D RAGON 1

Vol. VIII, No. 2

August 1983

SPECIAL ATTRACTION
The DRAGON magazine index . . . . 45
Covering more than seven years
in the space of six pages

OTHER FEATURES
The ecology of the beholder . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Nine Hells, Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
From Malbolge through Nessus

Saved by the cavalry! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Army in BOOT HILL game terms

Page advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Submission guidelines for TSR, Inc.

REGULAR OFFERINGS
Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters from readers

Leomunds Tiny Hut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The death master NPC

Figure Feature: New releases . . . . . . . . 18

SF/gaming convention calendar . . . . . 20
Sage Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Answers to AD&D rule questions

Off the shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Views and reviews of literature

Game reviews:

GANGBUSTERS game . . . . . . . . . 72
Borderlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Judge Dredd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Federation Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Dragonmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Whats New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Publisher: Mike Cook

Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan
Editorial staff: Marilyn Favaro
Roger Raupp
Patrick L. Price
Mary Kirchoff
Roger Moore
Business manager: Mary Parkinson
Office staff: Sharon Walton
Mary Cossman
Layout designer: Kristine L. Bartyzel
Contributing editor: Ed Greenwood
National advertising representative:
Robert Dewey
1409 Pebblecreek
Glenview IL 60025
Phone (312)998-6237

This issues contributing artists:

Phil Foglio
Clyde Caldwell
Mary HansonRoger Raupp
Roberts
Jeff Easley
Edward B. Wagner
Dave Trampier
Larry Elmore
DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly for a subscription price of $24 per
year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR,
Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishing
for all material except subscription orders is P.O.
Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.
DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby
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must be in advance, and should be sent to Dragon
Publishing, P.O. Box 72089, Chicago IL 60690.
A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the
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issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Payment in advance by check or money order must
accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made
through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken
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an individual customer nor an institution can be
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purchase unless prior arrangements are made.
The issue of expiration for each subscription is
printed on the mailing label for each subscribers
copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the
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six weeks prior to the effective date of the change
in order to insure uninterrupted delivery.
All material published in DRAGON Magazine
becomes the exclusive property of the publisher
upon publication, unless special arrangements to
the contrary are made prior to publication.
DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork; however, no responsibility for such submissions can
be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any
submission which is accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size will
be returned if it cannot be published.
DRAGON is a registered trademark for
Dragon Publishings monthly adventure playing
aid. All rights on the contents of this publication
are reserved, and nothing may be reproduced
from it in whole or in part without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright
1983 by TSR, Inc.
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva
WI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.

DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D,
TOP SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
TRAVELLER is a registered trademark owned by Game Designers Workshop, Inc.
RUNEQUEST is a registered trademark owned by Chaosium Inc.
designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.

2 AUGUST

1983

Shorter and stronger

If this isnt one of the first places you
turn to when a new issue comes out, you
may have already noticed that TSR, Inc.
has a new name shorter and more
accurate, since TSR is more than a
hobby-gaming company. The name
change is the most immediately visible
effect of several changes the company has
undergone lately.
To the limit of this space, heres some
information about the changes, mostly
expressed in terms of how I think they
will affect the audience we reach. For a
specific answer to that, see the notice
across the bottom of page 4: Ares magazine and DRAGON magazine are going
to stay out of each others turf from now
on, giving the readers of each magazine
more of what they read it for.
I mention that change here as an
example of what has happened, sometimes on a much larger scale, within
TSR, Inc. The company has reorganized,
reassessed its position and its future, and
has taken some steps to solidify its future
as a company and insure the future satisfaction of the customers we serve.
TSR, Inc., now has only six executive
divisions instead of twelve. Among the
alterations were the consolidation of the
GNW craft line into Dragon Publishing,
and the melding of the Toy Division into
the Games Division.
Both of those changes have at least one
thing in common: Each new division is
composed of facets of the company that
are trying to attract the same audience. It
makes perfect sense for them to be working as closely together as possible,
The changes at TSR were made to
increase productivity, which is designed
to result in (among other things) a more
profitable company. Lets not kid ourselves: Everybody wants to make money,
and businesses are no exception.
But, increasing TSRs productivity
making it an even stronger company than
it was already will ultimately be of visible benefit to our customers. I know very
little about big business, but I do know
that productive, healthy companies have
more and happier customers than
those that arent so healthy. (Ive worked
for unhealthy companies before.)
To return to the example, we dont
expect everyone to appreciate our AresDRAGON decision; its trite, but all too
true that you simply cant please everybody. We hope that most of you will
understand, and that youll end up being
more frequently pleased, and better
served, by what Dragon Publishing and
TSR have to offer in the years to come.

onths ago, in a fit of

what we call long-range
planning, we decided
that issue #76 would be a
great time to publish an
updated index. Within days after that
decision was made, one Mr. Gygax
politely inquired about whether we
were considering doing an index. Aw,
sure, I said, were already planning on
it for the August issue.
Well, telling the big guy that youre
going to do something is the worlds
best incentive. The index that lots of
you have asked for is finished on time,
thanks to that confident promise I
made last winter and to the efforts of
the other people credited at the bottom
of page 46. Use it, and enjoy it.
Something else that makes this issue
special is tucked way back on pages 87
and 88 the final two pages in the
current episode of the saga of Wormy.
An ending . . . followed immediately
by a new beginning: Issue #77 will
contain the first installment of a new
Wormy adventure, and Tramp will be
making pages as long as his markers
and his imagination dont dry up
neither of which is liable to happen.
Weve been scolded several times in
the last few months for not giving
proper recognition to our cover artists.
So, okay, we can take a few hints. . . .
The striking painting adorning this
issue is The Thing From the Pit by
Clyde Caldwell. Its the seventh example of his work weve printed, and by
no means the last. (I have another one
behind the chair in my office, but
dont tell anybody.) And I expect to see
more work out of Clyde, even though
he has plenty to do already in his new
job on the TSR artist staff.
The beholder is so hard to pin down
that we sent two of our best writers,
Roger Moore and Ed Greenwood, on a
quest for the inside story. The next
article in our ecology series examines the Eye Tyrant like its never been
looked at before.
In the Finishing What We Started
Dept., inside youll find part II of Eds
description of The Nine Hells,
completing a plane-by-plane tour and
adding lots of information on rule
changes that apply when a party is
adventuring in the devils domain.
If your player characters ever need a
really evil reason for being good, put
them up against Len Lakofkas death
master NPC for the AD&D game,
described in Leomunds Tiny Hut.
Purists should note that Mr. Gygax
had a look at this, and made some
basic suggestions which were incorporated into the text but no, that
doesnt make it official.
As usual, were out of space sooner
than superlatives. From the first letter
to the last laugh, enjoy. KM

Program response
Dear Editor:
I enjoy reading your magazine, and have
come to expect high quality from it. However,
with issue #74 my admiration was lost. The
[computer] program was atrocious.
In the first place, on any Commodore computer, the user will get a syntax error. The
program uses the variable ST$, which is illegal
due to its use as an abbreviated command.
Anyone using a Commodore computer should
change the string name to SV$.
Second, this program wastes a lot of space.
Lines 1360-1460 are useless. And instead of
exchanging ZZ with an ability, change to this
method, which works just as well and faster:
[Program details deleted]
Third, there is no way to print this out. A
simple addition of the following lines will
accomplish this:
[Program details deleted]
Last, but by no means least, this program
encompasses only Basic D&D. I have written a
program that is a little longer, but encompasses 14 classes of AD&D and with 10 extra
lines can create random characters.
Larry Melvin
Ledyard, Conn.
We got lots of letters about the program in
#74. We heard from owners of different
machines about how to make the program
work on their kind of computer. We heard
from people with ideas on how to rewrite lines
or small sections of the program to use
memory space more efficiently. We learned a
lot about what to do and what not to do when
we print program listings from now on.
But there are some things we cant do much
about. We cant print multiple variations of
programs to satisfy the quirks of each computers version of BASIC. We arent a fullfledged home-computer magazine, we dont
intend to be, and we cant sacrifice the space
that multiple listings would take up. We
assume that anyone who knows how to talk to
his computer also knows how to translate a
program if its in a version of BASIC his
machine doesnt use.
Many people took us to task for printing
such a lousy character-generation program for
the AD&D game. Well, we did and we didnt.
The program was for the D&D rule system,
not the AD&D game. (It sure would be a lousy
AD&D program if you used it that way.) Were
still keeping a light in the window for the
definitive AD&D character generator, hoping
itll show up one of these days.
We look for programs that are written as
efficiently and concisely as possible. On a practical level, weve given up waiting for perfect
programs to come our way; we dont doubt
that one day well receive a program that cant
be improved upon, but we (and many of you)
werent willing to wait any longer for the
magazine to start printing reader-submitted

programs. Dungeon Masters Personnel Service is not perfect and I thank those of you
who showed us ways to clean up the syntax
but we think it was one of the best among the
submissions we had received at the time it was
accepted. Well get better as we publish more
programs, and well keep looking and striving
for perfection. In the meantime, keep those
subscriptions logged on. KM

Language lapses
Dear Editor:
I was pleased to find the two articles on languages in issue #75. When I began to read the
first one, however, my enthusiasm lagged. One
reason for this was the passage: . . . It may be
no coincidence that ancient Rome, an aggressive, expansionist society, spoke Latin by putting the verb first. The position of the word
denoting and describing action shows clearly
the importance the Romans placed on action.
This is not only illogical, but also incorrect.
In Latin there is no standard word order. Poets
who wrote in Latin did so not by using rhyming patterns, but often by devising new ways in
which to arrange the words in the sentence.
Furthermore, as a Latin scholar, I can say that
although there is no standard word order,
verbs often come at the end of sentences.
I find the notion that culture shapes language to be absurd. (Their harsh, savage
nature will further lead orcs to use mostly
harsh, guttural sounds.) I find that to be an
ill-drawn conclusion. Would a society of artistic, peaceful people necessarily, then, use
words with pleasing sounds and soft consonants? I think not.
Also, even though the author describes orcs
as slow-witted beasts (which they are, as far as
I have heard), their language would not necessarily be as unimaginative as it is presented.
From what I can tell about Common Orcish,
there are no adjective clauses, imperatives, and
many ingredients of most languages.
Ben Grossblatt
Chevy Chase, Md.

Grays reply
Dear Editor:
Issue #75 of DRAGON Magazine contained
a caustic letter from Jon Clemens, accusing me
of creating information and including gross
inaccuracies in my short review of his game,
Universe II. After reading the letter, I called
Mr. Clemens and found him to be very friendly
and knowledgeable. We reached an understanding on two points: I didnt create any
information, and I had incredibly bad luck
playing his game.
As Mr. Clemens pointed out, the address
printed for his company was two years old and

D RAGON 3

no longer correct. He admitted to me that he

had not advertised the game for several years,
since it was full. I didnt see any ads for his
newer games until after the article had gone
into print, so there was no way I could have
known ahead of time that the address had
changed.
He stated in his letter that I had such limited
experience with the game I felt I had to create
information. That statement simply isnt true.
I played the game for six months; isnt that
long enough to decide whether a game is fun
or dull?
Mr. Clemens letter said that ships need no
fuel, but the article used that term: According
to the rules, The central power source on
each starship can supply a maximum of five
units of power per time period. It must be
apportioned . . . to two functions: propulsion
and combat strength. This source of power is
what I referred to as fuel. Perhaps I should
have used the term power but I didnt
make up the information.
He says there is no such device as an alien
escape pod that can be built. To show that
this was the term expressed to me, and that I
was correct in referring to it in my article,
heres a part of my turn sheet for Turn #8:
AT THE END OF THIS TIME PERIOD YOUR
STARSHIP WAS IN
QUADRANT: IV
SECTOR: AF20
SHUTTLE #1
YOUR SHUTTLE CREW DISCOVERED THE
WRECKAGE OF AN ALIEN ESCAPE POD.
IN IT THEY FOUND A DIAGRAM OF SOME FORM
OF EQUIPMENT.
THE FUNCTION PERFORMED BY THE
EQUIPMENT IS UNKNOWN.

I had trouble finding out what this alien

gizmo is or does. On Turn #10, I asked, How
will I ever find out what the alien escape pod
does or how it works? The reply was that it
functions about the same way as the one built
into your ship. Is it any wonder that I quit
playing this frustrating game?
Next, Mr. Clemens reveals that there are a
range of very diversified activities in the game.
However, they are not mentioned in the rules.
After four months, all I could do was ask on
Turn #8, Is there anything else besides ships,
planets, and asteroids?
Now, an update: Mr. Clemens told me that
the game has been expanded greatly since I
played. Since most of the niceties of the game
are not mentioned in the rules, he was free to
add to and improve his design over the past
few years. Now that he has let the cat out of
the bag (to some extent) in his letter, all of us
know more about the possibilities in Universe
II and Universe III.
This whole situation brings an important
issue to light. The information that was available to me as a player is always a great deal less
than the information I could get as a reviewer
of play-by-mail games. Acting as a player, it
would be very hard to give a fair and accurate
review of a game unless I had played it for
years. But on the other hand, playing as a
reviewer allows me to know things that other
players wouldnt get that easily. I think readers
are better served by being told as much as possible, if what they read entices them to get
involved. Ive always been careful not to give
away any secrets or otherwise spoil the game
for any readers who decide to play.
Michael Gray
Williams Bay, Wis.

Ad observations
Dear Editor:
How can you justify wasting 32 pages [in
issue #74] on a brochure for a convention
which most of your readers will not attend?
This booklet should have been mailed to interested parties, not published in your magazine.
William C. Jerome
Rennselaer, N.Y.
Dear Dragon:
Lately I am noticing the increased use of
advertisements [in the magazine]. In issue #74 I
counted 68 ads, not including the GEN CON
special. Could you not reduce this number?
Geof McKinney
Rye, Colo.
First, the convention brochure didnt
waste any space, because readers still got a
full-sized magazine in addition to that
supplement.
Second, we cannot (and wouldnt if we
could) cut down the amount of space devoted
to advertising in any issue of DRAGON
magazine. On the contrary, we want more
advertising and so (we think) should our
readers, because the more paid space we sell,
the more pages we can put between the covers.
Our standard page count has just gone up
(from 80 to 96) as a direct result of an increase
in advertising space requests; some of that
extra 16 pages, but not nearly all of it, is
used to hold those ads. What it boils down to
is more reading material articles and advertisements both per issue. Is that anything to
complain about? KM

Magazines will split fantasy & SF

In the beginning, there was DRAGON magazine.
Since its inception, it has encompassed the rise of the
D&D game and other role-playing games including those with science-fiction themes.
Now theres Ares magazine, a bi-monthly periodical resurrected from the demise of Simulations Publications Inc. Ares used to be primarily a simulation
map-and-counter gaming magazine, and even now,
four issues per year contain complete board games. In
addition, every issue has an expansive Role-Playing
Gamer section dedicated to SF role-playing games.
Originally, Ares magazine balanced its content
between fantasy and SF. And in the past, DRAGON
magazine included science fiction in its pages.
But no more. Both magazines have narrowed and
streamlined their focal points. Effective with the next
issue of each periodical, the fantasy-related material
that was in Ares magazine will now appear in
DRAGON magazine, and the SF articles and features
that formerly appeared in DRAGON magazine will
now be showcased between the Ares covers.
The realignment means that fans of both genres
will receive substantially more material. Fantasy
enthusiasts can now get more of what they like inside

4 AUGUST

1983

DRAGON magazine, and those who favor science fiction will find more pages devoted to that side of gaming in Ares magazine than DRAGON magazine was
able to provide while at the same time trying to
satisfy fantasy fans. Products like the GAMMA
WORLD, STAR FRONTIERS, and Traveller
games have never received the attention they deserved
in DRAGON magazine. Now, Ares magazine can
help correct that long-standing inequity.
Authors and artists would do well to note this
change, so they know which magazine to address with
materials submitted for evaluation. The staff of
DRAGON magazine will forward all SF submissions
to the Ares staff, and fantasy materials sent to the Ares
editors desk will be sent in the opposite direction.
(Contributors can reach either magazine by simply
writing to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake
Geneva WI 53147.)
We hope that readers of either or both magazines
will see the merit in this division of coverage. Dragon
Publishing and TSR, Inc., are committed to serving
our contributors, our customers, and the readers of
our magazines to the best of our ability, and with the
satisfaction of our readers uppermost in our minds.

DRAGON 5

The ecology
of the

Beholder
by Ed Greenwood
and
Roger E. Moore
Many tales are told, began the sage,
of the dreaded eye tyrants. At the mention of this name, the restless students sitting around him in the outdoor amphitheater grew quiet. The sage smiled and
continued. Youve listened to stories of
these fantastic creatures, seemingly born
to the art of destruction; wild tales of battle done with them, of the sorcerous powers of their many eyes, of their rich hoards
of treasure. But few have cared to learn
much of the habits and nature of these
creatures. Know you now that I have
studied the beholder for many seasons,
and can tell you in truth what was not
known before.
The sage paused and looked out at his
youthful audience. Some of you may be
thinking about the good it would do to
destroy the race of eye tyrants. Some of
you may be thinking about the fame it
would bring you to slay one, or the
wealth it would have hidden away. . . .
Well, no harm in dreaming. The sages
gaze fell upon a young boy who looked
up at him with unusual intensity; the
sage stared back at him, but the boy did
not look away.
Perhaps, he went on, some of you
may actually do battle with one of these
monsters, for whatever reason. What I
have to tell you may well save you and
your companions as well.
The sage looked away from the boy and
turned to a blank slate behind him. Producing a piece of chalk, he began sketching a diagram of the beholder with rapid
but careful strokes.
The beholder is shaped like a great
sphere, almost the height of a man. The
body is covered by several hard plates of
chitin which overlap one another
slightly, protecting the internal organs. A
magical organ called the levator magnus,
located in the center of the body surrounded by the creatures brain, produces
an influence that causes the beholder to
float in the air. This allows it to move
about slowly, up and down, left or right,
forward or back at a slow speed, like that

6 A UGUST

1983

of a pacing man. No magical spell or

device can negate this levitation, though
beholders cannot resist the push of great
winds; most of them lair underground
where they may go as they will, while
others move about in desolate, windless
areas where few other creatures will go.
From atop this armored sphere project
ten eyestalks, each of which has a limited
maneuverability and field of vision.
These eyes, however, do more than just
see. They are also able to project,
instantly and at will, various spell-like
powers of awful effect. Flesh may be
turned to stone; armor, weapons, skin
and bone disintegrated; charms may be
projected, and the influence of death
magic itself may be brought to bear.
And there is also an eleventh eye,
greater in diameter than the others, set in
the midline of the spherical body. This
great eye can project an anti-magical ray
that negates the use of all spells, whether
cast from a device or from the mind and
hands. This ray is a faintly visible beam
of grayish light, extending out from the
eye in a conical shape up to 140 yards
from the monster. This cone is one foot
across at the eye, and reaches ten feet in
diameter at its greatest extent. This beam
will focus upon one target at a time, and
may be shifted to keep track of a moving

opponent. This beam has proven the

downfall of many would-be slayers of an
eye tyrant.
The sage tossed the chalk aside and
rubbed the dust from his hands. The class
was utterly silent.
The diet of beholders, he continued,
is widely varied; of necessity, of course,
since they can easily defeat most creatures, and thus soon exhaust their food
supply in any given area. They vastly
prefer raw meat, in large quantities,
though they may also consume plant
matter and small quantities of gravel to
aid in digestion. They are omnivores who
seem able, given the opportunity, to endlessly gorge themselves. Waste matter and
indigestibles like bone they spit out, far
enough away from their lairs to avoid
betraying the hiding places of their
wealth. They seem to prefer the flesh of
horses, cattle, and humans.
Turning to the slate again, the sage
picked up the chalk and sketched out a
triangular shape. You should all be
familiar with the food-chain pyramid; at
the bottom are plants, upon which feed
the herbivores, upon which feed the carnivores, and so forth. Beholders sit at the
top of the pyramid, preying upon all
things. Because of their power, however,
they must spread out widely to allow one

another food enough to eat, and to avoid

competition. It is almost unknown for
more than one beholder to be seen at a
time, though it is known that they will
cooperate with their own kind, and they
can speak with each other in their own
tongue.
Though evil, they are prone to lawfulness as well and may take on servant
creatures by duress or charm to serve as
guardians of treasure, or as guardians of
the beholders personal safety. These servant creatures are also a means of implementing the eye tyrants plans to carry
destruction to all other life it encounters,
and accumulate magical treasure. Gargoyles are highly favored for such uses,
since they are too stupid and too undisciplined to resist the beholders demands,
and not powerful enough to give their
master discomfort and perhaps bring
about their annihilation.
The sage paused for a breath, then continued with, We now come to reproduction. While this topic usually brought
smiles and giggles to the faces of the
class, now the students watched the sage
with complete attention. Once a year,
every beholder lays a clutch of one to four
eggs, each about a foot in diameter, by
expelling them from the internal organ
that produces eggs and spitting the eggs

from its mouth. These eggs are deadwhite, spherical, and leathery in texture
and appearance. They have a repulsive
odor that repels predators, but which
unfortunately leads the more dedicated
foes of the eye tyrants unerringly to the
clutch.
The laying of eggs is instinctive, but
the beholder consciously chooses the site
where the eggs will be left always far
from its lair, and usually upon a rocky,
desolate height. Such spots have been
used by beholders over many centuries,
and it is thought that all such creatures
remember their birthplaces and return
there to lay their eggs. After being laid,
the eggs will hatch in two to twelve
months; egg-laying and hatching occur
in no particular season.
Once laid, the eggs are left alone to
their fate. Few beholder eggs hatch any
more; humans, demi-humans, and
humanoid races all will go to great
lengths to destroy them. And the influence of nature, with its storms and diseases, must be accounted for as well.
Those eggs that survive will swell and
grow over time until just before hatching,
when they are three feet across. The
young beholder then expands suddenly,
splitting the shell apart, and it is free. At
this time it eats its own shell, and is

immediately capable of using all the

powers of its parent. Its bite is less powerful, much like a dagger thrust in effect,
and certain of its magical influences are
at reduced effectiveness, but it will grow
within a years time to be as dangerous as
any other of its race.
The sage settled himself against the
stone table he used for a lectern. The life
span of a beholder is unknown, but
thought to be very long indeed. One specimen has survived, if the legends about it
can be trusted, for nine hundred seasons.
As for social and philosophical aspects of
the beholders existence . . . your guesses
equal mine for accuracy. They desire the
extinction of all species but themselves
and those they can manipulate to increase
their power and influence. This is almost
all that is known of their innermost
thoughts and designs.
There the sage paused and looked
about the class expectantly. After a
moment, the young boy who had caught
the sages attention earlier spoke up.
Teacher, he said, what is the best way
to kill one of them?
I knew you would ask that, thought the
old man to himself. He looked over the
heads of his audience, at a point far away.
The best way to kill one of them . . . .
That is difficult to say. In combat,

D RAGON 7

beholders prefer not to close with an

enemy, and will stand off a distance to
use their spells. The little eye that performs telekinesis will come into play first,
to hurl missiles at its opponents, catch
light opponents and cast them into the
air to be dropped, or to deflect oncoming
missiles one at a time.
The great eye, with its anti-magical
influence, will focus on anyone who
appears capable of spell casting, that is,
anyone not wearing armor. As for closing
with it, that cannot be done in the outdoors since it will levitate itself up out of
the reach of weaponry, while tilting itself
and allowing its eyes to continue to do
their work. Perhaps the best way to slay
one would be to attack it at long range
with masses of archers, stout and paid
well, and supported well by magic-armed
fighters in case gargoyles lurked about.
One could put poison in baited traps to
catch the creature unawares, though a
long wait is assured. One could use
arcane and enchanted devices at either a
great range, or at a closer range with the
aid of protective rings or cloaks, and hope
that the protection is enough. . . .
At this juncture the sages voice faded
away as he looked into the eyes of the boy
who had asked the difficult question. He
remembered that the boy was a member
of a nearby church, one that was rather
strict and on the militant side, but a good
church nonetheless. . . . And wasnt it

8 A UGUST

1983

said that this boy was taking some kind

of special training?
Or, the sage went on, someone who
was immune to most of the magical powers of the beholder, such as a paladin
with a holy sword such a person could
catch a beholder in its underground lair,
and would stand a good chance of closing
with it to destroy it in combat.
The boy nodded, apparently satisfied.
After another pause, the sage dusted off
his hands again. Class is over. I will see
you all again tomorrow morning. He
reached around behind him for his books
and scrolls and carefully piled them up to
take them back to his library. Before he
left he turned one last time to follow the
progress of the boy who had asked the
question, but the youth was lost in the
crowd of children who were now scattering to the four winds.
Good luck, said the sage in a soft
voice, as if to himself. Then he too took
his leave of the amphitheater, and all was
quiet again.
Appendix
1. Whenever a hit is attempted on a
beholder, roll percentile dice to see where
the hit might land:
01-75: Hit vs. AC 0 body (takes twothirds of hit-point total of beholder
before creature is slain).
76-85: Hit vs. AC 7 main (11th) eye
(takes one-third of hit point total of

beholder before eye is destroyed, but

beholder still alive).
86-95: Hit vs. AC 2 eyestalk, one
only; roll d10 and use chart on p. 10 of
the Monster Manual to determine
which eyestalk is hit. Beholders with
45-54 hp have eyestalks that take 8 hp
damage each before being severed; 5564 hp beholders have eyestalks taking
10 hp damage; 65-75 hp beholders
have eyestalks taking 12 hp damage. If
severed, eye in question will cease
functioning.
96-00: Hit vs. AC 7 small eye, one
only; roll d10 as above to determine
which eye is affected. Any hit on a
small eye immediately destroys it and
its powers.
2. The magic resistance of a beholder is
listed as special because of the antimagic ray emanating from the 11th eye.
The ray, as stated by the sage, only causes
magic spells and spell-like powers to
cease functioning within its area of effect;
the plusses of a magic sword, for
instance, would remain functional (since
this is not a spell-like power), but a wand
of fireballs would not be able to cast a
fireball spell while the ray was enveloping it and its wielder.
3. Beholders are considered as aerial
maneuverability class A, despite their
slow speed.
4. Newly hatched beholders may be
considered to have 45 hp, and charms,
sleep, slow, and death spells they cast are
saved against at a +2 bonus. Unhatched
beholders are AC 4, have no attacks, and
take 25 hp to destroy.
5. The spell-like powers of the
beholders eyes work instantly, in the first
segment of a melee round, but must
recharge for the rest of the round before
firing again.
6. Beholders may levitate themselves
without limit, to the height of the breathable atmosphere.
7. The arrangement of each beholders
eyes is different from nearly all others;
referees should work out this detail prior
to combat to determine which eyes may
fire in which direction, since the small
eyes cannot point in just any direction.

by Lenard Lakofka

For NPCs only: the death master

A magic-using monster to play against, not as

INTRODUCTION/SERMON
On the theme of the AD&D game
As corny as it may sound, I believe the
theme of the ADVANCED DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS game system is the struggle between good and evil. It is a commitment to team action over individual
play. Too often, an AD&D adventure or
campaign is played as a me first game.
This is quickly seen when the party tries
to divide treasure, or the thief says that he
is role playing when he keeps the biggest gem for himself.
A well-played AD&D campaign, in
which the party becomes stronger as time
goes on, in which material is divided by
The death master is a sub-class of
magic-user. He will be ultimately chaotic
evil, although his early alignment might
even be lawful good. The death master
will change alignment, moving one step
closer to chaotic evil (if he isnt there
already) upon the gaining of every two
levels of experience. Goodness is lost first,
and then lawfulness. Thus, a death master who starts out as lawful good will
turn lawful neutral upon attaining 3rd
level, true neutral at 5th level, neutral evil
at 7th level, and chaotic evil at 9th level.
In any event, a death master will be chaotic evil by the time he reaches 9th level,
and in most cases the switch will not take
that long. In this downward spiral, no
magic even a wish or a helm of opposite alignment can move the death
masters alignment in the direction away
from chaotic evil.
The ability score requirements for this
non-player character are as follows:
strength of at least 9, intelligence at least
15, wisdom always less than 13, dexterity
at least 12, constitution of 14 or better,
and charisma always below 8.
A death master can be a human, dwarf,
or half-orc, and members of any of those
races can advance to 13th level. No death
master can ever be multi-classed or
double-classed. The death master has
some of the abilities of an alchemist,
since many of his magics involve the
preparation of potions, salves, fluids,
creams, and other sorts of mixtures.
Death masters can learn and use only
1983 Lenard Lakofka and E. Gary Gygax

judging who in the party can use it best,

in which action and decision is shared by
the group and not performed by the
caller, is unfortunately not seen too
often. Alas, this is an opportunity missed.
The AD&D game should not have
assassin player characters. In fact, no
player character should be evil at all
unless adverse magic affects him. Yet,
many players will have their characters
turn evil at the first opportunity, with
greed being the biggest single cause of
this change. In a situation I experienced,
the paladin in a group tried to talk the
ranger into knifing the magic-user in the
back because the magic-user wanted the

recently found (and yet to be identified)

wand. Players will change their characters alignments at the drop of a hat, and
often without enough of a penalty
inflicted by the Dungeon Master.
However, I do not want to belabor the
point. As a way of putting evil in its
proper place, here is presented an evil
character that makes an assassin look like
the boy next door. The death master is
meant as a non-player character one
the player characters and their party have
to defeat. Please use the character that
way only. If I ever run into a playercharacter death master at a convention, I
may turn evil myself. . . .

THE DEATH MASTER

(This chart is for reference only; the death master can never be
anything but a non-player character.)
4-sided dice for
Experience
accumulated hit
points
Level
points
Level title
1
01,333
1+1
Grave Robber
1,3342,666
Tomb Haunter
2
2+2
2,6675,333
3+3
Necropolite
3
5,33413,333
4
4+4
Skeleton Master
13,33426,667
5
5+5
Zombie Master
6
26,66753,333
6+6
Ghoul Master
53,334113,333
Ghast Master
7
7+7
113,334233,333
8+8
Shadow Master
8
233,334466,667
9+9
Necromancer
9
466,668933,333
10+10
Mummy Master
10
933,3341,877,777
11
11+11
Ghost Master
1,877,7783,333,333 12
Lich Master
12+12
13
3,333,334+
13+13
Death Master
the knife, dagger, sickle, scythe, and/or
scimitar even to save their lives they
will not pick up another weapon. Death
masters can use magical weapons of the
eligible types, with the exception of a
flame tongue scimitar, which is prohibited. If a death master picks up an aligned
weapon that he cannot use, he will take
double ego damage unless the weapons
alignment is more evil and/or chaotic
than the death masters current alignment. In the latter case, the death master
will instantly convert to the new alignment. For example, if a neutral 3rd level
death master picked up an evil neutral
scimitar, he would take no damage but

would become evil neutral at once. If, on

the other hand, the scimitar were lawful
good, he or she would take double ego
damage.
Notes on new weapon types: The sickle
weighs approximately 15 gp, length 15-18
inches, space required 2 feet, speed factor
3, damage vs. S or M opponents 3-6, vs. L
opponents 1-3, vs. armor as a short sword
would be rated. The scythe weighs
approximately 140 gp, length about 5
feet, space required 5 feet, speed factor 8,
damage vs. S or M opponents 2-9, vs. L
opponents 1-6, vs. armor as a bardiche.
Death masters shun armor of all types
but may use rings, cloaks and jewelry of

D RAGON 11

protection, including bracers of defense.

Death masters may employ all potions,
except for those that control living
things, those that can only be used by
fighters, those that are made for scrying,
and those that heal. They cannot use
scrolls, except for those penned in the
Language of Death or those that control
or protect from the undead. Such scrolls
bypass the need, if any, for salves, creams,
fluids, etc., that would otherwise produce
the same effect.
Rings usable by death masters are:
feather fall, fire resistance, free action,
invisibility, protection, regeneration (see
below), spell turning, warmth and X-ray
vision. All other rings will not function
on them unless they somehow affect the
undead. A ring of regeneration, when
placed on a death master of 9th level or
higher, will instantly become invisible.
Further, it will become non-corporeal
when functioning one round after the
death master dies. Cutting off the death
masters head, or the hand bearing the
ring, will stop the regeneration process.
Death masters may use a staff of withering and wands of fear, magic detection,
negation and paralyzation. A few miscellaneous magic items can be used, including: alchemy jug, amulet of life protection, amulet of the planes (usable by
them only to go to the lower planes of
Pandemonium, the Abyss and Tarterus
plus the Negative Material plane), beaker

of plentiful potions, brooch of shielding,

cloak of protection, cube of force, cubic
gate, dust of all types, helm of comprehending languages, Keoghtoms ointment, Nolzurs marvelous pigments, all
phylacteries, all scarabs, and a sphere of
annihilation. Additionally, they may use
some items specific to their profession.
These items are detailed later in this
article.
The death master begins to learn specific alchemist-like skills at 3rd level and
certain specific spells at 4th level. His
teacher is always another death master.
The death master must start up his own
laboratory for a cost of 400 gp, and new
equipment for the lab must be purchased
at each level for an additional 400 gp.
Costs for a specific raw material are
separate from these laboratory costs. Most
spell-like effects use special preparations
that must be made in advance.
Special abilities
The death master has the following
special powers and abilities, some of
which are constant and some of which are
gained/lost as he advances in levels:
1. First-level death masters obtain one
experience point of experience for each
grave they dig, and two experience points
for every stolen body. This award does
not apply beyond 1st level.
2. Second-level death masters obtain
two experience points for every body laid

to rest. At other levels there is no experience award for this action.

3. Third-level death masters obtain
three experience points for every properly
embalmed body. This award is unique to
this level only.
4. All death masters can identify a
potion of undead control by tasting just a
drop. Such a potion has double effect and
double duration when imbibed by a death
master.
5. An undead creature must fail a saving throw of 8 to successfully attack a
death master. If the death master attacks
the undead, of course, this partial
immunity is overturned. Thus, undead
may attack a group of characters and a
death master will be allowed to walk
away unharmed even if a lich or a vampire is the attacker or among them.
6. At fourth level and above, the death
master can speak with undead at will.
This does not create a compulsion to
obey and cannot operate on mindless
undead.
7. At seventh level the death master
can speak with dead as a cleric of the
same level without use of a spell. This
power is usable once per day and only
once on the same corpse.
8. The death master gains a cumulative 5% resistance to sleep and charm
spells for each of his or her levels. If a
saving throw is allowed, the death master
is entitled to it if his magic resistance

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does not overcome the sleep or charm

power/spell.
9. At 9th level and above the death
master is immune to paralysis and hold
spells, including the touch of the undead.
10. At 11th level and above the death
master is immune to level draining and
strength draining by the undead, though
normal damage from such an attack
would still occur.
Death master spells
All spells of the death master must be
learned just as a magic-user learns spells,
but some spells given in the list that follows are the heart of his profession. These
spells will be marked with +1, +2 or +3 to
signify the effective bonus in intelligence
points the death master gains when trying to learn that particular spell. Those
First level
1. Animate skeletons *(+3)#
2. Animate zombies *(+3)#
3. Cause light wounds * #
4. Comprehend languages
5. Detect magic
6. Feather fall
7. Identify (+1)
8. Plant death *(+2)#
9. Preserve
10. Protection from good
11. Read magic
12. Scare
13. Shield
14. Unseen servant
15. Wizard mark
16. Write #

spells that require some manufactured

material (a salve, potion, cream, fluid,
paste, etc.) are marked with a # sign.
Those that are new or have a different
description from that found in the official
rules are marked with an asterisk (*).
Spells usable by level
Exp.
Level of spell
Level
1
2
3
4
5
1
4
5
2
6
2
1
2
1
1
7
2
2
1
1
8
9
2
2
2
2
10
3
3
3
2
11
3
3
3
3
1
4
4
3
3
2
12
4
4
4
4
3
13

Second level
1. Attract ghouls *
2. Darkness 15 r.
3. Detect good/evil
4. Death armor *(+2)
5. Find familiar * #
6. Invisibility
7. Knock
8. Magic mouth
9. Pyrotechnics
10. Ray of enfeeblement
11. Stinking cloud
12. Wizard lock

Third level
1. Dispel magic
2. Feign death (+2)
3. Monster summoning I *
4. Protection good/evil 10r.
5. Ghast production *(+2)#
6. Ray of paralysis *(+1)
7. Tongues
8. Wall of ice

Fourth level
Fifth level
Sixth level
1. Charm undead *(+3)
1. Animate dead
1. Death spell
2. Dig
2. Cloudkill
2. Energy drain
3. Fear
3. Cause serious wounds * # 3. Harm/heal
4. Ice storm
4. Cone of cold
4. Lichdom *(+1)#
5. Mummy production *(+1)# 5. Finger of death
5. Undead production *(+2)#
6. Shadow summoning *(+1) 6. Ghost production *
6. Vampire production *(+1)#
7. Wight production *(+2)
7. Hold undead *(+2)
8. Wraith production *(+1) 8. Teleport
Notes:
All spells of a death master are defined, for the purpose of range, duration, and
area of effect, as if the character were three levels lower than his actual level. Thus,
a fourth-level death master casts spells as a first-level magic-user or cleric.
Unless otherwise noted, a death master spell takes 1 segment per spell level to
cast, even if the normal spell text for a cleric or magic-user may be faster or slower.
Spell notes/descriptions:
First level
Animate skeletons is simply an animate
dead spell that produces one skeleton for
every level of the death master. The death
master must prepare a special salve to rub
on the bones to make the skeleton receptive. This takes one round per skeleton.
The magic to animate them then takes
only a segment to cast. The rubbed skeletons can be so animated anytime within
24 hours after their rubdown. The salve
costs 10 gp per skeleton. Spell range is 30
feet plus 10 feet per effective level of the
death master.
Animate zombies is simply an animate

dead spell that produces one zombie for

every effective level of the death master.
The corpse must be immersed in a bath of
special salts for 1 full turn prior to spell
casting. Such a bath can soak ten corpses
for a cost of 200 gp. The corpses then so
soaked can be animated in two segments
at a range of 50 feet plus 10 feet per effective level of the death master.
Cause light wounds will inflict 2-8 hit
points of damage if a successful touch is
made on a victims bare skin. The death
master must use a paste rubbed on his
hands to activate the magic. A word of
command then makes his hands into
weapons for three rounds or until a touch

has occurred. The cost of the paste is 75

gp for enough to make three applications. Smearing the paste, assuming it is
available, takes only a segment.
Plant death requires a fine mist spray
be applied to the plant(s) to be killed. A
potion-sized bottle would cost 200 gp and
could cover 2,000 square feet. Then, upon
the utterance of a word of command, the
plants within 100 feet of the death master
will die. Trees are allowed a saving throw
of 11. Living mobile plants (such as treants) are allowed that saving throw plus
another as a monster of the appropriate
number of hit dice. Once killed, the
plants wither and rot rapidly, and no new
plants will grow in the area for a year.
Second level
Attract ghoul is similar to a find familiar spell, using the same ingredients, but
the ghoul that comes is not willing to
serve unless it is fed regularly. Loyalty
and obedience is gained at 1%/day of feeding and attention. A safe lair must always
be provided.
Death armor is produced by pouring a
cream on the body and rubbing it in.
This rubbing takes two full rounds.
Then, anytime within the next hour per
effective level of the death master, the
speaking of a command sentence will
activate the armor coating. Anyone
touching the death master with exposed
flesh (perhaps to cast a spell or as a monk

GEN CON is a registered service mark owned by TSR, Inc.

with an open hand attack) must save vs.

spell or take 2-12 hit points of damage.
The armor is effective for 1 round per
actual level of the death master. Multiple
touches will still harm the attacker. Note:
The spell is defensive only, and the death
master gains nothing by trying to touch
someone though he or she can position
him or herself so that he or she must be
touched to get by. Naturally, if a weapon
hit occurs the death master takes normal
damage with no damage to the attacker.
Death armor will harm undead. Any
damage from the monks open hand
attack or a claw/bite attack will still be
scored, of course.
Find familiar uses the same ingredients
as for a magic-user, but the cost is
doubled. The death master uses the following table (roll d20) for find familiar:
1-4, black cat; 5-8, weasel; 9, imp; 10,
ghast; 11, mephit; 12, ghoul; 13-20, no
reply but try again in one month. If an
imp, ghast, ghoul, or mephit appears it
does not add any hit points to the death
master. If it is eliminated, however, the
death master will lose 2-7 hit points
permanently.
Third level
Monster summoning I will attract
nearby skeletons and zombies not already
animated or controlled by the death master. From 2-7 will arrive even if they must
abandon a place they were ordered to

guard. They will arrive via teleportation

in 1-4 rounds and will fight till destroyed.
If not destroyed they will teleport back
when the spell duration of 5-20 rounds
runs out.
Ghast production requires a ghoul to
be at hand. The death master may animate only one ghast per spell. The body
must be infused with a special liquid that
costs 400 gp to produce. The process takes
1 hour to prepare the body and 1 turn to
cast the spell. Such ghasts cannot procreate themselves but are like ghasts in
every other way. Someone killed by one of
these ghasts has a minus 1% to the chance
to be raised from the dead for each hour
the figure is dead. Thus, after 70 hours a
victim with a constitution of 13 would
have only a 20% chance to be successfully
raised. If raised, however, subsequent
raises would be allowed at the figures
full constitution score. Note: Magics like
remove curse, limited wish, etc. can
remove the onus on such a corpse so that
raising is normal.
Ray of paralysis takes only one segment
to activate and is a chief attack/defense
spell for a death master. The ray is
pencil-thin and has a length of 60 feet
plus 10 feet per level of the death master.
When it is fired at a living figure, that
figure is allowed a double saving throw.
The first is vs. spell to see if the ray hits at
all. If the saving throw is made, the ray
misses but those in direct line behind or

D RAGON 15

near the victim (especially those in nearby

melee) might then be struck. If the ray
does hit, the victim saves vs. paralysis at
2. If this throw fails, the victim is paralyzed for 3d12 rounds.
Fourth level
Charm undead will work only on those
undead having intelligence of 9 or
higher. The undead (only one target)
must make a saving throw at 3 or obey
the death master and perform some mission for him. The undead will not openly
expose itself to destruction (a vampire
would not go into open sunlight), and
such an obvious order will instantly cancel the charm. Once a specific order is fulfilled the charm breaks, though some
orders might take years to fulfill. An
order is a simple sentence of 12 words or
less that is adjudicated as being reasonable by the Dungeon Master.
Mummy production requires an
embalming fluid that costs 1,400 gp. The
body must be wrapped and prepared,
which will require six full hours. The
spell then takes but 4 segments to complete by a simple command word issued
within 24 hours of the embalming. One
mummy is thus produced. It will obey the
death master and do his bidding, but is
allowed a saving throw of 17 (attempted
daily) to become independent of the death
masters control.
Shadow summoning will produce 2-7
shadows which will arrive in 1-8 rounds.
The summoning takes 4 segments of casting time. They will stay and obey the
death master for 1-20 rounds.
Wight production requires a corpse
and a bone from a wight. If a cubic gate
or amulet of the planes (or a similar
device) is available, the wight bone is not
required, since the death master can then
actually touch the Negative Material
Plane to gain the necessary power. For
every wight so produced, the death master
will lose one hit point permanently
unless he saves vs. death magic. The
wight so produced will always have maximum hit points, and it can procreate
itself and command those wights to its
service. Note that only the common wight
produced by the spell is friendly to the
death master. Lesser wights will attack
the death master if they fail the aforementioned saving throw (recall that an
undead will not attack a death master
unless it fails a saving throw of 8).
One in five wights produced by this
spell is atypical. It cannot drain energy
levels. Instead, it drains hit points permanently with its touch. This type of
wight will cause the living victim to fight
at 1 per touch for 1 full hour after each
touch. For example, consider a victim of
4th level with 30 hit points. On the first
touch, the victim takes 5 points of damage. His new hit-point total is 25, and he
will fight as 3rd level for 1 hour. If a
second touch occurs (for, say, 2 points of
damage), his permanent hit-point total

16 AUGUST

1983

will be 23 and he will fight as 2nd level

for 1 hour, then 3rd level the next hour,
and then is back to being 4th level. The
lost hit points can be gained back by restoration at the rate of 3-12 points per
application of the spell, but if the victim
gains a level (or levels) of experience
prior to such restoration, then the hit
points are forever lost, even if the power
of a wish is used. A limited wish will restore 2-12 hit points and a full wish 3-18
hit points if the casting is done before the
victim gains a level. No other magic will
restore lost hit points. This sort of atypical wight can procreate to produce
lesser undead with the same power.
Wraith production is identical to wight
production in all respects. An atypical
wraith is produced one time in seven as
above.
Fifth level
Cause serious wounds requires that a
liquid be produced from boiling the
remains of a ghoul or ghast for 24 hours.
The remaining liquid is enough to fill 1
small vial (like those used to carry
holy/unholy water) per effective level of
the death master. The infusions added
components cost 2,000 gp. The vial is
then thrown (see section of DMG on
grenade-like missiles) like a vial of holy
water. A direct hit will inflict 5-19 (2d8
+3) hit points of damage, with a splash
hit doing 2-5 (d4 +1) points of damage.
The vials of liquid will remain viable for
1 full day per level of the death master,
plus a variable of 1-20 days. Exposing the
liquid to testing (putting it in contact
with the air) destroys it at once. The vial
will not radiate evil.
Ghost production is unlike other death
master spells in that the death master will
have no control over the ghost once it
fully forms 48 hours after the spell is cast.
The ghost so produced will not know
how it was created and will be fully freewilled. It would attack the death master if
it met him again (if it failed the saving
throw of 8 allowed to the death master).
The victim must have had an intelligence
of 14 or more and have been at least 9th
level (in any class) prior to death. Hit
points for such a ghost are maximum.
Hold undead literally stops a target
undead in its tracks. It is allowed a saving
throw vs. spell. The undead cannot be
harmed while in this state, nor can it be
bypassed; attempting to do either of these
things will release it instantly. However,
the death master and others in the party
are safe to flee via another route. The
hold undead spell takes 2 segments, to
cast. The duration of the spell when used
against a particular type of undead is
expressed in minutes and determined by
dividing 120 by the undeads hit dice.
(Eliminate any bonus hit points; 3+2 HD
would be read as 3. All fractions are
dropped.) Thus, a ghoul of 2 HD is held
in place for 60 minutes, while a vampire
of 8 HD can be held for 15 minutes. This

formula applies to the undead from the

FIEND FOLIO Tome as well.
Sixth level
Harm or heal is identical to the 6th
level cleric spell, except that casting time
is only 6 segments.
Lichdom can be cast on a willing high
priest or magic-user of at least 18th level,
or a death master of 13th level. The death
master must make a potion for the spell
caster to consume. Its cost will be 6,000
gp. The spell caster is allowed his normal
unadjusted saving throw vs. death magic.
If the victim makes the saving throw, he
becomes a lich in 24 hours. If he fails the
saving throw, then he is merely dead. The
spell caster can be raised in the usual
manner and the process tried again.
However, the spell caster will have lost a
level of experience and may have to
requalify to become a lich. The death
master can cast this spell on himself.
Undead production is designed to produce the vast number of evil (but not neutral) undead listed in the FIEND FOLIO
Tome. This spectrum is very diversified.
Only one undead, regardless of hit dice,
can be so manufactured. That undead
cannot procreate itself but will conform
to the statistics and abilities given in the
FIEND FOLIO book in all other ways.
Its hit points will always be maximum.
The undead, to rise up from being a
corpse, must make its in-life saving
throw vs. poison or the spell will fail.
Vampire production will also produce
a spectre if the death master so chooses.
The corpse must have been killed by a
vampire or spectre, but in a way that
would not allow the corpse to rise as one
of those undead (i.e., killed from damage,
not from levels being drained). The
corpse is allowed a saving throw vs. spell,
and if it fails it becomes a vampire or
spectre. The undead so produced is
answerable to the death master for one
year, but thereafter is free-willed, bearing
no animosity toward the death master.
The potions required cost 6,000 gp for a
vampire and 4,500 gp for a spectre. This
undead will have maximum hit points
but cannot procreate until it is
free-willed.
Special magic items
Below are listed and described magic
weapons and items that are usable to
their full potency only by a death master.
Withering Scythe: This weapon is +2 to
hit and does normal damage with no
bonus. However, the victim must save vs.
poison or also suffer the loss of 1 hit
point per round thereafter from a slow
but powerful poison effect. The only
antidotes for this poison are cure disease
cast by a cleric or druid of at least 9th
level, heal, regenerate, restoration, limited
wish, or wish. A good-aligned figure who
simply picks up the scythe is subject to
the same poison effect.
Eyes of the Undead: These cups that fit

over the eyes look like any of the other

magical types. However, they allow a figure to see living things at a range of 90
feet even in total darkness and even if the
figure is invisible or is somehow cloaked
or protected from normal sight. The eyes
will see an aura of life without being able
to see details of the figures face, etc.
Wearing the eyes cancels normal or magical infravision. The eyes of the undead
prevent a vampire from charming their
wearer. If worn for 1 full day, the eyes
will mold themselves to the wearers eyes
and cannot be removed until that figure
is dead. To others, the victims eyes look
totally white. In all cases, the wearers
natural charisma will drop by two points
while the eyes are worn so that they can
be seen by others.
Cloak of Night: This magical cloak
will operate only on a non-good figure. If
a good figure wears it, he will automatically be attacked first by any undead
encountered even if those undead must
push past other party members to get at
the wearer. The cloak, when worn by a
non-good figure, confers the following
powers at night only: polymorph with all
possessions into a bat, stirge, crow, or owl
at will in 1 segment (the figure must
return to normal shape before changing
into a different form); gain 90-foot infravision (whether underground or not); and
act as a cloak of elvenkind.
Spectre Wand: This wand only operates
in the hands of a death master. It fires a
jet-black ray to a range of 180 feet. A hit
by the ray is determined as if the intended
victim had been attacked by a 6 HD
monster vs. the targets frontal armor
class (assuming the target is facing the
wielder of the wand). If this roll to hit
is not made, there is no effect. If the ray
does hit, the target takes 1-8 hit points of
damage (no saving throw), and that many
points are drained permanently from the
figures hit-point total. The wand takes 1
segment to fire, can have from 1 to 50
charges when found, and cannot be
recharged. The victim can only regain
lost hit points in one of three ways:
limited wish (2-8 points), restoration (212 points), or a wish (3-18 points). Once
the victim gains a new level of experience, lost hit points that have not yet
been regained are forever lost.
Gauntlets of the Ghoul: If a good figure puts these on, he must save vs. paralysis each round until they are removed or
until he is paralyzed. They can only be
removed by dispel magic or remove curse,
and even then removal must be done
within 2 rounds of the spell being cast or
they will again lock on the victims
hands. The figure will remain paralyzed
until the gauntlets are then removed. If a
neutral figure puts them on, nothing will
happen. If an evil figure puts them on,
his touch will be as that of a ghoul,
inflicting 1-4 hit points of damage per
touch (hand), and a victim must save vs.
paralysis or be paralyzed for 5-20 rounds.

Potions, salves, and pastes

Correct concoction of necessary
potions, salves and pastes is a function of
the death masters level as well as chance.
If he fails in an attempt to concoct a mixture, this will not be apparent until the
spell casting attempt is carried out. Given
in the chart is the percent chance that the
Particular substance
required by spell

4
Animate skeleton rub
80
Animate zombie bath
76
90
Cause lt. w. potion
Plant death spray
75
Death armor cream
__
Find familiar soup
--Ghast infusion
Mummy embalm fluid -__
Cause s. w. potion
-Lichdom potion
-Undead goop
-Vampire eye drops
__
Spectre gas

substance will, in fact, be correctly made

(00 is a 100% chance; -- is no chance). It is
up to the Dungeon Master to determine
the major ingredient(s) in each substance
and allowable substitutes, if any. The DM
may, of course, rule that some substitutes
will increase or decrease the chance of
successful concoction.

Chance of correct concoction

per level of death master
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
85 90 94 97 99 00 00 00
80 84 88 92 96 99 00 00
93 95 97 99 00 00 00 00
79 83 87 91 94 97 00 00
-- 93 95 97 98 99 00 00
-- 88 91 94 97 98 99 00
-- -- 77 82 87 92 96 99
-- -- -- 87 91 95 97 98
-- -- -- -- -- -- 95 98
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- -__ -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- __ --

Henchmen, hirelings, and Orcus

The death master may only have hirelings and henchmen who are evil. Such
henchmen are the outcasts of their own
races (humans, half-orcs and dwarves
only, as well as any neutral evil or chaotic
evil humanoids), often fleeing for their
lives because of some atrocity they have
performed. Rangers, paladins, clerics,
druids, monks, bards, and illusionists
will never be hirelings or henchmen for a
death master.
Some chaotic evil tribes of humanoids
revere the death master, since he can produce armies of undead types to aid them
on their missions. The death master can
thus give the tribal witch doctor (and in
some few cases the shaman) control of
some animated undead. Such undead
must be basically mindless, all of the
same type, and have fewer than 4 hit dice.
The undead controlled by the witch doctor or shaman may be up to ten times his
level in hit dice; for instance, a gnoll
witch doctor of 5th level can command 50
hit dice of undead. Any undead commanded in this manner can be taken over

13
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
99
00
93
90
94
97

cost to
produce

Time to
produce

10 gp/skel.
200 gp/10
75 gp/3
200 gp
100 gp
250 gp
400 gp
1,400 gp
2,000 gp
6,000 gp
400 gp/hd
6,000 gp
4,500 gp

2-7 hours
2-7 hours
1-4 hours
1-6 hours
1-4 hours
4-16 hours
6-36 hours
3-12 hours
5-20 hours
5-20 hours
7-56 hours
8-80 hours
6-72 hours

again by the death master any time he

desires to do so.
Eventually a death master becomes a
demon-worshiper who ultimately worships Orcus. Such a demon-worshipping
death master is also allowed a saving
throw of 8 before a lesser demon will
attack him physically if a protection from
evil spell is not in force.
A death master of 13th level who is
killed on the feast day of Orcus (sometimes called Halloween) will become an
undead under Orcus direction. Some
death masters will even commit suicide
on that date when they are 13th level, so
as to better serve the demon prince. Orcus
is 45% likely to notice this action and to
animate the death master with all of the
characters powers intact.
Death masters, once they become chaotic evil, seek seclusion virtually always
near an old graveyard or abandoned dungeon. There they will seek to produce
undead armies to wreak destruction upon
living beings around them. Only chaotic
evils and some neutral evils will try to
hire and/or ally with a death master.

D RAGON 17

FIGURE FEATURE:

RAL PARTHA
5938 Carthage Ct.
Cincinnati OH 45212
Personalities Line
Titan (L), Briarose Knights &
Bumblebee (R)
(Sculptor: Tom Meier)
All too often, gamers who want to use a gianttype creature have to buy larger-scale figures
(54mm or 77mm), or be on the lookout for plastic figures to convert. Very few companies produce quality biggies, and of those Ral Partha
has always led the way. Now you can get a classic Greek Titan, who stands 2 tall and comes
equipped with separate shield and spear.
One of the older concepts in miniatures pack-

TSR, INC.
P.O. Box 756
Lake Geneva WI 53147
AD&D Metal Miniatures
Magic-Users & Illusionists set (L),
Monks, Bards & Thieves set (R)
The next releases in TSRs series of
official figures for the ADVANCED
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game
complete the roster of player-character
classes. Three figures from each 12piece set are shown here. The spell
casters include a gnome illusionist, a
magic-user holding a tome and casting
a spell (with a young dragon at his
side), and a M-U casting a spell from
his wand.
Representative of the second box are
a female monk in a fighting stance, a

18 AUGUST

1983

aging is the combination of mounted and

unmounted figures in the same pack. Ral Partha
has advanced the basic idea by offering unusual
fantasy figures with bizarre mounts, such as the
briarose knight. Detailed armor, flowing capes,
and heroic stances make these knights distinctive, but what really sets them apart is their
mode of transportation giant bumblebees. All
the parts of this 8-piece set fit together nicely.
Suggested retail price: $4.50 each.

female bard strumming her instrument, and an assassin on the attack.

The quality of detail of all these
releases is notable; check out the
pouches and bags hanging from belts,

the magic-users skull belt, and the

monks pole arm. As with the other
sets (Fighters, Rangers & Paladins and
Clerics & Druids), each of the character
types is outfitted with only weapons

NEW RELEASES

DRAGONTOOTH FANTASY FIGURES

250 West 39th St., #14E
New York NY 10018
Marvelous Beasties line & Demons line
Demon Rising from Well (L),
Great Owl with Armed Rider (R)
(Sculptor: Tom Loback)
Dragontooth regularly produces original and
intriguing figures. The demon is the eleventh
figure in the series, which has lots of nasties
(including the Lord of Balrogs, one of the best
weve seen of his species). The demon and well
are separate, in case youd rather have something else popping up once in a while.
For something thats sure to have the troops

quaking in their little metal boots, try this barbarian type astride a giant owl an immense 5
long from base to wingtip. The set has 10 components, including various weapons and a rider
that can be repositioned at the waist. Suggested
retail prices: $4.50 and $10.00 respectively.

Text by
Kim Eastland
Photos by
Scheibe Studio
and gear permitted to the class, so
players are saved from having to overlook inaccuracies sometimes found in
non-official figures. Suggested retail
price: $10 per set.

D RAGON 19

SF/gaming convention calendar

MYSTICON 2.5, Aug. 12-14
Science fiction author Orson Scott Card
will be a guest of honor at this SF and
gaming convention, to be held at the Jefferson Inn in downtown Roanoke, Va.
Memberships are $10 each; for more
information, send SASE to MystiCon,
P.O. Box 1367, Salem VA 24153, or phone
Calvin Yates at (703)362-3562.
MIT SUMMERCON 83, Aug. 12-14
A gathering for board wargaming and
military miniatures enthusiasts, sponsored by the MIT Strategic Games
Society. To be held at the MIT Student
Center, Cambridge, Mass. For details,
write to MIT Summercon 83, East Campus, 3 Ames St., Cambridge MA 02139.
GEN CON GAME FAIR, Aug. 18-21
The 16th annual gaming and fantasy
extravaganza sponsored by TSR Hobbies,
Inc. For more information, see the advertisement on page 63 of this issue of
DRAGON Magazine.
VULCON 83, Aug. 19-21
SF author Roger Zelazny will be the
guest of honor at this science fiction/fantasy/gaming event to be held in Akron,
Ohio. Registration is $8 in advance, $10
at the door. For more information, contact Stargate, c/o Sarah Blick, 150 Conger
Ave., Akron OH 44303.
CAMPCON 83, Aug. 20
A game convention to be held at Camp
Emmanuel near Astoria, Ill. For details,
contact Kevin B. Sager, Box 833, Astoria
IL 61501, phone (309)329-2934.
7th ANNUAL BANGOR AREA WARGAMERS CONVENTION, Aug. 29-21
The University of Maine campus in
Orono is the site of this event. No
advance registration is taken; admission
fee is $5 at the door. For more information, contact Edward F. Stevens, Jr.,
32 Masonic St., Rockland ME 04841,
phone (207)596-0338.
2nd ANNUAL SQUAD LEADER OPEN,
Aug. 31-Sept. 1
A round-robin tournament, each participant playing five games. Further
information: Don Munsell, 6101 McBride
St., Charlotte NC 28205.
COLONIAL CITY GAMEFEST, Sept. 2-3
At the Ohio National Guard Armory in
Mt. Vernon. Role-playing, armor & Star
Fleet Battles miniatures tournaments, a
painting contest and many boardgames
are on the agenda, For details, write to
Colonial City Gamefest, Mt. Vernon
Gamers Association, P.O. Box 846, Mt.
Vernon OH 43050.

20 AUGUST

1983

GATEWAY 1983, Sept. 3-5

Southern Californias largest strategy
game convention and exposition will be
held at the Sheraton-Anaheim Hotel near
Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Activities
for everyone from novice to expert in a
wide variety of games, plus exhibits and
special events. Admission for the weekend
is $13.50 for pre-registered entrants
(postmark deadline: Aug. 10), or $15 for a
three-day pass at the door. One-day passes
are $10. For more information, write to
Strategicon PR Dept., P.O. Box 2577,
Anaheim CA 92804.
WRATH OF CON 1983, Sept. 16-17
To be held on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
this event emphasizes role-playing games.
A two-round D&D tournament and noncompetitive sessions in several RPGs will
be offered, plus an SCA demonstration
and an exhibitor area. Contact: UNC-CH
D&D Club, No. 403 Northampton Plaza,
Chapel Hill NC 27514.
MASSCON 83, Sept. 24-25
Tournaments in all types of games and
demonstrations of historical miniatures
battles are the highlights of this event on
the University of Massachusetts campus
at Amherst. Admission is $3 for one day,
$5 for the weekend. Food and lodging are
available at the Campus Center, which is
also where registration takes place. For
details, contact MassCon, P.O. Box 117,
Amherst MA 01002.
TRI-CON II, Oct. 1-2
A fantasy and science-fiction gaming
convention at the Sheraton Pittsburgh
South, featuring tournaments, exhibits,
demonstrations, and a dealer/trader area,
with Thom Hawk Christopher as special guest. Memberships are $25 for
adults, $15 for those under 12 until Sept.
1, when each fee is raised $10. Membership is by advanced registration only; no
passes are sold at the door. For information on how to register, contact Trinette
Kern, 1037 Francis Road, Castle Shannon
PA 15234.
TOL-CON II, Oct. 1-2
At the University of Toledo, Scott Park
Campus. Role-playing and boardgame
competition, painted miniature contests,
and manufacturers displays are some of
the attractions of this convention,
expected to attract a crowd of nearly
1,000. Contact: Mind Games, 3001 N.
Reynolds Road, Toledo OH 43615, or
phone (between 4-8 p.m. Monday
through Friday) 419-531-5540.
EARTHCON III, Oct. 7-10
A large convention formerly devoted to

science fiction but now also featuring a

number of gaming competitions and
events. Four popular fantasy/SF authors
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katherine
Kurtz, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and Jean
Lorrah will be special guests. The site
is the Charter House Inn, Euclid, Ohio.
Advance registration is $18 until Aug. 31,
$20 thereafter. One-day admission is $10
at the door. For complete registration
information, write to EarthCon III, P.O.
Box 22041, Beachwood OH 44122.
SUNCOAST SKIRMISHES 83, Oct. 14-16
Historical and adventure gaming,
demonstrations, and seminars will be
held at the Holiday Inn Central Convention Center in Tampa, Fla. For more
information, write to Suncoast Skirmishes 83, 4006 Wallace Ave., Tampa FL
33611, or phone 813-831-1762.
WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 83,
Oct. 28-30
This annual extravaganza moves to the
Midwest for its ninth running. To be
held at the Marriott OHare in Chicago,
it will feature Robert Bloch as toastmaster
and Gene Wolfe, Manly Wade Wellman,
and artist Rowena Morrill as special
guests. Memberships are $30 in advance,
$35 at the door if any are still available.
Contact: World Fantasy Convention 83,
P.O. Box 423, Oak Forest IL 60452.
NECRONOMI-CON 1983, Oct. 28-30
Piers Anthony and Robert Adams are
guests of honor for this Halloween weekend convention at the Holiday Inn in
downtown Tampa, Fla. Memberships are
$10 until Oct. 15, $15 at the door if available. For details: Necronomi-Con, P.O.
Box 2076, Riverview FL 33569.
CONCENTRIC 83, Nov. 18-20
A fantasy/SF/gaming convention to be
held at the Holiday Inn West in Columbia, Mo., featuring Jack Chalker as guest
of honor. Contact: ConCentric, P.O. Box
7514, Columbia MO 65205.
CRUSADER CON III, Jan. 13-15, 1984
To be held at the Metropolitan State
College Campus in Denver, Colo. Registration fee is $8 until Jan. 1, 1984, and
$10 thereafter. For more information,
write to The Auraria Gamers Club, Metropolitan State College, 1006 11th Street,
Box #39, Denver CO 80204.
WISCON 8, Feb. 24-26, 1984
Noted writers Jessica Amanda Salmonson and Elizabeth A. Lynn are guests of
honor for this SF/gaming event at the
Inn on the Park in Madison, Wis. Contact: WisCon 8, P.O. Box 1624, Madison
WI 53701.

6. MALBOLGE
The sixth plane of the Nine Hells is
ruled by Baalzebul through his viceroy
Moloch (Baalzebuls own abode is not on
this plane). Moloch is continually
ordered about by his lord and watched by
the tribune Bileth, for Baalzebul fears that
to allow the Grand Duke to rest undisturbed here for long would enable him to
somehow wrest control of Malbolge from
the Lord of the Flies.
An outsider might well wonder why
Moloch would want to rule such a place,
for nothing grows in Malbolge. It is a
plane of craggy, tumbled black stone and
ash, filled with stinking vapors, smokes,
fire pits, and huge caves and caverns.
The air is always hot and choking, and
intruders will find that anything flammable remaining in contact with the
ground for more than 4 rounds (such as
dry wood, paper, hair, dry cloth, and the
like) must save versus (normal) fire or
burst into flames. Any such substances
that are almost continually in contact
with the ground (e.g., the soles of boots)
must save at the end of every 4-round
period.
Malbolge is a noisy place, populated by
tormented lemures, malebranche, and
occasional spined and styx devils, all of
whom suffer at the hands of the cruel
Baalzebul (who delights in torture), upon
his visits, and the almost equally cruel
Moloch. Both delight in the torture and
disfigurement of devils, so many (at least
50%) of the lesser devils found on this
plane will hate them to the point of
agreeing to active rebellion (if such an
effort seems likely to succeed), and such
devils are likely (80%) to be missing an
arm or leg, or be suffering a similar sort
of infirmity, as a result of the amusements of the Grand Duke and his master.
Malbolge is continually patrolled by
pairs of malebranche who report to their
commander, the pit fiend Bethage; to the
legate Tartach; or to Moloch himself (or
to Baalzebul, if the Lord of the Flies is
present). Intruders are always brought
alive to the horned devils commander for
torment and questioning (or the malebranche patrol themselves will suffer in
the intruders place). Few intruders
escape, and fewer still are allowed to live
for any length of time, for Baalzebul jealously grasps and guards all power and
knowledge that he can, seeking to keep it
from other archdevils (particularly
Mephistopheles and Asmodeus), so as to
eventually gain the power to rule all of
the hells.
Moloch moves with his consort Lilith
from fortress to fortress of the malebranche upon Baalzebuls orders (usually
brought by the herald Neabaz). Tartach is
Molochs deputy and ambassador to the
vassal dukes and to visitors, and Bileth is
the tribune installed by Baalzebul as a
watchdog upon Moloch and others who

would take control of the plane. Baalzebul finds it a continual struggle to

retain two planes under his own sway, in
a diabolic society where all are ambitious
and there are not enough planes to go
around. All of the vassals and assistants
to Moloch, including Lilith, are regarded
as loyal to Baalzebul, although Tartach
and Lilith (who feel largely powerless in
the current regime) might support a
strong bid to seize Malbolge by another
arch-devil.
The defensive forces of Malbolge consist of nine companies of malebranche
under the command of the pit fiend
Bethage, and sixteen companies of bone
devils led by the pit fiend Herobaal.

LILITH (Princess of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 16/30
HIT DICE: 71 hit points
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: C, I, S
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12, or by weapon
type +5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (9 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 222
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Lilith is consort to Moloch, viceroy of
the sixth plane of the Nine Hells. She is
held in high regard by many witches on
the Prime Material Plane, who hold (and
keep secret from others) the rituals for
summoning her thence. Lilith serves
Baalzebul, but her loyalty is not what it
used to be; she feels largely powerless in
the current regime, and resents being
moved here and there at Baalzebuls behest. She often works with the legate
Tartach, who is of like mind. Lilith is
personally most attractive, and many devils will do her small favors as a result.
Lilith can employ at will the following
spell-like powers, one at a time and once
per round pyrotechnics, produce flame,
animate dead, ESP, dispel magic, read
magic, tongues, charm person, detect
invisibility, darkness 15 radius, invisibility, suggestion, know alignment, polymorph self, fireball (2d6), teleport, and
(fulfill anothers limited) wish. Twice per
day Lilith can employ a finger of death,
and once per day she can hurl a (4d6)
lightning bolt. She radiates fear at will in
a 2 radius (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid).
Lilith can summon 1-2 malebranche with
a 60% chance of success. Lilith regenerates
3 points of damage every turn.
Description: Lilith appears as a beautiful, curvaceous human female of giant

stature, save that her eyes are glowing

white (pupils and all), her skin is crimson, and she has hooves, a serpents tail,
and small curving horns. She rarely wears
garments, cloaking herself in darkness
(see above) when summoned if she deems
it necessary. She fights with any weapons
available but prefers to strike with her
tail, which does 2-12 constriction damage
per round; it is long and strong enough
to immobilize one M-sized target. She
usually bears a slim scimitar or a barbed
whip (two 10 strands with metal barbs;
these do 1-8 base damage each and can
strike the same or adjacent targets; they
can entangle weapons or limbs, but she
rarely employs them thus, fearing damage
to the weapon). Significantly, a deep lash
welt is commonly known in the hells as
Liliths Mark.

TARTACH (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 12
HIT DICE: 114 hit points
% IN LAIR: 75%
TREASURE TYPE: C, I, P
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (10 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 212
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Tartach serves Baalzebul as legate to
Moloch, the viceroy of Malbolge. His
loyalty to Baalzebul is outwardly strong,
but Tartach feels relegated to a position
of minor importance, when elsewhere in
the hells many of lesser strength have
higher standing. If an arch-devil made a
bid to gain control of Malbolge that
seemed likely to succeed or if Moloch
were menaced in some way Tartach
might aid the attempt, or at least not
move to block it. Tartach has a dark,
cruel sense of humor, and enjoys tormenting weaker creatures. He fights with a
flame tongue sword and a rope of
entanglement.
Tartach can employ the following
spell-like powers at will, one at a time
and once per round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, fireball (3d6 damage), dispel
magic, detect invisibility, know alignment, hold monster, wall of fire, teleport,
and (fulfill anothers limited) wish. Once
per day he can use a symbol of stunning,
and once per day he can feeblemind
another creature. Tartach causes fear by
eye contact (save vs. spell at 3 to avoid
effects) on any creatures (one target per
round) within a 4 radius. He can summon 1-2 malebranche (with a 70% chance

of success). Tartach regenerates 2 hit

points per round.
Description: Tartach appears as a
human of giant stature wearing a beard
and mustache and with stubby, hooked
horns on his forehead. He has no tail, but
his feet have the pads and fur (but not the
claws) of a lion, and his skin is of a fiery
orange hue. He wears robes of black or
purple silk, and walks with cold dignity.

BILETH (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 14/21
HIT DICE: 121 hit points
% IN LAIR: 75%
TREASURE TYPE: C, P
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12, 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (9 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 224
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Bileth serves Baalzebul as tribune on
Malbolge, acting as a watchdog and a
check on the actions of Moloch. Bileth
speaks with the authority of Baalzebul,
but stands apart from the regime run by
Moloch, serving as a justiciar independent of the viceroy. Moloch can do nothing
against Bileth, and must submit to his
commands, but has tried to undermine
the tribunes effectiveness in Malbolge by
spreading the word among the malebranche that Bileth is insane.
Bileth can use the following spell-like
powers at will, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall
of fire, anti-magic shell, dispel magic,
detect invisibility, know alignment,
charm person, suggestion, ESP, tongues,
detect lie, repulsion, teleport, and (fulfill
anothers limited) wish. Once per day he
can use a death spell, and twice per day
he can cause a flame strike. Bileth causes
fear by touch (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid)
and can summon 1-2 malebranche (75%
chance of success) or Baalzebul himself
(5% chance of success). Bileth regenerates
2 hit points per round.
Description: Bileth appears as a large
man clad in gilded coat-of-plate. He uses
weapons only in a pinch, preferring to
fight with his fists (2-12 damage each),
backed up by his massive strength. He is
bearded, crimson-skinned, and has horns
and hooves. He is tailless, but has large
black bat-like leathery wings. Once per
day he can breathe fire (in a cone 25 long
and 10 wide at its end, doing 3-18 damage; save vs. breath weapon for 2-12), but
he will do this only if angered or
hard-pressed.

D RAGON 23

7. MALADOMINI
The seventh plane of the hells is also
ruled by Baalzebul, who dwells there in a
great fortress of black stone. Baalzebuls
fortress, Malagard, sprawls for many
miles, and consists of countless black
spired towers linked by many open and
covered bridge-spans that crisscross and
slant crazily in all directions. Here Baalzebul is attended by his consort Baftis, his
herald Neabaz, and his marshal Barbatos,
plus malebranche and many lesser devils
of all sorts whom he has commanded to
service. Malagards rooms, passages, and
dungeons are so vast and numerous that
it is said not even the Lord of the Flies
himself has visited all of them. Most of
those who escape cells of torment in Malagard flee to the dungeons, seldom penetrated very deeply by the devils, and many
weird creatures are said to roam this
lightless underworld.
The fortress above contains many rich
and sumptuously furnished chambers,
many cells for prisoners and for larvae
awaiting use, and rooms upon rooms that
are choked with garbage. Filth of all
sorts, including carrion and anything
that is broken and useless (for none of the

24 A UGUST

1983

devils here can be bothered to repair anything) is carried to neglected areas of

Malagard by servant spined devils, and
tossed into any unused space, so that
entire towers of the fortress are crammed
with reeking debris.
Outside, the plane of Maladomini is
very similar to Malbolge: hot underfoot
(see Malbolge, above, for effects on flammable objects) and filled with stinking
vapors, earth tremors and underground
explosions, fire pits, smokes, and huge
caves and caverns. Maladominis surface
is also despoiled by vast quarries where
lesser devils and enslaved prisoners toil
ceaselessly to cut the stones from which
Malagard and the castles of the malebranche are built. Roads wind and crisscross the landscape from quarry to quarry
to the various castles, and the entire plane
is littered with the tumbled ruins of longago cities and towers, and the ever-larger
new works.
Great arched bridges, carved with diabolic faces, span the rivers of molten lava
that cut across Maladomini, and from the
rivers canals have been cut to carry the
liquid fire, so that it encircles every castle
of the malebranche with a moat of leaping flames. The rivers of lava are swelled
by volcanic cascades and eruptions, and

run in the end to a great sea of lava that

seems to encircle the plane. Within this
sea are a ring of volcanic mountains, and
within this ring lies the confusion of
Malagard, malebranche castles, ruins,
roads, and quarries. Baalzebul is said to
have vast collections of gems and plants
(the latter tended continually by enslaved
creatures) in Malagard, but no green
things grow in this plane outside Malagards walls.
Neabaz (as herald) is the only devil
allowed by Baalzebul to move freely
about the hells. Barbatos is charged with
the duty of arranging malebranche messengers and weaponry so that the armies
of Maladomini can be gathered quickly
for battle. These malebranche armies
60 companies under the duke Abigor, and
28 under the duke Zepar are customarily occupied with the endless construction
of Malagard, other fortresses, and linking
roads. Spined devils, typically overseen by
styx devils or (rarely) bone devils, feed
and tend to the wants of the malebranche
laborers. Pit fiends are noticeably absent
from Baalzebuls service on Maladomini;
the Lord of the Flies suspects all such of
being spies for Asmodeus, and is reluctant to allow any of the creatures on the
same plane he inhabits.

BAFTIS (Princess of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 16/30
HIT DICE: 79 hit points
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: D, G
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8 or by weapon
type +5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (9 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 220
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Baftis is consort to Baalzebul, The
Lord of the Flies. A quiet, subservient
consort, she is more than a little afraid of
her lord, and rarely acts on her own
behalf without specific permission from
him. Baftis is somewhat proud and will
be outraged if her person or belongings
are threatened by lesser creatures. Her
fanged bite does 2-8 points of damage.
She normally carries a bronze spear.
Baftis can employ the following spelllike powers, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall
of fire, wall of smoke (= fog), animate
dead, dispel magic, charm person, suggestion, detect invisibility, darkness 15
radius, paralyzation (= hold person or
monster, by touch, lasts 1-3 turns; save vs.
paralyzation to avoid), teleport, and (fulfill anothers limited) wish. Once per day
Baftis can employ a finger of death, and
thrice per day she can heal herself or others (by touch). She causes fear by speaking to a creature within 3 (save vs. spell
at 1 to avoid). Baftis can summon 1-3
malebranche with a 70% chance of success. She regenerates 1 point of damage
every 3 rounds.
Description: Baftis appears as a tall,
attractive, but rather forbidding human
female, save for her tall, spired horns,
batlike wings, crimson skin, and hooves.
She has no tail, and unusual for a
devil eyes of lavender hue. She almost
always wears loose, open robes; it is said
she is sensitive about the lighter shade of
her skin down her back of a human,
almost ivory hue. Once a human on the
Prime Material Plane uttered an oath
mentioning the pearly spine of Baftis,
and she took that as a summons, appearing and rending the unfortunate with her
jaws and claws (which do 1-3 damage
each when she is weaponless).

NEABAZ (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3

MOVE: 16/30
HIT DICE: 124 hit points
% IN LAIR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 or by weapon
type +4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (6 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 190
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Neabaz serves Baalzebul as herald, and
as such is rarely idle. He respects his master and likes his work, for he is placed in
the Nine Hells well above any station he
could achieve by his own means, due to
his association with the Lord of the Flies.
Physically weak in comparison to other
greater devils, Neabaz has by Baalzebuls
orders been provided with magical weaponry to augment his means of personal
defense. His bare fists do only 1-6 damage
each, and his chief attack is blood drain:
When his human-like mouth is open, he
can extrude a foot-long proboscis from
within, and suck blood (1-6 points per
round, both upon initial contact and
thereafter for as long as he can grip the
victim). Neabaz is careful and polite at all
times, fearing to offend an arch-devil (and
any creature may be a polymorphed archdevil, to his slightly paranoid mind).
Neabaz can use the following spell-like
powers at will, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, fireball (2d6), dispel magic, detect magic,
read magic, read languages, tongues,
know alignment, detect invisibility, teleport, and (fulfill anothers limited) wish.
Once per day he can slay living (by
touch), and at will he can cause fear in a
2 radius. Neabaz can summon (40%
chance of success) 1-3 malebranche, or
(50% chance of success) 1-4 bone devils.
He regenerates 1 hit point every 2 rounds.
Description: Neabaz appears as a
smoothly polite, cold-blooded, and very
handsome man save for his tiny
pointed horns and transparent, houseflylike wings. He is customarily garbed in
black tunic (open at the shoulders to
accommodate his wings) and breeches,
with a hat and cape of rich, blood-red
silk. The cape is magical, having the ability to give forth an aura of flames (treat as
a cold version fire shield that will not
harm Neabazs wings) up to four times
every 24 hours at the wearers will, each
aura lasting up to three rounds as desired.
Neabaz also bears a flame tongue blade
that, when grasped, can know alignment
of any creature pointed at, and fire 9
magic missiles (1 missile per spell) every
24 hours. (These items are believed to be
of Prime Material Plane origin.) Neabaz
carries other treasure only upon Baalzebuls business and explicit orders.

D RAGON 25

BARBATOS (Duke of Hell)

ABIGOR (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)

NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 16
HIT DICE: 122 hit points
% IN LAIR: 60%
TREASURE TYPE: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 212
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)

NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 14/22
HIT DICE: 120 hit points
% IN LAIR: 65%
TREASURE TYPE: A, I
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-16 or by weapon
type +7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (7 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 210
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all

Barbatos is the marshal of Maladomini,

responsible for all of Baalzebuls armies
on that plane, and, through Moloch,
administering also the forces of Malbolge.
Authoritarian and a shrewd judge both of
his warriors and of tactical problems, he
has won Baalzebuls respect and limited
trust. He has never displayed any personal ambitions, nor (at any time) his
true feelings, so that among the hierarchy
of the hells his loyalty to his master, and
therefore his actions in any change of the
status quo, remain unknown.
Barbatos moves with lightning speed in
battle, having two weapon attacks per
round. He carries treasure only upon the
orders and specific business of Baalzebul,
and wears a gray cloak with a green hood
fringed in scarlet.
Barbatos can at will use the following
spell-like powers, one at a time and once
per round: pyrotechnics, produce flame,
dispel magic, detect invisibility, detect lie,
detect magic, charm person, fly, know
alignment, tongues, speak with animals,
repulsion, wall of fire, teleport, and (fulfill anothers limited) wish. Once per day
he can use a symbol of sleep, and six
times per day he can cast a 4d6 fireball.
Barbatos breathes fear in a cone up to 4
distant, 2 wide at its furthest extent (save
vs. breath weapon to avoid). He can
summon 1-4 malebranche with a 70%
chance of success, and regenerates 2 hit
points per round.
If summoned to the Prime Material
Plane, Barbatos will always appear with
2-8 malebranche. On that plane, he can
track as a ranger, pass without trace, and
move silently if he wills; break wizard
locks by touch; and detect treasure (of a
metal or mineral nature, as in the wand
of metal and mineral detection) in a 3
radius. Those who know how to summon
him are few, because he and his malebranche guard can usually destroy them
or bear them to the hells for torment.
Description: Barbatos appears as a
bearded, horned man-like giant with
crimson skin, black hooves, and a tail.
His eyes are green, and he talks with a
rich, persuasive voice.

26 A UGUST

19 83

Abigor is a duke in the service of Baalzebul, commanding 60 companies of

malebranche. He enjoys destroying other
creatures in battle, and will not miss a
chance to fight a weaker opponent. He
wields a +2 battleaxe and a mace, and if
he loses these in a skirmish he will
employ anything available. Weaponless,
he strikes with one massive fist while
warding off attacks with the other. A
blow from his hand does 2-16 damage.
Abigor can use the following spell-like
powers, one at a time and once per round:
pyrotechnics, produce flame, animate
dead, dispel magic, speak with dead (who
can have been dead for up to 600 days),
detect invisibility, detect magic, know
alignment, tongues, teleport, and (fulfill
anothers limited) wish. Once per day
Abigor can employ a symbol of stunning,
and once per day he can spell turn (as in
ring of spell turning) a spell cast at him
back at the caster (note that he can do this
even with a spell that his magic resistance
has protected him from). Abigor causes
fear by touch (save vs. spell at 1 to
avoid). He can summon 1-2 malebranche
with a 70% chance of success, and regenerates 2 hit points per round.
Description: Abigor appears as an
ochre-skinned, hairless humanoid with
ruddy diabolic features, small horns,
black hooves, and a forked tail. He has
large crimson bat-like wings, and a loud,
bellowing voice.

ZEPAR (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 14
HIT DICE: 118 hit points
% IN LAIR: 65%
TREASURE TYPE: A, P
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%

INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (5 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 217
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Zepar is a duke in the service of Baalzebul, and leads 28 companies of malebranche. Vicious and arrogant, he seldom
engages in combat, but uses his magical
powers and his servants to bully weaker
creatures. When in a black mood, he
wades into the hapless lemures and dishes
out all the punishment he can deliver. He
fights with a hand axe and a short sword,
both envenomed like those of an erinyes
(save vs. poison or faint for 1-6 melee
rounds).
Zepar can employ the following spelllike powers at will, one at a time and
once per round: pyrotechnics, produce
flame, animate dead, spectral force, blink,
fly, detect invisibility, tongues, suggestion, teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. His touch can (at will)
cause one of the following: fear (save vs.
spell at 1 or cower on the spot, dropping
weapons, if save fails); lust (cease hostilities and approach the first creature of like
race and opposite sex; this effect lasts
only 4 rounds and ceases in any case
when the affected person is attacked by
Zepar, the intended object of his or her
affections, or another); or a shocking
grasp (11-18 points of damage). Once per
day Zepar can polymorph other (save at
1) and once per day employ a symbol of
insanity. He can summon 1-3 malebranche with a 70% chance of success, and
regenerates 1 hit point per round.
Description: Zepar appears as a slight,
dark-complexioned man dressed in scarlet
armor, with a grotesque clubfoot and a
forked tail. He has small horns (concealed
by his helm) and speaks in a grating, contemptuous voice. Beneath his armor
(without which he is AC 2) is crimson
skin, and a normal human foot that
has retractile black catlike claws (1-4 raking damage if unbooted).

8. CAINA
The frigid eighth plane of the hells is
ruled by Mephistopheles, the mighty
Lord of No Mercy or Cold Lord.
This scheming arch-devil rules the frozen
wastes of Caina with the help of his consort Baalphegor and his staff: Barbas,
chamberlain of Mephistar (Mephistopheles iron citadel) and guardian of
Mephistopheles wealth and treasures;
Adonides, steward of Caina, who oversees
the administration and defense of the
realm; and Bele, justiciar, who sits in
judgement of all disputes within Caina.
Mephistopheles is cunning enough to
allow the appearance of justice and
thus win the ease and resulting loyalty of
his vassals, as well as reassurance for

other devils elsewhere in the Nine Hells

who might consider supporting him in a
bid to overthrow Asmodeus, showing
them that an independent judiciary
would be installed under the rule of
Mephistopheles, were he to become Overlord of Hell.
Malebranche and spined devils staff the
iron citadel of Mephistar, which perches
high in the icy mountains at the heart of
the plane. Much of Caina is a land of icecovered boulders and mountains, ruins of
stone (for it took the devils long to learn
that nothing on the glaciers could withstand the inexorable ice), and sprawling
glaciers. Bifrons, one of the dukes of
Caina, rules from a cold blue palace
carved out of the slow-moving ice of a rift
in the center of the great glacier Nargus.
This glacier is staffed by the ice devils
who populate the plane, and by spined
devils, who perform the most menial
tasks.
Mephistopheles is one of the most careful and suspicious of the arch-devils, and
the halls and chambers of Mephistar are
patrolled and inhabited by devils in
accordance with a strict schedule of activities. Only Bele, Barbas, and Adonides are
free of this iron regimentation, and
Mephistopheles wants to know where
they are and what they are doing at all
times. All three devils delight in deceiving their lord as to precisely where they
are and what they are doing, but such
deceptions are always small things, for
they dare go no further in light of the
possible punishments.
A visitor will find Caina numbingly
cold without heat, most warm-blooded
creatures can only survive for a few hours
before suffering chills, later frostbite, and
then death. Certainly any such creature
that goes to sleep, falls unconscious, or is
rendered immobile in the open without
heat will die shortly. Ice devils will be
immediately attracted to any fire (note
that the raw materials for such a blaze
will have to be brought by the visitor,

28 AUGUST

1983

since no combustibles are to be found),

and will attack without hesitation. If far
from Nargus, an ice devil is not likely to
inform Mephistopheles or his staff of the
existence of intruders unless there is a
chance that other devils have seen them
too, and are likely to report them. If a
party should escape a lone ice devil, the
latter will not warn others of their presence, but will itself remain alert for signs
of them.
Were it not for the cold and the lack of
food (some tales speak of remorhaz or
glacier worms in Caina, but if any exist
they must be very rare), Caina would offer
intruders many inviting places of concealment there are many hidden valleys in the mountains, and countless icecaves. Corpses, it should be noted, will
freeze and be preserved perfectly, so killers
of all sorts are advised to seek deep crevasses or snowbanks to conceal such
remains.
The dukes of Caina are Hutijin, who
commands two mighty legions of pit
fiends, the nobles of Caina (including
Silcharde, Bechard, Guland, Sphandor,
and Buldumech); Bifrons, who commands 26 companies of ice devils in Nargus; and Nexroth, who leads 16 companies of malebranche. The pit fiends and
malebranche dwell in the rocky spires
and pits of the outermost fringes of
Caina. These are hot regions crisscrossed
by colder, steaming, slimy waters which
at length give way to marches of icy ooze
which rise at length into the frozen
mountains of the planes interior.
The strength and ambition of the pit
fiends (particularly those named above)
are a weakness in Mephistopheles control over his own plane a weakness
encouraged and delighted in by his foes
particularly Baalzebul, who has spies
among the malebranche, and seeks to foster unrest. Only a few of the pit fiends
remain strictly loyal to Mephistopheles
(without Hutijin, the Cold Lord would
soon face open revolt and could not hold

the plane). Most seek to gain the most

power they can in any change of rulership, and favor dissent and change
among the arch-devils as the only way to
better their own lot. None have openly
defied Mephistopheles yet, but a time will
come . . . unless, of course, Mephistopheles defeats Asmodeus, whereupon
their loyalty will be loudly conspicuous.
Mephistopheles is openly distrustful of
Nexroth, who is totally selfish and loyal
only to himself; he will do whatever
seems best for his own advancement.
Nexroth retains his command only
because he seems the most reliable of the
pit fiends, and Mephistopheles dares not
allow open conflict within Caina for fear
that another arch-devil would take advantage of the situation. If not for this, the
Cold Lord would cheerfully shift the
command whenever it suited him, playing the pit fiends off against one another
indefinitely.

BAALPHEGOR (Princess of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 19/29
HIT DICE: 82 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: R, X, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (5 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 229
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Baalphegor is consort to Mephistopheles, and a most highly regarded shedevil. Personally attractive (and a practiced diplomat), she is charming in

manner and artful in thought; she has

invented many of the strategies and devices used in the hells. Asmodeus regards her
as one of his most valuable assets, and
tolerates the machinations of Mephistopheles largely because of her. Baalphegors own desires are seldom revealed; she
appears loyal to the hells and devoted to
Mephistopheles, and manages to avoid
making a distinction between the two.
Baalphegor can use the following spelllike powers, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, animate dead, dispel magic, charm person,
suggestion, detect invisibility, enchant an
item, permanency, teleport, and (fulfill
anothers limited) wish. Once per day
Baalphegor can employ a finger of death,
once per day unleash chain lightning,
and once per day heal herself. She causes
fear (2 range) by pointing at the desired
creature (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid). She
can summon 1-2 devils with a 75% chance
of success. Baalphegor regenerates 1 point
of damage every 4 rounds.
Description: Baalphegor is a musicalvoiced, beautiful female, apparently
human, save for her ruby-red eyes, forked
tail, and slim, delicate leathery wings.
Her feet are human in appearance, and
she is sleek and curvaceous, with
cinnamon-brown skin. She appears
young and carefree, but when angered her
light voice can crack like a whip, and her
eyes flash fire.

BELE (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 14/20
HIT DICE: 112 hit points
% IN LAIR: 95%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (6 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 232
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Bele serves Mephistopheles as justiciar
of Caina, spending most of his time in
the fortress of Mephistar, dispensing
impartial justice within the Cold Lords
realm. Some in Caina (among the pit
fiends) openly doubt if Beles justice is
impartial but it is true that Mephistopheles does not intervene on a case-bycase basis to overrule or influence his
judgements. Mephistopheles and Bele do
agree upon (and periodically discuss) the
basic principles and some specific details
of what precisely justice, in Caina, is
and should be. As a result, Beles judgments are opposed to any rebellious or
disorderly actions, although they occasionally stand against Mephistopheles
orders. Perhaps the most important fact
in the matter is that Bele would not have
his present office without the permission
of Mephistopheles; if Beles judgments
ever run too much against his masters
will, that office will end. Bele has no real
treasure, on Mephistopheles orders.
Bele can use the following spell-like
powers at will, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, ice
storm, ESP, detect lie, know alignment,
tongues, read magic, read languages, hold
person, hold monster, fools gold, legend
lore, teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. Twice per day he can cause
a flame strike, and once per day he can
banish (as in the spell banishment) a
creature (or creatures) of up to 16 levels or
hit dice to its own plane. Bele causes fear
by voice tone in a 6 radius (save vs. spell
at 3 to avoid). He can summon 1-3 ice
devils (60% chance of success), or 1-2 pit
fiends (30%). Bele regenerates 1 hit point
per round.

Description: Bele appears as a tall,

handsome, hollow-eyed man with ivory
skin, a curling beard and pencil-thin
mustache, a low, nasal voice, tiny horns,
and long black robes. Beneath the robes
are concealed a short forked tail, a
crimson-skinned lower torso, and a belt
bearing Beles black rod of office (equivalent to a rod of smiting) and a dagger of
venom. When Bele disrobes, his leathery
wings can spread to a surprisingly large
(20) wingspan.

ADONIDES (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 16/28
HIT DICE: 121 hit points
% IN LAIR: 55%
TREASURE TYPE: R, X, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (8 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 228
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Adonides serves Mephistopheles as the
steward of Caina, responsible for the
security and internal stability of the
realm. His experiences thus far have
made him mistrust all pit fiends (even
watching the dukes Nexroth and Hutijin
with a wary eye), and to suspect every ice
devil and malebranche of being a spy for
Baalzebul. Adonides is naturally cruel
and high-handed, and since Barbas is
chamberlain of Mephistar, and the steward has no authority there the steward
of Caina spends much of his time roaming the plane with a guard of 16 ice devils, searching for and punishing intruders

D RAGON 29

and those who misbehave or act to betray

Mephistopheles. In battle Adonides bears
a twisted, spiked +1 staff (1-8 +1 damage,
+7 if Adonides wields it) with which he
can strike twice (against 2 different
targets, if he so wishes) in a round.
Adonides can use the following spelllike powers, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, ice
storm, wall of ice, cone of cold (1d4 + 16
damage), lightning bolt (4d6), detect lie,
know alignment, dispel magic, teleport,
and (fulfill anothers limited) wish. Once
per day Adonides can heal himself (or
another, by touch), and once per day he
can use a symbol of stunning. He causes
fear by pointing at the desired creature
(one target per round; save vs. spell at 1
to avoid), and can summon 1-6 ice devils
(70% chance of success) when desired. He
regenerates 2 hit points per round.
Description: Adonides appears as a
young, long-haired, darkly handsome
man of giant stature. He has unusual
glittering black eyes and a fanged grin.
The hair hides two small horns; Adonides
wears robes to hide his short forked tail
and scarlet torso.

BARBAS (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3

MOVE: 16
HIT DICE: 110 hit points
% IN LAIR: 95%
TREASURE TYPE: R, X, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +7
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (10 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 224
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Barbas serves Mephistopheles as chamberlain, running the citadel of Mephistar
and seeing to the security of Mephistopheles treasure. Proud and arrogant,
Barbas is as openly cruel as any devil in
Caina is allowed to be under the rule of
Mephistopheles. Totally unscrupulous
and dishonest, Barbas is kept in check
and the treasure in his care where it is
supposed to be by the combined scrutiny of Bele, Adonides, and Mephistopheles himself. He retains his position by
the brilliant deceptions he practices in the
name of security, catching or misdirecting the spies of other arch-devils and
deflecting the greed of those native to
Caina. Barbas is lazy and gross-bodied,
but snake-quick in battle, and attacks
twice per round with his staff of striking.
He also bears a goad, which is an iron

rod topped with a hook at one end. It was

fashioned by a chaotic good smith, and
does 4-24 damage to devils and other LE
creatures, but only 2-8 damage to others
(of S or M size; only 1-6 vs. L). Barbas
also bears a dagger of venom (perhaps
more than one) hidden about his person.
Barbas can employ the following spelllike powers, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall
of ice, lightning bolt (2d6), detect lie,
ESP, tongues, hold person, shield, teleport, and (fulfill anothers limited) wish.
Once per day Barbas can use a symbol of
insanity, and once per day he can slay living (by touch; saving throw at +1). Barbas
causes fear by eye contact (at will, one victim per round, 4 effective range). He can
summon 1-3 ice devils (60% chance of
success), or 2-8 spined devils (70%). He
regenerates 1 hit point per round.
Description: Barbas appears as a giant,
bearded man with large lips and an
enormous belly. He wears voluminous
robes, which conceal his forked tail,
hooves, and crimson skin covered with
thick, oily black hair.

BIFRONS (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 18

HIT DICE: 141 hit points

% IN LAIR: 65%
TREASURE TYPE: R, Q(x6), Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 228
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Bifrons is a mighty duke, leading 26
companies of ice devils into battle at the
behest of Mephistopheles. The Cold
Duke rules the glaciers of Cainas interior from his ice palace in Nargus, and
appears both vigilant and loyal to
Mephisto. Bifrons is a clear-headed,
rather dispassionate philosopher. He
enjoys arguments and contests of reason
and logic, but does not let these distract
him from more pragmatic concerns. (Bear
in mind that Bifrons is exceptionally
intelligent and lawful evil, and will
approach and leave all such arguments
convinced that a social order wherein the
stronger rule the weaker is the only practical way to exist, and that good promotes
incompetence and mediocrity.)
Bifrons collects gems, enjoys skillful ice
sculpture (although doing none himself),
has a natural knack for navigating
(knowing where he is, even on the Prime
Material Plane, and intuitively knowing
accurate compass directions), and, has the
awesome strength of a cloud giant. He
bears an envenomed scimitar (with effects
as for the weapon of an erinyes) and a
flail (each doing +7 damage in Bifrons
hands), but usually fights barehanded,
each fist striking for 4-24 damage. He is
immune to cold damage of all types
(including magic and dragon breath).
Bifrons can employ the following spelllike powers at will, one at a time and
once per round: pyrotechnics, produce
flame, dispel magic, ice storm, cone of
cold (6d4 +6 damage), detect magic, detect
invisibility, teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. Once per day he can
unleash chain lightning (7d6 damage),
and once per day use a symbol of stunning. He causes fear (6 range) by eye
contact (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid). He
can summon 1-6 ice devils with a 70%
chance of success. (If Bifrons is encountered in Nargus itself, 9-12 ice devils will
be in attendance about him.) Optionally,
he can summon 1-8 spined devils (60%
chance of success). Bifrons regenerates 2
hit points per round.
Description: Bifrons appears as a wingless, gray-skinned and heavily muscled
devil with stubby horns on his brow, a
humanoid torso, and a snake-like lower
body (from the hip down, with no legs).
He has totally white, slanted eyes, large
nostrils and mouth, and a deep, rumbling
voice.

D RAGON 31

9. NESSUS
The vast and gloomy ninth and
nethermost plane of the hells is known as
Nessus, or Cocytus (after the lake therein), and is the personal realm of Asmodeus, Overlord of the hells. Asmodeus
inhabits a grand palace, a fey court of
darksome beauty, which rests upon the
floor of the lowest rift in Nessus. If this
abode has a name, it is little used and
unknown to men. It is known that smoke
rises from its very stones when they are
trod by one not of lawful evil alignment,
and that Asmodeus has gathered here all
objects that he finds beautiful (including
much seen as beautiful by man).
It is known that Asmodeus can summon each arch-devil to his court here,
once a year, but more details of his palace
are few indeed, understandably, since few
travelers return whole to the Prime Material Plane after being in the clutches of
the Great Devil himself. All manner of
beings may be found within its extensive
halls, for Asmodeus, a master strategist,
makes use of all the powers and talents
available in the hells to further his own
ends. His bodyguards and personal servants are the mighty pit fiends; outside of
the palace, one is more likely to encounter them in Nessus than any other creature, for they are constantly flying here
and there at the Overlords bidding.
Knowledge of the geography of Nessus

32 AUGUST

1983

is similarly incomplete and possibly inaccurate, but it is known to be a rocky,

misty realm that holds many dangers for
the unwary.
Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, winds
aimlessly about Nessus; no mortal has
ever found its source or outflow. All creatures who touch its clear green waters
(except devils, who are immune to
Lethes power) must save vs. poison or be
permanently feebleminded (only a wish,
alter reality, or limited wish will reverse
this), and even if cured, victims will lose
all memories of the time preceding their
cure. Some say that the river Lethe flows
through dimensional space in some
incomprehensible way, and thereby also
flows on the Prime Material Plane. It
may thus provide another entry and exit
to the deepest plane of the hells but if
any have traveled this route and survived,
they do not talk of it.
The lake of Cocytus lies far from the
palace of the Overlord, high up in a bowl
of rock surrounded by crags. It is frozen; a
glassy-smooth surface of ice tens of feet
thick and within the ice are trapped
the bodies of all who have ever ventured
across it, for the ice always rises suddenly,
in jaws, to engulf them. A dispel magic
or slow will slow this action enough for a
creature to escape or be helped clear, in
haste, and a wall of force or even a wall of
ice will temporarily jam the jaws open
and also permit escape. A shatter spell or

the physical force wielded by most creatures will not affect the ice, but a crystalbrittle spell cast upon it will render the
ice fragile (to the extent of the spells area
of effect), subject to the effects of all normal weapons and implements, and a
hammer of thunderbolts will shatter it
easily (perhaps also damaging a trapped
victim). Any magical and/or natural
combination of strength equal to a storm
giants (such as the natural might of
Asmodeus or Geryon) can affect the ice of
Cocytus.
On the slopes between the crags that
surround the Lake of Fear (Cocytus) and
the winding river Lethe stands a huge
wood of trees whose leaves are always
burning, but are not consumed by the
flames. A blazing branch taken from one
of these trees will burn equal in heat
and fire effects to a normal blaze, doing
1-4 points of burn damage per contact
ceaselessly, even if taken to another plane.
Water, cold, winds, lack of air, etc., will
not douse it, nor will water- or coldrelated spells. Nothing short of a limited
wish will douse it while in the hells; outside the hells, a dispel magic or contact
with the area of effect of a protection
from evil (for such a branch is strongly
evil) will extinguish it forever, but affect
normal fires will have no effect. If a
branch is broken off, it will bleed, yielding a small quantity of blue-green ichor,
a substance fabled in magical lore as an

ingredient in many potions, spell inks,

and processes for the making of magical
items.
Within the course of the river Lethe is
the central area of Nessus, a region of
twisted and scorched rock broken by
many rifts and knife-edged ridges, and
within this area the firewinds sweep. A
firewind is a permanent wall of fire (as in
the spell) of triple strength and damage,
typically up to a quarter of a mile in
length, that sweeps over the ground in
the forefront of a howling wind (26
movement rate). The firewinds blow at
random, and may join or break apart in
accordance with the topography of the
land or for no apparent reason. Usually
they will sweep over a creature on the
ground in a single round, enveloping it
briefly for 4-24 points of damage (save for
half damage). Loose garments, small
birds, and so forth may be blown away
with the firewind, but in its wake there is
relative calm. The bones of many creatures litter this inner desolation of Nessus, and a traveler will find that the rifts
grow deeper as one heads inward, so that
the bottom of the lowest plane of the
hells is a huge bowl or gulf. Here the air
is always smoky, and the firewinds howl,
and here, at the bottom of the lowest rift
(where the firewinds do not reach, but
pass overhead) is the infernally grand
palace of Asmodeus. Some sages say that
in the center of the palace is a great gate
that will allow transport from this place
to any plane (of the users choice) in the
multiverse. This gate, they say, will allow
passage of any number or amount of creatures and objects, and Asmodeus cannot
destroy it or affect its operation. (Devils
and other creatures of lawful evil alignment attempting to use it, regardless of
power, will be destroyed.) Some believe
that the Overlord deliberately built his
palace atop it so as to control access to
and from the hells; somewhere in the
Prime Material Plane, it is hinted, lies the
way into the Nine Hells via this gate. The
existence of this gate is supported by the
legend that to escape the hells, one must
descend to the deepest part of the plane.
The maker of the gate is unknown, but is
probably one or more of the greater gods.
Asmodeus rarely leaves his palace,
making his will known and acted upon
by servants of apparently unshakeable
loyalty. Adramalech serves him as chancellor, recording the numbers, acquisitions, and transformations of the lemures
and larvae, torments suffered by devils,
the names of those who serve the diabolic
on other planes, and the making and
terms of all pacts and contracts. The
Keeper of the Records answers to no one
but the Overlord himself, and has his
own tower in the palace, ringed at all
times by six pit fiends. This guard detail
is ordered by the pit fiend Baalberith,
major domo of the palace, probably at the
behest of Asmodeus, and is little liked by
Adramalech. A similar guard rings the

34 AUGUST

1983

chamber or person of Bensozia, consort to

Asmodeus, at all times. Another 54 pit
fiends round out the palace guard.
Phongor is the most feared devil in
Nessus, after Asmodeus himself; he serves
Asmodeus as inquisitor, and little information escapes his probing questions and
methods of persuasion.
The greatest pit fiend of all, the awesomely scarred, broken-winged Alastor,
serves Asmodeus as executioner. His
strength is that of a storm giants, and he
never speaks. It is said in the hells that if
all were swept away and Asmodeus could
choose but one devil as a companion, that
one would be neither consort nor lieutenant, but Alastor the Grim.
Another pit fiend, Martinet, is constable of Nessus, responsible for the personal
armies of Asmodeus. These armies camp
eternally around the palace, and their
generals confer often with the Overlord.
These proud dukes are: Buer, who commands 15 companies of pit fiends; Morax,
leader of nine such companies; Bune,
general of 30 companies of malebranche;
Rimmon, head of five companies of ice
devils; and Zagum, leader of 30 companies of barbed devils. It is said that the
nycadaemon Daerith once appeared
unannounced over the lake of Cocytus
and flew toward the palace of Asmodeus,
and before it reached the crags about the
lake was destroyed utterly, torn apart bodily by pit fiends on patrol. With such
guardians, it is small wonder why the
mysteries of the plane are so many, and
the visitors who return whence they came
so few.

BENSOZIA (Queen of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 18/26
HIT DICE: 86 hit points
% IN LAIR: 95%
TREASURE TYPE: C, R, X
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (6 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 261
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Bensozia is the consort of Asmodeus,
and staunchly supports her mate. She is
personally the most powerful of the consorts, but her influence is entirely linked
with that of Asmodeus; it is said that
Bensozia speaks not, save by the leave of
the Great One. Bensozia seems happy in
her position, although she is not always
physically with Asmodeus, but her natural manner is coldly polite and haughty,
seldom revealing her true feelings. She

bears a brass scepter that does 4-16 damage to all creatures of good alignment,
3-12 damage to devils, and 2-8 damage to
others. Empty-handed, she strikes with
her hands for 2-12 damage.
Bensozia can use the following spelllike powers at will, once per round and
only one at a time: pyrotechnics, produce
flame, animate dead, fireball (3d6),
lightning bolt (2d6), dispel magic, charm
person, charm monster, suggestion, ESP,
detect invisibility, detect magic, identify,
sending (to Asmodeus only), teleport, and
(fulfill anothers limited) wish. Twice per
day Bensozia can employ a finger of
death, and once per day heal herself. She
causes fear (6 range) by speaking to an
individual (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid),
and can summon 1-2 pit fiends (50%
chance), or 1-4 malebranche (30% chance).
Bensozia regenerates 1 point of damage
every 3 rounds.
Description: Bensozia is a tall statuesque, human-appearing devil. She has
long white hair, large glistening black
eyes, scarlet skin, large brown hooves,
and a forked tail. She always wears loose
black robes with a scarlet silk lining
within, and, as Queen of Hell, a diadem
of beaten gold set with large rubies (total
value 26,000 gp).

ADRAMALECH
(Chancellor of Hell)
FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 14
HIT DICE: 133 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: I, S, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (6 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 245
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Adramalech, the cruel and malicious
Chancellor of Hell, aids Asmodeus
greatly from his tower in the Overlords
palace in Nessus. The Keeper of Records
answers only to Asmodeus, and spends
much of his time observing (through his
spies and openly recognized informants,
the latter including all pit fiends in the
hierarchy of the hells) events in the infernal regions and elsewhere. The Infernal
Records (sometimes called The Book of
Fire by men, although the records actually take up many folios and papers) contain all true names of devils known to
Adramalech (note that he has memorized
those of all dukes and arch-devils in selfdefense; thus, none will attack him). He
also records the numbers, acquisitions,

D RAGON 35

and transformations of lemures and larvae; torments suffered by devils; the ranks
and powers of all devils and suspected or
known alliance or deceptions among
them; the names, ranks, and locations of
all who serve the devils on other planes;
and the making and terms of all pacts
and contracts.
When not engaged in updating the
records or keeping an ear to the ground,
Adramalech likes to amuse himself by
watching weaker creatures particularly
humans and elves brought from the
Prime Material Plane being tortured
and slain by devils in the dungeons of the
palace or in the encampments of the
infernal armies outside its walls. Adramalech carries a +2 staff which can slay living (save at +1) by touch, and disintegrate
(devils save at 1) by touch once in every 6
turns. His loyalty to Asmodeus is not
entire he often tries to conceal small
items of information or magical items
seized from intruders from the Overlord,
under the guise of absent-mindedness.
Adramalech can employ the following
spell-like powers at will, one at a time
and once per round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall of fire, fireball (3d6),
dispel magic, detect lie, detect magic,
detect invisibility, ESP, know alignment,
read magic, read languages, tongues,
write, explosive runes, animate dead,
sending (to Asmodeus only), teleport,
identify, anti-magic shell, and (fulfill

anothers limited) wish. Once per day

Adramalech can unleash a meteor swarm,
and once per day he can use a symbol of
insanity. He causes fear by pointing at a
creature within 4 and speaking (save vs.
spell at 1 to avoid). He can summon 1-3
pit fiends (55% chance) or 1-6 malebranche (50% chance). Adramalech regenerates 1 hit point every round.
Description: Adramalech appears as an
aged, gray-bearded and balding man,
with cold, wet eyes that change hue from
emerald green through black to fiery
orange depending upon his mood
(enjoyment to fury, respectively). He has
normal human feet and hands, small
crimson barbed horns and a crimson
forked tail. He wears loose, flowing robes
of green, purple, russet, or black, and
beneath these is a humanoid body that is
crimson and scaly down the back, and
yellow-green and slimy down the front.

PHONGOR (Inquisitor of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 1
MOVE: 16
HIT DICE: 129 hit points
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: Q(x2), Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +5
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M (6 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 249
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Phongor is the dreaded Inquisitor of
Hell; he is responsible directly to Asmodeus for the provision of complete and
accurate news of the hells and other
planes. To do this, he has subverted the
spies of Adramalech (so that they report
first, and most fully, to him), enlisted
spies of his own (and spies to watch his
spies; he trusts no one), and perfected the
arts of torture on devils, the lesser creatures of the hells, and intruders alike. Little escapes his arts, and few return whole
in body or mind from Phongors gentle
grasp, as it is said in the hells. In the
depths of the palace of the Overlord,
Phongor employs many delicate and brutal instruments of torture. While in the
palace, he will always have two pit fiends
as bodyguards and 6-11 servant spined
devils.
In battle Phongor can employ any
weapon without to hit or damage
penalties, but he favors his envenomed
whip (see the listing for erinyes in the
Monster Manual for effects of the venom).
The weapon is a cat-of-nine-tails with
tempered wire, rather than cord, as its
strands. Each strand does 1-4 points base

36 AUGUST

1983

damage, and all nine strands are capable

of striking the same target in the same
round. Phongor himself can feel no pain,
and thus is unaffected by attacks until
physically disabled.
Phongor can use the following spelllike powers at will, one at a time and
once per round: pyrotechnics, produce
flame, fireball (2d6), lightning bolt (2d6),
wall of fire, animate dead, dispel magic,
detect lie, know alignment, ESP, tongues,
detect invisibility, identify, sending (to
Asmodeus only), teleport, and (fulfill
anothers limited) wish. By touch, Phongor can either cause disease (see DMG for
diseases), putrefy food & drink, or attack
with a shocking grasp. He can choose
from these three effects freely and change
between them without limit. Six times
per day he can use a symbol of pain, and
thrice a day he can heal himself or
another (by touch). Once per day he can
employ true seeing (lasts for 1-12 rounds,
as he wills, but is ended immediately if he
uses another of the above powers). Phongor radiates fear in a 4 radius at will
(save at 2 to avoid; this power affects
even devils below the rank of duke). He
can summon 1-2 pit fiends (60% chance)
or 1-6 spined devils (65% chance). Phongor regenerates 1 hit point per round.
Description: Phongor appears as a
dead-white skinned man with glittering
pink eyes, a hoarse, hissing voice, tiny
horns and oily black hair, a forked tail,
and red hooves. He wears open purple or
black robes, and a belt to carry his whip.

BUER (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 22
HIT DICE: 126 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: H, Q(x4)
NO. OF ATTACKS: See below
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (10 long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 226
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Buer is a duke in the service of Asmodeus, commanding 15 companies of pit
fiends. He is inclined to melancholy
demeanor and, although always polite in
speech, appears to delight in practical
jokes. It should be remembered, however,
that his words and actions are perfectly
controlled, and are generally intended to
further a specific aim or purpose. His
loyalty to Asmodeus has never been questioned, and he keeps a careful eye on the
whereabouts and activities of his forces.
Buer can use the following spell-like

powers, one at a time and once per round:

pyrotechnics, produce flame, flame arrow
(by touch), animate dead, lightning bolt
(4d6), dispel magic, fly, remove (or bestow) curse (by touch), find familiar (for
another; imps only), cure (or cause) disease (by touch), detect invisibility, detect
magic, know alignment, teleport, and
(fulfill anothers limited) wish. Twice per
day he can cause a flame strike, and once
per day he can use a symbol of hopelessness or one of discord. He causes fear by
his bellow (6 effective range; save vs.
spell to avoid), and can summon 1-3 pit
fiends (70% chance). Buer regenerates 2
hit points per round.
Description: Buer resembles a centaur
(human torso with arms, horses body)
with gleaming silver skin and white hair.
He has staring red eyes and red horns,
and his four hooves are cloven and have
crimson fetlocks. He wears a belt about
his body, carrying a +2 mace and a +1
bow; the belt also carries four quivers
(two on each side) containing 20 arrows
each. He can flame arrow and fire such a
shaft in one round, or fire two arrows, or
strike twice with his mace.
From Buers hips (that is, the upper
portion of his back, just above the forelegs) protrude six 10-long prehensile tentacles, which have no strength to grip but
can flail at any opponents (up to six
separate targets) within 1. Each tentacle
slaps for 2-8 corrosive, stinging acidic

damage per strike. Each tentacle can

withstand 6 cumulative points of damage
before being severed. Note that Buer will
regenerate damage to these along with the
rest of his body.

BUNE (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 12/18
HIT DICE: 136 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: I, Q(x10), W, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5 or by weapon
type +8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 229
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Bune is a duke in the service of Asmodeus, commanding 30 companies of
malebranche. He is greedy (fond of material wealth) and enjoys manipulating
lesser beings of all sorts (including his
warriors). His loyalty to Asmodeus is
solid, but he is naturally cheeky to and

defiant of all beings of whom he is scared

(in other words, those stronger than himself). Asmodeus tolerates this because of
all the dukes, Bune is the quickest and
most careful in the execution of his
orders. Bune is content with his position,
sees Asmodeus as the most powerful archdevil and thus the safest lord, and will
not betray him.
Bune can use the following spell-like
powers at will, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, animate dead, dispel magic, detect invisibility, detect magic, tongues, locate object,
flaming sphere, magic missile (6 missiles
per spell), teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. Once per day Bune can cast
a cone of cold (9d4 +9), once per day heal
himself, and once per day use a symbol of
death. Bune causes fear (save vs. spell at
2 to avoid) by touch, and can summon 1-4
malebranche (70% chance of success) or a
pit fiend (40% chance of success) to his
aid. Bune regenerates 2 hit points per
round.
Description: Bune appears as a malebranche, except that his scaled body is
green in hue (coppery on the belly and
loins), and his talons are silvery in color.
Bunes head, however, is human with
dog-like furry ears and a great griffon-like
beak. His voice is high-pitched and lilting, although he will screech if he
becomes infuriated, and he is an excellent
mimic of other beings.

D RAGON 37

Bune fights with a saw-edged sword,

shaped somewhat like a leaping flame
(2-8 base damage), and a trident. He bears
the sword and any treasure (in a pouch)
by means of a belt, but rarely wears any
other clothing. Bunes bite does 2-5 damage; if he is unarmed, his claws do 2-8
damage each, but he will snatch up a
weapon at any opportunity.

MORAX (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVE: 12/16
HIT DICE: 135 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: H, I, Y
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-12/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 223
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Morax is a duke in the service of
Asmodeus, leading nine companies of pit
fiends. He is a being of few (and wellchosen) words, but exults in a good fight.

He often wrestles with the pit fiends

under his command, hurling them about
and roaring. He is respected by the pit
fiends for his fairness to them and his
loyalty to Asmodeus. He despises weakness, and is angered by creatures who
bluff or presume to have a strength or station they do not possess or deserve. Morax
respects Bifrons, Geryon, Asmodeus, and
other physically strong devils, and has little time for sneaks or those who hide
behind magic (for example, Phongor
and Adramalech, in Nessus). Morax and
Alastor are good friends, and will aid
each other when one is in need, knowledge of the situation and opportunity
permitting.
Morax can use the following spell-like
powers, one at a time and once per round:
pyrotechnics, produce flame, fireball
(2d6), dispel magic, detect invisibility,
detect magic, teleport, and (fulfill anothers limited) wish. Once per day he can
cause earthquake, and once per day use a
symbol of stunning. He causes fear by
touch (save vs. spell at 2 to avoid), and
can summon 1-3 pit fiends (75% chance)
at will. Morax regenerates 2 hit points per
round.
Description: Morax is a cloven-hooved,
humanoid devil. He has a bull-like head,
with massive curved horns (somewhat
like Moloch), bat-like wings, and heavily
muscled arms. He has a short forked tail.
His entire body is a dark, dirty brown in
hue, and his eyes are scarlet. He has a
cluster of 2-inch-long spines on his chest,
and in battle loves to hug victims against
this cluster (piercing and crushing damage of 4-24 points per round). He prefers
to fight by hurling two throwing axes
and then closing with opponents to use
his hands (3-12 each). If he wields a weapon (a rare thing), Morax does damage by
weapon type +7.

RIMMON (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 9
HIT DICE: 125 hit points
% IN LAIR: 90%
TREASURE TYPE: Q(x6), R
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8/2-8/4-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (12 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 224
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Rimmon is a duke serving Asmodeus.
He leads five companies of ice devils in
battle, and appears as an ice devil with a
handsome, human-like diabolic horned
head. He is nasty and sarcastic and little

38 AUGUST

1983

liked in the hells, but he is loyal to

Asmodeus and has little personal pride.
Rimmon rarely fights with a trident, getting 2 attacks per round, one for weapon
damage +6 and the other 4-16 for his tail.
Unarmed, he does 2-8 damage with each
set of claws plus 4-16 for his tail.
Rimmon can use the following spelllike powers, one at a time and once per
round: pyrotechnics, produce flame, fly,
dispel magic, detect invisibility, detect
magic, wall of ice, ice storm, cone of cold
(5d4 +5 damage), lightning bolt (4d6
damage), teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. Twice per day he can
unleash chain lightning (7d6), and once
per day he can use a symbol of pain.
Rimmon radiates fear in a 2 radius at
will, has 60 infravision, and regenerates
2 hit points per round.

ZAGUM (Duke of Hell)

FREQUENCY: Unique (Very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 12
HIT DICE: 127 hit points
% IN LAIR: 85%
TREASURE TYPE: C, P
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-12/3-12/4-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (16 tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 228
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Zagum is a duke serving Asmodeus,
and commands 30 companies of barbed
devils. He is ambitious and cold-blooded,
but considers cruelty a self-indulgent
waste of time, whereas humor (laughing
with fellow devils) pays dividends in
terms of comradeship, mutual aid,
respect, and cooperation. Therefore
Zagum has a sense of humor, if a coarse
one, and is constantly inventing jokes or
stunts that amuse rather than harm.
Zagum can use the following spell-like
powers, one at a time and once per round:
pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall of fire,
dispel magic, hold person, hold monster,
fly, teleport, and (fulfill anothers
limited) wish. Twice per day he can cause
a flame strike, and once per day employ a
symbol of pain. He causes fear by gaze (1
effective range, save vs. spell at 2 to
avoid), and can summon 1-4 barbed devils
(75% chance of success) as desired. Zagum
regenerates 2 hit points per round.
Description: Zagum appears as a gigantic barbed devil, with a long (15) tail and
a jagged row of barbed spines running up
his back, culminating in a bony collar
edged with spines at the back and sides of
his head. His scaled skin is crimson in
hue, his eyes yellow with black pupils.

Spells in the hells

There is much more to be done before
the Nine Hells are truly playable. As
another step in that direction, the
remainder of this presentation is devoted
to some suggested spell alterations (that
is, differences in the performance of spells
on the Prime Material Plane compared to
the plane in question), primarily for the
plane of Avernus. (Editors note: Frank
Mentzer, one of the resident rule experts
on the AD&D game at TSR Hobbies,
Inc., responded to our request for additional help by offering some additions
and suggested corrections to the authors
spell list. We have used [square brackets]
to set off Franks remarks from Ed
Greenwoods original material.)
The defensive strategy of the Nine
Hells is to confine all entries to this
plane, so that hostile or unauthorized visitors can be dealt with on Avernus and
not in the realms of any of the archdevils. If an attacker is strong, the archdevils merely send more and more of their
armies (who, given an arch-devils
authorization, can move freely about the
hells) to Avernus, into the fray, until the
foe is overwhelmed. If this strategy works,
further details of the rest of the Nine
Hells may never be necessary.

Magic alterations
The Nine Hells are environments very
different from the Prime Material Plane.
The arch-devils have, over a span of time
far beyond mans ken, twisted facets of
the nature of the hells to their own ends,
resulting in magical conditions forbidding to intruders. As a rule of thumb,
spell casters entering the Nine Hells will
find that they cannot contact or summon
creatures from other planes; cannot control fauna, flora, or weather; and in particular they will face many creatures (the
devils) that are immune to the effects of
most mind- and control-related spells.
Clerics and druids cannot regain spells
above 2nd level, once cast, and the effects
of many spells and even magical items are
altered. A protection from devils scroll,
for instance, would be ineffective if read
in the hells. [A scroll of protection from
devils would still have effect, but only
that of a normal protection from evil,
10 radius spell effect. Partial reading
gives the 2 penalty to attacks of, and the
+2 bonus to the saving throws of the
defenders from, the given type of devil (3,
7, or 10 segments to affect lesser, greater,
or all devils, respectively). However, contact with any magic-resistant creature
might cause the protection to vanish
(normal MR check applies).]
Suggested spell alterations are given
below, including those for spells published in earlier issues of DRAGON
Magazine, either from E. Gary Gygaxs

column, From the Sorcerers Scroll, or

Len Lakofkas column, Leomunds Tiny
Hut. Note that new spells published after
issue #69 of DRAGON Magazine are
unknown to me as of this writing, and
hence are not covered. These alterations
(and those of magical items and character
abilities, detailed hereafter) are of necessity incomplete: few are eager to learn
such alterations the hard way, by experimentation in the hells, and few who do
learn return to tell the tale.
Spells are listed by class, and within
each character class by ascending level,
alphabetically by name within each level.
X equals ineffective.

Cleric spells
Command: Ineffective against greater
devils.
Detect evil: Evil is so overwhelming
that this spell can only be used negatively; i.e., to detect the absence of evil in
a specific object or creature.
[Light and continual light spells have
areas of effect of half normal size and
intensity, and may attract wandering residents of the plane, if any (1 in 6 chance,
check per turn).]
Protection from evil: X
Protection from good: Effects of double
strength.
[Purify food & drink: X]
Sanctuary: Ineffective versus archdevils; other creatures attacking caster
gain a +2 bonus on saves vs. spell.
Chant: X
Holy symbol: Ineffective, and any
attempt to cast will draw the nearest devil
to the place of casting, quickly.
Messenger: X
Dust devil: X
Enthrall: X
Prayer: X
[Speak with dead: X]
Abjure/implore: Both forms ineffective
Ceremony, consecrate ground: X
Divination: X
Negative plane protection: X
Protection from evil, 10 radius: X
[Note that a paladins radiant protection
effect (and that of any other creature connected to the Positive Material Plane) is
merely reduced from 10 radius to personal effect only.]
Protection from good, 10 radius:
effects of double strength.
Atonement: X
Commune: X [Commune, aerial servant, conjure animals, and other spells
involving direct contact with another
plane might work, depending on the
power of the being contacted and the
actual plane of the Nine Hells on which
the spell is cast. If on the outermost (or
first, or highest, or closest to the Inner

Planes), all such spells will work properly. A demigod can be contacted on the
second plane down; a lesser god, the
third; and a greater god, five planes
down. No contact of any sort can be
made from the 6th-9th planes of the Nine
Hells unless permission is given from the
ruler of the plane.]
Dispel evil: X
Flame strike: X
Insect plague: X
Quest: X
Raise dead: X
Aerial servant: X [See commune.]
Conjure animals: X [See commune.]
Find the path: X
[Word of recall: Will only work from
the 1st-6th planes; the 7th-9th planes are
too far removed.]
[Astral spell: Will only work from the
1st of the Nine Hells.]
Control weather: X
Earthquake: X
Exaction: Ineffective versus devils.
[Gate: Affects deities in limited fashion,
as per commune (see above).]
Henleys digit of disruption: Ineffective, but caster will know this upon
thinking of the spell, prior to casting.
Holy word: Ineffective. (Unholy word
will be effective only if caster worships
one of the arch-devils, and then only
against lesser devils.)
Resurrection: X

Druid spells
Entangle: X
Predict weather: X
[Purify water: X]
Heat metal: Functions normally, but
note that devils suffer no damage from
the hot version and only half damage
from the cold version.
[Obscurement: Half normal dimensions, 1/8 normal volume ( cube/level).]
[Call lightning: X]
Plant growth: X
Summon insects: X
Animal summoning I: X
Call woodland beings: X
Hold plant: Plants native to the hells
save vs. the spell at +2.
Animal growth (or reduction): X
Animal summoning II: X
Commune with nature: X
Insect plague: X
Animal summoning III: X
Conjure fire elemental: X [Conjure
elemental (fire or earth) works from
Avernus only.]
[Feeblemind: Treat all devils as if
human clerics (+1 to save).]
Weather summoning: X

D RAGON 39

Chariot of Sustarre: This spell is effective on Avernus, but not when cast on
any of the other hells.
Confusion: Ineffective versus greater
devils; lesser devils save vs. spell at normal, not at 2.
Conjure earth elemental: X [But see
conjure fire elemental above.]
Control weather: X
Creeping doom: X
[Finger of death: Ineffective against any
devil.]
[Reincarnation: X]

Magic-user spells
Cantrips Bee: X; Bug: X; Change:
ineffective vs. creatures native to the hells;
Gnats: X; Mouse: X; Spider: X; Yawn:
ineffective vs. creatures native to the hells.
Find familiar: Will work only if cast by
a lawful evil or neutral evil magic-user;
only imps can be summoned in the hells.
[Light and continual light: See note
under cleric spells.]
Melt: Ice devils are not affected by this
spell, suffering no damage.
Mount: X
Precipitation: X
Protection from evil: X
Protection from good: Effects will be of
double strength.
Taunt: X

Detect evil: See note under cleric spells.

Forget: Ineffective against all devils.
[Invisibility (all sorts): The DM must
remember to check each devils chance of
detecting invisibility (as applicable),
based on intelligence and hit dice (DMG
p. 60). Thus, any form of invisibility is
often ineffective against arch-devils.]
Invitation: ineffective against devils
[Rope trick: The extra-dimensional
space will be on an adjacent level of the
hells, and may invite unexpected visitors
(cf. gate).]
Scare: X
[Shutter: Will not affect a devils
talisman.]
Tashas uncontrollable hideous laughter: Ineffective versus greater devils.
Cloudburst: X
Material: X
Monster summoning I: X
Protection from evil 10 radius: X
Protection from good 10 radius: Effects
will be of double strength.
Sepia snake sigil: Will always miss devils of any sort.
Charm monster: Ineffective versus
greater devils; lesser devils save at +2.
Fear: Ineffective versus undead, devils.
Fire charm: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
Monster summoning II: X
Plant growth: X

[Wall of ice: Duration is but 1 round

per level in most warm areas of the hells.]
Avoidance: Ineffective versus the
apparel or possessions on the person of a
devil.
Conjure elemental: X [See note under
druid spell conjure fire elemental.]
Contact other plane: Effective only to
other planes within the hells. [Ignore the
elemental line in the spell description,
calculating all distances as needed.]
Dismissal: Effective in the normal
manner, but its reverse, beckon, will
never succeed in summoning a creature
from any plane but one of the other hells.
Distance distortion: X
Dolor: Ineffective versus devils and
other creatures native to the hells.
Nothing will happen when it is cast; the
target devil will not charm and dominate
the caster.
[Feeblemind: See note under the druid
spell of the same name.]
Leomunds lamentable belabourment:
Ineffective versus devils.
Leomunds secret chest: The chest can
be summoned on Avernus, but not on any
of the other hells, and in no case will a
living creature of any sort enter the hells
via such a chest.
Magic jar: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
Monster summoning III: X
[Wall of iron or wall of stone: These
effects have a duration of 1 turn per level
of the caster.]
Control weather: X
[Death spell: Ineffective against any
devil.]
Ensnarement: X
Geas: Ineffective versus devils.
Invisible stalker: X [See note under the
cleric spell commune.]
Monster summoning IV: X
[Reincarnation: X]
Spiritwrack: Only effective versus devils
(demons cannot be contacted from the
hells), and casting it will attract any
greater and arch-devils on the plane of
casting to the location of the caster,
within 1 turn.
Transmute water to dust: The waters of
marshy areas in the upper hells (e.g.,
Minauros) will be affected by this spell,
but the river Lethe and the waters of the
swamp and ocean of Stygia will not.
Banishment: Note that a devil cannot
be forced back to its own other plane
of the hells; this spell can banish other
creatures from the hells, but cannot force
creatures native to the hells from one
level to another.
Cacodemon: X
Charm plants: X [Permits communication only, not charm.]
Limited wish: Devils are in no way
affected by a limited wish cast in the
hells. Creatures may leave, but not enter
or be summoned to, the hells by means of

40 AUGUST

1983

a limited wish. Such a spell cannot be

used to contact a deity or a deitys servants except an arch-devil or servants, nor
to gain spells from that deity or servants.
Monster summoning V: X
Teleport without error: This can be
used to enter or leave the hells, but the
chance of error in any case rises by 21%.
Torment: Any unfortunate spell caster
undertaking such a spell will soon learn
that, in the hells, no devil can be bound
in a magic circle, thaumaturgic triangle,
pentagram, or other drawn boundary.
(Protective circles will keep some devils at
bay, however, and physical barriers or
prisons, such as a forcecage, can contain
most devils.)
Truename: It is worth noting with
respect to this spell that no arch-devils
true name is known to other devils
(except perhaps Asmodeus; if this were
not so, the devil in question would not
retain his or her position for long), and as
a rule, only arch-devils know the names
of other devils (typically only a few loyal
to them, for they would act quickly to
bring about the downfall of an enemy, by
means not available to casters of this
spell). Devils do not bargain with the true
names of other devils, although they may
bargain for such names. The sending portion of the spell will work as a means of
delivering willing creatures from the hells
to other, safer planes, or as a means of
transport within the hells.

[Vanish: If the object is of greater bulk

than the given limit, the object is not
replaced by stone, but is instead entirely
unaffected.]
[Antipathy/sympathy: Any devil on its
home plane is unaffected.]
Binding: See torment, above.
Demand: Ineffective versus devils.
Mass charm: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
[Maze: The extra-dimensional space
is 3 planes removed at best, and may
(depending on the level of the hells on
which it is cast) have an effect similar to
rope trick or gate.]
Monster summoning VI: X
Sink: Greater devils are unaffected by
this spell. Other creatures of the hells are
allowed the usual saving throw.
Symbol: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
[Trap the soul: Ineffective against
arch-devils.]
Energy drain: Ineffective in the hells.
When the spell is called to mind (the concentration just prior to casting begun),
the caster will realize that the spell will
not work and if spellcasting is not
undertaken, the spell will not be lost.
Imprisonment: [Ineffective against
arch-devils, but will place any other devil
into temporal stasis until dispelled (and
note that a standard magic-resistance

check applies).] The reverse of the spell

will not cause any creatures to appear.
Monster summoning VII: X
Wish: See limited wish, above; conditions are identical except that a wish may
affect lesser devils.

Illusionist spells
[Hypnotism: Ineffective against all
devils.]
[Light and continual light: See note
under cleric spells.]
Spook: Ineffective on creatures native
to the hells.
[Wall of fog: Half normal dimensions,
1/8 normal value.]
Fascinate: X
Hypnotic pattern: Ineffective versus all
devils.
[Invisibility (all forms): See note under
magic-user spells.]
[Illusionary script: Ineffective against
greater devils.]
[Paralyzation: Note that a paralyzed
devil can still perform at will abilities,
including teleport.]
Confusion: Ineffective vs. greater devils;
lesser devils save vs. spell at par, not at 2.
[Emotion: Ineffective against greater
devils.]

D RAGON 41

[Minor creation: Half normal duration,

or 1/10 normal duration when on the
7th-9th planes of the hells.]
Phantasmal killer: Ineffective versus
greater devils.
[Shadow monsters: All have half the
given hit points, and inflict half the given
damage against victims who make their
saving throws, due to the remote position
of the hells with respect to the Plane of
Shadow.]
Solid fog: Does not reduce the movement of creatures native to the hells.
Chaos: X
[Demi-shadow monsters: See shadow
monsters above.]
[Major creation: Half normal duration,
or 1/10 normal duration when on the
7th-9th planes of the hells.]
Maze: [See note under magic-user spell
of the same name.]
[Shadow door: The invisibility is ineffective against arch-devils.]
[Shadow magic: Victims failing their
saving throws take only half normal
damage.]
[Summon shadow: X]
Conjure animals: X
[Demi-shadow magic: See shadow
magic above.]
[Mass suggestion: Ineffective against
arch-devils.]
[Permanent illusion: Lasts only 3 minutes after concentration ends.]
[Shades: See shadow monsters above.]
Alter reality: Devils are in no way
affected by an alter reality cast in the
hells; the conditions limiting the spell are
identical to those on the magic-user spell
limited wish (see above).
[Astral spell: See note under cleric spell
of the same name.]
Shadow walk: X
Vision: X [Works normally on the first
of the Nine Hells.]
Weird: Ineffective versus greater devils;
lesser devils save at +3; ineffective versus
undead.
(Note that in this list, the term greater
devil includes arch-devils unless the two
terms are used separately in the same
entry.)
[General note on limited and full
wishes: The ruler of any plane of existence (including the Nine Hells) has full
and final veto power over any wish cast
within its/his/her territorial jurisdiction.
This power might or might not be exercised with any given wish, depending on
the nature of the ruler and the wish.
However, the exceedingly lawful nature
of the hells is such that the ruler will
immediately know of any and all such
attempts, and will immediately (in all but
exceptional circumstances) cancel, modify, or grant the effects, quite possibly
arriving in person (with all appropriate
guards and assistants) to adjudicate the
matter.]

42 AUGUST

198 3

Magic item alterations

Potion of fire resistance: Effective
against the natural fires of the hells and
those magically produced by creatures
such as nightmares, up to and including
malebranche but, the potion seems
ineffective against the fiery magics of pit
fiends and all greater unique devils. (A
ring of fire resistance seems strong
enough to protect against such powerful
magical fires.)
Potion of gaseous form: An adventurer
using such a potion exploded when
struck by a firewind, while fleeing across
the rifts of Nessus. Companions of the
lost one say the firewind appeared drawn
to the gas.
Oil of etherealness: [No effect.] Ethereal
individuals are apparently not invisible
in the hells.
Potion of treasure finding: Apparently
ineffective in palaces and caves of the
Nine Hells.
Ring of djinni summoning: The djinni
will not feel its summons, nor appear, if
such a ring is rubbed when in the hells;
its operation is suspended.
Ring of elemental command: Such a
ring is inoperative in the hells, and none
of its effects or properties (including saving throw penalties) will be effective.
Ring of fire resistance: See potion of
fire resistance, above.
Ring of human influence: All devils,
even if in human or humanoid form, are
totally unaffected by such a ring.
Ring of multiple wishes: Any wishes
that affect any greater or arch-devil (other
than to free the speaker or a stated creature from the physical grasp or confinement of such a being) are beyond the
power of the magic of the item. Requests
involving exit from the hells will be
granted, as will wishes involving travel
from place to place within the hells, but
such travel will not extend to captive devils or other creatures of lawful evil
alignment, and may not operate to the
precise destination requested.
Ring of three wishes: See ring of multiple wishes. For limited wish items, see
that spell under the above list of spell
alterations.
Ring of water walking: This item will
operate in the marshes of Minauros and
probably elsewhere in the hells as well,
but demonstrably does not function with
respect to Lethe, the River of Forgetfulnss, on Nessus.
Rod of beguiling: [Ineffective against
all residents on their home planes.]
[Rod of lordly might: In the first hell
(Avernus), the battle axe effect is +2, the
spear +1, and other weapon effects are
non-magical. Deductions apply for
planes further removed. All mechanical
effects work normally.]
Rod of resurrection: This item will not
function properly in the hells. If its
employment is attempted, charges will be
drained in the usual manner, but the rod

will only animate dead raising a

mindless, undead zombie which will obey
anyone bearing the rod. The zombie is
subject to the usual damage and continuing decay while animated, and if removed
from the hells to another plane, will
revert to an inanimate, lifeless corpse.
Rod of rulership: Such rulership is
ineffective against hellcats and all devils.
[Rod of smiting: Acts as a +1 weapon
in the first hell, and non-magical on
planes further removed; however, one
charge is still used on a roll of 20, and
triple normal damage is still inflicted
thereby (if the victim can be damaged by
normal weapons).]
Staff of command: Ineffective in the
hells.
Staff of the magi: Protection from evil
power ineffective, protection from good
of double strength. Plane travel power is
unaffected, but conjure elemental function will be ineffective. The retributive
strike power is unaffected, and has operated most efficiently in the hells! [For
staff of the magi and staff of power, see
notes on spell alterations for light, invisibility, etc.]
Staff of the serpent: Hell hounds, hellcats, and all devils are immune to the
poison of the adder version.
[Staff of striking: Acts as a +1 weapon
in the first hell, and non-magical on
planes further removed; however, charges
still double or triple normal damage (if
the victim can be damaged by normal
weapons).]
Staff of withering: Ineffective in the
hells (refer to DMG).
Wand of conjuration: The monster
summoning function will be ineffective,
but charges will be drained and lost
in the usual manner when this power is
called upon.
Wand of enemy detection: Ineffective in
the hells.
Wand of fear: Ineffective in the hells.
Wand of magic detection: Ineffective in
the hells.
Wand of metal and mineral detection:
Ineffective in the hells.
[Wand of wonder: No effect if heavy
ruin, summon, or create any creature,
plant, or object (rhino, butterfly, grass, et
al.) is indicated; only certain spell effects
will be produced.]
Arrow of direction: Ineffective; it will
fall in random directions when used in
the hells, although this may not be
immediately evident to the user.
Bag of beans: The soil and water of the
hells cannot cause such beans to sprout.
They retain, however, their explosive
property.
Bag of devouring: A bag of devouring
will never be found in the hells, and will
not enter them; it will disappear (along
with any contents) instantaneously if its
bearer enters any of the hells.
Book of exulted deeds: Cannot be
touched by lesser devils, against whom it
functions as though it were a protection

from evil of 20 radius, and if any such

approach to 10 distant, they take 2-12
electrical damage (no save), and are repulsed. This applies also to non-diabolic
creatures of the hells. Greater devils take
1-6 damage per contact, and are (save at
+1) confused (75%), slowed (20%), or both
(5%) for 1-4 rounds at every contact with
such a book. Arch-devils take 2-4 points
of damage upon touching such a book,
and their touch destroys it.
Bowl commanding water elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Bowl of watery death: Will function
normally in the hells. A tiny, drowned
magic-user will turn into a lemure of
normal size if still in the hells after 60
turns have elapsed.
Brazier commanding fire elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Brazier of sleep smoke: When a fire is
lit in such a brazier when in the hells,
clouds of billowing smoke will pour
forth, but it has no sleep effects, and no
fire elemental will appear. The smoke
will dissipate, and the fire go out, in 2-6
rounds.
Censer controlling air elementals: Ineffective in the hells.
Censer of summoning hostile air elementals: Ineffective in the hells.
Crystal ball: If used while in the hells,
the chance of locating a subject within
the Nine Hells is normal; i.e. as given in
the DMG (note that from one level of the
hells to another is to another plane, and
subject to 25% penalty). Arch-devils will
always (100%) feel the view-presence of a
scrying entity, knowing its direction and
approximate distance after 1-4 rounds of
observation, if on the same plane, and
knowing the plane after 3-12 continuous
rounds of observation if the observer is on
another plane. If a crystal ball is
employed in the hells to observe things
on other planes outside of the hells, there
is a penalty of 33% on locating a subject
(but only 24% if the subject is on the
Prime Material Plane).
Crystal hypnosis ball: If a magic-user
should employ a ball controlled by an
arch-devil (and most arch-devils place
four to twelve or so on the Prime Material
Plane to further their own ends and to
observe events) while in the hells, the
suggestion employed immediately will be
to travel to (or move toward) the location
of (or the plane of) the controlling archdevil. Rarely (and only if the controlled
individuals party is strong), the devil
may compel the individual to undertake a
mission in the hells, typically stealing
from or spying on a rival arch-devil. If a
crystal hypnosis ball controlled by a
being not in the hells is employed by a
magic user in the hells, nothing will
occur; the crystal ball will seem only a
non-magical sphere of glassy crystal,
although it will still radiate a detectable
dweomer.
Deck of many things: Plaques drawn in
the hells will have normal effects except

for the following: knight will arrive by

means of plane shift in 1-3 rounds,
bewildered but fully armed and armored,
fresh and at full hit points and will
immediately recognize the character he
wishes to follow. Flames will cause the
devil (DMs choice as to identity, but it
will be a devil somewhere in the hells at
the time the card is drawn) to immediately see the character who has drawn
the card, and know the precise location of
the character at that time. If balance is
drawn and the characters new alignment
is lawful evil, betrayal of the party in
such a way as to gain the most status for
the newly lawful evil character will be the
ultimate result.
Eyes of charming: Charm powers are
not effective versus devils or other monsters; the eyes enable the wearer to charm
person only.
Helm of teleportation: This item will
function properly in the hells, but there is
a 33% chance that the destination reached
will be slightly different than that
intended i.e., a teleport into an infernal palace might deposit one outside the
gates. Inter-planar travel (i.e. into another
level of the hells) is of course not possible. This shift phenomenon does not
appear to affect the spell teleport (but
evidence available to date is fragmentary),
and in any case the shift effect is
entirely separate from the vertical-error
risk of teleportation.
Horn of the Tritons: Ineffective if
winded in the hells.
Horn of Valhalla: Will be effective if
winded in the hells, and any berserkers
appearing will fight any devils within
view before turning on the horn-blower,
if there is any class or alignment conflict.
The berserkers will vanish in 6 turns
(although few will survive that long if
called into direct combat with devils).
Instrument of the bards: See bards
under character ability alterations, below.
Iron flask: Any devil or rakshasa
released from such a flask will immediately know where it is and will seek to
summon or attract the attention of infernal aid to defeat the individual releasing
it and any companions.
Pipes of the sewers: Rats are present in
the hells in only two places: the dungeons
beneath the iron city of Dis, and in the
garbage-choked towers of Malagard. Only
when the pipes are played in these places
will rats appear.
Robe of eyes: The tracking ability of
such a robe is ineffective in the hells, but
otherwise it functions normally.
Scarab of enraging enemies: Greater
devils and arch-devils are immune to the
effects of this item.
Sphere of annihilation: Such phenomena are never found in the hells, and cannot be magically plane shifted or otherwise made to enter the infernal regions.
Stone of controlling earth elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Talisman of pure good: In the hells,

this item will not function normally: evil

clerics (or evil creatures of any sort) will
not be swallowed up in a flaming chasm.
Such a talisman has a marked effect on
all vile creatures in the hells (including
devils); the touch of one (to hit roll
required) will do any such creature 12-48
points of damage (no saving throw), and
drain 1 charge. If its charges are
exhausted in the hells, such a talisman
will darken, shrivel, and crumble.
Talisman of ultimate evil: Will function normally in the hells, but will not
lose any charges, regardless of the number
of uses to which it is put. Devils will not
have or know how to use such talismans.
Trident of fish command: Any aquatic
life to be found in the hells (i.e., in the
swamp or ocean of Stygia or the river
Lethe) is unaffected by such a trident.
[General note on magic items: For
items constructed on the Prime Material
Plane, all magic weapon plusses are
dropped by 2 on the first of the Nine
Hells (Avernus), and by 1 more for each
plane further removed.]
Note regarding artifacts and relics: All
such items function normally in the hells.
It is most unlikely that artifacts or relics
of any sort will be found in the hells. If
there are any such, items dedicated to
good will not be found among them,
and they will lie within the walls of the
arch-devils fortresses not lost or forgotten for a character to happen upon.

D RAGON 43

Character ability alterations

Combat
Note that a +2 (at least) or better magic
weapon is required to physically hit any
unique devil or arch-devil, including the
nobility of hell and the outcast devils.
DMs should also remember that fire of
any sort has no effect on devils or any
other creature native to the hells.
Archery: Use of this skill (by any character proficient in it) is impossible on the
plane of Dis, save within Dispaters
palace itself, or underground (due to the
winds), and also impossible in the central
rifts of Nessus (due to the firewinds). It
can otherwise be exercised normally,
although volcanic activity on Phlegethos,
and fireball formation on Avernus, may
destroy the occasional missile.
Infravision: For elves, half-elves, spell
casters employing such a spell, and other
creatures while in Phlegethos, Malbolge,
and Maladomini, there is too much background heat in all surroundings for
infravision to detect anything more than
cold or cool spell effects, objects, etc.,
(and these soon warm from contact with
the surroundings).
Psionics
Psionic processes function with only
minor modifications in the hells. Psionic
combat is unaffected.
Animal telepathy: All creatures native
to the hells are considered monsters as
far as this ability is concerned.
Body equilibrium: Anyone walking
upon the water of the river Lethe (or for
that matter, the rivers of fire in Phlegethos, or the lake of Cocytus) will be subject to the natural effects described in the
text of this article. Note that use of this
discipline will not prevent Cocytus from
swallowing a psionic character that
action is a physical, attacking action and
not a matter of the ice giving way and
closing over someone who has fallen.
Detection of good/evil: The overwhelming evil of the hells so pervades
everything a psionic character concentrates on that good creatures are easier to
distinguish (+33% chance), good objects
slightly so (+10%), and evil creatures or
objects do not betray their potency or
power by their auras, nor their precise
(lawful, chaotic, neutral) evil alignment.
Domination: This ability functions
normally in the hells, but arch-devils and
greater devils are immune.
ESP: The thoughts of devils will be
meaningless unless the psionic recipient
is conversant with Mabrahoring, the language of the hells. The minds of archdevils and greater devils are not
unshielded; they cannot be read by
this means.
Hypnosis: Devils of all sorts are
immune to this mental power.
Invisibility: Arch-devils have minds of
too great power to be affected by psionic
invisibility, but they will not always

44 A UGUST

19 83

immediately realize that the psionic character is invisible to others.

Molecular agitation: Devils are
immune to both heat and fire damage
effects.
Sensitivity to psychic impressions: Any
psionic character foolish enough to exercise this discipline in the hells will
quickly (within 1 round) be overwhelmed
by the cumulative violent emotions and
horrific visions of the many lemures,
tormented souls, and evil deeds done here.
The effects are as follows: The psionic
must save vs. death magic or be driven
insane (melancholia, megalomania,
mania, manic-depressive, hallucinatory
insanity, homicidal mania, hebephrenia,
suicidal mania, or catatonia; see DMG). A
psionic character who successfully saves
will fall unconscious for 1-2 rounds, and
thereafter be confused for 1-4 rounds.
(Psionic individuals who are evil by
nature save at +2.)
Mass domination: Ineffective versus
arch-devils and greater devils.
Molecular rearrangement: Any metals
contained in diabolical magic items, such
as the fork of Mephistopheles, will not be
affected by this psionic power; nor will its
use affect the powers of such items.
Telepathic projection: Ineffective versus all devils.
Teleportation: There is a 33% chance
that an intended destination will not be
reached (see helm of teleporation under
Magic item alterations, above). Note that
this is different from mis-teleporting (i.e.
low or high), which can also occur (normal probabilities and means of psychic
prevention prevail).
Clerics
No cleric, regardless of alignment or
deity, can turn away or command into
service any devil while in the hells.
Undead, etc., will be affected normally.
Druids
The flora, fauna, and weather of the
hells, as mentioned under the list of spell
alterations above, are largely immune
from magical influence and control.
Druid abilities gained at third and seventh levels (refer to the Players Handbook) are unaffected.
Paladins
The detect evil ability of this class will
prove sensitive enough to distinguish
powerfully evil beings and items from the
surroundings, although all things native
to the hells will display their evil nature
to the paladin. Paladins may not affect
devils while in the hells (see cleric section, above) although this power versus
undead and the like is unaffected. A warhorse cannot be called while in the hells,
if it is not taken to the hells with the
paladin; note that such steeds will be
trembling with fear at all times it is in the
infernal regions, and if menaced by devils
and/or not constantly reassured and

commanded to stay close by its master,

will bolt in fear (and likely be lost) when
faced by the diabolic. A paladins protection from evil does not operate in the
hells, except as a white, continual lightlike radiance enveloping the paladin,
retaining only the +2 saving throw bonus.
Rangers
The tracking ability of rangers is
entirely lost while in the hells.
Thieves
Hiding in shadows is normally impossible with respect to devils and other creatures of the hells; for game purposes
assume a base penalty of 33% to the
chance, further modified by the DM for
circumstances. Climb walls is often modified in the hells for conditions: smooth
iron walls, such as those of the city of Dis
and Mephistar, subtract 20% from the
ability to successfully climb them; if
heavily rusted, the DM may add another
15% penalty to simulate the chance of
the entire wall collapsing or breaking
away under the weight of the climber.
The treacherous alpine and glacial ice of
Stygia and Caina subtract 33% from the
thiefs chance to climb them successfully.
A spider climb spell employed by a thief
or other character will overcome such
penalties, and have its normal effect.
Assassins
Refer to thief functions, above; assassins are subject to the same modifications.
A disguise in which the assassin appears
to be a devil will not fool any devil.
Monks
Refer to thief functions, above; monks
are subject to the same modifications. A
quivering palm attack cannot affect any
devil (and remember, creatures only hit
by magical weapons are unaffected).
Bards
Arch-devils and greater devils are
immune to the charming (suggestion)
powers of a bard, even when augmented
by a magical instrument of the bards. All
other properties of bards and bardic
instruments will function normally, with
the following exceptions for abilities that
are ineffective for certain instruments:
Fochlucan Bandore, en tangle; Doss Lute,
hold animal; Cli Lyre, control winds;
Anstruth Harp, weather summoning;
Ollamh Harp, control weather.
Barbarians
The following barbarian skills are
affected while in the hells: tracking (as
with rangers); animal training (ineffective
versus all animals native to the hells);
outdoor crafts; and survival. The DM
should rule carefully on what facets, if
any, of outdoor crafts and survival
become effective after a months existence
which is no small feat in the
initially alien environment of the hells

NAME: The DRAGON

magazine index
FREQUENCY: One of a kind
NO. APPEARING: #1#74, plus The
Strategic Review
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Find lost article,
avoid confusion
Two things about dragons are generally true:
They live for a long time, and they accumulate
lots of treasure. Fortunately, the same two
things are true of DRAGON magazine, and the
information that appears on the following six
pages is proof of that fact.
Those pages contain an index of all the significant material that was printed in the first
seven years of DRAGON magazine, plus the
only seven issues of The Strategic Review, the
publication that was the predecessor of this
magazine. We hope the index will be valuable to
each of our readers for at least one of its many
purposes; this preface is offered in the interest of

explaining why we did what we did, so that the

index will be understandable and easy to use.
This listing of articles and features is as comprehensive as we could make it without going
into burdensome detail. It has a different format
from the first index that appeared way back in
issue #40 but it does include all of the important information from the original index as
well, so you dont need to have that one, too.
In the original index, we used the full titles of
articles and also listed authors names. This
time, weve deleted the author credits and altered
most of the identifying lines for articles, so that
they more accurately describe what an article
(Continued on next page)

D RAGON 45

was about instead of what it happened to be

called. The first change was made for the sake of
brevity, to keep the index from getting too large
to be easily used. The second change was made
to make the list more useful for readers interested in finding out everything weve printed on
a specific subject. The only exceptions to these
rules are for fiction pieces, where authors are
credited, and articles that originally appeared
under titles that left no doubt about the topics
they covered.
Individual articles are listed under major
headings organized alphabetically, just as in any
index. Most of the major headings are general;
for instance, you wont find a separate heading
for Championship Sumo Wrestling, but you
will find a heading called Game Inclusions,
under which that game is listed along with all
the others weve printed over the years.
In most cases, entries under a major heading
are listed in chronological order. Certain groups
of entries, such as those under Character
Classes (Unofficial), are organized alphabetically to make it easier to pick out particular
items in the list. Unless otherwise specified,
most headings refer to material pertaining to or
derived from the D&D or AD&D game systems, since the vast majority of the articles
printed in the magazine have concerned those
games. Other games that have proven popular
enough to warrant many articles about them
(such as the GAMMA WORLD, TOP
SECRET, and TRAVELLER games), have
their own headings. Articles on other games can
be located under broader headings such as
Science Fiction Games. To use the index most
efficiently, you should skim through all the
pages a few times to familiarize yourself with
the major headings; this will save a few seconds
of frantic page-flipping when you really need to
use it to find something.
Articles and features are keyed with a pair of
numbers separated by a slash, denoting (first)
the issue number and (second) the page number.
Entries that were printed in The Strategic
Review have the letters SR preceding the pair
of numbers.
Weve done a certain amount of crossreferencing (the see also lines at the end of
some categories) to help you find your way to
other headings that contain related material. It
will quickly become obvious that we didnt
carry this to an extreme; if we had done so, a few
of the headings would be cross-referenced to
practically every other category in the index.
Also, some articles have been listed under more
than one major heading, simply because we felt
they deserved to be. The cross-referencing and

46 AUGUST

1983

duplication of entries was done to help you use

the index more easily on a search for specific
material but keep in mind at all times that
the system isnt necessarily complete.
How do we expect the index to be used? The
simplest and most obvious use is for determining the issue (or issues) in which a certain article
(or articles) appeared; if you cant remember if
Weather in the World of Greyhawk was in
#68 or #58, now you can find out without digging out both magazines.
We hope the index will be useful even to people who dont have very many issues of
DRAGON magazine in their collections; by
skimming through the entries, you might be
able to figure out which back issues you could
purchase that would be most helpful to you. Or,
as a prospective contributor, you can find out
what weve already published on a topic thats
related to your manuscript, and how long ago
the other articles on the same topic appeared. In
general, we arent interested in printing new
articles on old subjects, especially if the published piece appeared fairly recently. But, as
veteran readers of the magazine know (and as
you can find out by reading through the index),
we arent opposed to new, improved treatments of subjects weve already covered.
Please note that virtually all of the issues of
DRAGON magazine mentioned in the index are
out of print and no longer available from
Dragon Publishing or the Dungeon Hobby
Shop. (A list of back issues that arent sold out is
printed in every issue of the magazine.) If you
must have an article from an issue we dont sell,
try shopping around a bit. Possibly, the article
has been reprinted in one of our BEST of
DRAGON anthologies, which are still available. If that doesnt work, some game and hobby
stores may have issues still on their shelves that
we dont have to sell any more, or you may run
across someone who has the issue and is willing
to sell it to you. As a last resort, drop us a line to
tell us how much youd like to see a particular
article reprinted. If we get enough requests for a
certain article, chances are good that well
include it in a future anthology. Unfortunately,
business and economic reasons make it practically impossible for us to consider reprinting
early issues in their entirety.
The index was compiled and prepared for
publication by Mary Kirchoff, Patrick Price,
Georgia Moore, Roger Moore, and Kim Mohan.
We, and the rest of the people on the Dragon
Publishing staff, hope youll let us know if we
made a mistake. And we wouldnt mind hearing
any comments or criticisms that will help make
the next index even better.

AD&D/D&D BOOKS AND GAME AIDS

Sneak preview: AD&D DMG 22/33
DMG developers notes 28/4
Interview with Gary Gygax 28/4
Errata to AD&D books 35/4
Dragon Dungeon Design Kit (game aid) 45/38
Basic D&D editions (review) 52/14
Fiend Folio (reviews) 55/6
Spellminders (game aid) 58/39
AD&D Monster Cards 61/51
Combat Computer (game aid) 74/40
AD&D/D&D MODULES
The Hall of Mystery 21/14
The Fell Pass 32/22
Doomkeep 34/26
The Pit of the Oracle 37/26
The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow 42/30
The Temple of Poseidon 46/31
The Chapel of Silence 50/35
The Garden of Nefaron 53/33
Cavern Quest 54/35
The Creature of Rhyl 55/37
The Wandering Trees 57/33
Quest for the Midas Orb 61/35
Chagmat 63/33
The Assassins Run 64/30
Fedifensor 67/37
Mechica 70/35
Forest of Doom 73/41
AD&D/D&D THEORY/HISTORY/DESIGN
Gary Gygax on D&D: Origins of the game 7/7
D&D relationships, the parts & the whole 14/20
D&D ground and spell area scale 15/13
Role-playing: Realism vs. game logic: spell points,
vanity press and rip-offs 16/15
Game balance 16/36
D&D: What it is and where it is going 22/29
D&D, AD&D and gaming 26/28
What Judges Guild has done for D&D 27/10
Interview with Gary Gygax 28/4
Whats ahead for TSR? 35/12
Morality and fantasy 36/8, 39/10, 41/6,
43/54, 48/29
Past, present, and future of D&D 39/36
D&D in Germany 45/18
AD&D exam 47/6
Science and fantasy 60/33
Individuals count 66/58
Poker, chess, & AD&D 67/63
Falling damage 70/13
(see also Character Classes (Official),
Game Theory/Design/Philosophy)
ALIGNMENT
Law and chaos SR 6/3
Varied PC and NPC alignment 9/5
Alignment ethics 24/34
Alignment and religion 26/23
Evil: law vs. chaos 28/10
Good isnt stupid 38/22
Alignment ethics 60/72
AQUATIC ADVENTURING
Sea trade in D&D 6/6
Ships cargo 12/12
Megaflora 32/10
Aquatic adventuring 48/7
Aquatic encounter tables 68/36
Ship hulls and sailing speed 70/8
ARMOR AND SHIELDS
Adamantite 17/31
Armor weights 23/14
Arms and armor of the Conquistadors 25/44
Armor of the Far East 31/23
Shield and weapon skills 57/10
The history of the shield 57/57
Armor quality 65/13
Plate armor 72/6
Armor damage 73/34
ASSASSIN
The first assassins 22/5
The assassins guild 64/24
The Assassins Run (module) 64/30
BARD
Bard (original class) SR 6/11

Barding harps SR 6/12

Variant bard 56/5
Sage Advice (bards) 56/9
Songs instead of spells 56/10
Diarmuids last jest 60/48
Suggestions to class 69/31
BARBARIAN
Barbarian class 63/8
Barbarian additions 65/9, 67/63
Barbarian suggestions 69/31
The real barbarians 72/24
BOOK, MAGAZINE, & MOVIE REVIEWS
Preview: The Lord of the Rings (movie) 20/23
The Silmarillion 21/25
The Face in the Frost 22/15
Apprentice #2, Phoenix magazines 22/16
SPI on AD&D 22/44
America B.C. 28/45
Panzer Colors II 29/47
Kfz. I Kubelwagen 29/48
Desert Tracks 29/48
The Tolkien Quiz Book 29/48
Apprentice #5 33/53
Gamelog 40, 41, 42 33/53
Hammers Slammers 34/46
The Wolfen 34/47
Spacefarers Guide to Alien Monsters 34/49
The Drawing of the Dark 40/60
The Complete Book of Wargames 46/51
Amateur gaming magazines 50/23
The Dinosaurs 55/13
New gaming accessories 55/68
Christmas gift books 56/70
British gaming magazines 63/58
Conan the Barbarian (movie) 63/72
The Sword & the Sorcerer (movie) 63/72
The Role of Books 67/67, 69/81, 72/69
(see also AD&D/D&D Books & Game Aids,
Off the Shelf)
BOOT HILL (Game)
The art of gunfighting SR 3/5
John (Doc) Holliday SR 4/11
Ben Thompson SR 5/13
Experimental rule for BH SR 6/12
The fastest guns that never lived SR 7/6, 9/24,
19/21, 36/44
Random encounters for BH 15/32
How to design a town in BH 18/15
Birth tables for BH 18/21
Encounter chart 21/10
BH additions 26/22
BH and AD&D 28/12
BH scales 30/18
Tyrannosaurus Rex in BH 46/28
Character backgrounds 46/30
Equipment costs 54/62
The Taming of Brimstone (module) 71/35
CAMPAIGN CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT
Random events in settled areas 15/5
Jungles 31/4, 31/5
The seven magical planets 38/26
Fantasy calendars 47/24
Getting a world into shape 49/28
Creating a world 53/22
Mapping 56/12
Planning campaigns 63/50
War 65/63
Laws 65/56
Inflation control 74/50
(see also Aquatic Adventuring, Gunpowder
Weapons, Planes of Existence, Urban
Adventuring, Wilderness Adventuring,
World of Greyhawk)

Comparison of official classes 69/31

(see also Assassin, Bard, Barbarian, Cavalier,
Character Classes (Unofficial), Cleric, Druid,
Illusionists and Illusions, Magic-User, Monk,
Paladin, Ranger, Thief)
CHARACTER CLASSES (Unofficial)
Alchemist 2/28, 45/11, 49/56
Anti-paladin 39/8
Archer 45/32
Astrologer 45/10
Bandit 63/22
Berserker 3/27
Bounty Hunter 52/57, 52/58
Bureaucrat 74/8
Cloistered cleric 68/30
Duelist 73/7
Entertainer 69/55
Gypsy 59/16
Healer 3/22
Idiot 3/28
Jester 3/28, 60/45
Jock 72/50
Ninja 16/7, 30/13
Oracle 53/14
Politician 74/8
Samurai 3/25, 49/18
Scribe 3/23, 62/21
Smith 70/5
Timelord 65/33
Witch 3/7, 5/4, 20/11, 43/6, 43/8
Wizards (special) 17/10
CHARACTER GENERATION
Rapid character generation 26/37
Starting from scratch 39/20
What are the odds? 39/39
Magic items for everyman 45/14
DMs Personnel Service (computer prog.) 74/42
CHARACTER TRAITS AND ABILITIES
Non-prime requisite character attributes 1/7
Birth tables for D&D 3/14, 70/11
Morale in D&D 6/26
Weights & measures 10/19
Physical appearance 10/19, 41/21, 65/10
How heavy is my giant? 13/5
Insanity 18/9
Disease chart 24/29, 53/57
Extraordinary characters 24/43
Character social class 25/12, 70/11, 70/12
Aging 29/39
Jumping & leaping 45/62
Charisma 63/19
Comeliness 67/61
Determining unlisted skills 68/81
Chess ability 70/60
Level titles 72/54
(see also Alignment, Language, Names and
Titles, Non-player Characters)
CLERIC
Clerics and edged weapons 16/18, 33/20, 66/6
Undead turning tables (variant) 40/36
Role-playing clerics 52/6, 52/8
Sacrifices 52/10
Sage Advice (clerics) 52/11
New cleric spells 58/5
The cloistered cleric 68/30

CAVALIER
Cavalier class 72/6

COMBAT AND IN JURIES

Brawling 1/7
Fighters vs. mages 2/12
Combat modifications for dexterity 3/30
Chainmail revisited: Jousting in D&D 17/4
Causes of death in D&D 20/26
Damage permanency 23/19
The melee in D&D 24/17
Death and mutilation 31/30
The segment of action melee system 34/34
Critical hits 39/34
Action in the melee round 43/26
Weaponless combat variant 61/14
Weapon specialization 66/27
Melee and realism 67/58
Two-weapon fighting 68/7
Attack Priority system 71/23

CHARACTER CLASSES (Official)

Proposed new character classes 65/9, 67/61

COMPUTERS
D&D meets the electronic age 26/26

CASTLES BY CARROLL (M. Carroll)

Neuschwanstein 68/29
Wawel Castle 69/19
Jericho 70/30
Tower of London 72/62
Leeds Castle 73/76

D RAGON 47

The DMs right-hand man 36/42

Computer games have a long way to go 63/62
DMs Personnel Service 74/42
(see also Electric Eye, The)
CONVENTIONS
Cangames 79 report 27/11
Conventions: The manufacturers view 28/19
Origins 79 29/46
GenCon XII 30/2, 31/49
Origins 30/10
NANCON 88 31/8
Cangames 40/58
CWA CON II 42/36
NANCON 88-II 42/36
Conventions 1980 43/10
GenCon South 48/75
Games Fair 82 63/59
Why gamers get together 64/61
DEITIES AND MYTHOLOGIES
The Persian mythos 12/8
The Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl) 12/16
The Lovecraftian mythos in D&D 12/18
The Japanese mythos 13/11
Cthulhu mythos revisited 14/22
Rebuttal to Cthulhu mythos revisited 16/3
Near Eastern mythos 16/4
The mythos of Australia 19/14
The mythos of Polynesia 20/8
Creating a mythos & deities 24/34, 25/43, 29/4,
36/17, 54/6
The mythos of Africa 27/39
The politics of Hell 28/2
Origins of the Norse pantheon 29/33
The mythos of Oceania 29/35
The Monties 37/16
Dwarven gods 58/31
Halfling gods 59/52
Elven gods 60/9
Gnome gods 61/31
Orcish gods 62/28
Humanoid gods 63/25
Tuatha De Danaan 65/47
Deities & Demigods of Greyhawk 64/13, 67/23,
68/63, 69/27 ,70/20, 71/52
Quasi-deities of Greyhawk 71/19
(see also Monsters (Extraplanar))
DIVINE RIGHT (Game)
Design notes 27/19
Review 28/45
Changes from the designer 34/4
Official second edition rules 34/5
Minarian Legends 34/6, 35/27, 36/20, 37/13,
38/18, 39/12, 41/22, 42/18, 44/82, 45/41, 46/19,
48/32, 49/72, 50/44, 51/71, 52/64, 54/58, 55/56,
56/25, 57/52
Ambassador cards 34/7
Sieges 34/7
The rest of the rule book 34/8
Minarian variants 34/9, 34/10, 46/14
DRAGONQUEST (Game)
Review 43/49
Travel and threads for DQ 49/68
The versatile magician 57/24
DRAGONS
Dragon magic 15/3
Chinese dragons 24/8
Neutral (gem) dragons 37/6
Rearranging the dragon 38/10
Red dragon armor 39/42
Dragons blood 41/20
Self-defense for dragons 50/7
Baby dragons 50/13
Dragon mounts 50/48
True dragons 51/10
Faerie dragons 62/6
Steel & grey dragons 62/8
Armor from evil dragons 62/10
Purple, orange, and yellow dragons 65/27
Landragons 74/12
Electrum dragon 74/17
DRUID
The druids 12/13
The druid in fact and fantasy 32/21
The druid and the DM 48/22

48 AUGUST

1983

Druid in a dungeon? 48/22

Grand Druid (15th level) 65/9
Druid class suggestions 69/31
New druid spells 71/5
DUNGEON CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT
Solo dungeon adventures SR 1/3
Hints for D&D judges: The dungeon 2/12
Tombs & crypts 9/25
Pits 15/5
Sights and sounds in D&D 17/15
Boredom & dungeons 17/24
The Chamber of the Godgame 18/19
Dungeons and prisons 23/21
Notes from a successful D&D moderator 26/27
Dastardly Deeds & Devious Devices 34/24, 41/41
Libraries 37/25
The Dueling Room 40/7
Gas, smoke, & ventilation 45/6, 45/8
Doors 53/56
Ruins 54/10
(see also Monsters (General topics),
Tesseracts, Treasure)
DUNGEON MASTER LISTS
22/18, 33/23, 37/40
DUNGEON MASTERING (Theory and Method)
DMs & D&D SR 7/22
Methods in DMing 10/11
Boredom & dungeons 17/24
Level progression for DMs 28/32
Rewarding heroism 29/23
Morality & fantasy 36/8, 39/10, 41/6,
43/54, 48/29
Reality & fantasy 40/10
Rating DMs 45/20
Handling high level characters 45/21
Choosing a DM 48/28
Adventure generation 48/60, 48/63
Keeping players ignorant 49/79
Curing bad player behavior 50/52
Correcting mistakes 52/61
Going beyond the books 52/62
Falling damage 70/13
(see also Campaign Construction/Development, Dungeon Construction/Development,
Player Advice and Methods)
DWARVES
A new view of dwarves 3/26
Organizing dwarvish miniature armies 27/20
Female dwarves and beards 28/4, 38/22
Elves, dwarves, and halflings 41/21
Dwarven campaigns 53/56
The dwarven point of view 58/24
Dwarven magic items 58/27
Sage Advice (dwarves) 58/28
The gods of the dwarves 58/31
Dwarven language 66/52
Runestones 69/12
ELECTRIC EYE, THE (Computer column)
33/50, 36/62, 38/52, 39/40, 40/46, 41/44, 42/42,
43/70, 44/86, 45/56, 46/70, 47/70, 49/76, 50/70,
51/62, 53/66, 54/74, 55/48, 57/72, 63/65
ELVES AND HALF-ELVES
The three kindred of the Eldar 1/30
Elvish tactics in fantasy miniatures 28/17
The elven point of view 60/6
The gods of the elves 60/9
Sage Advice (elves) 60/13, 66/16
The half-elven point of view 60/14
Elfquest 66/12
Grugach and Valley Elves 67/10
EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE (Game)
Tsolyani names SR 4/7
Everlasting glory of the Petal Throne SR 7/20
Reports submitted to the Petal Throne 4/4
Jakalla encounters 4/10
Battle of the Temple of Chanis: 2020 A.S. 4/12
The Mihalli 4/18
The Vriyagga 4/19
Roads from Jakalla 4/23
Legions of the Petal Throne (miniatures) 4/28
Eye chart 4/31
Petal Throne painting guide 6/8
Military formations 7/16

Seal of the Imperium (EPT Q&A) 9/21, 11/12

Distributing eyes and amulets 20/6
Naming people, places and things 24/39
Birth tables and social status 26/33
A new profession: The adventurer 31/27
This is a Tekumel test 34/26
ESPIONAGE
Tracing THRUSHs nest 74/28
In trouble? Say UNCLE 74/30
Spying on the spies 74/34
(see also Top Secret)
EXPERIENCE
Gaining a new experience level 10/20
Level progression for players and DMs 28/32
Rewarding heroism 29/23
Experience: By doing and learning 35/14
Experience points: A new system 36/40
Working your way up to first level 51/22
EYE OF THE DRAGON (Hobby news)
37/28, 41/48
FANTASY GAMES & GAME AIDS (Miscellaneous)
Akalabeth 65/73
Barbarian Prince 54/35, 68/16
Basic Role Playing 52/72
Beastlord, The 39/46
Borderlands 68/77
Bunnies & Burrows 45/58
Bushido 34/46
Call of Cthulhu 61/70
Chainmail SR 4/2, 17/4
City of Lei Tabor 44/76
Citybook I 70/70
Demonlord 49/73
Down Styphon 30/38
Dragonlord 17/5
Dragonlords, The 21/7
Dragonmaster 73/87
Duck Tower 44/76
Dungeon! SR 6/13, 1/25, 17/17, 21/24, 24/22
Dungeon Tiles 52/74
Dunzhin 71/70
Elric 68/79
Emerald Tablet, The 18/7, 27/22
Escape from Astigars Lair 44/75
Free City of Haven 62/72
Grailquest 45/64
Griffon Mountain 58/68
Hammer of Thor 49/84
Hero 43/50
High Fantasy 68/76
Inferno 44/75
Jasmine 69/78
King Arthurs Knights 21/22
King of the Mountain 44/12
Knights of Camelot 58/61
Lords & Wizards 26/16
Magic Wood 37/44
Modron 44/75
Monsters! Monsters! 17/33
Mountain of Mystery 46/51
Nine Doctrines of Darkness 46/51
Nomad Gods 14/10
Pellic Quest 18/8
Portals of Torsh 44/76
Questworld 72/72
Runequest 40/26, 51/28
Sorcerer 28/48
Spawn of Fashan 60/76
Spellmaker 30/34
Spies of Lightelf 44/76
Swordbearer 71/66
Swordquest 40/60
Temple of Athena 46/51
Thieves Guild 54/32, 54/33
Timelag 52/73
Titan 48/81
Treasure Vaults of Lindoran 44/75
Tribes of Crane, The 26/40, 40/24, 46/10
Trollpak 67/68
Venerable Destruction 2/27
War of Wizards SR 6/9, SR 6/10
Warlock 53/76
Warlord Game, The 13/19
White Bear & Red Moon 1/27
Wilderlands of the Fantastic Reaches 44/76
Wizardry 65/73

Wizards Quest 33/53

Wohrom 49/86
FANTASY TRIP, THE
(Game; includes Melee and Wizard)
New spells for Wizard 32/18
Wizard review 33/53
Melee combat statistics 41/9
Experience points in Melee 41/11
Dragons in Melee 41/13
Firearms in Melee 41/15
FEMALE PLAYERS AND CHARACTERS
Notes on women & magic 3/7
Why males are stronger than females 10/19
Points to ponder 39/17
Women want equality 39/16
Amazons 43/28
Dungeons arent for men only 57/50
The real barbarians 72/24
FICTION (Includes authors name)
The Quest for the Vermillion Volume
(R. Kuntz) SR 6/6
What Price Gold & Glory? (J. Hayes) SR 7/9
The Search for the Forbidden Chamber
(G. Jaquet) 1/11, 2/8
Shadow of a Demon (G. Fox) 2/14
Search for the Gnome Cache (G. Ernst) 1/28,
2/6, 3/11, 5/29, 6/22, 7/28
Beyond the Wizard Fog (G. Fox) 5/18
The Forest of Flame (Morno) 6/12
The Journey Most Alone (Morno) 7/12
The Finzer Family: A Tale of Modern Magic
(H. Fischer) 8/8, 9/7
Sea Magic (F. Leiber) 11/17
Quag Keep (A. Norton) 12/22
The Stolen Sacrifice (G. Fox) 13/22
Excerpt from an interview with a Rust Monster
(M. McCrery) 14/14
Monty Haul and His Friends at Play
(J. Ward) 14/21
Monty and the German High Command
(J. Ward) 15/6
The Gospel of Benwa (J. Arkenberg) 15/10
The Green Magician (L. S. DeCamp) 15/23,
16/25
The Thursday Night D&D Game for Monty and
the Boys (J. Ward) 16/12
The Childhood and Youth of the Gray Mouser
(H. Fischer) 18/28
Footsteps In the Sky (author unknown) 19/28
The Thing from the Tomb (G. Fox) 23/8
Monty Haul and The Best of Freddie
(J. Ward) 24/42
The Tug of the Machine (A. Evans) 25/8
An Alien in a Strange Land (J. Ward) 25/28
Excerpt from an interview with an Iron Golem
(M. McCrery) 25/31
Monty Strikes Back (J. Ward) 28/37
Adventures in the Improbable (R. Dienst) 29/40
Trollshead (J. Eric Holmes) 31/3
A Typical Night in the Life of Nine Ordinary (?)
People (J. Swycaffer) 32/40
The Eyes of Mavis Deval (G. Fox) 33/6
Oasis (C. Frazer) 35/6
Ripples in the Fabric of the Multiuniverse
(M. Cummings) 35/57
The Cube From Beyond (G. Fox) 36/5
The Cup of Golden Death (G. Fox) 38/6
Its the Little Things That Count
(L. Bryson) 38/46
Next Time, Try a Cleric (T. Armstrong) 39/24
The Adventures of Reginald Rennup 39/59,
40/62, 41/54, 42/57, 43/73
The Day of the Dwarf (R. Moore) 42/54
The Lure of the Golden Godling (G. Fox) 44/6
The Sorcerers Jewel (J. Eric Holmes) 46/6
Wishing Makes It So (R. Moore) 49/65
A Part of the Game (D. Schweitzer) 51/55
Abomination (D. Achen) 54/49
The Coming of the Sword (G. Fox) 55/24
The Doctor (J. Dunkle) 56/52
In The Bag (J. Eric Holmes) 58/37
Skitterbugging (G. ONeill) 59/26
Wearwolf (J. Rosenberg) 60/30
The Feline Phantom (G. Linzner) 62/52
The Next-To-Last Mistake (P. McHugh) 64/54
Friends In High Places (R. Moore) 66/73
King of the Cats (G. FitzGerald) 67/50

Be Quest (A. Noel) 69/16

Everybody Eats Everybody on Sundays Planet
(J. Swycaffer) 69/24
The Blink of a Wizards Eye
(J. Rosenberg) 72/10
The Sagittarian (J. Salmonson) 73/71
FINIEOUS FINGERS (Cartoon)
3/17, 4/30, 6/27, 7/24, 9/29, 10/29, 11/29, 12/29,
13/28, 14/27, 15/26, 16/31, 17/34, 18/26, 19/22,
20/30, 21/28, 22/49, 25/41, 26/45, 27/45, 28/51,
30/44, 33/60, 35/58, 38/60, 39/60, 41/66, 43/74,
45/73, 48/92, 49/92, 50/75
GAME INCLUSIONS
Snit Smashing 10/15
Snits Revenge 11/15, 11/16, 18/30, 34/27, 41/56
Mugger! 26/31
Awful Green Things from Outer Space, The
28/24, 40/22, 40/68, 43/72
Ringside 38/30, 42/38, 61/54
Runngus Game 40/22
Food Fight 44/39
Crimefighters 47/29, 47/46, 47/50
Search for the Emperors Treasure 51/39
Flight of the Boodles 60/37
Planet Busters 64/37, 65/3
Championship Sumo Wrestling 64/67
Monsters of the Midway 65/35
Arrakhars Wand 69/45
File 13 72/39, 72/47, 73/78
GAME THEORY/DESIGN/PHILOSPHY
Standardization vs. playability 30/20
Books are books, and games are games 31/28
Creative imagination in wargaming 34/12
Wargaming: A moral issue? 35/17
Good generalship 41/26
(see also AD&D/D&D Theory/History/Design,
Simulation Corner)
GAMMA WORLD (Game)
Introduction to GW 8/21
GW: First report; setting up the campaign 18/20
A new list of treasures to be found 19/8
More excerpts from the journals of Hald
Sevrin 19/9
Review 19/23
A part of GW revisited 25/5
Judging and you 25/7
Gamma World map 25/23
GW artifact use chart 25/24
20th century primitive 25/24
Cavern of the Sub Train (module) 52/40
GIANTS IN THE EARTH
26/13, 27/28, 28/35, 29/21, 30/31, 35/20, 36/36,
37/29, 39/28, 41/16, 42/32, 44/26, 46/53, 47/22,
48/56, 49/30, 52/36, 54/24, 57/26, 59/11, 61/10,
64/15, 70/14
(see also Heroes and Heroines)
GNOMES
The gnomish point of view 61/28
The gods of the gnomes 61/31
GUNPOWDER WEAPONS AND
MODERN TECHNOLOGY (D&D/AD&D)
Modem world adventuring 30/12
Modem monsters 57/5
Firearms 60/24, 70/31
(see also Hybrid Games)
HALFLINGS
Elves, dwarves, and halflings 41/21
The halfling point of view 59/49
The gods of the halflings 59/52
HALF-OGRES
The half-ogre 29/12
The whole half-ogre 73/24
HEROES AND HEROINES
Conan the Barbarian 36/10
Father Christmas 44/94
Larger Than Life 53/28, 54/16
Robin Hood 55/20
Four myths from Greece 58/18
Elfquest characters 66/12
Heroes reviewed 70/14

Greyhawks World (heroes) 71/19

HISTORY/BACKGROUND
Ancient and medieval military symbols SR 7/16
Mystery Hill: Americas Stonehenge? 7/8
The druids 12/13
The first assassins 22/5
Armies of the Renaissance 22/12, 24/26, 25/17,
28/16, 30/24, 37/19
Roman military organization 24/12
A Viking campaign in the Caspian Sea 24/13
Bergenhone 77 (American tanks) 24/32
The return of Conan Maol 24/33
The Armada Disasters 25/9
War of Flowers (Aztec) 25/35
D-Day remembered 26/18
Deck of Fate (tarot cards) 26/24
Agincourt and the Hundred Years War 27/7
The cavalry plain at Austerlitz 28/8
America B.C. (book review) 28/45
The Mongols 36/31
Castles 45/49
The pulps 47/50
Siege warfare 52/51
Understanding armory 53/18
Historical coinage 63/67
The real barbarians 72/24
HISTORICAL AND OTHER GAMES (Misc.)
Agincourt 27/4, 27/6, 27/7
Air War 29/28
Ancient Strategy SR 6/14
Assault on Leningrad 49/85
B-l Nuclear Bomber 41/33
Battle of Maiwand 31/48
Battle of Monmouth 26/41
Bismarck 41/36
Cavaliers and Roundheads SR 2/2
Circus Maximus 29/48
Citadel 1/27
Civilization 70/71
Classic Warfare 1/26, 24/12
Daredevils 70/73
Dawn Patrol 68/14
D-Day 34/23
Dont Give Up the Ship SR 5/9
Empire Builder 65/75
En Garde! 23/5
English Civil War 27/31
Fight in the Skies SR 6/8
Flattop 30/19
Fury of the Norsemen 50/58
Gangbusters 62/11
Gangster 35/50
Golden Horde, The 41/3
Hitlers War 61/71
House Divided, A 53/76
Indian Ocean Adventure 31/47
International Team Games 35/52
Ironclads 32/38
Junta 53/64
Klondike 29/48
Last Spike 29/48
Mech War 2 36/64
Middle Sea 32/38
Midway Campaign 41/34
MIG Killers 27/37
Nukewar 41/35
Panzer Warfare SR 4/3
Panzerkrieg 22/15
Pearl Harbor 37/44
Raiders & Traders 29/47
Rail Baron 21/16
Reich 29/47
Risk 34/20
Russian Campaign 48/76
Samurai 36/14
Sandlot Football 32/38
Source of the Nile 20/18
Stalins Tanks 53/74
Swashbuckler 42/50
System 7 Napoleonics 26/4, 26/6, 26/7, 26/8
Team 29/48
Third Reich 31/35, 55/66
Trojan War 60/63
United Nations 69/78
Up-Scope! 22/15
William the Conqueror-1066 26/19
World Campaigns 49/85
(see also History/Background)

D RAGON 49

HORSES, MULES, AND OTHER MOUNTS

Tolwar 43/29
Water horse 48/10
Mules 48/52
Aerial mounts 50/48, 74/6
Warhorses and barding 74/4
HYBRID GAMES (D&D/AD&D with other)
Sturmgeschutz and sorcery (Tractics) SR 5/3
Faceless men and clockwork monsters
(Metamorphosis Alpha) 17/6
Guidelines for mixing campaigns 18/22
Six-guns and sorcery (Boot Hill) 28/12
Monster mixing (Chivalry & Sorcery) 49/34
Dwarves in space (Traveller) 70/27
(see also Gunpowder Weapons)
ILLUSIONISTS AND ILLUSIONS
Introduction of new class SR4/5
Illusionist additions 1/23
A new look at illusionists 12/6
Illusions 43/31
Advanced Illusion (spell) 59/10
Illusionist cantrips (spells) 61/6
New official illusionist spells 66/22
Phantasmal force 66/31
Illusions and familiarity factor 66/32
INTERVIEWS
Gary Gygax 28/4
Tom Wham 40/14
Tim Hildebrandt 49/41
Boris Vallejo 52/28
JASMINE (Comic)
37/51, 38/59, 39/62, 40/66, 41/59, 42/58, 43/76,
44/98, 45/74, 46/74, 47/76, 48/90
LANGUAGE
Languages 1/9
Libraries 37/25
Thieves cant 66/35
Language rules 66/46
Fantasy philology 66/50
Dwarven language 66/52
Runes 69/7
Runestones 69/12
LANKHMAR (Game)
1/4, 30/16, 31/32, 33/12, 34/32, 36/46, 37/31, 38/44
LYCANTHROPES
Lycanthropy: the progress of the disease 14/29
Another look at lycanthropy 24/10
Painting werewolves 40/20
Other lycanthropes 40/32
Silkie (wereseal) 41/57
Werejaguar (in module) 70/35
MAGIC (General topics)
The D&D magic system SR 7/3
Magic and science 1/8
Gandalf was a fifth-level magic-user 5/27
Dragon magic 15/3
D&D ground and spell area scale 15/13
Magic: governed by laws of theory 18/14
Wishes 19/12, 49/62, 73/62
Systematic magic 19/18
How to counter foretelling spells 21/9
Curses 29/13, 34/30
AD&Ds magic system 33/10
Snags in the AD&D spell structure 33/16
Magical systems: Rationale 37/18
Spell research 37/22
Glyphs of Cerilon 50/32
Protective circles 56/18
Merchant magic 62/56
(see also Cleric, Druid, Illusionists and
Illusions, Magic Items (New), Magic-User)
MAGIC ITEMS (New)
Mighty Magic Miscellany SR 4/10, SR 5/7,
SR 6/16, SR 7/11
Deck of Fate (tarot cards) 26/24
Bazaar of the Bizarre 27/46, 28/31, 29/43, 37/47,
39/41, 40/44, 41/30, 45/22, 47/18, 48/12, 50/20,
54/67, 58/27, 62/10
Orlows inventions 30/35
Magic oils 33/47
Magic fountains 34/41

50 AUGUST

1983

Magic swords 41/30, 46/12, 47/19, 74/18

Undersea magic items 48/12
Dwarven magic items 58/27
Philosophers stone 59/10
Zadrons Pouch of Wonders 62/62
Magical tomes 62/16, 69/67
Non-violent magic items 73/36
(see also Magic-User, Treasure)
MAGIC-USER
Wizard research rules 5/24
M-Us and edged weapons 16/18, 66/6, 66/7
A wizard with a difference 17/10
New spells in D&D 18/13
Spell determination for hostile M-Us 19/24
Sensible sorcery 21/10
Keeping the magic-user in his place 24/7
Strain and spell casting 29/38
In defense of M-Us 34/17
Strategy for hostile M-Us 38/47
New M-U spells 42/17, 67/4, 68/24
Cantrips 59/6, 60/16
Spell books 62/14
(see also Illusionists and Illusions)
METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA (Game)
Notes on the androids on the starship
Warden 4/10
Some ideas missed in MA 5/10
Tribal society and hierarchy 5/10
How green was my mutant 5/16
An alternate beginning sequence for MA 6/4
Rules modifications and clarifications 6/15
Additions to MA 8/26
The bionic supplement 13/8
Robots as players 14/12
The total person in MA 14/24
MA modifications 16/22
Mutated animal chart 16/23
Faceless men and clockwork monsters (crossing
MA with D&D) 17/6
Water adventures on the starship Warden 23/11
MINIATURES & MINIATURE RULES
Tractics SR 1/2, SR 4/4, SR 5/12
5mm Napoleonics (Ebro River) SR 3/4
Chainmail SR 4/2, 17/4
Fantasy miniature rules 1/14
Royal armies of the Hyborean age 1/24
Space Marines 14/4, 45/63
The Emerald Tablet 18/7, 27/22
Vikings in the Caspian Sea 24/13
Orc miniatures 25/18
Pre-Hispanic Mexican warfare 25/37
Grenadier figure packs 26/41
Dwarvish miniature armies 27/20
Simulating the cavalry plain 28/9
Fantasysmiths Notebook 28/14, 29/8, 31/20,
32/29, 33/4, 34/22, 35/26, 36/34, 37/17,
38/12 ,39/6
Elvish tactics in fantasy miniatures 28/17
MAATAC 29/48
Orc castle display 30/3
Boot Hill 30/18
Down Styphon 30/38
WRG Rules 32/34
The Aliens from Beyond 39/37
Painting lycanthropes 40/20
Miniatures spotlight 40/43
Perilous encounters 41/37
TA-HR takes off 41/38
Guerilla warfare in Napoleonics 41/50
Figuratively Speaking (miniature reviews) 47/64,
48/72, 49/82, 50/54, 51/60, 52/70, 55/70, 56/58,
59/68, 60/68
Erics Dragon 56/59
Photographing miniatures 63/12, 73/28
Gen Con Miniature Open 68/11
Figure Feature (miniature reviews) 70/24, 72/44,
73/32
MONK
Monk arena 2/4
Monk weapons & combat 18/23
Monk (variant) 53/6
Defining and realigning the monk 53/10
Sage Advice (monks) 53/11
MONSTERS (Extraplanar)
Wind walker SR 3/2

Rakshasa SR 5/14
Death Angel 6/28
Demon generation 13/9
Angels 17/32, 35/18
Demonology made easy 20/13
Demonic possession 20/32
Random generation of creatures from the
lower planes 23/15
Barghest 26/44
Elementals 27/8
Patron demons 42/12
Well spirit 42/46
Demons & devils 42/7
The possessors 42/9
Koodjanuk 44/88
Dust devil 45/68
Outer planes monsters 47/13
Incubus 54/29
Poltergeist 55/62
Colfel 56/61
Devas 63/5, 67/63
Planetar 64/10
Solar 64/11
Baku 65/25
Phoenix 65/26
Other genies 66/20
(see also Deities and Mythologies,
Planes of Existence)
MONSTERS (General topics)
Random monsters 10/9
Wandering monsters 15/7
Creating new monsters 21/8, 59/62
Strength comparison table 26/38
Trained animals 29/38
Dungeon encounter tables 34/18
Making monsters meaningful 42/16
Fantasy genetics 44/16
Monster strengths 44/28
Gaze weapons 50/30
Aerial mounts 50/48, 74/6
The blood of Medusa 58/11
Humanoids 63/25
Aquatic encounter tables 68/36
The mind of the monster 71/15
The ecology of . . .
. . . the piercer 72/12
. . . the catoblepas 73/22
. . . the bulette 74/26
(see also Monsters (New))
MONSTERS (New)
Anhkheg 5/12
Argas 53/52
Baseball bugbears 60/56
Beguiler 58/9
Bleeder 59/21
Boggart 54/28
Bulette 1/19, 74/26
Catoblepas SR 7/15, 73/22
Clay golem SR 4/10
Cooshee 67/11
Cryoserpent 44/89
Dark dwellers (trolls) 51/68
Denebian Slime Devil SR 7/15
Devil spider 55/59
Dinosaurs 55/12, 66/54
Dyll 55/61
Fire-eye lizard 40/63
Firetail 61/48
Flitte 40/64
Flolite 38/58
Flying squirrel (carnivorous) 66/56
Frosts 33/56
Fungi (five types) 68/4, 69/36
Gaund 46/26
Gem vars 46/61
Golden ammonite 48/10
Groundsquid 39/57
Hawk/falcon 66/57
Horast 27/41
Huntsmen 40/65
Ice golem 44/90
Insectoids 32/16
Jabberwock 54/30
Krolli 36/63
Kzinti 50/16
Leprechaun SR 3/2
Light worm 61/49
Lurker above SR 3/3

Lythlyx 43/30
Magentas Cat 58/10
Mind flayer SR 1/2
Miniature animals 66/55
Naga SR 3/2
Narra 53/55
Necroton 42/45
Nogra 49/54
Oculon 53/54
Pelins 52/49
Piercer SR 3/2, 72/12
Pirahna bats 51/69
Pooka 60/66
Prowler 7/24
Quatsch 42/44
Remorhaz 2/21
Rhaumbusun 52/48
Roper SR 2/4
Sandbats/swampbats 42/47
Sand lizard 45/67
Sea demon 48/11
Shambling mound SR 3/2
Shrieker SR 3/2
Shroom 56/60
Skyzorrn 45/66
Slinger 28/50
Slithering tracker SR 5/14
Spiders 67/15
Spriggan 59/22
Stroan 54/28
Stymphalian birds 59/22
SUB 58/8
Surchur 55/60
Tolwar 43/29
Tomb tapper 41/58
Trapper SR 5/14
Triffids 53/58
Tybor 61/50
Umbrae 61/48, 65/70
Ukuyatangi 31/50
Vampire frog, giant 50/61
Vilkonnar 34/48
Vulture 66/56
Vulturehounds 37/48
Water horse 48/10
Winged folk 51/18
Wingless wonder 40/64
Whiz-bang beetles 29/50
Yeti SR 3/2
(see also AD&D/D&D Modules, Deities and
Mythologies, Dragons, Horses, Mules, and
Other Mounts, Lycanthropes, Monsters
(Extraplanar), Monsters (General topics),
Orcs and Half-orcs, Undead)
NAMES AND TITLES
EPT names SR 4/7, 24/39
What do you call a 25th-level wizard? 21/7
Whats in a name? 34/27
Historical names make for better games 49/32
New names 72/56
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
Non-player character statistics 18/31
Spell determination for hostile M-Us 19/24
Encounters with personality 21/11
Hirelings have feelings, too 26/26
NPCs have feelings, too 29/40
A CAU for NPCs 33/9
Strategy for hostile magic-users 38/47
(see also Character Classes (Unofficial),
Character Generation, Character Traits and
Abilities, Giants in the Earth, Heroes and
Heroines, Names and Titles)
OFF THE SHELF (Book reviews)
54/75, 56/67, 58/71, 59/75, 61/74, 62/74, 64/73,
66/67, 68/83, 70/67, 72/66, 74/67
ORCS AND HALF-ORCS
Orcish miniatures 25/18, 30/3
Orcs 44/16
Various half-orcs 44/17
Genetics and half-orcs 44/19
More genetics and half-orcs 44/20
The half-orc point of view 62/26
The gods of the orcs 62/28
PALADIN
Paladin notes 38/22

Role-playing paladins 51/33

Rules for paladins 51/36
PINSOM (Comic)
46/66, 47/68, 48/86
PLANES OF EXISTENCE (D&D/AD&D)
Planes in D&D 8/4
Elemental planes 27/8
Playing on the other planes 32/12
Gates 37/4
The inner planes 42/24
Elemental planes 47/9
Astral/ethereal searching, 47/11
Astral plane 67/27
Fedifensor (astral plane module) 67/37
Sage Advice (astral plane) 71/47
The inner planes 73/10
(see also Monsters (Extraplanar))
PLAY-BY-MAIL GAMES (General overview)
Gaming by mail 68/60
The PBM scene 72/30
PLAYER ADVICE AND METHODS
The plays the thing 11/10
Notes from semi successful players 13/30, 15/9
A short course in D&D 28/7
Level progression for players 28/32
Morality & fantasy 36/8, 39/19, 41/6,
43/54, 48/29
Funerals 40/12
Creativity in role-playing 45/20
Evil characters (pro & con) 45/60, 57/50
AD&D exam 47/16
Choosing a DM 48/28
Handicapped players 53/26
Escaping & evasion 55/50
Styles of gaming 65/68
Individuals count 66/58
Ready for anything 69/63
Group cooperation 73/74
Vicarious participation 74/38
(see also specific official character classes,
Dungeon Mustering)
POISON
Effective use of poison 18/24
Poisons from AA to XX 32/4
The toxins of Cerilon 59/57
PSIONICS
Determination of psionic abilities 6/25
Orgies and psionics 10/6
Psionic combat variant 23/10
Psionics revisited 24/28
Determining psionic disciplines 63/19
RANGER
Ranger class SR 2/4
Ranger notes 38/22
SAGE ADVICE
31/26, 32/14, 33/48, 34/16, 35/16, 36/12, 37/12,
39/30, 42/22, 43/16, 44/23, 46/54, 47/52, 48/59,
52/11, 53/11, 54/21, 58/28, 60/13, 62/24, 64/19,
66/16, 71/47
SCIENCE-FICTION GAMES (Misc.)
Alpha Omega 18/15, 31/10
Annihilator 40/59
Asteroid 48/81
Asteroid Zero Four 29/48
Battle Sphere 26/42
Belter 37/44
Black Hole 30/34
Bloodtree Rebellion 45/63
Cerberus 29/48
Chitin I 51/30
Cosmic Encounter 14/11, 18/8
Creature That Ate Sheboygan, The 31/47
Crush, Crumble and Chomp 65/74
Dark Nebula 41/37
Dawn of the Dead 56/65
Double Star 35/50
4th Dimension 22/32, 31/48, 38/24
Freedom in the Galaxy 38/55
Grav Armor 73/80
Ice War 26/40
Imperium 18/7, 20/3, 20/4, 27/34, 39/44

Intruder 39/46
Invasion of the Air Eaters 33/54
John Carter, Warlord of Mars 42/48
MAATAC 29/48
Moon Base Clavius 73/79
Morrow Project 50/58
Ogre 11/8, 17/22, 64/69
Olympica 21/13
Planet Miners 41/34
Robots! 47/60
Space Fighters 48/82
Space Marines 14/4, 45/63
Star Command 2/27
Star Fleet Battles 29/48
Star Frontiers 65/7, 74/59
Star Patrol 58/68
Star Smuggler 66/70
Star Viking 57/67
Starfire I, II, III 29/48, 47/62, 59/72
Starmaster 42/50
Starship Troopers 26/15, 36/64
Stellar Conquest 10/23, 15/19, 31/12, 36/6
Survival 56/64
Time Tripper 42/50
Titan Strike 35/50
Trek-80 36/65
Triplanetary 51/77
Universe 55/65
War in the Ice 35/51
War of the Empires 3/4
Warp War 17/36
Worlds of Wonder 64/70
SIMULATION CORNER (Wargaming column)
35/47, 36/41, 37/14, 38/50, 39/48, 40/48, 41/31,
42/40, 44/36, 46/56, 47/66, 49/69, 50/68, 52/68,
53/62, 54/64, 55/63, 56/72, 57/70
SOCIETY FOR CREATIVE ANACHRONISM
The S.C.A. 24/44
The sleep war 29/32
SOLO ADVENTURING
Solo dungeon adventures SR 1/3
The solo scenario 73/16
SOURCE OF THE NILE (Game)
See Africa and die! 20/18
SOTN revisited 21/3
Lost civilizations (SOTN/fantasy) 24/5
SOTN flow charts 29/6
SQUAD LEADER (Game)
Fighting in the streets 36/38
Large-scale streetfighting 37/20
The battles for Warsaw 40/34
The fall of Sevastopol 43/52
Two eyes for an eye 47/67
Budapest under siege 49/70
SUPERHERO GAMES
Champions (game) 57/69, 73/66
Superhero RPGs 69/38
TESSERACTS
17/20, 27/16, 38/4
THIEF
Thief dexterity bonuses SR 7/19
The thief: A deadly annoyance 26/46
A special look at thieves 47/20
Thieves cant 66/35
Thief-Acrobat split class 69/20
Thief experience table (D&D suggestion) 73/60
TOLKIEN (Or derived therefrom)
Battle of the Five Armies in miniature 1/6
Gandalf was a fifth-level magic-user 5/27
Tolkien in D&D 13/8
Preview: The Lord of the Rings 20/23
War of the Ring variant 20/28
The Tolkien Quiz Book review 29/48
TOP SECRET (Game)
The Rasmussen Files 38/16, 40/38, 45/28, 47/26,
49/22, 51/64, 53/49, 57/20
The Missile Mission (module) 39/M1
TS adventure locations 40/41
The super spies 44/10
Doctor Yes (module) 48/35

D RAGON 51

Undercover job guide 52/26

Mad Merc (module) 56/31
In search of a James Bond 57/17
Outfitting new agents 60/60
Special knowledge 61/60
Infiltrators bureau 61/60
Chinatown (module) 62/35
Computerized character generation 63/65
The Pong Papers 65/66
Spys Advice 67/12, 72/60
Weapon statistics 69/75
New tools of the trade 73/58
(see also Espionage)
TOURNAMENTS/RATINGS
Snurres Hall (Origins 78) 19/3
Competitive D&D 19/6
AD&D Masters Tournament 22/31
Guidelines for staging tournaments 25/46
Tournament success in six steps 30/26
Doomkeep (tournament module) 34/26
How the Masters did 34/M10
A tournament tabulation formula 34/28
AD&D National Player Rating System 35/24
Masters II 35/25
The Slave Pits 43/12, 49/8
Frank Mentzer 43/14
Fairness in tournaments 49/6, 49/8, 49/9
Improving tournament performance 70/48
TRAVELLER (Game)
Game strategies 18/3
Asimov cluster 20/20
Naval career variant 25/20
Tesseracts 27/16
Star system generation 27/18
Politician career 32/24
IBIS career 35/7
Useful skills 35/8
Other career variant 35/9
Scout career variant 35/10
Black holes 35/11
Canard (module) 43/35
Alien races (random generation) 51/7, 58/65
Skill acquisition variant 51/9
Old ships 51/11
Computers 51/13
Planet parameters 51/15
Masers and cameras 51/15
The Miller milk bottle 51/16
Merchant career variant 53/60
Skill advancement 55/52
Skitterbuggers (adaptation of fiction
characters) 59/32
Exonidas Spaceport (module) 59/33
Robots 64/46
Dwarves 70/27
Nobility 73/26

52 A UGUST

1983

TRAVELLER (Game reviews)

Traveller 18/6
Mercenary 26/41
High Guard 40/60
Azhanti High Lightning 43/48
Across the Bright Face/Mission on Mithril 47/63
Research Station Gamma 47/63
Fenris and Tethys ships 51/79
Ley Sector 51/78
Traders and Gunboats 51/78
Argon Gambit/Death Station 56/66
Fighting Ships 56/66
Beyond and Vanguard Reaches 58/69
Trillion Credit Squadron 58/69
Fifth Frontier War 62/70
Simba Safari 63/73
Chamax Plague/Horde 65/75
TREASURE
Gems and jewelry in D&D 8/22
Tombs and crypts 9/25
Orgies, Inc. 10/5
Planning creative treasures 19/13
Charts for location of treasure 19/25
Inflation in D&D 21/9
Historical coinage 63/67
Runestones 69/12
Gems 72/14
Money and inflation 74/50
UNDEAD
Ghost SR 3/2
Vampires 17/3, 25/42, 30/7
Chinese undead 26/20
Curst 30/43
Crawling claw 32/39
Liches 36/36
Restless dead 42/14
Poltergeist 55/62
Rapper 58/32
Shoosuva 63/31
Animal skeletons 66/57
URBAN ADVENTURING
Hints for D&D judges: Towns SR 7/10
The development of towns 8/5
Inns and taverns 29/24
System for urban encounters 37/8
Cities 37/9
Ruins 54/10
Laws 65/56
(see also Campaign Construction/Development, Wilderness Adventuring)
WEAPONS
Medieval pole arms SR 2/5, SR 4/2, 22/50
Missile weapons (bows) SR 7/18, 39/26, 45/32,
58/47, 58/50

Weapon damage (early variant) 2/30

Quarterstaff rules 11/26
Arms and armor of the Conquistadors 25/44
Small weapons damage 29/30
Weapons of the Far East 32/6
Mongol weapons 36/31
Molotov cocktails 40/18
Damage to weapons 54/14, 73/34
Shield and weapon skills 57/10
Swords 45/12, 58/55
Weird weapons 61/16
Official new weapons 64/6
Weapon proficiency system 65/19
Weapon quality 65/13
Weapon specialization 66/27
(see Combat, Gunpowder Weapons)
WHATS NEW? (Cartoon)
49/90, 50/74, 51/87, 52/79, 53/80, 54/76, 55/79,
56/80 ,57/80, 58/78, 59/78, 60/79, 61/76, 62/78,
63/76, 64/76, 65/76, 66/76, 67/78, 68/93, 69/88,
70/75, 71/76, 72/75, 73/91, 74/73
WILDERNESS ADVENTURING
Hints for D&D judges: Wilderness 1/20
Designing unique wilderness encounters 10/7
Weather in the wilderness 15/14
Jungles 31/4, 31/5
Ice Age adventuring 68/18
Weather in the World of Greyhawk 68/42
(see also Aquatic Adventuring, Campaign
Construction/Development, Urban
Adventuring)
WORLD OF GREYHAWK, THE
Developing TWOG 37/10
The World of Greyhawk (reviews) 46/48
Adding depth to the Flanaess 52/18
From The Sorcerers Scroll (TWOG) 55/17,
56/18, 57/13
Notes from TWOG 59/24, 63/15, 64/13, 65/11
Bandit Kingdoms 63/14
Deities & Demigods of Greyhawk 67/23, 68/63,
69/27, 70/20, 71/52
Weather in the World of Greyhawk 68/42
Greyhawks World (quasi-deities) 71/19
WORMY (Comic)
9/28, 10/28, 11/28, 12/28, 13/29, 14/26, 16/30,
17/35, 18/27, 19/11, 19/30, 20/10, 29/52 30/42,
31/52, 32/43, 33/58, 34/52, 36/66, 39/61, 42/59,
43/75, 44/96, 47/74, 48/89, 49/91, 50/76, 51/91,
52/80, 54/79, 55/78, 56/76, 57/79, 58/80, 60/78,
61/78, 62/76, 63/78, 64/78, 65/78, 66/78, 67/77,
68/92, 69/90, 70/77, 71/79, 72/79, 73/94, 74/77
WRITERS GUIDELINES
The write way to get published 45/24

54 AUGUST

1983

Saved by the cavalry!

An army of knowledge for BOOT HILL players

by Carl Smith

The sergeant shaded his eyes, hunched

over in the saddle, and squinted against
the glare of the desert sun. The air he
sucked into his lungs was hot. His shirt
was stained with salt streaks under the
armpits and from his shoulders down to
his waist. The barrel of the carbine resting across his lap was almost too hot to
touch.
Suddenly a searing pain shot through
his left leg. An arrow! And now he saw
the Indian, kneeling by a patch of sagebrush where he would have bet a weeks
pay that there wasnt enough room for a
rabbit to hide. His Sharps carbine came
around, and he made its big .52 caliber
barrel boom while he wheeled his horse
around to head for the troop. Behind
him, the air filled with war cries. . . .
That scene is not one that often occurs
in a BOOT HILL campaign but it
could. With a little patience, some basic
know-how, and a dab of creativity, you
can turn your BOOT HILL campaign
into part of the epic battle for the Old
West. To do this, first you need some
background information about American
Indians and the United States Army.
In the 1870s, the United States was
recovering from the Civil War. A large
army was considered unnecessary; as soon
after the war as 1875, the Army had
shrunk to less than 24,000 men. For comparison, the Confederacy alone fielded
more than 20,000 men at the Battle of
Shiloh. In the Battle of Antietam, around
23,000 men were killed. Yet, the entire
United States was now to be protected by
this small force.
The U. S. Army circa 1875 consisted of
five artillery regiments, twelve cavalry
regiments, and nineteen infantry regiments. Artillery and cavalry regiments
were composed of twelve companies each.
Of the nineteen infantry regiments, ten
were old style regiments of ten companies each, and nine were new regiments of twenty-four companies (divided
into eight battalions of three companies
apiece). This totalled 2,444 men per new
regiment, about 305 men to a battalion,
or 101 men to a company. Old regiments
had 582 men per regiment.
Regiments were commanded by colonels, and each regimental commander
had a lieutenant colonel as his second in
command. Most battalions were commanded by majors, and consisted of a
headquarters company and two other
companies. Although colonels commanded on paper, the members of many

56 AUGUST

1983

regiments never saw their commanding

officers in the field.
Cavalry companies were called squadrons, and majors commanded them.
Cavalry squadrons were composed of a
headquarters troop and two other troops.
Infantry companies and cavalry troops
were usually commanded by captains, or
sometimes a senior first lieutenant. Most
troops/companies were composed of platoons (about 50 men in size) commanded
by a first lieutenant. Many of the first
lieutenants who commanded companies
received the command so the captain
could be free to perform his timeconsuming administrative duties.
The platoon was subdivided into two
25-man sections, and each section was
split into two squads, sometimes three.
The squad was the smallest military unit.
In the army of 1875, the command
structure was headed, of course, by the
President as Commander-in-Chief, followed by the General of the Army, a
Lieutenant General, three Major Generals, 14 Brigadier Generals, and 67 men
holding the rank of colonel. The approximate distribution of men in the primary
ranks for each branch of the service was
as follows:
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Sergeant Major
First Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal
Private

Inf. Cav. Art.

25
10
5
25
20
5
25
30
15
250 120 60
250 120 120
250 120 65
19
12
5
250 120 60
1,000 600 250
1,000 480 240
8,460 8,540 2,600

The army of the 1870s was a great

melting pot. After the Civil War, many
ex-Confederates enlisted out of desperation. There was nothing for them to
return home to, and joblessness was rampant in the pre-industrial South. Irish,
Scots, ex-Confederates, blacks, and a
small cadre of professional soldiers
formed the army that was supposed to
keep peace and protect the frontiers.
Of particular interest are the 9th and
10th Cavalry Regiments and the 24th and
25th Infantry Regiments, which were
formed entirely of black soldiers and
black non-commissioned officers. (Their
officers were white.) These soldiers
fought so well that the Indians gave them
a special name, buffalo soldiers. The

name derived from their hair, which

reminded the Indians of the pelt of the
buffalo, and the naming was also a tribute to the soldiers tenacity and courage.
By an Indian, no higher compliment
could be paid. At one time or another in
their units histories, all of the buffalo
soldiers saw duty at Fort Davis, Texas.
Each of the branches of the army had
its own distinctive color. This color
appeared on its guidons, on its epaulette
backgrounds, as the color for its NCOs
stripes, and as the color of the stripe that
ran down the trouser leg of the dress uniform. The infantry used oyster white or
light blue, the cavalry yellow, artillery
scarlet, and the medical corps green.
Unlike todays chevrons, the armys
chevrons in 1875 had their point towards
the wrist. In addition, if an NCO had a
specialty (bugler, cook, stable sergeant,
etc.), the symbol for that specialty (a
bugle, a cooks hat, a horses head) was
embossed above the stripe in the regimental color. As such, there were no shoulder
patches to designate units.
Although the dress uniform was fancy,
we need concern ourselves only with the
campaign uniform. The soldier wore a
dark blue shirt, trousers of a lighter blue,
and a blue or tan slouch hat. The infantry was issued shoes and leggings (which
were often discarded), and the cavalry was
issued boots.
For armament, the soldier carried a .45
caliber Colt New Model Army singleaction revolver in a leather-flap holster.
The holster was suspended from a leather
belt on which was slung a cartridge box
with 30 spare pistol rounds. Soldiers were
also issued a 100-round bandolier or cartridge belt. Often, wearing their bandolier
as a belt, they hung their holsters directly
from it. This cartridge belt was filled
with ammunition for their .52 caliber
Sharps rifles. The infantry carried the
rifle, and the cavalry carried the lighter
carbine version until the army adopted
the Krag-Jorgensen in the late 1890s. The
calibre of the Sharps is often given as .52,
.54, or .56, because different bullets measured differently from tip to base. Early in
the Indian campaigns, the cavalry was
issued the famous 7-shot Spencer repeating carbine. These were the firearms used
at the famous Battle of Beechers Island.
Another standard piece of weaponry was
the sabre issued to cavalry soldiers. Most
of these were the 1860 model, and were
almost always left to decorate the barracks
wall while their owners campaigned.
(Continued on page 58)

Hospital stewards house

B: Hospital
C: Magazine
storehouse
D: Band quarters
E: Officers Row
(CO in center)
F: Quarters
G: Sutler
H: Telegraph office
I: Parade field
J: Chapel
K: Post HQ
L: Cav. barracks
(4 buildings)
A:

FORT
DAVIS
(1880)
0

200

400
(feet)

600

Guardhouse
Inf. barracks
Bakery
Commissary
Barracks
Quartermaster
storehouse
S: Quartermaster
stables
T : Cav. stables
U: Old commissary
& storehouse
V: Old quartermaster office
& storehouse
W: Gardens
M:
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R:

D RAGON 57

Both cavalry and infantry were issued a

canteen and a pair of blankets. The infantry was issued a backpack which was
often discarded in favor of the blanket
roll. The canteen was worn over the right
shoulder on the left hip. If a pistol was
worn, it was carried butt forward in a
holster on the right hip. The cavalry wore
their carbine slings so the carbine hung
on the right side of the rider.
Two common pieces of unofficial
gear, the large hunting knife and the canvas pouch (kit bag), were integral pieces
of campaigning equipment. When troops
used the Spencer carbine, they carried a
box of spare, loaded ammunition tubes to
insert into the butt of the rifle.
The army was often criticized for using
a single-shot rifle when so many repeating rifles were available. The reason they
did not change was twofold: One, the
range of the Sharps was such that it easily
outdistanced many of the Indians weapons and kept them at bay; two, the Sharps
did not often jam, as did the repeating
rifles.
The army was trained to fight. The
infantry dug rifle pits for protection, and
the cavalry fought dismounted. Cavalrymen were trained to make their mounts
lie down during a gunfight, so the horses
body could serve as a shield if no other
cover was available. When large groups
of cavalry fought on foot, one of every
five men was designated as a horse-

handler. He was left to watch the mounts

of all five while the others were freed for
offensive actions.
The mission of the U. S. Army in the
Southwest was one of varied purposes
and means, but primarily from the
armys viewpoint, anyway the soldiers
were a peacekeeping force. They escorted
civilians, scouted unknown territory,
chased Indians who jumped the reservation, recovered stolen livestock, and
performed routine military duties in addition to keeping the frontier safe from
Indians.
Today, many people have an inaccurate idea of how the standard military
outpost looked. We of the 20th century
envision some sort of Fort Apache fortress, with a stockade of pointed logs and
wooden, rough log outbuildings. And
indeed, a few forts but only relatively
few were like that.
On the plains, there was little building
wood. Most forts were open, having no
outer wall. (Among its other disadvantages, a high wall around a fort cut off
any possibility of a cooling breeze.) Most
forts put their buildings facing a central
parade ground. If an attack occurred on
such a fort, the low adobe buildings provided excellent opportunities for intersecting lines of fire against the intruders.
Because army forts were so difficult to
take by force, most attacks on groups of
soldiers took place at some location well

out of sight of a fort. A fairly representative fort of this era was Fort Davis, Texas.
(See the map on the previous page.)
In the context of a BOOT HILL campaign, few soldiers in their right minds
will engage in quick-draw gunfights. The
soldiers flap-holster deters that sort of
thing but once his pistol is drawn, the
soldier stands as good a chance as anyone
else. With a full bandolier of ammunition, the soldier is well stocked and can
hold off the enemy for a long time.
Most forts had a sutlers store, a combination of general store and saloon, where
troops congregated on most evenings. Or,
if they could get passes, they went into
town. When let loose on a nearby
town, some soldiers could be as highspirited as Texas cowpunchers just coming off a long trail drive. Wild Bill
Hickok had a feud with Capt. Tom Custer (yes, that Custers brother) of the 7th
Cavalry that started when he shot two
members of that unit in Hays City, killing one.
Generating soldier characters
To start a BOOT HILL game involving characters serving in the U. S. Army,
roll dice for each member of a mixed
party of soldiers to determine the ranks
they hold. (Approximate pay rates for
each rank are also given in the table
below.) In some situations, duplicate
rank results may have to be re-rolled or
manipulated in some way. For instance,
in a small group of soldiers there would
be virtually no chance of two men holding the rank of captain; although the dice
do allow for this possibility, the referee
should only permit such a result to stand
if it is sensible and playable in the context of the adventure or the campaign.
Note that under the circumstances described here, no one with the rank of
major or above will be found as part of a
mixed group of soldiers.
Dice roll
Rank
Pay
$13-16
01-60
Private
$16-20
Corporal
61-75
76-80
Sergeant
$21-25
First Sergeant
$24-36
81-85
Second Lieutenant $24-32
86-88
First Lieutenant $25-35
89-95
$36-44
96-99
Captain
Civilian Scout
$1-2 1
00
---$42-50
Major
1
Wages per day; other figures are
monthly pay.
Men were paid by their actual rank,
and not according to any brevet rank they
might have acquired in the Civil War. A
brevet rank was a temporary command
rank, allowing the bearer to be called by
that rank and to command troops, but
not giving him the actual pay grade. At
Little Big Horn, General Custer (brevet
rank) was actually Lieutenant Colonel
Custer.
Soldiers receive experience points while

58 AUGUST

1983

D RAGON 59

on campaign. They gain one experience

point for every week they campaign, and
likewise one point for every enemy they
kill. Half of their experience points must
be put into raising their bravery through
experiencing the rigors of the campaign.
When brawling, soldiers receive a 5%
bonus on their hitting and chances to do
damage, since they have been trained in
melee combat. When firing from any
supported, kneeling, standing, or prone
position with a rifle, a soldier receives an
additional 5% bonus to hit, since soldiers
trained on the rifle range in all of these
firing positions.
When soldiers gain certain amounts of
experience points, they may advance to
the next highest level (rank):
Points needed
to reach
30
45
60
75
100
150
175
200
250

Rank
Private Second Class
Private First Class
Corporal
Sergeant
Sergeant Major
Second Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
Captain
Major

Because of the style of holsters they

wear, soldiers receive no bonus when
attempting to draw quickly. And, soldiers
cannot call their shots, since they train

60 AUGUST

1983

by shooting at targets and silhouettes.

Furthermore, soldiers firing a militaryissue weapon do not suffer the 5%
penalty for firing while walking.
In terms of the BOOT HILL game,
soldiers may improve their Gun Accuracy
for either rifle or pistol, but they must be
improved separately. Strength and Bravery may be improved by campaigning, as
may Experience. Soldiers may have any
initial Speed ability score. However, if it
starts out as less than 60% it can never be
improved to higher than that number.
To equate the soldiers weapons with
the BOOT HILL system, treat the
military-issue weapons as follows: The
Colt NMA is a 6-shot SAR; the .52 calibre
Sharps rifle is a one-shot Army rifle.
There is no carbine analogous with the
single-shot .52 calibre, so use the statistics
for the Civil War carbine, except that the
weapon holds one shot instead of seven.
Additionally, the following adaptations
are suggested:
All army rifles are treated as buffalo
guns in terms of stunning chances. Army
carbines are not. Military rifles have a lessened chance of jamming (only a 1 in 100
chance), since breech loaders are not too
difficult to clear.
For game purposes, all crew-served
weapons require a crew of four, commanded by an NCO or an officer. Cannons may not function with less than two
gunners. Gatling guns may fire with two

gunners or less, but still have a basic crew

of five (including the commander) to
start.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Guns of the Gunfighters, 1975,
published by Guns and Ammo
The Soldiers, 1973, Time-Life Books
The Authentic Wild West, 1976,
James D. Horan
Small Arms in Profile, Vol. I, 1973,
Doubleday Books
The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia
of the Worlds Firearms, 1978,
Ian V. Hogg
The Book of the American West, 1963,
Julian Messner Co.
Arms and Equipment of the Civil War,
1962, Jay Coggins
Fort Union, 1962, Robert Utley
A Pictorial History of the United States
Army, 1966, Gene Gurney
The West Point Atlas of American Wars,
1959
Great Western Indian Fights, 1960,
University of Nebraska Press
Rifles and Warbonnets, 1968,
Marian T. Place
United States Firearms: The First Century
1776-1875, 1971, David F. Butler
Uniforms of the World 1700-1937,
1980, Knotel, Knotel and Sieg
Old Forts of the Southwest, 1963,
Herbert M. Hart

D RAGON 61

Who was Baba Yaga, the magic-user lady who made the Hut
artifact in the DMG?
According to David Nalles assessment of her in issue #53 of
DRAGON Magazine (p. 32), Baba Yaga was a cannibalistic
ogre-witch who dwelled in old Russia. She was chaotic evil, with
all the powers of a 20th-level magic-user, a 15th-level illusionist,
a 10th-level druid, and a 12th-level fighter. Her vital statistics
were: AC 7, 24 move, 150 HP, 80% magic resistance, hit only by
magical weapons, 8 in height (shes non-human), and her ability scores are S 22, I 24, W 17, D 16, C 18, CH 2. The sight of her
causes fear in all, 3 to save vs. spell, and anyone looking into
her eyes must save vs. spell at 5 or be charmed into doing her
bidding. If her spells fail or if shes feeling especially mean,
shell attack with her two clawed hands and her fanged mouth;
each set of claws does 2-16 points damage, plus 1-12 points for
poison if a save fails against it, and her bite does 1-10 damage.
Avoid her at all costs.
Can a Dungeon Master give away magical items in an adventure and then later say that the items operate at reduced effectiveness or have wholly new powers?
It may be that the DM had planned ahead that certain magic
items would indeed change their abilities over time (a wand of
wonder, for instance, constantly does unpredictable things), but
often DMs alter magical items as a way of bringing the campaign back into order if they find theyve given away some powerful items that are too tough to manage. This is not a good way
of handling the situation, since it does violate the spirit of the
rules, but it is one way to handle things. It would be better to set
up situations working within the rules than to arbitrarily say,
Well, your +4 sword is now a +1 sword. Players will accept
changes done within the rules better than if they feel (and rightly
so) that they are getting rooked.
What are mithral and adamantite?
Mithral is a very rare metallic ore that has a cloudy silver luster in mined form, but when refined and made pure becomes
brilliant and silvery. It is soft, as metals go, and is easily fashioned into jewelry by dwarven, gnomish, human, and elven
craftsmen. However, it is primarily used in alloys with pure steel
to fashion weapons, shields, and armor; mithral/steel alloys
retain magical dweomers much better even than the purest iron,
and they may be enchanted to +4 quality.
Adamantite is an even rarer ore that seems to come in several
basic hues: brown-gold, blue-silver, and green-silver; a few cases
are known of black adamantite ore (from drow enclaves). Adamantite is extremely difficult to mine because of its hardness,
and must be made molten to be of any use at all. Usually only
dwarves, gnomes and humans have access to adamantite, since it
is found very deep in the earth and in very small quantities,
though drow are able to find enough of it to make their armor
and weapons. Adamantite must be alloyed with high-grade steel
to be usable in making items, primarily because it is too rare to
waste by making pure adamantite devices. Adamantite-alloyed
armor and weapons maybe enchanted to +5 quality. It may be

62 AUGUST

1983

that pure adamantite can be enchanted to +6, but this is uncertain. Drow-made adamantite weapons are ruined by exposure to
sunlight, because of the loss of special radiations that keep their
powers operating; normally, adamantite items suffer no such
problems. There are rumors that githzerai (see the FIEND
FOLIO Tome) house themselves in adamantite fortresses, but
this is extremely unlikely and is probably a rumor only; wasting
adamantite on making forts is hard to excuse, and it is just not
found in such quantities.
There are no commonly circulated mithral or adamantite
coins; if there were, they would be almost unusable by virtue of
their great cost. A 1 g.p. weight of mithral would command
upwards of 50 g.p.; an equal amount of adamantite would be
much more expensive than that.
Can a player character become a free-willed vampire and be
played like any other player character?
No. A player character who becomes a vampire also becomes
an non-player character under the Dungeon Masters control;
otherwise, the character is too powerful and the game balance
starts to disappear as the PC vampire vampirizes the countryside.
All undead creatures should be NPCs, to emphasize the humanocentric nature of the AD&D game system.
In the Players Handbook it states that rangers will not congregate in groups larger than three, but in The Lord of the Rings by
J. R. R. Tolkien this restriction does not appear.
The rangers in the AD&D game are not the rangers in Tolkiens books; granted, the two are related but in the final
analysis, AD&D rangers are different. The AD&D game, more
broadly, should not be interpreted too literally in the light of
books and materials not developed by TSR, Inc.; though individual DMs and players may do so if they wish, they should note
that, for example, Tolkiens elves are immortal and AD&D elves
are just long-lived. The AD&D system is not LOTR.
Can a DM award experience points to players for solving riddles, defusing traps, setting up clever ambushes, and so forth? If
so, how many points should be awarded?
This is a problem for individual DMs to resolve, though I
would recommend giving out experience points for such actions,
since doing so tends to encourage further creativity on the players parts. As a rule of thumb, no more than 100 experience
points or so should be awarded for exceptionally clever actions;
most deeds that involve solving riddles and the like would probably earn about 10-20 experience points or so.
If player characters manage to kill off every monster in a dungeon, can they then take the dungeon over for their own?
This depends upon the DM, but actually there is no reason
why the characters couldnt do this. In truth, it might not be
such a bad idea, from the standpoint of campaign balance; the
cost involved in renovating the ex-dungeon, hiring workers, getting new materials, and so forth will eat up enormous sums of
cash. Whenever the players leave the dungeon to go somewhere,

D RAGON 63

new monsters (a few) might move in if they havent properly

warded and guarded the place. Characters involved in fixing the
place up wont be able to adventure for a long time if they personally supervise everything. Maybe the ruler of the dungeon
had some friends from other places (maybe even from some
Outer Planes) who plan to drop in sometime; they might not
like seeing that the ownership of the dungeon has changed
hands. Of course, there will always be the chance that things
might tunnel up from below one day . . . like drow, mind flayers,
troglodytes, orcs, purple worms, umber hulks the list goes on
and on. You get the idea.
In the old Giants in the Earth column, some of the heroes
were given a percentile score for every ability of 18, even those
characteristics like intelligence and wisdom that have no percentile score given to them in the AD&D rules. Why was this done?
Originally such 18-percentile scores were given as a basis for
comparison; so many of the heroes and heroines in that column
had ability scores of 18 that it was thought there should be some
way to further differentiate between (for instance) two characters
who both have 18 intelligence. Such percentile values can be easily disregarded, since they have no function in the AD&D rules.
Numerous modules refer to a game called knucklebones. How
is this played in terms of the AD&D game?
See the DMG, Appendix F, for a brief description of gambling
games that could be used within a scenario.
In reading through past issues of DRAGON Magazine, I
noticed that several times characters and monsters have been described differently from the presentations in the official AD&D
books. I now have two different versions of Circe, Medea, the
phoenix, and several others. Which version is correct?
DRAGON Magazine frequently prints material that is not
necessarily considered official, but is presented as a reasonable
alternative to already existing material. Often two or more writers have differing views, taken from different sources, on how a
certain personage or monster should appear in the AD&D game.
Presenting these different perspectives on the character or monster is done to give the DM the freedom to select a version that
best fits the DMs campaign and personal conception of what
such a being would be like.
Is everything that appears in DRAGON Magazine an official
rule change or addition?
No. Virtually all of the magazines contents are not official,
excepting only those writings that are defined as official, either
by their nature (such as most articles written by E. Gary Gygax,
which are automatically official) or by a note prefacing the
article that indicates it should be considered official. For the
most part, the material in DRAGON Magazine is intended only
as possible suggestions for referees and players to adopt into
their campaigns if they so choose. No one is obligated to use any
of the material in the magazine but if you try something out
and you find you like it, have fun with it.
Why are there so many contradictions between the Basic and
Expert D&D sets and the Advanced D&D books?
The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game and the ADVANCED
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game are two different products,
and are not meant to be meshed. The similarity in names is confusing, but the game systems are very different from each other,
in the way that both are different from the Runequest game system or the Traveller game system. DMs and players should
avoid mixing the D&D and AD&D systems at all times.
What happens if a GAMMA WORLD mutant hits an AD&D
character with the power de-evolution?
The AD&D character, unlike GAMMA WORLD characters,
has no resistance to mental attacks or radiation attacks from
GAMMA WORLD monsters or devices. De-evolution will automatically strip an AD&D character of one level per GAMMA

64 AUGUST

1983

WORLD combat round (10 seconds), meaning that 6 life levels

will be lost per AD&D round, no saving throw allowed. This was
confirmed by Jim Ward, the co-author of the GAMMA WORLD
rules. And you thought vampires were bad! AD&D characters
drained of life levels by de-evolution simply die and do not
become undead. If raised, the character so affected will be a zerolevel character.
Can a character who is paralyzed yell for help? Can such a
character use psionics? Cast spells?
No. Yes, because the mind is unaffected. No, unless the being
that is paralyzed has innate spell-like powers like those of a
demon, devil, beholder, or lamia (for example), in which case
these powers can still be used at will.
What does the inch sign () mean in reference to distances and
length?
When discussing height or small items, it means inches. When
discussing spell ranges, missile ranges, and spell areas of effect
indoors, it means 1 = 10 feet. When discussing spell ranges and
missile ranges outdoors, it means 1 = 10 yards (30 feet); however,
areas of effect for spells are always measured in tens of feet, never
tens of yards.
Whats the difference between a secret and a concealed door?
Secret doors are constructed so that their function as a portal is
not immediately obvious; false backs on fireplaces, revolving
bookcases, and sliding sections of stonework are examples of
this. Concealed doors are just doors hidden by an intervening
object, like a tapestry, a stack of boxes, a door covered over with
plaster, and so forth.
Do constitution bonuses for monks, rangers, and first-level
half-ogre characters (who all start with two hit dice) apply to
both hit dice as well as all hit dice earned after first level?
Yes.
How can you handle pregnancy in AD&D games?
This is one of those aspects of AD&D gaming that is left up to
the DMs decisions; all campaigns are different, and the elves (for
example) within one campaign could legitimately have longer
gestation periods than those in another campaign. As a general
rule of thumb, it can probably be asserted that elves have the
longest pregnancy times (possibly as much as 2 years); dwarves,
gnomes, humans, halflings, and half-elves are all about the
same, between 8 and 12 months, and orcs and humanoids would
have shorter gestation periods, possible ranging down to 6
months. These are only suggestions, however; what the DM
decides for his campaign is the final answer.
Some of the characters described by Gary Gygax in your magazine have an attribute labeled CO. What is this?
CO stands for Comeliness, a new attribute described by Gary
Gygax (in issue #67 of DRAGON magazine) to represent physical beauty/handsomeness. Unlike other attributes such as
strength, comeliness has a range from 8 (for the ugliest half-orc)
to +25 (for the most beautiful elf). Scores of +10 to +13 are average. The use of a comeliness attribute is up to the DM and the
players of an AD&D group.
How can any character be able to take more physical damage
than an ancient huge red dragon?
AD&D gaming is based on what is sometimes called fantasy
realism. In reality, none of us humans would have a chance
against a monster the size of a red dragon; however, AD&D gaming is not reality. It reflects very well the kind of fantasy realism found in myths, legends, tales, and modern fantasy literature, wherein it is possible to be so lucky, gifted, and powerful
that one could even be tougher than a dragon. Hit points not
only reflect bodily damage; they also reflect combat skill, the
ability to sidestep an otherwise fatal blow, and the blessing of a
patron deity, as well as innate luck (and perhaps other attributes

of an intangible nature). Obviously, it cannot be argued that

even the toughest fighter in an AD&D game has more body mass
than a red dragon; however, it can be argued that a warrior,
especially a heroic warrior on the level of Beowulf, Roland, or
Conan, could be skilled enough to give a dragon a bad time in
combat. After all, its the essence of heroic fantasy not humdrum reality that the game reflects.

and their own behavior tends to strongly limit their charismatic

effect toward other races.

Can half-ogres be barbarians?

They can behave in a barbarous fashion, but cannot be of the
barbarian character class. They lack the dexterity and agility of
humans and cannot perform many of the barbarians basic skills.
Half-ogres could, however, be raised in barbarian tribes and be
considered members of such a tribe, though they would still be of
the fighter class.

Do half-ogre characters (as described in DRAGON Magazine

#73) count as giant-class humanoids for purposes of rangers
attacks against them?
No; half-ogres, like half-orcs, are not entirely humanoid,
and rangers do not get any bonuses against them like they do
against normal (full-blooded) ogres.

Why do half-ogres have such low charismas?

No one really trusts them. They often have their ogre parents
nastier habits, and many of them are chaotic evil. While they
might not look particularly ugly (though some of them do) and
might appear quite competent and powerful, social prejudice

How do half-ogres feel about other humanoid creatures?

Use the Humanoid Racial Preferences Table in the DMG;
half-ogres will feel about the same way as regular ogres do
toward other creatures.

Why are the ability scores for half-ogres rolled differently than
for other races?
Certain of the ability scores for half-ogres are considerably
higher or lower than the human and demi-human racial norms.
The change in die-rolling the ability scores is intended to reflect
this difference.

Page advice: How to get published

Questions and answers from the TSR Acquisitions Department

What is the Acquisitions Department?

The Acquisitions Department is part of
the TSR Games Division. We review
materials submitted to the TSR Games
Division for possible publication. The
department was founded in the fall of
1982 to handle the increasing number of
submissions that the Games Division was
receiving. Our function is primarily
managerial and editorial. We have no
organizational connection with the
Design Department within the Games
Division, or with Dragon Publishing,
and we deal exclusively with freelance
submissions.
What, exactly, do you review?
Modules and games, mostly. The bulk
of our workload currently consists of
modules (most have been for the AD&D
system) and games for the SPI line. We
also handle magazine games for Dragon
Publishing (for ARES and S&T magazines). We do look at many other types of
games besides role-playing games and
simulation games; we are currently most
interested in games with a strong fantasy
or SF theme.
Does TSR look at other products?
Some material is processed by other
departments and divisions. Dragon Publishing handles manuscripts and some
artwork for DRAGON, S&T, ARES, and
AMAZING magazines. ENDLESS
QUEST books are also handled by
Dragon Publishing. Toy proposals
should be sent to the Games Division. All
these departments and divisions have
guidelines that differ from those for game
submissions, so be sure to send your
inquiry to the right division.

Is there anything you wont look at?

We are primarily interested in finished
products. Submissions should include a
complete, ready-to-play game or finished
module manuscript. In certain cases, a
designer can send a letter of inquiry outlining the project in general terms before
any work has begun, though we usually
only accept such an approach from established professional game designers. For
modules, the quality of the submissions
varies so greatly that unless we are
already familiar with your work, we need
a completed manuscript. If you dont
want to chance a whole module at first,
we will review a detailed project outline
and a short sample of your writing (say,
10 typed manuscript pages), and then get
back to you.
Certain types of material are not high
on our priority list; for example, sports
games, abstract chess-like games, clones
of existing games (like Monopoly variants), and so on. We are not currently
interested in DM-assisted computer programs for any of our role-playing games
(random character generators, and so on)
or in computer game programs. And
occasionally someone sends in an idea
that is unusable for copyright reasons (for
example, a Smurf module); please try not
to tie a submission to copyrighted properties other than those owned by TSR, Inc.
We are also not interested in minor variants or additions to existing game systems; for example, a new monster, character class, spell, or weapon type. In the
Games Division, we deal with largerscope products modules, rulebooks,
games, and the like. We just do not have
time to review and process limited embellishments to existing systems.

Certain types of modules will always be

rejected. Random dungeons or scenarios
that require unrelieved hack n slash
tactics will be returned. Gauntlets that
channel a party down a single path are
difficult to design well we return a lot
of these. Modules that require evilaligned player characters or that contain
overly graphic or tasteless descriptions
will be rejected (as a rule of thumb for
questions of taste, stick to the standards
of the Comic or TV codes).
In addition, we are not currently
accepting modules set in the WORLD OF
GREYHAWK setting or in specific
Outer Planes listed in the Players Handbook and the DEITIES & DEMIGODS
Cyclopedia.
What is the best way to approach TSR
with a game or module?
First, write to the Submissions Director
(in care of TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake
Geneva WI 53147) and ask for a Submissions Packet, especially if this is your first
submission to TSR, Inc. Do not send a
game or an idea without reading the
information in the packet. It contains a
disclosure form which gives us permission to evaluate your submission. Also,
we prefer not to handle general inquiries
by phone. Since the Acquisitions
Department also does development and
production editing on freelance submissions, calls tend to disrupt the work
schedule.
The first thing we have to know is the
general parameters of the product: what
type of game (family, SPI, module), its
theme, how many players, target age
group, difficulty level, and so on exact
details of game mechanics or plot lines

D RAGON 65

are not necessary at first. A general outline of what makes the submission distinctive or unusual is helpful.
What product types would you like to
see more of?
Over the next year, we would like to see
more modules for games other than the
AD&D system, especially for the STAR
FRONTIERS game. We kept GAMMA
WORLD submissions on hold until the
revision of the game came out recently, so
now well be needing more of those, too.
In general, fewer designers write nonfantasy material, so good-quality material
of that sort has a lot less competition.
What would you consider good
material?
As a rule of thumb, if a submission
meets or exceeds the quality of our current products, we would consider it good
material.
We like module submissions with welldeveloped plot lines, internal consistency,
good writing, innovative use of detail,
enough detail so that any referee can run
the encounters as the designer intends,
and a presentation that gives the referee
all the information he needs in the order
he needs it.
Are there other considerations?
Of course. Module manuscript length
is important. Most of our commercial

modules are 32 pages long; this is the

most efficient length for printing purposes. At a ratio of roughly 4 manuscript
(typed) pages, to 1 finished (typeset) page,
this means a submission should be
around 120 pages in length. Beginning
designers tend to have difficulty filling
this length; experienced designers usually
have difficulty cutting their text down.
The difference between the two types of
submissions is usually in the depth and
development of the encounter information detail.
Module formatting how the material
is organized and presented is also
important. For example an AD&D
module is usually set up with boxed
information to be read to the players,
while a TOP SECRET module is not.
Some product lines, like the STAR
FRONTIERS modules, have a very consistent format; others are not so rigidly
structured. If you have any questions, ask
us. Some information acquired at the
outset can save hours of work later.
Existing products for the game system
are another consideration for example,
there might be a glut of modules on the
market dealing with lizard men. Under
those circumstances, we would be reluctant to do another one. Strange settings,
like Oriental or Amerind cultures, automatically have a more limited market, so
its a good idea to check with us first
before doing anything special.
Games are really tough to succeed with;
the market for games is much more
uncertain than the market for modules.
Good playability and innovative mechanics are very important. A catch-up feature of some sort is desirable in family
games, allowing someone who is behind
a chance to win. The game must be fun
to play.
What exactly makes up a completed
submission?
For modules, the main text includes an
introduction, background, encounter
keys, conclusion, and any special sections
like new magic or an alien update file.
Charts and tables should be separated
from the text and included at the back.
Maps should also be separated from the
main text, neatly drawn, and clearly
labelled. All words or numbers that
appear on the maps should be repeated
on a special page (these bits of text are
called map tags). Maps should be
treated as an integral part of the submission, and not just dashed off. Standard
map symbols should be used.
Games should come with complete
rules and components, including maps or
board, dice, playing pieces, cards (if any),
and so on. SPI-style games should also
have a complete counter set and a counter
manifest (a blow-up of a counter sheet
with each counter reproduced in the position it will occupy in the final sheet),
map tags, and tables. These should be
separated from the text.

66 AUGUST

1983

What about art for modules?

Usually we dont accept art as part of a
freelance submission. We dont know
what size such illustrations can be until
the module has been typeset, and by that
time our deadlines are usually too short
to deal with freelance artists.
How about word processors?
We accept printout manuscripts if they
are dark enough to photocopy (double
dot matrix). Normal standards apply
otherwise.
For authors who use text editors on
their home computers, we accept diskettes
that are compatible with the Atari Text
Wizard or Apple Applewriter software. A complete printout of the text
should be included, and it should be dark
enough to photocopy. File length should
be kept to 170 sectors or less.
What happens to a submission?
First, the project is screened by the
Product Planning Manager for whatever
product line the game falls into. These
include D&D or AD&D games, nonfantasy role-playing games, family games,
and specialty games (the last being SPI
games, historical simulations, and so on).
The Product Manager is responsible for
maintaining the balanced growth of the
line; how many products of what type,
consistency within the line, and so on. A
project not approved by the PPM in
charge is returned to the person who
submitted it. If a submission is favorably
reviewed by the PPM, the product goes
back to the Acquisitions Department for
evaluation and testing (at this stage,
modules are sometimes returned for a
revised draft). The third step is an approval stage, which brings in the Marketing,
Purchasing, and Finance Departments.
(In the case of standard-sized modules,
this step should move fairly quickly
several weeks.) If the project is approved,
an agreement is then reached. This will
nearly always include a rework to be
completed by the author. The receipt of a
satisfactory finished project will set the
payment procedure in motion. It can take
as long as a year or more for this entire
process to run from start to finish,
though we havent been operating as a
separate department long enough to do
more than guess at what the long-term
average time will be.
Is it difficult to get published?
Yes. It can be a long and frustrating
experience. It isnt easy, and the odds of
making a lot of money are not good. It
takes hard work, persistence, and a commitment to continually improve. Even
then, there are no guarantees. However,
there are payoffs like seeing your work
in print that go a long way toward
balancing this.
Also, once we know a designer can turn
in quality work, on time, we will want to
continue to keep in touch.

Off the Shelf

Aliens, dinosaurs, and more

Reviews by Chris Henderson
TALBOT MUNDY:
MESSENGER OF DESTINY
D.M. Grant, Compiler
Grant Books
0-937986-46-1
$20.00
For those people who have not heard of
Talbot Mundy, he was a fantasy and
adventure writer. Many critics believe that
he was a better writer than even Robert E.
Howard a debatable point.
For those readers who are already fans
of the creator of Tros and the Purple
Pirate, they will be pleased to learn that
Donald M. Grant has spent the last
decade compiling the most complete bibliography of Mundys work to date. The
bibliography section of the book is not
only a simple listing of his works but also
a compilation of comments about these
stories. The book also includes a short
autobiography, appreciations penned by
friends and fellow authors, and a number
of rare illustrations. In addition, copies of
old book covers, magazine illustrations,
photos of Mundy (either alone or with
family and friends), and personal letters
appear in the compilation.
Since bio-bibliographies are fairly specialized books, only dedicated fans of an
author really have much use for them.
Fans of Talbot Mundy will have a use for
this one. This book is a finely made
hardback edition which deals with the
subject matter accurately. Grants love for
Mundys writing shows through in the
care which was taken in the production
of this work.
A FIELD GUIDE TO DINOSAURS
The Diagram Group
Avon Books
0-380-83519-3
$8.95
Unlike other dinosaur books that have
recently been published, A Field Guide to
Dinosaurs stresses fact, not artwork.
Though artistic renderings of favorite
saurians are fairly standard pieces, the
information within this book is precise,
plentiful and easily located. A Field
Guide to Dinosaurs supplies such interesting bits of information as the Latin
names of the ancient reptiles and their
equivalent English translations, the locations of where each type of dinosaur lived
(maps included), and the size, length,
height, weight, and age in which the
creatures lived. Fossil drawings are found
throughout the text, and certain sketches

illustrate the size differences between the

dinosaurs and men, Volkswagens, planes,
and so on. Museum listings are given for
the best displays around the world,
including what each display has to offer.
There are also a number of simple to read
articles which go over the latest theories
about the dinosaurs.
Written like an enjoyable textbook, A
Field Guide to Dinosaurs is the best upto-date saurian book on the market today.
If one wants to add some new wrinkles to
a campaign, or just wants to remain
informed about dinosaurs, then this book
is the one to purchase.
INVASION: EARTH
Harry Harrison
Ace Books
0-441-37154-X
$2.75
A spaceship appears over the Pacific,
travels at an unheard of speed across
America, and finally lands in Central
Park. After the city police and the Army
have argued over whose jurisdiction the
ship is in, an Army team is finally sent
inside to investigate.
Within the alien craft, the members of
the team find two dead aliens and kill a
third alien who attacks them. As the

search continues within the spaceship,

the team meets an alien prisoner of a species different than that of the two alien
pilots and the attacker. The prisoner
informs the team that Earth is in danger
of attack and that its citizens must plan
their strategy for interstellar war.
Because the alien prisoners story is
reinforced by the arrival of an entire fleet
of hostile aliens, a united Earth begins to
prepare for war. Despite the military
efforts, the war against the aliens takes a
turn for the worse. Faced with this
dilemma, there comes the discovery that
maybe the alien prisoner was not being as
honest as everyone had originally
thought. How to contact the other alien
fleet, what to say to this other race if contact is possible, and how much trust to
place in these aliens become the major
issues of the novel.
Harrison tells a fine story, with Earth
in a Vietnam-caught-between-thesuperpowers situation. The tale is a grim
study of imperialism, illustrating what
its like to be the weaker race caught in a
power struggle of the stronger ones. Like
all Harrison stories, the plot of Invasion:
Earth flows swiftly; scenes are paced with
never a pause or dragging moment.
Another plus for the book is that it is
illustrated by artist Evan Ten Broeck
Steadman. All of the plates are done in
black-and-white, but the odd usage of
grey tones lends itself well to the offcenter direction of the storyline.
Unfortunate, though, is Harrisons
ending. After taking a strong stand
throughout the book in favor of military
action in desperate situations, the last
lines of the novel seek to negate this
effort. Whether the author sought to
balance an overly militaristic outlook or
to make the liberal character (a Russian,
no less) look foolish, the outcome does
not work and leaves the reader wondering
what the point of the novel is.
All in all, however, Invasion: Earth is a
good, solid novel, and one worth reading.
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON
R.A. MacAvoy
$2.75
Bantam Books
0-553-23205-3
Tea with the Black Dragon is one of
the most unusual, and yet most delightful, books to appear in many years. It is
the story of Martha MacNamara. Having
come to California at her daughters

D RAGON 67

request, Martha begins to worry when,

after having checked into her hotel, her
daughter does not contact her and she can
find no trace of her. In between waiting
and worrying, Martha meets a strange
Chinese gentleman named Mayland
Long.
Bored by his present life, Long offers to
help Martha find her daughter. They set
out together, plunging into the world of
computers and video politics (her daughters specialty). During their search, they
come to learn as much about themselves
and each other as they do the daughters
past and present troubles.
Long is portrayed as a bookish Doc
Savage. He needs little sleep, is a skilled,
calm fighter, is well-read, and can become
knowledgeable on an unknown subject
with but one nights research.
Martha, on the other hand, appears to
be more emotional and have less direction
in her life than Long. She practices Zen
Buddhism and remains faithful to her
beliefs. As a career, she plays the fiddle.
However, just as Long envies the life she
has led, so Martha envies his.
With two such diverse characters, it is
only natural that opposites attract. So, in
part, Tea with the Black Dragon is a love
story, but it is a bizarre one. Long claims
to have been (and does deeply believe that
he was) an Imperial Black Chinese
Dragon. By the end of the book, there is
no proof to support his claim, and yet the
reader is compelled to believe him. And,
so is Martha.
Be warned, this novel is light fantasy at
best. If gaudy magics and swordplay are
musts, then this one is not for you. If,
however, a quiet fable containing the
most unusual, yet uniquely compatible,
adventuring couple since John Steed and
Emma Peel is what youre after, then
track this one down quickly.
SPELLSINGER
Alan Dean Foster
Warner Books
0-446-90352-3
$2.95
Now, for those who do want the gaudy
magics and swinging swords, Fosters
newest, Spellsinger, just might be the
novel to read.
Spellsinger is an epic fantasy, with a
suitable epic cover filled with warriors.
But before running straight for the local
bookstore, be warned that this novel is, in
fact, a comedy.
Jonathan Thomas Meriweather from
California has been transported into
another dimension by a wizard. Because
this dimension is populated by intelligent
animals who fight, live, drink and apparently copulate with humans, it is not
surprising to discover that this wizard is a
turtle. The wizard, Clothahump, has
brought Meriweather to this dimension
because he needs another wizard to help
him fight a great evil. Unfortunately, the
word wizard translates as engineer in the
English language. Since Meriweather is a

68 A UGUST

1983

part-time janitor (sanitary engineer), he is

the one selected. The comedy stays at this
level throughout.
Analyzing Spellsinger is not easy. The
author does a good job of explaining this
worlds evolution, making mistakes
neither in the social order he has set up
nor with the mores he has established for
it. However, there is nothing particularly
outstanding about this book. Either one
wants to read a comedy with no other
merits or one doesnt.
And that is the whole of the situation.
Foster infuses none of the characters with
anything new. Preparing for the great
conflict with evil, Clothahump and
Meriweather gather a number of others to
assist them, but none of the characters
strike much of a chord within the reader.
The bickering and constant sexual references are amusing, but the book has no
substance, and, indeed, no ending, either.
Lacking in nobility, or even a point,
Spellsinger is void of feeling or mood. It
has comedy aplenty, but little else.
SET OF WHEELS
Robert Thurston
Berkley Books
0-425-05820-4
$2.50
Judging from his past credits like the
Battlestar Galactica books, one might not
think that Robert Thurston could write a
novel such as Set of Wheels. He did,
though, and people are enjoying it.
Simply, the story concerns a bleak
future: the government has practically
fallen into ruin, and things are so bad
that hardly anyone has noticed. Cities are
controlled by their inhabitants; religious
groups are buying property in the
southwest; peoples dreams are shattered
daily; and the welfare state of America is
an abysmal failure.

The hero, Lee Kestner, has one simple

desire: a car. Trapped in a stagnant world
where one is constantly bored, Kestner
wants a set of power-charged wheels. He
wants to bandit around, screech his tires,
and generally have a good time. As most
people know, however, life does not
operate that easily.
Kestner travels from one adventure to
another, learning about life and himself
in what is an incredible saga. Thurstons
storytelling underplays all of the action.
Rather than concentrating on the gratuitous violence inherent with the future he
has created, Thurston studies the feelings
and sensitivities of his central characters.
Everything is seen through Kestners eyes;
Thurston never alters his point of view,
so the story only matures as rapidly as
Kestner does. And mature he does, as
would anyone in his set of situations.
Another positive point of this novel is
that the author apparently had fun writing it. Thurston had a story he wanted to
relate, which is exactly what he did.
However, there will be no sequel to
Kestners adventures, even though readers
might sorely want one.
TRANSFORMER
M.A. Foster
DAW Rooks
0-87997-814-7
$2.50
Several years ago, M.A. Foster wrote a
stunning book, The Morphodite.
Although the storyline was neatly
resolved, enough raw angles remained so
that more pages could be easily generated.
Luckily for Fosters audience, the wait
was not too long.
For those readers fortunate enough to
find a copy of The Morphodite, buy the
book at once. For those who cannot
acquire it, there is no need to worry since
Fosters latest work, Transformer, is a
novel that can stand on its own without
having to read its predecessor.
The story begins with enough background to both inform the reader and
arouse his curiosity about the Morphodite
and its enemies. Even though the Morphodite was neutralized, its creators still
fear it. The creature is supposedly happy,
having retreated from the mainstream of
human existence to care for orphans with
a woman it loves. Yet its creators fear that
someday the Morphodite may remember
things it should not be able to recollect
and come after them seeking vengeance
for their crimes.
To spare themselves and future rulers
of their council, the creators send their
best assassins to finish the job they
bungled in the previous novel. By doing
this, the council sets off exactly the chain
of events they had wished to avoid. As the
killers miss their mark the first time, the
Morphodite retreats, looking for the truth
and tracking it to the hidden recesses in
which it has been stored.
The importance of Fosters work is not
the events that occur in his story, but

rather what the story has to say. Unlike

other books of this genre, Transformer is
more a history of the emotions of man
than just another science-fiction novel
filled with just futuristic trappings.
The Morphodite is a creature capable
of changing its physical appearance, from
one male or female form into another.
Each transformation costs it a number of
years of its life as it becomes younger each
time. It cannot transform itself into an
older being, only a younger one. And yet,
as it grows older, each younger entity it
becomes is wiser than the last. The
insights and added maturity brought to
the creature after each change make
Transformer a book to be studied as well
as read. Even the minor characters have
numerous valuable insights to relate
the death scene of the Morphodites friend
Pompeo exemplifies the revelations into
human nature this novel possesses.
Although Transformer is entertaining,
its intent is meant as much more. The
author depicts a number of normal
human situations, but often develops
them with twists different from those the
reader expects. Moving beyond many of
science fictions stereotypical reactions,
Foster has established a more mainstream
flow to his latest work.
In conclusion, even though the novel
Transformer is filled with both radical
and standard science-fiction props, it is
not merely another SF story. Transformer
is a hard-hitting, searching book which
tackles the causes of the problems it presents. The Morphodite is not a one for
stop-gap measures, and neither is Foster.
As if teaching a class in deductive reasoning, Foster leads the reader from chapter
to chapter, teaching new ways by which
to perceive the world.

AGAINST INFINITY
Gregory Benford
Timescape Books 671-45901-5
$14.95
Evidently Gregory Benford is not
content with the Nebula, Campbell
Memorial and British Science Fiction
Association awards he received in 1980 for
his novel Timescape. The amount of
detail and hard work Benford poured into
his latest effort, Against Infinity, seems to
support this line of reasoning.
The action of Against Infinity takes
place on Ganymede, one of the moons of
Jupiter. Manuel Lopez, the protagonist,
is a first-generation native, part of a
human settlement whose mission is to
terraform Ganymede. The work is slow;
the atmosphere remains poisonous to
humans after generations; the surface
temperatures are extremely low; and there
are no native foodstuffs.
The only break the men of Ganymede
have for their never-ending work is the
semi-regular hunting expeditions. These
trips were designed to minimize the herds
of mutates released on the moons surface
by Earth biologists. Actually the hunting
trips are cleverly disguised opportunities
for the men to gather information on the
strangest aspect of their new world: a
nearly mythic, randomly destructive, everchanging, totally unpredictable thing
known for years as the Aleph.
The Aleph is a relic from a time past.
No one knows who built or grew it, or
how it got to Ganymede. Since the first
encounter, the Aleph has remained a mystery to the men of Ganymede.
Manuel, a very young adolescent at the
books opening, wants to hunt the Aleph.
Over the years he tracks it, studies it, and
gains partners to help him bring it down.
As is to be expected, Benfords new
novel is not merely a science-fiction hunting story. Although the action, when
present, is set at a rocketing pace, it is not
the highlighted feature.
One of the things that makes Against
Infinity a success is the hard science
within the text. A full professor of physics, Benford records his knowledge in an
entertaining but thorough manner. He
tackles the problems of colonization on
other worlds stunningly.
With equal deftness, however, Benford
also juggles the dozens of political theories human beings would most likely take
with them to the stars. In one scene, a
new character appears, explains why capitalism must generate communism and
why its ascendancy must generate capitalism, and then leaves without being seen
again. Benfords style works in such a
way that the reader neither misses this
character nor questions his entrance.
Against Infinity is top-notch hard-core
science fiction. Having the necessary
hardware, the science in the novel
appears practical, fitting and intelligently
constructed. The politics and humanity
of the characters are drawn from attitudes
and emotions all of us have experienced.

Despite the harsh, gritty realities which

Benford paints so well, the novel never
loses its sense of wonder. Seen through
the eyes of Manuel, both as a child and as
a man, the reader sees how a spark of an
idea can drive a person throughout his
lifetime, until either he conquers it or it
conquers him.
This is a rare treat for old-time sciencefiction fans who enjoy the appearance of
innovative ideas into the field. Asimov,
Heinlein and Clarke may be doing their
curtain calls, but as long as Benford and
others of his caliber are in the wings,
hard-core audiences will continue to
experience excellent performances.
REPRINTS AND COLLECTIONS
In past months, several science-fiction
and fantasy works have been reprinted or
reissued. The titles of those works are
categorized below according to publishing company; publishing firms are listed
in alphabetical order.
Ace Books: Castledown, Joyce Ballou
Gregorian, $2.95; Uller Uprising,
H. Beam Piper, $2.75.
Avon Books: Welcome to Mars, James
Blish, $2.50.
DAW Books: To Keep the Ship,
A. Bertram Chandler, $2.50; Cemetery
World, Clifford D. Simak, $2.50; The
Blue World, Jack Vance, $2.25.
Del Rey Books: Hieros Journey,
Sterling E. Lanier, $2.95.
Dodd, Mead & Co.: Nebula Maker &
Four Encounters, Olaf Stapledon,
Illustrated by Jim Starlin, $7.95.
Fawcett-Crest: Starships, Asimov,
Greenberg, and Waugh, Editors, $3.50.
Pocket Books: The Monster of
Prophecy, Clark Ashton Smith, $2.95.
Warner Books: Dark Crusade/Death
Angels Shadow, Karl Edward Wagner,
$2.95 (each).

D RAGON 69

Khi to Freedom: Key to Triteness

KHI TO FREEDOM
Ardath Mayhar
0-441-43726-5
ACE Books
$2.50
If a hodgepodge of odd-looking and
acting aliens and a desire to save the
universe are ones mode of entertainment.
then this science-fiction novel should
supply hours of enjoyment.
In terms of aliens, the reader is inundated with all sorts. Not only is one
treated with the usual humdrum of catpeople, spider-folk, and green-furred
humanoids, but encounters with such
esoteric creatures as interdimensional
beings provide added pleasure. However,
the cast of thousands, from protagonist to
extras, is quite stock. For example, there
are the evil fascist types called Ginli, the
organized bureaucrats known as the
Sdnnn, and the bodiless thinkers named
Oti. Apparently, Mayhar wasnt satisfied
with her compendium of space lifeforms,
so she tossed in a humanoid protagonist
determined to save the universe, a trio of
lovely interdimensional instructors, and a
glimpse of the supreme beings ultimately
responsible for the universes creation
and salvation.
Not only do the physiologies and the
ideologies of the aliens races appear trite,
but so do the alien names. Even the most

facile-tongued linguist would find the

pronunciation of such names as LKKT,
Shhhp, Lthhh, or Hrrrll to be nightmarish. Just as aliens need not be named
John or Jane Doe, so a string of consonant slurs, sibilants or plosives impossible
to pronounce need not reflect the alien
element. Character names ought to be
easily identifiable and memorable, but
not distracting.
Besides a plethora of alien lifeforms,
Khi to Freedom offers the reader an experience to save the universe or at least
large parts of it not only once, but
twice. The novel, then, becomes quite a
treat for those with a messianic complex.
During the first half of the novel, Hale
Enbo, protagonist and indentured planetary scout, escapes from the lab-ship of
his masters, the Ginli. Bound to prove the
racial and intellectual supremacy of primates, the Ginli pursue their plan by
exploring alien worlds and vivisecting
their captors, be they intelligent or not.
Said atrocities, of course, infuriate and
horrify Enbo, and he flees to the planet of
Khi-Ash. Here amongst the various races,
Enbo meets the Khi, the interdimensional
begins who teach him how to deal with
the Ginli threat.
Since the philosophical ramifications

of racial supremacy didnt supply Mayhar

with enough material from which to
create a novel, in the middle of the story,
the reader encounters the second plotline:
threat of universal annihilation. During
the last pages of the novel, Enbo must

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70 A UGUST

1983

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protect the universe from a negative life

force whatever this force is remains a
mystery, for the reader is never quite sure
what constitutes this being.
Though the characters are stock and
the plot trite, the author does use a rather
interesting literary device. The entire
story is told in the first-person viewpoint,
Though this, in and of itself, is not new,

that there are various Is telling the story

is. Each chapter identifies the first-person
speaker. Such a technique allows the
reader to explore the feelings, reactions,
and beliefs of the various alien races.
Since different characters are allowed an
opportunity to respond to the same set of
circumstances, the story does have a lot of
flashbacks, sometimes preventing the

story from moving along expeditiously.

But for character development and
insight, the technique is fascinating.
All in all, Khi to Freedom is that type
of science-fiction novel that has too many
fictional devices and not enough scientific speculation to make it a memorable
piece for its genre.
review by Patrick Lucien Price

STORM SEASON
Robert Lynn Asprin, editor
Ace
0-441-78710-X
$2.95
As the fourth book of Thieves World,
this latest collection of original stories
concerns the inhabitants of that wretched
backwater called Sanctuary.
For those who have not encountered
them, the Thieves World books consist of
original stories which are set in a common background: a declining trade town
in a conquered province. Though the
Emperors younger brother and a handful
of vicious Imperial troops rule the town,
some of the most colorful rogues, scoundrels, vagabonds, and ordinary citizens
this side of a World Science Fiction
Convention inhabit Sanctuary.
These characters were created, and are
being chronicled, by some of the most
stellar names in the science-fiction and
fantasy genres: Poul Anderson, Marion
Zimmer Bradley, John Brunner, C.J.
Cherryh, Phil Farmer, Joe Haldeman,
Vonda McIntyre, and A. E. VanVogt. All
authors write under the redaction of Mr.
Asprin, also an SF writer. This peculiar
experiment a coordinated equivalent
to the creation of such cycles as those
about Arthur and Charlemagne has
been received with plaudits and, more
importantly, with brisk sales.
What, then, of the fourth book of
Thieves World? Curiously enough, it is a
bit of a letdown. For the first time, no
new writers, and only a handful of new
characters, are introduced to the collective
unconscious of Sanctuary in this volume.
In a curious parallel to the cover paintings, fewer characters are the focal point
of the artwork; those few which have
remained so are overdrawn to the point of
near obsession. As the inhabitants will
willingly admit, Sanctuary is slowly
becoming an increasingly miasmatic and
squalid place, reminiscent of back-alley
Lankhmar at its worst.
Storm Season is certainly not lacking
in action: slaughter, feud, betrayal, invasion, kidnapping, condemnation, theft,
god-slaying, and all the other forms of
liveliness that make Sanctuary such a fascinating place to read about safely at
home, but such a hellhole for the visitors
and inhabitants. Like the preceding
volumes, there are enough ideas in here
to keep some DMs campaigns going for
five years.
The events in Storm Season indicate
that the next book promises to be lively

indeed; but the buyer of this one should

seek light-hearted fantasy elsewhere.

Roman Church claims universality and

perpetuity. Whatever the reason may be,
many SF works A Canticle for Leibowitz, the Deryni series, The Star, for
example have dealt not only with the
Christian religion but also the Catholic
sect. Forbidden Sanctuary is one more
example of this topical concern.
Aboard an alien ship destined to make
first contact with Earth, a crewmember of
a heretical sect plans his escape from the
ship once it lands. The crewmember
remembers that this sects teacher, raised
amongst a rebellious folk, was a wonderworking preacher of love and peace. After
the teacher was brutally persecuted and
condemned by his coreligionists, he rose
from the dead so that he could inspire his
followers to believe in his teachings. This
once obscure sect is now persecuted by the
Empire on behalf of its own decadent and
coarsened official cult, but countless
Imperial citizens are becoming secret
believers. It is this persecution that has
prompted the alien to seek his freedom.
This set of circumstances should sufficiently indicate that something special is
afoot here. If not, the human interpreter
chosen for the encounter with the alien
race will. As an extremely devout
Catholic, the human interpreter is able to
immediately grasp the theological implications of the situation. When the alien
escapes from his persecutors, he seeks
sanctuary within the Church. But the
ensuing complications embroil the Pope,
the Secretary-General of the UN, the
President of the United States, and
eventually every inhabitant of the Earth,
human and alien alike.
This book is thought-provoking and
well-written, involving very credible
human and alien characters as well as an
objective consideration of various ethical
and political issues. It is also fun to read.
While the Numoi are not as alien as some
readers might desire, the personalities,
culture, and conflicts of the Numoi are
presented in a plausible manner.
Like Walter Wangerins Book of the
Dun Cow, Bowkers novel may be one of
those books which is less meaningful to
the non-Christian reader. However, if
skeptics exercise the willing suspension
of disbelief, they will find this work very
much worth their while. As for the Christian reader, one will enjoy reading
Forbidden Sanctuary and sharing it with
a friend.
reviews by Mike Lowrey

YEARWOOD
Paul Hazel
Timescape/Pocket
Books
0-671-41605-7
$2.50
Quoting from the books cover, this is
the first book of the Finnbranch, which
is called Yearwood. Ho-hum, another
fantasy series by an unknown author. Yet,
with a vision all its own, this book has
impressed me more than any I have
encountered in some years.
Yearwood is a saga drawing from the
darker elements of both Celtic and Scandinavian legendry. The tale concerns an
ill-begotten youth who, knowing neither
his own true name nor his heritage, feels
drawn to leave home. The story reminds
one, not of some hackneyed cardboard
Conan, but of Cuchulain, Aragorn, Odin,
and Oedipus. In Hazels novel, familiar
literary motifs become, not cliches, but
archetypes which resonate in the depths
of the subconscious mind.
The work is not without flaw, however.
The author does not have the gift of
creating names as did Tolkien a name
such as Tabak ap Ewyn would cause any
philologist to balk.
A more serious flaw, though, is Hazels
depiction of women. His description is
neither the mindless good-ol-boy chauvinism of a Robert E. Howard nor the
twisted sadism of a John Norman.
Instead, women do not appear as the
individuals they actually are. Their personal qualities are overshadowed by their
representations as the greatest of archetypes. Thus, female characters tend to
lose their element of humanity.
Regardless of flaws, I join the writers
quoted in the books blurb in looking
forward to the next book to be called
Undersea and in recommending it to
the serious reader of fantasy literature of
mythic quality.
FORBIDDEN SANCTUARY
Richard Bowker
Del Rey/Ballantine 0-345-29871-3 $2.50
More than any other religious sect, the
Catholic Church has been a source of fascination for science-fiction writers. Perhaps this interest has occurred because
such writers often come from a Catholic
working-class background, or because the

D RAGON 71

Expanding the genre of RPGs

GANGBUSTERS game recreates the roaring 20s

The GANGBUSTERS game is TSRs

entry into the role-playing environment
centered around the bootlegging and
racketeering days of the 1920s and 1930s.
Among the forces of Law are Melvin
Purves of the young FBI and Eliot Ness
and the Untouchables; among the forces
of Crime are Al Capone and John Dillinger. The setting is the mean streets, the
speakeasies, and the betting parlors of a
seamy and corrupt urban society; the
action involves machine guns, fast cars,
and easy violence. The characters are
tough-talking and hard-bitten. Shrewd
and fearless leaders head up ethnic gangs
of gunmen, thugs, and conmen pursuing
the American dream of quick financial
success against the grim backdrop of a
crushing depression. Against these lawless entrepreneurs are arrayed the heroes
of decent society beat cops, special
agents, private detectives, crime reporters,
and the honest citizen.
These are the dramatic materials of a
cleverly designed and well-written roleplaying game. The package costs $12, and
contains a 64-page rule book, a 16-page
solitaire module, a 22 by 35, two-sided,
full-color map of several city blocks (with
detailed floor plans of building interiors),
an 11 by 17, two-sided color ward map
of a city similar to Chicago, a set of diecut cardboard counters, and two lo-sided
dice. The product quality is excellent; the
artwork and layout is appealing and professionally executed.
The rule book covers the basic game
mechanics in about 16 pages; the rest of
the rule book is devoted to the development of a Gangbusters campaign. The
basic rules are relatively simple and easily
learned; the text is well-organized and
clearly written, using simple, everyday
language with a minimum of gaming
jargon. Best of all, the rules are amply
illustrated by frequent short examples of
rules applications and several extended
samples of the flow of play, demonstrating the application of rules in the context
of an adventure. These extended examples are very effective in suggesting the
color and atmosphere a gamesmaster
should strive for in his adventure.
The rules themselves are streamlined
and lack the painstaking detail of Daredevils by Fantasy Games Unlimited,
another RPG set in the same time period.
For example, Daredevils lists 40 different
specific models of firearms, while the
Gangbusters rule set lists only 10 general
types of weapons. The emphasis is on
dramatic function rather than
simulation-quality detail. Most of the
rules use familiar established conventions

72 AUGUST

1983

of role-playing games: character stats, hit

points, percentile skills, ability checks,
action options, sequenced movement, and
so forth. A few of the ideas are original
and attractive; in particular, I like the
separation of damage points into bruising and wounding damage, permitting a
kind of subdual attack, and the good fistfighting rules. Hand-to-hand combat has
not been handled well in most RPGs; the
Gangbusters system may be an exception,
offering the feeling of a real fistfight
without the detailed rules which slow the
rapid pace of action necessary for a
movie-style free-for-all.
I also like the use of a luck roll in
potentially fatal situations; essentially,
this is just a saving roll, but it comes only
at the most appropriate point in a roleplaying game when a character is
about to die. Most other RPGs give saving rolls against all kinds of misfortunes,
emphasizing the role of dumb luck in
success. In the Gangbusters rules, this
dumb-luck provision comes at the point
of a player characters life or death; no
one likes to lose a player character, and I

think this last chance for a bit of luck is

dramatically and emotionally satisfactory.
The game also has a character attribute
called Presence which is most similar to
charisma in other systems; here, however,
Presence is cleverly used to judge physical
and verbal persuasion attempts. One most
appealing feature of this system is that an
underling often uses the Presence score of
his superior to resist persuasion, coercion,
or torture, reflecting the underlings fear
of and/or loyalty to his boss. Most other
systems have a form of charisma attribute,
but dont really seem to have any real use
for it.
The sections that cover the development of a Gangbusters campaign are
most appealing. There are additional
details of character development, including an advancement and skills section.
Most entertaining is the section on
player-character careers. There are four
basic careers: law enforcement, private
investigation, newspaper reporting, and
crime. In law enforcement there are three
primary options: local police departments, Prohibition agents, and FBI

agents. The powers exercised by these

roles and the restrictions they must abide
by are based in history; they conjure a
convincing illusion of realism for the
dedicated role-player.
The most interesting sections are those
on establishing criminal ventures like
numbers games and bootlegging rackets.
The energy and enterprise of the criminal
has always fascinated the American imagination. After all, most criminals are seeking the same traditional American goals
wealth, business success, expansion,
status, competition that the lawabiding businessman seeks; the criminal
simply uses illegal means. The intricacies
of illegal businesses require a keen mind
and an adventuresome spirit; to be a successful criminal requires a great deal of
talent. Perhaps this is one of the strongest
appeals of this game an opportunity to
role-play a criminal. When one reflects
on the great film heroes of the gangster
genre, one is struck by the preponderance
of criminals as heroes; good guys just
arent as aggressive and colorful.
There are sections on dealing with
NPCs, the role of public opinion in the
campaign, and on the workings of the
criminal justice system. The section on
NPCs handles loyalty, persuasion, bribery, witnesses to crime, cronies, and politicians. The historical statements made by
this game on the dishonesty and corruptibility of many law-enforcement officers

and politicians are pragmatic and realistic; to have suggested otherwise would
have been to undermine the credibility of
the game. I like the rules on public opinion; any time a player character engages
in crimes of senseless violence and rapacity, the churches, newspapers, and citizenry make enraged demands on the politicians to clean up the city; when the
heat is on, the rules say that its even
possible that gangsters will help local
police solve certain crimes just to get the
heat turned off. The section on the law
hearings, bail, plea bargaining, trials,
jury tampering, sentencing, and parole
place the criminals career in perspective;
any player-character criminal who is careless will not be on the streets for long. On
the other hand, there exists the repugnant
but fascinating possibility of foiling justice with the proper expenditure of
wealth and cleverness.
The section in the rules on gamemastering a Gangbusters adventure is full of
useful suggestions and common-sense
wisdom, but I wish more detailed help in
running a campaign had been offered.
Most particularly missed is a bibliography of fictional and historical readings in the period to aid the GM in
campaign-building. The most effective
remedy for this fault is the production of
modules that illustrate the art of campaign design and offer detailed support
for the creation of a city-based campaign,

complete with established crime rackets,

crooked politicians, and crusading cops.
At least the one module Ive seen satisfies
this need; more about the module,
Murder in Harmony, later in this
review.
The rule book concludes with optional
expert rules for guns, fistfights, and cars,
and an appendix with typical NPC stats,
a representative selection of common
expenses and wages from the period, and
a rogues gallery giving the stats of
famous historical criminals and lawmen.
The prospect of playing in a campaign
where you might meet Bugsy Siegel or
Vito Genovese is quite attractive; why is
it that the good guys just dont seem to
produce characters as colorful as the bad
guys? The rule book also has an index, a
player-character record sheet, and a
reprinting of the most important rules
charts on the back cover.
I was most excited when I discovered
that a solo module had been included
with the rules; I believe that the best way
to learn a rules system is through a programmed adventure. However, this one
falls a little short of my expectations; it
lacks nothing in action or narrative imagination, but offers little commentary to
explain and reinforce the understanding
of the game mechanics. It does adequately
illustrate an adventure module; however,
I was also hoping for its more effective
employment as a teaching tool, as an

D RAGON 73

extension of the use of examples in the

rules book.
In fact, I sometimes found the modules
choice of emphasis and phrasing confusing when trying to understand how the
basic rules were being applied in certain
situations. For example, at one point the
module emphasizes that the figure in the
rear seat of an escaping car receives a defensive modifier for being under cover; no
mention is made of the status of the
driver of the car, who is ideally a more
important target, since hitting him might
cause the car to crash. The basic rules
clearly state that a target in a car receives
defensive modifiers for being in cover; I
spent a great deal of time looking for
some rule which might account for the
modules seemingly significant omission
of a description of the driver as under
cover. Further, when the characters are
first attacked, they are machine-gunned as
they sit in a car. The module, however,
qualifies their defensive modifier as partial cover. I never quite resolved my confusion over this application of the rules.
Additionally, it is particularly frustrating to try to follow the multiple paths of
the flowchart of decisions and consequences; it would be better if a player
could easily go back and see what the
results would have been if he had selected
another alternative. The action, however,
is fast and furious, and gives players an
opportunity to find out how well they

74 AUGUST

1983

understand the rules. There is also a very

useful chart for recording the sequence of
choices and actions; such a chart, with
additional refinements, should be
included as a part of all programmed
adventures.
The maps in the game are very goodlooking and useful. The worst part of a
city-based campaign is preparing all the
floor plans of the establishments a PC
might decide to visit; the map will provide enough material for many adventures. The grid reference system is convenient for GM reference in future
published or home-made adventures. The
counters provided with the game are
necessary but unremarkable; the use of
miniatures would, Im sure, add to the
atmosphere and flavor of a session.
In a role-playing game like this, where
there is such an emphasis on the campaign aspect of play, I felt it would be
appropriate to take a look at a module
that TSR has published for the system. I
was very pleased with GB2, Murder in
Harmony, a murder mystery that
unfolds to reveal a backdrop of labor
racketeering and the challenge of a
younger Italian syndicate for the profitable criminal operations currently controlled by an old-fashioned, brutal Irish
mob. The adventure is well-written; it
contains an effective main plot with a series of minor subplots, convoluted but
well-motivated and credible. It contains
strongly differentiated and colorful
characters.
The materials are well-organized for
reading and reference. First there is a brief
summary of the main plot and subplots.
Next, a chronology of major events and
episodes, then the description of the
action; each encounter is described,
explaining the motivations and behaviors
of the participating NPCs. In a separate
section, the materials of evidence are
divided into three major types statements of the NPCs, physical evidence,
and results of wiretaps. Finally there are
general descriptions of the appearance,
personality, and motivations of each of
the major NPCs. This adventure is
designed for investigation, problemsolving, and role-playing, not just badguy butchery or treasure hunts. Mark
Acres, who designed the Gangbusters system, is also the author of this module,
and in it he extends his conception of the
game as a campaign; the quality of the
module is an excellent recommendation
for the quality of the game.
There are some reservations I must
express about the game. First, I believe
that designing and running a campaign
would entail a great deal of research and
preparation for the GM. The lack of a list
of references for further reading only
complicates this problem. It is hard to tell
without seeing a number of Gangbusters
campaigns in action, but I suspect that it
would be difficult to run a campaign
without some detailed knowledge of the

period, unlike running a fantasy campaign, where a GM can make up the

details of his campaign background as he
goes along.
Second, the design of the game does not
exactly fit the model of the party adventure established by the original RPGs
fantasy role-playing systems like the
D&D game. In the Gangbusters game,
many of the situations do not lend themselves to established groups of PCs working together; the traditional private eye,
for example, is a loner, and it is unlikely
that a crime reporter would travel everywhere with a group of FBI agents. This
may cause inconvenient lulls in activity
for certain characters. It is possible to
establish criminal gangs with inseparable
comrades, or a group of lawmen like the
Untouchables, but even in the module
Murder in Harmony it is evident that
not all PCs can be involved in every
episode.
Finally, there is a dearth of popular
literature and media concerning gangsters
at the moment. There are not as many
ready models for characters and narratives
as there are for science-fiction and fantasy
games. This may imply an inadequate
market of readers and gamers seeking this
kind of adventure; perhaps this is simply
not a stimulating enough fantasy for an
escapist age like ours. The grim realism
of the Gangbusters theme may be its most
unattractive feature to gamers who seem
to be looking for magical powers, heroic
adventures, and fairy-tale moralities
where it is easy to tell the difference
between good and evil, and good always
triumphs in the end.
Nonetheless, it is this realistic flavor
that is the greatest virtue of the game.
The history of the Volstead Act, law and
corruption in the big cities, and the criminal robber barons makes interesting
reading. The Gangbusters game is also a
model of a well-written and well-designed
FRP system. I hope it is an indication of
TSRs increasingly high standards for its
products; it is easily the most well-written
work published by TSR that Ive seen.
The rules contain an ideal preponderance
of campaign rules over game mechanics;
the rules are provided primarily for dramatic purposes, not for a simulation of
the period. The perceived value the
graphics and overall appearance of the
package is very good for only $12.
There is plenty of action guns, fistfights, and car chases.
The potential of the gangster genre for
role-playing is very strong, though at the
moment the genre is at an ebb in popular
literature. It has all the important features colorful characters, fast action,
episodic narratives, a distinctive, stimulating setting. The Gangbusters system
uses these elements effectively, and is a
worthwhile purchase both as an example
of a well-written game system and as a
new setting for role-playing,
Reviewed by Ken Rolston

D RAGON 75

Borderlands is worth the price

Eon Products has put out some interesting games over the past few years.
Some of their efforts have been near
misses, such as Darkover, while Cosmic
Encounter is an unqualified classic in the
realm of SF games. The people at Eon
Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka, and Bill
Eberle are also responsible for Dune
(produced under the Avalon Hill label), a
game that tackles the very difficult task of
bringing Frank Herberts novels to life.
One thing is certainly clear: the Eon staff
has continually produced challenging,
original, and playable games.
BORDERLANDS, the subject of this
review, is no exception. Once more with
this product, Eon has combined an interesting premise with absorbing mechanics.
Borderlands is the closest thing to a
standard wargame to appear from this
company. It has a map and military
units, and production plays a key role in
the game; the players vie for control of
geographic regions and supplies of
resources. The game seems to borrow
some of the best features of other games
like Diplomacy and Civilization, while
retaining its own distinct identity.
The game is played on a 20 by 24
glossy map of an unnamed mythical continent. (Although Borderlands is billed as
the game of the barbaric future, there is
nothing to indicate that it is set in some
sort of post-apocalyptic milieu.) The map
is divided into 36 irregularly shaped territories, marked off by land and river
boundaries. The number of territories
that border a given region varies, imparting to certain areas key strategic importance. Each territory is named and contains a small box printed on the map for
holding military units.
Of considerable importance are the 16
discs representing resource production
sites. There are three each of coal, iron,
gold, and horse breeding grounds, and
four forests. These counters are distributed randomly around the territories
before the game begins, insuring that
each game will be different from previous
ones. A number of very tiny tokens are
provided to denote units of these commodities, and are used for building and
trading.
Each player has a set of 20 warrior or
army counters, used to show who owns a
given territory (as in Risk, each territory
is possessed by one player or another at
all times) and to provide minimal military potential for attack and defense.
Other counters include horses, gained by
control of breeding regions or through
trade; and cities, weapons, and river
boats, which are constructed from combinations of resource tokens. All these pieces have military power, and horses and
river boats provide mobility for an attack.

76 A U G U S T 1 9 8 3

Different sets of warrior counters are provided for each of four players; all other
counters are universal, their ownership
denoted by the warrior counter with
which they are located.
Borderlands is a game of simple
mechanics, but with subtle and complex
strategy. The game minimizes luck (and
spreads the effects of good fortune around
to all the players) and maximizes the ability to put-together complex patterns of
attack, interweaving zones of defense, and
persuasive negotiations into an overall
effective strategic plan. Its a game that
places a premium on conceptualization
and efficient exploitation of resources and
elements of power.
The game begins with the placement of
resource sites, as described above, followed by the distribution of player
armies. This is a key part of the game; the
locations of the resource sites will determine which territories will be of prime
economic importance and afford the
owners the potential for war, while the
placement of armies will determine both
the initial control of resources and the
players power base. If a players forces
are spread too thin and he doesnt have a
mutually supporting position with a
decent prospect for expansion, he is likely
to be eliminated. A frequent opponent of
mine, whom I regard as probably the best
Borderlands player Ive ever been up
against, feels that the set-up is the most
important part of the game.
Once the game is set up, players start
taking turns (or cycles, as they are called).
Nominally, there are five phases in a
cycle, with all players completing action
in a phase before moving on to the next. I
use the qualifier nominally because
some phases are dependent on a die roll
to determine whether they occur. The
phases in a cycle are development, production, trade, shipment, and attack.
Only the first and last automatically
occur in each cycle; for the others, a die

roll of 1-4 indicates that the phase occurs,

a 5 means it does not, and on a 6, the
players vote on whether it takes place!
Of the five phases, four are directly
related to economics. In the development
phase, combinations of resources are converted into boats, cities, and weapons.
The exact combination of resources
needed varies with the item being produced: One coal unit and one iron unit,
or two gold units, make a weapon; four
golds or one each of gold, timber, coal,
and iron will build a city; timber is
needed for river boats. Gold is the key
element; two units can make a weapon
and four will build a city, making access
to a gold site very important. In the production phase, resource counters are produced at the appropriate sites, one unit
per site unless the site is on or adjacent
to a city, in which case production is
doubled.
In the trade phase, the players do just
that: exchange commodities with an eye
toward the construction of desired items
on the next turn. Trade is a free-wheeling
affair, with no limitations except that
players must have a common border to
make an exchange. Thus, a simple
market economy develops, depending on
an individual players needs and his
access to materials. For example, a player
who wishes to develop a city needs gold;
if he doesnt have a gold token, he may be
willing to trade several of his less useful
or more plentiful resources, say a horse
and an iron token, or three timbers, for a
single gold token. In a four-player game,
trade is especially important since there
are only three sites for gold, iron, coal,
and horses, insuring that at least one
player will always be lacking in at least
one of those resources. Control of two or
three resource sites by a single player, or a
pair of players acting in tandem, is
extremely useful, allowing the controller(s) to cut off another player from a
given commodity, or exact a high price
for it. Trade is one of the most fun and
interactive sections of the game.
Following the trade phase is shipment.
The required resource tokens must be in
the same territory to be developed into a
city, boat, or weapon, and achieving this
requires shifting resource tokens around.
This can be done in the trade phase, since
tokens acquired by trade may be placed in
any owned territory (making the trade of
like tokens viable and mutually beneficial). In the shipment phase, players
move counters by more conventional
means, territory by territory. Boats and
horses are especially useful here, since
they greatly increase the distance over
which counters can be moved.
All of this jockeying brings players to
the attack phase, where the power that

was accumulated via production and

development is brought to bear on the
opposition. The method of resolving
combat is elegantly simple, challengingly
subtle, and, for those who like to make
their plans without fear of what the vagaries of the die roll will bring, entirely
devoid of luck or random elements. Every
non-resource counter has a point value: 1
for armies and horses, 2 for river boats, 3
for weapons and cities. A territory (or
river boat, which act as a separate territory for combat purposes) may have no
more than one of each type of nonresource counter, and the total strength of
a territory is the sum of its counters. In
addition, for both attack and defense, the
point values of adjacent owned territories
(and those of any player who can be convinced or coerced into helping) may support the attack, as long as they border on
the territory attacked. A comparison of
the point totals is made, with the stronger
side prevailing. After a successful attack,
the attacker replaces the opposing warrior
counter with one of his own color and
assumes control of all resource tokens and
universal counters in the conquered territory; no units are ever destroyed. The
attack rules favor the attacker. He receives
an additional point for the warrior he
will place to occupy the territory, and he
may make a special pre-attack shipment,
allowing him to bring up forces from the
rear if he has a chain of horses or a boat.
Because of these advantages, and the
benefits of a successful attack, such as a
free shipment or a possible follow-up
attack, the game favors the player who
can attack frequently. Attacks are also
good for seizing resource areas, adjusting
borders for a more defensible line or position to project power, or keeping the
opposition off balance.
The rules for the attack phase may
seem simple (and they are, in a mechanical sense), but some thought and planning is required to execute an attack
properly. Success will go to the player
who sees all opportunities for both attack
and defense, who places his key units
(especially cities and weapons) in optimal
positions for attack and defense. A good

78 A UGUST

1983

defensive position will include interlocking, mutually supporting territories,

while attack combinations will seek to
concentrate power at the point of attack.
Despite the lack of a random element in
the resolution of combat, the many possibilities (especially those allowed by the
pre-attack shipment rule) force players to
plan ahead and try to avoid overlooking
any crucial elements.
Victory goes to the first player, or coalition of players, to hold three cities at the
end of a turn. This, of course, puts a
premium on the construction of cities,
the most difficult item to build. Although
they cant move, cities are of considerable
value economically and militarily, so
theyre nice to have around in any case.
The victory conditions seem both fair and
realistic; the player who wins is the
player who has become the most civilized, not necessarily the one who has
achieved the most battlefield victories. My
only complaint with the victory conditions are those involving joint wins. It is
too easy for a player tied with another at
two cities apiece to turn to a third player
having one city and suggest that they
combine for a joint win. I would offer
either forbidding joint wins altogether
(Eons suggestion, if you dont like this
arrangement), or making a rule that joint
wins must entail having one city above
the normal requirement per additional
player in the win. Thus, a two-player
combination would have to have four cities, rather than just three, to win.
As with some of its other titles, Eon has
taken the position that more of a good
thing is better, and has offered an expansion kit for Borderlands. It includes
army/warrior pieces for a fifth player,
additional resource sites, three islands,
and bridges and ocean-going ships as new
pieces. The islands are placed off the
shore of the continent (the rules are a bit
fuzzy on island placement, but players
should have no trouble working out
something mutually agreeable) and provide some added space to accommodate
the extra player. (I suggest using none of
the islands, or at most just one of them,
in a game with less than five players.)

Bridges and ocean-going ships are

developed in the same manner as cities
and the like. Both are means of getting
from the mainland to the islands and vice
versa, and the ship is a very powerful military instrument against coastal areas.
The expansion kit is all right, but I think
its main virtue is the extra set of counters
for the fifth man. The islands are the only
logical way to expand the playing area,
but in the games Ive played, they quickly
became dominated by one player per
island. Bridges and ships take a while to
develop, and until that time, islands are
closed systems that cannot be reinforced; the player with the most tokens on
a given island is often able to parlay his
superiority into control within a few
turns. The ocean-going ships are very
strong, perhaps too strong. The first
player to develop one can terrorize coastal
areas (about half the territories on the
main continent and all areas on islands)
with relative ease; I havent played
enough games with ships to be sure they
are a game-balance problem, but I suspect
they might be. On the whole, I would
recommend the expansion kit (priced at
$5) only for the group that needs the
counter set for a fifth player.
Borderlands is a very good game. Its
combination of simple rules, engrossing
strategy, and attractive graphics make it a
sure winner. Its simplicity and short playing time (a game can be finished in about
two hours) make it a fine choice for an
evenings play. My recommendation of
the game would be unqualified were it
not for its high ($20) price tag. I cant
help feeling the game is overpriced by $5
to $8; the basic set of Cosmic Encounter,
by comparison, contains more and fancier
components and sells for $15. Still, if one
measures value by how often a game is
played and how much it is enjoyed, then
Borderlands is a good buy. This is one
game that wont sit on the shelf.
Borderlands can be found in many
game stores or can be ordered by direct
mail from Eon Products, RFD 2, Sheldon
Road, Barre MA 01005 (add $2.00 for
shipping on mail orders).
Reviewed by Tony Watson

Research shows in Cities book

The CITIES book, published by Midkemia Press, is a 72-page fantasy roleplaying game aid that fills the basic needs
of anyone who uses villages, town, or cities in his campaign. For $7.95, this
second-edition work is an excellent value,
providing complete guides for the design
of communities and urban areas, great
and small, and a systematic listing of
both typical and unusual encounters and
episodes that might occur in a city or
town that is the site of an adventure or a
part of a fantasy role-playing campaign.
Designed for use with any game system,
the product is well organized and contains explicit procedures that make it easy
to use. Detailed charts and systems, based
on careful research of historical towns
and their economics, provide a solid
foundation for a credible urban adventure
setting a critical component in superior FRP gaming and a factor inadequately addressed by many existing city
game aids.
The first section of the book is a comprehensive encounter table divided into
28 classes of occurrences for example,
encounters with the town watch, an aristocrat, pilgrims, a slave coffle, or a circus.
The probability of a specific occurrence

varies with the time of day and the economic status (poor quarter, wealthy quarter, merchant quarter) of the area. After
determining the class of encounter, the
GM is directed to the appropriate table
for that encounter class; under each specific class may be found a series of events
that might befall a character in a town
setting.
It matters little whether the GM uses
dice rolls to determine the encounter, or
whether he uses the tables as a menu of
encounter ideas; the solid virtue of this
section is that it is an organized and
comprehensive catalog of the kinds of
events that can spark exciting and realistic adventures: Characters see slaver
beating a slave. Character witnesses a
teleport appearing in front of the characters the teleporter is clutching another
person. The book has 20 pages full of
ideas for city adventures, neatly and systematically organized for the GM. They
can be used in the planning stage of a session, or they can be used in the middle of
a session as a spur to improvisation. Each
entry on the charts could be the basis of
an evenings entertainment.
The books second section, Cities,
Towns, and Villages: Building Your

Own, is its most remarkable feature.

Offered are two systems of procedures and
charts: one for creating villages of up to
400 inhabitants, and another for creating
larger towns and cities. Using these systems and a set of dice, a GM can determine the businesses and services of a village or town, in a distribution
appropriate to the communitys population. The authors have digested a great
deal of information about historical
urban areas and condensed and organized
it in tabular form a considerable
achievement and a great help for the GM.
All the businesses, institutions, and establishments likely to be found in a medieval
city are listed.
Additionally, the system emphasizes the
important part played by the open market
or bazaar in early towns; charts describe
how often these markets are held and
what kinds of commodities one might
expect to find there. The lists of businesses for larger towns and cities are quite
extensive, and divided into three economic classes: those to be found in the
wealthy, merchant, and poor quarters of
town. Also provided are several special
types of urban sections: for example, the
shantytown or fishermans village, the

D RAGON 79

open market, and the, ahem, seamier side

of urban life. I have found these lists very
useful in understanding the economics of
my campaign. Now I can figure out what
a given town produces, and roughly how
much money a freeman could expect to
earn in a week; this gives me some basis
for a logical response when a player takes
five hundred gold coins and tries to buy a
militia-trained army. Forget it! says the
indignant native. I make 15 gold pieces
a month in the stable; you think Im
gonna risk my life for a measly 25 gold?
This section only permits the creation
of a list of the appropriate businesses and
services in a town of a given size. It must
be noted that only general guidelines are
given on drawing maps of villages and
towns; one or two sample diagrams of
each would have been helpful. This system is best used in conjunction with a
product like the Judges Guilds Village I
& II books (which provide unlabeled
maps of villages and towns of varied
sizes), unless the GM is content to prepare
his own maps. The process of designing a
small village and labeling the appropriate buildings on a map takes about
half an hour; designing a good-sized
town will take somewhat more time.
However, compared to the effort that
must be expended trying to design a town
without this game aid, there will be a
great savings in time and a considerably
superior finished product.

80 AUGUST

1983

The third section is called the City

Catch-Up Tables, and is designed specifically to account for the time spent by a
character in town while he is not actually
adventuring. This out-of-play gaming
works through a series of random rolls
and charts that indicate a persons
employment status, savings per week
from wages and investments, and weekly
costs incurred. There are also tables
which indicate whether some significant
event has occurred in the out-of-play
period: offered a dangerous mission,
fallen ill, offended someone,
accused of a crime, mugged, offered
a marriage proposal. All of these events
greatly add to the atmosphere and drama
of the player character; he becomes intimately and realistically involved in his
economic and social status he becomes
a part of the town where he resides.
The final section of the book is called
Appendices, and is a miscellaneous collection of useful charts and tables covering such topics as: taverns/inns/hotels
(quality of accommodations, food, prices,
types of patrons), stables (available animals, cost of food and grooming), and
occupational backgrounds (carpet maker,
herald, forger, torturer, botantist, poet).
The Cities book is a tremendous value.
The product is truly generic; encounters
are not described in terms of any specific
FRP game system. (Statistics for NPC
encounters will have to be prepared

beforehand or improvised by the GM.)

The procedures are systematic and clearly
explained; the charts and tables are
organized for easy reference. This product
is comprehensive; nothing about FRP
town gaming (that I can think of) has
been omitted. It contains many stimulating ideas to spur a GMs creation and
improvisation, and numerous dramatic
situations requiring player character to
think things through and come up with
sensible responses.
Ive shown and loaned this book to a
number of my friends; each has been
impressed with its utility. A typical
response from them is chagrin over the
fact that the product was not discovered
(by them) sooner than it was. In fact, all
the Midkemia Press products Ive seen
have been excellent. The authors of Cities, Stephen and April Abrams and Jon
Everson, previously prepared the excellent encounter tables in Thieves World (a
Chaosium product), a fine example of the
quality of their work. They have also
produced a number of other FRP aids;
their town materials are particularly
worthwhile. I recommend that all campaign gamemasters examine Midkemias
products; they will be pleasantly surprised by the lucidity of the presentation
and the wealth of information and ideas
they will find for town-based FRP
gaming.
Reviewed by Ken Rolston

Cards are the law in Judge Dredd

JUDGE DREDD, subtitled The game
of crime-fighting in Mega-City One, is a
recent release from Games Workshop Ltd.
The game is based on the popular British
comic strip of the same name.
The Judge Dredd background deals
with super-cops, called Judges, who
attempt to maintain law and order in
futuristic mega-cities. Villains range from
the three-headed Rex Peters, to the
Doomsday Dogs, to Zit of the Hellfire
Club. Weird stuff.
The game box contains a 16 by 22
mounted mapboard (in two pieces), 54
Action Cards, 21 Sector Cards, 28 Perp
(for perpetrator) Cards, 28 Crime
Cards, 6 Judge Cards, a 24-page, 6 by 8
card album, a four-page rules sheet, six
pawns, and one small six-sided die. (The
cards have to be punched out of die-cut
sheets.)
The most remarkable thing about the
components and the game as a whole,
for that matter is the marvelous lineart illustrations done by Brian Bollard.
All of the characters portraits and the
other illustrative elements are strange,
funny, and interesting to examine.
The board, a cluttered depiction of an
overcrowded super-city, is divided into 28
sectors. They are mostly large, roughly
rectangular shapes, each of which is adjacent to several others. Each of the Action
Cards contains two sections, one describing an offensive (attacking) action and
the other detailing a defensive action, or
some other maneuver designed to mess up
your opponents. Sector Cards, provided
for 21 of the 28 sectors on the board, are
used to determine the location of each
crime that occurs. Perp Cards show who
dunnit and how powerful that perpetrator is (on a scale of 1 to 10). Crime Cards
describe the particular crime in question
and how tough it is to handle (1 to 6).
The six Judge Cards help each player
remember what color pawn he has
chosen.
The card album has no game function,
but is especially useful for players who
are unfamiliar with the roster of Dredd
people and places. The booklet describes
each sector, crime, and perp that can
come into play.
The play of the game is simple. Six
crimes are always occurring somewhere
in the city. A Sector Card is turned face
up to determine where a given crime
occurs; a Crime Card is placed face up in
that sector, and a Perp Card is placed in
the same spot face down. The game-turn
consists of two rounds or phases. First,
all players move; then, all players try to
make arrests.
Players can move one or two sectors per
turn. The object is to move to one of the
six Crime sectors and make an arrest,

which scores points for the arresting

player. The player with the most points
at the end of the game is the winner.
When a player stops in a Crime sector,
he can see the Crime (it is face up) but
not the Perp. The Perp card is then
revealed to all players. The number on
the Crime Card and the number on the
Perp Card are added to get a total value of
2 to 16. The player starts with a base
value of 5; he can add to this by the play
of cards and the roll of a die, trying to
beat the value of the Crime Card plus the
Perp Card plus another die roll.
Where the fun comes in is in the provision that other players can freely play
cards to help you, help the Perp, or
totally foil your chances of making an
arrest. Each player starts the game with
six cards in his hand, and in most cases
receives one new card per turn.
When a player makes an arrest, he takes
the Perp Card and the Crime Card off the
board and places them in front of him for
scoring purposes. A new Sector Card is
then turned over to reveal the next place
where a crime has occurred, and the process is begun anew. Thus, there are
always six crimes to be solved.
If a player tries to make an arrest and

fails, his pawn goes to the Intensive Care

Area within the Justice Dept. Hospital
sector. He loses his next turn, and the
Crime and Perp Cards remain in their
place on the board.
Clearly, the cards (of all types) are the
focal points of the game. The contest
becomes a battle for resources (your new
cards) and high die rolls. The game ends
on the turn after the last of the 28 Perp
Cards is placed on the board.
Judge Dredd takes a couple of hours to
play, and can be quite a frustrating exercise. Its all in the cards. It is often possible to stop a player who appears on his
way to victory by teaming up against him
(playing cards to add to his Perps die
rolls). Similarly, it is also possible for
players to team up against a player who
is behind, so that the poor fellow doesnt
stand a chance of catching up.
One major rule problem needs to be
clarified. The rule reads: Immediately
[after?] an Action Card has taken effect, it
is placed on the discard pile. Those affecting combat are not carried through to the
next Arrest Round, even if there was a
stand-off. [A stand-off occurs when
Arrest calculations result in a tie.] It is
not clear from this passage what carried

D RAGON 81

through means. That is, does a player

lose his cards (discard them) after a tie?
Does a player lose his cards if another
player interrupts his Arrest attempt by
playing a card that moves the crime and
the perpetrator to another sector?

Judge Dredd is a game of average complexity for players of ages 8 to adult. It

captures the flavor of the theme, principally because of the appealing artwork
and the descriptions on the Action Cards.
But would-be buyers should be aware that

it takes no brainpower to play this game.

Judge Dredd is fun, but other games are
fun and have more going for them as
well. In the right situation, with the right
group of people, I might play it again.
Reviewed by Michael Gray

Federation Space: The final frontier?

Task Force Games has been around for
a few years now, and has become a noted
game publishing company. Most of
TFGs games have been either science fiction or fantasy in nature. Standing at the
top of the line (or near it, depending on
your point of view) is the Task Force
treatment of the very popular Star Trek
universe as manifested in Starfleet Battles
and its expansion kits. This superdetailed tactical game pits individual
starships, of a variety of types, classes and
races, against one another in a number of
imaginative situations.
Expanding on that treatment of the
Star Trek milieu, Task Force also boasts a
strategic game called FEDERATION
SPACE. While it deals with the same
general subject, Federation Space is at the
opposite end of the spectrum from Starfleet Battles. Where the latter centers more
on battles, tactics, and starship performance, Federation Space addresses wars,
strategy (in the Clausewitzian sense of
employing battles to achieve a political
end), and the management of fleets of
spacecrafts. So the two games complement one another, a relationship further
strengthened by tie-in rules that provide
for using the SFB rules to handle the battles set up by maneuvers on the FS map.
This linkability is sure to please many
SFB players, who are likely to regard Federation Space as the strategic module for
the former game. But this also should not
serve to scare off those players who have
never had the time to work through the
complexities of SFB; Federation Space is
a wholly suitable and playable game on
its own.
First of all, what do you get for your

82 AUGUST

1983

fifteen bucks? Federation Spaces components include a 20 by 24 map sheet, 432

backprinted counters, fleet organization
charts, a tactical display, a combat results
table, and a 16-page rule book. The map
is a real beauty. It is a white hexgrid overlaid on a black field, with a nice use of
color for major systems, base stations and
starbases. Borders are in red, and there is
even the infamous Neutral Zone, between
the Federation and the Klingons and
Romulans, that played a part in a
number of the TV show scripts. The map
covers the major areas of seven political
groupings: the Federation, Romulans,
Klingons, Kzintis, Gorns, Tholians, and
Hydrans. Some distortion of real space
has occurred in the map preparation, but
this is an aid to playability.
The counters are very attractive, with a
nice use of color and ship silhouettes to
denote race and ship class. Each counter
gives the attack, defense and movement
factors of the ship. Nearly all the counters
are backprinted, the flip sides showing
reduced values in a simplified stepreduction system. My only caveat about
the counters is their die-cutting; there are
some irregularities, with some counters
being either larger or smaller than normal, though nothing that seriously
hampers their utility. The rule book is
nicely organized and printed, and notably
free of typos and misuses of language.
The mechanics of Federation Space are
very straightforward and easy to understand, making for a quick-playing,
action-oriented game. Theres no terrain
to hamper movement, and nearly all
ships move at the warp speed of six
hexes. The only impediment to ships

movement is other ships; all vessels have

a zone of control, and non-phasing ships
may intercept ships moving into their
ZOC an important tactic in the game.
The combat system is similarly
uncomplicated. To give the battles something of a tactical flavor, a combat display is utilized. This has seven boxes per
side (maximum stacking per side is six,
but some ships can carry fighters) and a
reserve. Ships are allocated to the boxes
and paired off for combat purposes.
Attacks are resolved with results of no
effect, damaged (flip the target to its
reduced-strength side, or remove it if
already damaged), and destroyed. The
CRT is bloody, with a decent chance to
damage even on some minus columns.
Battles continue until one side is destroyed
or disengages; continuing a fight can be a
risky proposition, especially with damaged ships. Advanced and optional rules
add to the combat system by allowing for
such things as ship capture, combat
range, and Romulan special weapons
(including, of course, the cloaking
device).
The rules also address more strategic
concerns. Systems are very often the
object of scenarios; they are given combat
factors and, abstracted rules are provided
for their capture and control. Base stations (defensive strongpoints) and starbases (military and repair centers) are also
dealt with. The game offers both a simple
repair system and an advanced set of economics rules, the latter being a more
satisfying way of dealing with the topic.
It introduces a simple system of economic
points, produced by controlled systems,
which are spent on the repair and
rebuilding of starships. In keeping with
the rest of the rules, the economics section
is straightforward and easy to implement.
At the same time, it adds quite a bit to the
play of most of the scenarios.
Federation Space has ten scenarios,
ranging from a three-turn Klingon incursion into Tholian territory to a long scenario, involving all of the races and political groups, chronicling the First
Intra-Galactic-War. The campaign game
allows the players, one for each race, to
play out a diplomatic free-for-all, creating and dissolving alliances at will.
All of the scenarios, save the last mentioned, use fleet organization charts, one
of the games more clever innovations.
These charts provide instant orders of
battle for the scenarios by listing the

ships assigned to guard the borders with

hostile or potentially hostile races. Ships
assigned to non-combat areas are usually
required to stay on station and are only
released under special circumstances,
such as the fall of a starbase, the loss of a
large number of systems, or an attack on
the home world. This rule prevents the
larger empires, like the Klingons or the
Federation, from overwhelming smaller
opponents with their superior forces.
When one reviews a historical wargame, it is appropriate to test the game
for its authenticity and faithfulness to the
subject matter. This is a moot exercise in
the case of most SF games, but perhaps
not so in the case of any game set in the
Star Trek milieu, about which much has
been written. The people responsible for
FS point out the great pains they took to
insure faithfulness to the TV show and
other sources. Some modifications were
made in the map to facilitate playability,
but this sort of tampering with the
original source makes sense. Many of the
ship types in the game are derived from
little more than conjecture and inference,
and are holdovers from Starfleet Battles.
A similar case is true with the inclusion
of Kzinti (taken from Larry Nivens work,
particularly his Ringworld novels) as one
of the games major races.
This game has a number of things I
like. Its simple enough to play with ease
but complicated enough that it remains

interesting. I like the step-reduction system and the inclusion of lots of chrome
rules that add to the games play and help
to create a nice feel for the topic. The
games components are colorful, functional and attractive.
And, it has a few things I dont like.
The restricted nature of some of the
borders and the large number of ships,
coupled with the interception rule, sometimes cause the scenarios to play more
like a land game than a naval game (to
which one would expect the game to be
more analogous). Maneuver and indirect
approaches are not often rewarded; battle
reigns supreme, and fleet-vs.-fleet slugfests are often the rule. Disengaging from
a battle is difficult if the withdrawing
ships are damaged and costly, since
disengaging ships cannot fire. (We found
that the simple change of allowing ships
attempting to withdraw to fire at pursuing ships if they fail to escape made disengagement a viable battle tactic for losing fleets.)
In total, Federation Space has much to
recommend itself. Both those who play
Starfleet Battles and those interested in a
fast-moving, action-oriented strategic
space game should find this title to their
liking. The game, designed by Stephen
G. Wilcox, is available through retail sale
only and can be found in many game and
hobby stores.
Reviewed by Tony Watson

D RAGON 83

Another view of Dragonmaster

In issue #73 of DRAGON Magazine,
Glenn Rahman reviewed the card game
Dragonmaster. After a very complimentary description of the components and a
summation of the rules, he labeled the
game bland and simplistic. He then
went on to say that as a game in itself,
Dragonmaster cannot be recommended.
Before I go any further, let me disqualify myself as an objective reviewer of this
game; I helped bring it to life when I
worked at Milton Bradley.
The original game was named Coup
dEtat, a Parker Brothers game that had
gone out of print. The inventor did not
submit it to Milton Bradley; he gave me
one of his personal copies for my collection. I liked it so much that I finally convinced MB to bring it out with a different
look and a different theme.
Now, whats so special about the game?
Well, as Glenn stated in his review, the
components are of the highest quality.
The oversized cards were printed on the
best card stock we could buy. A great deal
of time, money, and talent went into the
artwork. Each card is wonderfully different. To quote Glenn: The colors are
rich; the detail and poses are imaginative,
powerful, and evocative.

84 AUGUST

1983

But theres more to those cards than

meets the eye. I specifically asked for the
borders around each index (K for King, W
for Wizard, etc.) to be different in shape. I
wanted the game to be playable in dim
light by campfire or candlelight.
The black drawstring bag was added so
that the game could be tucked away in a
knapsack, and so that the colorful jewels
could be stored in a pouch rather than in
the bottom of a box. The plastic magic
crystals utilized the molds for Milton
Bradleys Laser Attack game. We looked
everywhere for a substitute for the money
used in Coup dEtat. We got samples of
beads, buttons, and baubles in plastic,
metal, and glass. We even considered
using unnumbered gem dice. But we
finally settled on the functional laser
pods. The pods fit together nicely, making the jewels easy to store and easy to
keep track of during play.
Now, about the rules. We broke the
original rules for Coup dEtat into three
sections: Basic, Advanced, and Expert, for
the simple purpose of making the game
easy to learn. The basic game explains
the five hands. Each hand has its own
individual objective. One player deals the
five different hands, and then the deal
passes to the left. The order in which the
five hands are played is determined by the
dealer after he looks at his cards.
The object of each hand, in the basic
game, is to try to not take certain cards or
tricks. Whoever takes any of these cards or
tricks must pay the dealer. So, the other
players are all trying to get the dealer
(who called the hand) to take the penalty
cards or tricks, and thus get no income
from them. The five hands are these:
1. Dont take the first or last trick.
2. Dont take the Prince of Warriors
(equivalent to a standard Queen).
3. Dont take any Dragonlords (one
card in each of the four suits).
4. Dont take any Wizards (equivalent
to a standard Jack).
5. Dont take any of the above.
One problem with the basic game is
that the last dealer often runs out of funds
(crystals) before it is his turn to deal. He
has spent the game, up to that point, paying other dealers for penalty cards he has
taken. That is why the power play is
introduced in the advanced game to
spread the wealth around!
The Dragon card is added to the deck
for the advanced game, and is used in the
power play rules. The holder of the
Dragon card may attempt a power play,
or else must discard the Dragon card in
favor of the bottom card of the deck,
which is set face down off to the side after
the deal is completed. If the Dragon card
is turned in, the dealer chooses the hand
as usual, and play proceeds as in the basic

game. If the holder of the Dragon card

tries a power play, then the Dragon card
becomes a powerful wild card.
The object of a power play is the opposite of all the usual hands. For example:
Try to take both the first and last tricks,
try to take all the Dragonlords, and so
forth. The player who makes a successful
power play gets a lot more (in crystals)
from the other players than the dealer
would have received for a normal hand
and the successful power player becomes
the dealer for the rest of the current
round.
Glenn made only one real error in his
review. He said that Unfortunately,
power plays of any type are so hard to
bring off successfully that they are seldom
attempted. This is not true, and the
statement leads me to believe that either
Glenn did not play the advanced game, or
he played with non-card players. Dragonmaster is a card players game. Some
power plays are hard; others are relatively
easy. For example, if a player is dealt the
Dragon card and at least one King, he can
probably lead the King to win the first
trick and then play the Dragon to win the
last trick. This power play, in particular,
is easy and it happens frequently in
the game.
The expert game introduces some restrictions on leading to a trick, and describes the secret power play. This
permits a player to attempt a power play
even if he was not dealt the Dragon.
At the back of the rules booklet are six
specially selected hands played out in
detailed examples. They are laid out
bridge-style and can be set up and played
out, trick by trick. Regular hands, power
plays, and secret power plays are all illustrated there. The game also comes with
four information cards to help, players
remember the sequence of cards and the
payoffs for each hand.
The appeal of the game is that, unlike
most card games, the dealer chooses the
game after he looks at his hand. Dragonmaster is not bland or simplistic, as
Glenn calls it. As a card game, it is full of
surprises and strategies. If it is simple,
then so is contract bridge!
Finally, to address Glenns statement
that it would have been far better had
the designers. tried to work some fantasy
features into the course of play: We kept
the design intact because the game is
complex enough without adding duels,
quests, and heroics. The story line and
background give the game a medieval
feel and an excuse for the elegance of
the components.
Just as one should not judge a book (or
a game) by its cover, neither should one
judge a game (or book) by one review.
Reviewed by Michael Gray

D RAGON 85

The Gamers Guide offers a wide selection of advertisements and notices directed specifically at the ever-growing audience of game hobbyists.
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Index to advertisers
Name of firm or product
Page(s)
Alliance Publications Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
American Creative Games, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Aulic Council Publishing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Bandersnatch Leathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Bard Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Berkeley Game Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Castle Creations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Chaosium Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Citadel Miniatures U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Clemens & Associates, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Close Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Columbia Games Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside front cover
Companions, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Compleat Strategist, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Dark Horse Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Different Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Dragontooth, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Dungeon Hobby Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Dunken Company, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Entertainment Concepts, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Fantasy Games Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 60, 80
Fantasy Worlds Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
FASA Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Fauchard Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Flying Buffalo Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Game Designers Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Gamelords, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Gamemaster Hobbies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Game Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

86 AUGUST

1983

Name of firm or product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page(s)

GEN CON XVI convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Grenadier Models Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Gryphon Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Hobby Game Distributors, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Iron Crown Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, Back cover
JandeL Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Judges Guild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Loremasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
McKelvie Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Midkemia Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Nova Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Palladium Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Penny Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
RAFM Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Ral Partha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 55
RPGA Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Silver Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Steve Jackson Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7
Task Force Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Tin Soldier, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
TSR Hobbies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, Inside back cover
Ultimate Empires, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Victory Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Viking Games, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Wargames West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Wizards Comer, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Yaquinto Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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