get to the dragons lair, the
more orcs they meet, until theres practically a small city of orcs living on the lands
immediately around the cave, inhabiting
crude shelters and tents. If captured, the
heroes are taken to the dragon, who steals
their equipment, turns them into orcs,
then lets them go (all of the heroes former
abilities are lost while they are transformed). The orc-heroes must now figure
out how to get untransmogrified. To make
matters worse, human and dwarven armies are massing near the dragons cave to
kill all the orcs, who are overrunning the
countryside. The dragon takes its artifact
and flies away, leaving the heroes and
their orc pals surrounded by legions of
orc-hating soldiers.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.5

having a few brews. They almost reach
the dragons lair when they hear a terrific
racket. The dragon bursts from its cave,
madder than an army of banshees, and
roars, WHO STOLE MY CUP?! It flies off
in a rage, vowing vengeance. If the heroes
investigate, they find the dragons lair full
of treasure; they also find a frightened
leprechaun who had borrowed a cup
from the dragon and now wants very
DRAGON 7
much to put the cup back and leave. Before the heroes can depart the lair with
the unguarded treasure, however, the
dragon returns, senses intruders, and
starts an avalanche to seal the cave entrance. The heroes do find a secret passageway leading into a tunnel system
beneath the cave (the leprechaun secretly
goes along to play some jokes). The dragon
had sealed up the tunnels because they
were inhabited by an evil underground
race of great power. The heroes dont
know this, so they set out to explore the
area and run straight into a large patrol of
these evil creatures coming up to investigate what the dragon was roaring about.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.6

it after a huge battle, take all its treasure,
and go home to divide it up. However, all
of the treasure is cursed and gives the
heroes fits, if it doesnt eventually kill
them outright. To make matters worse,
one of the items draws hostile opponents
to the heroes (it secretly drew the heroes
to the dragon), and they are soon attacked
daily by a wild assortment of hungry,
greedy, savage monsters with no treasure.
The heroes manage to learn that the only
way to turn off the cursed items is to
bath them in the waters of a fountain in a
ruined city about 1,000 miles away in a
dense jungle. The fountain is guarded by
another dragon.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.7

the dragon after a huge battle, take all its
treasure, and go home to divide it up. A
few days later, however, the dragon is
backas an undead ghost dragon. Leaving
a wide path of destruction and fear in its
wake, the dangerous monster searches far
and wide for the heroes to recover its lost
treasures. Worse, the dragon cannot now
be killed unless a complicated ritual is
performed, involving the destruction of
some of its treasure and the acquisition of
a magical spear. Unfortunately, no one can
find the spear (its been taken to a museum
on an island overrun with mind flayers),
so the heroes must stay on the run from
both the ghost dragon and frightened
townspeople who dont want the heroes
anywhere near them.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.8

Some Adventurers meet in a tavern, hear
having a few brews. They find the dragons cave, but the dragon inside is a statue
covered with illusionsa decoy. The cave
8 SEPTEMBER 1993
is actually the workshop for a pair of spellcasting smithy-giants who are forging a set
of magical weapons for a minor demigod.
If the group interferes in any way with
the giants, the demigods avatar appears in
a few days to angrily send them off on an
involuntary quest to bring back a real
dragon to give to the giants as a pet. Of
course, no real dragon would ever want to
be a giants pet.
THE PLOT, ver. 1.9

having a few brews. They find the dragons cave, but the dragon inside is not very
big, cant breathe fire, and refuses to fight,
pleading for its life. The dragon says it is a
princess who was turned into a dragon
last Friday by her lover, who turned out to
be a dirtball wizard working for a foreign
country. The dragon has no treasure. If
the heroes kill the dragon, the body turns
into a lovely but very dead princess. If the
heroes help the dragon-princess, they
must protect her from numerous squads
of knights wanting to kill the dragon and
liberate its nonexistent treasure. Once
back at the princesss family estate, the
adventurers discover that the royal family
refuses to believe that the dragon is their
daughterbecause the princess (or someone who looks just like her) is still living
with them, newly married to the nice
wizard shes been dating. The heroes must
now figure out if the dragon is lying (it
isnt) and what they should do about the
situation, before the wizard decides to kill
them as well as the rest of the royal family
and take over the kingdom legitimately.
With a little effort, even the most trite
story line can be bent and remade into a
real adventure. Consider the following
examples of other trite plots: stopping an
evil wizard before he conquers the world
with an army of demonic beasts; rescuing
the kidnapped daughter of the mayor
from an occult group; fighting back an
invasion of goblins from underground
caves; searching a haunted mansion for a
secret treasure there. What would you do
to fix these situations? Think about it, then
run the resulting adventure for your
groups player characters. They might
develop a remarkable fear of dragonslaying in time.
And theyll never be bored again.
Letters
Continued from page 4
very well put. I spoke with an editor at that

paper and learned that the My Turn column
(in which Ms. Meades remarks appeared) was
open to submissions from those in the general
community; many newspapers have such forums for public opinions. I spoke with another
editor at the Tribune who said the paper had
received and published many letters in support
of gaming, these coming as a result of Ms.
Meades column. If you see a similar antigaming
opinion expressed in your local newspaper and
you decide to write a rebuttal, I would be happy
to hear about it. So would your fellow gamers.
In looking over that particular column, I was
sorry to read that Ms. Meade was presented with
such a mass of negative evaluations that she
decided to oppose playing the game, but I was
angered that the accusations she heard against
fantasy role-playing games were the same distortions and lies that have been heard for the last
decade. The current hysteria about satanism
lurking in every dark corner has gotten completely out of control. I think my greatest disappointment is that so many people have not taken
the time to listen to both sides of the issue; Ms.
Meade, for instance, said nothing about contacting any game company representatives for their
views and does not appear to have even bothered
to read any of the game books themselves. She
might also have taken the time to examine other
materials published by those who oppose gaming.
When I did this, I was shocked by the degree of
bigotry and intolerance that one antigaming
publisher displayed toward other religions,
toward science, and toward our basic American
freedom of thought (see the editorial in DRAGON
issue #182 for details).
If involvement with role-playing games leads to
Satan worship and the influences of evil power,"
then I suppose that after 10 years of working here
I should be one of the top evil high priests, which
would probably come as quite a surprise to my
family, my many friends, and those with whom I
attend worship services. Though Ive not conducted a poll here, Its been my experience that my
100+ co-workers at TSR, Inc. are predominately
Christian, either Catholic or Protestant, with an
assortment of other religions. From overhearing
random conversations, I know that church-going is
a part of the lives of many people here. Its interesting that in all the negative antigaming crap that
Ive seen, Ive never seen anyone accuse TSR
people themselves of being satanistsonly the
people who play the game are bad, not the ones
who make it. A peculiar distinction, no? Ignorant
rumors are like that.
Lots of people at TSR also have families, as is
evident when happy mothers bring in their
newborn babies or tired parents enlist their
older children to help stuff envelopes or sort
papers. No one here would tolerate or condone
the publication of material that we felt was
harmful to the publicand especially material
that was harmful to our own families!
Lots of people like our games. Some dont and
thats fine, but to accuse us of producing satanic
material is worse than ignorant; it is crudely
destructive and insanely stupid.
But, of course, thats just my opinion. Whats
yours? Write and let us know.
* indicates a product produced by a company other
than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks
owned by the companies publishing those products.
The use of the name of any product without mention
of its trademark status should not be construed as a
challenge to such status.
by Ruth Cooke
Artwork by Tony DiTerlizzi
The little ones are dangerous enough, but the big ones . . .
Brandi remained hidden among the
rocks until the sun had been down for
almost an hour. Then she slowly began to
make her way back across the
mountainside to the others, her scouting
of the ancient mine entrance complete.
10
SEPTEMBER 1993
Her slipper-clad feet were silent as she

invisibly traversed the rocky ground. She
was very careful not to dislodge any loose
stones. A single sound could be fatal,
revealing her whereabouts to the denizens
of the mountainside. Goblins might be
living deep in the old mine, but goblins

were the last things on Brandis mind.
Brandis keen elven eyes spotted several
faint red glows ahead of her, weaving
among the rocks. She froze instantly,
watching. After a moment, she sighed
with relief. A fire beetle, she thought to

herself. Not terribly dangerous, certainly
not something she would have difficulty
dispatching, but to be avoided
nevertheless. She didnt want to forego the
benefits of her spell of invisibility, and any
fight would attract more powerful
predators.
And there were many such predators in
these mountains. She watched with
interest as the fire beetle neared a pile of
loose stones, for she knew from research
and experience that such places were
seldom uninhabited in the Dragons Teeth
Mountains. Her vigilance was rewarded in
an unexpected way. As the beetle passed
the stones, a pale and unmistakable shape
the size of a pony arose from behind the
stones in the twilight. It rushed over and
down the rock pile with lightning speed
and great silence, tail high and pincers
outstretched.
A giant scorpion. Brandi gasped in
horror, resisting an urge to run. With an
effort of sheer will, she forced her
emotions into detachment and began to
observe what transpired.
Barely a dozen yards away, the scorpion
hurled itself upon its intended meal. The
fire beetle became aware of the danger
too late to scramble away, and the
scorpion caught it easily, holding the
beetle down with both pincers. Brandi
watched, disgusted and fascinated, as the
scorpion cracked open the struggling
beetles carapace. Then, when all
resistance had ceased, the pale monster
proceeded to tear its meal into small,
twitching pieces.
Brandi was widely traveled, but she had
never heard of a scorpion living outside
the desert.1 And this scorpion was white,
not green like the other, smaller versions
she had seen. Overcoming her fear and
revulsion, she approached the feeding
scorpion as closely as she dared. The thing
stank with a bitter smell, one she couldnt
identify. With her heat-sensing infravision,
she soon noticed that the monster was
drooling on the pieces of the beetle before
it ate them. Probably helps with the
digestive process, the elf thought to
herself.2
She was only six or seven yards away
when she made a second unpleasant
discovery. The scorpions white carapace
had appeared to be moving or rippling
before, and almost seemed furry. Now she
saw that the giant scorpion was not
actually white itself, but was covered by
what appeared to be white baby scorpions
with their tails up.3 She shivered. This was
definitely something to ask about when
she and Ortega and Michael returned to
the village!
Brandi could see that the scorpion would
be occupied for some time, so she
withdrew and gave the beast a wide berth
as she continued on her way, carefully
observing potential hiding places before
she passed them. She had heard that
scorpions hunted in swarms, and she

fervently wished to avoid this ones
companions.4
The elf had crossed a few hundred
yards when she recognized the great rock
where her companions were awaiting her.
She could barely see at all now except
with her heat vision and the faint starlight
overhead. Brandi smiled as she
approached the rock. Wait until she told
Ortega about the scorpion. He was always
teasing her about her fear of spiders. She
started to giggle.
In the next second, the monster had her.
A terrific force crushed the wind from
her lungs. Two of her ribs snapped and
stabbed into her chest. She tried to scream
but the pain was blinding, and she choked.
She looked down as she struggled. A
crablike claw three feet long held her
from behind. The air reeked of the bitter
scorpion-stink.
Brandis right arm was pinned down in
the pincers vise-tight grip. Nearly
overcome by panic, she fought to reach
the sword hilt at her side. The pincer
clamped harder into her chest. She
couldnt pull the sword free. A second
giant claw appeared from her left and
seized her one free arm at the shoulder,
tearing her skin. Brandi drew in a shallow
breath and shrieked, her lungs on fire
with agony. Ortega! Michael! Gods help
me!
A roaring sound was building up in her
ears. Brandis vision grew dim at the
edges. She kicked backwards, striking
nothing. With her left arm, she pounded
at the ceramic-like surface of the two huge
claws. It was almost impossible to breathe.
Use a magic missile! cried the sane part of
her mind. She half-turned in the claws
grip to prepare the spell. The claws
shoved her forward. Brandi stumbled and
sank to her knees, her shin striking a
sharp rock outcropping. The pain erased
the spells words from her mind. She
twisted again and tried to kick upward for
the giant scorpions claw-arm, but couldnt
connect. She remembered the scorpions
tail stinger, but it hardly seemed to matter
now. The roaring in her ears was louder,
now louder, now louder, now
A wild battle-cry split the night sky.
Boots scrambled over rock shards on the
giant scorpions right side. Brandi dazedly
felt the giant claws shiver from some great
impact, then abruptly release her. She fell
forward on the rocks, barely conscious. In
moments, the pain in her chest forced her
back to wakefulness. She took a gasping,
burning breath and opened her eyes. The
air was filled with Ortegas maddened war
screams and the whir of a long axe slicing
back and forth.
Help had arrived.
Perhaps too late.
A sob escaped Brandis lips. With an
effort, she mentally forced the
all-consuming pain aside and concentrated
on breathing slowly and with shallow
breaths. Did she have enough strength to

reach the healing potion in the pouch on
her belt? She tried to move her hand, but
her whole right arm felt like lead. The
claw had cut off all circulation from her
elbow down. She tried with her left arm,
but her fingers fumbled with the potions
stopper.
Bootsteps quickly came up and stopped
in the dust and gravel beside her head.
Someone was kneeling over her.
Just lie still, a deep voice said, calm but
tight with concern. Ill take care of you.
Thank Corellon, she thought, Michael
made it in time! She closed her eyes and
lay quietly as the half-elven priest cast a
healing spell. She felt a warm hand press
down on the center of her chest. The
burning pain in her lungs was lessened,
thenabruptlywas gone. She raised her
arms and covered her face with her
hands, giddy with relief and exhaustion.
I thought for a minute there I was
doomed, she gasped, then shivered
violently. It could have stung me!
Scorpions have little venom in their
stingers, Michael murmured as he
checked her over, so they only use it if
their prey is able to effectively
resistwhich you obviously werent."5
Michael quickly got to his feet. Stay
back," he warned, and was gone himself.
She struggled to sit up, eyes focusing on
the furious battle taking place barely
fifteen paces from her. Heat images
danced and dodged in her vision.
Ortega had managed to wound the
scorpion severely, judging from the warm
ichor splattered about the place, but he
was now caught in the giant scorpions
pincers and unable to act. The dwarf
roared with pain as he fought to escape.
Brandi looked up and saw the huge tail
curl forward, the venomous sting ready to
strike. If it hit home, her best friend
would be dead in just seconds. She knew
that although the poison of the smaller
species of scorpion was seldom fatal, the
sting of a giant scorpion almost always
meant death.6
The tail struck down; there was a dull
clanging sound. Brandi flinched, then
realized that the stinger had hit a plate of
the dwarfs heavy armor. She could even
see a large splash of warm poison
dribbling down Ortegas armored back.
Energy surged through her. Before the
thing could strike again, Brandi was on
her feet, the words of a spell on her lips.
She fired off several magic missiles from
her fingertips, the glowing bolts lancing
into the beasts side. The giant scorpion
jumped wildly from the attack. A moment
later, Michael came in and dealt it a solid
blow with his mace. The scorpions
carapace split from the impact. Ortega,
using his enormous strength, managed to
free himself from the pincers and roll out
of harms way.
Brandi raised a hand and shouted the
words to another magic missile spell.
DRAGON 11
Power bolted from her fingers into the

monster. The creatures tail and pincers
suddenly flailed about spasmodically as
the scorpion danced in a tight circle.
Without warning, it fell on its side, limbs
shivering. Then the legs, pincer arms, and
tail stiffenedand slowly, very slowly, fell
back against the rocks. They did not move
again.
It was dawn before the three
adventurers could bring themselves to
examine the dead scorpion from close
range. Each kept a weapon ready and one
eye out for further trouble, but none
came.
No wonder I didnt see the thing,
Brandi said, running a hand through her
golden hair. I always thought scorpions
were green, but this ones the same color
as the rock.
Maybe scorpions in different
environments have differently colored
shells to help them hide, Michael said.7
Thats possible, Brandi admitted. I
dont think they have the ability to change
colors automatically, so they must gain
their coloration at birth.
What are those hairs for? Ortega
asked, pointing with his axe handle.
Theyre all over the things body.
I believe the hairs help the scorpion
detect prey by sensing vibrations in the
air," Michael answered.8 Think of them as
being like a cats whiskers.
12 SEPTEMBER 1993
So thats how it found me! Brandi

exclaimed. I was invisible when it
attacked me, and I swear I wasnt making
any noise, but it knew exactly where I
was."
Next time, youd better fly," Ortega
advised grimly.
I dont think flying would have helped
her, unless she was high enough to be out
of the scorpions reach," Michael told them.
My brother once captured a few normal
scorpions so that he could study them, and
I watched one of them grab a fly from
midair.
Ortega shook his head. And I thought
scorpions were just big stupid insects!9
Theyre not insects," Michael said
quickly. Insects have only six legs, but
scorpions have eight. Theyre arachnids."
Ortega grinned wickedly at Brandi, his
old humor returning. That means theyre
related to spiders, you know."
Brandi pretended to shiver, but her act
was no longer as forced as it once was.
Dont mention spiders! Ive had enough of
them to last me for my next ten lifetimes!
Footnotes
1. In the real world, scorpions are found

in habitats as diverse as scorching deserts,
temperate woodlands, dark caves, tropical
rain forests, and snow-covered mountains.
It only makes sense that their larger
cousins would be able to adapt to similarly
diverse situations.
2. In fact, the saliva liquifies the fleshy

parts of the scorpions meal. Victims killed
and eaten by a giant scorpion are
unrecoverable by magic, unless a wish
spell or similar means is used.
3. Scorpions do not actually lay eggs.
The eggs hatch inside the mother, and the
female gives birth to live young. After they
are born, they climb on her back and ride
there until they are old enough to fend for
themselves. At the DMs option, 5% of
scorpion encounters can be with a mother
scorpion carrying 5-20 young on her back.
Since the young do not eat or have
effective attacks, it is possible that
adventurers could sell those babies that
survive to interested alchemists or
wizards.
4. As befits a species with cannibalistic
tendencies, scorpions are usually solitary
creatures. However, during the colder
months of the year, they do congregate in
large groups of a hundred or more
individuals. Encounters with these groups
probably started the rumor that scorpions
live and hunt in swarms.
5. Normal scorpions have enough venom
for only one attack, and it takes a week to
replenish the poison. A giant scorpion will
use its stinger only against an opponent
with an effective means of attack. I
suggest a limit of two stinger attacks per
week for large scorpions, four per week
for huge scorpions, and five per week for
giant scorpions.
6. Most of the 1,500 or so species of
normal scorpions presently known to exist
in the real world deliver stings no more
harmful than a bee sting. However, about
25 species have venom that is potentially
lethal to humans. (Its a wise adventurer
who always checks her boots before she
puts them on when adventuring in the
desert.)
7. Because of the camouflaging and their
ability to remain motionless for long
periods of time, scorpions have a greater
chance of surprising the party ( -2 to
partys roll to detect them). Giant
scorpions cannot be surprised unless the
players can think of a way to nullify the
advantage given by the sensitive hairs,
which detect all movement through the
air, visible or not, within a 90 radius.
Large and huge scorpions have 30 and 60
radii of detection, respectively. The first
giant scorpion Brandi met simply ignored
her in favor of its meal, leading her to
think she was still unnoticed.
8. These hairs are sensitive enough to
allow the scorpion to attack invisible
opponents with no penalty. In addition, a
large, huge, or giant scorpion can attack
any flying creature which comes within
range of its pincers, again with no penalty.
9. Suggested revised experience-point
values for scorpions with the extra powers
listed in this article are: large scorpions,
420 XP; huge scorpions, 975 XP; giant
scorpions, 1,400 XP.
[For more information, see Scorpion
Tales," in DRAGON issue #120.]
Ral Partha and TSR, Inc.: the tag team of the century
by James M. Ward
When you go to your hobby store to buy
figures for your role-playing games, you
should know that youre really spoiled. An
old guy like me can remember miniatures
called flats, which were thin strips of
metal with the images of horsemen or
footmen stamped onto them. Todays miniatures are amazing pieces of sculpture,
much more like fine art than simple toys.
If you havent already gotten into the
hobby of painting your own figures for
your role-playing games, you owe it to
yourself to give this experience a try.
Theres something almost magical about
painting your own image of what your
favorite barbarian or wizard looks like.
There is also great satisfaction in painting
figures better than your friends. In the old
days, I used to think I was a pretty good
figure painter. That was before I encountered Skip Williams and Dave Sutherland,
two co-workers here at TSR. Those guys
know tricks about painting figures Ill
never be able to learn. Who would have
thought that you could make your figures
look better by touching them up with an
ink pen? Skip and Dave each use a technical pen with a needle tip using a drafting
ink (you can put colored ink into them,
too). These pens cost about $10 each, and
theyll do amazing things to the quality of
your finished figures.
I also remember the first time I hauled
out a batch of painted characters to use in
my AD&D game. Its great to visualize
whats happening to your player characters. Miniatures are a big help in deciding
arguments over positioning, as when the
players see that eight fighters cant possibly have room to surround a vampire in a
narrow corridor. And theres nothing quite
so nice for deciding who gets attacked in
the front or the back of the party when
there are figures for every one of the
players nicely arranged out on a tabletop.
The bottom line on this is that if you havent gotten into the hobby of figure painting, you should.
TSR licensed Ral Partha Enterprises to
create our D&D and AD&D figures. Its a
partnership that has produced some of the

most fantastic miniatures art Ive ever
seen. The people at Ral Partha take a
fierce pride in what they do, and it shows
in their work. Proper proportions isnt
just a phrase with them, its a way of life.
Time and time again, they call TSR to task
for some out-sized illustration or physically impossible dimension on one of our
creatures. Luckily for me, I can occasionally fall back on the fact that we are dealing
with a fantasy universe in which all things
are possible. That argument usually buys
me a little time, but unfortunately it hardly ever wins an argument.
In the pages that follow, youll see a bit
about the products Ral Partha makes for
TSR. (Ral Partha makes figures for other
game companies, too, and thats basically
why we thought of it as the company we
wanted most to work with.) Ral Partha
handles figures for all of TSRs most popular settings, producing a wide assortment
of our fantasy characters and monsters in
both blister packs and boxed sets. Every
three months, something new comes out
in the AD&D line. TSR works closely with
Ral Partha to present our fans with figures
theyll find interesting and useful. By the
time this article sees print, several boxes
of plastic figures will be out as well. Ive
seen Ral Parthas plastic, and its the finest
on the market today.
In the BATTLESYSTEM series are seven
boxed sets allowing you to have instant
armies of 25-mm figures. Besides the
dwarves, gnolls, and ogres are wonderful
Oriental figures, mounted clan warriors,
and the nicest set of skeletal cavalry youd
ever want to see. The DRAGONLANCE
groups of figures include all the heroes
and villains of TSRs most popular novel
series. The blister packs of AD&D figures
are great fun and allow you to have all the
character classes done up in miniature. It
was in the RAVENLOFT line that the
concept for vampire halflings, dwarves,
and elves came up. The village mob figures are wonderful, perfect for use with
settings other than just the RAVENLOFT
one. When the DARK SUN figures came

out, I was very impressed. A few character races in the DARK SUN world are very
unusual for the AD&D game, and Ral
Partha has helped shape the nature of
these wonderful creations. The half-giant
has become my favorite current figure
from the company. I like painting it, I like
using it in a game, and I especially like
using the figure with DMs who havent
encountered the giants unusual properties.
A wide range of AD&D game monsters
appears on a regular basis. Every three
months Ral Partha releases another batch
of monsters straight from the Monstrous
Manual. Im lucky enough to review them
at TSR before they go into mass production, and their quality constantly amazes
me.
Weve gone into new areas, too. It took
me a long time to convince Ral Partha that
AD&D 15-mm miniatures would sell. The
figures they have done are as good in 15
mm as the same type of figures in 25 mm.
Even now Im putting together some 15
mm armies and having great fun painting
them up and fixing the stands. The range
of figures in this line includes fantasy as
well as Middle Ages-style units, great for
the role-player as well as the war gamer.
When Ral Partha offered TSR the
chance to have its own line of AD&D
paints, it was an offer too good to pass up.
Now you can have colors like Ghoul Flesh
Lime, Dragon Scale Red, Mind Flayer
Mauve, and Blue Water Blue.
All I can say in conclusion is that whatever Ral Partha produces in the next few
years will probably be even better than
whats been done in the last few yearsas
impossible as that sounds. Look for more
incredible works of miniatures art with
the Ral Partha label.
DRAGON 15
The annual ORIGINS Awards were announced in a ceremony at

the ORIGINS game convention, on Saturday, July 3rd, in Dallas,
Tex. These awards cover 20 categories of excellence, in design
and artistry, for role-playing games, board games, miniature
figurines, rules for miniatures games, play-by-mail games, computer games, and gaming publications. The winners are determined by public balloting, after a nominations round with
participation by members of GAMAs Academy of Adventure
Gaming Arts and Design. The procedures this year were run
simultaneously for 1991 and 1992 product releases.
And the winners were:
1991 ORIGINS Awards

Best Historical Figure Series
Pendragon Knight & Lady Sets, by Lance and Laser

Sculptor: Tom Meier
Best Fantasy/Science-Fiction Figure Series (tie)
Call of Cthulhu series, by RAFM

Sculptor: Bob Murch
Shadowrun series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptors: Tom Meier, Dennis Mize, and David Summers
Best Vehicular Figure Series
BattleTech Mechs and Vehicles series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptors: Bob Charette, Sandy Garrity, Julie Guthrie, Richard
Kerr, Tom Meier, David Summers, and Jeff Wilhelm
Best Miniature Accessory Series
Battlescapes, by Geo Hex

Designer: Kieran Rohan
Best Miniatures Rules
Star Wars Miniatures Rules, by West End Games

Designer: Stephen Crane
Best Role-Playing Rules
Vampire: The Masquerade game, by White Wolf Publishing

Designer: Mark ReinHagen
Best Role-Playing Adventure
Horror on the Orient Express (for the Call of Cthulhu game), by

Chaosium, Inc.
Designers: Mark Morrison, with Marion Anderson, Phil Anderson, Bernard Caleo, Geoff Gillan, Nick Hagger, Peter Jeffery,
Christian Lehmann, Thomas Ligotti, Penelope Love, Russell
Waters, Richard Watts, and Lynn Willis
Best Role-Playing Supplement
GURPS Time Travel, by Steve Jackson Games

Designers: John M. Ford and Steve Jackson
Best Graphic Presentation of an RPG, Adventure, or
Supplement
Horror on the Orient Express (for the Call of Cthulhu game), by

Chaosium, Inc.
Artists: Les Brooks, Charlie Krank, and Lynn Willis
Best Pre-20th Century Board Game
Blackbeard, by The Avalon Hill Game Company

Designer: Richard Berg
Best Modern-Day Board Game
EastFront, by Columbia Games

Designers: Craig Besinque and Tom Dalgliesh
Best Fantasy or Science-Fiction Board Game
Cosmic Encounter, by Mayfair Games

Original designers: Bill Eberle, Jack Kittridge, Peter Olotka, and
Bill Norton
Revision designers: Jack Barker, David Goun, Sean Rhoades, Richard Sheaves, and Mark Simon
Best Role-Playing Supplement
Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game
Best Graphic Presentation of an RPG, Adventure, or

Supplement
HeroQuest, by Milton Bradley

Best Play-By-Mail Game
Illuminati, by Flying Buffalo

Designer: Draper Kauffman
Best New Play-By-Mail Game
Middle-earth Play-By-Mail, Third Age, circa 1650, by Game Systems Inc.

Designers: William Feild and Peter Stassun
Best Fantasy/Science-Fiction Computer Game
Wing Commander II, by Origin Systems
GURPS Illuminati, by Steve Jackson Games

Designer: Nigel Findley
Shadowrun, 2nd Edition, by FASA Corporation

Artists: Jeff Laubenstein and Joel Biske
Best Pre-20th Century Board Game
SPQR, by GMT
Designers: Mark Herman and Richard Berg
Best Modern-Day Board Game
Hacker, by Steve Jackson Games

Designer: Steve Jackson
Best Fantasy or Science-Fiction Board Game
Best Military or Strategy Computer Game
Nuclear Proliferation, by Flying Buffalo

Designer: Rick Loomis
Best Professional Adventure Gaming Magazine
BattleTech, 3rd Edition, by FASA Corporation

Artists: Jeff Laubenstein and Jim Nelson
Sid Meiers Civilization, by MicroProse

Designer: Sid Meier
White Wolf Magazine, by White Wolf Publishing

Editor: Stewart Wieck
Art Direction: Richard Thomas and Chris McDonough
Best Amateur Adventure Gaming Magazine
MWAN (Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter)

Editor: Hal Thinglum
1991 Academy of Adventure Game Design Hall of Fame
Richard Berg, veteran designer of dozens of board games and

publisher of Bergs Review of Games
1992 ORIGINS Awards

Best Historical Figure Series
Hyksos Ancient Biblical series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptor: Jim Johnson
Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game
Best Play-By-Mail Game (tie)
Middle-earth Play-By-Mail, Third Age, circa 1650, by Game Systems Inc.

Designers: William Feild and Peter Stassun
Illuminati, by Flying Buffalo
Designer: Draper Kauffman
Best New Play-By-Mail Game
Lords of Destiny, by Maelstrom,
Best Fantasy/Science-Fiction Computer Game
Ultima Underworld, by Origin Systems
Best Military or Strategy Computer Game
V for Victory, by Three-Sixty Pacific
Best Professional Adventure Gaming Magazine
Best Fantasy/Science-Fiction Figure Series
RAVENLOFT series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptor: Dennis Mize
White Wolf Magazine, by White Wolf Publishing

Editor: Stewart Wieck
Art Direction: Richard Thomas and Chris McDonough
Best Vehicular Figure Series (tie)
Best Amateur Adventure Gaming Magazine
Ogre Miniatures series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptors: Richard Kerr, David Summers, and Jeff Wilhelm
Don Greenwood, Vice President of R&D at The Avalon Hill Game

Company, and holder of dozens of board-game development
credits
Tom Meier, miniatures sculptor, co-founder of Ral Partha Enterprises, and pioneer in the use of advanced epoxy compounds
for sculpting figure masters, which he taught to others in the
industry
BattleTech Mechs and Vehicles series, by Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptors: Bob Charette, Sandy Garrity, Julie Guthrie, Richard
Kerr, Tom Meier, David Summers, and Jeff Wilhelm
Best Miniature Accessory Series
Tiny Terrain 15-mm Fantasy, by Simtac

Designer: Martin Fenelon
Bergs Review of Games

Editor: Richard Berg
1992 Academy of Adventure Game Design Hall of Fame (tie)
Best Miniatures Rules
Ogre Miniatures, by Steve Jackson Games

Designer: Steve Jackson
Best Role-Playing Rules
Shadowrun, 2nd Edition, by FASA Corporation

Designers: Tom Dowd, with Paul Hume and Bob Charette
Best Role-Playing Adventure
GURPS Cyberpunk Adventures, by Steve Jackson Games

Editor: Jeff Koke
Designers: David L. Pulver, Jak Koke, and Timothy Keating
The staff of DRAGON Magazine salutes these

winners and wishes them the very best!
GAMA and ORIGINS are trademarks of the Game Manufacturers Association.
DRAGON and RAVENLOFT are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc.
Other products named here are produced by companies other than TSR, Inc.
Most product names are trademarks owned by the companies publishing those
products. The use of the name of any product without mention of its trademark
status should not be construed as a challenge to such status.
DRAGON 19
by Skip Williams
If you have any questions on the games

produced by TSR, Inc., Sage Advice will
answer them. In the United States and
Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI
53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage
Advice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120
Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge
CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We are no
longer able to make personal replies;
please send no SASEs with your questions
(SASEs are being returned with writers
guidelines for the magazine).
This month, the sage turns the spotlight
on himself, then considers a few questions
straight out of the mailbag.
I was disappointed to learn that
you and the "Sage Advice staff are
no longer making personal replies,
so please print my letter.
There is no Sage Advice stafftheres

just me and anybody I can buttonhole for
a few minutes to discuss the intricacies of
game rules. Of course, the DRAGON Magazine editorial staff is a vital cog in the
Sage Advice machine, but they dont
swing into action until Im done my
months work.
I had to stop making personal replies
more than six years agothe volume of
mail was and is just too great.
I read the words please print this letter
almost as often as I read please write
back. I cannot do the latter. Nor can I
print every question I getI never print
entire letters. I ask myself several questions when deciding what to print:
1. Is this a question Ive printed before?
Sage Advice couldnt possibly keep pace
with all the new inquiries it gets if we
spent time and space reprinting old questions. Also, the column would be pretty
boring to read if it was packed with retreaded material all the time. Before you
write, take a look through your back
issues and see if your question already is
in print; your local book store, library, or
game store might be able to help here. I do
sometimes revisit an old topic, but only if I
feel there is need for a clarification.
2. Are a lot of readers asking the same
or similar questions? If I get three or more
readers asking about the same thing, I
usually answer the question. In a sense,

you could say that it is the readers who
decide what appears in this column.
3. Is this question specific and answerable? Some questions just dont have any
answers. How can I become a better
DM? is one that I see several times a year.
Fortunately, this magazine prints many,
many articles on DMing techniques every
year.
Sometimes readers dont give me enough
to go on. One question that is sitting in the
pile right now asks about such-and-such a
monsters actual hit points. The reader
didnt even give me a single clue about
where this creature appeared. Sure, I like
a little challenge once in awhile, but you
stand a much better chance of getting a
question printed if you assist by telling me
where to start looking for the answer,
especially if your question involves a potential misprint or editorial omission.
Include the title of the product and the
page number where you found the problem. Check out the next question for an
example of what I mean.
Im having trouble using Table 22:
Player Character Living Expenses in
the DMG, page 34. What is included
in these costs, just basic needs? Also
is the cost for a single character or a
whole party of characters?
The table gives the monthly cost for a

single characters room and board
housing, food, and miscellaneous services
(such as laundry, mending, and bathing).
Obviously, characters living in squalid or
poor conditions arent going to receive
many extra services, and characters living
in middle-class or wealthy conditions are
going to receive a lot of extra services.
Costs for adventuring gear and supplies
are not included. Likewise, costs for new
clothes, stabling for mounts, training,
medicine, and similar expenses are not
covered.
Does a jongleurs (from The Complete Bards Handbook) use of her

dodge ability count as an action?
That is, can she dodge and attack, or
dodge and cast a spell in the same
round?
Since the kit description describes the

dodge ability as a sudden, agile leap to
safety, Im inclined to suggest that you
treat a dodge as an action. If the jongleur
loses initiative, she can either use her
dodge ability or forego it, weather the
attack, and take another action. If the
jongleur wins initiative and takes an
action, she cannot dodge until the next
round. Alternatively, you might allow a
jongleur who has won initiative and taken
an action to dodge during the same round
if she beats the opponents die rolleach
character rolls 1d6, if the jongleur rolls
higher, she can attempt to dodge. If the
roll is tied or the jongleur rolls lower than
her opponent, she has to take her lumps
like any other character.
If a wild-talent psionicist is using
Synaptic Static and another wildtalent psionicist tries to use another
power, say Elongation, how is the
psychic contest resolved given that
neither character is using an attack
or defense mode?
You resolve this contest the same way

youd resolve any other psychic contest.
Many readers seem to be confused by the
fact that the psychic contest rules (see The
Complete Psionics Handbook, pages 22-24)
use attack and defense modes as an example. All psychic combat takes the form of a
psychic contest, but you use the psychic
contest mechanics whenever two or more
psychic powers are in conflictthe presence or lack of attack or defense modes
notwithstanding. As one example, if two
wild-talent psionicists are trying to Telekinese an object, use the psychic contest
rules. In your example, the character
using Synaptic Static uses his Synaptic
Static power score for the contest and the
other psionicist uses her Elongation power
score. If the Synaptic Static user wins the
contest, the Elongation power fails. If the
Synaptic Static user initiated the power
first, he is the defender in the contest and
he wins ties. If the Synaptic Static user
initiates the power in order to disrupt the
Elongation power, he is the attacker.
There seem to be some very similar proficiencies in the Complete
Spacefarers Handbook and the War
Captains Companion. In particular,
Spacefarers features Wildspace
Navigation, Phlogiston Navigation,
Slow Respiration, Signaling, and
Zero-Gravity Combat. On the other
hand, War Captains offers Celestial
Navigation, Slow Breathing, Semaphore, and Freefall. Generally, these
proficiencies have similar purposes,
but different game mechanics.
These two works actually were developed in parallel, one by the TSR, Inc. staff
and the other by freelancers, so the overlap isnt surprising. While you are correct
that the proficiencies in question are very
similar, their game effects can be quite
different.
The three Navigation proficiencies seem
DRAGON 21
to be similar on the surface, but work

differently. The Spacefarers skills allow a
navigator to move more efficiently between points in space. (This implies that
the navigator knows where he is, but this
isnt necessarily the case. The only thing
the navigator really knows is what to do in
order to get where hes going in the shortest possible time, which could be a seat-ofthe-pants undertaking.) The War Captains
skill allows a navigator to know exactly
where his ship is in relation to his destination (and to the rest of the sphere if he
also has the Astronomy proficiency). Celestial Navigation also allows the character to
direct ramming attacks. All three proficiencies allow navigators to avoid hazards.
If you have both books, you might consider requiring a character to know Celestial Navigation before learning Wildspace
or Phlogiston Navigation (though dropping
Celestial Navigation altogether would
makes things a lot simpler for PCs).
Slow Respiration is a mental skill (based
on the characters unmodified Wisdom
score) that is fairly easy to use; it also
incapacitates the character, allowing no
other actions. Slow Breathing is a difficult
physical act (based on Constitution score
-5), which has the same effect as Slow
Respiration but allows the characters to at
least move around. Further, a character
using Slow Breathing can converse, eat,
and even fight if she makes an additional
22 SEPTEMBER 1993
proficiency check. Slow Respiration is best

for most characters because it doesnt
carry a huge ability-score penalty. However, a character with a very high Constitution score might be better off with Slow
Breathing. The logic behind both proficiencies seems sound to me, and your
campaign wont suffer if you make both
proficiencies available.
Semaphore and Signaling do virtually
the same thing, so use your judgment and
pick one for your game. Signaling is easier
to use (Intelligence +2 instead of unmodified Intelligence for Semaphore), but Semaphore allows the user to send and receive
messages more quickly if he spends extra
slots on the skill. Whatever you pick, it
would be best to drop the other proficiency from your game.
Freefall allows a character to temporarily ignore sudden shifts in gravity. This is
quite different from Zero-Gravity Combat,
which allows a character to fight normally
in the total absence of gravityand even
move around a bit. Both these proficiencies should be useful to spacefarers. Note
these skills dont overlap: Freefall does not
negate the combat penalties for fighting in
the absence of gravity (see Concordance of
Arcane Space, page 14). Likewise, ZeroGravity Combat does not prevent a character from being tossed about, perhaps
catastrophically, when her ships gravity
plane shifts.
Pantheon of the Month
Last issue, I promised to start giving

unofficial suggestions for using the optional spheres of priest spells from the Tome
of Magic with the deities in Legends &
Lore. Ill work through one pantheon a
month until theyre all done. Heres the list
for the American Indian pantheon:
Great Spirit: Major: Time, Wards;
Minor: Thought, Law.
Sun: Major: Chaos; Minor: Time,
Thought.
Moon: Major: Wards; Minor: Travelers,
War.
Earth: Major: Wards; Minor: Time, Law
or Chaos (priest picks one).
Morning Star: Major: Time; Minor:
Travelers, Wards.
Wind: Major: Time; Minor: Chaos, War.
Fire: Major: Chaos; Minor: Time, War.
Thunder: Major: Time; Minor: Law,
Chaos.
Raven: Major: none; Minor: Time,
Travelers.
Coyote: Major: none; Minor: Chaos,
Travelers.
Snake: Major: none; Minor: Time,
Wards.
PBM Gaming #l: How to run your favorite role-playing game by mail
by Mark R. Kehl
Have you ever been involved in a great

campaign that came to an abrupt end
because one or more of the participants
moved away? Does your gaming group
break up at the end of every school year?
Has graduation and its aftermath left your
gaming group spread across the country?
Is there a lack of gaming in your area that
suits your style and tastes?
These are a few of the reasons why
running a campaign by mail might appeal
to you and your players. However, play-bymail (PBM) gaming is not just a last-ditch
option when you cant play live. It offers
certain advantages that, when properly
exploited, can compensate for the lack of
face-to-face role-playing.
When playing by mail, both players and
GMs have time in which to consider their
options, develop tactics, and formulate
plots and plans. Also, everything that
happens is recorded on paper, where it
can be read over and over in light of new
developments. This allows for more complex story lines and mysteries than you
might normally use; you dont have to deal
with players forgetting key pieces of information, such as the name of the smuggler
who vanished in the storm last fall or the
riddle spoken by the old woman in front
of the tavern.
Of course, these advantages lend themselves primarily to a very story-oriented
sort of role-playing in which plots, subplots, and mysteries assume greater importance than combat. Combat will still be
a part of most campaigns, but it becomes
more of a means to an end rather than the
end itself. The thrill in this sort of roleplaying lies in unmasking the murderer,
outwitting the archvillain, and unearthing
the secrets of the lost empire.
If this appeals to you, read on. The following guidelines suggest ways to go about
setting up and running your own campaign by mail. Keep in mind that these are
general guidelines, designed to apply to
most any role-playing game you would
care to use. Your tastes, your knowledge
of your players, and your chosen game
system should suggest alternatives and
innovations that allow you to customize
the best campaign for your purposes.
Whats there to play?
For this first step, you have two options,

each with its own inherent advantages and
drawbacks.
First, you can adapt an existing campaign for running by mail. This might be
done when a group is forced to break up
because its members (particularly you, the
game master) move away. In this way, you
are already familiar with the players
styles of play, they know what to expect
from you as a GM, and everyone knows
the rules. Youre all in familiar territory.
Everyone has a sense of the campaigns
background and past events. Many key
nonplayer characters already exist and are
familiar to the players, requiring no reintroduction These aspects will help you
run the game and save time.
The disadvantage of running an existing
campaign is that your new play-by-mail
version will still be different from the old
campaigns that everyone is used to. Theres
no way around that. Players cant simply
have their characters walk into a bar and
play things by ear; that would take dozens
of moves and months of real time to play

out. As noted earlier, combat by mail loses
much of its excitement, but this is balanced
by more emphasis on plot and story. Finding
this balance may prove problematic with an
existing campaign.
The other option for your new campaign
is to start from scratch. This allows you to
tailor your game to make the best use of
the advantages of playing by mail, as discussed later, but this too has its drawbacks. First, the players must all know the
game system or be willing to pick up and
learn the rules. Second, you must document everything that players need to
know to create characters and get started
in your new world. Of course, to many
GMs the prospect of detailing and developing a new campaign is an exciting one.
Guidelines to do just that follow.
From humble beginnings
If you are using an already active campaign, the amount of preparation you
need to do is minimal. If you are creating
an entirely new campaign, youve got a lot
to do, as anyone who has ever created his
own campaign knows. You need to put
together the information the players must
have to understand your world without
benefit of you sitting in front of them. The
easiest way to proceed is to detail a limited
area in which your players will beginthe
last civilized spaceport on the frontier, the
superheroes home town, the elven wizards village, or whatever is appropriate
for your milieu. A map is a good idea,
detailing the familiar home territory and
providing sketchy information about more
distant lands; tantalize the players with
vague references to the mysterious City of
the Undead, the Waterfall That Flows
Upward, or the ever-popular Haunted
Wasteland Where a Big Sorcerous Battle
Took Place Long, Long Ago.
With the setting taken care of, you next
need to detail the people: who rules what,
which race lives where, what languages
are spoken on what planets, that sort of
thing. If you are deviating from or twisting
standard elements of your chosen genre
always a fun exercisemake sure your
players know about it up front so they can
DRAGON 25
take this into account when generating

their characters. For instance, if you decide all the elves in your world are cannibalistic demon worshipers, clue in the
players before they make up their band of
fun-loving forest-dwellers.
Other information the players need
might include details about local laws and
law enforcement, the availability of certain
weapons and supplies, climate, calendars,
and specifics about character generation
using your chosen rule system. What
character classes, races, skills, or professions are allowed? Is plate armor made
locally? How often do spacecraft land at
the run-down starport? Should the PCs
invest in raincoats, arctic gear, bathing
suits, or space suits?
One more thing youll want to include is
some sort of loose group rationale or
general party alignment; nothing will drive
you insane faster than characters who
spread out all over the map. Come up with
a reason for them to start together and
stay together. Letting the players know
how you feel about this early on gives
them the opportunity to tailor characters
specifically for your envisioned group so
that you dont have to try to shoehorn
incompatible characters into the party
during the course of play.
Who to invite?
When youve got the background information assembled, youre ready to get the
players themselves involved. Your first
consideration is how many players to
include in your new campaign. One or two
would work fine; I prefer three, which
allows me to pay sufficient attention to
each individually and still have some variety of PCs who can interact with one another. Four is a good maximum; more
would severely limit each characters time
in the spotlight and would probably prove
too much work for a GM who has other
demands on his time.
After youve chosen your players, send
them the information youve assembled
about your campaign, and let them know
what you need from them. First, of
course, you need each player to have a
character generated using the specified
rule system. Make up a list of guidelines to
include any house rules, impose restrictions, or set point values.
Next, you will probably want a rough
character history from each player. As
playing by mail lends itself best to storyoriented campaigns, you will want as
many hooks for plots and subplots as you
can get. The backgrounds of characters
are not only a source of good ideas, but by
having the players come up with these
backgrounds themselves you let them
have a say in future story lines, ensuring
that the players will have an interest in
them. Let the players know beforehand
that you may alter or add to their backgrounds slightly to help them fit in the
campaign and get along together. Also, to
make sure you get the sort of background
26 SEPTEMBER 1993
information you want, you might want to

specify details or make up specific questions for the players to answer, such as
where the characters are from, what sort
of long- and short-term goals they possess,
and what motivates them. A physical
description is helpful for visualizing the
character and for describing the characters actions when you write game moves.
When you receive responses from your
players, go over the character backgrounds with an eye toward using events
from their pasts as future story elements.
Modify the backgrounds as necessary to
develop such ideas, but try to add to
whats there rather than altering it. For
instance, if a player writes, One day the
young mages master passed away, and he
decided to leave the seclusion of his masters tower and seek his fortune." In that
case, tell the player the master did not just
drop dead in his oatmeal one morning.
Instead, the PC looked out his tower window one stormy night and saw his master
arguing with a one-eyed dwarf, who
struck him down with a sword blacker
than night itself. The character will check
every dwarf he meets for a missing eye
and a black sword, and the eventual confrontation and revelation of why the
dwarf killed the mages master will hold
the sort of personal meaning for the PC
that casual encounters lack.
Making the first move
Once youve got your players characters

and youve finished touching up their
backgrounds, youre ready to set up the
first move. Simply tell the characters
where they are, how they got there, and
what they see. Then give them information to work with, the more the better
rumors from the inn, postings from the
mercenaries bulletin board, news reports,
legends from their childhood, whatever is
applicable. Just make each adventure hook
interesting so that the players will be
intrigued and so that you will be able to
create the subsequent adventure if the
players decide to pursue it.
When you send this starting scenario to
the players, give them your house rules.
Let them know exactly what you expect
from them and the mechanics of your
play-by-mail system. Heres an example
you can modify for your own use:
1. Combat will be of two basic types.
Simple fights in which your course of
action is obvious (fight or die, using your
strongest attack) will be resolved by me.
For more complete fights, I will describe
the situation and then end the move, so
that your next instructions will include
how you want to deal with the combat
situation. For instance, I might write:
After your companion Tangor makes a
comment about a drunken barbarians
ponytail, the barbarian backhands Tangor,
knocking him to the floor, and puts a
booted foot on his chest. The bar erupts in
chaos as the barbarians compatriots begin
hitting whomever is closest. The redheaded elf who has been staring at you
grins and pulls a black rose from her
sleeve. What do you do?
2. Based on your current situation, for
each move you need to supply your characters immediate long- and short-term
goals. For instance, suppose youre in the
situation described above. Your long-term
goals might be to become the most powerful wizard in the land and to find the oneeyed dwarf who killed your master. Your
short-term goals might be something like:
Hit the drunk barbarian with my chair,
then make my way to the nearest window.
If the elf starts to cast any spells in my
direction, Ill throw darts at her. When I
reach the window, Ill jump through it, get
on my horse, and find an inn in the next
town. In the morning I want to try to sell
the necklace I found in Orblatts cave and
replace the darts I lost. Also, Ill check
around at the mercenaries guild or at
local inns for rumors about the one-eyed
dwarf who killed my master.
3. Your moves should take into account
as many contingencies as you can think of
(such as the possibility of the elf casting a
spell in the simplified example above) and
should describe your actions in enough
detail to avoid ambiguity. If you are locked
up in someones dungeon, you cannot
simply say, Escape." You need to do something like try to pick lock with nail from
my boot or search for secret doors or
otherwise outline some definite course of
action.
4. Overall party actions will be determined by majority, with me, the GM, as
final arbiter. Ill do my best to integrate
your moves and come up with acceptable
compromises when they conflict.
5. Keep the moves I send you for future
reference. They may hold clues and other
information that will come in handy to
understanding overall plot lines.
The results are in....
With all of your players instructions in

hand, its time to sort through them, determine the results of their actions, set up the
next cliffhanger, and write it all up in one
brief, thrilling move.
To start, go over each players instructions and construct the story line for the
move, integrating the actions of all of the
players and resolving any conflicts. Look
at what the players want to do and let
them do it. One of the greatest advantages
of playing by mail is the flexibility that
time gives you. Heres how to do that and
take care of conflicting instructions from
different players.
If youre playing live and the PCs decide they all want to go off the map, away
from the encounters youve labored so
hard to prepare, youve got a problem. You
have no time to prepare new material, so
youre forced either to ad lib, make the old
material work somehow, or force the
players to realize the error of their ways,
none of which is an ideal situation. How-
ever, when playing by mail, the PCs have

complete liberty to go anywhere and do
anything they want; you dont need to
have anything prepared. Whatever the
players decide to do, youll have ample
time to come up with something to entertain them. Take advantage of this by supplying lots of adventure hooks and letting
the PCs choose what they want to do
rather than forcing them into a scenario
youve already got prepared.
The only hitch here is keeping the PCs
together. If they decide to go in four separate directions, you could end up with a
lot of material to write as your campaign
splinters into four different story lines.
The way to deal with this is first to let the
players know from the start that party
actions will be decided by majority, with
you, the GM, as final arbiter. In the case of
a tie, nudge them in the direction you
think will supply them the most fun.
For instance, if the fighter and the mage
want to go off and face the dragon in his
lair, but the two thieves want to stick
around the city and do some second-story
work, you decide the whole party would
be more involved fighting the dragon than
in robbing a few villas, so the party is off
to see the dragon. What do you tell the
thieves? Dont simply say they were outvoted or vetoed. Come up with something
that discourages their course of action and
makes the other option more attractive,
properly motivating their characters and
satisfying the players. For instance, when
the two thieves are preparing for their
larcenous excursion, they may hear that
the bounty hunter who is after them has
just hit town and it might be a good idea to
28 SEPTEMBER 1993
get away for a while. Or the local thieves

guild has its eye on them. Or Lord So-andSo was robbed last night, the watch has
been tripled, and the penalty for theft has
been changed to on-the-spot execution.
Once youve determined the partys
general course of action, outline the sequence of events for the move. For instance, using the example above with the
character in the bar fight, suppose you
determine the characters escape from the
bar and decide to ride to the next town.
The PC finds a black roselike the one the
red-haired elf was holdingon his saddle,
attached to a note saying, At moonrise
tomorrow on the bridge over the Raging
River." Then you decide the players will
make it to the next town, where they can
take care of errands and informationgathering in the morning. The move will
end, you decide, with the one-eyed dwarf
ambushing them at their inn in the afternoon.
This sequence of events accomplishes a
couple of important objectives that you
should aim for every move. First, each
move should leave the players with several
significant decisions to make or plans to
prepare, such as how to deal with the oneeyed dwarfs ambush, whether or not to
meet the red-haired elf who presumably
left the rose, and how to prepare for and
approach such a meeting. Second, end
with a cliffhanger whenever possible. This
brings the action of the move to a climax
and leaves the players with at least one
major decision to make or plan to formulate. Also, the suspense of not knowing the
outcome will, at the very least, help maintain player interest between moves. Just
dont be late with the results, or youre

likely to get a few phone calls.
So, what happened?
Now that you have determined the general course of events, you are ready to
write up the move to send to your players.
The format you use should give the players all the information they will need
while demanding no more effort than
necessary from you.
Always number the moves so that the
players will be able to organize them
easily. If youre using some sort of calendar system, start with the current date.
Give a one-sentence reminder of where
the characters are and what theyre facing. Other categories of information you
might want to give in a simple shopping
list format include rumors, experience
points, and the results of simple errands. I
usually start my moves with an errands
section that briefly covers the accomplishment of mundane tasks such as selling
loot, buying supplies, and training. Also, I
like to end each move with a lengthy rumors section listing all of the miscellaneous tidbits the characters have picked up
during the course of their other activities.
This is a good way to provide new adventure hooks, clues about ongoing subplots,
and red herrings, as well as strange but
completely useless information. Its up to
the players to sort it all out. Rumors are
also a handy way to build up to or foreshadow major events, such as wars.
The body of the move itself narrates the
action of this latest installment of the
ongoing adventure. How you handle this
depends on your enthusiasm for writing.
The result can range from brief sentence

fragments relating the events to the sort of
flowing prose one might find in a novel or
short story.
For a party of characters in which each
player needs to receive a move, you have a
couple of options. First, you can write a
third-person account of the action (including the moves of all participating characters) from your own omniscient point of
view, then send identical copies to each of
the players. This is easier than writing a
separate move for each player but may
tend to yield a long move. Also, such a
move may seem impersonal and detached
to individual players, or it might reveal
information to everyone that only a single
character should know.
The other option is best suited to those
of us who write using a word processor.
First, write out the sequence of actions
during the turn from one characters point
of view using second-person narration
(You draw your sword and hack your
way free of the webs; across the room,
you see the wizard casting a spell). Then
go back through and alter the text for
each of the other players (You finish your
Slay Spider spell just as the barbarian cuts
himself free of the webs). Sometimes this
will require a lot of work, but the result is
a personal, immediate move for each of
your players, in which information is
revealed only to proper characters.
When writing the narrative itself, consider exploiting another of the advantages
of playing by mail: atmosphere. A sentence or two describing the way the gloom
shrouds the dungeon corridor or the way
the mist coils around the twisted trunks of
dead trees can add a lot to your moves.
Also, employ concrete descriptions instead
of game jargon. Instead of a +2 sword,
PCs should find a sword whose blade
glows like the moon on a clear winter
night, with a silver hilt fashioned in the
shape of a dragons head with two small
ruby eyes. In combat, dont write, You do
eight points to the troll. Its still alive.
Instead say, Your sword bites deep into
the trolls rubbery shoulder. Though its
left arm hangs useless, it fights on.
Hack-n-slash time
Combat resolution seems to be the least

interesting aspect of playing by mail. If the
party is attacked during the course of the
move by, say, a few goblins, its up to you
to roll the dice and determine the outcome. For more involved battles in which
it is important that players choose their
means of attack and which opponents will
be dealt with first, its a matter of sorting
through the players instructions, figuring
out whos doing what in which order each
round, and reporting the results.
If players want to play more of a part in
combat or tend to be generally superstitious about rolling their own dice, give
them the option of making the rolls themselves and listing the results for you. Have
them generate 10, 20, or however many
roll results you estimate will be needed

(plus a few extra) for each sort required in
the game youre using. Whenever their
character needs to make a die roll, check
off the next roll in the column.
[Because of the long start-up and playing
times involved in PBM games, the GM
might be well advised to avoid killing off
characters even in the most dangerous
combat or traps. Combat can render a
character unconscious, send him to a
hospital, force him to flee, or lead him to
be imprisoned. Poison need not kill; it can
put characters to sleep, take away hit
points or ability-score points, make characters hallucinate, or have many other sorts
of effects. This avoids frustrating a player
who has waited many days to make his
next move and has understandably become quite attached to his character and
that PC's adventures. The strong story
orientation of PBM games is best supported by having characters survive their
trials and learn from them. Few players
will continue in a PBM game that offers
nothing but a new dead character every
other letter.Editor]
Handing out handouts
Maps and other visual aids can be of

tremendous value when players dont have
a live GM in front of them to answer questions and help them visualize their surroundings. Even a simple diagram of
where characters are placed in relation to
their enemies can eliminate misunderstandings and confused phone calls.
Other possible handouts include drawings of scenes or objects, messages found
or intercepted, old news clippings from
libraries, photos, wanted posters, diary
entries, and excerpts from reference
books or databases. Lists of rumors overheard in daily life and current news reports from town criers, TV, or subspace
radio may lead to changes in plans or
future adventures. Handouts may also be
tailored to specific characters based on
their jobs, contacts, personalities, etc.
Death and deadlines
A final consideration is establishing

deadlines for players to send you their
instructions. Some players will respond
the day they get your latest move; others
will put it off for weeks.
The decision of whether or not to use
deadlines is up to you. One or two terminally delinquent players can drastically
reduce the number of moves you finish
each year, but this also gives you more
time to plot and plan. If you want players
to respond in a week or two, give them a
precise, reasonable deadline at the end of
each move you send out. Stipulate that
anyone not meeting the deadline will not
have a say in party actions for the next
move. Dont kill off the delinquent players
character, but dont go to any special effort to include the character in the moves
action. The feeling of being left out should
be enough to get the player to respond to
the next move on time.
A postal postscript
The steps and guidelines outlined above

are general suggestions and should be
tinkered with to suit you, your players,
and your campaign. The objective is to set
up a system that allows for an engrossing
game with a pace fast enough to keep
everyone interested without demanding
unreasonable amounts of player or GM
time or making the players feel they have
no control over their characters actions.
The players should feel the opposite: Their
actions should determine their characters
destinies.
A good campaign run by mail will supply
plots and subplots to occupy the thoughts
of both players and GM during the time
between moves. It provides mysteries to
wrestle with, motivations to untangle, and
combat situations to deal with tactically. It
should give everyone unprecedented
anticipation when going to the mailbox, as
they look forward to the results of their
latest actions and finding out what sort of
trouble theyre in now. The same applies
to the GMyour curiosity about which
new directions the players will seek adventure in can keep you entertained week
after week.
In these days when letter writing is a
dead art and a long-distance phone call
can cost more than a pizza, a play-by-mail
game is not a bad way to stay in touch
with close friends who are far away.
Label
Your
Letter!
If you write
to
us
at
DRAGON
Magazine,
please label
the outside of
your envelope to show
what your letter contains a
letter to the editor, Forum submission, request for guidelines,
gaming article, short story, artwork, cartoons, or subscription
correspondence. This ensures
that the letter you send gets to
the right person. In the United
States or Canada, write to:
DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box
111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,
U.S.A. In Europe, write to:
DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd,
120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1, 3LB,
United Kingdom.
DRAGON is a trademark of TSR, Inc.
1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DRAGON 29
By Mail
or by
Modem?
PBM Gaming #2: The joys of the BBS
by Craig Schaefer
Even the most avid gamer often finds
herself at a loss for something new and
original beyond the regular playing group.
Other gamers, living in out-of-the-way
places, may have a hard time finding any
other players. What to do in such situations? This article presents two suggestions for expanding your scope beyond
ordinary campaigns: games run by mail or
by computer.
All for a stamp
Postal campaigns, like postal chess

games, are often the last resort for gamers
starved for action. However, if one has
many playing friends out of state or scattered across wide distances, this can be a
great way to bring them together.
In a postal role-playing game, the game
master maintains a list of the current
players and copies of their character records, then sends the information concerning the current turn in letters to each
player. The players read the turn information and write back with their actions. It
works much like a professional PBM (playby-mail) game. There are three main ways
of running such a campaign, which are:
1. Direct to GM. At first, this method
seems to be the easiest, but with close
inspection reveals several flaws. In a direct
campaign, the GM sends a copy of the turn
results to each player, with any secret
information only certain players would
know, and they each respond to the GM
individually.
The main problem here concerns repeating information. If you are running a
fantasy campaign, for instance, difficulty
may arise when all three party thieves
examine a chest at oncetwo unlocking it
and the third checking for traps! In cases
like this, the GM may either redo the turn,
costing time and inducing frustration on
both the GMs and players parts, or decide
that only one character performs the
action while the others do something else.
The latter solution is actually the worst
of the two, as it makes the players feel
30 SEPTEMBER 1993
that they have no real control over their

characters (and players hate being manipulated). Dire repercussions could result if,
say, the rogue you selected to open the
chest fails miserably and the whole party
dies from a gas-cloud trap! After all, he
wasnt the only candidate.
[A possible solution here is to have the
players agree beforehand to a sort of
action pecking order based on character
statistics, mixed with liberal GM diplomacy. The character with the highest dexterity, movement rate, skill level, etc. goes
first, with others following in descending
order. Given the three thieves problem
mentioned earlier, the GM might decide
that the thief checking for traps goes first
even though he has a lower dexterity than
the other two, because the GM knows the
chest has a deadly trap and that the other
thieves are likely to listen to a reasonable
course of action (why open a chest before

its checked for traps?). If the trap-checker
misses the trap, the GM might have the
most experienced thief check before the
chest is opened by the third thief.Editor]
The main benefits of the direct-to-GM
method are speed and (relatively) low
postage costs. However, you must brave
headaches and player resentment.
2. Caller. This works much in the way a
number of regular RPGs are run, especially TSRs AD&D and D&D games. The
GM sends out turn results to every player,
but the players send their actions to one
gamer designated as the caller. The caller
sorts the responses, informing any players
either by mail or phone if their actions
overlap. Then he sends all the responses at
once to the GM.
While this method may work somewhat
better than the direct one, it places a great
deal of responsibility on the shoulders of
the designated caller, not to mention added postal and telephone expenses. It may
be a good idea to rotate the position of
caller every month or so (depending on
how fast your turnaround rate is) so nobody gets stuck with the job for long.
Also, if there is trouble with overlapping
actions, the game can be held up for quite
some time as the caller attempts to rectify
the situation. In the meantime, the other
players and the GM are wondering where
the letters are. Blood feuds have started
from less aggravation than this. As an
advantage, though, it saves the GM a great
deal of coordinating work when all the
letters come at once.
3. Round-Robin. This is probably the
best method, but one often neglected by
postal gamers. It seems complex at first,
but is really a quite tidy way to run a
campaign. The GM first arranges a turn
order, deciding which players character
acts first, second, and so on, down to the
last. This may be based on dexterity,
speed, or other factors, depending on the
game system you are using.
Then the GM sends the turn-results page
and movement order list to the first player. The player decides on her action,
writes it down, and sends her action sheet,
the turn-results page, and the turn order
to the second player. The second player
encloses all materials in addition to his
action sheet, and so on. The items eventually circulate all the way to the last player,
who then sends the entire package to the
GM. If the players are reliable and dont
manage to spill coffee on the papers or
forget to mail them out, a turn may be
completed in two or three weeks.
Out of these three techniques, the
round-robin method lends itself to the
tidiest execution and the fewest headaches. Then again, other postal gaming
methods may be better for certain games.
For example, in West End Games PARANOIA* system, everything is done without
the other gamers knowledge, so direct
mail is the best method. If several players
try to do the same thing at once, we all
know how the GM of a PARANOIA campaign loves to make things explode. . . .
The electronic warrior
Another way to play without a regular

group is by a computer bulletin-board
system (BBS). For those unfamiliar with
BBSs, a brief summary is in order.
A BBS consists of a program within a
computer connected to a telephone line by
a modem. Modems are used for telecom-
32 SEPTEMBER 1993
munications and allow people to link their

personal computers with other computers
for various purposes such as file transfers.
Other people with modems may call a BBS
and do many things, depending on the
system.
The majority of BBSs consist of several
areas where users may leave messages to
each other on a variety of topics. Many
have as many as 30 or more different
sections set aside for this purpose. This
basically takes the form of open letters,"
where people may read and write their
own comments on the earlier messages.
Thus, continuing conversations are carried on that may last for months on a
single topic, with any number of users
jumping into the discussion.
Some boards have areas designated as
general usage or specifically for roleplaying. In this case, a GM may post a
message looking for gamers, then begin a
campaign on the system itself. This results
in a slightly chaotic game, but it is close to
the round-robin in that players, reading
the postings of the previous players, will
not repeat actions. However, trying to run
actions in a particular character order is
next to impossible.
I would hardly recommend going out
and buying a computer and modem just
for the purpose of gaming, but if you
already have them and access to a local
BBS, you might wish to try an online cam-
paign. Remember to ask the system operators permission before starting a game in
a nondesignated area. While it is not as
much of a problem on huge national networks like CompuServe or GEnie, messages can take up a lot of memory on
smaller computersand RPGs take a lot of
messages!
Notable advantages of BBS gaming include the potential for making new friends
(which is next to impossible with a postal
campaign, where you must know all the
people involved before starting the game)
and a quick response time. This writer has
successfully run a campaign using
Chaosiums CALL OF CTHULHU* game on
a local BBS for over a year now, and has
recently begun a new campaign using
West Ends TORG* game. In both cases, I
have managed to enter at least one turn a
dayslow, but much faster than any system by mail.
Remember that role-playing games are
primarily social activities, best enjoyed
with a live group of players sitting face to
face. However, when you dont have a
regular group nearby or want to try something new, postal and BBS gaming cant be
beat.
Four new monsters for the
FORGOTTEN REALMS
Artwork by Tom Baxa
by Ed Greenwood
One thing certain about the
FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign is that
no one has any idea of how many previously undiscovered monsters lurk within
its borders. As proof, four entirely new
monsters, unearthed from the papers and
scrolls of the sages of the Realms, are
presented here for the entertainment of
players and Dungeon Masters alike.
34 SEPTEMBER 1993
se t t i ng
Banelar
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
FREQUENCY:
ORGANIZATION:
ACTIVE TIME:
DIET:
INTELLIGENCE:
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT:
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS:
MOVEMENT:
HIT DICE:
THAC0:
NO. OF ATTACKS:
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
MAGIC RESISTANCE:
SIZE:
MORALE:
XP VALUE:
DRAGON Issue #197
Hot to temperate/any
Rare
Solitary or small bands
Any
Carnivore
Exceptional to Genius (15-18)
Any (especially Q, V)
Lawful evil
1-4
6 (head and sting: 3, tentacles: 1)
10
7+7
Up to five possible (bite, sting, spell,
and up to two held items)
Bite (1-3 +venom), sting (2-8 +venom), and by item
Spell use, poison, possible magical
item use
Regenerates 1 hp/round
Nil
H (22-25 long)
Elite (16)
3,000 +
Banelar are evil, nagalike creatures found on the land and in the
water throughout the warmer regions of the Forgotten Realms.
Named for the many alliances between individuals of this race
and priests of Bane, banelar are native to the Realms on the
Prime Material plane. They are quite independent in nature,
and not all serve or obey other servants of Bane. Banelar have
long, dark, snakelike bodies and large, humanlike heads. They
are dark purple-green in color, each with green-white glistening
eyes and a brownish tail near the end. Tiny tentacles grow in a
ring about a banelars mouth. These are too weak to wield
weapons but can wear, manipulate, or carry minor items such
as rings, keys, wands, and bits of food. Banelar can breathe air
and water alike without harm or hesitation.
Combat: A banelar casts spells as a 6th-level cleric and 6th-
level mage with no ability score bonuses. Thus, it has the following spell capacity: Wizard: 4,2,2, and Priest: 3,3,2. A banelar can
utter a maximum of one spell per round, in addition to making
physical and weapon attacks. Banelar spells are verbal only (the
casting is modified so that no material components are required, involving an increase in casting time of three in all
cases). Such spells must be found or learned from dragons, other banelar, or similar creatures employing verbal-only magic.
A banelar can wield any magical items it can carry (up to rods
in size and weight), regardless of class limitations; alignment restrictions on weapons still apply. A banelar can wear amulets
and magical rings on its tentacles, with the usual functional
maximum of two at any one time. Periapts, however, will not fit
on banelar tentacles and confer no magical effects.
A banelar can bite for 1-3 hp damage plus poison effects (save
or suffer unconsciousness and 2-12 hp additional damage, with
skin turning blue, for 2-5 turns). A banelar also has a tail sting
(2-8 hp piercing damage and the same poison effects as the bite;
save separately for each).
seeking to strengthen their personal weaknesses and defenses.

To do so, banelar collect and hoard treasure, particularly magical items, to use and to trade for services or to provide safety
from powerful enemies. Banelar are treacherous, adhering to
the letter (not the intent) of any bargains they make. They see
nothing wrong in commanding or forcing their own servant
creatures into breaking bargains they have made.
Ecology: Banelar have been known to steal and tend entire
herds of livestock for their own larders, and can dine with perfect safety on snakes and other creatures that generate poisons
and acids (to which banelar seem immune). Banelar are also
highly resistant to petrification ( +3 on all saves). As hermaphrodites, they each give live birth to a single young every winter.
A banelar parent hunts with its hungry offspring and teaches it
spells until the youth is able to fend for itself, whereupon it
leaves. Typically, a banelar mates whenever it encounters another banelar and avoids fighting others of its kind. Beyond this,
unless weakened or frightened, it avoids consorting with its fellows. A banelar parent tends to raise its young in undersea or
mountain caves, far from its usual haunts; this is so that when
the parent sneaks away and leaves its young, it can return to its
favorite areas with little fear of being found.
Habitat/Society: Banelar tend to be selfish and solitary, but

they often cooperate with lesser creatures (such as humans,
orcs, and hobgoblins) and greater ones (beholders, liches, evil
dragons, and even vampires) for common gain or to fight a specific foe. Banelar speak Common and Orcish in horrid hissing
voices. They are paranoid, always planning against attacks and
DRAGON 35
Flameskull
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
FREQUENCY:
ORGANIZATION:
ACTIVE TIME:
DIET:
INTELLIGENCE:
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT:
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS:
MOVEMENT:
HIT DICE:
THAC0:
NO. OF ATTACKS:
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
MAGIC RESISTANCE:
SIZE:
MORALE:
XP VALUE:
Any
Rare
Solitary or small groups
Any
None
As in life (usually 8-16)
Any
Lawful evil
1 (or, very rarely, 1-6)
3
Fl 20 (A)
4+4
17
2 + special
2d4 x 2 (gouts of flame)
Spell use
Regenerates 1 hp/round, various
spell immunities
88%
S (about 1 diameter)
Elite (16)
2,000
Flameskulls are rare undead creatures found

throughout the Forgotten Realms. These magically powered flying skulls are fashioned from human heads soon after death, by
a magical process first developed in long-lost Netheril and still
practiced by a few evil priesthoods (such as that of Bane) and
magical societies (such as those based in Zhentil Keep and
Thay).
Combat: Flameskulls can speak Common and possibly 1-4 oth-
er languages that they knew in life. They can use their voices to
lure intruders into traps or deceive them about the presence of
other dangers. Flameskulls can spew fire from their mouths
twice in a round, in straight beams up to 10' long.
If enchanted to do so at the time of their making, each can also
cast one spell per round by verbal means only. Most flameskulls
cast magic missile spells or flame strikes; none can use mindcontrol spells. Most flameskulls can cast up to three different
spells, and almost all flameskulls cast their attack spells every
second round. On the rounds between, they utter a singlesegment, verbal-only magic now lost to most spellcasters in the
Realms: spell reflection, which returns any and all cast spells
reaching the flameskull in that round back on the caster(s). If
the spells do damage, they do normal damage to the casters; if
not, they are merely negated.
Flameskulls cannot be affected by mind-control spells like
charm person; by sleep, hold, and other spells to which undead
are immune; by cold-, fire-, or heat-related magical attacks; or
by electrical (lightning) attacks. Their high magic resistance often protects them against spells they do not reflect back at their
casters. Flameskulls are turned as liches and may be struck by
any sort of weapon. They regenerate and reassemble even after
being shattered, unless a dispel magic, exorcise, or remove
curse spell is cast on their remains, or the majority of their bone
fragments are doused with holy water.
Flameskulls fly about trailing little jets of flame. They move in
silence, unless uttering spells or screaming for effect.
Habitat/Society: Flameskulls do not reproduce, nor have they
any purpose in life beyond the guardianship they were created

for. Though retaining their intelligence, they often go insane
from sheer boredom and may, if the DM wishes, exhibit erratic
behavior. They always want to be entertained, and if freed from
their guardianship by the destruction or pilferage of whatever
36 SEPTEMBER 1993
DRAGON Issue #197
they were set to guard, they do not hurl themselves to attack to

achieve destruction. Instead, they try to follow or accompany
the being(s) who freed them from guardianship. Typically they
float along just out of reach, making smart comments and wanting to see everything interesting that is going on (including secret meetings, seductions, magical research, and other private
matters). Flameskulls are utterly lonely and act accordingly.
Ecology: Flameskulls fill no niche in the ecology of the
Forgotten Realms. They are studied by alchemists, priests, and

wizards whenever possible in an effort to duplicate their
powers or the means of their making (so far without reported
success) or to find special properties their flame might possess.
Foulwing
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
FREQUENCY:
ORGANIZATION:
ACTIVE TIME:
DIET:
INTELLIGENCE:
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT:
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS:
MOVEMENT:
HIT DICE:
THAC0:
NO. OF ATTACKS:
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
MAGIC RESISTANCE:
SIZE:
MORALE:
XP VALUE:
DRAGON Issue #197
Any land
Rare
Flock
Any
Carnivore
Low (5-7)
Nil
Neutral evil
1-4
3
6, Fl 13
6
15
5
2-5/2-5/2-5/1-4/1-4
Ammonia breath, blood drain
Nil
Nil
H (16-20 long, 40 wingspan)
Very steady (14)
975
Foulwings are grotesquely misshapen flying predators thought

to have originated on another plane. Mildly empathic and essentially lazy hunters, these clumsy fliers are often tamed for use
as steeds by evil and unscrupulous humans. Foulwings have
black, leathery wings; tailless, toad-shaped bodies; and vaguely
horselike heads. The shapes of their heads, and the location and
size of the many horn-shaped wriggling skin growths that cover
their black bodies, vary from individual to individual. Every
foulwing has three needle-toothed jaws set around its singlenostril snout. Glowing, many-faceted red eyes give a foulwing
both infravision (90 range) and ultravision. Foulwings communicate with each other in harsh creakings that communicate
identities and basic emotions, urges, and warnings.
(hence the creatures name). It quickly rots upon the creatures

death and has no known usefulness as armor or in magical
practices. Foulwing blood and saliva, however, have both been
found to be mildly caustic cleansers that bring metal to a bright,
long-lasting sheen.
Combat: Foulwings prefer to fight in the air or pounce on their
Foulvern: In very rare instances, foulwings have mated with
prey, allowing them use of their wing claws and the weight of
their wings and bodies, to knock down and pin prey to the
ground. Savage and wantonly destructive, foulwings enjoy killing. They twist their heads when engaged with opponents so as
to bite with all their jaws, and their ammonia-like breath causes
opponents, during the round of contact and the following
round, to suffer a -1 penalty on attack rolls due to the stinging
irritation it causes to visual and olfactory senses. If a foulwing
disables or pins prey (a Strength of 16 + is required to escape
pinning unaided; allow one Strength check per round), it attempts to leisurely drain the victims blood by sucking with one
of its hollow, tubelike tongues, biting open wounds to do so.
The blood drain is equal to 2-5 hp per round; pulling free causes
the victim another 2 hp damage.
wyverns. The offspring are always misshapen wyverns with 1-2

HD extra and three jaws each (as a foulwing has). Foulverns
have a taste for blood and a savage enjoyment in killing, but
otherwise favor their wyvern heritage (and statistics, with a
typical XP Value of 1400).
Habitat/Society: Foulwings may be found as solitary hunters
or in flocks (sometimes as families), gathered while courting

or to attack strong prey. Every flock (of up to four foulwings) is
dominated by the largest specimen and works together to scatter, disable, and herd prey.
Ecology: Foulwings are rapacious scavengers that will eat car-
rion or plant leaves if no other food is available. They have been

known to keep larders of captive creatures for later food.
Foulwings bear live young, typically 1-3 at a time, and always
nest in rocky, mountainous wilderness areas. Young are born
with 1 HD and only bite attacks (for 1-2 damage per jaw), but
rapidly grow to full size, whereupon the parents abandon them
and each other. Foulwing flesh is heavy, oily, and foul in taste
DRAGON 37
Whipsting
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
FREQUENCY:
ORGANIZATION:
ACTIVE TIME:
DIET:
INTELLIGENCE:
TREASURE:
ALIGNMENT:
NO. APPEARING:
ARMOR CLASS:
MOVEMENT:
HIT DICE:
THAC0:
NO. OF ATTACKS:
DAMAGE/ATTACK:
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
MAGIC RESISTANCE:
SIZE:
MORALE:
XP VALUE:
All/Rocky, subterranean
Uncommon
Solitary or small packs
Any
Carnivore, scavenger
Varies (1-12)
Nil
Neutral
1-6 (d6)
7
8, Fl 9 gliding (D)
1+4
20 (16 when springing)
3
1-2 (bite)/1 x 2 (stings)
Venom
Nil
Jump
S to L (tentacles 5 to 20 long)
Steady (12)
120
The whipsting is a vicious predator found on rocky ledge

caverns, and among ruins all across the Forgotten Realms. It is
named for its lashing attack, in which it tries to drive an envenomed sting into an opponent. The strike of an attacking whipsting makes a loud, whiplike crack audible up to 70 away.
Whipstings have wrinkled, spherical bodies 6-12 in diameter.
From opposing sides of a whipstings ball-like form protrude
two dexterous, tapering tentacles. These are usually about 5
long, but some whipstings fought by adventurers have had tentacles up to 20 long. Both tentacles end in sticky tips that aid the
whipsting in grasping and climbing, each tip having a fixed,
bony sting protruding at an angle just beside the leathery tentacle tip. Amid the wrinkles (skin flaps) of the muddy-gray body
of a whipsting are many eyes. A whipsting has both normal vision and infravision effective to 120.
On the underside of a whipsting is a sucking mouth dominated by three shark-like teeth set in a triangle. The teeth can
move independently of one another and are capable of gnawing
through armor plate. When they close together, they meet to
completely seal the whipstings mouth. A whipsting eats any
meat it, can, living or dead, gorging itself tirelessly. Its elastic
body can expand to contain meals of up to 10 times its own size.
Combat: A whipsting usually waits for prey with one tentacle
curled underneath itself to form a natural spring. If facing a

large foe, a whipsting often avoids attacking or seeks to flee altogether by using this curled tentacle to leap about in a constant
bobbing or bouncing pattern, like a pogo stick. Otherwise, its
initial attack consists of suddenly straightening this tentacle to
propel itself from its ledge or fissure in a wild spring that ends
in a lashing whip of the whipstings body, which drives its envenomed sting deep into the opponent ( +4 to hit). The whipsting then tries to constrict, smother, or strangle prey by
remaining attached to it, slapping with its tentacles to drive
home its two stings. A whipstings sting strikes for 1 hp damage.
A strike also injects its venom into or onto its prey (the poison is
effective both internally and by skin contact).
The prey must save versus poison at -2 to avoid the venom
effects. If the save fails, the prey shudders uncontrollably on
the round following the sting-strike. Nausea and weakness ruin
all attacks and spellcasting attempted by the victim on that
round, and cause the automatic dropping of all wielded or carried objects. Tasks requiring high manual dexterity, such as
picking a lock or writing a message, are impossible. The victim
38 SEPTEMBER 1993
DRAGON Issue #197
also suffers a one-round armor-class penalty of 1. On subsequent rounds, the victim can move normally but is still weak;
attacks are at a - 3 penalty to attack and damage rolls initially,
-2 on the round following, -1 on the next round, and normal
thereafter. Each successful whipsting strike results in another
round of shuddering (as described above) unless saved against.
Every successful whipsting attack must be saved against even if
the target creature has previously escaped venom effects by a
successful saving throw.
Habitat/Society: Little is known about these predators. They
are believed to be hermaphroditic and to vary widely in intelligence. Whipstings lay eggs (large and rubbery like turtle eggs,
often green-white or dun in color) in caves or dark crevices.
These eggs are edible but have no market value. Whipstings are
more often found in groups than alone, and they peacefully coexist with each other. They are thought to live many years.
Ecology: Some whipstings have been domesticated as pets or

guards; others are used as unwilling guardians. In Amn and
Tethyr, whipstings are often imprisoned in small coffers atop
treasure as a deterrent to thievery. This custom is rarer elsewhere but not unknown, and it is a special favorite of caravan
merchants. Intelligent monsters often use whipstings to guard
their lairs. Perytons and griffons are known to eat whipstings,
biting off the stings with their first attacks to avoid the venom.
Whipstings are themselves immune to the effects of all whipsting venom. Whipsting venom is an ingredient in the making of
rings of weakness and nausea-inducing medicines.
Stingwings: Approximately 10% of all encountered whip-
stings have gauzy, fragile wings that allow them to glide down
from heights without damage or jump farther than wingless
whipstings, up to 60 horizontally. Such wings can be regenerated in 1-3 days if damaged. The wings cannot be targeted in
combat, but a captured stingwing could have its wings cut off
(wings have AC 10 and 1 hp), and they will automatically be destroyed by any sort of area-effect flame spell.
Earth-shaking news about the

MYSTARA campaign setting
by Bruce A. Heard
This feature offers answers to letters on

the D&D Game, its worlds and products,
occasional articles, or "first glance reviews of D&D game products. The reader
is welcome to send questions, suggestions,
or criticisms on the game or on the material published here. We cant promise all
letters will be answered in this column,
but they all will get our attention.
You mentioned a while back that TSR
was considering re-releasing old Gazetteers in a series of big, fat, softbound
books (in lumps of three Gazetteers each).

Would these be updated with changes
from Wrath of the Immortals?
We did consider the ideabefore a major change occurred in the direction of the
MYSTARA setting as a TSR product line.
The Known World is one of the oldest and
most detailed game worlds among TSRs
campaign settings. Yet, despite its age, it
has remained a unique, colorful, and lively
world that begged for greater recognition
from the gaming community. It has been
decided that the MYSTARA setting would
be granted much greater attention and

support as a major TSR line. In that regards it became crucial to put the setting
within reach of the single greatest gaming
community in the worldthat of the
AD&D game fans. Thus, it is with pleasure that we announce the graduation of
the Known World to the universe of the
AD&D game as its newest campaign setting!
What does this mean? In the summer of
1994, the Known World will become a
brand-new campaign setting for the
AD&D game. World-famous designer Jeff
Grubb has been hard at work on the colossal task of converting the massive amount
of Known World data into the new
WORLD OF MYSTARA campaign set (for
the year AC 1012). If everything goes
right, we also should have a new-look
Monstrous Compendium with color art, a
new adventure module for dungeonlovers, and a Gazetteer-style accessory on
the classic Castle Amberville that reveals
the latest on the amazing fate of Etienne
dAmberville. Also available will be an
AD&D Almanac for AC 1012 with a
greater focus on events, and a brand new
series of MYSTARA novels (can you say
The dragons are coming?) Last but not
least, a special game accessory will recreate, in AD&D terms, the Savage Coast
twelve years after the familiar Princess
Ark series. This unique accessory will
have a very special item that will forever
change the atmosphere of your adventures! And all that before Christmas 1994!
For AD&D game fans, this is an opportunity to enjoy the wondrous MYSTARA
setting to its fullest, without making any
rules conversions. For the die-hard D&D
game supporters, nothing really changes.
Your favorite game world is very much the
same, except probably twice as many
products as before will become available
and many more people will finally know
what (or where) in the universe you are
talking about.
Indeed, this is an unexpected and drastic
turn of events, at least for the Known
World. But again, in the wake of Wrath of
the Immortals, weve all gotten used to
earth-shaking news! So, about the rerelease of updated Gazetteers? Well, they
may be done someday, but not in the
immediate future.
In December, I picked up a copy of the
Poor Wizards Almanac and I think its a
superb supplement for the D&D game. I
hope TSR publishes a new one every year.
While I loved the Almanac overall, I was a
bit disappointed that it didnt address in
greater depth the changes that the Wrath
of the Immortals boxed set wreaked on
the Known World. In particular, I hoped
there would be a section detailing changes
in the titles and positions of important
NPCs introduced in the various Gazetteers.
Some changes are hinted at in the Almanac, such as the status of baron given to
DRAGON 41
Retameron Antonic in the Hyraksos Buried entry, pp. 205Retameron was formerly a knight.
Our plans are to release Almanacs once
a year around November or December.
About the NPC changes, it would have
been difficult to include such a list, considering the number of changes that took
place (the Almanacs already are 240 pages
long with very small type. If we had included a list of title changes for NPCs, we
would have had to include a similar list for
many other items that were modified. The
result could have been what looks like a
very long list of errata. Such a list could
have been hard to use and we thought
that simply giving the new data in the
appropriate chapters was sufficient and
more elegant. In the upcoming Almanac,
however, we added a yearly obituary
column for those NPCs whove met their
end during the year.
Will there be Almanacs for other AD&D
game worlds?
No, not as far as we know now.
Have Port Marlin, Rock Harbor, and
Anchorage become independent city-states
after the sinking of Alphatia? Is Minaea a
city-state, a kingdom, or a republic of
pirates?
Without the Alphatian overlords to keep
the peace, some of these places might
decide to become heavily-militarized,
despotic states to fend off barbarian pressure or banditry. Some might fall prey to
local ways and become pirate havens,
while others would become open to barbarian rule, paying wondrous tributes of
magic or wealth to barbarian kings in
exchange for protection and freedom.
Either way, without Alphatian supremacy,
they would all become independent states
struggling for survival. As for Minaea, it
could be a loose confederation of piratical
tribes whose main target is the coast of
Eastern Bellissaria and merchant traffic in
the Strait of Minaea. These pirates would
not be averse to minor incursions into
Bellissaria for the purpose of sacking
poorly defended cities.
GAZ2 Emirates of Ylaruam does not tell
the names and classes of the ruling emirs.
Whos in charge? GAZ4 The Kingdom of
Ierendi mentions Orisis, the hawk-headed
Nithian Immortal of death and resurrection. Who is he, and what happened to
him?
The names and classes of the emirs will
be given in the upcoming Almanac. Orisis
is another Immortal who was accidentally
left out of the Wrath of the Immortals
boxed set. After the curse of the Nithian
lands, Orisis would have been barred by
the other immortals from having any kind
of relation with the old Nithian culture.
Orisis would be more involved with the
Hollow World Nithians.
42 SEPTEMBER 1993
Who are the present rulers of the Principalities of Bramyra and Sablestone, in the
post- Wrath of the Immortals Glantri?
Prince Urmahid of Krinagar (ex-Count of
Skullhorn Pass) now rules the Principality
of Bramyra. Prince Harald of Haaskinz (exArchduke of Westheath) now rules the
Principality of Sablestone.
Chakram
P=M
Mastery
Basic
Skilled
Expert
Master
Gd Master
Ranges
10/20/30
15/25/35
20/30/45
25/35/50
30/50/60
Could you publish Weapon Mastery

tables for the Bullroarer Knife and the
Chakram described on page five of module
X5 The Temple of Death, along with the
classes that can use them?
Damage
d6
d6+2
d6+4
P:d8 + 6
S:d4 +6
P:d10 + 8
S:d6 + 7
Defense
Special
H: +1AC/l
H: +2AC/2
H: +3AC/2
H: +3AC/3
P = H Primary target includes creatures attacking with hand-held

or hand-thrown weapons.
P: Primary target.
S: Secondary target (opponents with missile weapons or natural weaponry).
H: AC bonus to the chakram user against attacks from or opponents using
hand-held or thrown weapons.
AC/# Number of times the AC bonus can be used each round.
Note: Dont forget to apply the Hit Roll bonuses from the table on page 76 of the
Rules Cyclopedia. The chakram is a 6 ring-shaped, hand-thrown steel disk that clerics
(Hulean or other war-clerics), fighters, thieves, and mystics can use.
Bullroarer
P=M
Knife
Mastery
Damage
Defense
Skilled
d6+2
H:+1AC/1
Expert
d6+4
H: + 2AC/2
Master
2d4 +4
H: + 3AC/2
Gd Master
2d4+8
H: + 3AC/3
Basic
d6
Special
Spread damage
(rounded down)
Spread damage
(rounded up)
Spread damage
(rounded up + 1)
Spread damage
(rounded up + 2)
Spread damage
(rounded up + 3)
P = X There are no primary or secondary targets for damage (all creatures within a
10 radius are affected the same way).
H: AC bonus to the bullroarer knifes user against attacks from or opponents using
hand-held or thrown weapons.
AC/#: Number of times the AC bonus can be used each round.
Note: The bullroarer knife is a 10-long chain ending in a flat knife, whirled over the
head to make a loud roaring noise. This is an odd-ball weapon capable of hitting
several opponents at once, within a 10 radius.
In a melee with multiple opponents, the user makes one single attack roll and
spreads damage among the opponents whose AC the user could hit (minimum damage
should be 1 point), even if they stood behind him! The user, however suffers a -1
penalty to hit for each opponent beyond the first within the chains radius. The weapon cannot be used if any obstacle stands within the chains radius (dungeon walls,
trees, etc.)
For example, three opponents surround the user. One is AC0, the other two AC8. If
the users attack roll is good enough to hit AC5, the damage should be spread among
the two opponents with AC8 only.
At basic level of mastery, a score of 3 for a d6 damage would result in both opponents
taking 1 point of damage. At a skilled level, the user would inflict 3 points of damage to
each of the two opponents (3 +2/2 = 2%, rounded up = 3). At expert level, the damage per
opponent becomes 5 per opponent (3 +4/2 = 3 rounded up + 1 = 5), etc.
The extra plus modifier for damage after rounding up is only to be used when
damage is spread among multiple opponents. Bonuses due to strength and magic
should be added up before spreading damage to multiple opponents. Mystics and fighters can use the bullroarer knife.
EPSILON ALPHA 93, Sept. 24-26
IL
This convention will be held at the Holiday

Inn in Collinsville, Ill. Guests include Todd Bryant and John Haymes. Activities include dealers,
banquets, an art show, movies, a costume
contest, and a masquerade. Registration: $35/
weekend or $20/day. Write to: MASFA, Inc., P.O.
Box 23167, Belleville IL 62223; or call: (913) 6776537.
Convention Calendar Policies

This column is a service to our readers
worldwide. Anyone may place a free listing
for a game convention here, but the following guidelines must be observed.
In order to ensure that all convention
listings contain accurate and timely information, all material should be either typed
double-spaced or printed legibly on standard manuscript paper. The contents of
each listing must be short and succinct.
The information given in the listing must
include the following, in this order:
1. Convention title and dates held;
2. Site and location;
3. Guests of honor (if applicable);
4. Special events offered;
5. Registration fees or attendance requirements; and,
6. Address(es) and telephone number(s)
where additional information and confirmation can be obtained.
Convention flyers, newsletters, and other
mass-mailed announcements will not be
considered for use in this column; we
prefer to see a cover letter with the announcement as well. No call-in listings are
accepted. Unless stated otherwise, all
dollar values given for U.S. and Canadian
conventions are in U.S. currency.
WARNING: We are not responsible for
incorrect information sent to us by convention staff members. Please check your
convention listing carefully! Our wide
circulation ensures that over a quarter of a
million readers worldwide see each issue.
Accurate information is your responsibility.
Copy deadlines are the last Monday of
each month, two months prior to the onsale date of an issue. Thus, the copy deadline for the December issue is the last
Monday of October. Announcements for
North American and Pacific conventions
must be mailed to: Convention Calendar,
DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake
Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. Announcements
for Europe must be posted an additional
month before the deadline to: Convention
Calendar, DRAGON Magazine, TSR
Limited, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom.
If a convention listing must be changed
because the convention has been cancelled, the dates have changed, or incorrect information has been printed, please
contact us immediately. Most questions or
changes should be directed to the magazine editors at TSR, Inc., (414) 246-3625
(U.S.A.). Questions or changes concerning
European conventions should be directed
to TSR Limited, (0223) 212517 (U.K.).
indicates an Australian convention.
indicates a Canadian convention.
indicates a European convention.
indicates a South American convention.
44 SEPTEMBER 1993
* indicates a product produced by a company other than TSR,

Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the
companies publishing those products. The use of the name of
any product without mention of its trademark status should not
be construed as a challenge to such status.
NOWSCON 93, Sept. 11-12
OH
This convention will be held at the ONG

Armory in Brook Park, Ohio. Activities include
role-playing, board, and miniatures games, plus
an auction. Registration: $15/weekend or $10/
day preregistered; $17/weekend or $1l/day at
the door. Write to: NOWSCON, c/o Dennis
Alvarez, 21574 Ivan Ave., Euclid OH; or call:
(216) 731-4360 evenings.
SUMMIT CITY CON 93, Sept. 11-12
IN
This convention will be held at the Indiana

National Guard Armory in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Events include role-playing, board, and miniatures games. Other activities include dealers, a
flea market, and a painting contest. Write to:
Phoenix Rising Game Shop, 6252 St. Joseph Rd.,
Ft. Wayne IN 46835; or call: (219) 485-6807.
MAELSTROM I, Sept. 17-19
NE
ANDCON 93, Sept. 24-26
OH
CONTACT XI, Sept. 24-26
IN
This convention will be held at the UNL East

Campus and Super 8 hotel in Lincoln, Nebr.
Guests include Richard A. Knaak, Mickey Zucker Reichert, and Erin McKee. Activities include
gaming, anime, panels, and a writers contest.
Registration: $20. Write to: MAELSTROM I, P.O.
Box 82844, Lincoln NE 68501-2844; or call: (402)
477-8430.

Inn in Independence, Ohio. Guests include Jean
Rabe, Peter Bromley, Rick Loomis, Colin McComb, Tim Beach, and Slade Henson. Activities
include 23 RPGA Network events, miniatures
games, the national PBM convention, and over
200 other events. Registration: $17.95/weekend.
Daily and visitor passes are available. Write to:
ANDCON 93 HQ P.O. Box 3100, Kent OH 44240;
or call: (800) 529-EXPO.
This convention will be held at the Ramada
Inn in Evansville, Ind. Guests include Missouri
Smith and Dr. Bill Breuer. Activities include
gaming, discussions, a dealers room, an art
show and auction, a hospitality suite, and a
video room. Registration: $20. Write to: CONTACT XI, P.O. Box 3894, Evansville IN 47737; or
call: (812) 473-3109.
DEMICON 4, Sept. 24-26
MD
This gaming convention will be held at the

Sheraton Conference hotel in Tiowson, Md.
Events include role-playing, board, and miniatures games. Other activities include seminars, a
game auction, a painted-miniatures contest, and
dealers. Registration: $25. Send an SASE to:
Harford Adventure Society, c/o Strategic Castle,
114 N. Toll Gate Rd., Bel Air MD 21014; or call:
(410) 638-2400.
TACTICON 93, Sept. 24-26
CO
This convention will be held at the Sheraton

hotel of Lakewood, Colo. Events include over
150 events in all types of gaming. Registration:
$15/weekend preregistered. Write to: Denver
Gamers Assoc., P.O. Box 440058, Aurora CO
80044; or call: (303) 665-7062.
EARTH 93, Sept. 25-26
This convention will be held at the

Freizeitheim Stocken in Hannover, Germany.
Events include role-playing, board, and miniatures games. Other activities include a costume
contest, demos, and writing contests. Write to:
Arne Rassek, Berliner Str. 23, D-W 3005 Hemmingen 1, GERMANY.
EMPERORS BIRTHDAY 93, Sept. 25-26 IN
This convention will be held at the Century

Center in South Bend, Ind. Events include roleplaying, board, and miniatures games. Write to:
Mark Schumaker, 1621 Frances Av., Elkhart IN
46514; or call: (219) 294-7019.
GAMECON 93, Sept. 25-26
IN
GAME DAY 93, Sept. 25
IL

Inn South in Indianapolis, Ind. Guests include
Steve Lortz. Activities include a paintedminiatures contest, seminars, and dealers.
Registration: $12 preregistered; $15 at the door.
GMs are welcome. Send an SASE to: GAMECON,
P.O. Box 39035, Indianapolis IN 46239-0035; or
call: (317) 862-3982.
This convention will be held at Southern

Illinois Universitys Student Center in Carbondale, Ill. Events include role-playing, board, and
miniatures games. Other activities include
miniatures and art contests. Registration: $4.
Write to: Strategic Games Society, Office of
Student Development, 3rd Floor, Student Center
SIU, Carbondale IL 62901-4425; or call Joel at:
(618) 529-4630.
VENCON 93, Sept. 25-26
This convention will be held at Simon Bolivar

Universitys Student House in Caracas, Venezuela.
Events include role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include movies and dealers.
Registration: Bs. 200/day. Write to: Tito Labastidas,
Fundacion Caracas, Av. Universidad, Esq. Monroy,
Caracas, VENEZUELA.
COUNCIL OF FIVE NATIONS 19
Oct. 1-3
NY
NOVACON IX, Oct. 1-3
TX

Inn in Schenectady, N.Y. Events include roleplaying, board, and miniatures games. Other
activities include seminars, demos, an auction,
contests, and a benefit breakfast. Registration:
$20 before Sept. 30; $25 at the door. GMs are
welcome. Write to: Schenectady Wargamers
Assoc., C.O.F.N., P.O. Box 9429, Schenectady NY
12309; or call: (518) 664-9451.
This convention will be held on the campus of

Texas A&M University in College Station, Tex.
Events include role-playing, board, and minia-
tures games. Other activities include dealers and

anime. Registration: $10. Write to: NOVACON IX,
MSC NOVA, Box J-1, College Station TX 77884;
or call: (409) 845-1515.
WOLF-CON III, Oct. 1-3
MS
This convention will be held at Colvard Student

Union of Mississippi State Universitys campus in
Starkville, Miss. Guests include Mike Stackpole, Liz
Danforth, and Mark OGreen. Activities include
gaming, dealers, an art room and auction, a costume contest, and a dance. Registration: $20. Write
to: Clayton Bain, Rt. 3, Box 178, Starkville MS
39759; or call: (601) 323-9407.
GAMEMASTER 93, Oct. 2
ID
This convention will be held at the Student

Union of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. The
guest of honor is Gary Thomas. Activities include
gaming, a miniatures-painting competition, and an
auction. Registration: $2/game preregistered. Write
to: Gamemasters Guild, P.O. Box 8823, Boise ID
83707; or talk (208) 343-4288.
NOVAG VIII, Oct. 2-3
VA
This convention will be held at the Elks Lodge in

Fairfax, Va. Events include role-playing, war, board,
and miniatures games. Registration: $10. Write to:
NOVAG, P.O. Box 729, Sterling VA 20167.
TOL-CON XI, Oct. 2-3
OH
This convention will be held at the University

of Toledos Scott Park campus in Toledo, Ohio.
Events include over 200 role-playing, board,
war, and miniatures games. Other activities
include an auction, demos, painting contests,
dealers, and open gaming. Send an SASE to:
TOL-CON, c/o Mind Games, 2115 N. Reynolds
Rd., Toledo OH 43615.
COSCON '93, Oct. 8-10
PA

Inn in Beaver Falls, Pa. Guest of honor is Jean
Rabe. Activities include gaming, dealers, a
miniatures-painting contest, and game demos.
Registration: $15 before Sept. 30; $20 thereafter.
Send an SASE to: Circle of Swords, P.O. Box
2126, Butler PA 16003; or call: (412) 283-1159.
QUAD CON 93, Oct. 8-10
IA
This convention will be held at the Palmer

Alumni Auditorium in Davenport, Iowa. Events
include role-playing, board, and miniatures
games. Other activities include dealers, a
miniatures-painting contest, and a silent auction.
Registration: $9/weekend or $4/day preregistered; $12/weekend or $6/day at the door. Game
fees are $2-3 per game. Send a long SASE with
extra postage to: Game Emporium, 3213 23rd
Av., Moline IL 61265; or call: (309) 762-5577. No
collect calls, please.
RALLY ROUND THE FLAG 93
Oct. 8-10
OH
This convention will be held at the Convention

Center in Columbus, Ohio. Events include
miniatures, war, board, and role-playing games.
Other activities include game and miniatures
dealers. Write to: HMGSNT, P.O. Box 14272,
Columbus OH 43214; or call: (614) 267-1957.
ARTYCON V, Oct. 9-11
OK
This convention will be held at the Caisson

Recreation Center at Fort Sill, Okla. Events
include role-playing, board, and all types of
miniatures games. Registration: $5/day at the
door. Write to: The Game Shack, 2114 Ft. Sill
Blvd., Lawton OK 73507; or call: (405) 353-5006.
NUKE-CON III, Oct. 8-10
NE
This convention will be held at St. Bernards

school in Omaha, Nebr. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Registration: $8/
weekend or $5/day Write to: NUKE-CON, P.O. Box
1561, Omaha NE 68995; or talk (402) 733-5937.
INCON 93, Oct. 15-17
WA
This convention will be held at Cavanaughs

on Fourth in Spokane, Wash. Guests include
Spider and Jeanne Robinson, Betty Bigelow, and
Nick Pollotta. Events include role-playing, board,
and miniatures games. Other activities include
an art show and auction, dealers, movies, panels, and demos. Registration: $20 before Oct. 7;
$25 at the door. Daily rates will be available at
the door. Write to: INCON 93, P.O. Box 1026,
Spokane WA 99201-1026; or call: (509) 922-9932.
NECRONOMICON 93, Oct. 15-17
FL

Inn-Airport in Tampa, Fla. Guests include Lois
McMaster Bujold and Peter David. Activities
include panels, an art show, gaming, a masquerade, videos, a charity auction, and dealers.
Registration: $20. Write to: NECRONOMICON,
P.O. Box 2076, Riverview FL 33569.
RUDICON 9, Oct. 15-17
NY
This convention will be held at the Rochester

Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. Events
games. Other activities include art and costume
contests, anime, guests, and dealers. Registration: $6 for students; $8 for non-students. Send
an SASE to: RUDICON 9, c/o Student Directorate, 1 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester NY 14623.
TOTALLY TUBULAR CON 93
Oct. 15-17
CA
This convention will be held at the Jolly Roger

Inn in Anaheim, Calif. Events include roleplaying, board, and miniatures games. Write to:
TOTALLY TUBULAR CON, P.O. Box 18791,
Anaheim Hills CA 92817-8791.
P.E.W. KHAN-U II, Oct. 16-17
PA
This convention will be held at the Embers in

Carlisle, Pa. Events include only political, economic, and historical board and war games.
Write to: M. Foners Games Only Emporium, 200
3rd St., New Cumberland PA 17070; or call:
(717) 774-6676.
TACTICON 93, Oct. 16-17
CT

Inn in Norwalk, Conn. Events include roleplaying, board, war, and miniatures games.
Other activities include movies and dealers.
Write to: Jim Wiley, Gaming Guild, 100 Hoyt St.,
#2C, Stamford CT 06905; or call: (203) 969-2396.
RUCON III, Oct. 23
PA
This convention will be held at Lock Havens

Universitys Parsons Union Building in Lock
Haven, Pa. Events include role-playing, board,
contests, discussions, and dealers. Registration:
$7 before Oct. 7; $10 at the door. Send an SASE
to: Role-playing Underground, Parsons Union
Bldg:, LHU, Lock Haven PA 17745.
U-CON 93, Oct. 29-31
MI
This convention will be held at the University

of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. Our
guest of honor is Keith Herber. Activities include
gaming, seminars, a special Halloween horror
tournament and costume contest. Registration:
$9 preregistered; $12 at the door. Write to: UCON, P.O. Box 4491, Ann Arbor MI 48106-4491.
UMF-CON XIII, Oct. 29-31
ME
WARP IV, Oct. 29-31
OK
This convention will be held at the University of

Maine in Farmington, Maine. Events include roleplaying and miniatures games. Registration: $8/
weekend preregistered or $12/weekend at the
door. Single-day rates are available. Write to: Table
Gaming Club, 5 South St., UMF, Farmington ME
04938.
This convention will be held at the Howard

Johnson Skyline East hotel in Tulsa, Okla. Guests
include Tom and Mary Wallbank, Ron Dee, and
Dell Harris. Events include role-playing, board, and
miniatures games. Other activities include an art
show, dealers, an art and games auction, and
panels. Registration: $12 before Oct. 1; $15 at the
door. Write to: W.A.R.P. IV Room 215-A OMU, 900
Asp Ave,, Norman OK 73019; or call Carol at: (918)
582-3930, or Mary at: (405) 325-9583.
WARZONE WEST 93, Oct. 29-31
FL

Inn Ashley Plaza in Tampa, Fla. Events include
gaming, dealers, a flea market, and an auction.
Registration: $13 before Oct. 1; $17/weekend or
$7/day at the door. Write to: WARZONE WEST,
c/o Wolf Entertainment, P.O. Box 1256, Deland
FL 32721-1256; or call: (904) 822-9653.
WIZARDS GATHERING IV, Nov. 5-7
MA
This convention will be held at the Days Inn in

Fall River, Mass. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Other activities
include contests, raffles, and open gaming.
Registration: $15/weekend or $9/day before Oct.
23; $18/weekend or $10/day at the door. Write
to: SMAGS, P.O. Box 6295, Fall River MA 02724;
or call: (508) 673-7589.
LAGACON 16, Nov. 6
PA
SAINTS CON 93, Nov. 6-7
MN
This convention will be held at the Eagles

Club in Lebanon, Pa. Events include roleplaying, board, and miniatures games. Other
activities include dealers. GMs are welcome.
Registration: $5 preregistered; $7.50 at the door.
Write to: Lebanon Area Gamers Assoc., 806
Cumberland St., Lebanon PA 17042; or call:
(717) 274-8706.
This convention will be held at the Atwood

Center Ballroom on the campus of St. Cloud
State University in St. Cloud, Minn. Events
games. Other activities include a games swap
and a miniatures-painting contest. Registration:
$2. Write to: SAINTS CON 93, c/o Joe Becker,
1404 12th St. S.E., St. Cloud MN 56304.
CONSTELLATION XII, Nov. 12-14
AL
HEXACON 93, Nov. 12-14
NC
This convention will be held at the Huntsville

Hilton in Huntsville, Ala. Guests include Jim
Baen, Julius Schwartz, and David O. Miller.
Activities include dealers and an art auction.
Registration: $20 before Oct. 10; $25 thereafter.
Write to: CONSTELLATION XII, P.O. Box 4857,
Huntsville AL 35815-4857.

Inn Airport in Greensboro, N.C. Events include
role-playing, board, war, and miniatures games.
Other activities include dealers and clay-o-rama.
Registration: $15 before Nov. 1. Write to: SF3,
c/o HEXACON, Box 4, EUC, UNC-G, Greensboro
NC 27412; or call: (919) 334-3159.
DRAGON 47
SAN DIEGO GAME CON X, Nov. 12-14
CA

Johnson-Harborview in San Diego, Calif. Events
games. Registration: $15 before Oct. 31. Write
to: SDGC, 4409 Mission Ave., #J208, Oceanside
CA 92057; or call: (619) 599-9619.
SCI-CON 15, Nov. 12-14
VA

Inn Executive Center in Virginia Beach, Va.
Guests include Timothy Zahn and Darrell K.
Sweet. Events include panels, videos, a costume
contest, an art show, and gaming. Registration:
$20 before Oct. 1; $25 at the door. Send an SASE
to: SCI-CON 15, P.O. Box 9434, Hampton VA
23670.
LOST IN KENTUCKY CON 93
Nov. 13-14
KY
This convention will be held at the Murray State

University Curris Center in Murray, Ky. Events
include role-playing, board, and miniatures games.
Other activities include movies, a game auction,
plus art and miniatures contests. Registration: $8/
weekend or $4/day preregistered; $10/weekend or
$5/day at the door. Write to: Murray St. Univ.
Gaming Assoc., 322 N. 7th St., Murray KY 420712027; or talk (502) 753-2126.
PENTACON IX, Nov. 13-14
IN
This convention will be held at the Grand

Wayne Center in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Events include
role-playing, board, and miniatures games.
Other activities include dealers, contests, a flea
market, and door prizes. Registration: $10
preregistered. Write to: Steve & Linda Smith,
836 Himes, Huntington IN 46750; or call: (219)
356-4209.
CONTRARY 93, Nov. 19-21
MA

hotel in West Springfield, Mass. Events include
role-playing, board, and miniatures games.
Other activities include guests, demos, and a
miniatures-painting contest. Registration: $17
before Nov. 10; $20 at the door. Write to: CONTRARY 93, 626 N. Main St., East Longmeadow
MA 01028; or call: (413) 731-7237.
RECON IV, Nov. 19-21
CO
This convention will be held at the Radisson

Inn North in Colorado Springs, Colo. Events
games. Other activities include dealers, a painting contest, and a games raffle. Registration:
$13/weekend preregistered; $15/weekend at the
door, or $7/day. Write to: Mark Surber, 6614
Provincial Dr., Fountain CO 80817; or call: (719)
392-3920.
SHAUNCON VII, Nov. 19-21
MO

Johnsons in Kansas City, Mo. Guests include
Tom Dowd. Events include role-playing, board,
dealers, a painted-miniatures contest, and
seminars. Dealers are welcome. Write to: Roleplayers Guild of Kansas City, c/o SHAUNCON,
P.O. Box 7457, Kansas City MO 64116; or call:
(816) 455-5020.
SOONERCON 9, Nov. 19-21
OK
This convention will be held at both the

Central Plaza and Trade Winds hotels in Oklahoma City, Okla. Guests include Steven Brust and
Tim Hildebrandt. Events include role-playing,

include dealers, videos, a masquerade, and a
dance. Write to: SOONERCON, P.O. Box 1701,
Bethany OK 73008-0701.
DRAGONS DREAM GAME FAIR
Nov.20
MI
ELLIS CON V, Nov. 20
CT
GOBBLECON 2, Nov. 20
PA
This convention will be held at the Elks Club

in St. Joseph, Mich. Guests include Michelle
Shirey Crean. Events include role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. Registration: $8
preregistered; $10 at the door, plus $2/game.
Send an SASE to: James Wilber, 69393 Oak St.,
Oak Park, Benton Harbor MI 49022; or call:
(616) 944-1785.
This convention will be held in the cafeteria of

H.H. Ellis Tech School in Danielson, Conn.
Events include role-playing, board, and miniatures games. Other activities include movies and
prizes. Registration: $5. Call John at: (203) 7748511, ext. 115.
This convention will be held at the Easton Inn
in Easton, Pa. Events include role-playing,
include dealers, a raffle, a painted-miniatures
contest, and door prizes. Registration: $8 before
Nov. 12; $10 at the door; plus game tickets. Send
an SASE to: Michael Griffith, 118 S. Broadway,
Wind Gap PA 18091; or call: (215) 863-5178.
Important: To ensure that your convention listing makes it into our files, enclose a
self-addressed stamped postcard with your
first convention notice; we will return the
card to show that your notice was received.
You might also send a second notice one
week after mailing the first. Mail your listing
as early as possible, and always keep us
informed of any changes. Please avoid sending convention notices by fax, as this method
has not proved to be reliable.
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
48 SEPTEMBER 1993
Catalog!
Write for your free
catalog of games
and gaming supplies! In the United
States and Canada, write to: TSR
Mail Order Hobby
Shop, c/o TSR,
Inc., P.O. Box 756,
Lake Geneva WI
53147, U.S.A. In
Europe, write to:
TSR Mail Order
Catalogue, TSR
Ltd, 120 Church
End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge
CB1 3LB, United
Kingdom. Send for
it today!
Buckle your swash and keep your magic alight!

1993 by John C. Bunnell
THE ELEMENT OF FIRE
Martha Wells
Tor
0-312-85374-2
$23.95
Theres plenty of swordplay and costume drama in Martha Wells first novel,
but typecasting the book as pure swashbuckling adventure doesnt do it justice.
Wells weaves a narrative that combines
50 SEPTEMBER 1993
stylish gallantry with pragmatic common

sense to produce an action yarn of rare
intelligence.
The milieu is the small country of IleRien, where plotting against the throne
seems to be one of the nobilitys chief
leisure activities. The stakes multiply,
however, when two magicians enter the
game: Urbain Grandier, who has fled a

neighboring state and now seeks revenge
against enemies there, and Kade Carrion,
illegitimate sister of Ile-Riens king and heir
on her mothers side to the unpredictable
powers of the Fayre. Caught between a
young, ineffectual king and his shrewd but
aging mother, guard captain Thomas Boni-
face may be the only man who can keep

matters from falling apart completelyif
he can keep himself alive long enough.
Wells has a keen sense of period and
atmosphere, giving Ile-Rien an air of bustling elegance thats effective without
being self-conscious. She matches this with
an equally sharp hand for intrigue, expertly portraying a political climate in which
appearance matters little and loyalty is a
vanishingly rare commodity. This is a
world where neither expert bladecraft nor
sheer magic can assure a victory, where
utter ruthlessness and absolute honor
cross swords with one another, and where
romance can be as inconvenient as it is
inevitable.
In the midst of the chaos, Thomas and
Kade emerge as eminently likeable protagonists and excellent foils for each other.
Thomas, though inclined to cynicism, is an
excellent tactician and swordsman, while
Kades unpredictable nature is a match for
magical talents derived from a combination of Fayre blood and training in mortal
sorcery. Theyre an appealing pair, and
Wells does an excellent job of making them
heroic and human at the same time.
The result is a novel thats a lively
swashbuckler perfectly integrated with a
thoughtful, down-to-earth character
studynot just a fantasy homage to Errol
Flynn movies, but to high Shakespearean
drama as well. The Element of Fire is a
remarkable book from a remarkable new
writer.
KNIGHTS OF THE BLOOD
Katherine Kurtz & Scott MacMillan
0-451-45256-9
$4.99
Roc
Theres no doubt that Katherine Kurtz

can produce readable occult suspense; her
solo novel Lammas Night and her more
recent collaborative Adept series are ample proof. This new joint effort, unfortunately, seems to be an exception. Knights
of the Blood is a book whose ingenious
premise is badly undercut by writing and
plotting that simply do not stand up under
scrutiny.
The implicit conflict between the bloodthirsty nature of vampirism and the human capacity for goodness is a frequent
theme in vampire fiction. Kurtz and husband Scott MacMillan propose one of the
most direct examples of that confrontation
yetthat a small order of Church-sworn
knights became vampires during the Crusades and has been attempting to reconcile
its vows and its state ever since. Unfortunately for the Order of the Sword, a
chance encounter in World War II Germany gives a Nazi officer vampire status as
well, and Wilhelm Kluge is under no such
oaths as bind the orders members.
Strangely, though, the books focus is not
primarily on the order and its troubles.
Instead, we follow the adventures of modern American policeman John Drummond,
whose efforts to unravel a series of unsolved murders in 1990s Los Angeles lead
him first to an elderly Catholic priest and
then to Vienna, where further developments culminate in a battle at the isolated

castle in which the order has been hiding
for some 700 years.
In itself that might not be a problem,
given that this is clearly the first book in a
planned series. But Drummonds adventures and the orders continued survival
are the products of far too many coincidences and contradictions to be even
remotely credible.
Drummond is always in just the right
place at the right time to meet the one
person who can provide an essential clue,
give him a discount on travel or lodgings,
or put him in mortal danger. The Order of
the Sword makes a point of having remained hidden in its castle sanctuary ever
since discovering its curse, yet archvillain
Wilhelm Kluge only decides to wipe them
out when Drummond shows up, even
though he either knows or could easily
have learned the castles location. And,
though Drummonds final act in the book
is clearly necessary as a setup for future
volumes in the series, its an extraordinarily rash and rushed decision on his part,
given his earlier cautious and skeptical
attitudes toward the supernatural.
It doesnt help that the prose itself
primarily MacMillans work, according to
the title-page creditsis no better than
ordinary, conveying little sense of history
in the opening sections and an undistinguished tourist-guide atmosphere elsewhere. A minor plot point concerning the
Holy Grail gets especially weak handling,
with a repeated bit of description appearing lazy rather than symbolic. For fans of
Kurtzs other work, in which compelling
ritual magic is a key element, this will be a
major disappointment.
If future installments of the series show
better attention to matters of detail and
internal logic, Knights of the Blood may
conceivably redeem itself from this inauspicious opening. Gamers justifiably intrigued by the concept should hope for
that sort of improvement, but until it
happens, its difficult to recommend the
book as anything more than a paperweight.
McLENDONS SYNDROME
Robert Frezza
Del Rey
0-345-37516-5
$4.50
Whoever wrote the back-cover copy for

McLendons Syndrome deserves a bonus;
its crisp, accurate, and funny enough to
get a laugh even from people who dont
read science fiction. And its a clever introduction to a novel thats not only a sharp
straight-ahead space opera, but also a
hilarious homage to a host of SF traditions
and classic motion pictures.
The plot is pure thriller material: mysterious murders aboard a small spaceship, a
desperate battle with vastly superior aliens, and an impending invasion by an even
more dangerous enemy. Only the joint
efforts of spacer Ken MacKay and his
newfound colleague Catarina Lindquist
may be able to jolt the population of

Schuylers World into action and prevent
the planet from being conquered.
But, while author Robert Frezza plays
the adventure for all the suspense its
worth, his characters are another matter.
Ken and Catarina cheerfully quote lines
from Casablanca at each other (except
when Catarina is making puns of epic
atrociousness), and the choreography is
worthy of the Marx Brothers at their
zaniest. Add a clever nod to the most
famous taverns in SF and fantasy, and a
race of inscrutable alien rodents who
resemble a cross between Ewoks and
Hokas, and you have a yarn where the
good-natured comedy never lets up long
enough for the laughter to die away.
Thats no small success, and it makes
comparisons tricky. Though the puns and
wordplay are as liberally applied as youll
find in, say, a Robert Asprin or Piers Anthony tale, Frezzas handling of them is
less forced; rather than using them as a
world-building device, hes made them a
character tag, and the difference is significant. Though theres a lot of very funny
character interaction, Frezza never lets his
players forget that theyre in a genuinely
dangerous situation, with the result that
the novel has a lively, compelling quality
missing from a good deal of science-fiction
comedy.
No, McLendons Syndrome isnt high art
by a long shot, but its a unique, appealing
adventure yarn that displays uncanny
control of tone. For fans of outer-space
RPGs, this a novel not to be missed. For
everyone else, its a roller-coaster of a
story thats at least as entertaining as the
movies and books that inspired it.
THE GHATTIS TALE
(Book One: Finders-Seekers)
Gayle Greeno
0-88677-550-7
DAW
$5.50
I used to play in a variant AD&D game

campaign that borrowed elements of its
milieu from at least two different published fictional universes. It worked mostly
because the DM took care not to mix the
two worlds willy-nilly, thought out the
consequences of their interaction, and
added a number of her own touches in
order to flesh out the setting. The Ghattis
Tale reminds me of that campaign, but
author Gayle Greeno isnt as good at reconciling the contradictions inherent in
building a story from off-the-shelf parts.
Off the shelf should be taken literally.
The three major elements of the story
premise, setting, and scopeare all clearly
derived from successful series by existing
authors. While Greeno puts enough spin on
each aspect of the novel to give it her own
flavor, the combination of the three resembles a literary Frankensteins monster.
The books principal gimmick is the bond
between the human Seekers and an alien
race known as the ghattitriple-sized
sentient versions of Terran house cats
with powers of mindspeech and an unerrDRAGON 51
ing ability to help their chosen bondmates

detect truth. Readers of Mercedes Lackeys
Valdemar novels will recognize the parallels at once, though Greenos characters
have no purely magical powers and her
ghatti appear to be of purely natural rather than supernatural origin.
Though the spine labels it fantasy, the
novel gives a science-fictional background
to its setting: a human colony world cut
off from Earth when unexplained forces
destroy a buried network of geological
monitors and cause the loss of most other
technological artifacts. As the tale opens,
Methuen has been on its own for just
under two centuriesnot so long as the
world of C.S. Friedmans Black Sun Rising,
but again the similarities are easily identified: an elusive native race, natural laws
that resist Earthly shaping, and a society
forced to adapt or perish.
The books nominal protagonists are the
human Seeker Doyce and her ghatti, Kharpern, but Greeno does not limit her story
to chronicling the pairs adventures. Equal
attention goes to the leaders of Doyces
order, to a subplot involving another
guilds most closely guarded secret, and to
a series of events that culminates in the
revelation of a previously unknown
power-bloc. The shifts of scene and viewpoint, large cast, and slowly emerging
political intrigues recall the broad canvas
painted in Melanie Rawns Dragon Prince
cycle. This echo is fainter than the others;
Greenos plot roams across a much smaller
geographic area and her alliances are
more political than familial.
Individually, each aspect of the book is
well-enough conceived. Its when the ideas
start to interact that the novel begins to
fall apart. For instance, the ghatti are
perfectly reasonable fantasy creatures, but
Greeno strongly implies that the species
has come into existence only with the
arrival of humans (and their cats) on Methuen. Even granting the assumption that
house cats and ghatti-ancestors could have
crossbred, 187 years isnt nearly enough
time for that sort of evolution to occur.
The culture is also oddly low-tech given its
origins as a scientific expedition. No one
has bothered to reinvent firearms or tried
to build an electrical plant, yet swordcraft
seems to be high art, stone buildings are
positively elegant, and written records are
curiously sparse.
Tight character work might have compensated for the sloppy worldbuilding, but
again Greenos choices work against her.
The meandering plot doesnt give individual characters a chance to imprint on the
reader, and too much of the character
development is portrayed in the context of
a world that doesnt make a great deal of
sense on close examination. Doyce and
Kharpern are pawns, not protagonists,
and no one else gets enough screen time
to matter.
The lesson The Ghattis Tale teaches is
not that we shouldnt borrow ideas. Its
that fitting ideas together is as important a
52 SEPTEMBER 1993
part of storytelling as the ideas themselves, and its a lesson Gayle Greeno needs
to learn if future books in the series are to
improve over this one.
ON BASILISK STATION
David Weber
Baen
0-671-72163-1
$4.99
THE HONOR OF THE QUEEN

David Weber
Baen
0-671-72172-0
$4.99
David Webers publishers have launched

this series on the fast track, releasing
Honor Harringtons first two full-length
novels only two months apart. Its justified
enthusiasm, though, for a pair of crisp
adventure yarns notable for their wellchoreographed space battles and strategic
confrontations.
Weber is working in the tradition and
style of classic British naval fiction, following in the footsteps of C.S. Forester and
Patrick OBrian. Instead of the high seas,
though, Webers landscape is outer space,
more specifically the region of space surrounding the Star Kingdom of Manticore.
Manticore has the good fortune to be
situated at the junction of several critical
interstellar trade routes. While its a fairly
affluent political entity, its also the target
of considerable envy in certain quarters.
Its most notable adversary is the so-called
Republic of Haven, which is looking for
excuses to annex Manticore without having to resort to outright war.
Enter Honor Harrington, a young officer
in the Manticoran Navy who has a full
share of the trait shes named for. As On
Basilisk Station opens, shes just received
her first independent commandat the
same time that the ship shes been given is
being stripped of most of its useful weaponry as the result of a political decision
made at higher levels. The refit is even
more disastrous than it initially appears,
because Honors first mission sends her,
with no backup whatsoever, to an isolated
star system where smuggling runs rampant and Havenite agents are secretly attempting to orchestrate a coup.
Weber sets all this up in a brisk yet
friendly style that aptly characterizes its
characters military-trained instincts, yet
doesnt prize formality over common
sense. Honor immediately captures readers interest, and her matter-of-fact determination makes her an appealing
protagonist, even with the odds stacked
ominously against her.
At the same time, Weber doesnt sanitize
the hazards and consequences once Honor
and H.M.S. Fearless are forced into battle.
People die, and some of them are characters weve met and liked. Yet the tone isnt
grim, either, and the combat sequences
are described with a sophisticated precision thats absolutely convincing without
lapsing into lecture-mode. Fans of ship-toship battle games should find the narrative
irresistable, while even those who arent
so minded will discover that Webers prose
is remarkably accessible.
Theres even a streak of mischievous
humor, though thats more in evidence in
The Honor of the Queen, in which Honor
and her ship are dispatched to support a
diplomatic mission to a small but strategically important world directly between
Manticoran and Havenite space. The catch
is that Graysons citizenry comes from
extremely conservative religious stock,
and women on Grayson have very few
legal rights. Honors status as commander
of the military task force is thus an affront
to civilized Graysonian tradition, and only
a plot by Graysons nearest (and even
more extremist) neighbors is enough to
jolt the Graysonians into an appreciation
of just what Honor can do.
There is, in short, a lot to like about the
Honor Harrington books. As long as Weber
can keep from promoting her past field
commands entirely, her adventures are
material that fans of spacefaring strategy
will watch for with pleasure.
Recurring roles
The Department of Continuing Series is

crowded this month, and is topped off by
Marion Zimmer Bradleys tenth Sword and
Sorceress anthology (DAW, $4.99). This
one has more and shorter tales than usual,
but the quality remains high, and theres
an unusual note: Diana Paxsons story is
billed as the last in her ongoing series
about the female warrior Shanna. Theres
also a high complement of first sales,
including an especially effective dark tale
from Francesca Myman.
Next comes The Templar Treasure (Ace,
$4.99), the third book in the collaborative
series of occult suspense novels from
Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner
Harris. Though several ongoing plot
threads are left mostly hanging, and
theres something of a by-the-numbers
quality to the artifact hunt which takes up
most of the plot, the authors command of
Scottish history is commendable and the
reappearance of a major figure from
Kurtzs Lammas Night is most welcome.
Another stronger-than-average entry in
a normally undistinguished series is The
Whistling Wraith (Bantam, $4.99), Will
Murrays latest Doc Savage novel under
the Kenneth Robeson byline. An intricately
convoluted plot and a wily and exotic
villain who can literally walk through
walls lift this adventure above Murrays
first few efforts.
Next come two solid prequels: Ann Logstons Greendaughter (Ace, $4.50), and
Ellen Guons Bedlam Boyz (Baen, $4.99).
Logston takes readers of her Shadow
novels back to the time before the Compact between humans and elves with a
story about the founding of Allanmere, the
slow and reluctant building of trust between the races, and the barbarian invasion that lays the foundations for that
relationship. The protagonist has been a
minor figure in the earlier books, which
allows Logston to drive home the unique
perspective afforded by centuries-long

elven lifespans. Its a more bittersweet
book than Logstons earlier work, and a
welcome sign that the authors already
considerable talents are improving with
practice.
Guons book, her first solo novel, is also
an origin story, describing the background
of two secondary characters from her two
urban-faerie collaborations with Mercedes
Lackey. Bedlam Boyz follows Kayla on and
off the streets of greater Los Angeles as
she tries to cope with her newfound
powers of healing, the rival gangs for
whom those powers represent an irresistable asset, the assorted magical beings
who find her equally tempting, and atypical psychologist Elizabet Winters determination to teach her how to control her
abilities. Guon steers a middle ground
between West Side Story romanticism
and the messy, grim realities of L.A. street
life, and produces a solid coming-of-age
tale in the process.
Elizabeth Moons newest novel finds her
turning from medieval fantasy to military
SF, if a rather genteel grade of the latter.
Hunting Party (Baen $4.99) takes retired
naval officer Heris Sarrano from the front
lines to the bridge of a wealthy noblewomans private spaceliner, then to a
vacation-world where she joins her employer in a resurrected form of the English fox hunt. However, someone on the
54
SEPTEMBER 1993
planet is hunting human game, and an old

enemy of Serranos is out to destroy her
once and for all. Its a good yarn of its
kind, though altogether lighter fare than
David Webers Honor Harrington novels.
Split Heirs (Tor, $18.95) is an entirely
different brand of story. The joint effort of
Lawrence Watt-Evans and Esther Friesner,
this is a wild, weird, and altogether silly
adventure featuring, as the jacket says,
flashing swords, high magic, and hopeless
dynastic confusion. Theres an ample
supply of the inspired, over-the-top comedy thats a Friesner hallmark, and WattEvans fans will recognize his ability to
create amusing yet logical plot complications from thin air. The results are seamless and screamingly funny, especially the
machinations of the pseudo-outlaw known
as the Black Weasel.
Watt-Evans also has a new solo novel
out, but The Spell of the Black Dagger (Del
Rey, $4.99) is an arcane mystery rather
than a comic tale. Set in the authors Ethshar universe, it focuses on a young thief
who makes a brief and unexpectedly notable side trip into wizardry, creating a
dagger with powers unusual enough to
confound a dozen different sorts of magicians and put her on the very throne of
Ethshar of the Sands. Watt-Evans is always
intriguing when hes playing with theories
of magic, and this book is no exception.
Elsewhere on the collaborative front, If I
Pay Thee Not in Gold (Baen, $20.00)

presents an unusual pairing. The premise
and polish come from Piers Anthony, with
Mercedes Lackey providing the meat of
the story. The characters show Lackeys
skill at creating credible relationships, in
this case including one of the most exotic
romantic triangles youve ever seen in a
fantasy novel, but the effect is somewhat
undercut by a heavy-handedness in the
narration thats characteristic of Anthonys
style. Behind the occasionally thick prose,
though, is a solid story featuring plenty of
distinctive magic and a quest through
lands that occasionally become very
strange indeed.
Another perspective on Anthony, and
one that merits special mention, can be
found in Letters to Jenny (Tor, $18.95).
Fans will recall that Jenny Elf, a character
in several recent Xanth novels, was inspired by a severely injured young girl
whose mother wrote Anthony in hopes
that such a gesture might help her daughters recovery. This book collects that
letter and a years worth of Anthonys
weekly correspondence with Jenny (who
has indeed made remarkable gains) into a
volume that combines the poignancy of
Jennys case with Anthonys own often
acerbic view of the world. Its a one-of-akind volume that bridges the worlds of
fantasy and reality, and one that will linger
in readers memories for a long time.
Share and
share(ware) alike
Be true! Be true! Show freely to the
world, if not your worst, yet some trait
whereby the worst may be inferred.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hi! Im Sandy Petersen. Ive been a computer game designer for the last five
years. For eight years before that, I was
employed designing role-playing games
and supplements, and still retain a keen
interest in role-playing games (i.e., I still
play them). [Editors Note: Sandy designed,
among other things, one of our all-time
favorite games, Chaosiums CALL OF
CTHULHU* game.] Its clear to me that
computer games will never replace roleplaying games for us aficionados. A roleplaying session is really a night of social
interaction with your friends. Most of us
have soda and chips out on the table, and
spend nearly as much time telling jokes
and making side comments as playing. In
comparison, a computer is a heartless,
cold thing, scarcely a replacement for the
joi de vivre of a good role-playing evening.
However, computer games have their
place. We cant always get a band of
friends together at a moments notice to
play the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game,
but the computer is always available to be
your friend. Its one great advantage is its
convenience.
Computer games (and Nintendo and
Sega cartridges) are significantly more
expensive than paper games. Most conventional games cost less than $30. Computer
games run up to $80 or more. Because of
the significant nature of this investment, I
believe that the most important task a
reviewer can accomplish is to give his
readers the information they need to
decide whether or not to invest in a particular game.
1993 by Sandy Petersen
Reviews
Wolfenstein 3-D
*****
ID Software Inc.
distributed by Apogee Software
Creative Director: Tom Hall
Programming: John Carmack and John
Romero
Art: Adrian Carmack and Kevin Cloud
"I have been too lenient.
Adolf Hitler
This is an unusual type of game: It is

unlikely to be for sale in any store near
you, yet it is readily available. Wolfenstein
is shareware. The initial installment of
Wolfenstein can be obtained from bulletin
boards or from professional shareware
distributors either for free or for a nominal fee. You can also order it directly from
Apogee. Wolfenstein boasts six different
Wolfenstein 3-D (ID Software)

adventures, each with nine levels. You can
get only the first adventure for free. To get
further adventures, you must pay Apogee.
You can order direct from Apogee by
phoning (800) 426-3123, or writing it at
P.O. Box 476389, Garland TX 75047.
The game runs only on IBM-compatibles,
and requires VGA graphics. It supports a
wide variety of sound boards, and the
Computer games ratings
X
*
**
***
****
*****
Not recommended
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
Superb
game benefits greatly from enhanced

sound. In my opinion, youll want at least a
386-16 MHz machine to run Wolfenstein.
Many years ago, there was a simple little
game called Castle Wolfenstein, designed
by a fine game designer named Silas Warner. This game put you inside a Nazicontrolled castle from whence you had to
shoot your way out. Wolfensteins concept
is the same as the earlier game, but it has
evolved almost beyond recognition.
Wolfenstein gives you a prisoners-eyeview of the castle, with spectacular vistas
of brick, stone, or wooden walls, overhead
lights, dangling cages holding skeletons,
beds, oil drums, stoves, even toilets. The
lantern-jawed Nazis look great, too, sneering viciously as they fire at you. The walls
are festooned with Nazi regalia, banners,
DRAGON 57
and posters. Bones and pools of blood

litter the floors.
You, the prisoner, must race down the
halls, opening doors, gunning down Nazis,
and finding treasures. Each of the six
games has nine levels. In each game, your
task on the first eight levels of the castle is
to find the elevator leading to the next
level up. On the ninth level, you must
confront and kill the head bad guy, after
which you get a congratulatory screen and
a plug to purchase the next installment.
Puzzles are present, but Wolfenstein is
primarily an action gameshoot the
guards, steal the treasure, go to the next
level. The game has four difficulty levels.
The easiest (titled Can I play, Daddy?) is
very simple indeed, and I recommend a
new player to jump right into the game at
this level. When you decide that your hero
is now too tough for these wimp Nazis,
restart the game at the second difficulty
level. Youll be in for a shock. The Nazis
improve substantially with each level. The
toughest level ("Bring em on!) is so hard
that I have not yet finished all nine levels
of any game using it. Sigh.
The game is very user-friendly. Saving
and reloading the game is extremely easy,
which is good, because it is quite easy to
die in this game. If you do die, you simply
restart the current level. Youll only have
eight bullets and a pistol (sometimes this
result is bad enough that youll reload a
saved game anyway). You can change your
controls right in the middle of a game, or
stop to read the rules. Wolfenstein is stateof-the-art with regard to the way it treats
the player. If every game was as playerbenign, we would all be happier people.
There is nothing else quite like Wolfenstein. While a few other games boast both
complex 3-D and scaled sprites (such as
Ultima Underground), Wolfensteins greatest asset is its speedyou can careen
down the fortress halls at an astonishing
rate for 3-D, racing past highly detailed
posters of der Fhrer while Nazi guards
shout at you.
Wolfenstein is a fun, fairly mindless
romp through a huge maze. It is bloodily
violent (its been banned in Germany!), and
is not a good game for preteens. The game
rates itself PC-13, for Profound Carnage."
When you shoot a Nazi, he jerks back,
then collapses while blood spurts. As your
own character takes damage, his face
starts getting bloodier and more bruised,
until he looks like hes gone 10 rounds
with George Frazier. In some games, at the
moment you finally defeat the highestranking villain, something called
DeathCam kicks in, and repeats the
gruesome scene for your enjoyment.
As you progress through the castle, you
collect ammunition and can improve your
weaponry. You start out with a pistol, but
you can get a submachinegun or even a
minigun. If you run out of ammunition, you
are relegated to a mere knife. Though the
minigun wreaks devastation among the
Nazis, I found myself switching to the sub58 SEPTEMBER 1993
Wolfenstein 3-D (ID Software)

machinegun or even the pistol when low on
ammunition, because the minigun ate up the
bullets so darn fast. The damage you do to
the Nazis depends not only on what weapon
you use, but it also appears to depend on
how accurately you place your shot and
what direction the guard is facing when you
fire. On the rare occasions you pick off a
guard from a great distance, you feel quite
proud of yourself. You can lay ambushes for
the Nazis, and set traps of your own. When
the Nazis bunch up to come through a doorway, you can often kill a lot of them in a
very short time. However, sometimes one of
them doesnt show himself, but lurks by the
side of the door, so when you stride
through, hell blast you from short range.
Ive been killed a number of times by this
tactic.
The guards arent complete idiots. Many
times Ive seen them run from my fire,
trying to work their way around me and
come up from behind. On the other hand,
Ive occasionally opened a door to see a
guard standing at attention, his back to
me. I love it when this happens. It may not
be good or clean, but it sure is fun.
The damage done by the Nazis weapons
depends upon range. The SS gunners, who
carry submachineguns of their own, can
kill you in a matter of seconds, even at a
goodly distance, and these guys must be
taken out as soon as they appear. There
are no traps or other devices that can
harm youits all armed guards or guard
dogs. However, often the guards themselves act as a sort of trap, hiding in little
nooks and crannies and popping out at
you when your back is turned.
There are secret chambers and rooms
on every level that Ive checked for them.
To open a secret door, you must walk up
to a wall and press on it. Unlike most
similar role-playing games, Wolfenstein
provides you with no visual cue (such as a
loose brick) telling you that a secret chamber hides there. Sometimes a particularly
ostentatious bit of Nazi regalia hides a
secret door, but not always. Of course, you

can frequently figure that a room must
hide a secret entrance. If a room appears
to hold little if any treasure, but is heavily
guarded, start checking. Also check if a
corridor is a dead end.
In the later adventures, especially the
last three, the action gets a little repetitive.
I still enjoyed them, but not nearly as
much as when I started. For one thing,
some of the levels were just plain hard,
with no compensating amusement factor.
If you like a fun game with lots of action,
I unreservedly recommend Wolfenstein
3-D. I do mention one important caveatif
you are offended by the sight of Nazi
regalia (even if your own goal is to kill the
Nazis), or if wholesale slaughter disturbs
you, this game is not for you.
Game tips
1. If you open a door, but see no guards

behind it, try stepping through the door
and then immediately backing through it.
Any guards that saw you will come to the
door and you can lie in wait for them and
plug them as they come through.
2. If youre very low on ammo, wait until
you see a guard with his back turned, or
one you can get very close to. Then draw
your knife and attack as fast as you can.
He wont be able to shoot you if you keep
attacking him, and youll be able to kill
him without using any ammo. This is a
little tricky, so save the game before you
try it. Also, dont try this on one of the
zombies in game two. At least, Ive never
succeeded.
3. If your damage points are at 5% or less,
you can regain a single point by walking
over one of those near-ubiquitous pools of
blood. If you have a sound card, youll hear
a slurping noise as you do this. Ecch!
4. The dogs only take one bullet each
before dying, so dont waste your shots on
them as they dodge back and forth on
their way to attack you. Wait until theyre
very close, then just as they leap up to bite
you, shoot once per dog. You should be

able to kill them without expending too
much ammo.
Commander Keen
****
ID Software Inc.
distributed by Apogee Software
Creative Director: Tom Hall
Programming: John Carmack, John Romero, and Jason Blochowiak
Art: Adrian Carmack
Commander Keen, like Wolfenstein 3-D,
is shareware. Also like Wolfenstein, you
can get the first bit of it for free, but then
you must pay for subsequent installments.
This game is for IBM-compatibles only. It
supports most sound boards, and can be
used by CGA, EGA, or VGA machines.
Not to mince words, Commander Keen is
an action game with hilarious graphics. You
play the part of Keen himself, a yellowhelmeted tyke in tennis shoes. You pack a
zap-gun and a pogo stick. Commander Keen
comes in several different versions. The first
series of three adventures, titled Invasion of
the Vorticons is the most primitive, but
certainly amusing enough. Only the first
adventure in Invasion is available for free.
The second Keen game, "Goodbye, Galaxy,"
contains two segments, the first of which is
free. Keens third exploit, Aliens Ate My
Babysitter is available only from Apogee. It
only has a single episode, but is quite extensive.
When Nintendo first made its appearance, arcade games for home computers
took a blow from which they have never
really recovered. Today, IBM-arcade games
are actually fairly rare. While I approve of
this general trend, since I like strategy and
role-playing games plenty, I cant deny that
every so often, I enjoy a really good arcade
adventure.
In all the Keen games, you wander
across an alien landscape until you reach a
city, sinister pit, or other obstacle, when
you drop into a sideways-scrolling MarioBrothers-like adventure. Each city site has
its own unique background graphics and
hidden dangers, and secret traps and
treasures to discover. In this, the game
owes a lot to Nintendos Mario Brothers
games, which pioneered this style of game.
Commander Keen is one of the best games
of its type that Ive played. Its not mindlessly
hard, like so many similar games, and brains
are necessary for victory. The graphic art is
hilarious. The goofy-looking monsters include insane mushrooms with tongues hanging out of the side of their mouths, huge
buck-toothed fish, and bug-eyed-monsters
with comically gnashing teeth. I frequently
blast perfectly innocuous aliens with my
stun-gun just to see the goofy look on the
sprite as it sits there immobilized and unconscious, cartoon stars circling around its
head.
In a number of ways, Commander Keen
stands above its rivals. You can save your
game at any point (in the earlier version,
however, you can save only if youre out60 SEPTEMBER 1993
side a level.) When you are standing some

where, you can look up or down to see
what youre about to jump into. If you
barely miss a ledge, you dont plummet
into the depthsinstead, Keen grabs hold
of the edge, hanging on by his fingertips,
until you can pull him up and over.
I think youll like Commander Keen. If
youd like to try a top-notch arcade game
that doesnt require the finger dexterity of
a riverboat gambler, but does require a bit
of deductive reasoning and experimentation, this is certainly the game for you.
Game tips
1. If you stand on a ledge and fire at one

of the big two-eyed monsters, you can hit
and kill it without its being able to hurt you
at all (from Invasion of the Vorticons).
2. Let the giant ice cannon hit you. It
doesnt kill you (unless you fall into the
water), and the graphic is pretty amusing
(Invasion).
3. The dopefish has trouble eating you if
you lie on a shelf. Just after he tries to
unsuccessfully gulp you down, make a
break for it. He will continue to go
through the whole gulp animation, and
you can escape with relative ease (from
Goodbye, Galaxy).
Cosmos Cosmic Adventure
**
Apogee Software Productions

Programming and Level Design: Todd J.
Replogle
Graphic Art: Stephen A. Hornback
Producer: Scott Miller
In keeping with this months theme,
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure is shareware
also. As with most shareware, only the
first of three related games is available for
free. The rest you have to pay for.
Cosmo is for IBM compatibles and supports EGA. I do not know if it also supports CGA. You play the part of a
suction-footed alien lizard who must wander across a highly animated sidewaysscrolling landscape, eating fruit and stars,
and bouncing on the heads of squiggly
alien monsters. It is a low-pressure game,
but some dexterity is required.
Cosmo has fine graphics, with eye-plants
that follow your every move, monsters
that not only parade back and forth but
take breaks to slaver and threaten you,
the viewer. Some of the art and the monsters are a little reminiscent of the animated cartoon Yellow Submarine.
Unfortunately, Cosmo is a failure. The
graphics are so rich and intricate that they
actually interfere with your ability to play
the game. The main character is rather
slow-moving, which is always a handicap
in an arcade game, and the level design
encourages a lot of backtracking over
ground youve already covered. In addition, the levels are very repetitious, not in
terms of art, which remains fairly outstanding. You simply progress from level
to level, scrolling along, bouncing on the
tops of monsters, eating fruit, and collect-
Commander Keen (ID Software)
ing the rather ineffective bombs that you

can use to collect bonuses and occasionally
kill monsters.
Cosmo is okay, but its no masterpiece. I
found myself tiring of this game long
before reaching the end. If you like arcade
games a lot, youll probably like Cosmo.
Fortunately, as shareware, you can get the
first installment free, so theres no risk in
checking it out.
Game tip
Whenever you are on top of a tree, stop

and look up, or jump up. Often, objects
hidden above the screens top will then fall
down to you. Also, if you collect enough
stars, on most levels youll get a special
bonus screen good for lots of points.
Waxworks
***
Accolade
Designers: Mike Woodroffe, Alan Bridgeman, and Simon Woodroffe
Producers: Mark Wallace and Todd Thorson
Graphics: Paul Drummond, Kevin Preston,
Maria Drummond, and Jeff Wall
Waxworks is a role-playing game for the
IBM. Youll need VGA graphics, a mouse,
and at least a 386-16 MHz machine to
enjoy this baby. It is firmly set in the horror genre. Accolade has produced two
previous horror role-playing games with
vaguely similar interfaces: Elvira, and
Elvira II. If you purchase and like Waxworks, youll probably want to seek out its
predecessors. Fans of the earlier games
will probably enjoy Waxworks, too.
In Waxworks, you must seek out and
destroy the forces of evil in four different
quests. The game is actually four games in
one, as you must complete each of the
quests, and once inside a quest, you cant
easily jump out to another. The quests
include an Egyptian pyramid, a haunted
mineshaft, Victorian England, and a
zombie-infested graveyard.
The Egyptian pyramid is the most similar
to a conventional dungeon crawl of all the

adventures. It teems with traps, foes, and
bare stone walls. Golden treasures abound,
but you get no points for accumulating loot
in this gameyour job is to survive, not
acquire junk. Walk cautiously in this one,
and know what you are getting into.
The haunted mineshaft is infested with
fungus-riddled zombie-like beings, hideous
plants, and other gross, infectious monsters. There are fewer treasures than in
the Egyptian level, but it, too, has much of
the look of a conventional dungeon expedition. A monster awaits you early on, so be
prepared to fight. As in the Egyptian level,
you should be cautious.
In Victorian England, you are stuck in
the narrow London slums plagued by Jack
the Ripper. You are mistaken for the Ripper, and if you are nabbed by the cops, a
quick trip to the hangman is in store for
you. Stay on your toes. If you stick around
too long, youre sure to be captured, so
this adventure opens with a high-speed
chase, during which youre likely to get
lost. Youll have to save and reload frequently as you try to map the maze of the
London streets.
The graveyard is the most confusing
environment. The pyramid and mineshaft
at least look familiar. In London, while
there is no ceiling, there are confining
alley walls. But in the graveyard, the obstacles blocking you are rows of tombstones. This feels strange (why cant you
just squeeze between two adjacent monuments?) and it is very hard to see where
you are going. It may look open up ahead,
but before you go three steps, you run
smack dab into a gravestone and before
you can figure out which direction to go
next, youre assaulted by a zombie. I rate
the graveyard as the most difficult quest
of the four by far.
The game is similar in style to Dungeonmaster and Eye of the Beholder, using bitmapped graphics and a players eye-view of
the maze. You must solve puzzles, battle
deadly monsters, and figure out how to
progress through the various mazes. Each
area teems with deadly traps, and youll
frequently have to reload from a saved game
because you didnt see the wire in the sunlight, or some similarly trivial reason.
Skim the manual before playing the game,
and start out in the Egyptian levelit was
slightly easier than the other quests (at least
for me). Be very cautious, and each time you
defeat a monster, save the game! Also, if you
kill a monster but the result was a Pyrrhic
victory in which your own injuries were
unacceptably great, reboot and try the fight
over. The games one big drawback is its
deadliness. You are killed so often and so
easily that it becomes exceedingly frustrating
after a while.
Another failing is the dire fact that when
you obtain too many objects, the first
objects acquired seem to vanish into nowhere, without warning or explanation.
Keep a close eye on how much stuff youre
carrying, and drop the excess periodically.
62 SEPTEMBER 1993
Cosmos Cosmic Adventure (Apogee Software)
Dropped items dont evaporate, unlike

some games, so you can always go back
and get a discarded medallion if it later
proves essential.
Waxworks believes in the principle that
travel broadens." Each time you step onto
a new square, you gain experience, and
enough such points raise your characters
level, which increases your hit points.
Though you can occasionally heal some of
your wounds, in general the only way to
restore lost hit points is by increasing your
level. Walk down every corridor you see,
because you need all the hit points you
can get. Killing monsters and solving traps
doesnt seem to give you much experience.
The puzzles are amusing, but often extremely difficult. They range from solving
mathematical problems to playing a flute to
shatter a pane of glass. Often, Uncle Boris
can help. You have a magic crystal that you
can use to contact your Uncle Boris, at the
cost of losing magic power.
Combat in Waxworks is both gruesome
and nerve-wracking. Your weapon appears
on-screen, and you aim the mouse at the
part of the enemys body you wish to
whack. By clicking the mouse, you cause
your dagger, fist, etc., to strike the opponent, and then you randomly cause damage or not. In the meantime, the monster
is striking back at you. When he hits you,
blood briefly splatters across the screen.
When you hit him, a nasty wound opens
on his body. It is possible to knock a zombies head clean off (this doesnt stop the
zombies attacks, but it sure feels good).
Since combat is real-time, youll be exercising your index finger quite a bit, pointing
and clicking frantically, and doubtless
groaning when you take a wound.
When you are killed (which happens all
too often), your corpse appears on the
screen with a wide variety of hideous ends,
ranging from sword cuts to animal bites to
fungus growths. The game may be objectionable to some people because of its extremely graphic violence. If youre
squeamish at all, give this game a miss. On

the other hand, if youre the kind of person
that likes flesh-crunching zombie movies,
youll probably enjoy the graphics. Accolade
does recognize the dire nature of Waxworks
art, as there is a Parental Warning sticker on
the box. Good idea, and kudos to Accolade
for providing this warning.
I welcome Waxworks not only because of
its own merits, but because there arent too
many good horror games out there. Until
very recently, computer games have not
been up to recreating this genre. Sound and
graphic capability simply didnt have the
complexity needed. But now computers have
advanced quite a bit, and horror games are
beginning to appear. Naturally, I applaud this
trend. The F-15 Strike Eagle or Ultima of the
horror genre has yet to appear, but its only
a matter of time.
Game tips
1. When you have a question for Uncle

Boris, save the game first, then contact
him, then reload the saved game. In this
way, you wont have to waste your magic
power to find out essential information.
This wont work in every case, however.
For instance, the game wont let you use
paper to heal yourself unless Boris has
told you how to do it first.
2. Unlike many dungeon-crawl games,
the time-honored technique of hugging the
right-hand (or left-hand) wall as you pass
through a maze wont always help you
here.
owned by the companies producing those products.
b y Jam es M . W ard
TSR has had a great relationship with
Strategic Simulations, Inc. since 1988. For
those of you who dont know, SSI makes
computer games, particularly AD&D and
D&D computer adventures for TSR. Each
of SSIs AD&D games is commonly at the
top of the sales charts upon its release.
Although a computer game will never
take the place of a good Dungeon Master,
the games SSI make do have elements that
even a good DM cant reproduce easily.
Full-color images backed by sound effects
can equal and sometimes even surpass a
good thousand-word description from a
DM. I still remember playtesting one of
the SSI DRAGONLANCE games. Id battled through the usual undead and evil
warriors to come to the top of a castle
spire. Suddenly, on the screen flashed the
image of a huge black dragon, with the
appropriate roar. I was actually filled with
fear for my character. My heart raced, my
palms broke into a sweat, and it was several moments before I realized I wasnt
under an actual threat. Thats the kind of
role-playing that seldom happens in a
regular gaming session, but its great when
it does.
On the past few pages is a batch of SSI
game presentations. Youll see a wide
range of product, all of the same high
quality that youd expect from any TSR
paper product. The first of SSIs efforts in
our area started with the gold box
games. These emphasized combat and
tactics; though they werent long on roleplaying, they were great fun and an interesting challenge.
Then came the Eye series, a visual and
auditory delight from beginning to end. In
playtesting Eye of the Beholder I, I can
remember the chill that went up my spine
when I heard the sound of a giant spiders
claws in the stone corridor ahead of me.
Each one of the Eye-series games got better and prettier until the release last
spring of Eye of the Beholder III: Assault
on Myth Drannor, a truly amazing effort.
Everything in this game is fun, from putting together four tough high-level characters to adventuring in forests and
dungeons to meet the enemies of law and
order. The game was so expansive I was
hard pressed to finish it even with the clue
book in my hand. The Eye III experience
is worth buying an IBM just to play it.
Another nice feature to the Eye series is
its greater use of role-playing elements.
Your decisions count, and destroying the
monster isnt always the best choice.
But, in the computer game business, it
doesnt do to stand still. SSI proves again
and again that it knows AD&D and the
computer-game business. Stronghold,
Fantasy Empires, and the new DARK

SUN game, Shattered Lands, are taking
the computer-game industry by storm.
In Stronghold, you control elves,
dwarves, thieves, clerics, and all the other
D&D character classes in a struggle to
raise your own fantasy fortress to power
in a world filled with awesome monsters.
The direction your characters take is
completely up to you. You can concentrate
on training and raise your characters up
to high levels of experience, you can concentrate on building and create huge
walled cities filled with busy characters,
or you can concentrate on growth and let
your massive populations sweep over the
countryside. The game is a visual treat as
your buildings go up and your Stronghold
city develops. But while you are growing,
your enemies are growing, too. Vampires,
wights, evil clerics, evil thieves, red dragons, and more are populating the world in
ever-larger numbers. Although hiding and
growing strong is a sound tactic, the monsters grow stronger if left alone, too.
While playtesting the last version of the
game, I discovered to my horror that a
new and interesting game feature had
been added. In the old versions of the
game, you saw the monsters grow around
their own strongholds, but it was easy to
simply attack their main keep while the
monsters around it did nothing. Imagine
my surprise when I destroyed the main
keep of some monsters with most of my
armythen the surrounding monsters left
and destroyed my fortress in retribution!
In shock to this day, I am vainly trying to
win at the toughest levels, all the while
calling SSI for tips and battle advice (sigh).
Fantasy Empires is equally impressive in
a very different way. This is the first computer game with an electronic DM who
helps you in your quest to rule the world.
The designers actually copied all the maps
of the D&D Known World into this game.
You play one of the political factions described in the old D&D Gazetteers. Your
armies march through land after land,
bringing your banner and control to all
the different races of the world. Youll face
amazing foes and must often personally
lead your troops to victory.
Through it all, youll be amazed by the
art and sound of the Fantasy Empires
game. Its a delight on two levels because
the game is really two very good games in
one package. On one hand, there are the
grand tactics and strategy involved in
moving vast armies across the world. This
game would have been great all by itself,
but theres also a subsystem that allows
you to fight battles on an individual level.
Your heroes and their troops match up
against the computer-controlled heroes

and their troops in grand melees. You can
let the computer decide these battles, but
often a great deal hangs in the balance.
You really want to be in charge of these
struggles for best results.
Then there is the blockbuster game of
the year: SSI presents the DARK SUN
game, The Shattered Lands. Not content to
do more of what was done before, the
R&D department of SSI put together an
entirely new look and feel to the DARK
SUN game. The color and pageantry of the
DARK SUN world comes alive in the art,
sound, and play of this game. SSI has
spared no expense to create new ways to
play the AD&D game on the computer.
Spell icons and psionic icons are richly
detailed, and allow the gamer to instantly
know just what spell effect or mental
discipline to use in any given situation.
Those of you who have enjoyed the DARK
SUN setting will have great fun taking
your half-giants and thri-kreen through
the deserts looking for a bit of steel or
water. The music, sound effects, and visuals of this game far surpass all other
efforts to date from SSI. This game is sure
to be a classic for all computer gamers.
What else can you expect from SSI?
There will be a SEGA and SNES game out
for the Christmas season. RAVENLOFT
and AL-QADIM story lines have been
approved and are in production. Lots
more FORGOTTEN REALMS games are
coming out at regular intervals. We can
expect more DARK SUN games using the
new AD&D playing style SSI has invented
for that setting; if its really as popular as it
appears to be, the new system will be used
in all of TSRs popular trademarked games.
And, before long, you will see a new
arcade game hit the fun places around the
nation. Its set in the D&D world and is the
largest memory- and art-intensive game
ever designed for use in arcade machines.
Using state-of-the-art sound, the play of
the game is fantastic. When I reviewed the
story line and look of the game, I itched to
play it.
Finally, there is a neat game coming up
with a working title of AD&D Hack. Its
just what the name implies. Imagine creating AD&D game characters of any style
you desire and exploring randomly generated dungeons filled with danger, adventure, and glory. If youve ever wanted to
beat down the doors, slay the monsters,
and revel in piles of treasure, the Hack
game is for you.
Get readyweve got the games for
you!
DRAGON 67
Forum welcomes your comments and opinions on role-playing games. In the United States
and Canada, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147 U.S.A.
In Europe, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine,
TSR Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We ask
that material submitted to Forum be either
neatly written by hand or typed with a fresh
ribbon and clean keys so we can read and
understand your comments. We will print the
complete address of a contributor if the writer
requests it.
I am writing to thank you for publicizing the
survey in your July 1992 issue. We nearly doubled the number of inquiries to the survey of
women gamers. If there are any women out
there who still havent responded, the survey
address is: White Rose Publishing, P.O. Box 933,
Amherst MA 01004-0933.
Second, I noticed Roger Moores editorial a
few months back [issue #185] in which he
chastised Z for complaining about the mention
of gay, lesbian, and bisexual gamers. I must say I
was surprised by Mr. Moores strong stance
against discrimination given the TSR Code of
Ethics, which forbids the mention of any sexual perversion (implicitly in context referring
to bisexuality and homosexuality). Has Mr.
Moore read the code of ethics lately and, if so,
what is the official stance of DRAGON Magazine and TSR on the inclusion of such issues/
characters? [Yes, I have read the code of ethics,
but the editorial is the place where I speak my
mind as I please. My opinions do not necessarily
reflect TSR policy. Policy discussions relating to
DRAGON Magazine will have to wait for a
future editorial. The editor]
Finally, I just wanted to respond to some of
the comments made in the October 1992 issue
on women and gaming.
In my last letter [in issue #183], I discussed
reasons why women/girls dont discover RPGs.
The responses from your readers added little to
that analysis. This time, Id like to turn to a
different question: What can be done about it?
1. Gaming companies: The first place to
start is with the companies. If products are
written and marketed in a manner that appeals
to women without losing sales to men, then the
audience would be improved. Advertising in
magazines read by women in addition to the ads
in comics is one idea. Improved marketing in
mass-appeal chains like Waldenbooks and B.
Dalton is another.
Game companies should change the focus of
games from combat to role-playing. Many of the
survey respondents perceived a difference in
style between male and female gamers. GENERALIZATION WARNING: Male gamers tend toward shallow, combat-oriented characters who
look for power and money. Women gamers tend
toward supportive characters with detailed
backgrounds who prefer to interact with NPCs
and explore mysteries, intrigue, and politics.
68 SEPTEMBER 1993
This might involve producing fewer combatoriented art and articles, and more adventures
that depend on cunning and diplomacy for
successful resolution.
License authors and titles that have a strong
female audience (e.g., C. J. Cherryh, Marion
Zimmer Bradley, Barbara Hambly, Mercedes
Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Anne Rice, John Varley,
and Chelsea Quinn Yarbo) have all created
interesting worlds for RPGs, but none have
been officially adapted for gaming.
Use more female artists, editors, playtesters,
and writers. It is easier to appeal to a group one
is intimately familiar with.
Art: Enough ink has been spilled on this one,
no further comment.
2. Players: Use courtesy. Be nice, be friendly. I have rarely had any problems in game
stores and comic shops, but it doesnt hurt to
make an extra effort to be friendly and helpful
to anyone who looks new to the hobby. Guys,
the women looking for a game are likely to be
as serious about it as you are. Dont look at us
only as potential dates it shows.
Lobby: If you like or dont like a product
because of its art, rules, style, etc., tell your
neighborhood huckster; ask him or her to tell
the distributor and write the game company.
Silence is consent, after all.
Recruit: I have heard from a number of male
gamers who would really like to see more
women in their groups. The vast majority of
survey respondents were introduced to gaming
by their spouses, fiancees, boyfriends, male
friends, fathers, and sons. Guys, find out if the
women in your life would be interested in
gaming, and show them what its all about.
Ladies, tell your friends and relatives what you
do for a hobby, and offer to get them involved.
Research: Most fantasy RPGs are based on the
historical Middle Ages. Women were doing
many interesting things back then, but only the
history nuts realize that Jeanne dArc wasnt
alone. For example, Eleanor of Aquitaine went on
a Crusade with her husband, Louis. She had
armor, as did a number of her ladies. Jeanne de
Montfort battled Charles of Blois for Brittany
and donned armor to defeat him in a siege. A
female archer nearly killed Saladin in the siege
of Jerusalem, and another killed Simon de
Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade.
Women ran abbeys and convents. They were
writers (Christian de Pisan), doctors (as in Paris),
guild members (many of the London and Paris
cloth and brewers guilds were entirely female),
and rulers (e.g., Eleanor of Aquitaine and Jeanne
de Montfort). Beyond that, of course, this is
fantasy, and if we can imagine elves and
dwarves, why not equality?
Think: GMs, think about how gender affects
your world. Are there major female NPCs,
heroes, and villains? Do they stray from tired
stereotypes? Is the only matriarchy in the world
an evil race (drow)? What does all of that magic
mean to society?
Write: If you think you can do a better job
than the products you see on the market, give it

a try. Submit query letters to companies, offer
to playtest products, get involved.
3. Miscellaneous: Women gamers vs. female
gamers: I prefer female/male because it avoids
the age question of women vs. girls and men vs.
boys. Unfortunately, the term gamer implies
white male.
The Universal He: take a look at White
Wolfs VAMPIRE* game, which uses she in a
number of examples, and White Roses own
Tapestry, which uses he or she or just no
gender identifier (the fighter, the magician)
throughout. At minimum, alternation would be
nice.
Finally, I also edit an APA, Pallas Podium (same
address as the survey) that regularly discusses
women and RPGs. If you want to explore the
topic in depth, write for the APA.
Clarissa Fowler
Amherst MA
I am writing in response to the discussion in
issue #187 regarding background for adventuring parties. I have noticed that it is often difficult to figure out how a group of characters
could have formed when the party consists of
several different races or characters from
widely separated geographic areas. This is a
problem that the DM should attempt to solve
before getting seriously committed to a campaign, as the party background is a major influence on everything from what the characters
will know to what they will do in their spare
time. The background of a party, and of individual characters, is very important to the atmosphere of role playing and helps to make the
characters real.
In the several years that I have been running
campaigns, both for AD&D and ICEs MIDDLEEARTH ROLE PLAYING* games, I have developed coherent backgrounds for my adventuring
parties. How have I accomplished this feat? I
asked the players! Its their characters that are
adventuring, after all. The DM should not have
to force a background on the party or character
(Taladar the dwarven fighter worked in the
mines for eight years, then joined the navy. He
hates cats but has a passion for amethysts,
thanks to working at a jewelry shop. And did I
mention the prophecy?). In my playing experience, I have seen too many times the DM who
looks over the elven fighter, dwarven thief,
gnome illusionist, and human paladin his players have just put together and says, Well, you
met in a bar and decided to go adventuring. . .
The solution to the problem is to ask the
players about the background of their characters. Ask the players about their characters,
individually, before they can discuss it with the
others. Preferably this should be done when the
characters are being created, before the players
even know what other characters will be in the
party. It is amazing the depth of background
that even the most reticent player will come up
with if he sees that the DM is interested. Record
this information, and prod if necessary to come
up with as complete a description as possible of
the characters past, hobbies, and other activities. Then do this with the other players in their
turn. Compare the information thus gained and
use it to find common points of interest that can
unite the party. Do two characters both love
harp music? Have them meet under the same
teacher. Do two characters from the opposite
ends of the world both have sailing experience?
They could have served on the same ship. In
this way, the DM can try to piece together the
reason why these people are adventuring together and why they stay together.
There are obvious difficulties that arise using

this method. The most common one is that the
players may come up with backgrounds that
seem totally incompatible. However, character
histories that take place before the party formally gets together can be used to solve these
problems. For example, in one of my AD&D
campaigns, a fighter was from a land several
weeks away from where the campaign was
taking place. The other characters, which
included a halfling thief and a human cleric
from a very reclusive religious order, were from
the campaign area. At first I had no clue how to
fit these backgrounds together. Then I realized
that the fighter from the far land had mentioned being a smuggler. He would have traveled to many different lands, including the
campaign area. The halfling thiefs player had
told me that he was on the run from the law. He
had ended up in a town in the wilderness full of
escaped criminals and other undesirables. What
an ideal place to meet the smuggler character!
The priest, it turned out, was from a wealthy
landowning family. When that family was
robbed (by the other two characters, now
working as a team), the priest was sent after
them with some family guards. After an ambush, the priest was captured by the others and
was eventually won over to their cause as
outlaws.
DMs often overlook the fact that any adventurers who fight among themselves will not stay
together very long if there are other options
and there are always other options in an AD&D
campaign! If the elf and dwarf are always
bickering, even in combat, how can they expect
to rely on each other as members of a party
have to? The DM should try to explain to the
players that the party stays together because it
works well as a team. If characters cannot get
along, they should not be in the same party. I
am not suggesting that every member of the
party should be slavishly devoted to or in love
with the others, but at least there should not be
constant arguing. There are always plenty of
other adventuring parties out there if a character cannot get along with the rest. Why should a
character who dislikes gnomes be adventuring
with them if there are many other gnomeless
adventuring groups around?
These are some of the problems and solutions
that I have come up with in my gaming career. I
dont know if they will work for everyone;
maybe Ive just had especially cooperative
players. I hope they can help.
Please print my full address.
Kendall Miles
104 Northampton Court
Greenwood SC 29649
This is a reply to Laurence Davisons request
for advice in issue #187, regarding odd party
compositions. This sort of thing doesnt seem to
bother some DMs, who cheerfully make up all
sorts of wild tales for their PCs histories; other
DMs (myself included) feel better with more
probable parties.
The first thing you should do is let the players
know your guidelines for party composition
before they generate their characters. For the
AD&D game, for example, I usually require that
PC parties be at least 50% human, with no more
than one bizarre character per party (such as
an Oriental martial artist in a medieval campaign, or a member of one of the underground
races in a surface campaign). Its a very good
idea to ask the players what sort of character
theyd like to roll up, which allows you to plead
your case with them. Once the charactergeneration process has begun, the envisioned
70 SEPTEMBER 1993
character becomes much more real in the

players mind, and your chances of changing
that characters race, class, or background
decrease dramatically.
Another way to avoid problems is to create
the party as a whole. Invite your players over
(all of them) to roll up their characters, instead
of letting them bring over their home-rolled
characters for your approval. If players know
what the other players are creating, they know
what works with those characters and what
wont (most players wouldnt want to play a
half-orc if they knew everyone else was creating
elves and dwarves). This arrangement also lets
you even out ability scores by giving the unlucky players a raise (nothing is as frustrating
to a player as having a PC with average scores
in a party where everyone else had fantastic
luck with the dice). If your game is skill-based
(such as the STAR TREK* or TRAVELLER*
RPGs), this will also be handy for preventing too
much skill duplication and ensuring all the
necessary skills are represented. You might even
find that your players will be the ones to argue
whether the party composition makes sense or
not.
Finally: negotiate. Most players, even the
fanatical ones, have two or three favorite character types (beginners, of course, are usually
happy with anything they receive). Within those
options, you can usually find something reasonable or work out a compromise; an elf fanatic
might not play dwarves, but he would probably
accept a half-elf or even a human with distant
elven ancestry. Even the most single-minded
halfling lover I ever had as a player enjoyed
playing grumpy dwarven fighters on occasion.
I realize that in some games this sort of thing
is more of a problem than in others; the MERP*
game was quite aptly mentioned. When I first
played that game, the DM explained to me that
some of the races (Variags, Easterlings, Black
Numenoreans, and the like) were meant for
NPC creation only, and thus were off-limits for
the players. Orcs, half-orcs, and trolls, of
course, were way off limits! Although I wouldnt
be as restrictive as he was, I understand his
reasons. In fact, none of us really minded his
restrictions, since there were still 15 + races to
choose from.
To conclude, I think the solution to your
problem is largely determined by the sort of
relationship you have with your players. Both as
a player and as a DM, I generally prefer gaming
circles in which the players defer to the game
master when such philosophical issues come
up. Other circles hold that the players are free
to do anything that the game rules do not specifically forbid. If your gaming group is of the
latter type, youll have a lot of convincing to do.
Knowing your players, and the sorts of arguments that work with each of them, helps you
keep everyone happy (which, after all, is the
DMs job).
Erik Munne
Aluminio, Brazil
I just finished reading Be Nice to Your Referee, by Stewart Robertson, in the December
issue of DRAGON Magazine. He hit my views on
the nose. I am making this article a must read
for all the players in my campaigns.
I have had a very bad problem with players
being late and mooching munchies over the
seven years of my GREYHAWK campaign and
two years of my CHAMPIONS* campaign.
Recently, it went too far when my girlfriend
decided that she was too tired to play on Sunday evening, having had only four hours of
sleep because of work. She left me at the local
game shop and drove 20 miles home and went

to bed. The time for everyone to play came
around, but no one was there. Ten minutes
went by, then 20; finally, 35 minutes later, with
no one there or calling to tell me they would be
late, I called my girlfriend and told her that she
would have to come and get me; no one had
showed. Ten minutes later the mature group
of 24- to 29-year-old gamers showed up. Ten
minutes after that, when my girlfriend arrived,
it was not a pretty sight.
Soon afterwards, the following rules were
instituted in my campaigns:
1. The DM will notify all players by Wednesday if a scenario is ready. The players will
answer Yes, I can play or No, I cannot play.
Maybe will be taken as no. Day, time, and
location will be set then.
2. If a player said he would attend but events
occur that make him unable to so do, he must
notify the DM by 6 P.M. the evening before
playing.
3. The player has up to 30 minutes after the
time set to show up. If he will be late, he must
call the DM and say when he intends to be
there. If no notification is given or the player
does not show, it counts as an absence.
4. After three absences, a player is no longer
asked or allowed to play in the DMs campaign
no ifs, buts, or temper tantrums.
So far, two players have been removed from
my campaigns in this manner. It was hard
because Im friends with both of them, but I
figured that I had put up with them taking
advantage of my good nature long enough
seven years worth.
The munchie moocher has quit showing up
since we started playing at the game store,
because we started buying soda from the store
owner and not sharing our food. It may sound
like we are being mean, but the moocher keeps
bragging that he makes more money than the
rest of us, and the rest of us came to the conclusion that he should be able to care for himself.
I hope other campaigns do not have to do
something similar to this, but it does work.
Les Bowman
St. Clair MO
The Complete Book of Dwarves has certainly
opened a can of worms, hasnt it? Before its
appearance, the inequalities of the multiclassed
over single-classed were minor and easily fixed
with one of the many kits available. Now, contrary to the other Complete Handbooks, kits are
allowed for dwarven fighter/clerics and their
like. This has proven to be a problem in my
campaign, as in Andy Shockneys (DRAGON
issue #187), but to a lesser degree.
In one of my campaigns there are two
dwarves: a fighter using a Battlerager kit, and a
fighter/cleric playing a Vindicator. As in Mr.
Shockneys case, the players quickly noticed the
unevenness of the characters. What can the
former do that the latter cannot do better? To
solve the problem, I went back to the basics. In
the spirit of the AD&D 1st Edition rules, multiclassed PCs and NPCs should advance slower
than single-classed, yet the new experiencepoint tables do not reflect this. I suggest giving
the multiclassed PCs 60%-80% of their total
experience earned (I routinely use 66%), effectively getting rid of the usual one-level separation. This has proven to make everyone happy,
multiclassed kits not withstanding. Unless you
wish to strictly ban The Complete Book of
Dwarves, this should be the easiest and best
solution.
Steven Cox
Blacksburg VA
I read the Forum letters about psionics in

issues #178 and #184, and I must say that I
disagree with their conclusion that the psionicist
is too powerful. I have played two psionicist
characters. One was a 6th-level psionicist, the
other a dwarf fighter/psionicist of levels 5/5.
In all the sessions I played the pure psionicist
character, I felt that I was quite helpless. My
character had powers of psychometabolism and
psychokinesis, and most power scores were
between 11 and 14. Our first encounter was
with a blood elemental (it wasnt in Ravenloft),
and there was little I could do to help. The most
powerful power I had was Disintegrate, with a
score of 13, and it gives a saving throw vs.
deathnot enough to kill an elemental even if a
part of it is disintegrated. But what I was really
afraid of was throwing 20 and having my character be disintegrated himself. Even if the
chance of being disintegrated is just 1 in 60, it
still means that someday when he uses this
power hell be gone, and no one would be able
to resurrect him. Characters of no other class
need worry about destroying themselves.
When I played the dwarf it was better. He was
a good fighter and had telepathy as his primary
discipline. This allowed him to use both cunning
and force. I hadnt played him long, but he had
used his powers in a helpful manner, even
though my DM had insisted that whenever
Contact was made, the character affected felt it.
One of the reasons a psionicist was not that
powerful in the campaigns I played in was that
the house rule for magic-users enabled them to
cast any spell within their spell book any time
they wanted, as long as it was within the number of spells they were allowed for the day in
that level. We also didnt use material components. Since spells had no chance of failure, this
72 SEPTEMBER 1993
made magic-users more powerful than psionicists. Because at high levels magic-users have a
lot of spells, more than psionicists have powers,
they could more easily find a suitable spell for
the situation. Psionicists simply dont have a
spell such as magic missile, which strikes a
target unerringly, or a fireball, which can cause
massive damage to many opponents.
I see devotions as equal to spells of 1st or 2nd
level, and sciences to spells of 4th or 5th level.
This means that at very low levels, the psionicist
has powers that outstrip any spell-caster. At
high levels, however, a magic-user has such
power that theres a great chance that the
psionicist will be slain before he manages to use
any of his powers.
As I see it, its simply wrong to use the same
adventuring style with psionicists. On one hand,
they can be quite useless in random encounters.
On the other hand, when a psionicist with
telepathic powers goes against any single powerful opponent and has some time on his hands,
he could win without even endangering himself.
Thats why psionicists are powerful as NPCs,
since these have much time to plot. As PCs,
psionicists are often thrown into situations in
which they do not have time to make their
powers work.
I do not believe that the psionicist should be
made less powerful. If anything, he should be
made less powerful at low levels, and more
powerful at high levels. But its much better to
let other classes have protection from his
power. The DARK SUN campaign spells detect
psionics and psionic dampener are good examples of magic spells developed to such an end.
Just for fun, here are some possible ways to
protect some classes, races and alignments:
Evil psionicists suffer a -2 penalty to power
scores when using powers against a paladin. A
paladin receives a saving throw vs. paralyzation

if forced to do something against his beliefs. If
successful, the power in work will stop functioning, and so will the Contact, if there was
one.
The powerful minds of the elves (and, to a
lesser extent, the half-elves) resist telepathy in
the same way they resist charm- related spells.
An elf who does not deliberately open his mind
has 90% resistance to all mind-affecting psionic
powers. The same is true for all other creatures
for which the Monstrous Compendium states
any resistance to charms.
When a psionicist contacts the mind of a
chaotic-aligned character, or tries to affect him
with a telepathic power, he must make a Wisdom check or be overwhelmed by the chaotic
nature of this mind. If overwhelmed, the Contact is broken and he is stunned for the next
round. (Other possible penalties include the
inability to recover PSPs or to use the power,
for some time.)
By the way, Brad Allisons claim that a 2ndlevel psionicist disintegrated a wolfwere is
unfounded. A 2nd-level character has but one
science, and Disintegrate is a science that has
the prerequisite of the Telekinesis science. On
the matter of defeating the shadow dragon, I
would have suggested to the DM to make the
dragon flee, only to come back and attack the
party later when it least expected it (being a
genius, the shadow dragon would certainly
understand what had happened). It just goes to
show that its not the powers that win the day,
but the will of the DM.
Eyal Teler
Jerusalem, Israel
A third life for my favorite role-playing game

1993 by Allen Varney
You barrel into town doing 80, slam on
the brakes at the game store, and lunge
out of the car before the tires stop squealing. Hitting the door straight-arm, you
stride to the counter and shout, Bring me
this months releases for my favorite roleplaying system, and snap it up! The storekeeper groans under the weight of
sourcebooks, scenarios, and accessories.
You toss over your charge card, sign the
slip, then peel out toward your game
session.
It works this way for most gamers, but
friend, reflect for a moment on the fans of
the orphans, those games with little or no
support. Imagine those gamers plight!
Think of their hopes and disappointments!
Consider the accidents that can befall a
role-playing game, such as low sales, publishers cash-flow crises, or editorial misdirection. All these mean no support or, just
as bad, lousy support. You see that an RPG
line can be, like the woman in Gershwins
opera Porgy and Bess, a sometime thing.
Feel a chill? Take heart from those times,
all the happier for their rarity, when
struggling games find a new life, dormant
support lines blossom, and orphaned fans
breathe sighs of relief.
Why, yes, since you ask, I do have an
example. The second dark age of the
CHAMPIONS* game lasted barely half as
long as its first. The hobbys leading superhero RPG, and to my mind its best universal system, has recently recovered from a
three-year dry spell.
The CHAMPIONS difference: I play
the CHAMPIONS game more than any
other RPG because of its flexibility. Not
just a game of comic-book slugfests, the
CHAMPIONS RPG incorporates the genrespanning HERO SYSTEM* game. It gives
you the tools to create any character in
any campaign background whatever, free
of artificial restrictions on class or power
levelto design any spell, power, or device
you can imaginein short, to do anything.
The HERO SYSTEM game embodies anarchy in its best sense.
The game makes a conceptual breakthrough that should have become widespread but never did. Using a complicated
but ingenious system, it separates game
mechanism from special effect in other
words, it defines all powers, spells, gadgets, and other effects entirely in terms of
abstract mechanical rules: Drain, Armor,
damage of this type, movement of that
kind, and so on. In other games your
character uses Ice Attack or Lightning Bolt
or a Magnum revolver, and it works in just
the one way the rules explain that special
effect." Ice Attack casts iceballs but cant
make it snow, Lightning Bolt needs a
chunk of magnetite, and the Magnum has

eight shots. The HERO SYSTEM game calls
them all Energy Blasts, or Ranged Killing
Attacks if you prefer, with different advantages and limitations of your choice. Do
you want your lightning bolt to hit a wider
area, pass through solid objects, or use a
different material component? In other
games, even so-called universal systems,
tough! But in the HERO SYSTEM game,
your lightning bolt works the way you
define it. The same flexibility marks the
RPGs approach to campaign design, level
of realism, and other matters.
Note how this idea circumvents entire
categories of rules questions that plague
other games. Can my Tensers floating
disk, which floats only a few feet off the
ground, float across a chasm? It can in
the HERO SYSTEM game if you defined it
as (for example) Telekinesis, but not if it
works as extra Strength usable only to
carry things. If I turn these spears into
grains of salt and pour them on my enemys dinner, and then he eats it, does the
salt changes back to spears in his stomach
and kill him? In the HERO SYSTEM game,
you would buy the spears as an Independent Killing Attack, one use, with the
Trigger Contact with digestive fluid. See
how it works?
Unfortunately, this flexibility creates an
entirely new plague of rules questions that
each beleaguered game master (GM) must
settle case by case. Also, the HERO SYSTEM games high complexity, arduous
character-creation process, and grievously
slow combat system sharply restrict its
potential audience to picky hardcore
gamers. This helps explain its minor position in the market. As for the quality of its
support over the yearsthat has other
explanations.
The recent drought: In 1990, line
editor Rob Bell left the CHAMPIONS
games current publisher, Iron Crown
Enterprises. At ICE, Bell had carried the
game, first published in 1981, to new
heights. In 1989 he masterminded the
superior CHAMPIONS game fourth edition
(known among fans as the BBBBig Blue
Book), the HERO SYSTEM Rulesbook extracted from it, and a strong support line
by talented writers.
Bells efforts pleased the HERO SYSTEM
games core audience, the old fans and
true who had waited through the first
drought, six years of halting support by
the original publisher, Hero Games. (The
checkered Hero history appears in Roleplaying Reviews in DRAGON issue #172,
October 1989.) When Bell left ICE to work
for a Congressional office and later to
enter law school, some in the fan commu-
nity expressed fear that the games second

golden age had ended.
This proved true. Bells departure coincided with severe cash problems at Iron
Crown, and his replacementwell, one
metaphor cant encompass the poor fellows plight. He was thrown in the deep
end, had to fill a big pair of shoes, and
tried to make bricks without straw. The
following three years produced no more
than a dozen CHAMPIONS supplements,
and these ranged from adequate to inferior. Some objections to these products
involve technical minutiae; does it mean
anything to you that European Enemies
espoused the meaningless Elemental Control rationale? But any gamer can understand the larger complaint that these
supplements generally showed little
imagination, lack of concern for campaign
use, and weak spelling and grammar.
Now, in a line that seldom looked especially good, we see improved production
values and better artwork. Product flow
has increased. Bruce Harlick, one of the
games earliest adherents, now edits the
Hero line. Signs indicate that after two
dead intervals, the Hero line has entered
its third life. Few games get a third
chance, let alone a second, so I celebrate
the revival in this review.
I only wish we had had a different herald of the re-resurrection.
Dark Champions: Heroes of

Vengeance
205-page softcover book
Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises
Author: Steven S. Long
Cover: Frank Cirocco, Storn Cook
Illustrations: Dan Smith, Greg Smith
$20
Catering to the comic-book readerships

current taste for ruthless vigilantes, new
author Steven Long (a contributor to Fantasy Hero Companion II) has designed
what I must reluctantly call the best supplement the CHAMPIONS game has seen in
years. Dark Champions describes, not to
say exalts, the heroes who hit the crimetorn streets and beat up or, more often,
murder the Mafia dons, yakuza oyabuns,
drug smugglers, gang members, and other
evil baddies who have brought about the
terrible state in our inner cities. (It cant
have anything to do with our attitudes or
our government, right? Evil baddies did it.
Jail them or shoot them, and you make it
all better.)
Heroes of Vengeance in the subtitle
means vigilantes, either super-powered or
just well-armed, who want not only to
actively do good but to assault crooks.
DRAGON 75
Comics fans recognize this mentality in the

Punisher and the grittier versions of
Batman, among many others. These characters obsessive street-level crusades
differ from the extravagant alien invasions
and monster fights of traditional fourcolor comics, but both kinds of melodrama
rely on the same principle: Violence
solves problems. Dark Champions
presents, in interesting and effective game
terms, dozens of contemporary problems:
terrorists, psycho killers, gangs, organized
crime. Then it proposes solutions: pages
and pages of detailed, well-designed weapon statistics. Brrrr.
Note, by the by, that the CHAMPIONS
game system permits murderous behavior,
unlike its principal competitors, TSRs
MARVEL SUPER HEROES game and
Mayfairs DC HEROES* game. With their
Karma or Hero Point penalties against
characters who kill, these licensed systems
enforce traditional super-hero morality,
sometimes at odds with the comics they
simulate. The CHAMPIONS rules, for better or worse, enforce no moral view.
Dark Champions should appeal to those
who find moral behavior futile, feel ethics
have meaning only when tested to destruction, or believe responsible conduct includes passing sentence on others. It
should also go over big with players who
just wanna hit drug labs and kill everything that moves. Steven Long writes with
care for both audiences, emphasizing
playability as he develops intriguing kill-orbe-killed skyscraper scenarios a la Die
Hard, careful analyses of the heroic Code
Against Killing, a fine overview of law in a
super-heroic world, and a high-power
vigilante called the Harbinger of Justice.
He excels in informative descriptions of
the Mafia, Chinese tongs, the yakuza,
Jamaican posses," and other real-life
crime organizations. The clinically gruesome serial-killer scenario has the same
ring of authenticity. Longs attention to
campaign use raises this product far above
many recent CHAMPIONS game supplements. Some individual sections of this
book represent the best of their type the
Hero line has yet seen. A GM can use most
of Dark Champions ready-made in a campaign, so the player characters can start
killing people right away.
Why this bugs me: The super-hero
concept began with the idea of the vigilante taking justice into his own hands. For
much of comics history, most writers
ignored this tension between the heroic
and the unlawful. Then some talented
creators explored it in fascinating stories.
But, as happens constantly in comics, a
streak of brilliant work led to endless notalent imitations. The stories exploring
vigilantism have given way to brutal
power trips starring costumed psychopaths. When one of these sinister avengers
storms a crimelords hideout and kills two
dozen people in 20 pages, how does he
differ from any mass murderer?
Of course, the scumbags he kills deserve
76 SEPTEMBER 1993
to die; the writer has stacked the deck to

justify the heros actions. Vigilantism has
become more than an unexamined rationale for super-hero stories of excitement,
imagination, and the fantasy of great
power in service to a high ideal, Some
comics treat bloody vigilante justice as a
meaningful response to societys problems,
an approach worth exploring. Why? Blood
sells. Commercial success validates the
vigilante approach. The Punisher keeps
winning his pathological vendetta because,
as long as he wins, the publisher can sell
three or four Punisher titles every month.
With Dark Champions, this creepy syndrome comes to super-hero gaming. Heaven help us, it arrives looking really sharp.
I dont fear that players will enjoy Dark
Champions so much that theyll take to the
streets and start pounding criminals. I find
such concerns asinine. I dont think any
game product directly affects behavior at
all, unless youre writing it and deadline
pressure drives you nuts. Pop culture
items like games reflect attitudes shaped at
a deeper level. When the gifted fantasy
writer Martha Soukup took part in a 1991
protest march against the Gulf War, her
sign read: WAR IS A SYMPTOM. Like war,
violent comics and role-playing games
represent symptoms, not causes, of a
violent society.
This book panders to our violent society
in two ways. First, it proposes that players
can have big fun role-playing vigilante
killers. A scenario with a vigilante [player
character] who is trying to kill his worst
enemy while being chased by the police
and several four-color player characters
leads to edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting
CHAMPIONS games which are better than
any comic book (page 17). I call this the
same kind of fun that people had at Roman gladiatorial bouts, medieval bearbaitings, guillotine executions, and modern
snuff films: the fun of seeing someone
get killed. You cant wipe out this facet of
human nature, but you dont have to cater
to it.
Second, Dark Champions relies on the
unspoken assumption that our society has
already fallen apart, so wed better start
shooting people. Long never explicitly
endorses murder, and the text does perform a certain amount of ritual handwringing that cautions characters against
irresponsibility, but in the context of a
200-page supplement all about shooting at
crooks, these displays do not convince.
Dark Champions gives GMs and players
tools to enshrine fictitious heroes of escapist four-color comics as the saviors of our
genuine inner-city crisis. The books high
quality cant disguise or redeem its cruel
and useless solution. Lots of popular
comics, books, movies, TV shows, and now
RPGs have reduced social problems to
thoughtless and violent entertainment, but
popularity and quantity alone cannot
make them honorable.
Evaluation: I dont assign star ratings
in game reviews. Dark Champions: Heroes
of Vengeance illustrates one reason I find

star ratings meaningless. They confuse a
products execution with the worth of its
subject.
Does Dark Champions succeed in capturing gritty street-level vigilante adventures in game terms? Yes, brilliantly, not
only for the CHAMPIONS game but for
many modern-day RPGs. Should players
refuse to play this kind of campaign? I
cant make that call. Do I think Dark
Champions helps the super-hero gaming
field? No, I absolutely do not. For those
who disagree, this book gives excellent
campaign value.
High Tech Enemies

Author: Sean Fannon
Cover: Storn Cook
Illustrations: Greg Smith
$13
Champions Universe

Authors: Monte Cook and 95 others
Cover: Storn Cook
Illustrations: Storn Cook, Scott Heine
$18
Normals Unbound

Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises $13
Authors: Brannon Boren, Patrick E. Bradley
Cover and illustrations: Storn Cook
Let us continue the theme of campaign
use, or its lack. These three books illustrate the contrast in the CHAMPIONS
support line between its recent downtime
and (I hope) the future standard.
Yet more bad guys: I dont remember
how many books of supervillains Hero
Games has published-seems like dozens
but apparently we dont have enough
Enemies books yet. In High Tech Enemies,
we get villains based on super-science
technology. This rationale stretches to the
breaking point to include the occasional
mentalist, alien, space pirate, and, umm,
dwarf. The 39 bad guys and assorted
agents mostly wear armor and mostly like
to steal or destroy technological gadgets.
My, you say, how can this seemingly
arbitrary and sterile premise give rise to a
gallery of unique new foes, unlike any
seen before? We dont find out. The villains in High Tech Enemies serve no new
campaign function, and they conjure few
novel ideas.
Incidentally, the character designs here
point up a longtime pitfall of the CHAMPIONS games flexibility. When you, as GM,
can easily adjust damage and defense
standards in your campaign, you never
know whether a given Hero supplement
matches those standards. In the absence of
firm editorial control, every writer appears to design differently. For example,
the villains in Champions of the North, the
recent supplement about Canada, seem
unusually wimpy. As for the other extreme, try reading this aloud to someone
who knows the CHAMPIONS game: This
High Tech Enemies book has a cybernetic
ninja assassin called Weasel. He has Speed
8, Stealth at 18, OCV 12, five combat skill
levels, Find Weakness at 13, 4d6 + 1 armorpiercing HKA, and the Psychological Limitation Enjoys killing.
You got quite a reaction, didnt you? This
jargon translates into: Weasel will kill
your player characters. The utility of such
a villain escapes me. Many villains in High
Tech Enemies enjoy killing and have the
attacks to do it. Not everyone would condemn the book on this count, for I have
heard of campaigns that thrive on bloodthirst and power. But GM, take care.
What has gone before: Can you think
of a gaming product with 96 authors?
Champions Universe tries to weave the
work of eight dozen CHAMPIONS supplement writers from time immemorial into
one consistent campaign history. Just as
Dark Champions plays on the fad for
homicidal avengers, Champions Universe
capitalizes on a popular trend at comicbook companies, the codification of the
universes wherein all their heroes interact. TSRs Gamers Handbook of the Marvel
Universe and Mayfairs Whos Who in the
DC Universe compendia translate this idea
into game terms, although Ive never seen
much use in straight costume pageants of
super-characters.
Champions Universe avoids this approach. After all, the Enemies books already offer more pageants than anyone
could want. Instead, this book gives brief,
get-back-to-you-later coverage of lots of
background details: timelines, weird places of the world, sketches of major magicians and high technology agencies, a
summary of alien races, the Paranormal
Registration Act, updates of the Champions super-team, thumbnail sketches of the
worlds main organizations and media
groups, a business called Aftermath Inc.
that cleans up after super-battles a la
Marvel Comics Damage Control, and so
on. New villains and NPCs, a long glossary
of characters, and a wide-ranging scenario
round out the package.
In its straightforward compilation of
about 50 supplements, Champions Universe succeeds fairly well. It reads like a
good fanzine article by an enthusiastic
gamer who wants to highlight these
products glories. I enjoyed many bits
throughout, despite the shaky spelling and
grammar that have plagued the last batch
of Hero Games products. Yet while reading
this book I kept asking, What does this
accomplish? Who needs it? If you already
have a campaign, much of this book becomes redundant. If you cant devise a
campaign world of your own, the material
here seems (a) too sketchy to help much
and (b) not thought through.
Take one instance among many: The
geography section mentions in a single
offhand paragraph (page 59) that the
Australian Outback hides a buried alien

artifact that absorbs power from everything in the universe. It uses [the stored
energy] to create a strange mental plane of
existence called the Dreamtime. Uhh,
okay, if you say so, but could you elaborate? What adventure ideas does the
Dreamtime inspire? Champions Universe
wastes no space to reply, for the breathlessly paced text moves willy-nilly onward
to Antarctica.
A campaign supplement better focused
than Champions Universe could have real
use. For instance, a secret origins chapter could consolidate all the rationales that
past supplements have used to create
heroes and villains, such as the Qrrm
Effect from the old Atlas Unleashed scenario. A GM could tailor appropriate origins from this menu in creating new
villains, or suggest an origin to new players. The chapter would discuss the narrative function of each origin and offer ways
to develop its implications in the campaign. Champions Universe does nothing
like this, and the Qrrm show up only in a
dry list of alien races.
In the same way, a universe supplement could propose plausible rationales
for genre inconsistencies. Why, in a world
of VIPER agents with heavy blasters, do
police still carry ordinary sidearms? Champions Universe might have given pretexts
for this and many other issues, with suggestions for mini-campaigns centered
around each rationale. Instead, it merely
lists high-tech agencies established in past
supplements. (High Tech Enemies offers a
scenario outline to account for the technology gap .)
You see that this idea of a campaign
supplement differs from the one in Champions Universe. Dont look for a quick-anddirty rundown of someone elses
campaign; get a tool kit of parts to build
your own. Even if you do need a pre-fab
super campaign, Champions Universe
wont fill the role without other supplements to prop it up.
For a sturdy set of super-hero campaign
tools, try these four CHAMPIONS game
books: the fourth-edition Big Blue Book of
rules, Classic Enemies, Classic Organizations, and Normals Unbound. Together
they cost about $70pricey but good
value. (In some campaigns Ninja Hero has
also become vital.) Alongside these, Champions Universe may prove handy in a
small way.
What? You dont recognize the last of
those essential four? Coming right up.
The brighter side: Whereas most
CHAMPIONS game supplements cram in
villains like malevolent super-powered
sardines, few writers show interest in
those less flashy staples of a comic-book
campaign, the non-powered characters
the normals." Cops, paramedics, reporters, sweethearts, kid siblings,
occultists, celebrity stalkers, crusading
disk jockeys, and fan clubs represent the
innocents your heroes fight to protect,
bland but vital support functions the

group needs, adventure hooks, the baseline that makes superhuman powers awesome, and the entanglements that make
life interesting between combats. Normals
Unbound rectifies a severe 11-year lack in
the CHAMPIONS game with its repertory
of unpowered but interesting people.
Everyone in this delightful book fills a
clear campaign role or provokes story
ideas. Meet Matthew Armbruster, the
likable fast-lane robotics executive who
built the villain Mechanonand Matthews
wife, Congresswoman Shanna Armbruster,
passionate supporter of metahuman civil
rightsand her godfather, Senator Jeremiah Relm, chief advocate of metahuman
oppression, who has not pried closely
enough into his funding sources. Meet
Betsy Clarke, high-school history teacher
(anyone getting close to her will quickly
get drawn into the lives and problems of
her students), her good friend, Streetgang
Task Force leader Sergeant Addie Parsons,
and Parsonss opponent, illegitimate businessman Ananias Topps.
Not all these folks exactly fit the normal bill. Your players may get a surprise
when they meet Iggy the Vampire, professional undead personor Patsy Conrad,
the teenager who visits a make-believe
placeor Mister Rapentap and his spooky
immortal childrenor, I kid you not,
Sparky the Wonder Dog. Even the prototypical normal, your heros weak old
Aunt Mary, turns out in Normals Unbound
to write award-winning science fiction
novels. For one and all, Brannon Boren
and Patrick Bradley, a pair of talented
first-time authors, write profiles that
sparkleand coming after most of the
Hero Games line of the last few years,
sparkling prose refreshes like water in the
desert.
Any super-heroic campaign can use the
folks in this book, but CHAMPIONS game
GMs should feel greater relief than most
GMs of other systems. In the CHAMPIONS
game, many player characters take the
DNPC (Dependent NPC) disadvantage to
get more Power Points they can spend on
greater abilities. Those DNPCs get in the
way during adventures, pry into secret
identities, and otherwise cause trouble.
But who are they? The game rules dont
describe them except with point totals. In
my old CHAMPIONS campaign, two heroes
took the same DNPC, and for the life of me
I could never recall her looks or personality. Ineptitude played some part in this, but
the countless other details I had to track
didnt help. If Id had Normals Unbound, I
could have pulled out occult bookstore
owner Lynda Crichton, or maybe even
Crystal Claire Vosser, the uncontrollable
New Age psychic, and solved the problem.
Taking cues from her relationship to other
NPCs in this book, Id have found scenario
ideas aplenty. Wow, I wonder if I can
restart that game. . . .
Normals Unbound dramatizes a neglected truth of super-hero games: Super
DRAGON 77
powers make up less than half a good

campaign. Even if your favorite hero can
mind-control the Himalayas or swallow the
Alaskan oil pipeline, your greatest fun
comes when that hero interacts with
others and develops relationships over
time. Through their well-drawn personalities and flexible narrative roles, these
NPCs heighten the campaign experience.
Evaluations: Most of the best CHAMPIONS game supplements share that goal of
heightening the campaign experience." To
the degree a supplement ignores this, it
lacks long-term use. Normals Unbound
exceeds the pedestrian High Tech Enemies
in creating original, useful characters
essential to a well-run campaign. Champions Universe, although well intentioned,
suffers for its almanac approach of dry
and sketchy lists instead of campaign tools,
but bits of it may prove useful.
With Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises back on its feet and with a savvy
new editor, the CHAMPIONS game line
looks ready (for a third time) to heighten
the super-heroic gamers campaign experiences. Heres hoping.
Other HERO SYSTEM game

support
The monster book: Hero Games has

at last released an expanded and updated
Hero Bestiary (192 pages, $18). Written by
Doug Tabb with Darrin C. Zielinski, Brian
Nystul, and Mark Bennett, this thick volume devotes unusual amounts of space to
mundane beasts as well as fantasy monsters, so lets hope most FANTASY HERO
campaigns need not only dragons but also,
say, ostriches. Other campaigns hardly
need the Bestiary at all, but super-heroes
should have fun pummeling the myriad
of movie monsters promised on the
books back cover. In case you wonder
how many movie monsters constitute a
myriad, the answer is six.
Campaign Classics: Iron Crown has
published five or six curious hybrids that
cover offbeat adventure topics like Robin
Hood, pirates, Vikings, and mythology.
These 160-page Campaign Classics ($1516) give statistics for both the HERO SYSTEM game and ICEs ROLEMASTER*
game, and they make an ill-matched pairing. Each supplement obviously favors one
game and relegates the other to stepchild
status. Aaron Allstons tremendous Mythic
Greece: The Age of Heroes, clearly a HERO
SYSTEM product, stands high above the
restat least it did before it went out of
printand swashbucklers and privateers
will find a treasure in Pirates by Gorham
Palmer, clearly a ROLEMASTER game fan.
But really, reviews of these things hardly
matter, because each of them almost corners its own niche market. For example, if
you run an ancient Egyptian campaign,
youll buy Mythic Egypt even though it did
put me to sleep three times in 10 pages.
The magazine: Unbelievably, the Hero
Games quarterly magazine, Adventurers
Club, has for the first time in its 11-year
78 SEPTEMBER 1993
run actually started appearing almost

quarterly. By rough estimate, this issue is
something like five-and-a-half years late,"
wrote new editor Bill Robinson in issue
#18, last fall. [I]f the magazine ever did
come out four times in one year, the AC
would have to go bi-monthly just on principle." Yet Robinson and Bruce Harlick
swore up and down that they, alone
among numberless AC editors, would
make this old train run on time. Sure
enough, issue #19 really did show up a
few months later, and at this writing #20
has just appeared. Did someplace hot
recently freeze over?
Adventurers Club offers the usual
house-organ support of scenarios, characters, source material, and rules variants. It
has a lighter touch than some onecompany magazines, but its coverage of all
the different HERO SYSTEM game genres
means that any one issue may offer little
for your own campaign. Style and grammar still fall short of professional standards, and four bucks an issue seems a
steep price on that count, if nothing else.
Send inquiries to: Iron Crown Enterprises,
P.O. Box 1605, Charlottesville VA 22902.
The BBS: The semi-official computer
bulletin board system of the HERO SYSTEM game, Red October, recently celebrated its fourth birthday. Based in Austin,
Texas, this free and staggeringly active
board features discussion areas, playtest
manuscripts and campaign chronicles
available for free download, and a
Gamers Wanted" area. Many longtime
Hero designers call regularly. Red October
now supports off-line readers with shareware programs that let long-distance
callers greatly reduce their time online
and still keep up with the incredible traffic. Set your modem to N-8-1 and dial:
(512) 834-2548. Red October runs 24 hours
and supports all modem speeds up to
16,600 bps.
Computer aids: The HERO SYSTEM
games complexity has prompted some
fans to respond with software that expedites the GMs formidable tasks. Both of
the programs Ive seen run on MS-DOS
computers; you can download them from
Red October. The shareware GMs SuperPowered Companion sequences combat,
rolls dice, calculates STUN and BODY
damage, and tracks total damage, among
other useful tasks. Inquire to: SuperPowered Software, P.O. Box 1936, Dublin OH
43017.
The freeware Herobase database lets
you easily update and print out your
HERO SYSTEM game characters. Inquire
to: Carl W. Oakes, 261 Peachtree Avenue,
Vacaville CA 95688.
The new commercial program GMAid,
also for MS-DOS machines, claims powerful abilities in both running combat and
storing characters. I have not yet seen the
program. It costs $30 plus $3 shipping
from: New Generation Systems, 4291 S.
Quintero Way, Aurora CO 88013.
Fans of the CHAMPIONS paper RPG
eagerly anticipate the ultimate computer

aid: the CHAMPIONS computer game
itself, designed by Steve Peterson (codesigner of the RPG) and several others. At
this writing, the game lags far, far behind
schedule, but the publisher, Hero Software, has released its character generator
as a stand-alone product. Hero Maker
reduces the hours-long process of generating a complete CHAMPIONS character to
15-20 minutes. As for the game proper, it
may possibly, conceivably, perhaps appear
this Christmas. Maybe.
Short & Sweet
GANGSTERS* game, by Don Greenwood

(The Avalon Hill Game Company, $29.95).
Listen up, you mugs. In this abstract, fastpaced board game, four players send
racketeers, thugs, and vamps into 1920s
Chicago to extort money, buy property,
and seduce or hit rivals. Innovative rules
use dice to determine pieces movement
rates and replacement costs, and time
limits reward strategy and fast thinking.
Bribe cops to look the other way, or send
them against your opponents. The first
player to amass ten grand or a large property base wins. I dont like seeing criminals
glamorized; that said, this design shows a
charm and excitement independent of its
subject. Don Greenwood has designed
games for the Avalon Hill Game Company
for about as long as Ive breathed. Enjoy
this tasty fruit of his long experience.
After working as an editor & designer at
Steve Jackson Games from 1984 to 1986,
Allen Varney went free-lance. He has
published three board games and has
written two dozen role-playing books and
supplements for TSR, West End Games,
Hero Games, Tor Books, and others.
[The following reviews were cut from
Rick Swans Role-playing Reviews column
in DRAGON issue #196 because of a lack
of space. They are now presented here.]
Dragon Kings, by Timothy B. Brown.
TSR Inc., $20. Power-mad players who feel
constrained by the level limits imposed by
the standard AD&D rules should delight in
this DARK SUN supplement, which features tips for taking characters all the way
to 30th level. While the first section of the
book offers interesting rules for creating
stratospheric-level warriors, along with
useful but nonessential BATTLESYSTEM
options, the real action is in the 50-plus
pages of high-powered spells. Sample eyepoppers include mountain fortress, which
conjures a fortified tower more than 100
yards tall, and prolific forestation, which
creates up to a 480-yard radius forest with
as many as 36,000 (!) trees. Lonely wizards
might consider casting raise nation to
animate as many as 4,000 skeletons from
an ancient civilization. Dungeon Masters
may shudder at the thought of coming up
Continued on page 82
By Steven E. Schend
HE MARVEL -PHILE
Heroes of the streets arise!
In the last few years, the MARVEL
UNIVERSE has seen an astonishing number of normal humans taking to the streets
and fighting crime with little more than
their wits and a strong right hook; there
have not been as many non- or lowpowered heroes on the streets fighting
crime since the Golden Age of comics in
the 1940s. When the MARVEL SUPER
HEROES (MSH) game was created, this
type of hero was rare, and wasnt given
much attention. The times and the heroes
have changed, so its time for the game
rules to get up to speed.
In this special MARVEL-Phile, Ill provide
an addendum to the MSH Advanced Sets
character-generation rules to allow for the
low-powered heroes to join your MSH
campaign without being overwhelmed by
the powered heroes. These low-powered,
street-level heroes will not fit into all campaigns in any case. If youre running a
high-powered or cosmic campaign with
beings like Silver Surfer or Adam Warlock,
these vigilante-level heroes will still be
severely outclassed.
Vigilante heroes are defined by the
following general guidelines:
Your heros primary abilities (FASERIP)
are within maximum human limits (see
pages 5-6 of the MSH Advanced Sets
Judges Book for human limits);
Your hero carries weaponry or technology that is available to the general
public (or a group the hero belongs to like
Code Blue or SHIELD);
If your hero has gizmos (whether a
shield, gun, or webline) of her own devising that grants her abilities of less than
Amazing rank.
These guidelines are not concrete, but
they serve to distinguish street-level heroes from other gadget-laden humans like
those in the Avengers. While its true that
Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Black
Widow dont have any powers, their
equipment is far beyond the available level
of technology for most street heroes.
These extraordinary gadgets, when coupled with their owners formidable skills,
allow them to operate against opponents
like Kang or Dr. Doom.
80 SEPTEMBER 1993
Origin
The MSH Advanced Set detailed five

origins, complete with their own advantages and disadvantages for players to
generate their heroes. We need to add a
sixth origin type, Normal human, to
account for non-powered or very lowpowered heroes.
The original origins were set to reflect
the MARVEL UNIVERSE in 1987; Ive altered the percentages on the Origins table
from page 5 of the Advanced Set Players
Book to indicate the emergence of the
Normal-human hero in the 1990s. These
changes are detailed on the new table
below, followed by a full description of the
Normal-human origin and what sets it
apart from the other character origins.
New Origins table

D100 roll
01-25
26-50
51-75
76-90
91-95
96-00
Normal humans
Origin
Altered human
Mutant
High technology
Normal human
Robot
Alien
As the name implies, these characters

are simply human, albeit highly trained
and focused individuals devoted to fighting
crime and injustice. Though this type of
hero was most prevalent during comics
Golden Age, there has been a resurgence
of nonpowered costumed heroes in the
1990s. While they seldom possess powers,
normal humans have a wider range of
talents and contacts. Any powers they
might have are gained through equipment.
The original Bucky, Mockingbird, the
Punisher, Shang-Chi, Silver Sable, and the

original Union Jack are all examples of
normal-human heroes.
Normal humans add one rank to any
three primary abilities (or three ranks to
any one, or two ranks to one and one rank
to another ability), provided their abilities
do not exceed maximum human limits.
Normal humans automatically gain
three additional talents (these do not count
toward the maximum rolled on the Secondary Abilities table below).
Normal humans gain one additional
contact. Again this does not count against
the number of initial contacts rolled on
Secondary Abilities table.
Normal humans have no innate
powers; any powers rolled must be incorporated into their equipment and have a
maximum rank of Incredible for whatever
power effect they have.
as you would normally.

Talent ranks are rolled on Column 1 of the
Generating Primary Abilities table in the
Players Book. If the player rolls less than the
corresponding Primary ability, the hero
gains the talent with the abilitys standard
rank number i.e., Good (10), not Good (8).
Abilities
Contact generation
As weve altered the Origins, we also have

to adjust the numbers for the Generating
Primary Abilities table on page 6 and the
Generating Secondary Abilities table on page
7 of the Players Book to allow for the
greater levels of ability that compensate for
the lack of powers. Remember to roll for
powers (equipment), talents, and contacts
separately on the Secondary Abilities table.
The Secondary Abilities table below is for
Normal-human heroes only.
Power generation
The number before the slash is the

number of powers the hero currently
possesses, and the number after the slash
is the maximum number possible for the
hero. Remember most vigilante heroes are
nonpowered personally, and hence, all
power slots represent specialized equipment. Just about any power in the
MARVEL UNIVERSE has been artificially
duplicated by some scientist or other. Even
the rare mental powers have been recently created by Spider-Man (Emotion-control
gun used against Carnage and crew) and
the Black Knight (psi-screen armor that
protects vs. mental and psionic attacks).
Determine powers as you normally would
in your campaign.
Power ranks are rolled on the Random
Ranks table above.
Talent
generation
The characters number of initial talents

are rolled on the new Secondary Abilities
table. The number before the slash is the
initial number the hero possesses, while
the second number is the maximum potential number of talents; this maximum can
be exceeded only by bonus talents from
the characters Origin. Determine talents
Normal-human ranks table (Column 6)

Rank
name
Feeble
Poor
Typical
Good
Excellent
Remarkable
Incredible
Amazing
Monstrous
Initial
rank
1
3
5
8
16
26
36
46
63
Normal Human Maximums

human (If roll exceeds maximum, reroll.)
01-05
06-15
16-50
51-75
76-85
86-95
96-00
Maximum human Strength

Max. Endurance
Max. Agility
Max. Fighting, Reason, Intuition
Each hero gets a number of initial contacts as rolled on the new Secondary Abilities table. Normal-human heroes get an
additional contact due to their origin.
A hero does not have to establish all his
contacts at the start of the campaignthe
others can appear as need be or as the
result of role-playing. For each established
contact, the hero must provide a name.
Characters with secret IDS can assign
contacts to his heroic ID, his secret ID, or
both. The secret ID has less risk to the
hero, because if your contacts dont know
you are a superhero, you cannot be called
upon by them to perform heroic acts.
Example character
Now that weve got the mechanics in

place, lets try them out and create a new
heroine for the MARVEL UNIVERSE.
Origin & Abilities
Ive already determined that the characters origin is a Normal-human hero.

Therefore, using the new table, I generate
the following ability scores:
Initial rank & number
Roll Ability
Fighting
Incredible (36)
97
Typical (5)/Excellent (16)
Agility
22
Strength
Good (8)
64
Endurance Good (8)/Excellent (16)
53
Excellent (16)
Reason
76
Remarkable (26)
88
Intuition
Psyche
Typical (6)
32
Our new characters Health is 76 (total of
Fighting, Agility, Strength, and Endurance), and her Karma is 48 (total of Reason, Intuition, and Psyche).
Normal-human
Secondary abilities table
D100
Roll
01-10
11-35
36-65
66-85
86-95
96-00
Powers Talents Contacts

I/P
I/P
I/P
0/1
0/2
1/2
1/3
2/3
3/3
3/6
4/6
3/5
4/5
2/4
3/4
2/4
2/5
3/4
3/5
4/4
4/5
Powers, Talents, & Contacts
I roll three times on the Secondary Abilities table. A 30 for powers grants her no
powers, but leaves the potential for two
(of technological origin) later. A 38 for her
talents gives her three talents as well as
the three from her Origin for a total of six.
She has two more talents pending, to be
gained through game play. Finally, a 59 on
the contacts column allows her three
contacts in addition to the one from her
Origin gives her four contacts right now.
She has no powers now, so I dont need
to worry about them yet.
Before choosing her talents, I need to
think about her background. I think Ill give
this heroine an espionage background, so Ill
give her the following talents: Detective/
Espionage, Law enforcement, Martial arts A
and C, Guns, and First aid.
In keeping with her background, three
of her contacts will be with the FBI, her
college criminology professor, and
SHIELD. This leaves one contact left to be
determined through role-playing.
Background
Ive decided this is a female hero with no

secret identity. Given the good physical
and mental abilities, the characters a
fighter and a scholarI choose to make
her a young college graduate and neophyte SHIELD agent.
The rest of her origin, including her
motivation and codename, are up to each
Judge and whatever she wishes to do with
the character. Weve quickly generated a
character on par the Black Widow, so
finish her up and put her on the streets
fighting crime!
DRAGON 81
Villains
The MSH system is set up to be a broadbased system that allows much flexibility
in game play. Unfortunately, that same
flexibility makes it difficult for the Judge
to accurately gauge which villains are
most appropriate to use against the PC
heroes.
A vigilante-level campaign focuses on the
down-and-dirty crime-fighting. Heroes in
this campaign tend to deal more with
drug-dealers, crime bosses, and gang wars
than with aliens, evil doppelgangers, and
gamma bombs. Street-level heroes tend to
be normal humans trained to fight crime,
but can be low-powered heroes as well. A
majority of these heroes have secret identities, operate alone, and do not work
within the law all the time. SHIELD campaigns are also considered vigilante-level
campaigns, provided the emphasis is on
the nonpowered spy-thriller action, not
the high-tech gadgets or super-agents.
Sample campaigns
Ive laid out some basic campaigns and

some villains to populate said campaigns.
Golden Age: This 1940s campaign typifies the era when so many heroes took to
the streets in 3-piece suits and domino
masks to fight crime with their fists. Typical villains include Nazis, Bundists, gangsters, racketeers, etc. The recent
Invaders miniseries is an example of this
era. For more on this type of campaign,
see With Great Power in issue #85 of the
RPGA Networks POLYHEDRON
Newszine.
SHIELD: SHIELD will always be the first
and foremost of the super-spy agencies for
me and it has great potential for a campaign. Given the wide range of weapons
and equipment available, characters can
push the power envelope on this campaign
with plasma guns and super-lasers. Villains
for SHIELD (and other spy agencies) for
this level are Baron Wolfgang von Strucker
and HYDRA, the ZODIAC cartel (its first
incarnation), Fenris, and AIM. Shang-Chi,
the Master of Kung Fu, and his M.I. 6 allies
also fit into this campaign type.
Crimebusters: In the vein of pulp fiction, this campaign is the standard for the
comic-book genre. The heroes mission is
to fight crime and injustice where they
find it.
This campaign focuses on stopping normal and low-powered villains such as
muggers, bank robbers, terrorists, and the
odd ninja or two. Daredevil best highlights
the solo hero for this campaign type, while
such teams as Silver Sable and her Wild
Pack take on larger numbers of the same.
The villains goals are anywhere from
scoring a big haul from a bank robbery to
destroying cities. Villains for this type of
campaign include many of the lesser villains who fought Spider-Man, Iron Man,
82 SEPTEMBER 1993
Ant-Man, and others: The Vulture, Dr.

Octopus, the original Enforcers, the Living
Brain, the Black Cat (before she reformed),
Blacklash, Discus, Stiletto, Lady-Killer, the
Constrictor, the Leapfrog, the Melter, the
Porcupine, Egghead, Crossfire, Bombshell,
Oddball and the Death-Throws; ad infinitum. Other heroes (beyond PC heroes)
might include a stint with Code Blue or the
old Freedom Force ("Crimson Commando
and Super Sabre could use your expertise
for a mission.")
The MARVEL-Philes Marvel characters and the
distinctive names and likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and are
used with permission. Copyright 1993 Marvel
Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Role-playing Reviews
with scenarios to challenge 30th-level

PCswhat are they gonna do, fight
planets?but help presumably is on the
way. Isnt it?
RIFTS* World Book Two: Atlantis, by
Kevin Siembieda. Palladium Books, $15.
Thanks to the late show and old Superman
comics, I assumed Atlantis was populated
by people with fish tails who lived inside a
big glass bubble. Guess again, says RIFTS
game impresario Kevin Siembieda. Atlantis
exists as a brutal wilderness dominated by
the Splugorth, a monstrous alien race
resembling spine-covered lumps of slime.
The Splugorth engage in a variety of
antisocial activities, not the least of which
is a thriving interdimensional slave trade.
A grotesque collection of creatures adds to
the nightmarish ambiance, including the
goo-secreting kreelong and the zembahk,
which looks like an ambulatory intestine
with an oversized eyeball. The books best
section discusses Atlantean magic, an
intricate system of tattoos, runes, and
grisly bio-wizardry techniques that utilize
parasites and surgery. Despite the absence
of strong adventure hooks and an
occasional lapse into sillinessthe
bio-surgery section walks a fine like
between imaginative fantasy and
adolescent gross-outsthe book is packed
with so much compelling material that its
hard to resist.
GURPS Space Adventures, by David L.
Pulver, Thomas S. Gressman, and William
A. Barton. Steve Jackson Games, $17. Two
of the three entries in this collection of
adventures for the GURPS Space game are
no more than competent, unremarkable
science fiction. But the third, Beware the
Health Police by ace designer William
Barton (assisted by Jeff Koke and Steve
Jackson), blasts off in to realms unknown
with a dazzling mix of cosmic adventure
and comic invention. A chance

engagement with a patrol ship results in a
forced vacation on Survias, a
health-obsessed planet where bacteria are
the bane of civilization and hypochondria
is a way of life. The plot involves a
conspiracy to usurp the ruling class, but
its mainly an excuse to bounce the player
characters from one lunatic encounter to
another. A hospital official coerces the PCs
into dangerous nose-hair experiments, the
police attack them with spray
disinfectants, a hover-ambulance carts
them away for emergency toe
surgeryand then things really get nuts.
Great, goofy fun.
CORPS* World Book 1992, by Greg
Porter. Blacksburg Tactical Research
Center, $10. Intended for the CORPS game,
an intriguing RPG of international
conspiracy, this impressive sourcebook
provides data for about 150 countries,
making it sort of a world almanac for
role-players. Each country listing includes
ratings for political corruption, standard
of living, and human-rights violations,
along with a capsule history of recent
events. Theres also plenty of fascinating
trivia, ranging from the gun laws of
Switzerland to the nuclear capacity of
Thailand. Readable and informative, its
recommended to referees of any
modern-era RPGs who want to inject a
dose of reality into their campaigns. For
information, write to: Blacksburg Tactical
Research Center, 1925 Airy Circle,
Richmond VA 23233.
Tales of the Reaching Moon, edited and
published by David Hall. $3.00/issue. A
lively, handsome fanzine from England,
Tales of the Reaching Moon dissects the
RUNEQUEST* game with the precision of
a brain surgeon. On the table in the
Winter 93 issue are errata from the
Avalon Hill Game Companys recent Sun
County supplement, a scholarly analysis of
the Cult of Revenant, and an intense
adventure loosely based on Apocalypse
Now. In a lengthy interview, RUNEQUEST
contributor Sandy Petersen reflects on the
games early days and the outlook for the
future (hes less than enthusiastic). For
casual players, Tales of the Reaching Moon
might as well be printed in Sanskrit, as
evidenced by cryptic references to
Larcemal . . . third among the Five and
the Orlanthi sun-god Elmal, formerly a
loyal thane of Orlanths who later evolved
into Yelmalio." But if thats music to your
ears, consider taking an issue on your next
trip to Glorantha. For information, write
to: David Gadbois, P.O. Box 49475, Austin
TX 78765; or to: David Hall, 21 Stephenson
Court, Osborne Street, Slough, SL1 1TN,
England.
New spells and magical items for the DARK SUN campaign world
by Gregory Detwiler
Artwork by Tom Baxa
The following is a collection of spells and

magical items specific to the DARK SUN
campaign world of Athas. (Of course,
similar spells and items could be developed on other worlds with slightly different materials.) Though unofficial, they are
done in the spirit of the campaign rules,
and could serve as examples of ways in
which DMs could expand the DARK SUN
campaign on their own.
84 SEPTEMBER 1993
Wizard spells
Erdlu claw (Alteration)
Level: 1
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 5 rounds/level
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None
When this spell is cast on a humanoid
being, its fingernails grow into talons,
precisely like the claws of the erdlu bird.
Once in this state, they do damage as hand
razors (S-M: 1d6 + 1; L: 1d4 + 1). The spell
was developed by elven mages (Preservers, of course) who belonged to no-
mad tribes, and it has since been adopted

by all magic-using races who are both
humanoid and do not already have clawed
hands. The claws do no damage to creatures that can only be struck by magical
weapons. In general, this spell is memorized by a mage as a weapon of last resort,
if an enemy actually closes for melee.
There are unconfirmed rumors that the
spell is used in the process of enchanting
real hand razors.
The material component is a single erdlu
claw.
Giant fur (Alteration)
Level: 1
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 1 round

Saving Throw: None
This spell causes the recipients body
hair to grow thickly in a matter of seconds, covering him with a layer of matted
hair that provides armor protection equivalent to that of padded armor (AC 8). Any
member of a mammalian race, intelligent
or not, may benefit from this spell, even if
he keeps his hair shaved off like a dwarf
or mul (thri-kreen and other nonmammalian beings are not affected by this spell).
Successive castings on a targeted individual have no effect until the initial casting is
no longer in effect. The armor does not
hinder movement or prohibit spellcastingits the recipients own body hair,
after alland the hair shrinks back into
his body at the spells end. The spell lasts
until successfully dispelled or until the
wearer takes cumulative damage totaling
greater than 8 hp + 1 hp/level of the
caster. This spells protection is cumulative
with shield and Dexterity bonuses, but not
with protective spells like armor
The material component for this spell is
a strand of giant hair.
Petrification (Alteration)
Level: 1
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: Weapon(s) touched
Saving Throw: None
This spell petrifies nonliving wood, so it
cannot be used in combat against live
treelike monsters. If cast on a wooden
weapon, it causes that weapon to have the
properties of a weapon of stone, such as
flint or obsidian. This effectively reduces
the weapons attack penalty from -3 to
-2, and its damage penalty from -2 to
-1; the weapon is now also completely
fireproof. To a native of impoverished
Athas, this can mean the difference between life and death in combat. The
dweomer lasts until the spells duration
ends or until an enchanted missile strikes
its target. Low-level mages often create
their first magical weapons with this spell.
One large or two small weapons may be
affected by this spell (as per enchanted
weapon). Weapons normally made of
wood (clubs, staves, etc.) gain no additional benefits other than being fireproof.
The material component is a chip of
petrified wood.
Boneiron (Enchantment)
Level: 2
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 turn
Saving Throw: None
This toned-down version of enchanted
weapon transforms bone weapons into
their regular metal counterparts with
regards to attack and damage capabilities.

All penalties are thus removed, and there
is no chance of the weapon breaking.
Casting the spell on a single weapon repeatedly will not cause the weapon to
become +1 or better. As with enchanted
weapon, the only time the dweomer ends
early is when an enchanted missile hits its
target. The spell may be used in the creation of regular magical weapons.
the tooth of a carnivorous animal.
Bonewood (Alteration)
Level: 2
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: None
This spell toughens wooden weapons
sufficiently so that they are the equivalents of their bone counterparts; thus,
their attack and damage penalties drop
from -3 and -2 respectively to -1 in
both cases. The weapons are also fireproof
while the spell lasts. One large or two
small weapons may be affected by a single
casting of this spell; missiles will lose their
enchantment early if they hit a target.
Repeated castings provide no additional
benefits. Anyone wishing to create a relatively powerful bone weapon must use
enchant an item and permanency spells as
well. Aside from being fireproof, normal
wooden weapons such as clubs and staves
gain no additional benefits.
The material components for this spell
are a 3 strip of wood and a bone of
roughly equal length.
Erdlu hide (Alteration)
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: None
The mages of elven nomad tribes developed this spell to provide an unarmored
mage with effective armor when he needs
it the most. This spell causes the recipients skin to become as tough as the scalefeathered hide of an erdlu, giving him the
equivalent of scale mail (AC 6). This armor
adds no weight or encumbrance to the
wearer, lasting until successfully dispelled
or until the wearer sustains cumulative
damage totally greater than 8 hp + 1 hp/
level of the caster. A protected mage may
still cast spells. It is cumulative with Dexterity and/or shield bonuses, but not with
any other protective spell, such as giant
fur or armor.
The material components for this spell
are a pair of the scaly feathers of an erdlu.
Ranike cloud (Evocation)
Level: 3
Range: 10 yards
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 1 round/level
Casting Time: 3
Area of Effect: 40 wide, 20 high,
20 deep cloud
Saving Throw: None
This spell creates a cloud of pungent
smoke exactly like that produced when
the sap of the ranike tree is burned. This
smoke limits visibility as a blizzard or
dense fog does, but its main asset is its
ability to repel all insects and insectlike
creatures, including thri-kreen, that come
in contact with it. Once those creatures
are engulfed in the cloud, they immediately flee the area in the manner of undead turned by a cleric. Intelligent insects
like the thri-kreen may run before they
are touched, once they see whats coming.
The material component is a chunk of
wood from the ranike tree.
The cloud moves away from the caster
at a speed of 10 per round, rolling along
the surface of the ground. A moderate
breeze can alter the clouds course, but it
will not move back toward its caster. A
strong wind breaks it up within four
rounds, and stronger winds keep the
cloud from forming in the first place. Very
thick vegetation disperses the cloud in two
rounds, but the only place on Athas that
qualifies as such terrain is the halflings
forest. The smoke does not sink as many
vapors do (like a cloudkill spell); it also
cannot penetrate liquids or be cast
underwaternot a great concern on
Athas.
Reverse fossilization (Enchantment)
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: None
This spell causes stone weapons to become equivalent to their bone counterparts, cutting their attack penalty from
-2 to -1 (damage is the same). This spell
is not as potent as stoneiron (see later), but
is far more common on Athas due to its
relative simplicity. One large or two small
weapons may be enchanted by a single
casting of this spell; missiles will lose the
dweomer when they hit a target.
The material component of this spell is a
piece of fossilized bone.
Stoneiron (Enchantment)
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: None
This low-powered version of the enchanted weapon spell causes stone (flint,
obsidian, etc.) weapons to have the attack
and damage scores of ordinary steel weapons, eliminating all penalties and chances
DRAGON 85
of breakage. One large or two small weapons may be affected by a single casting of
this spell, and the dweomer can be dispelled early only if an enchanted missile
strikes its target. The only way to make
the effects permanent is to use enchant an
item and permanency spells as well; repeated castings do not improve the weapons abilities any further.
a small chunk of stone, of the same type as
the weapon to be enchanted.
Woodiron (Enchantment)
Level: 4
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: None
This is a specialized version of enchanted weapon that works only on wooden
weapons. When the spell is cast on a
wooden weapon, that weapon becomes as
hard as its iron counterparts on other
fantasy worlds, with no penalties to attack
or damage. Weapons normally made of
wood, such as the club and quarterstaff,
are granted a bonus of +1 on both attack
and damage rolls. Only one spell can be
cast on a weapon at a time; the effects are
not cumulative, even with normal wooden
weapons like those mentioned above.
Wooden shields are also affected by this
spell, becoming +1 for defensive purposes. Both weapons and shields are
fireproof for the spells duration.
Missiles of wood enchanted in this manner lose their dweomer as soon as they hit
a target; otherwise, the spell lasts for its
full duration. It is also used in the manufacture of regular magical weapons and
shields.
a chip of the bronze-hard agafari wood of
Nibenay.
Erdlu egg (Enchantment)
Level: 5
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 1 day
Casting Time: 2 turns
Area of Effect: 1 egg
Saving Throw: None
This spell causes an old erdlu egg filled
with sand (the material components) to
become a fresh erdlu egg, with contents fit
to eat. On any other world, the duration
would be too short to do any practical
good, but on Athas, the disappearance of
the eggs water will not come about until
after it has already been sweated out of
the recipients body. Elven nomads developed this spell as a means of creating an
emergency food supply. Once the created
food is eaten, the shell disappears, so a
new shell is required for each casting.
Thus, possession of this spell doubles the
number of erdlu eggs any tribe has.
86 SEPTEMBER 1993
Kank shell (Alteration)
Level: 5
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: None
This is a defensive spell developed by
mages of the elven kank-herding tribes,
enabling the recipient to go without armor
in the terrific heat of Athas until he actually needs it. When the spell is cast, the
beneficiarys body or torso is transformed
into the chitinous carapace of a kank,
giving him the protection of plate mail (AC
3). This armor lasts until successfully
dispelled or the wearer takes cumulative
damage totalling over 8 hp + 1 hp/level of
the caster. It has no effective weight or
encumbrance, and does not affect spellcasting. It cannot be added to other spells,
such as giant fur, but is cumulative with
shield and Dexterity bonuses.
a fist-sized shard of kank shell.
Isolate templar (Abjuration)
Level: 6
Range: 100 yards
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 1 turn/level
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: 1 templar
Saving Throw: None
This is a specialized, offensive version of
anti-magic shell, designed to affect one
humanoid creature. When this invisible
field surrounds a templar, that templar is
automatically cut off from his sorcererking in regard to acquiring priestly spells.
If the templar is maintaining a spell, such
as wall of fire, then that spell automatically ends as the supporting magical energies are cut off. The templar is thrown
back on his own resources, including
magical items, normal weaponry, and
whatever psionic powers he has. The
templar still retains those spells granted
but not yet cast.
Unless the sorcerer-king is watching the
individual templar or a messenger tells
him whats happening, the sorcerer-king
will not realize that this spell is in operation. Only a sorcerer-king can cast a dispel
magic spell powerful enough to get rid of
an isolate templar spell. By the same token, the spell cannot be successfully cast
on a sorcerer-king to cut off all his templars from spells.
gemstone of at least 1,000 gp value.
Priest spells
Clerics of the Air can use the following

spells: petrification, boneiron, bonewood,
reverse fossilization, stoneiron, and
woodiron. Clerics of the Earth may use
petrification, bonewood, reverse fossilization, stoneiron, and woodiron. Clerics of
Fire may use reverse fossilization and
stoneiron, but only with weapons of obsid-
ian. Clerics of Water can use petrification,

boneiron, bonewood, and woodiron. Both
Clerics of the Earth and those of Water
may use ranike cloud, and all clerics may
use isolate templar.
Which spells a druid may use depends
on the Sphere he specializes in. Druids
may use isolate templar, though in their
version the magical field is visible and
composed of either violet mist, flame,
blown sand, or steam, depending on the
druids Sphere.
In all cases, the above spells are of the
same level as clerics spells as they were as
wizards spells.
Heart call
Level: 5
Sphere: Necromantic
Range: 30 yards
Components: V,S,M
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: 1 person
Saving Throw: Special
This spell was developed by the
sorcerer-king of Draj, and so far as is
known only his templars make use of it.
When this spell is cast, the templar points
a hand at the targeted individual, who
must then save vs. death magic. If he fails,
his heart is literally torn from his breast,
ripping through any covering clothing or
armor in the process, and it flies toward
the casters hand where it may be grasped.
This means instant death for the victim. If
the victim makes a successful save, he
takes damage equal to that of a cause
serious wounds spell (2d8 + 1 hp).
dried-out chunk from the heart of a humanoid being.
Athasian magical items

Ranike rod
This rod is made of the wood of the ranike

tree and is a useful weapon against the giant
insects of Athas. In combat, it strikes as a
club +1 and may be used by any PC class
that can wield a club. Whenever it strikes a
giant insect, including a thri-kreen, it gives
off a puff of smoke like that created by
burning ranike sap, expending one of its 4150 (1d10 + 40) charges in the process. This
cloud stays around the target, no matter
what the victim does, reducing it to utter
helplessness if a saving throw vs. rods is
failed at -4 on the roll. The foe can neither
attack nor defend, and its only movement is
to fall to the ground and thrash blindly in
agony. This helplessness gives any enemy
that strikes at the victim a +1 bonus to
attack rolls until the cloud dissipates. If the
ranike rod is used in further attacks, it will
not release more clouds on an already-struck
victim until the original one has dissipated in
four rounds, thus saving charges. It may not
be recharged. The rod is worth 1,000 xp to a
wizard who makes it.
Ranike staff
This enchanted staff has the same powers

as the ranike rod, though it strikes any
target as a quarterstaff +1. It is also restricted to 25 charges (1d6 + 19) at most. If two
charges are expended at once, the staff
creates a billowing cloud of ranike sap
smoke, 40 wide, 20 high, and 20 deep. This
clouds movement is controlled by the staffs
wielder as long as there is no strong wind.
Wind dissipates the cloud as it does a
cloudkill spell. The cloud travels at a speed
of 10' per round and lasts for 12 rounds.
The smoke is not heavy like cloudkill vapor,
so it will not sink into low areas, making it
useless in driving out a colony of giant ants
from their underground nest. However, it is
still a useful weapon, particularly against the
thri-kreen. The staff may not be recharged;
it is worth 2,500 xp to the mage who fashions it.
Erdlu canteen
This magical canteen is made from the

empty shell of an erdlu egg; the entire
shell must be available for the canteen to
be created. Once per day, upon utterance
of the command word, the canteen fills
itself up with the fresh red yolks of an
erdlua refreshing treat to any inhabitant
of Athas. This item is meant to serve as a
personal canteen for a lone traveler. It is
possible for a member of some adventuring group to create yolks more than once
per day, but the canteen must never create them more than seven times in a single
one-week period. If the owner foolishly
tries for the eighth time in a week to create yolks, the energy of their creation also
causes the erdlu canteen to explode, doing
1d4 hp damage to anyone in a 5 radius
and literally leaving its owner with egg on
his face. The erdlu canteen is worth 1,500
xp to the mage who creates it.
Petrified weapons and shields
These items are wooden weapons and

shields that have been permanently enchanted with petrification spells, making
them equivalent to weapons made of stone
(flint, obsidian, etc.) instead of wood.
These weapons may still break in battle,
but until they do, they strike with attack
and damage penalties of -1 and -2 instead of the -2 and -3 penalties of normal wooden weapons. These items are
also fireproof, and this is the only real
benefit a wooden shield will gain from this
treatment unless its a spiked buckler.
Wooden weapons such as clubs or quarterstaves are also limited to being
fireproof as a benefit. These weapons
hardly seem worth the trouble of enchanting, but the process is good practice for
apprentice mages, so petrified weapons
are fairly common. Besides, when fighting
an opponent with a torcha common
event in the arenas of Athasits a comfort
to know that a wooden weapon wont be
burned into uselessness. It is also possible
to bury petrified items for use as hidden
markers, as they do radiate a dweomer
88 SEPTEMBER 1993
that can be located by a detect magic spell.

These weapons are worth 100 xp each to
their creators.
Purple-leaf
blades
These are magical knives, daggers, and

swords created from the razor-sharp
blades of purple grass that grow in the
Athasian wilderness. Each weapon is made
from an individual blade of grass that has
had one or more plant growth spells cast
upon it. The type of weapon gained depends on how many castings were used in
the process of enchantment: A knife rates
one casting; a dagger two; a short sword
three; a long sword, broad sword (the
latter created by trimming off the tip a
bit), or bastard sword four; and a twohanded sword five. Because of the shape
of the grass blades, only straight-bladed
swords may be created in this manner; no
curved weapons such as khopeshes or
scimitars are possible.
A purple-leaf blade does the same damage as its regular steel counterpart. It does
not break in combat, but if a natural 20 is
rolled upon hitting an opponent, the blade
bends out of line. It takes one round of
effort to straighten the blade out, after
which it may be used as before. These
weapons are both fireproof and rustproof.
They are worth 10 xp per casting of a
plant growth spell required in their creation; a knife is thus worth 10, a dagger 20,
a short sword 30, etc.
Bonewood weapons
These wooden weapons have been enchanted to have the properties of those of
bone. Aside from being fireproof, there
are no additional benefits to weapons
normally made of wood, such as clubs and
quarterstaves, but all other weapons have
their attack and damage penalties reduced
from -3 and -2, respectively, to -1 in
both cases. Bonewood shields are also
possible, but their only benefit is to be
fireproof. These weapons still break when
a 20 is rolled. As with petrified weapons,
bonewood weapons are more common
than their effectiveness would seem to
warrant, due to the relative ease of their
construction and the practice they provide
for magical apprentices. Such a weapon is
worth 10 times as many experience points
for a mage making it as the gold-piece cost
of a normal iron weapon (e.g., a bonewood
glaive-guisarme is worth 100 xp).
Fossilized weapons
Technically speaking, these should be

called reverse fossilization weapons, but
fossilized is much shorter. These are weapons of stone, whether flint, obsidian, or
some other rock, that have been permanently enchanted to have the properties of
bone weaponry. This gives them an attack
penalty of only -1, instead of their original -2; damage is the same for both bone
and stone weapons. These weapons, unfortunately, still break in battle if a 20 is
rolled, but at least they give aspiring
young mages some defense until they are

ready to handle serious enchantments.
The experience-point value for the mage
creating fossilized weapons is five times
the gold-piece value of a normal metal
weapon; a fossilized footmans mace is
thus worth 40 xp.
Woodiron weapons
These are wooden weapons which have

been given the properties of metallic
weaponry through enchantment, thus
eliminating all penalties for attacking and
damage. They are also fireproof and unbreakable. Weapons normally made of
wood, such as the club and quarterstaff,
are now +1 on attack and damage rolls;
they do not have this bonus otherwise and
cannot hit creatures that can only be
harmed by weapons of +1 or better.
Shields may also be woodiron, being effectively +1 for purposes of defense as well
as being fireproof. Multiply the gold-piece
value of a normal weapon or shield by 25,
and you have the experience-point value
of these weapons for the mage creating
them. For example, a woodiron short
sword is worth 250 xp. These weapons are
invaluable on Athas, though they would
no doubt be disdainfully sniffed at elsewhere, as they give fighters good weapons
without cutting into Athas woefully small
supply of iron.
Stoneiron weapons
These weapons are similar to woodiron

weapons, in that they have the strength
and normal combat abilities of regular
iron weapons. However, these weapons
are made of stone. Effectively unbreakable, they are another means of giving
selected Athasian warriors weapons as
good as steel arms without cutting into the
worlds scanty supplies of iron. Because
stone is a better beginning material than
wood, stoneiron weaponry is less valuable
in experience points as are woodiron
weapons, the experience-point total being
20 times the price of a normal iron weapon in gold pieces. For example, a stoneiron
warhammer is worth 40 xp to the mage
creating it.
Boneiron weapons
These weapons fall into the same category as the last two classes, except that
they are made of bone. Chitin weapons
are also covered in this category. As with
the other two classes of weaponry, these
weapons act as ordinary metallic weapons,
having no penalties in battle and being
unbreakable. Since bone is the best of the
nonmetallic substances used in weapons
creation, a mage does not need to expend
so much magical energy in its transformation. Thus, the experience-point value in
making a boneiron weapon is only 15
times the gold-piece value of a regular
metal weapon. A boneiron trident is thus
worth 225 xp to the mage creating it, a
boneiron battle axe 75 xp, etc.
ho is responsible for this?

Lazra clenched the gem so tightly
her fist shook. Her back to the workers, she stared at the tree the gem had
destroyed: Once, the fragrantblossomed cherry tree had been the
pride of the kings garden. Now it was
withered beyond recognition, its leaves blackened and
curled.
She whirled to face the workers, holding the gem by the
chain that pierced it. The dark crystal swung back and
forth. From a distance, it looked like any other gem. You
had to look at it closely to see the arcane symbols etched
into each facet.
Her eyes ranged over the eight slaves who had been
gathered here. They knelt on the ground between two
half-giant guards, some still clutching their gardening
tools. The huge red sun was high overhead, and even the
lush vegetation that surrounded them did little to break
the heat. Nervous sweat trickled down their faces.
Lazra strode up and down the line of workers. Just four
feet tall, she was little more than half the height of the
human slaves. But her badge of officethe black cassock
she wore over her muscular dwarven bodygave her a
power over them that they couldnt hope to match by
mere size.
She stopped in front of the most frightened-looking
worker. Holding the gem in front of his eyes, she let it
dangle there. Well? Was it you?
No, Most Holy High Templar of the Kings Garden.
No! It wasnt me! He was a boy, clad only in the ragged
remains of what had once been elegant silk pants. Probably a petty noble, by the soft look of him. He was lucky
not to have wound up doing hard labor building King
Kalaks ziggurat. Hed had a good chance of surviving his
sentence as a slave. Until now.
So none of you will admit to this senseless act of destruction? Lazra asked.
The slaves refused to meet her eyes.
All right then. You will die, one by one, until one of
you tells me who hung the gem in the tree. She pointed
to the frightened-looking boy and caught the eye of one of
the hulking guards. Him first.
No! Wait! I-
The half-giants wide iron sword whistled down, striking
the boys shoulder and neatly splitting him in two. The other
workers screamed and cringed as his blood sprayed them,
but none dared run. The half-giants, twice as tall as any
human, would cut them to ribbons before they even reached
the high walls that encircled the gardens.
Lazra swung the gem before the faces of the grovelling
slaves. Well? she asked them. Who would like to be
the next to die? She singled out a woman who had closed
her eyes and had gone pale with fear. You?
The half-giant lifted his still-dripping sword.
"Stop!
Lazra turned to confront the slave at the end of the line.
It was Indigo, the freewoman who had been sentenced to
slavery only last week, the mul who had proved too rebellious for the ziggurat work crews. Lazra had asked for a
strong-backed slave to haul ornamental stones for the
Ashes to
Ashes
by Lisa Smedman
Illustrations by Brom
DRAGON 91
gardens new walkway, and a fellow templar who had

wanted to get even over some past insult had transferred
Indigo to Lazras work crew. The half-breed had the worst
of both races, human and dwarf. Her bronzed back was
welted with whip marks. Her cheeks were covered with
tattoos that resembled tiny blue tears. Lazra would give
her something to cry about.
Why? Lazras voice was thin with fury.
Indigo shrugged, and glared defiantly at Lazra. I
dont like taking orders, especially from templars. Im a
free woman.
Then die like one, Lazra retorted. She signalled to
the guard.
Before the half-giant could bring his sword into play,
Indigo dove for his knees. Touching one hand to her
cheek, she slapped his leg and shouted, Maji jeruhiwa!
The half-giant screamed in agony as a gaping wound
opened on his leg. The other guard, startled, hesitated a
moment. Touching the tattoo on her cheek a second time,
she flung a hand toward him and made a grasping motion. Kupinga!
The half-giant suddenly became rigid, then slowly teetered. With a thud that raised a cloud of dust, he fell to
the ground.
Lazra screamed in rage as she realized the extent of the
trick that had been played upon her by her fellow templar.
This slave knew how to use magic, and now she was making her escape. Already the fleet-footed mul had reached
the garden wall and was climbing.
Conjuring up a spell of her own, Lazra cast it at the
fleeing woman. Immediately, the flowering vines that
draped the wall began to twist like snakes, entwining the
mul.
But the slave proved even stronger than she looked.
Ripping the vines from her body, she tore them to pieces
as fast as Lazra could send them toward her. Hauling
herself out of their leafy grip, Indigo reached the top of
the wall. She flipped a rude gesture at her former captor,
then disappeared into the city beyond.
The silk merchant lifted the last bolt of cloth away, revealing a trapdoor in the floor of the warehouse. Cautiously, Indigo opened it. The dark space underneath
smelled dusty and old.
This leads to the undercity? she asked.
The merchant nodded. Just follow the support pillars
until you see the well.
Right. Indigo dropped down onto the floor below,
then reached up for her lantern. As soon as she had it lit,
the merchant began closing the trapdoor.
Good luck.
As the echoes of his voice died away, Indigo lifted her
lantern and peered into the gloom. The ceiling was low
enough that she could touch its beams without raising her
hand far above her head. The space to either side was
choked with dusty cobwebs, but a clear space led off into
the distance, following a row of pillars. The ceiling sagged
in several places under the weight of the buildings overhead; combined with the darkness, it made Indigo feel
claustrophobic. Best to get moving.
Indigo had intended to leave Tyr immediately after
92 SEPTEMBER 1993
yesterdays escape from the kings gardens. But then she

heard, through her contacts in the elven market, that
there was good coin to be had if you were a water elementalist who knew how to speak with the dead. She had
quickly gone to check out the story and had found there
was gold to back up the rumors.
Her employers turned out to be part of a secret society
of mages known as the Veiled Alliance, and it was a
strange errand they wanted her to run. Deep in the subterranean passages that lay beneath the city of Tyr, they
said, was an ancient well. One of their spies, a human
named Evrim, had discovered it as he was telepathically
relaying what he had learned about the underground passages to mapmakers above. He had paused to get a drink
of water. Then, before the spy could relay a key piece of
information about a trapdoor leading to the city treasury,
something had risen from the well and killed him. Indigo
was to use her magic to locate Evrim and learn the location of the trapdoor.
The monster in the well must have been a water elemental. At least, that was Indigos best guess. Why else
would her employers have wanted someone who worshipped the elemental sphere of water? Now, with an
expensive metal sword in her hand and her up-front halfpayment safely hidden back at the inn where thieves
wouldnt find it, she was looking for the well. Unless, of
course, something better came along.
Indigo had gone barely one hundred feet when she
heard a faint clicking noise. Pushing her way through the
cobwebs, she put an ear against the wall. There. The
clicking was louder now. Was that a faint hint of light,
coming from a crack in the bottom of the wall?
She thumped the stonework with the flat of her hand.
There was a hollow space behind it, all right. Scraping
away the dirt that encrusted the wall, Indigo held the
lantern closer. She could just see the outline of a door.
There was no handle, but a hard shove with her shoulder
ought to do the trick. Setting her lantern on the floor,
Indigo ran at the door.
With a groaning of rusted hinges, the door fell onto the
floor. Immediately, Indigos eyes were struck by a brilliant
light. Coughing from the dust, she shielded her eyes and
raised her sword. From all around her came the tinkling
of glass.
The falling door had torn a hole in the most beautiful
spiderweb she had ever seen. Made entirely of crystal, it
completely filled the small room the door had revealed.
Gems glittered everywhere in its many strands. One of
these, as long as Indigos palm, was sending out a cone of
bright light. As it passed through the strands of the web,
the light was broken into thousands of colorful rainbows
that danced on the walls as the web shivered.
Indigo grinned. The gems in this room would make her
a very wealthy woman indeed.
Then the light dimmed, and a spider dropped on her
head.
Lazra sipped her sapwine, savoring its bitter taste and
ignoring the other patrons of the tavern. The inn was on
the edge of Tyrs elven market, bordering the warrens
that housed some of the citys shadier citizens. It was
where Lazra came when she wanted to get away from the
backstabbing bureaucracy that served King Kalak. Swapping her templars robes for commoners clothing, she had
slipped anonymously into the evening crowd.
The tart, sappy taste of the wine reminded Lazra of the
trees she cherished and nurtured. For ninety-six years she
had been keeper of the kings gardens. She had made it
her lifes workher dwarven focusto create the most
beautiful, most diverse collection of plants this desert
world had ever known. It was bad enough that all of the
plants had been ailing since water supplies were diverted
to quench the thirst of the army of slaves that labored day
and night on the kings ziggurat, but yesterdays loss of
one of her favorite trees was even more troubling.
The cherry tree had been more than a mere ornament
in the garden. It was a tree of life, a living shield against
defiling magic. Without its protective properties, should a
defiler cast a spell anywhere in the vicinity of the garden,
a wide circle of its plants would be reduced to lifeless ash.
If enough spells were cast . . .
Lazra shuddered. A dwarf who failed in her focus became a banshee, doomed to forever repeat her hopeless
task. Thank the elements there was more than one tree of
life in the kings garden!
Swirling the murky wine in her glass, Lazra contemplated the complexities of acquiring a new tree to replace
the one she had just lost. It would mean going, cap in
hand, to one of the templars whose magic was powerful
enough to enchant a normal sapling. Lazra cursed. If only
she hadnt been born a dwarf, she might herself have been
granted the spell by King Kalak. But the innate resistance
to magic that her dwarven heritage conveyed made the
higher magics an impossible dream. She had tried nonmagical methods of creating a tree of life-planting its
seeds, grafting pieces of it onto other treesbut so far
nothing had worked.
Lost in her thoughts, Lazra did not at first notice the
half-elf who slipped into the seat across the table from her.
A lanky man nearly twice her height, he was obviously no
pauper; both ends of the spear he carried were tipped with
metal blades.
The half-elf wiped his chin with a slow, deliberate motion and nodded a greeting. My father was a templar,
he said in a low voice.
The words startled Lazra. Had she been recognized? As
servants and bureaucrats of the king, templars held great
power in Tyr, but usually that power was backed up by
the strong arms of half-giant enforcers. Without her black
robe, Lazra would have trouble summoning assistance if
the patrons of the bar turned ugly.
Instead, she answered with a noncommittal, I think
you mistake me for someone else. My mother was a gardener, and so am I.
The half-elf winked. You come of good stock. Then
he leaned forward across the table and spoke to her in
rapid, conspiratorial tones. My names Caer. I havent
much time; the templars are looking for me. Theyve
captured three members of the alliance already.
Lazra felt her eyes widen, but she kept the rest of her
face carefully composed. This man was a member of the
Veiled Alliance, the band of rogue magicians dedicated to
destroying King Kalak. Already their machinations had

halted construction of the ziggurat for several days, sending the aged king into spasms of fury. Through blind luck,
Lazras response must have been a password of some sort.
Now she was in this mans confidence. If she could learn
more about the alliances plans, she could earn such favor
with the king that her requests for tools, seeds, a greater
share of the citys precious water supplyall would be
granted.
Whats our next move? Lazra asked, her sapwine
forgotten.
The half-elf handed her a heavy gold ring. It was ornately crafted and set with a pale green stone. Give this
to Sadira, he said, pressing the ring into Lazras hand.
Tell her to give it to her champion. It will shield his
thoughts when the time comes to strike the blow against
Kalak.
Lazra swallowed hard. If Kalak died, every spell he had
ever granted his templars would vanish like dust on the
windher own spells as well. When will the attack be
made?
Three days from now. At the gladiatorial games celebrating the completion of the ziggurat, he said. Then he
glanced at the window. Templars! he hissed.
Before Lazra could ask another question, the half-elf
had slipped out the inns back door and was lost in the
warrens.
Indigo flung herself to one side as the spider landed on
her. As she hit the web, she realized shed made a mistake. The glass strands sliced into her side like obsidian
knives, and she gasped with pain.
The spider, still clinging to her, plunged one of its forelegs into Indigos shoulder. The crystal tip dug deep, grating against bone. When the spider pulled it free, blood
welled from the puncture. Indigo tried to retaliate, but
although her sword blow should have struck the spider,
her weapon slowed as she tried to complete the stroke.
Within a few inches of the spiders body, it felt as if the
sword were passing through thick syrup. Then the monster sank its fangs into her arm, and numbness began to
spread through her body.
Spinning around, supporting herself by the door frame,
Indigo staggered out of the room. The beam of her lantern struck the spider, sending sparkles of light dancing
through the passageway. The entire body of the spider was
made of crystal. And crystal, like glass, could be broken.
Roaring with pain, Indigo charged headlong at one of
the stone pillars. She smashed into it full force, crushing
the spider against it, and gave a yell of triumph as she
heard a splintering crack. As the spider fell from her
shoulder she scooped up a piece of timber, then brought it
down square on the things back. The monster, stunned,
was no longer able to project the magical aura that had
protected it before. The blow connected, and the spider
shattered into thousands of tiny shards.
Indigo touched a hand to the tattooed tears on her
cheek, and cast a spell. Sumu kupua. Gradually, the
feeling in her fingers returned as the poison was pushed
from her body.
Cautiously, Indigo held her lantern just inside the spi-
DRAGON
93
ders lair. There was no movement, no second glittering

monster crouched in the web. Using her sword, she broke
a path through the crystal strands, plucking the gems like
ripe fruits and popping them into the pouch at her belt.
This mission was going to be profitable, indeed! Picking
up the glowing crystal, which had reverted to its full brilliance, she turned it over in her hands.
Triangular in cross-section, the crystal was about six
inches long. The beam that came out of one end was
about ten feet long and cast a brilliant white triangle of
light nearly three feet wide. It was brighter than any lantern beam and had to be magic. She slid the crystal into
her pocket.
Tithian, high templar to the king, rolled the gold ring
between thumb and finger. Pressing his thin lips together,
he regarded Lazra over the curve of his hawkish nose.
You say a member of the Veiled Alliance gave you this?
You, a templar?
As I told you, I wasnt wearing my robe. He mistook
me for someone else. Lazra ground her teeth. She had
asked for an audience with King Kalak himself, and instead she was talking to Tithian. He was only one step
removed from the king, but he was just as likely to pretend he had gathered the information himself and never
mention Lazras name.
The information is redundant, Tithian said, closing
his hand around the ring. Sadira is already known to
me.
She is? Lazras mouth dropped open. Then you
have her in custody?
Tithian shook his head. Shes more use to me where
she is.
But the date of the attempt on King Kalaks life. You
didnt know that, surely.
No. Tithian rose from his chair, indicating the audience was at an end. But steps have already been taken to
control whatever situation arises.
What steps?
Tithian gripped Lazras arm tightly with his long fingers and glared into her eyes. If theres a need for you to
know, Ill tell you, he said. In the meantime, keep this
information to yourself.
Steering Lazra firmly out the door, Tithian closed it on
her protests.
Lazra fumed. So her information was useless, was it?
She smiled grimly to herself. Then shed find something
useful to tell King Kalak, instead.
The undercity proved more of a maze than Indigo expected. She wandered through the darkness, her frustration growing as she kept circling through the same
passages, unable to find the well where Evrim had died.
Exhaustion had forced her to sleep twice already, and her
food and lantern oil were running low. She was following
the curving line of pillars that formed a support for the
city wall overhead when at last she spotted something she
hadnt noticed before. There, close to the floor, was a spot
where the cobwebs had been torn away.
Pushing her way through the dusty strands, Indigo
followed the faint trail. She let out a whoop of joy when
94 SEPTEMBER 1993
she saw where it led. There on the floor was Evrims body.
He was curled into a tight ball with his arms wrapped
around his head. His face was turned toward Indigo; it
was a mask of misery.
She studied Evrim from a distance before approaching.
The black templars cassock he had been wearing was
intact, and there were no wounds on the body. That fit
with her idea that he had been drowned by a water elemental. The well from which it must have sprung was
only a few feet away from the corpse.
Indigo licked her lips. She could smell the water, even
from here. Unlike most of the wells on Athas, this one
didnt have a brackish or acidic odor. Instead it gave off
the sweet smell of pure water.
The well was surrounded by only a low lip, and the
water in it was level with the floor. The lid that normally
covered it was fully open, leaning against the wall. It was
made of a gray material, streaked with red. Indigos heart
thudded against her chest when she realized what it was.
Iron! The lid was worth a fortune! She could retire on this
adventure alone.
Evoking the protection of the sphere of water, casting a
spell upon herself that would ward off attacks by evil creatures, Indigo crept forward. When the water elemental
rose from the well, she would be ready to embrace it, to
learn from it. Who knew what secrets it might impart to
her? Her mind spinning with the possibilities, she completely ignored Evrims corpse. There was still plenty of
time to complete her mission. Her employers could wait
until she was good and ready.
Kneeling before the well, Indigo placed her sword on
the ground and spread her arms wide. By the power of
the sphere of water, I summon you. Come forth, bearer of
ancient wisdoms.
Something began to stir deep within the well. Suddenly
it shot up to the surface. But instead of the amorphic wall
of water Indigo was expecting, a serpentine head reared
out of the well. A fang-filled mouth opened wide, and
tentacles around its head lashed like writhing snakes. Indigo scrambled for her sword, but the monster was quicker.
Spraying water in a sheet from its gills, the translucent
green worm lunged toward Indigo. Its tentacles brushed
her skin, and instantly a horrible chill convulsed her body.
Struggling for breath, she felt her heart beat once, twice,
pounding against the suddenly rigid wall of her chest.
Then she fell, stiff as a statue, to the floor.
Lazra haunted the inns that fringed the warrens, looking for the half-elf who had mistaken her for a member of
the Veiled Alliance. She peered at tavern patrons, wondering which were members of the Alliance and which were
ordinary citizens. Whenever someone made eye contact
with her, Lazra slowly wiped her mouth with the same
flat-palmed gesture Caer had used.
It was exhausting overseeing the tending of the kings
gardens by day, then making the rounds of the taverns late
into the night. As the day of the gladiatorial games approached, the condition of the plants in the garden worsened. Shed already lost several of the more delicate
plants, and the leaves of the hardier plants were starting to
curl and brown.
Most alarming of all, the trees of life themselves were

starting to wither. Not from lack of waterthe magical
trees could grow even on barren, sun-blasted rockand
not as the result of some magical trinket. For the trees to
show a visible deterioration, strong magic indeed had to
be at work.
Lazra pushed her half-empty glass of sapwine away and
started to stand. Enough of this futile search. The ziggurat
had at last been completed, and tomorrow things would
get back to normal in Tyr. The plotters would be arrested,
her gardens would have their water, and Tithian, until
now so busy overseeing the ziggurats construction, would
perhaps spare her the time needed to investigate the blight
that was affecting the trees of life.
Then Lazra saw the secretive hand gesture of the man
sitting in the shadows against the far wall. He had just
stepped in from the street and still hadnt lowered the
hood that protected him from the deserts night chill. Slipping into the seat beside him, Lazra nodded her head.
My father was a templar.
Caer flipped back the hood and grinned. And my
mother was a gardener. Welcome, friend. Did you give
Sadira the ring?
I gave it to someone who knows her, Lazra answered.
If Caer had the ability to magically detect a lie, he would
find only truth in her words.
Good. What do you need?
Lazra was ready for the question. The champion
wants to know which of the kings weaknesses he is to
exploit.
Caer frowned. Our spy should have told him this.
Lazra shrugged. There have been some difficulties.
Dont tell me weve lost another one, Caer groaned.
He shook his head slowly. Like you, Im told only as
much as I need to know. So far, that doesnt include our
targets weaknesses, just his strengths. Hes using an ancient and terrible form of spellcasting: dragon magic. Like
defiling magic, it drains the life from plants. But it goes
one step further, draining the life from living creatures as
well-humans, elves, dwarves . . .
Thats not so! Lazra shook her head. Our king
that is, our targetdraws his magic from the four elements and the greater cosmos, like any other elementalist.
He gives it back to the people, to his templars, not the
other way around.
I didnt expect you to believe me. Caer shook his
head. But you can see the effects of it already, as the king
works his magic to meet our challenge. Just wait until the
attempt is made on his life. If he gets the chance to defend
himself, every plant in the city will die. And so will a lot of
his subjects.
Indigos mind slowed to a sluggish crawl as the creature
hovered over her, its teeth bared to strike. Would she feel
its fangs when they pierced her flesh? Stupid. She had
been stupid and greedy both. Now she was going to die.
One of her hands was colder than the other. Why? Although she could not move her head, Indigo forced her
eyes to the side. Her right hand was under the surface of
the well water. When she had fallen, she had landed
against the lip of the well. It just might save her.
As the monster swayed over her, deciding where to bite,

Indigo called up the words to a spell in her mind. Normally, she would say them out loud, but there was a chance
just a chance, if the well was deep enough and the water
pure enoughthat thinking the words alone would be
enough.
Kupoozesha kupua.
Flexibility suddenly returned to Indigos body, just as
the monster plunged down at her. Rolling out of the way,
she sprang to her feet and ran.
She managed to get only a short distance. Suddenly
everything went dark. The icy-cold feeling in Indigos
mind told her this was no ordinary spell. She could feel
invisible fingers plucking at her consciousness, peeling off
layer after layer, digging deeper. Mind-magic!
At once, her body was wracked with spasms of pain. She
could feel her skull being peeled back from her brain, feel
monsters with razor-sharp teeth tearing at her gut. Her fingers exploded like crushed sausages as a heavy weight
smashed them parchment thin, and searingly hot coals
burned the soles of her feet. Her back was torn apart, the
bones separating like beads on a broken necklace.
Indigo clung desperately to what little of her mind remained. A tiny voice, deep inside, told her that the pain
was only illusory, that no real damage was being done to
her body. But when thousands of daggers plunged into her
oversensitive skin and something began scooping her
brain out through the hole in the top of her head, she
nearly gave in.
In her agony, she caught only the briefest of glimpses of
the corridor in which she stood. Instead of carrying her
farther away, her staggering steps had led her back to the
lip of the well, within striking range of the monster. If its
tentacles touched her a second time, she would have no
magic to save herself with. Her spell was gone, cast already. Clutching her head as it exploded with pain, she
sank slowly to her knees.
Light. A flash of light had passed briefly over her eyes.
It was the crystal in her pocket, its beam now pointing up
into her face. It was Indigos only hope. Feeling blindly
for it, she wrenched the crystal from her pocket and
hurled it into the well.
On the day of the Royal Games celebrating completion
of the ziggurat, Lazra stood in the kings gardens, one
hand brushing the fronds of a feather-plant. They coiled
around her fingers, mistaking them for a struggling insect.
Deceptively beautiful, the fronds contained a perfume that
attracted and stunned insects. The toxin produced only a
mild tingling sensation on Lazras fingers. After a moment of struggle, the plant gave up the attempt to pull her
hand into its bulbous digestive center and uncoiled.
Lazra rubbed her sticky fingers together. Like people,
plants could be deceptive and sneaky, but only in an effort
to feed themselves. When people put on a false front, you
never knew what their motivations were, or what lay behind the mask.
She had lived long enough in Tyr to understand the
harsh realities of life in the city. Your fellow templars were
your friends only as long as it suited their purposes, as
long as it gave them a leg up on the bureaucratic ladder.
DRAGON
95
Lazra had done her share of backbiting to gain her position as head keeper of the kings gardens. Having
achieved this honor, she had kept it through merit alone;
none of the other templars could match her skill with
plants. There had been jealousies and the resulting setbacks, but the saboteurs her rivals had sent were easily
dealt with. The same could hardly be said of the king.
Lazra looked up at the golden tower that dominated
Kalaks palace. If it were true that the king himself was
draining the life from her garden, everything she had
worked to create here could be destroyed. If she somehow
denied the king access to the life forces of her beloved
trees, and if the Veiled Alliance failed in its attempt
against the king, at the very least Kalak would take away
all of the spells he had granted Lazra. She had to choose
between her templars magic and her lifes work.
She was alone. The slaves, like everyone else in the
citycommoner and noble alikewere required by decree of King Kalak to attend todays gladiatorial games.
Lazra could hear the roar of spectators in the stadium.
Kalak would be watching the games from the balcony of
his palace, and the Veiled Alliance would be preparing to
strike.
Each shout frayed Lazras nerves further. There was no
tranquillity in the garden today, but there was a way to
regain some measure of calm.
Lazra placed her hand on one of the trees of life. The
rough bark of the oak was dry under her fingers and its
leaves were wilted and limp, but sap still flowed in its trunk.
Closing her eyes, she chanted the words of her spell.
The tree greeted her. Welcome, quick-moving one.
Hello, Lazra answered. Are you feeling any better?
No. The voice echoing in Lazras mind was slow and
thoughtful. Something pulls the life from me still. The magic you
summoned yesterday did not help.
Lazras shoulders drooped. The chant for dispelling
magic had been her last hope. Then her head jerked up,
as she heard the snap of dry branches. Someone was pushing his way through the shrubs, coming toward her.
Lazra! The high templar demands your presence! All
templars are supposed to be at the stadium! Lazra! Where
are you?
Opening her eyes, Lazra saw the head and shoulders of
the half-giant guard who had been sent to fetch her. The
trunk of the oak hid her from him; she had only a moment
to act. Mmea milango, she said, tracing a square on the
trunk with her forefinger. Wazi!
The bark softened under her touch. Pushing against the
tree, Lazra slid her hand inside it. As the half-giant
crashed through the last of the hedge, she disappeared
completely into the trunk.
Lazra had used her ability to hide inside trees before,
but never had her mind been linked with the plant at the
same time. This time, she could feel every ring of the
pulpy interior of the trunk, could sense the faint breeze
that stirred her branches, could feel the sap sliding
through her limbs. She could taste the dry earth she was
rooted in, could feel the thump of the half-giants footsteps
as he rounded the tree, looking for her. She could feel the
oaks slow shiver of fear as it sensed the obsidian axe he
96 SEPTEMBER 1993
carried.
Experimentally, Lazra felt her way down into the roots
of the oak. Pushing them here, prodding them there, she
sent them up through the ground, breaking the surface
around the half-giants feet. Her original intent had been
to trip him, if he took his frustration at not finding her out
on the oak, but then she realized what she had done. Instead of bare roots, tiny saplings had pushed their way
above ground. Excitement flowed through her like sunwarmed sap. At last she knew the secret of creating a tree
of life without need of the powerful spell!
There was more. Other voices slowly whispered in
Lazras ears. She could sense each of the other trees of life
in the gardens, recognize each of their unique voices. All
were tinged with pain. She felt it now herself, a slow ache
as if some unseen force was sucking the sap from her
veins. Abruptly, it intensified. With her dwarven senses,
Lazra heard an explosion come from the direction of the
stadium, then screams.
The powerful one begins a spell.
The pain was intense now; if Lazra had been experiencing it as a dwarf, she would be doubled over in agony. As
it was, she groaned as the smaller branches of the oak
dried up and snapped with a brittle noise. Suddenly,
Lazra could see the invisible lines of force that stretched
across the sky in coiling streamers, leading from the
branches of the trees to the pinnacle of the ziggurat.
We die.
No! We fight back!
Focusing her will, she summoned a spell that would
give her time to think. It was a simple piece of magic, one
designed to allow her to momentarily step out of the flow
of time. She cast it, and there was a sudden wrench that
tore the breath from her lungs. Not only had she slowed
time for herself, the trees of life had all succumbed to the
spell, too.
The pain eased, and the invisible streamers of energy
slowed. Feverishly, Lazra cast through her mind for a spell
that would cut them off. There was only one in her repertoire that might be of any use, and it was a very minor
magic. Like all of her spells, it had been granted by King
Kalak. Would it work against him?
All she had to lose was her life. Mahali patakatifu au pa
salama, she chanted. Create for me a place of sanctuary.
Suddenly, the flow of the magical drain was reversed.
The invisible coils came rushing back toward the trees,
spiralling faster and faster. Then all at once they snapped
as if severed by an unseen sword. Bright light exploded in
Lazras head, and then there was utter blackness.
Water splashed against Indigos knees as the wormlike
creature vanished back into the well. There was no explosion, no spectacular display of magic when Indigo threw
the crystal into the water, but it did the trick. The monster
dove down deep, pursuing the glowing light.
In that instant, the pain that had been wracking Indigos body vanished. She jumped to her feet and grabbed
the edge of the heavy metal lid. Bracing herself, heaving
with all her strength, she levered the lid back into place. It
crashed home with a satisfying clank. Then she dragged
Evrims body well away from the hole.
Exhausted, Indigo sank to the ground. There was no way

she was taking that lid anywhere. Let it keep that horror in
its place. She still had a mission to completeand a lot of
coin to collect.
Indigo studied the dead spy. Evrims body had a hard,
leathery feel, as if every drop of moisture had been drawn
from it. Looking closely, she saw punctures on his shoulder. The spacing was just about right for them to have
been made by the monster that lived in the well.
She cast a spell over the dead man, Evrims eyes fluttered, then sprang open. Immediately, he began to tremble. Its hopeless, he sobbed. Well never be able to
defeat him.
Indigo sat back on her haunches. Defeat who?
The man only sobbed harder.
Sighing, Indigo made the sign the Veiled Alliance had
shown her. Holding the two middle fingers of her hand
together, she spread the other two fingers wide. She had to
grab the dead man by the hair and shake him to make
him open his eyes again.
Evrim continued to go through the motions of crying,
but his corpse had no tears left in it. Why do you torment me? he asked. Id rather be dead. Its hopeless.
Our task is hopeless.
You might think so, she answered. But I dont.
Now quit snivelling and tell me about the trapdoor that
leads to the treasury.
The treasury?
You heard me! Indigo raised her fist, then shook her
head. How could you threaten a man who was already
dead?
The mans bitter laugh surprised her. He pointed with a
dried finger. Its down five pillars, on the left, concealed
by illusory webs. But it leads to the templars quarters,
not to the treasury.
Indigo made a face. It does?
Evrim laughed. Why would a dead man lie to you?
As his eyes faded back into the glaze of death, Indigo
curled her lip. So. Her employers had told her the trapdoor led to the kings treasury, even though they knew the
truth from Evrims last report. Had they been counting on
her greed?
Furious, she sat down to summon her contact. As a
wild talent mentalist, she had a single power at her disposal. She didnt like using it, but there were times when
it came in handy.
But calling up such power in her agitated state was far
from easy. Indigo sat for the longest time before she was
able to clear her mind. Then slowly, as the energy within
her rose to her conscious mind, she felt her body lighten.
Suddenly, she was floating above herself, her spirit-self
connected to her body by a long silvery cord. A swirling
gray mist, punctuated by floating chunks of rock, surrounded her. In the distance, she could see the silver cords
of other travelers.
Forming in her mind an image of her contact in the
secret society, Indigo waited patiently as a pool of color
slowly materialized at her feet. There was a brief sensation
of movement, and then she was standing in a dead-end
passageway of the stadium. Screams filled the air, and
mobs of people surged past the opening. At the end of the
DRAGON 97
short passageway, Indigos contact stood over the body of

a templar. Suddenly sensing her presence, the half-elf
whirled to face her.
Indigo! Caer blurted. Where Then his eyes
traced the silver cord that vanished into mist, a few feet
from Indigos body. Did you complete your mission?
Indigo nodded. Quickly, a nervous eye on the mobs
whose screams filled the stadium, she told him the location
of the trapdoor. You said it led to the treasury, she told
him accusingly. But Evrim told me the truth.
Caer smiled. Of course. But my little white lie made
you contact me that much quicker, didnt it? Youre a
little latebut better late than never.
As Indigo growled, he held up a hand. Dont worry.
Youll still be paid, if either of us escapes here alive.
Then Indigo noticed the weakness that was creeping
into her bones, gradually sapping her vitality. Caer too
must have been feeling it. One hand clutched his side.
Eyes widening in alarm, Indigo reached for the silver
cord that bound her to her body and yanked hard. There
was a sudden, blinding rush, and all at once she found
herself back in the undercity, sitting cross-legged in the
dark.
Unkinking her tense muscles, she rose to her feet. It
was time to leave the city, and fast. Something very
strange was happening in that stadium, but it wouldnt
hurt to have one quick peek in the templars quarter, to
see what treasure might be acquired on the way out.
Counting pillars, Indigo found the spot Evrim had
indicated. She pushed her way through the illusory web,
which vanished like mist as she walked through it, and
found the trapdoor. She lowered it and climbed out.
She emerged into a mosaic-decorated patio that fronted
an elaborate building in the templars quarter. Before she
could decide which building was likely to hold the most
loot, there was a noise behind her. She whirled around
and saw dozens of heavily armed warriors boiling up
through the trapdoor. When one of them raised his sword,
Indigo threw up her hand, making the gesture Caer had
taught her.
Greetings, sister!" the man yelled. Its a fine day for
killing templars, isnt it!
It certainly is! she answered. But Ive got to meet
my contact.
Indigo knew better than to openly take sides in a rebellion. She fled down the street, away from the rebels. She
wanted only to recover her coin from the inn, then lie low
until the confusion ended. But as soon as she rounded the
corner, she had to leap out of the way of a howling mob
that was pursuing a ragged templar down the street.
Catching the arm of one of the pursuers, Indigo stopped
the man. What is it? she asked. Whats happened?
Tyr has a new king! he shouted, joy lighting his
eyes. The slaves are free and the templars are fallen.
Were free! Wrenching his arm from Indigos hand, he
ran down the dusty street.
So the slaves were free, were they? Then Indigo saw a
familiar set of doors. There was someone she just couldnt
resist spreading the good news to.
98
SEPTEMBER 1993
When she awoke, Lazra was lying face down in a circle of

ash. Spitting the gray powder from her lips, she raised her
aching body and looked around her. Cold fingers of agony
clenched her heart as she saw the ankle-deep powdery
remains of what had once been her garden. Only the trees
of life still stoodand they were blackened skeletons.
Even as she watched, the oak that had sheltered her crumbled away into ash.
It took a moment for her ears to register the cheering
that came from the direction of the stadium. Then the
heavy wooden doors to the garden, plainly visible now
that the screening vegetation was gone, flew open.
Were free! shouted the figure that stood in the doorway. The slaves of Tyr are free! Ill never have to pull
weeds in your stinking gardens again!
You! It was Indigo, the escaped slave. Furious, Lazra
staggered to her feet. Ill teach you a lesson youll not soon
forget, slave! Spitting out the words of a spell that would
send a blinding beam of light into her opponents eyes,
Lazra flicked her fingers in the elementalists direction.
Nothing happened. Lazras eyes widened. Had Kalak
sensed what she had done and punished her? Or was he
dead?
Laughing, Indigo turned and ran.
Lazra plunged after the mul but managed only two
steps before tripping over something that was hidden under the ash. Picking herself up, she turned and kicked at
the thing in fury. Ash flew everywhere. Then Lazra saw
the tiny oak sapling. It was growing, even as she watched.
She fell to her knees beside it and brushed the last of the
dust from its bright green leaves. A tree of life, she said
in wonder. It has to be magic to have survived. Then
she scrambled through the dust. Another sapling! And
another!
Hurriedly, she ran over to the doors of the walled garden and closed them. Sliding home the bar that locked
them from the mob outside, she turned to look over the
tiny green shoots that stood bravely in a sea of ash. Her
magic was gone, but it could always be relearned, this
time from a cleaner source. Now that she knew the trees
secrets, she could create an entire forest of them. Perhaps
one day, that forest would cover all of Athas, protecting it
from defiling magic.
Lazra smiled. Her focus hadnt been thwarted.
It had just changed slightly.
The Tale of Albrenegan: a dragon from the ARS MAGICA* game

by Ken Cliffe, 1993 White Wolf
Albrenegan is a dragon of Mythic Europe, which is the setting for the ARS
MAGICA* fantasy storytelling game, from
White Wolf The ARS MAGICA game is
about magical folk of mythical, medieval
times. As members of the mystical Order
of Hermes, these Magi (wizards) live with
their servants in Covenants. There, they
plumb the depths of sorcery and delve
in to the mysteries of the world: the elusive
but pervasive powers of the Church, the
enigmatic manners of faeries, and the vile
ways of the Dark Path.
Albrenegans story
As a Mythic European inhabitant and

ARS MAGICA creation, the dragon Albrenegan is unique, ever dangerous, and
most importantly the subject of much
storytelling potential. He brings characters
into conflict with mortal armies, aggressive Magi, and the threat of magic let loose
upon the land. This beast is no mere
dungeon dweller.
Albrenegan is the orphaned hatchling of
a once-great Iberian dragon known as
Albrenega. Although a powerful being, as
all Mythic Europes remaining dragons are,
Albrenega made the error of proclaiming
that her flames were hotter than any
humans, particularly hotter than those of
House Flambeaus arrogant Magi. When
the challenge was heard by the many
surrounding Magi of Flambeau, who were
fighting the Spanish Reconquista against
the Moors, they rallied together and humIllustrations by Josh Timbrook
DRAGON 99
bled Albrenega. Indeed, in their zealousness they murdered her in her mountain
retreat.
Although many in the Order of Hermes
were outraged at the wizards actions, no
one wanted a war within the Orders
ranks. The Magi of Flambeau were therefore allowed to flaunt their victory. As
tribute to their power, the dragons killers,
in A.D. 1091, founded a Covenant on the
site of her aerie and called it Fire Nest.
The Covenant still stands and thrives
over 100 years later. Its members all belong to House Flambeau. Many of the
Covenants older Magi are the very folk
who slew Albrenega so long ago. Under
them, the Covenants younger upstarts
preserve the memory of the Magis greatest victoryas well as the Covenants
bravado.
What no one realizes is that an extensive
cave system lies beneath the Covenant (the
original Flambeau were too cocky to prop-
erly search the dragons retreat, and no

one has thought to do so since). In these
caves lay the last of Albrenegas eggs,
which hatched 10 years ago.
The hatchling, Albrenegan, now sleeps
in those caves, nourished and tormented
by magical energies and haughty words
echoing down from above. Not only has
the serpent learned something of the
world from half-heard shouts, but he has
learned about his mothers death. Visions
of that death, and residual effects from
House Flambeaus magical experiments,
haunt the dragons dreams.
In his dreams, Albrenegan appears as a
monstrous, rampaging beast-magical
influence from the Flambeau allows him
this inflated identity. His anger at his
mothers murderers is so intense that his
thoughts have recently begun projecting
into the material world. When stories of
the dragons death meet his serpentine
ears, his dreams express his rage, and his
dream self arrives in the world to exact

revenge.
In the past several months, a massive
dragon has appeared as if from thin air at
Fire Nest Covenant and has delivered
destruction upon the fortress, disappearing as quickly as it came. Several inhabitants have been killed in the attacks, and
no form of magic seems to affect the
beast. Of course, the Flambeau have assailed the dragon with their destructive
spells, not realizing they have no effect
because the dragon does not truly exist. If
they would only think to try the Imagonem Form (the magic of illusion) on the
creature, they might defeat it and, inadvertently, the young dragon that sleeps
beneath their Covenant. However, in their
blindness the Flambeau continue to suffer
the beasts brutality, and that is why the
help of other Magi, with open minds and
new ideas, is needed.
Albrenegans profiles
Albrenegan possesses two sets of statistics, the first for his dream self and the second for his newborn self.
The dream dragon

Magic Might: 65
Vital Statistics: Size +7, Intelligence (wily) +1, Perception (alert) +3, Strength (bulging muscles) +10, Stamina (hearty) +12, Pres-
ence (awesome) +8, Communication (incomplete words) -2, Dexterity (graceful) +5, Quickness (swift) +12
Virtues and Flaws: Self-Confident +3, Strong-Willed +1, Short Attention Span -1, Fury (at talk of dragons deaths) -3
Personality Traits: Wrathful +4, Angry +4, Patient -2
Reputation: None
Confidence: 6
Combat Totals:
Bite Totals: First Strike +8, Attack +13, Damage +35
Claw Totals: First Strike +5, Attack +9, Damage +15, Parry Defense +3
Tail Lash Totals: First Strike +12, Attack +5, Damage +10, Parry Defense +4
Wing Bash Totals: First Strike +3, Attack +7, Damage +8
Fiery Breath Totals: First Strike +10, Attack +8**, Damage +50
Body Levels: n/a
Fatigue Levels: n/a
Dodge Defense +5 (11 Action), Soak n/a, Fatigue n/a

** Can be dodged, but not parried
Encumbrance: 0
Abilities: Speak Latin (magical terms) 3, Hermes History (House Flambeau achievements) 4, Hermes Lore (Reconquista) 3, Magic Theory (fire) 1
Powers:
Wrathful Fire, CrIg 50, 5 Points Causes +50 Damage to all within a circle 10 paces in diameter. See Combat Totals, above.
Stare of Mortality, ReMe 20, 0 Points If the dream dragon makes eye contact with a subject, that person cannot move from his or her
spot as long as eye contact is maintained. Victims cannot move or dodge, but can parry attacks. Eye contact can be avoided with an
Intelligence stress roll of 6+. On a Botch, the victim remains motionless for as long as the dragon wills, but the dragon need not
maintain eye contact.
Roar of the Ancients, ReMe 15, 0 Points If the dream dragon roars, all within earshot must make a Stamina + Brave stress roll of 6 +
to avoid fleeing in terror. A similar such roll is allowed per Round to stop running. In the event of a Botch, the victim continues to
flee until Unconscious (Short-Term Fatigue roll per Round of running).
Winds of Fury, CrAu 15, 0 Points By flapping its powerful wings, the dragon creates a great wind. To remain standing requires a
Strength stress roll of 4+. All physical actions suffer a -3 penalty in the wind. Botches mean a victim is blown over, suffering
1d10 +2 Damage, which is Soaked normally.
Smoke of the Bellows, CrAu 15, 2 Points A large cloud of smoke is created, covering an area 20 paces across. Those in the cloud act
as if in complete darkness (see ARS MAGICA Third Edition game, page 153). If any roll made in the cloud Botches, a Short-Term
Fatigue Level is suffered from smoke inhalation, aside from any other appropriate Botch results.
Vis: None
100
SEPTEMBER 1993
Involving the characters
There are several ways by which characters may find themselves at Fire Nest.
They may have heard of the dragon and
seek to defeat it themselves, or simply
want to see and maybe converse with the
beast. Maybe the characters support the
Christians war against the Moors and
want to see the dragon defeated so Fire
Nests Flambeau can resume fighting. Or,
maybe the characters want to see the
dragon preserved, being among the last of
its kind.
After traveling to Fire Nest Covenant,
the characters must contend with the
difficult, arrogant Flambeau Magi who
reside there. The residents may welcome
foreigners but are suspicious of strangers.
After all, there is a war being waged and
no one travels to Iberia for purely social
reasons. Characters might claim to come
in support of the Reconquista, but resident
Flambeau expect strangers to prove their
convictions. If characters are not prepared
to fight and kill Moors (the Moors tend to
be enlightened by Mythic European standards, and so might be sympathized with
by characters), the Flambeau may turn on
them. Furthermore, if visiting characters
are opposed to Fire Nests involvement in
the war against the Moors, there might be
outright hostility between Magi, which
endangers any hope of solving the mystery of the attacking dragon.
If characters end up needing allies
against Fire Nest, they might find them
among the few rebellious Hermetic Covenants in southern Iberia that are actually
allied with the Moors. Dealing with these

pseudo-rebels, the characters may find
themselves in trouble with the whole
Order. In fact, alliance with the rebels
might break characters ties with their
own Covenant, forcing them to remain in
Iberia, where their new and only allies
reside, to continue fighting against the
Reconquista.
If characters claim to have come to Fire
Nest to deal with the dragon, they are not
received warmly. Fire Nests Magi are
embarrassed by their failure to best the
dragon, particularly given their reputation
for killing Albrenega. Chief among those
who are cold to characters is Vendur,
leader of the Covenant. He was one of
Albrenegas murderers and is quite powerful, but also unbalanced in his old age.
After many magical Twilights, he mentally
relives the attack on Albrenega, believing
the current dragon to be her and believing
newly arrived Magi to be upstarts intent
on stealing his glory. Thus, Vendur is always the first to strike out when the new
dragon attacks, and he commands others
to join him in useless Perdo and Ignem
spells.
When the dragon does arrive at Fire
Nest, its clear to characters that physical
attacks are useless, as the Flambeaus
efforts prove. Characters are therefore
free to explore other avenues. Any use of
Intellego Imagonem or Mentem magic
suggests the dragon is made purely of rage
and nothing more; its the projection of
another mind, apparently a childish one
given its ranting: "Not fair! Not fair! Want
her back! Characters mentally probing

the dragon also learn its name, a definite
clue that its related to Albrenega and
maybe seeks to avenge the legendary
beasts death.
If characters fail to discover Albrenegans secret on his first attack, they may
upon succeeding attacks. The observant
realize (with a Perception + Legendary
Beast Lore simple roll of 6+) that the
dragon arrives whenever the defeat of
Albrenega is recounted by the Flambeau.
The sound of the tale, filtering down from
above, assails Albrenegans ears and inspires further violent dreams. Putting two
and two together, characters may realize
the marauding dragon resides somewhere
nearby and can overhear Fire Nests residents.
If they manage to ingratiate themselves
with Fire Nests residents, either by supporting the Reconquista or proving brave
in a fight against the dragon, characters
gain the freedom to search the Covenant.
However, discovery of an outsider in the
Covenant at the wrong place and time can
mean Hermetic trial for the careless. Given
time, characters may learn of the caves
beneath the Covenant and there discover
the sleeping Albrenegan.
Discovery does not resolve the characters problems, though. In fact, it creates
more. Clearly, the characters must wake
the dragon to put an end to its dreams, or
they may use magicks to alter those
dreams (Rego Mentem spells of Level
Continued on page 118
The newborn dragon

Magic Might: 20
Vital Statistics: Size +2, Intelligence (creative) +1, Perception 0, Strength (powerful) +4, Stamina (tough) +2, Presence (unimpres-
sive) -1, Communication (incomplete words) -2, Dexterity (clumsy) -1, Quickness (ambling) -2
Virtues and Flaws: Dreaming +2, Versatile Sleeper +1, Light Sleeper +1, Sharp Ears +1, Piercing Gaze +2, Soft Hearted -1,
Weak Self-Confidence -1, Common Fear (Flambeau Magi) -2, Orphan -1
Personality Traits: Quiet +3, Calm +4, Brave -2

Reputation: None
Confidence: 2
Combat Totals:
Bite Totals: First Strike +3, Attack +4, Damage +15

Claw Totals: First Strike +2, Attack +4, Damage +8
Fiery Sneeze Totals: First Strike +6, Attack +4**, Damage +20
Body Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Dodge Defense -1 (5 Action), Soak +15 (21 Action), Fatigue +2
* * Can be dodged, but not parried.
Encumbrance: 0
Abilities: Dreaming 10, Speak Latin (magical terms) 3, Hermes History (House Flambeau achievements) 4, Hermes Lore (Reconquista)
3, Magic Theory (fire) 1
Powers:
Fiery Sneeze, CrIg 20, 3 Points A small burst of fire is created, causing +20 Damage to all within a 5-pace area. See Combat Totals,
above.
Puff of Smoke, CrAu, 1 Point A small puff of smoke is created, as per Smoke of the Bellows above, except the area affected is 5 paces
across.
Vis: 10 Ignem in tongue, 15 Creo in brain
DRAGON 101
102 SEPTEMBER 1993
By Barbara Manui and Chris Adams
DRAGON 103
104 SEPTEMBER 1993
DRAGON 105
106 SEPTEMBER 1993
DRAGON 107
108 SEPTEMBER 1993
DRAGON 109
1993 By Robert Bigelow

Photographs by Mike Bethke
Buy now, paint later:

good advice before winter hits
RAFM Company, Inc.
Reviews
20 Parkhill Rd. East

Cambridge, Ontario
CANADA N1R 1P2
Black Dragon Pewter
2700 Range Rd.

North Bellmore NY 11710
****
9786 Vampire
This pewter figure is for gifts, not

games. It stands 48 mm high, and its base
has an ascending stone staircase. A oneeyed skull provides a prop for the welldressed vampire behind it. He wears tight
trousers with a thin belt; an open vest
reveals a necklace and shirt with frilly
cuffs. A long, high-necked cape swirls out
behind, held on by a skull clasp. The vampires thin face, widows peak, and wrinkled forehead and chin frame a set of
clearly evident fangs. For $20, this is an
inexpensive gift for a vampire lover.
9723 Princess
Once again, its time to get ready for

winter gaming and miniatures painting.
If you have a miniatures army youve
wanted to fix up to squash the brightly
painted legions of your friends, now is the
time to start preparing your work space
and tools to get the job done.
Consumer warning: Certain prices may
be out of date now, as some companies
may have changed both their miniatures
metal and prices. Treat the prices given as
subject to change.
I want to thank Chris Osburn for his
painting of the KRYOMEK* units in this
column. Now, on with the reviews.
112 SEPTEMBER 1993
This pewter figure stands 90 mm tall to

the tip of her pointed hat. This figure is of
a classic princess, with her long dress
piled on the floor and great billowing
sleeves. The dress has a modest, squarecut bodice; a long belt sash with red and
blue stones falls to the floor. Her face is
reminiscent of Snow White in poise and
complexion. The only down side to this
figure was some rough finishing on one
spot and a small pin hole. Still, this is a
good figure to give as a gift. Its very reasonable at $20.
Miniatures product ratings
*
**
***
****
*****
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
2922 Deep
Fishmen
Ones-Mutant
****
This set consists of four 25-mm scale

castings on irregular-shaped, landscaped
bases. These figures from the CALL OF
CTHULHU* game line represent Deep
Ones, whose lineage includes sharks. None
of the fishmen are wearing clothes, and all
are unarmed. All have dorsal fins of varying sizes, starting from the head or the
base of neck and running down to the
pelvis.
Figure #l has his hands up as if gesturing. His mouth is closed, and he is glaring.
Figure #2 is arguing, with mouth open and
teeth and tongue exposed. His left hand
clutches a fish. Figure #3 is sitting, reading
from a book, and appears to be slightly
older than the other two. The last piece in
the set is an altar with finny markings, 30
mm X 15 mm X 8 mm. All you need now a
good victim figure.
The pieces had mold lines in inconvenient places and a little unwanted flash, but
was otherwise a good set. These figures
also could be used as sahuagin in TSRs
AD&D game. This set is recommended at
$4.95 per pack.
3503 Armored Minotaur
This figure is made of lead and perches

on a small, circular, undetailed base. The
minotaur is 46 mm from cloven hooves to
the top of his horned head. The figure has
the hairy legs of a bull, but these are protected by a curved plate held on by laces
and hinged at the knee. His forearms are
protected by plates held on the same way,
and his three-fingered hands are covered
by studded gloves. His right paw hefts a

huge battle axe. His back is protected by
an overlapping plate kilt and a base plate,
with a small open split at the base of the
spine and by the shoulder plates. The
stomach to lower chest is exposed to show
ridged, hard muscle. The face is bovine,
including a ring in the nose, shaggy fur on
the trunklike neck, flared nostrils, and
sunken eyes. A helmet protects the head.
This is an imposing figure whose only
problem was thick flash by the knees and
groin. Its an excellent figure that would be
at home with the imperial minotaur
Ral Partha. Its recommended at $4.95.
Old Guard Hobbies

27508 Ford Rd.
Garden City MI 48135
1002 The Mini-Castle
*****
1003 The Great Gate
*****
The Mini-Castle is a five-piece, easy-toassemble kit. The walls are made of expanded polyurethane, and each wall
measures over 420 mm long x 155 mm tall
at the round towers and 125 mm tall at
the top of the wall. Three walls are identical, each molded to resemble a stone wall
with a broad walk and stairs leading from
the top of the wall. A round tower with a
plank door and stairs at ground level is at
the right side of each piece. The top of
each tower is engraved to represent
planks with a trapdoor. Numerous arrow
slits and firing positions grace the walls;
the top of the tower two small windows
face inward. The last wall piece has a
stone arched gate 100 mm high. This arch
and the pewter gate blocks all entry into
the structure. This wall also has a more
elaborate staircase that goes around the
stables. A small manor house with shake
or slate shingles sits to the left of the gate.
This tower is part of the keep and can be
entered only from the top of the wall or
the manor house. When assembled, the
castle has a large central courtyard.
This is a typical countryside outpost and
is an excellent piece of work. My piece had
only one flaw, and that is excellent for this
material. Even though the buildings are
not totally hollow when purchased, they
can be easily cleaned out. The price is
reasonable at $69.95.
This five-piece set includes two lead-free
metallic gates and three expanded polyurethane buildings. The main building is
a large castle gatehouse measuring 220
mm x 220 mm x 138 mm. The interior is
hollow, and the outside is molded to appear as if it is stone. The front has a number of arrow slots, while the back is
accessed by a single staircase and a plank
door. Several windows face out onto what
will be a courtyard, as well as the twin
round towers in back. These rear towers
provide additional protection to the large
flat roof of the gatehouse.
The other two pieces are short adaptor
DRAGON 113
pieces of wall with structures attached. Piece

#1 is a stone house that probably would be
either a warehouse or barracks. The house
has a single plank door and two shuttered
windows. The roof has shingles and is stone
supported. A chimney stands straight up
next to the walkway, and a set of stone stairs
winds around the left side. Piece #2 has a
water cistern and trough complete with a
lions head nestled between the stairs and
the building. The building is a mini-fortress
with a defensive wall to hold invaders who
have gained the inner court. The plank door
is reinforced with metal and the studs are
clearly visible.
This set is needed only if you want to
build a large castle, namely the Old Guard
Hobbies keep we reviewed several months
ago in issue #185. The quality of this kit is
excellent. I highly recommend it at $69.95.
Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc.

5938 Carthage Ct.
Cincinnati OH 45212-1197
Minifigs
1/5 Graham Rd., Southampton

UNITED KINGDOM S02 0AX
93-028 Pan-European Heavy
Tank
****
Steve Jackson Games OGRE* system is

enjoying a resurgence of popularity and,
at the same time, the return of its vehicle
castings. The heavy tanks shown here are
made of lead, but that metal is being replaced by Ralidium, Ral Parthas new miniatures alloy. The pack contains two
25-mm scale heavy tanks, each 30 mm
long x 15 mm wide x 12 mm tall. The
vehicles have fully enclosed tracks for
propulsion, exposed only at the ground
contact. The vehicles have sloping fronts
that make excellent shot traps and turrets
that look almost like a KV-1 turret from
World War II. For a modern tank, it is
behind the M-l in fashion. Its highly recommended at $4.50 per Ralidium pack.
1l-473 Giant Rat Stand
****
Giant rats are one of the most common

monsters found in many fantasy dungeons
or sewers. As these creatures usually
travel in packs, it is hard to find enough
figures to do such a pack justice. Ral Parthas Giant Rat Stand is scaled for 25 mm,
is made of Ralidium, and comes two stands
to a package. The stands are identical,
each showing 11 individual rats milling
about. A stand measures 40 mm x 8 mm;
the rats are stacked up almost 15 mm
high. Each stand had quite a few stray
strings from vent holes, so cut carefully
to avoid cutting off any tails or ears. I feel
that the stands would have better served
gamers by spreading the rats out horizontally instead of vertically, but this way is
easier to produce. I do recommend these,
even at the pricey amount of $5.25 per
pack.
114 SEPTEMBER 1993
11-474 Sylph
****
A sylph is a beautiful creature who

dwells at high altitudes the way a nymph
does in the woods. This sylph is scaled to
25 mm but measures out to a demure 23
mm. The figure is well proportioned and
wears a long robe split down the middle
and a girdlelike belt. Her arms are bare
except for wisps of cloth bound through
bands. A pretty face is framed by hair
with a slight wave to it. Facial features are
good, although the expression is much
more serious than I would expect. Veined
gossamer-like wings sprout from the middle of her back. Even though it was necessary to trim flash from the wings and base
bottom, I still recommend this figure, even
at the Ralidium figure price of $2.15 each.
20-528 Black Ice Icons
****
What monsters lurk in the computer

networks of FASAs SHADOWRUN* game?
Here, computerized critters are called
icons. The three icons in the pack are
scaled to 25 mm. Although my set is made
of lead, but they may now be of Ralidium.
Two of the miniatures are on bases with
good circuitboard-style detailing. All three
are blocky crystalline creatures.
The spider is 35 mm long x 30 mm
wide x 14 mm high, with very prominent
jaws and beady eyes. The legs are blockjointed, and the abdomen is pronounced.
There is no base on this creature.
The samurai icon is 20 mm tall. His
helmet has a half moon symbol on it, and
he wields a sword in two hands. This
figure has a base. This figure had a number of strings from vent holes.
The cat icon is stalking along the circuits
and is about the size of a sabertooth tiger
in 25-mm scale. This would be a really
nice model except for the area where the
cat meets the base. This cat is over 30 mm
long.
All these figures have uses in different
cyberpunk and other game systems. If you
want to get an icy effect, double gloss
your figures high points. These are recommended at $5.50 a pack at the new
prices.
20-784 The N-Thorn
*****
I want to start by thanking Andy Kennedy for his help with the assembly of this
and the following BATTLETECH* Mechs.
This Mech comes as a four-piece, easily
assembled kit. The figure represents a 20ton Mech scaled for 25 mm. The Mech
stands 38 mm high from base to fin and is
mounted on a plain oval base. This kit is
currently made of lead but is being converted to Ralidium. The figure strides
along but otherwise matches exactly its
picture in FASAs Technical Readout 2750.
In my BATTLETECH games, this Mech
has done a good job protecting fixed locations where it can slug it out toe-to-toe. I
recommend it even with its $4.25 price.
20-786 Flashman
****
This four-piece kit assembles into a 48-
mm-tall model of a 75-ton Mech. The figure

is made of lead, but scheduled for conversion to Ralidium. The Mech is molded to a
rough-surfaced hex base that has a obvious
mold line. The Mech is very close to its
drawing in Technical Readout 2750, only the
right arm is slightly different.
One problem with this figure is that the
base and upper body do not join tightly
because of the peg. Lower the height
slightly and clean the hole for it to work. It
is a powerful Mech but costly at the new
Ralidium price of $6.25.
****
This 38-mm high Mech represents a
vehicle weighing 40 tons. Made of lead,
the figure has a textured hex base. The
Mech closely resembles its picture with
some minor but noticeable differences.
The figure has an area in the left chest
that did not fill correctly and gave it battle damage. The shoulder and upper torso
ridges are also not as defined as in the
book. This is an iffy call at $5.75 for quality and practicality, but an undamaged
figure would have considerable value in a
BATTLETECH campaign because of its
game capabilities.
20-788 Sentinel
****
Champion
This 60-ton Mech comes as a six-piece
kit. The figure has its legs slightly offset; if
you try to level it, the Mech tilts. This is
another lead kit scheduled to be converted
to Ralidium. Scaled to 25 mm, it is set on a
landscaped hex base. It looks exactly like
its picture in Technical Readout 2750, but
its military value is questionable. At $6.25
for the Ralidium version, there are more
useful Mechs available.
20-787
Grenadier Models, Inc.

P.O. Box 305
Springfield PA 19064
Grenadier Models UK, Ltd.
25 Babbage Rd.
Deeside, Clwyd, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM CH5 2QB
Fantasy Force (KRYOMEK)

Holyrood Business Park, The Bridge
146 Duddingston West, Edinburgh
SCOTLAND EH16 4AP
RC-01 Raven Scavenger Alpha 2.1

*****
RC-02 Raven Scavenger Beta
*****
The Raven Alpha is a lead kit scaled for

27 mm, consisting of a number of parts
that form a 20-ton mechanical support
unit. The cockpit is in the front wafer
head and holds one person in a standing
position. You may want to add a base for
support and safety. The head is two parts
that must be cleaned and have their edges
trimmed before they fit together well. The
legs on the lower body connection must
dry thoroughly after gluing before constructing the rest of the figure; check to
make sure that the feet are solid on the

ground. The figures are about 90 mm high
and 70 mm wide across the body, minus
exhaust, and over 50 mm deep. The legs
are birdlike and hinged in three places.
The motor is midbody mounted, and parts
can be observed on top. Exhaust exits
from a stack to the rear. The actual cockpit is 48 mm tall x 20 mm deep x 30 mm
wide. Vents, escape hatches, vision slits,
and lights are common equipment.
The Alpha is armed with two turret-type
gatling guns mounted on wings stretching
out from the body. A heavy machine gun
covers the rear from a remote control
pivot turret. The Beta, otherwise very
similar to the Alpha, has a rear-mounted
chain gun and two seven-shot heavy-duty
missile pads on special stub mounts that
replace the gatling guns.
I have heard that these are available in
very limited quantities. If so, I recommend
that if you can find one you pick it up
quick, as they could be used in any SF
game as guards, recon, or gladiators for
SHADOWRUN* games. Even with the care
needed to assemble these, the kit is well
worth the $24.95.
#404 Pole Arms
****
These weapons are made of the new

DRAGON 115
Grenadier Luminite compound and allow

you to add different appearances to your
28-mm scale pike armies. The set contains
two sets of four different halberds and
four different glaives. Each set is mounted
to a sprue and must be cut off then either
squared or rounded, as only a few have
the proper ends. These are humans weapons, but they would look good being carried by orcs or other large humanoids.
The cost is $5.95 for each pack.
8131 Royal Paladin
*****
This 25-mm scale lead-free casting is

mounted on an undetailed oval base. The
figure represents a young paladin just
starting out on the road to glory. The
character is dressed differently than most
paladins. Knee-high boots run into loose
multilayered pants with a padded groin
protector. A simple shirt is covered by an
intricately done chain-mail shirt reinforced by strips of leather or metal blended into a pattern and edged with thick
cloth. The belt is an ornate set of jeweled
links with no discernable buckle, supporting a pouch on the left hand side. The left
arm supports a battered shield with a
griffon embossed on it; his right gauntleted hand wields a simple long sword. A
knee-length cape secured with chain and
clasps sweeps from his shoulders. Neatly
trimmed full hair and beard frame a
strong-featured face with good resolution.
Eyes, lips, and nose are all in proportion
and have no defects. Only the left ear is
slightly evident beneath the headband.
This figure could fill the bill as any one
of a number of classes, and not being the
typical highly armored tin can is a plus.
Even at $2.25 each, this is recommended.
CYBERPUNK* #3405 Cops
****
This three-figure set provides slightly

different types of police officers than were
previously available in miniature form.
The figures are currently made of lead
(but will soon be in Luminite) and are
scaled to 28 mm. The figures are all basically similar with differences in posturing,
weapons, etc.
The standard uniform seems to be kneehigh boots, quilted pants, a regular shirt,
and a quilt-pattern half-vest (a bulletproof
vest, perhaps). Each cop also has gloves
and various sized shoulder pads. A standard belt and buckle support a billy club or
holder on the left side and a very large
pistol on the right leg, all secured by
thongs around the legs. All wear riot helmets with visors or glasses, and each has a
badge with an indeterminate design on the
left breast and helmet front. Each also
wears a name tag with small writing. One
trooper has smooth pants, but he may be a
motor officer. All the officers have neutral
facial expressions.
The troopers are armed with assault
rifles or weapons that looks like World
War II-era Russian submachine guns.
Their postures denote work-time actions
stopping someone, running for cover, etc.
116 SEPTEMBER 1993
These are nice generic policemen that can

be used in anything from the CHAMPIONS* to CYBERPUNK games. I expected
these figures to be beefier due to armor,
but that is not true. The extra height,
which youll notice if using these figures
with 25-mm figures, could be due simply
to taller police or biologically enhanced
officers. These are worth the $4.95 price
tag.
#618 Mad Scientists
****
For every hero, there is at least one

villain. This set presents three typical
arch-villains all scaled to 28 mm. Two
villains have oval bases with no decoration
other than one prop. The figures are of
lead (no date has been announced for use
of a lead-free compound).
The first villain is your typical evil chemist. His street shoes are partially covered
by wrinkled trousers, and he wear a long
sleeved lab coat. His left hand hold
flask, and the right has a test tube.
typical monster-movie form, the villains
face is scarred and slightly deformed on
the left side, and he is bald as a billiard
ball. He even has a monocle (either that or
his left eye is bugged out). This figure had
mold lines on the base and shoulders, but
they were easily fixed except for the wrinkles on the left shoulder.
The second villain is a mechanic or
tinkerer wearing sharp-toed boots, a one-
piece jump suit, and a tie. The suit is partly covered by an apron. His right hand
clenches an unknown object; his left holds
a toothed instrument. A discarded rubber
glove from his left hand lies on the ground
at his feet. A hat covers most of his curly
hair. His face reminds me a lot of the
fourth Dr. Who, Tom Baker. Mold lines
needed to be cleaned on both shoulders

and the base top.
The last villain is wheelchair-bound. The
wheelchair is an early 1920s style, of
rattan or wicker. The rattan detail is good,
but the wheels need trimming and the
chair is slightly back-heavy. The scientist
molded onto the chair is a wild-haired,
DRAGON 117
bespectacled old man with a sharp chin

who seems to be laughing. A long lab coat
covers the rest of the body except for the
collar of a shirt and a bow tie. The character has one hand on his knee and his right
hand holdsa brain!
These figures are generic but can be lots
of fun, even if you dont use miniatures.
With the wide variety of possible game
uses, these figures are cheap at $4.25 per
pack.
Next month is our yearly horror parade,
including some contemporary gift and
display figures. Well make no bones about
it. If you want to write to me, the address
is: Robert Bigelow, c/o Friends Hobby
Shop, 1411 Washington St., Waukegan IL
60085. Please have patience, as my time
for replies is limited. If you want to talk
(which I would prefer), you can call me at:
(708) 336-0790, 2-10 P.M. CDT M,W-F; or 10
A.M.- 5 P.M. CDT Sa-Su. I am happy to help
you however I can.
118 SEPTEMBER 1993
The Dragon Project

25 +). For all the characters know, the

dragon may awaken and be as hostile as
its dream self. In truth, he is not. Albrenegan is actually timid and reasonable, having vented his anger in his dreams.
Although the characters have now done
what they sought toput an end to the
attacks on Fire Nestthe question of Albrenegans fate arises. If the Flambeau
Magi become aware of the dragon, they
claim him as theirs, in compensation for
the damage hes caused them. According
to Hermetic law, they have full right to
him. That means further torment for the
innocent beast, a cruel punishment. Of
course, characters can try to liberate the
dragon, but being caught may again mean
Hermetic trial, one the characters are not
likely to win. Ultimately, Albrenegan prefers to be set free, allowed to get away
from those who killed his mother and will
undoubtedly do the same to him.
If characters prove friendly to Albrenegan but Fire Nests Flambeau seize him,
the dragon might refuse their orders, even
upon pain of death, unless friendly characters are there to soothe and guide him. If
the characters want to see Albrenegan
live, they must remain at Fire Nest to tend
to him, coaxing him to follow Flambeau
orders. Before long the dragon is commanded to attack the Moors, and the
babysitting characters must join him. If

the characters are opposed to the Reconquista, a moral dilemma arisesdeath for
the dragon or death for the Moors. The
solution might be to fake the dragons
death on the battlefield and flee with him.
The leader of local Reconquista troops,
Lord Ramon, a seasoned veteran and
honorable warrior, might help the characters free the dragon. Though he recognizes the value of wizards and a dragon on
the field, Ramon trusts neither and would
sooner have only God and swords by his
side. Ramon can therefore order the dragon into a remote region, where imagined
enemies are detected, and where an
ambush on the beast and its tenders can
be faked, allowing them to flee.
If the characters can free Albrenegan,
they may abuse him themselves, demanding
services in return for his salvation. The
dragon can also return to the characters
later in the Saga (campaign), in need of help
or to deliver trouble. Maybe the Magi of Fire
Nest one day discover the characters
cheated them of the dragon and pursue the
characters with Wizards War. At the least,
Fire Nest and the characters Covenant
become rivals, if not enemies.
HHQ4 Clerics Challenge

An AD&D game module
by L. Richard Baker III
NEW PRODUCTS FOR

SEPTEMBER
BUCK ROGERS Adventure Game
A HIGH ADVENTURE
CLIFFHANGERS game
by Jeff Grubb & Steven E. Scbend
Return with BUCK ROGERS to his pulp sciencefiction roots with this fast-paced, fun, and easy-toplay game, derived from the original comic strips
of the 1920s and 1930s. An ideal introduction to SF
role-playing, this rollicking game abounds with the
wonders of pulp science: death-ray projectors,
rocket pistols, jumping belts, and dirigible airships.
This boxed set includes three booklets, two fullcolor mapsheets, dice, and die-cut stand-up
counters.
$20.00 U.S./$25.95 CAN./12.99 U.K.
TSR Product No.: 3587
FOR4 The Code of the Harpers

AD&D game FORGOTTEN REALMS
accessory
by Ed Greenwood
Unravel the secrets of the mysterious Harpers, guardians of the northern wildernesses of
the Realms. This 128-page book gives background information on the Harpers organization, in-depth details of the lifestyles and
mindset of the Harpers themselves and how
your FORGOTTEN REALMS campaigns PCs
can join their prestigious ranks.
$15.00 U.S./$18.00 CAN./9.99 U.K.
RM3 House of Strahd

AD&D game RAVENLOFT
module
by Tracy Hickman and Bruce Nesmith
This 64-page adventure is the original classic

RAVENLOFT module revamped for the AD&D
2nd Edition game and the RAVENLOFT campaign setting. This adventure first introduced
Count Strahd Von Zarovich, vampire lord, to the
role-playing world in 1982. Revisit Strahds
home, now with tougher adversaries, new plot
twists, and expanded details.
$10.95 U.S./$13.50 CAN./6.99 U.K.
NEW PRODUCTS FOR

OCTOBER
Castle Forlorn
An AD&D RAVENLOFT boxed set

TSR staff
Take a terrifying tour of one of the most

haunted castles in all the domains of the
RAVENLOFT setting. You received a teasing
glimpse of this place in the RAVENLOFT boxed
set; here, you get all the horrifying details in a
96-page book, two 32-page books, and two
120 SEPTEMBER 1993
poster maps. Rich in detail, this mega-adventure

challenges the PCs to explore every corner of
this dark, foreboding place.
$20.00 U.S./$24.00 CAN./11.99 U.K.
Book of Artifacts
An AD&D game accessory

by David Zeb Cook
Artifacts are the most powerful magical items

in the AD&D system, and this 160-page hardbound book of artifacts old and new is an essential addition to the AD&D game. Revealed
within these pages are the secrets to the artifacts you remember from previous editions,
plus many new items of great power, including
items specific to particular campaign settings.
$20.00 U.S./$24.00 CAN./11.99 U.K.

AM4 The MAGITECH Setting

An AMAZING ENGINE Universe Book
by Tim Beach
Imagine an alternate Earth that has always

been home to elves, dwarves, centaurs, and
other fantastic folk; an Earth where magic has
been scientifically studied and quantified, and
now serves as a clean power source for modern
devices like crystal balls, computers, and flying
carpets. This is the world of the MAGITECH
setting. Also, for the first time, all the AMAZING
ENGINE Universe Books, plus the core rulebook, are all available separately.
$18.00 U.S./$21.50 CAN./10.99 U.K.
Champions of Mystara
A D&D game boxed set

by Ann Dupuis
This boxed set builds upon the popular Princess Ark series from DRAGON Magazine. The
boxed set includes: the 64-page Princess Ark
Gazetteer that details how to play a character
aboard the amazing flying ship; the 96-page
Explorers Manual that provides a geographic
overview of the region west of the Known
World and rules to integrate these new settings;
the 64-page Princess Ark Chronicles that updates the ships original logbook; and four fullcolor mapsheets.
$20.00 U.S./$24.00 CAN./11.99 U.K.
FRQ2 The Doom of Daggerdale

An AD&D FORGOTTEN REALMS
accessory
by Wolfgang Baur
Dagger Falls is in danger. The crypt of the

Mage Lord has been opened, and from it an evil
spell has been cast that is putting the townspeople into a magical slumber from which none
awake. The PCs must investigate and root out
this evil. This 32-page module is the first to
make use of the newly revised FORGOTTEN
REALMS campaign setting.
$6.95 U.S./$8.50 CAN./4.50 U.K.
The town of Pommeville is in dire straits.

Deathly apparitions and walking corpses have
become almost commonplace. When the dead
rise and walk the world of living, only a cleric
PC can lay them to rest. This is no easy task
however, as the source of the deads restlessness
also must be discovered and destroyed.
$6.95 U.S./$8.50 CAN./4.50 U.K.
DSS2 Air, Earth, Fire, and Water

An AD&D DARK SUN accessory
by TSR staff
The deepest secrets of elemental magic in the

DARK SUN setting are revealed in this 96-page
book. The priests and druids of Athas rely on
the elements for their magical might. New spells
and abilities add variety and excitement to these
character classes. The future of Athas may rest
in the hands of its elementalists, so explore their
role to the fullest with this accessory.
$10.95 U.S./$13.50 CAN./6.99 U.K.

Starless Night
A FORGOTTEN REALMS novel

by R. A. Salvatore
This is the sequel to the New York Times bestseller, The Legacy, Book One in TSRs first
hardcover FORGOTTEN REALMS trilogy. In
this installment, Drizzt returns to his birthplace,
the subterranean city of the drow, Menzoberranzan, to free himself from those who seek his
death.
$16.95 U.S./$20.50 CAN./10.50 U.K.

The Legacy
A FORGOTTEN REALMS paperback

novel
by R. A. Salvatore
The beleaguered dark elf, Drizzt DoUrden,

thinks all of his problems are solveduntil the
Spider Queen, Lloth, vows to poison his life with
her vengeance. This paperback edition also
includes an additional chapter, not published in
the hardcover version of the novel.
$5.95 U.S./$6.95 CAN./3.99 U.K.

TSR Product No.: 8436P
The Fall of Magic
The Penhaligon trilogy, Book Three

by D. J. Heinrich
In this, the exciting conclusion of the first

D&D novel trilogy, a mad mage seeks to unleash a creature that will destroy all magic in
Penhaligonall except the mages own. Only the
young knight Johauna and the mage Dayin can
stop the arcane assault and save the magicwielders of Penhaligon.
$4.95 U.S./$5.95 CAN./3.99 U.K.
Unless otherwise noted:

designates registered trademarks owned by TSR,
Inc.
designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
1993 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Dragon Magazine 197

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Issue #197

Vol. XVIII, No. 4

The Ecology of the Giant Scorpion Ruth Cooke

Two Years of ORIGINS Awards The editors

Think Bigin Miniature! James M. Ward

Perils & Postage Mark R. Kehl

By Mail or by Modem? Craig Schaefer

The Dragons Bestiary Ed Greenwood

The Known World Grimoire Bruce A. Heard

Join the Electronic Warriors! James M. Ward

The MARVEL-Phile Steven E. Schend

DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published

Printed in the U.S.A.

monthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756 (201 Sheridan

tion throughout the United Kingdom is by Comag

Beyond the Dark Horizon Gregory Detwiler

The Dragon Project: The Tide of Albrenegan Ken

Ashes to Ashes fiction by Lisa Smedman

The Role of Books John C. Bunnell

Eye of the Monitor Sandy Petersen

Role-playing Reviews Allen Varney

each subscription is printed on the mailing label of

stamped envelope (9 long preferred) to: Writers

Registration applied for in the United Kingdom. All

What did you think of this issue? Do you have

modules from now on?

understand how these people can tell me that the

Once upon a time . . .

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

curs between those two points has no

Artwork by Lynnrae Troples

to occur next, but theyll be so pleased and

THE PLOT, ver. 1.1

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.2

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.3

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.4

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.5

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.6

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.7

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

THE PLOT, ver. 1.8

THE PLOT, ver. 1.9

Some adventurers meet in a tavern, hear

Continued from page 4

very well put. I spoke with an editor at that

Her slipper-clad feet were silent as she

living deep in the old mine, but goblins

with relief. A fire beetle, she thought to

scorpions hunted in swarms, and she

breaths. Did she have enough strength to

Power bolted from her fingers into the