Issue #148

Vol. XIV, No. 3

August 1989
Publisher
Mike Cook
Editor
Roger E. Moore
Assistant editor
Anne Brown

Fiction editor
Barbara G. Young

Editorial assistant
Kimberly J. Walter
Art director
Lori Svikel
Production staff
Angelika Lokotz
Paul Hanchette
Kathleen C. MacDonald Gaye OKeefe
Subscriptions
Janet L. Winters

U.S. Advertising
Sheila Gailloreto

U.K. correspondent
Christopher Christou
U. K. advertising
Sue Lilley

the Good Fight:

1 3 AFighting
look into the ways of the warrior,
Always Wear Your Best Suit Gordon R. Menzies
1 4 Your
armor could become the most valuable treasure you own.
Down the Barbarian David Howery
1 8 Tracking
If Conan is the only barbarian you know, youve got a lot to learn.
-

Does Not Mean Boring Scott Bennie

2 4 Good
No one said that all paladins have to art exactly alikeand they dont!
Corrected Cavalier David Howery
3 0 The
Knighthood flowers again (with a little judicious pruning).

Arcane Lore

Bruce Kvam
3 4 Wizards arent clerics,
but they, too, can cure wounds.

44
INSERT

Luck of the Draw Robin Jenkins

Knowledge has a high price if you study the deck of many things.

The Deck of Many Things George Barr

Pick a cardany cardfrom the most popular magical item of all!

The Game Wizards

Estvanik
5 4 The tactics of victory: the Steve
SNIPER! game comes to CompuServe.
Jim Bambra
6 0 Even monsters deserve respectand
heres how they get it.
Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser
6 8 Saving the world from evil: Prophecy
and The Magic Candle.
Jim
7 8 Adventures are for everyone in the D&D
games Known World
Bigelow
8 4 A bad day at Retirement Villageor,Robert
A giant troll never forgets.
Thomas M. Kane
9 0 A mine Your
is a terrible thing to waste in the TOP SECRET/S.I. game.
Role-playing Reviews
The Role of Computers

Around the World in 36 Levels

Bambra

Through the Looking Glass

Watch

5 Letters
6 Forum
10 Sage Advice

Step!

40 TSR Previews
74 Gamers Guide
94 Convention Calendar

100 Dragnnmirth

COVER
Ned Dameron (noting that art directors sometimes look at a painting and ask,
What is going on here?) sent a five-page description in screenplay format of the
action in his cover painting. Both warriors are searching for a mysterious itembut
they dont plan to share it. By the way, any similarities between this cover and last
months cover by Clyde Caldwell are coincidental (independent invention, as per this
months editorial).
4 AUGUST 1989

Duplicates

What did you think of this issue? Do you have

a question about an article or have an idea for a
new feature youd like to see? In the United
States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,
U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON
Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry
Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom.

Dear Dragon:
I am writing about the cobra dragon in issue
#146. The cobra dragons venom reduces a
characters strength by half. Would that include
magical strength, such as from a girdle of giant
strength or strength spell?
Eric Moon
Fairport NY

Quick ones

Cobra dragon venom would not affect magical

strength gained from a potion or girdle, though
if the character using such strength-boosters
lost the effects of the potion or took off the
girdle, his normal strength score would be
reduced by half. If the character was under the
effects of a strength spell when he was bitten,
reduce his normal strength score by half, then
add the amount of strength he gained from the
spell to get his new strength score.

Dear Dragon:
I really enjoyed The Marvel-Phile section in
DRAGON Magazine. It helps make the MARVEL
SUPER HEROES game more entertaining. I
have been disappointed at not seeing more
Marvel characters put into this section.
Craig Moore
Claymont DE

Jeff Grubb, who wrote most of the installments for that column, has moved on to other
projects at TSR. However, we are picking up
other material on the MARVEL SUPER HEROES
game for use in the magazine. Because so rnany
heroes and villains are scheduled for the
Gamers Handbook of the Marvel Universe

series, we will probably focus more on campaign information and suggested rules for the
game than on character statistics. Still, we may
have some surprises in store.

Dear Dragon:
In reading David E. Cates article on drakes in
issue #146 [Dragons Are Wizards Best
Friends], I noticed that it says there are five
types of drakes to be described; the article
describes only four. Also, there is a table labeled
Faerie Dragons Ages and Spells, and a reference to the color of a faerie dragons wing
markings. I assume that these references
should actually refer to faerie drakes.
Sean D. Reddy
Phoenix AZ

That should have been four instead of five

drakes in that first paragraph. And yes, that
should be faerie drake instead of faerie
dragon.

Dear Dragon:
Im pretty sure that I found an error in issue
#146. On page 26, in the statistics for the rainbow dragon, it says that an 11-12 HD dragon
would be worth 8,050 xp per hit point.
Now, if a 12-HD rainbow dragon with 96 hp
(maximum) came along and it was slain, it would
be worth 772,800 xp! Youd have to kill Asmodeus 11 times before you could match that!
Geoff Manaugh
Blue Bell PA

Dear Dragon:
Recently I got issue #144 and almost immediately found a big mistake. In the review of Ral
Parthas Regimental Command Lance [Through
the Looking Glass], you stated that the recon
Mech was an Ostscout. It isnt. Its a 60-ton
Ostsol. So offense.
Ben Zed Gillian
Garland TX

Here we go: When the review column arrived,

we checked it against a copy of FASAs BATTLETECH Technical Readout 3025. We did not have
the Regimental Command Lance figure set,
however. The smallest Mech in the figure set
was identified as an Oscout, but there is no
Oscout in the Technical Readout 3025. There
is, however, an Ostscout. We thought the reviewer had made an error and so corrected it.
As fate would have it, the boxed set does
indeed identify its smallest Mech as an Oscout,
but the Ostscout in the book does not look very
much like the figure in the boxed set. As we
later learned, the Technical Readout 3025 was
itself in error; as it had reversed its pictures of
the Ostscout and the Ostsol. (Note that the
Ostsol is said to be capable of punching other
Mechs but the picture of that Mech on page
79 of that book has no hands; also compare the
Weapons and Ammo descriptions with the
pictures on pages 29 and 79.) Thus, the smallest
miniature in the Regimental Command Lance is
really, an Ostscout after all we think.

Several readers recently pointed

out similarities between one of the
new dragons described in DRAGON
issue #l46 and a small dragonlike
creature that appeared in several SF
novels by Alan Dean Foster. We
were not aware of the similarities
and have no evidence that the new
dragon was derived from the one in
the novels. We do our best to avoid
the unfair use of copyrighted materials in DRAGON Magazine, but with
the enormous growth of fantasy and
SF in recent years, we cannot always tell if a submission is wholly
original or not.
Most role-playing games abound
with materials and items that were
based in part on other sources. The
works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Jack Vance,
Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson,
Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, and
Jerry Pournelle (not to mention Star
Wars and Star Trek) have served as
inspiration for hundreds of ideas in
the field of role-playing games. Such
inspiration is fine, but there is a
limit to what you can borrow before
it is considered theft-and thus
legally actionable.
To complicate the issue, we regularly see cases of independent invention, in which two or more writers
independently create monsters,
magical items, spells, characters,
and even adventures that are extremely similar. While everyone
would like to think his ideas are
unique, your magazine editors can
tell you that certain themes do appear over and over. We have seen
many interesting duplicates of
witches, shape-changing NPC
classes, unusual vampires, Oriental
martial-arts NPC classes, aliens and
demons that resemble the creature
from Alien, and certain types of
dragons, golems, and giants. It is not
unusual to see two or three monsters, spells, or magical items with
identical names and powers from
different writers over the course of
a year (e.g., glass and wood golems,
thunderclap spells, rings of quasielemental or para-elemental command). It is difficult, if not nearly
impossible, to develop a truly original idea.
Sometimes we have published
independently created items if they

Continued on page 52
The experience-point value for the 11-12 HD
rainbow dragon should have read 8,050 + 16
per hit point. Sorry!
DRAGON 5

Forum welcomes your comments and opinions

on role-playing games. In the United States and
Canada, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine,
P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In
Europe, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine,
TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We ask
that material submitted to Forum be either
neatly written by hand or typed with a fresh
ribbon and clean keys so we can read and
understand your comments.
I am writing in response to Aaron Goldblatts
letter in issue #141s Forum in which he says
that no real religion, modern or not, should be
allowed in the AD&D game. Although I have
not read the article in issue #l2l that inspired
his letter, I must comment on his statements.
First, I see no reason why players should not
ROLE-PLAY interactions with deities. I capitalize
role-play because that is what you are meant to
dothe ideals of any AD&D game religion
should be restricted to characters not players)
in game sessions. Second, the ideals behind most
deities (particularly the historical ones in Legends & Lore) are ideals present in human society and human nature, reflected in a divine
figure, and so no morals are being imposed on
anyone.
Also, I would like to comment on the way
Aaron Goldblatt simulates the priestly duties of
clerics (and druids, too, I hope) and paladins.
The idea of just taking money from a character
sheet or removing a character from play takes a
lot of fun out of the game, as many possibilities
for adventure are lost by doing so. Too many
assumptions can do the samea fiendish DM
could have a lot of fun sending PC clerics on
quests if the PCs failed to inform the DM that
they would carry out their religious obligations.
To add to this, if such major tasks as constructing an altar or shrine are simulated just by
removing funds from a players character sheet,
I see no reason why the nearest bandit group
shouldnt just go and knock the shrine down, as
the player has not gone into detail about the
defense, location, or maintenance of the construction. (Note: This will do terrible things to a
characters fundsa useful DMing tool.)
Robert Benson
Papakura, New Zealand
I am writing in response to Aaron Goldblatts
letter in Forum (issue #141), which implies
that religion is best left out of the AD&D game.
While Aarons letter raises some interesting
points, I must say that I completely disagree
with them. I am a Moslem and, like Aaron, am
not offended by much. Unlike Aaron, however, I
feel that mythology and religious systems are an
integral part of the game.
My own religion strictly forbids belief in more
than one God, but the AD&D game is fantasy,
not reality. Because it is fantasy (and not just
fiction), religion and mythology become all the
more important. Who can be responsible for the
workings of the multiverse and the laws of
magic other than the immortal beings who
6 AUGUST 1989

control the destiny of man (elf, dwarf, etc.)?

Religious systems used in a campaign dictate no
morals or values to the players, just to their
characters. Gods and their pantheons do not
exist to influence the players, but rather to
maintain a cosmic balance in the multiverse and
make the game more fascinating and even
educational. Demons and devils arent there to
promote satanism, but to oppose the celestial
forces of Good. Good vs. Evil is, after all, the
major conflict in the game system.
Without having divine beings of earthshattering power to represent, it is much less
exciting to role-play a cleric, druid, paladin, or
any other character for that matter. How can
one merely assume that a cleric worships a
certain deity? The clerics mission in life is to
increase the number of worshipers for his
patron, thus increasing his patrons overall
power. A cleric in a superior campaign will
show no shame when worshiping and promoting his god. He will immediately oppose anyone
who is against his religion.
Mythical gods are, therefore, very important,
as most religions in the campaign world will be
polytheistic. Gods can be unique to a fantasy
world or can be borrowed from mythology. Use
of the latter creates a sense of familiarity and
plausibility, which is an important element of
any fantasy world. Monotheistic religions should
be used as well. They simply cannot be left out
of a quasi-medieval fantasy world. Besides
adding to that sense of familiarity, they allow a
player with strong religious beliefs to play a
character with similar beliefs, rather than one
with different morals and values. Besides, many
Biblical stories are more awesome than myth
and fiction and are an excellent source of inspiration. Andrew C. Gronoskys article in issue
#140 (So Many Gods, So Little Time) is an
excellent tool for creating monotheistic and
polytheistic religious systems for a campaign
world.
For these reasons, I hope that the list of deities and heroes in the AD&D 2nd Edition game
is more complete. The only hint of a monotheistic religion in Legends & Lore is in the section
on Arthurian heroes. The 2nd Edition game
should include more knights and saints (Roland,
El Cid, etc.), as well as characters from the
Arabian Nights tales (Ali Baba, Aladdin, Sinbad,
etc.). Such legendary characters are an inspirational source for many contemporary heroicfantasy epics.
In short, the AD&D game simply cannot be
deprived of its very roots. Religion and mythology are two of the most interesting and important elements of the game.
Hammad Hussain
Newark NJ
Mr. White, in issue #141, seems to imply that
illusions are merely sense-affecting spells. There
is sufficient evidence that the illusionist practices fooling both the senses and the mind of the
target of the illusion. (One merely need refer to
the phantasmal killer spell to understand this.)
The contribution that mind and sense alter-

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ations make to the illusion varies with the spell.

The illusionist attempts to cause the deluded
to act or change his or her state of being. The
illusionist may not cause the target of the illusion to undergo any effect that the target is not
potentially capable of undergoing with the
resources of his own body or mind. Mr. White
points out that An illusion adds; it doesnt take
away. While this is true of physical things, an
illusionist could certainly make a victim believe
that an arm had been removed by casting an
illusion over the space the arm occupies and
deadening the senses impacted by the stillattached arm. (Note the spells deafness and
blindness for relevant effects.)
Mr. White notes that deficiencies in the illusion can aid in the resistance of its effects.
While this is true, there are many things that
affect this. A knight in full armor, visor down,
who has sweated in that armor for days with
the sounds of battle crashing around, may not
be quite so critical of an illusory dragon that
appears.
It is also suggested in Mr. Whites letter that
damage caused by illusion can only be cured by
illusion. Why is this? If the illusionist can spur
the mind to heal the body faster than normal,
real damage could certainly be healed. All one
needs to do is define the capabilities the bodys
resources have to deal with physical injury.
Consider the effects of the dispel exhaustion
spell. It has a long duration, large effect, and is
applicable to one to four individuals. A similar
spell, when limited to one person, could conceivably cure real damage. It might be limited
to some fraction of the total hit points the
patient has normally. Of course, this might have
long-term costs as the patient recovers the
inner resources the spell invokes. Obviously,
this spell could not be used again on the same
individual until those resources are regained.
Mr. White correctly points out the vulnerability that an unattended illusion can have to
falsification. An attended illusion is another
matter entirely. The illusionist controls the
entire area of effect of the illusion. If the illusionist wishes, the illusory targets of missile
attacks may sprout arrows and continue walking, or the arrows may simply bounce off those
targets. The real arrows will land on the
ground, and if they pass out of the area of effect
of the illusion, they may serve as evidence as to
the nature of the illusion.
As the illusionist gains power, the ability to
affect real change grows. Note that the shadow
magic spells are but illusion/phantasm spells,
but they have partially real effects. There is
much need for rules governing the illusions a
caster may produce. Such a system would not
necessarily hamper play.
The second issue of concern is that of playing
lower-level magic-users. It is quite clear that the
1st-level magic-user is weak, with an extremely
strong one-shot punch (depending on spell
availability). This initial weakness is the price
the magic-user pays for future power. Remember, game balance is with respect to the whole
game. Unless you make the game uniform in all
ways, you will always be able to find parts
where some local inequities lie. In these areas lie
the choice trade-offs that make choosing and
playing a character interesting, One of the most
interesting parts of the game is watching the
partys relationships change as the differing
rates of character growth change.
On the other hand, the 1st-level magic-user
does not have to be useless. The party needs
someone to map, someone to handle the pack
animals, or someone to carry the torch or
lantern. The magic-user can load a crossbow if

8 AUGUST 1989

need be. If skilled with the dagger or dart, he

can provide missile fire. Of course, others in the
party can do these things as well, but they are
usually occupied by their primary functions.
Once the magic-user has cast memorized spells,
he can still be useful to the party. In the long
run, the payback for supporting a magic-user
during his weak period is rewarding.
One thing to remember is that a magic-user
can always earn money. Higher-level magicusers may hire low-level magic-users to copy
spells into books. A higher-level mage might hire
a low-level mage to conduct spell research,
saving the higher-level mage the personal time
expense. Continual light and magic mouth
devices can be sold. Dozens of ways of making
money by selling castings of spells have been
mentioned at various times in DRAGON Magazine issues. The breadth of spells available to
magic-users makes their services highly marketable. At 7th level, a magic-user may scribe
scrolls and (with the aid of an alchemist) produce potions. An enterprising DM may also
extend this with a system that allows lower-level
magic-users to produce the weaker potions, and
restricts production of more powerful potions
to magic-users of levels higher than 7th.
Allen Wessels
Austin TX
I am writing in response to letters by Dean
Wright and Steve Allen, recently found in Forum (issue #140). I agree with Mr. Wright on
the fact that house rules should not be contested, unless the player has a good argument.
In my own campaign, gods and demigods are
invincible, as well as devil and demon lords; not
much is even a challenge to the more powerful
demons and devils. I also agree with Mr. Allens
statement that tells everyone to stop crying
about low-level magic-users. If you dont like
em, dont use em. The characters in my campaign realize how nice it can be to have highlevel magic-users as friends and, therefore,
protect them when theyre still weak.
After reading my first paragraph you might
believe that I totally agree with these two people. Wrong! They both sound like one of my
players. From this player we often hear quotes
such as, These characters are so cheap: or I
hate method V! Also, he always protests against
elves, humans, cavaliers, paladins, magic-users,
and rangers, claiming that theyre too generic
and that we should make something different. I
wonder what he thinks our gnome fighter/
illusionist is?
First, to address Mr. Wrights question: Why
doesnt anybody like elves? The argument that
they can be too many things is a bad one. What
about humans? Humans have unlimited ability
in any class. And as for an elfs bonus for
swords and bows, what good is this if the character isnt proficient in these weapons? Try
giving an elven cleric a long sword and see how
well he does in combat. I also disagree with his
rule about the nonexistence of elven clerics.
Every race should be allowed to choose the
cleric as an occupational class. Primitive people
are not atheists, and most people maintain those
beliefs in their god or gods for many generations and have priests to help guide their worshiping of deities.
Now, Mr. Allen, have you ever tried pitting a
5th-level fighter against a 5th-level cavalier,
paladin, or barbarian? It doesnt work. Specialization is needed to balance out a campaign;
fighters have no chance otherwise. Just look at
the name: FIGHTer. Specialization gives fighters
the edge they need to compete. What good is a
15th-level fighter when a 12th-level magic-user

can kill more enemies faster with chain lightning and magic missile spells? Even a 5th-level
magic-user is better at close range using a
fireball (5d6 hp damage vs. the 3d6 hp damage
from the two-handed sword the fighter might
be using).
Pertaining to method V character generation:
The last character I saw generated by this
system was a drow cavalier (in my campaign,
players use any system they want to make
characters) S 17, I 16, W 15, D 18, C 17, Ch
14, and Co 18. As you can see, the original rolls
were 17, 16, 15, 17, 18, 14, and 16. Only one 18
was rolled. Due to the race of this character
dexterity was raised to 18, constitution was
lowered to 17 and comeliness was raised to 16
(also partially due to the charisma roll).
Often, deep gnomes aren't taken seriously. I
believe that the ability to summon elementals is
to offset this. Besides, the character can do
nothing except command the elemental while it
is there or be attacked. Drow and svirfnebli are
limited as to how many levels they can obtain.
Finally, we come to the barbarian class. I
know that barbarians are great guys and all,
with their attacks on creatures that normally
can be hit only with magical weapons, their 12sided hit dice, and their saves vs. spells. But try
having a barbarian PC in the same party as a
magic-user PC; the barbarian will most likely kill
the magic-user, or at least try.
Last, but not least, I would like to say a few
things about saving throws. Don't a lot of you
DMs out there often hate how a high-level
character can guzzle down a large glass of
poison and still survive? I know I do. The spells
and poisons that petrify, paralyze, or kill people
often do no damage at all. These things should
at least do some damage. Even Hercules was in
great pain when poison was introduced into his
bloodstream, and he was the son of Zeus! My
solution to this problem is to double the experience level needed to improve a character's
chance of making the saving throw. This will
lower the chance, so that when a question like
"Does a 3 save?" to quote Gregg Sharp in "The
Last Word" (issue #129)comes up, the answer
will be no.
Eric Ehlers
Springfield, VA
Ive been playing the AD&D game for about
five years, and for the past three of those glorious gaming years Ive been the primary DM for
our campaign. In those years, I noticed that all
of the unique evil creatures who inhabit the
planes of existence, such as the Nine Hells,
Hades, and the Abyss, are cowering wimps! A
crack team of five solars could easily annihilate
all of those so-called lords of evil!
But Im not writing about their terribly low
hit-point totals, or their pitiful armor classes, or
their measly damage-per-attack abilities. I am
writing about their spell abilities-or, rather,
their lack of spell abilities. Arch-devils are
supposed to be far superior to mortals, but a
12th-level magic-user has more than twice the
spell ability of any arch-devil. Dont you think
that over the thousands (if not millions) of years
that theyve been in existence, the lords of evil
might have picked up some decent spells? For
this problem, Ive got a solution: Give each of
them the spell abilities of a cleric, druid, magicuser, and illusionist of levels equal to that beings
hit dice.
Bryan Penney
Superior WI

Continued on page 32

by Skip Williams
If you have any questions on the games
produced by TSR, Inc., Sage Advice will
answer them. In the United States and
Canada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON
Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI
53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Sage
Advice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120
Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge
CB1 3LD, United Kingdom.
And now, for a special edition of Sage
Advice! The AD&D 2nd Edition game has
arrived, and the sage is here with an indepth look at the 2nd Edition Players
Handbook. All page numbers herein refer
to the 2nd Edition text alone, unless otherwise stated.

Priests
How long does a produce flame
spell last? How many flames can the
caster hurl?

Produce flame lasts one round per

caster level. The caster can throw a maximum of one flame per level, but no more
than one flame per round.

How do you determine how many

square feet of faerie fire is required
to cover a creature?

Just assume the caster can cover one

man-size creature per level. Assume small
creatures equal one-half a man, and large
creatures equal one-and-a-half men.
Can halflings become clerics? Also,
where are the advancement limits
for demihuman characters?

Yes, halflings can become clerics. See the

upcoming 2nd Edition Dungeon Masters
Guide (page 15) for advancement limits for
halfling clerics and other demihuman
characters.

Rogues
Can a thief character take the
mountaineering proficiency and
improve his climbing chance?

Yes, but the characters climbing chance

cannot be made better than 95%.
Are you supposed to multiply
strength bonuses to damage in a
successful backstab, as described on
page 40, or are you supposed to add
strength bonuses after the multiplier, as explained on page 104?

The text on page 104 is correct.

10

AUGUST 1989

What penalties does a bard suffer

by using thief abilities when wearing normal chain mail?

Use the Elven Chain column in Table

29 but add another - 5% to the columns
values.

Are multiclassed bards allowed?

The text on page 45 mentions multiclassed bards, but the chart on page
44 does not.

Page 44 is correct; page 45 is wrong.

Warriors
According to page 13, any warrior
with a strength score of 16 or more
gets a 10% bonus to experience. But
later on, in the descriptions of the
paladin and ranger, the rules say
that members of these classes must
have other high ability scores to get
the bonus. Which is correct?

The text on page 13 is a misprint. Fighters get the 10% for a strength score of 16
or better; paladins and rangers must have
additional high ability scores.
What happened to the fighters
ability to double specialize with a
weapon?

It has been dropped.

Can a fighter specialize with more

than one weapon?

No, but he can save additional slots as

he earns them and specialize with a
weapon later in his career if he doesnt fill
those slots at the start.
Do demihuman fighters get to roll
for extraordinary strength?

Yes; all warrior characters are entitled to

exceptional strength rolls if they have
strength scores of 18.
Does armor interfere with the new
rangers animal empathy ability?
What is that abilitys range? Why
dont druids have this ability?

A ranger can wear any type of armor

and still use animal empathy. The ranger

must be close enough to the animal to
attract the animals undivided attention
(about 10 yards in a wilderness setting
less, if the setting is something like a
crowded marketplace that provides distractions). Individual DMs may give druids
animal empathy if they wish. The rules
dont give the druid this ability because a
druids focus is on nature as a whole, not
just on animals.
Isnt the new ranger too limited in
spells? Can a ranger pick more than
one type of creature for an enemy?

The rangers two spheres give him plenty

of spells. However, individual DMs might
want to add a sphere or two; one campaign
I am familiar with allows rangers to use
healing spells. The DM has to decide what
constitutes a valid enemy. Since the rules
mention giants, it is probably acceptable to
choose a class of creatures. Thus, a ranger
from the FORGOTTEN REALMS setting
might be allowed to choose the goblin races
(see Cyclopedia of the Realms, page 46) as
an enemy. A ranger can never choose two
or more entirely different creatures as
enemies.
Can rangers wear elven chain mail
and still use the special abilities
described on page 28?

Elven chain mail interferes with a rangers special abilities; refer to Table 29 (page
39) for a list of penalties. Elven chain mail
also negates the rangers ability to use two
weapons without penalty..

Does the rangers + 4 attack bonus

vs. a specific type of adversary apply to both attack and damage rolls?

The bonus applies only to attack rolls;

see page 29.

Can paladins become dual-classed

characters?

As clearly stated on page 44, there are

no restrictions on the class combinations
allowed to dual-classed characters, provided that alignment restrictions are respected. Most DMs, however, do not allow
characters to combine subclasses (e.g., no
bard/thieves, paladin/rangers, etc.).

Wizards
With the large increase in the
number of wizard spells, why
wasnt there an increase in the minimum and maximum number of
spells a wizard can learn? A wizard
with an 18 intelligence can learn a
maximum of 18 spells a level; thats
less than half the number of firstlevel spells!

The AD&D game is one of choices. The

additional spells are intended to create a
greater variety of mage characters, not
more powerful mages.
12

AUGUST

1989

Table 22 (page 31) shows the mini-.

mum ability scores required for
specialist wizards. What is the minimum intelligence score required for
a specialist wizard?

Specialist wizards must have an intelligence score of at least 9, just like a normal
wizard.
What happened to the write spell?

It isnt needed anymore. The primary

function of the write spell was to allow a
mage to add a spell to his books after he
had failed his chance to know roll for
that spell. In the 2nd Edition game, a mage
can attempt a new chance to know roll
each time he gains a new level. (See Spelling It Out, in DRAGON issue #147, for
more information.)
What is the material component
for the spectral hand spell?

There is none. The M in the components line is. a typographical error.

Does casting the first version of a
flame arrow spell break invisibility?

No, because this is not an attack.

Does the delayed blast fireball

spell have a damage limit?

Yes. The limit is l0d6 + 10 hp damage.

Several spells are missing from

Appendix 5.

Here are the schools for the omitted

spells (at least the ones I know about):
irritation deafness, fabricate and slow are
alteration spells (fabricate is also an enchantment); Melfs minute meteors, evocation and alteration; locate object and know
alignment, divination; geas, enchantment/
charm.
In Table 22 (page 31), the races
allowed entry for diviners is any.
Does this mean that a character of
any PC race can be a diviner?

No. Only races eligible for the mage class

(humans, elves, and half elves) can become
diviners.
What happened to cantrips?

Cantrips are still in the game. Just use

the first-level cantrip spell. If you need
help figuring out what kind of cantrips to
cast, use your copy of Unearthed Arcana
as a guide. Actually, things are better now
for cantrip-using mages because they no
longer need to waste spell book space on
cantrips, and they are no longer limited to
the few cantrips in their books.
Since mages start the game with
the ability to read spell books and to
write in them, do they also have the
ability to read and write their native
languages?

No. Magic is written in a special language.

The new rules mention the possi-

bility of fireballs detonating early

and lightning bolts rebounding because of hitting an obstruction. My
group and I thought these spells
always hit, just as a magic missile
spell does. If these spell do not always hit, how does the mage hit his
opponent?

The spells do always hit, after a fashion.

In the case of a fireball, the missile bursts
at the designated range unless it strikes an
object before it gets there. Since the missile flies in a straight line between the
caster and the target, it can be blocked by
invisible barriers (such as walls of force)
or by a bend in a passage obscured by an
illusion or mirror.
A lightning bolt is similar to a fireball in
that the spell begins at a designated height
and range, extending directly away from
the caster. A lightning bolt is always either
40 or 80 long, and the caster must decide
which when he casts the spell. If caster
miscalculates and casts this spell into an
area too small to contain it, the lightning
bolt grows to its full length (as measured
from the point where it strikes a barrier),
heading back at the caster unless it
smashes through the barrier (see page
151). Some readers have misread the example on page 151; lightning bolts do not
bend or fold over when hitting a barrier.
The 80 bolt in the example starts 40
away from the caster, travels 10, and
strikes a barrier; the bolt must maintain its
full length, however, so the opposite end
of the bolt (starting from the point of
origin) instantly grows out in the direction
toward the spell-caster, extending 70 from
its point of origin. Thus, the bolts final
length is SO. A victim caught between the
point of origin and the wall behind him is
not struck twice by the bolt. The use of
the word rebound in the spells description seems to be the confusing element.
The text under the new identify
spell says a fully charged ring of
three wishes radiates only faint
magic. Is this an error?

There is no error in the spell's description, but you have made an erroneous
statement. The identify spell does not
detect magic or its strength; it reveals an
item's functions and charges. A ring of
three wishes has only three charges, so it
is faintly charged. Smart wizards use a
detect magic spell, which can determine
magical strength and type, before casting
identify.

Illustration by Stephen Fabian

Always Wear
Your Best Suit
Making armor and weapons
unique for all characters
by Gordon R. Menzies

ppearances count in fantasy

campaigns, particularly for
fighters, cavaliers, paladins, and
other glory-seeking warriors. If
such warriors are short on impressive
magical items, then with or without decoration-be it enameling, engraving, or plating with a unique metal-can make even
mundane weapons and armor unique and
attractive. Herein are some suggestions for
outfitting fighters, whether magical arms
and armor are available or not.
Assuming that the majority of weapons,
suits of armor, and horse barding in the
many AD&D game worlds are forged
from iron and steel, much room is left to
elaborate on various means of decoration
and various optional metals to be used as
either base material or plating. Some campaigns may limit the metals and means of
decoration that are available; a land still in
its Bronze Age will not likely employ mithral. The DM must place restrictions as he
sees fit to harmonize these guidelines with
his game world.
The decoration of personal arms and
armor can indicate the identity of the
owner and his social class, or can simply
be an expression of current fashion. Decoration beautifies and increases the value of
many items, bringing both greater wealth
and distinction to the owner. The knowledge that he alone owns plate armor made
by a famed craftsman, or a sword forged
of a metal not employed in his native land,
can do much for a warriors social standing, if not his ego.

Decoration need not be based upon an

individuals personal taste. Rather, it may
indicate membership in an organization or
nationality in much the same way heraldry does. For instance, mercenaries of
the Bloody Hand Company may all carry
swords with hilts enameled red; soldiers
from the royal palace may wear silverplated armor; and so on.
Almost any combination of the various
methods of decoration described below
can be used. By employing one or more of
them, players and Dungeon Masters alike
can create interesting items of worth to
enhance everything from individuals to
entire societies.
ENAMELING
Applied to a suit of armor or horse
barding, enamel certainly makes a character stand out in a crowd, regardless of the
color of enamel chosen. Red and black,
because of their association with blood
and death, are commonly favored colors
among warriors. The enameling has no
effect whatsoever on combat, nor does it
significantly increase an items encumbrance for game purposes: However, the
value of the item is generally increased by
10% if properly enameled. Enamel cannot
be used on leather, studded leather, or
padded armor, and is rarely used to coat
more than the hilt or handle of most
weapons. Limners and some specialized
armorers can do enameling; see Table 1
for details.

The drawback is that enameled items

frequently chip and flake, especially during rigorous movement or combat, decreasing their overall value. Thus,
enameled armor and weapons must be
touched up frequently. This repair work
costs l-10% of the original value of the
repaired item.
ENGRAVING
Engraved armor became popular in
15th-century Europe and was commonplace among kings and lesser nobles. It
was worn at ceremonies and social functions, and soon became a mark of social
status and high fashion. By that time,
because of the increased use of gunpowder, armor was of little military use anyway. In pregunpowder fantasy worlds,
PCs may still deck themselves out in such
finery.
Simple engraving denotes uncomplicated
lines and basic etchings on the armor or
weapon in question. Table 1 gives details
on fees, time involved, and results. Simple
engraving on a short sword costs 16 sp,
but the finished sword is worth 12 gp.
Complex engraving, in addition to adding complicated decorative etching and
symbols, includes the addition of heraldic
devices and nonmagical runes and script.
Table, 1 has details on this type of work.
The fee for having a two-handed sword
engraved with complex designs is 15 gp,
but the new value of the sword is 60 gp.
Elaborate engraving denotes fine, origiDRAGON 15

weapons. These items so decorated are

not proper for combat purposes; if they
are taken into battle or into any other
situation in which the DM decides they
incur damage, they lose l-20% of their
value, and repair work may not be possible. Damaged metallic items (plate mail,
barding, etc.) with simple engraving have
a 25% chance of being suitable for restoration; metallic items with complex engraving have a 10% chance of being suitable

nal artwork, incredible detail, and the

overall resulting beauty of the item
worked upon. The fee for this type of
work is equal to the items original cost;
see Table 1 for other details. Simple plate
mail can be worth 2,000 gp, and a dagger
worth 10 gp!
Engraving work is generally reserved
for various types of plate armor, but
leather and studded leather may also be
worked, as well as shields and various

Table 1
Decorations for Arms and Armor
Decoration
method

Enameling
Simple engraving
Complex engraving
Elaborate engraving

cost of
decoration *

Increase in
value of item*

10%
50%
100%
300-500%

5%
10%
50%
100%

Time
required

l-6 days
l-2 weeks
l-3 months
7-12 months

* Figure given is a percentage based on the normal price of the item decorated.

Table 2
Plating With Precious Metals
Usable
metals

Copper
Bronze
Silver
Electrum
Gold
Platinum
Mithral
Adamantite

cost of
plating *

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Increase in
value of item*

+ 10%
+25%
+50%
+ 100%
+150%
+200%
+200%
+ 500%

Time
required

l-4
l-4
l-4
l-4
l-4
l-4
l-4
l-4

weeks
weeks
weeks
weeks
weeks
weeks
weeks
weeks

* Figure given is a percentage based on the normal price of

the item plated.

Table 3
Base Metals For Arms and Armor
Usable
metals

Copper
Bronze

cost of
item made Encumbrance Bonus or
from metal *
increase
penalty

75%

- 50%

90%

Meteorite iron

Special

+50%

Mithral

500%

1,000%

Adamantite

Weapons break on a to-hit roll

of 1-3; +2 to armor class
Weapons break on a to-hit roll
of l-2; + 1 to armor class
Weapons gain + 1 to hit* *; no
bonuses for armor class
Weapons gain + 1 to hit and
damage* * *; - 1 to armor class
Weapons gain +2 to hit and
damage****; -2 to armor class

* Figure given is a percentage based on the normal price of the item made from
given new base metal.
* * May be enchanted up to + 3 value as weapons or armor.
* * * May be enchanted up to +4 value as weapons or armor.
* * * * May be enchanted up to + 5 value as weapons or armor.
(The last three footnotes were taken from the 1st Edition DMG, page 164.)
16 AUGUST 1989

for restoration; all leather items and those

metallic items with elaborate engraving
cannot be restored at all. Repairs, when
possible, cost 25% (for simple engraving)
or 50% (for complex engraving) of the
original value of the damaged item. It is
easy to see why this type of decoration is
so often reserved for social functions.
Unfortunately, professional engravers
are few and rare, and their work is highly
coveted by kings and noble lords. It will be
difficult for the average character to obtain the services of such an individual,
because it is not just a matter of having
the money available. A king may want to
keep all high-quality work for himself.
Elves are master engravers, and the DM
may add 25% to all stated fees and 50% to
all resulting values of the items obtained
through elves. Gnomes are also quite
skilled and may add 15% and 30% to these
values, respectively.

Metal plating

Silver, electrum, gold, and platinum are

generally considered too soft for the forging of armor and weapons used in combat,
However, it is possible to have a characters arms and armor plated with such.
Copper, bronze, mithral, and adamantite
platings are also available, even though
these latter metals can be used as pure or
alloyed base materials for making metallic
items. Some fighters simply cant afford
such extravagances as mithral and adamantite, but they wont settle for anything
less than silver or gold.
The process of plating with any metal
will cost the buyer the exact value of the
item to be worked upon; the buyer must
also provide the armorer with the equivalent of 25 coins of the desired metal (see
Table 2 for other details). Plating has no
effect on combat, nor does it add to the
encumbrance of the plated item. Any sort
of engraving on precious-metal plating can
create a valuable item indeed.

New Metals

Iron and steel are the metals commonly

employed in the making of arms and armor in most AD&D game worlds. Man,
however, did not always have access to
these superior metalsand in most fantasy
worlds, even better metals are available.
Here are a few metals for use in forging
armor and weapons, with the bonuses and
penalties they incur.
Copper: One of the first metals to be
used in the making of armor, weapons,
and various other utensils, copper is a
relatively soft metal compared to steel or
iron. (Try hammering a penny to see how
pliable it is.) Any weapon forged from
copper will break if it makes a natural tohit roll of 1, 2, or 3. Likewise, copper
armor is two armor classes below what it
would normally be (a suit of copper chain
mail would be AC 7), but it is much lighter
than a normal sort of armor (see Table 3).
Copper tarnishes quickly, so copper items
require weekly upkeep to look nice; other-

wise, they eventually turn blue from oxidation. For all their penalties and problems, copper items are beautiful when
polished and cared for.
Bronze: An alloy made from copper and
tin, bronze is an attractive metal but still
inferior to common iron and steel. Table 3
reveals the costs and penalties of using
bronze in making armor and weapons.
[The bronze plate mail in Unearthed Arcana, page 75, uses leather or padded
underarmor instead of chain mail, and it is
nor constructed like normal plate mail
back protection is worsened, and the
armor is very heavy,] Like copper, bronze
is beautiful when cared for properly.
Meteorite iron: This material is composed of iron and carbon, and is exceptionally good for the making of weapons
and armor. Divine intervention may warn
a character of a meteorite strike, even
allowing him time to set up a forge and
work the metal while the meteor is still
hot; Table 3 has details on this metals use
in weapons and armor. The weapons and
armor made from meteorite iron are often
considered holy and are frequently magicked into greater weapons still. Excalibur was one such weapon made by this
process.
Mithral: Coveted by elves, mithral is a
rare and beautiful silvery metal, quite
superior to iron and steel. Armor and
weapons forged from mithral-alloyed iron

are generally only obtainable from elves.

The elves almost never sell mithral, so
unless the item is a gift, the average adventurer would never have a chance of
owning anything made from it. Table 3 has
details on mithral-alloyed items. [Interested readers can consult DRAGON issue
#123, Fire For Effect! for more details.]
This rare metal is made rarer still because
of the extensive hoarding practiced by the
elves. Some of this races greatest magical
weapons are forged from mithral.
Adamantite: Superior to and even rarer
than mithral, adamantite alloys are second
to none in terms of strength. Adamantite
itself is pliable but very difficult to work
when alloyed. Adamantite can only be
found deep beneath the earth, and so the
black metal is very hard to obtain; human
miners simply dont go that deep. Drow,
the dark elves, are rumored to have an
abundance of it, but they have somehow
tainted the forging process with their dark
magicks so that drow-forged adamantite
immediately deteriorates when exposed to
sunlight on the surface world. Luckily, a
few clans of deep-delving dwarves have
come across the metal and utilized it to
meet their own needs. The few
adamantite-alloy items that exist on the
surface world are most certainly dwarfmade. [See DRAGON issue #l23, Fire For
Effect! for other details.]

CONCLUSION
These suggestions can put more variety
into a game, allowing the players to make
their characters unique. Aside from this
and the overall increase in value of common arms and armor, decoration allows
for many role-playing situations. An engraved, gold-plated suit of plate mail can
sweeten the pot in a joust in which the
armor is exchanged or ransomed at the
end. Perhaps the local king or lord will
present a beautifully crafted suit of mail
or an elaborately decorated sword to a
character who has performed some great
deed in service to the realm. Such items
will sometimes be found in treasure
hoards. The Dungeon Master can make
them available in many ways.
Remember: The mundane need never be
dull and boring.

he barbarian subclass, as described in Unearthed Arcana, is

a unique type of fighter with
many interesting abilities. The
class has come under fire recently with
claims that it is too powerful and too
vaguely defined. While I agree with these
criticisms, I dont agree that the class
should be eliminated. This article presents
a revision of the barbarian, making use of
the new material in the Dungeoneers
Survival Guide and the Wilderness Survival Guide, for AD&D 1st Edition games.
The main problem with the barbarian is
that the rules concerning it are vague.
There are several proficiencies given, but
no real guidelines on assigning them to
different types of barbarians. In addition,
many of the abilities can be replaced by
proficiencies in the DSG and WSG. The
purpose of this article is to create standard barbarian types based on cultures
from history, which can then be placed
into any campaign world. Note that this
article does not affect Oriental barbarians,
which are already well defined in Oriental
Adventures.

The new barbarian

The following characteristics of the
barbarian are unchanged from the information given in Unearthed Arcana:
Minimum ability scores of 15 in strength
and constitution, 14 in dexterity, and a
maximum wisdom of 16;
No principle attribute or dual class, and
class allowed only to humans;
Armor-class bonus of +2 per point of
dexterity over 14, reduced to + 1 per
point if wearing bulky or fairly bulky
armor (reaction/attacking adjustment
unaffected);
Hit-point bonus of +2 hp per point of
constitution over 14;
Non-lawful alignment;
15 movement;
Limited language skills;
Experience points and hit dice per level
(Unearthed Arcana, page 19);
Actions and abilities per level (Unearthed
Arcana, page 20), unless otherwise
noted in this article; and
Barbarian-horde summoning powers.
The following characteristics of the
barbarian, as given in Unearthed Arcana,
are now dropped:
Ability to hit creatures that can only be
harmed by magical weapons; and
Saving-throw bonuses vs. poison, paralyzation, death magic, petrification, polymorph, rods, wands, staves, breath
weapons, and spells.
Since the barbarian is eventually able to
use most types of magical items available
to fighters, these bonuses and to-hit abilities are not needed; if kept, they give an
unfair advantage to this subclass.

Illustration by Karl Waller

Tracking
Down
the
Barbarian
Creating better
barbarians
for AD&D
1st Edition games
by David Howery

These primary abilities, taken from

Unearthed Arcana (pages 19-20), are possessed by all barbarians:
Hide in natural surroundings;
Leaping and springing;
Surprise;
Leadership;
Back protection; and
Healing (1 hp/day normally, 2 hp/day if
resting).
The following primary abilities from
Unearthed Arcana are now dropped:
Detect magic; and
Detect illusion.
It is hard to justify giving these latter

two powers to the barbarian. Even if

barbarians do grow up in the boondocks
and hate magic, they should have no better chance to detect magic and illusions
than any other fighter.
Barbarian characters must take proficiency with the spear, knife, and hand axe
at 1st level. Among foot tribes, the spear is
5-6 long. Among mounted tribes, the
spear is 7-13 long, serving as a lance.
The barbarian has three other weaponproficiency slots at 1st level. The weapons
chosen will depend on the barbarians
background. Although the barbarian is
restricted in his choice of weapons at 1st
level, slots gained at higher levels can be
spent on any weapon. The barbarian
receives one weapon-proficiency slot for
DRAGON 19

New Barbarian Wilderness Proficiencies

Proficiency

Climb cliffs and trees

Long-distance signaling
Snare building

Slots
required

1
1
1

every two levels beyond the 1st (3rd, 5th,

etc.), but he cannot specialize or double
specialize with a weapon as a fighter or
ranger can.
Secondary and tertiary abilities granted
by Unearthed Arcana have herein become
various nonweapon proficiencies granted
to certain types of barbarians. In Unearthed Arcana, secondary abilities were
given to all barbarians. This is not entirely
appropriate. Some barbarian cultures had
an agricultural base, so not all barbarians
should know how to track. In addition,
barbaric clans usually had only a few
people who knew how to set bones and
prepare herbal medicines; not all barbarians should know first aid.
The abilities to climb cliffs and trees,
perform long-distance signaling, and build
snares are now considered to be wilderness proficiencies, as per the table in this
article.
Due to the many abilities that barbarians
receive at 1st level, barbarians receive
only one nonweapon proficiency slot at 1st
level, then gain one slot for every four
levels beyond that (5th, 9th, etc.).

Barbarian types
The descriptions of barbarian types are
broken down as follows:
Proficiencies: These are the nonweapon
proficiencies from the DSG and WSG that
are given to barbarian characters of the
type in question. The proficiencies from
the table herein are also used. These replace all secondary and tertiary abilities
given to barbarians by Unearthed Arcana.
Preferred weapons: These are the weapons that the barbarian must take profi-

Appropriate
ability

Dexterity
Intelligence
Intelligence

Die roll
modifier

0
0
0

ciency in at 1st level, in addition to the

spear, knife, and hand axe. In some cases,
the player is given a choice between two
weapons.
Native terrain: This is a term required
by some of the primary abilities, classifying the barbarians homeland terrain.
Barbarian horde: This describes the
armor and weapons of the common warriors that can be summoned. All the barbarians in the horde are zero-level humans with 5-8 hp, except for the leaders.
Leaders are armed as desired by the DM.
The notes for each type provide a general background and historical basis of the
barbarian type in question.

Foot Nomads
Cavemen

Proficiencies: animal lore, fire building,

foraging, hunting, plant lore, tracking
Preferred weapons: (stone) battle axe,
club, sling
Native terrain: forested mountains or hills
Barbarian horde: 50%spear, club; 20%
sling, club; 20%battle axe; l0%hand
axe, club
This barbarian type is based on Stone Age
Cro-Magnon humans, not Neanderthals or
any other race. A barbarian horde of
cavemen is not really feasible, since cavemen would spend too much time finding
food. But the AD&D game is a fantasy
game, so rules for the horde have been
included.
Desert

Tribes

Proficiencies: alertness, animal lore, endurance, fire building, foraging, hunting, long-distance signaling, running,

snare building, survival (desert),

tracking
Preferred weapons: short composite bow,
club
Native terrain: mountainous desert
Barbarian horde: 50%short composite
bow, spear, knife; 50%short composite bow, hand axe, club
These tribes live in the midst of brutally
hot mountainous deserts. They are very
skilled at finding water and game. They
are also fiercely protective of their possessions; trespassers and thieves will be
tracked and killed. This barbarian type is
based on Lipan Apaches.
Forest Tribes

Proficiencies: animal lore, boating (canoes),

fishing, foraging, hunting, plant lore,
running, snare building, tracking
Preferred weapons: short bow
Native terrain: temperate forest
Barbarian horde: 75%short bow, hand
axe; 25%spear, hand axe
These tribes live in villages among the vast
temperate forests. They make excellent
dugout canoes, grow small gardens, and
hunt and fish extensively. Like people
everywhere, some of the tribes are
friendly while others are hostile. This
barbarian type is based on native peoples
of eastern America.

Mounted Nomads
Desert Nomads

Proficiencies: animal trainer (horse or

camel), direction sense, land-based
riding (horse or camel), long-distance
signaling, survival (desert)
Preferred weapons: scimitar, javelin, or
short bow
Native terrain: subtropical desert
Barbarian horde: 75%scimitar, spear,
javelin, or short bow (mounted on war
horse or camel); 25%as above, but
with a shield
These people live an arduous life in the
worlds barest and hottest deserts. Mounts
are vital to survival, as are sheep and goat
herds. This barbarian type is based on
Bedouin and Berber tribes.
Prairie Nomads

Proficiencies: animal handling, animal

trainer (horse), animal lore, fire building, foraging, hunting, long-distance
signaling, plant lore, land-based riding
(horse), tracking
Preferred weapons: short bow, club
Native terrain: temperate grassland
Barbarian horde: 100%short bow, spear,
knife, shield (mounted on war horse)
These tribes, based on Comanches, are
fast and fierce raiders. Luckily, they have
to spend a lot of time gathering food, since
they have no real agriculture. Bison and
wild cattle are hunted extensively. Intruders are hated and will be tracked for
days; the nomads will attempt to rob and
kill them.

22 AUGUST 1989

Steppe Nomads

Proficiencies: animal handling, animal

handling (pony), endurance, land-based
riding (pony), survival (desert)
Preferred weapons: scimitar, short composite bow, lasso
Native terrain: desert grassland
Barbarian horde: 90%short composite
bow, spear, scimitar, lasso (mounted on
pony); 10%as above, but with armor
equal to AC 5
These nomads herd cattle and sheep on
the cold dry steppes. They are a hardy
and ruthless people. Ponies are important
to their way of life; the ponies are short
enough to provide a stable base for
mounted bow fire. Raiding neighboring
countries and other tribes is a favorite
pastime. This tribal type is based on Yakka
Mongols.

Northmen
Forest Clans

Proficiencies: animal lore, climb cliffs and

trees, endurance, foraging, hunting,
running, snare building, tracking
Preferred weapons: long sword
Native terrain: temperate forest
Barbarian horde: 75%spear, shield;
25%long sword, shield
These are tribes of large, fierce clansmen
based on Cherusci Germans. The warriors
are most highly regarded among them.
They live by a combination of agriculture,
hunting, and gathering, and they place
great value on weapons forged in civilized
lands.

Thus, raiding is almost a necessity. The sea

raiders make excellent steel weapons and
armor. Both sexes tend to be taller and
heavier than the folk of other lands. These
barbarians are based on Viking groups.

Tropical Natives
Jungle Tribes

Proficiencies: animal lore, boating (canoes),

climb cliffs and trees, hunting, longdistance signaling, running, snare
building, survival (heat), tracking
Preferred weapons: club, short bow, or
blowgun
Native terrain: tropical rainforest
Barbarian horde: 100%spear, club, short
bow or blowgun, shield
These primitive tribes, based on various
west African and Brazilian natives, live in
the depths of the jungles that are hostile to
men of northern lands, due to disease and
wild beasts. The tribes subsist on food
from small garden plots, augmented by
hunting. Although some tribes have cannibals and headhunters, others are a vital
part of the trade routes, trading spices and
ivory.
Savannah

Natives

Proficiencies: animal handling, direction

sense, endurance, long-distance signaling, running, survival (heat)
Preferred weapons: club, javelin

Native terrain: Tropical grasslands

Barbarian horde: 90%javelin, shield;
10%club, shield
Although they are called barbaric, some
savannah tribes may have highly organized armies. Some tribes have elevated
the status of the warrior above all other
social positions. The tribes depend on
small gardens and cattle and goat herds
for their living. The organized tribes are
usually friendly if treated with respect.
This group is based on the Zulu and other
Bantu cultures.

Conclusion
It is hoped that this article will turn the
1st Edition barbarian into a more viable
class. The barbarian given in Unearthed
Arcana has some interesting features but
also has some unnecessary powers.
How powerful is the class now? Its
weaker than before but still equal to any
other fighter or cavalier, class. Some abilities were removed but others remain. The
barbarians high hit points and many nonweapon proficiencies are balanced by his
distrust of magic and inability to specialize
in a weapon. True, he starts out with a
large number of abilities, but many might
not be used in a typical dungeon adventure. The revised barbarian is a balanced,
viable character.

Highland Clans

Proficiencies: animal handling, charioteering, climb cliffs and trees, running

Preferred weapons: two-handed sword or
long sword
Native terrain: forested hills
Barbarian horde: 50%spear, knife, ring
mail; 15%battle axe, knife, ring mail;
10%spear, shield, ring mail (mounted
on normal horse); 25%spear, chain
mail (two-man chariot)
These semi-civilized clans live in forests
and swamps, and they depend heavily on
agriculture for their living. The clan leaders and champions ride to battle in small
chariots. The clans forge excellent weapons and armor. This barbarian type is
based on various Celtic tribes of Britain.
Sea Raiders

Proficiencies: boating, direction sense,

endurance, fishing, running, swimming

Preferred weapons: long sword, battle

axe, short bow
Native terrain: mountainous forest
Barbarian horde: 90%battle axe, short
bow, chain mail, shield; 10%long
sword, short bow, chain mail, shield
The kingdoms of the sea raiders consist of
nearly civilized groups. They are excellent
sailors and savage raiders. Although their
economy is based on agriculture, their
land is poor for farming and grazing.
DRAGON 23

The origin of paladins

Good
Does Not Mean
Boring
Paladins are far more complicated
than you might think
by Scott Bennie
Of all the character classes in the AD&D 1st Edition game, the
paladin is one of the most misunderstood. When comparing
campaigns, you will find people role-playing paladins in radically
different ways. Some paladins treat anyone who isnt of their
social class and heroic standing as vermin. There are also those
paladins who drink nothing but milk and spend most of their
time helping little old ladies across the street. Will the real
paladin please stand up?
Complicating matters is the Unearthed Arcana tome, which
unearthed paladins but reburied them as part of the cavalier
class. The cavalier class, however, is based on certain medieval
knighthood orders that did a lot of foolish and unpaladinlike
things (such as at the Battle of Agincourt, where the cavaliers
mowed down their own troops in pursuit of the glory of battle,
only to be used as pincushions by sturdy peasant bowmen). How
can paladins be categorized as a part of this class?
To understand paladins, you have to look at the reasons
paladins exist and view their attitudes and actions from a variety
of perspectives.

Illustration by John Paul Leon

24 AUGUST 1989

Paladins exist to combat evil. Their primary abilities are most effective against
evil; thus, whatever powers created paladins and gave them their abilities had the
destruction of evil as the main objective.
Paladins also exist to protect and heal.
They have been given powers to aid the
sick (e.g., by curing disease) and heal minor wounds (e.g., laying on hands). Thus,
paladins, who are destroyers, are also
healers. Their healing abilities are obviously not meant for evil beings; it would
be most natural to heal those who are true
and virtuous, especially if such people
could not help themselves. Therefore, the
powers that created paladins want them to
protect the innocent.
Another characteristic of paladins is
their ability to turn undead and to cast
clerical spells. Obviously, in addition to
their formidable fighting skills, a paladin
needs the wisdom and piety of a cleric.
Therefore, paladins were created to serve
the gods. They form religious orders of
knighthood; in fact, they are the fighting
champions of their religions.
Because paladins have different abilities
and purposes, each one probably differs in
his individual emphasis on which goal is
most important. The pursuit of these
ideals leads to four different types of
paladinhood which, while lawful good to
the core, provide players and DMs alike
with different ways of playing this class.

Paladins of justice

To some paladins, justice is the ultimate

ideal. These paladins believe that they
exist to serve an unswerving and unyielding law, and that this law is in the best
interests of Good.
A paladin of justice will spend his life
pursuing injustice, seeking to punish the
guilty. Such a paladin travels in search of
wrongs to be righted, of crimes to be
prosecuted, and dead to be avenged. A
paladin of justice seems to be grim and
obsessed (consider him to be a Clint
Eastwood, Judge Dredd, or Batman sort of
paladin).
Paladins of justice are found among all
sorts of religions but are especially prominent among those religions devoted to law
and justice. The highest priority, of
course, would be righting the wrongs of
the enemies of the religion (a paladin of
Tyr, if such paladins exist in a campaign,
would be devoted to fighting injustice
caused by giantkind or Lokis agents, the
enemy of the Norse gods).

Paladins of war

Because so many of the paladins abilities

are directed at fighting evil, it is logical
that many paladins will devote their energies to the Holiest of Wars: seeking out
and exterminating evil. These paladins
seek out sources of evil and attempt to
eliminate them in the most effective manner.
Paladins of war are the sort who cant
decide whether to take their annual vaca-

tions in the Abyss or in the Nine Hells, so

they do both. Paladins of war are extremely aggressivesometimes too aggressive. Stories abound about paladins who
wander city streets, using their detect evil
ability on everyone passing by; when such
a paladin finds someone of evil bent, he
takes out his gleaming sword and slays the
miscreant. Well, paladins are supposed to
slay evilbut what is wrong with this
picture of paladinhood?
The answer is simple: It is missing the
quality of justice. Even though a paladin
may sense that an entity is evil, no proof
exists that the entity has committed an evil
deed unless it is caught in the act. Paladins
should slay evil beings while the evil
actions are taking place (e.g., attacking
someone who is torturing peasants), not
just because the beings are noted to be
evil. The paladins detect evil ability is
meant to give an advantage in dealing with
evil and to prevent him from being
tricked, not to give him a license to kill.
Compounding the problem of fighting
evil is the fact that evil is often lawful. A
lawful-evil culture may have a rigid system
of slavery, and if a paladin slays a person
for committing this evil act, the paladin is
breaking the law. If the paladin breaks the
local law while fighting evil, does he violate his code?
In my view, a paladin is bound not to the
law of a nation or individual (unless he has

sworn fealty to that nation), but to a more

personal law, the principles by which his
life is governed (the conflict between the
principles and rigid laws of the Solamnic
Knights in the DRAGONLANCE volume
Dragons of Winter Night is an excellent
example of this conflict in action). This
does not allow the paladin to assassinate
an evil king, but it does allow him to organize rebellion and encourage overthrow of
the evil ruler if the ruler will not agree to
change his ways.
This law governs a paladins relations
with evil humans and demihumans. Paladins are considered to be at war with evil
humanoids, undead, and monsters such as
evil dragons, demons, daemons, and devils, and can usually slay them with impunity, preferably by a clean kill in combat.
Paladins never use torture, nor will they
permit themselves to be led out of the
room just when the rest of the group is
about to stick bamboo splinters under the
drows fingernails.

Paladins of glory

One of the primary goals of a paladin is

to be an effective leader and a symbol of
goodness, to serve as an inspiration for all
people to follow the ways of lawful good.
These paladins seek glory.
Of all types of paladins, a paladin of
glory is closest to a cavalier in attitude. A
paladin of glory goes on quests for the

destruction of the most prominent evil

beings available and gives himself long
flowery epithets, such as Sir Edwyn Darius Dracobane Demonslayer, Knight
Champion of the Order of Golden Gryphons, Darkcrusher, Paragon of Chivalry,
etc. But paladins of glory, unlike cavaliers,
do not have a haughtier than thou attitude toward people of lesser repute or
social status. Yes, they often enjoy their
fame and fortune, but everyone has the
potential to serve good; only evil is not
worthy of respect. A paladin of glory may
get annoyed when someone fails to treat
him with respect, and he may view this as
a sign that that person is evil (since anyone
who was really good would certainly be
smart enough to give the paladin the
honor he deserves). But such a paladin
doesnt go out of his way to make enemies
by insulting people, and he generally
treats common folk with courtesy.

Paladins of defense

The fourth variety of paladin is sometimes referred to in gaming as the boy

scout. The goals of these paladins are to
protect the innocent, defend the weak,
and liberate the oppressed.
Paladin defenders, like heroes on some
television series, travel about in search of
people to save. They heal the sick and try
to comfort fears, encouraging persecuted
people who are too timid to fight back.
Most important to a defender is the safety
of the innocent; if a paladin would endanger innocents by picking a fight with evil,
hell back down but will try to mete out
justice as soon as it is safe to do so.
Paladin defenders should (in my view)
form the majority of paladins. They are
gentle and courteous people but can be
fierce in battle. Paladin defenders usually
acquire good reputations and are the
variety of paladin most hated by evil.

Paladins and religion

Paladins are granted their abilities by

the gods. They are not simply fighters or
cavaliers; they are priests as well, knowledgeable in the ways of their religions,
and are also instruments of their religions.
The attitudes of paladins are shaped by
their doctrines. A paladin of a war god
would usually be a paladin of war; a paladin of a justice god would be a paladin of
justice; etc. More than one goal may be
followed if the lawful-good deity of a paladin controls more than one area (such as
Tyr, as noted in Legends & Lore).
Paladins are responsible to the priesthood for their actions. Bestowing paladinhood may be the duty of a priest, the
paladins status being granted only after
the candidate had proved his skill and his
worth; the appointment must be confirmed by the deity himself. Likewise,
priests may have the ability to strip paladinhood, although only under the direction of the deity concerned. Paladins are
for the most part rare.
A paladin must swear an oath to follow
26 AUGUST 1989

his doctrine with absolute faithfulness.

Minor violations may be grounds for loss
of paladinhood. If a religion forbids a
paladin to travel on a certain day of the
week, the paladin would have to petition
the deity or his servants to lift the ban in
life-or-death circumstances.
Paladins are considered lesser priests in
the hierarchy of a lawful-good church;
they will never be found within higher
levels of religious leadership. Paladins are
considered to be more effective in the
field than at the pulpit.
Paladin limitations are subject to alteration by the church. For example, whereas
a paladin may be limited in the number of
his possessions, this limitation may also
apply to priests of the paladins religion.
Some religions might permit paladins to
save up wealth to build major strongholds,
to further the territory of their religion.
Some religions may permit paladins to
associate with neutral beings, preferably
to convert them to the side of good. In
principle, however, paladins should be
self-reliant, should not covet wealth or
possessions, and should not associate with
corrupting influences.
Another issue is that of paladins and
marriage. Some DMs insist that paladins
take vows of chastity. Others are more
liberal and permit paladins to marry without relinquishing their paladinhood. In my
view, marriage laws vary according to the
governing religion and the rules of the
Order. In the WORLD OF GREYHAWK
setting, the King of Furyondy is described
as a paladin, and his son is also a paladin,
which would appear to indicate that some
orders of paladinhood are permitted to
marry. Historically, knights who strove for
paladinlike virtues often took a vow of
chastity. This is yet another case of both
sides being right. It should be left to the
DM to determine whether certain orders
are allowed to marry.
Because paladins serve different religions, it is unlikely that paladins of differing religions will always get along.
Regional rivalry is also a cause for interpaladin conflict. Because of these differences, some orders of paladins will label
other paladin groups as false and will fight
them when they meet. Many paladins have
lost their lives and honor during such
conflicts. When there is a great evil to
fight (a rampaging dragon or a lich with
hoards of undead), however, regional and
religious rivalries take a back seat to more
important needs.

Paladins and cavaliers

Like cavaliers, paladins often come from

the upper classes of society. Paladins often
seem concerned with glory, which is the
chief pursuit of all cavaliers. At least on
the surface, the two classes appear very
similar, so much so that paladins are considered to be a subclass of cavaliers, not
fighters.
The principle difference between paladins and cavaliers is attitude. Cavaliers

Cavalier-Paladin Experience Table

Experience points

0-3,500
3,501-7,000
7,001-15,000
15,001-30,000
30,001-60,000
60,001-120,000
120,001-250,000
250,001-500,000
500,001-1,000,000

d10 hit dice

Level

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

500,000 xp/level for each level above 9th.

Paladin-cavaliers gain 3 hp/level above the 9th.

tend to be arrogant and haughty toward

those who are of a lower social station.
Paladins are much more humble; humility
is considered a virtue.
Cavaliers have many powers that are
also included in the paladin class. These
powers include weapons of choice (another form of weapon specialization),
near-total immunity to fear-based spells,
and parrying and riding skills. How should
a DM handle paladins? Are they cavaliers?
There are at least three available options
for the DM. First, he can use the paladin
with all the cavalier abilities listed for it in
Unearthed Arcana. Second, he can say
paladins are fighters, as given in the 1st
Edition Players Handbook, and ignore
Unearthed Arcana. Third, he can combine
the two books, creating cavalier-paladins
and fighter-paladins.
Fighter-paladins are simply those listed
in the Players Handbook. They may be
given a couple of Unearthed Arcana options, such as riding, horse knowledge,
and parrying, but otherwise are as they
were originally described.
Cavalier-paladins have many of the
abilities of the true cavalier, such as:
1. The opportunity to improve characteristic scores by rolling percentile dice
(unlike cavaliers, they may only choose
one of the following characteristics to
improve at each level: strength, constitution, or dexterity);
2. Weapons of choice, as described in
Unearthed Arcana, but making multiple
attacks with a weapon of choice as if they
were three, not five, levels higher;
3. The riding ability of a cavalier and the
knowledge of horses of that class;
4. Immunity to fear but without the
ability to radiate that immunity in a 10
radius) and a 30% immunity to the following spells and effects: beguiling, charm,
domination, hold, hypnosis, magic jar,
possession, sleep, suggestion, and mind
blast; and
5. The ability to function at negative hitpoint totals, like cavaliers.
The cavalier-paladin does not have the
armor requirements of a cavalier. He owes
his loyalty not to a liege lord but to a religion, and his hospitality duties are colored

by his allegiance to a church or religious

group. All of the knightly virtues listed for
cavalier-paladins are applicable, except
pride. Under no circumstances will a
paladin mow down his own troops just to
get into battle more quickly. Instead, a
paladin is concerned with the lives of all
who serve under him or with him, and
fights to protect them as well as gain personal glory. In a world where fighterpaladins exist alongside paladin-cavaliers,
the paladin-cavaliers should pay extra
experience points for rising in level. A
suggested experience-point table is given
here for cavalier-paladins.

The paladins code

Sometimes it is difficult to decide how a

paladin should be role-played. The following is a suggested set of guidelines that I
have found useful:
Death before dishonor.
Dishonor before innocents are harmed.
All women are to be honored.
Be polite and courteous even if insulted.
All challenges are to be met honorably.
Obey your religion and honor its tenets.
Obey the laws of the land where they do
not conflict with your religion.
Respect all opponents.
Avoid all excesses.
Care for the sick and aid the distressed.
Honor your liege lord and your deity.
Do not permit evil to do harm.
Paladins are a very interesting class to
play in the AD&D game. In many ways,
paladins are the ultimate heroes in heroic
fantasy. Being goody two shoes isnt for
everyone, but it can be a lot of fun.

DRAGON

29

The cavalier, based on the knights of medieval Europe, has the potential to be a unique and interesting fighter. Unfortunately, the cavalier described in Unearthed Arcana is complicated to play and overly powerful. Some players say the
class should be eliminated, but the cavalier can be revised to be a unique and viable class. This article redefines the cavalier in AD&D 1st Edition games.
Cavaliers are warriors with a background of nobility. Their training emphasizes mounted and personal combat as well
as the leadership of military units. They have a strict code of conduct, although nonlawful cavaliers tend to ignore it.
Not all noble warriors are necessarily cavaliers; some are paladins, rangers, or ordinary fighters who come from the
noble classes. Like barbarians, cavaliers cannot be multiclassed characters. In addition, cavaliers cannot be reduced to
fighter status for their actions, as their skills are not linked to alignment.
The new cavalier

The following rules regarding the cavalier are unchanged from those given in
Unearthed Arcana:
Experience points and hit dice per level,
including level titles (Unearthed Arcana, page 15);
Ability to estimate the worth of horses;
Bonuses to lance damage, whether
mounted or on foot;
Immunity to fear;
Parrying ability with shield or hand weapons; and
Henchmen restrictions (Unearthed
Arcana, page 75).
The following rules from Unearthed
Arcana for the cavalier are removed from
the class:
Alignment restrictions: Cavaliers may be
of any alignment at 1st level and have the
usual penalties for switching alignments.
Why would all cavaliers begin their careers as good-aligned? To use the WORLD
OF GREYHAWK setting as an example,
the knights of Iuz or the Great Kingdom
would be evil from the start. Also, the idea
of characters switching alignments without penalty, as given in Unearthed Arcana
and DRAGON Magazine supplements to
that book, should be discouraged.
Zero-level Horseman and Lancer levels:
These are weak and unnecessary; it would
be simpler to require the cavalier to be at
least Upper Middle Class.
+3 hp bonus at 1st level: This is an unfair advantage that is not logically justified.
Ability to increase strength, constitution,
and dexterity scores.- This is an unfair
idea. The other fighter classes could easily
claim that they also spend every nonadventuring hour training hard and increasing their ability scores. Cavaliers are now
subject to all limitations by race and sex
on ability scores.
Protection from fear aura: This is a semimagical power that is completely beyond a
cavaliers training. Cavaliers are not favored beings like paladins.
90% resistance to mind attacks: Of all
the cavaliers powers, this one most unbalances the class. Once again, a cavaliers
training does not cover this, and the
power should be dropped.
+2 bonus on save vs. illusions: A cavalier is trained in combat, not magic. If
anything, a cavalier should be more sus-

ceptible to illusions due to a lack of familiarity with spells. However, if this power is
simply dropped, the cavalier will again be
equal to the other fighter classes in this
regard.
Ability to function at negative hit points:
This is another idea that is hard to justify.
Why would this power be linked to alignment? Cavaliers will be unconscious at 0 to
- 9 hp and dead at - 10 hp, as with other
classes. Healing is at normal rates.
Charge at all opponents in sight: This is a
foolish and unrealistic notion. Even prideful historical knights would retreat when
they absolutely couldnt win. Knights are
sometimes reckless, but they are not stupid. They are trained to lead armies, and
would not immediately charge the enemy.
These rules from Unearthed Arcana are
modified:
Class type: Cavaliers are now a subclass
of fighter and use the fighters combat and
saving-throws tables.
Ability score requirements: Cavaliers
must have a minimum strength, constitution, and charisma of 13. Cavaliers have no
prime requisite and cannot gain bonus
experience points.
Social class: Cavaliers must have a minimum social class of 56, as Upper Middle
Class. This roll will determine their starting money (see Unearthed Arcana, page
82, and Starting money section elsewhere in this article).
Racial limits: Only humans, elves, and
half-elves can be cavaliers. Among elves
and half-elves, only those of gray, high,
and valley elf stock can be cavaliers. Drow
cannot become cavaliers, since horses are
not used underground.
Preferred weapons: Cavaliers prefer to
use any sort of lance, any sword (except
short and khopesh), scimitar, horsemans
mace, horsemans flail, horsemans pick,
dagger, hand, axe, javelin, and bec de corbin. Elves and half-elves add either a short
bow or short composite bow to the list.
These weapons must be taken as weapons
of proficiency before any others can be
learned.
Mounted combat bonuses with weapons
of choice: Delete all the Unearthed Arcana
rules on this subject. Instead, at 1st level,
the cavalier has three weapon-proficiency
slots. These must be used to gain proficiency with: a lance (any); a sword (any
except short, khopesh, or two-handed) or
scimitar; and a horsemans weapon (mace,

pick, or flail). These three weapons are

known as the cavaliers weapons of choice.
The cavalier has a + 1 bonus to hit with
these weapons, and a +2 to hit when
mounted. The number of attacks per
round with these weapons is: levels 1-6, 3/
2; 7-12, 2; 13 +, 5/2.
Other weapons of proficiency: Weapons
of proficiency taken at levels higher than
the first are not weapon: of choice. The
cavalier has normal combat proficiency
with these weapons. The number of attacks per round with such weapons is:
levels l-6, 1; 7-12, 3/2; 13 +, 2.
Nonweapon proficiencies: The cavalier has
two nonweapon proficiency slots at 1st level.
One slot must be spent to gain the landbased riding proficiency (wilderness Survival Guide, page 16) with horses. This
replaces the riding skills of the cavalier as
given in Unearthed Arcana; however, the
cavalier still has the same chance to stay in
the saddle under difficult conditions, and the
same chance to be uninjured if he does fall,
as given in Unearthed Arcana, page 15 (84%
plus 1% per 1 level). There is no other restriction on the nonweapon proficiencies that the
cavalier can learn.
Armor restrictions: Cavaliers will not
use leather armor, studded leather armor,
padded armor, or wooden shields. Other
than this, they are free to wear any type
of armor they choose. In large battles,
they will wear the heaviest armor available. While adventuring, they will be more
flexible (e.g., they will not insist on wearing plate mail in the desert).
Paining: From levels l-9, a cavalier must
be trained by another cavalier at least two
levels higher. The cavalier must pay normal training fees.
Followers: Cavaliers can gain henchmen
as noted in Unearthed Arcana, page 75.
Material on followers on pages 74-75 is
ignored. To gain men-at-arms and followers, the cavalier must be of 9th level or
higher, must build a castle or keep, then
must clear an area for 20-50 miles around
the castle. When construction is completed, the cavalier will gain men-at-arms,
all of zero level with 5-8 hp and the same
alignment as the cavalier. The men will
consist of:
20-50 light cavalry (ring mail, shield, three
javelins, light lance, scimitar (saber),
light war horses).
10-40 heavy cavalry (chain mail, shield,
DRAGON 31

broad sword, heavy lance, heavy war

horse in chain barding).
20-50 heavy infantry (splint mail, pike,
falchion).
10-40 crossbowmen (ring mail, heavy
crossbow, falchion).
In addition, the cavalier will gain all
retainers noted in Unearthed Arcana, page
75 (but replace Horseman and Lancer with
two Armigers) and four zero-level men
with the following craftsman proficiencies:
animal trainer (horse), armorer, blacksmith, weaponsmith.
Pennon and heraldry: The cavalier is not
required to display a pennon or coat of
arms unless he has built a castle, but a
pennon may be displayed at any time
before then.
Hospitality: The cavalier cannot expect
hospitality from other cavaliers until he
becomes a landholder (i.e., builds a castle).
Proficiency slots: Cavaliers gain one
weapon and one nonweapon proficiency
slot for every three levels beyond the 1st
(4th, 9th, etc.).
Starting money: Delete the rules in Unearthed Arcana on page 25 regarding
starting funds. Instead of equipment, the
cavalier receives only a number of gold
pieces at 1st level. The amount depends on
the cavaliers social class roll (Unearthed
Arcana, page 82):
Roll

56-87
88-96
97-99
00

Funds
50-200 gp (5d4 X 10)

90-200 gp ([ld12 +8] x 10)

101-200 gp (ldl00 + l00)
155-200 gp (5dl0 + 150)

FOruM
Continued from page 8
I am writing to disagree with two letters
printed in issue #137: Bahman Rabbis letter
complaining about nonweapon proficiencies,
and David Howerys comments about the plain
old fighter.
To the former: I would say nonweapon proficiencies allow players to develop the personalities of their characters and offer opportunities
for role-playing. Im in a campaign that playtested the AD&D 2nd Edition game. I think you
may like some of the changes and new proficiencies presented in this game. It should be up
to the DM to mitigate imbalances in his campaign. A DM able to think on his feet wouldnt
allow his players to run rampant over his welllaid plans simply because one character has a
blind-fighting proficiency.
As to the second letter commenting on the
fact that other warrior classes are more interesting than the fighter class, I say Come on! Its
up to the player to make his character interesting. For example, my 3rd-level fighter is highborn, cultured, and a gentleman well versed in
the courtly skills of etiquette, dancing, and the
singing and playing of musical instruments. He
has high charisma and comeliness.
Recently, while spending a few weeks in a

32 AUGUST 1989

Miscellaneous notes

Paladins: It is not a good idea to combine

cavalier and paladin powers into a single
character. This creates a character who is
much too strong. Under the variant rules
given here, the paladin is treated according to the rules in the 1st Edition Players
Handbook. A special type of royal paladin
is not needed, since random social class
rolls allow for high-born paladins.
Background: A cavalier is not likely to be
an only child or a first-born (10% chance).
If he was, the PC would be kept at home
as the immediate heir to the family lands
and holdings. If a PC cavalier is an only
child or first-born, it is likely that the
cavaliers parents are dead or have lost
their holdings, forcing the PC into the
insecure life of an adventurer. The DM
and players can create the details.
BATTLESYSTEM supplements: Cavaliers have a + 1 bonus to their command
radius in addition to all other bonuses.
Units led by a cavalier have a + 1 bonus
on their Discipline Rating and a - 1 bonus
on rally attempts. All these reflect the
cavaliers training in military leadership.
Chivalry and knighthood: The rules on
these subjects are now optional. The PC
cavalier is an independent, free-willed
adventurer. His skills are not dependent
on alignment or service to another; they
are the result of military training. The
cavalier can change his alignment but not
his class. Therefore, a PC cavalier does not
have to be knighted, be in the service of
another, or be devoted to any cause. If the
DM and players desire, these aspects of
chivalry can be added.

small town (one of our party members needed

training), my character, Harmony Madrigal
Greenwood, spent his nights singing and playing
for tips in a local inn with the partys illusionist,
Taran, who accompanied Harmony with a
beautiful light show and pretty illusions. They
shared a percentage of their take with the
innkeeper who, in turn, fed and lodged them.
Due to my characters high comeliness and
charisma (and the deviously clever mind of
Tracy Reed, my inventive DM), the local women
became enamored with Harmony and began
congregating at the inn to see his performances.
During the second week of his appearances, the
situation got out of hand when a jealous husband made his way through the throng of
women to attack Harmony. The innkeeper
attempted to control the situation, but a bar
brawl ensued and Harmony and Taran were
forced to flee.
The above is only one example of my plain
old fighters young but already very interesting
career. If a player puts no imagination into a
fighter character, I can see how you can end up
with a boring hack-n-slash type. But thats the
players fault. Its up to you to build an interesting personality into your characteryoure only
limited by your imagination.
Valerie A. Valusek
Williams Bay WI
I am writing in response to the downgrading
of the fighter class in Forum (issue #142). It is

The code of chivalry is well detailed in

Unearthed Arcana, though it is heavily
slanted toward law and good. Since cavaliers can be chaotic, neutral, and evil,
obviously many would ignore various
parts of the code. Chaotic cavaliers would
resist this restrictive set of laws, while evil
ones would hardly render cheerful service or courtesy. Again, it is the players
choice to follow the code of chivalry (and
incur all penalties for doing so).

Conclusion

The purpose of this article is to turn the

cavalier into a viable character. With these
variant rules, the cavalier is a subclass of
fighter equal (but not superior to) to the
paladin or ranger. This revised cavalier is
similar to the original paladin: Both subclasses are similar to the fighter in regard
to hit points and combat abilities, and each
has a special immunity and unique abilities. Both also lack weapon specialization,
which puts the fighter back on equal
footing.

true that the fighter class is somewhat limited

outside of the dungeon, but with the use of a
little logic, the class becomes more useful without unbalancing the campaign.
Nothing aids hostile critter negotiations better
than a 66 warrior with 18/98 strength standing behind you. Fighters should also get more
respect from the common folk. A magic-user
may be feared because he can turn you into a
toad, but a warrior can associate with the
average people who understand fighting.
One option for fighters in my campaign is to
allow them a 2% chance per level to identify
high-quality or magical weapons. This allowance
is limited to discovering how to operate the
items powers (without necessarily knowing
what the powers do) and gaining a general
knowledge of weapons attack bonuses, within
+1 or - 1 of its true value. This stems from the
fact that a warrior trains with all sorts of weapons and little else. I deny this type of training to
the fighter subclasses because they spend more
of their time in other pursuits. (Paladins in
clerical training, rangers in druidical and magical training, etc.).
Howard J. Nenno
Macedon NY

Continued on page 58

Illustration by Janet Aulisio

Arcane Lore
Can a wizard cure your
light wounds? No, but . . .
by Bruce Kvam

Villem was dying. His breathing became ragged and irregular, and his
eyes glazed over as he muttered a prayer to Tyr. His grasp on Renfrews
forearm loosened.
Can you do something to heal him? Renfrew cried, turning on
Fratakara.
The mage took a step back, stroking his chin slowly. His eyes were
hooded by shadow, and the others could not read his expression. He
shook his head.
Renfrew knelt over Villem, checking the bandages with which he had
crudely bound his brothers wounds. He cursed himself for not listening to
Villems lessons, being more interested in the arts of combat than the arts
of healing. The young priest had taken the brunt of the dragons attacks,
holding the monster off so that the others could pull Renfrew from
beneath its claws. Now Villem was paying for his bravery with his life.
As the last breath slipped from Villems slim body, a rage grew within
Renfrew, a senseless rage that he could not hold back. Damn you,
Fratakara! he shouted. All your books, all your knowledge, all your
spells, and you can do nothing to save my brothers life! Your magic is
worthless!

t is by design that magic-users have

no healing abilities in the AD&D 1st
Edition game. Were they able to heal
as well as they harm, they would be
invincible indeed. Game balance dictates a
separation of powers. But must the answer
to the question, Can you do something to
heal him? always be negative? Three typical responses from magic-users are:
1. Alas, no, the low-level mage replies.
I am not trained in the healing arts!
2. Alas, no, the high-level mage replies.
But after he dies, I can reincarnate him as
a bugbear.
3. No problem: the very high-level
mage replies. I can wish him back to full
strength, but Ill age three years in the
process. Got a potion of longevity?
None of these options is particularly
heartening to the player whose character
has no hit points left to his name. Is it
possible for magic-users to heal others? Is
it desirable?

What is healing?

When we speak of healing, we mean

restoring hit points that a character has
lost due to damage. The powers that affect
healing are represented by: the clerical
spells cure light wounds, cure serious
wounds, cure critical wounds, and heal;
the potions healing and extra-healing; and
the elixir of life. It is also possible to give a
character more hit points than his maximum, by means of the clerical aid spell
and the potions of heroism and superheroism.
Other forms of healing that most clerics
have access to can: restore functions to a
damaged character (spells like cure blindness, cure disease, restoration, and regenerate, and the elixir of health and ring of
regeneration); negate the effects of poison
(slow poison, neutralize poison); bring the
dead to life (raise dead and resurrection,
and the rod of resurrection); and prevent

death (deaths door). Other forms of clerical healing include a full-spectrum immunity energizer (heroes feast) and your
basic snake-oil (Keoghtoms ointment).
One could argue that magic-users can
already heal, because they (along with
alchemists and other spell-casters) are the
manufacturers of potionsand potions
are, after all, spells in a bottle. This begs
the question, though, because mages cannot carry their laboratories when they go
adventuring. But it does point out that
magic-users can heal. Why, then, can they
not cast spells that have the same effects
as the clerical healing spells?

Why no healing?

Magic-users and clerics (including

druids) share many spells. Most of the
detection spells are common to both character classes (detect evil, detect magic,
know alignment, etc.). Some combat and
DRAGON 35

person-affecting spells are the same or

very similar: hold person; quest and geas;
and flame strike and fireball. Many
general-purpose spells are also held in
common, such as light, animate dead,
protection from evil, and rock to mud.
The magic-users arsenal generally packs
more powerful punches when it comes to
damage (e.g., the clerical flame strike does
an average of 27 hp damage, whereas the
equivalent 9th-level magic-users fireball
does 31.5 hp), while the clerics arsenal
generally offers longer spell durations
(e.g., the clerical protection from evil at
one turn per level, while the magic-users
is two rounds per level). As far as casting
time goes, magic-users are quicker on the
draw than are clericsbut not always
(e.g., know alignment).
There is a philosophical difference between mages and priests that is reflected
in their abilities. Magic-users are interested in abstract knowledge, personal
gain, and shaping the universe to fit their
whims. Clerics desire to serve a deity, aid
and serve those who share this desire,
further a particular ethos, and gain converts to their beliefs. Clerics, by virtue of
their relationships with higher powers,
have a closer connection to the origins of
life. Thus, they have a wide range of healing and detection abilities to help further
those goals. Magic-users, on the other
hand, have many spells that allow them to
dominate the physical world.
Not all magic-users are selfish, powermad individuals lusting for control of the
universe. The question is, then, how can
we give magic-users spells that heal without disturbing game balance? It would
help to see what magic-users can already
do to heal themselves and their fellows.

Magic-user healing

Magic-user healing sounds like a contradiction in terms, but magic-users (including illusionists) do indeed have
rudimentary healing powers, though it
may not seem that way at first glance.
Heres the rundown by spell level:
36 AUGUST 1989

Find familiar (first-level spell): This

double-edged spell allows the magic-user
to add the hit points of a familiar (2-4 or
more hp) to his total when the familiar is
within 12. Unfortunately, if the familiar is
killed, the magic-user loses double the
number of its hit points.
Feign death (third-level spell): This is a
useful but underused spell. It can produce
the same effect as slow poison (though for
a lesser duration), because poison does not
affect a person under the effect of feign
death. It might also be used to prolong a
characters life when he has been brought
to zero or fewer hit points.
Dispel exhaustion (fourth-level illusionist
spell): This spell temporarily restores 50%
of lost hit points. However, the character
loses those magical hit points at the end of
the duration of the spell (thus, if he is
running on empty, he will collapse).
Polymorph self (fourth-level spell): This
spell heals only the magic-user who casts
it. When he finally reverts back to his
original form, the spell-caster is cured for
l-12 hp. Many mages keep this spell memorized only for this reason!
Dream (fifth-level illusionist spell): This
spell is similar to the limited wish spell but
is a little more flexible.
Reincarnate (sixth-level spell): This spell
brings someone back from the dead in
much the same way as the clerical raise
dead spell. No system-shock or resurrection survival roll is required. There is, of
course, a drawback: The recipient of the
spell most likely will not return as his
original race. On the positive side, there is
a 48% chance of returning as a humanoid
(so for a fighter, this might not be a terrible option if no others are available).
Tensers transformation (sixth-level
spell): This spell temporarily doubles the
mages hit points, giving a kind of healing.
It has many drawbacks, though. It makes
the mage berserk and unable to cast
spells. If he is damaged beyond the added
hit points, the mage takes double damage.
And to top it off, the material component
for the spell is a potion of heroism!
Limited wish (seventh-level spell): This
spell cures the mage of some of his hitpoint loss, or all his hit-point loss temporarily. As with all wishes, the wording of
the wish is critical and is subject to the
interpretation of the Dungeon Master. It is
also an expensive spell to cast, for it ages
the caster by one year.
Alter reality (seventh-level illusionist
spell): This spell is similar to the limited
wish spell.
Clone (eighth-level spell): Though not as
obvious as the other spell choices, this
spell is an excellent replacement for raise
dead (albeit a less-convenient replacement). When combined with the preserve
spell, an effective life-insurance policy can
be taken out with a high-level magic-user.
A character need only donate a bit of flesh
to the mage (who preserves the flesh) at
regular intervals. If the character meets an
untimely end (such as disintegration), he

can be restored to life as he was when the

last donation was made. The character
loses some memories and experience
points, but he will at least be alive. Be
forewarned: Some DMs may not be amenable to this sort of bending of the rules.
Temporal stasis (ninth-level spell): Similar
to the feign death spell, temporal stasis
might be used to defer curative action to a
later time when a cleric is available.
Wish (ninth-level spell): This is the ultimate spell, the one every mage itches to be
able to cast (but is afraid to cast). This is
the magic-users cure-all: It can restore lost
hit points, remove diseases, raise the dead,
etc. It has the drawback of aging the
caster by three years, and it is subject to
the interpretation of the DM. But healing
is the most benign use of the wish (as it
has no debilitating side effects other than
the aging) and will most likely be granted
by all but the most heartless DMs.
There may be other conniving schemes
by which magic-users can obtain healing
powers, but this list is sufficient to draw a
few conclusions. These conclusions are as
follows:
1. Spells that mages can use to heal are
higher level (none below 4th).
2. The amount of healing is either small,
temporary, or the by-product of another
effect.
3. There is a substantial cost for casting
the spell (e.g., aging or an expensive material component).
4. There are often undesirable side
effects.
5. Increases in hit points are generally
confined to the spell-caster.
6. No new life essence is created. Healing
is accomplished by accelerating normal
processes or by transferring hit points
from another source.
This last point (#6) shows the key difference between the clerical and magic-user
spells: The former produce a net increase
in life-force while the latter maintain a
balance.

New magic-user spells

Keeping the above guidelines in mind,

we can design curative spells for the
magic-user that do not disrupt game balance or anger the gods.
Arnvids Unseen Limb

(Conjuration/Summoning)

Components: V,S,M
Level: 4
Range: Touch
CT 1 round
Duration: 6 turns/lvl. ST: None
AE: Creature touched
Explanation/Description: When Arnvids
unseen limb is cast, the magic-user causes
an invisible limb (arm, hand, leg, or foot)
to come into being. This limb may replace
a missing limb, or it may be used to create
an extra one. The invisible limb functions
exactly as a normal limb, except that, at
the option of the recipient of the spell,
parts of it may become immaterial so as to
pass through solid objects. For example,
the limb could be used to uncork a potion
inside a closed chest and dump the bottle
out, but it could not remove the potion
from the chest. The limb has normal touch
sensations. It may be used to wield a
weapon only if the limb is replacing a
missing arm or hand. The limb bestows no
extra senses other than touch, so it cannot
be used, for example, to add a second
shield arm in the middle of the recipients
back. The invisible limb has no hit points
or armor class as such, and it cannot be
harmed unless it is dispelled.
The material component of the spell is
the tail of a lizard (any type that regenerates lost body parts). This is touched to the
place on the body where the limb is to be
restored.
Empath (Necromantic/Alteration)

Level: 4
Components: V,S,M
CT: 5 rounds
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent ST: None
AE: Creature touched
Explanation/Description: The empath
spell enables the caster to transfer a certain loss in hit points from another creature to himself, thus curing the recipient.
Up to 2 hp per level of the spell-caster may
be transferred, so a 10th-level magic-user
could cure his friend of a 20-hp wound
(but the magic-user will then take 20 hp in
damage himself). The hit-point loss could
have originally resulted from physical
attacks, certain poisons, spell effects,
diseases, or curses (except those that cannot be removed by remove curse). This
spell cannot restore amputated limbs,
drained life levels, or death. It also cannot
undo any continuously acting poison or
disease, so the spell only temporarily
reverses such harm, which will then con-

tinue to affect the victim.

If the caster is brought below zero hit
points by use of empath, he begins to die.
No effect results from casting empath on
the deceased character.
The material components of this spell
are hair and blood from both the recipient
and the caster, two newt eyes, and two
wolf teeth (each from a different animal).
The components disappear in the casting
of the spell.

turn must be allowed, otherwise exhaustion results and no healing is possible. The
other seven rounds per turn must be
spent eating and drinking a days rations.
The recipient regains 1 hp/turn for the
first seven turns (minus any penalty due to
poor constitution). In subsequent multiples
bf seven turns, characters with constitution bonuses additionally receive their
constitution bonus score. In any case, 28
turns of accelerated metabolism heal a
character completely.

Life Force Transfer (Necromantic)

Components: V,S,M
Level: 4
CT: 4 segments
Range: 12
Duration: Instant.
ST: None
AE: One creature
Explanation/Description: This spell
allows the caster to transfer some of his
life-force to another creature. When cast,
the spell transfers 1 hp/level of the caster
to the target creature, plus an additional
1-4 hp. The hit points are added to the
targets current hit-point total and deducted from the spell-caster's. Thus, a 7thlevel magic-user can transfer 8-11 hp from
himself to another creature. The caster
can transfer only as many hit points as he
currently has; if he purposefully or accidentally transfers more, his current hitpoint total plus 1-4 hp are transferred to
the target, while that amount is subtracted
from the casters total (and the caster
begins to die). The target creature cannot
gain more hit points than its full normal
total; such extra hit points are merely lost.
The magic-users hit-point losses can be
regained by normal healing or magic.
After the transfer is complete, the
magic-user loses four points of constitution temporarily; each point may be recovered by six turns of rest. If the casters
constitution drops below 3, unconsciousness results and full constitution is not
regained for 24 hours. The material component of this spell is a glass tube filled
with the casters blood, which disappears
when the spell is cast.
Dispel Exhaustion (Illusion/Phantasm)

Components: V,S
Level: 5
Range: Touch
CT: 5 segments
Duration: 2 turns/lvl. ST: None
AE: 1-3 persons
Explanation/Description: Except as
noted above, this spell is the same as the
4th-level illusionist spell of the same name.
Accelerated Metabolism (Alteration)

Components: V,S,M
Level: 6
CT: 6 segments
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 turn/lvl. ST: None
+ 1-6 turns
AE: One creature
Explanation/Description: This spell
speeds up the life processes of the recipient at a rate of 1 day/turn for the duration
of the spell. All life processes (sleeping,
eating, healing, etc.) progress at this accelerated pace. If insufficient nourishment is
provided, the recipient suffers from thirst
and starvation. Three rounds of rest per

However, each turn ages the

recipient a week (as opposed to a
day), due to the stresses of the
artificially high metabolic rate.
Note that the character does not move or
fight any faster than normal: Also, if the
recipient of the spell is unwilling, a saving
throw is applicable.
The material component for this spell is
a candle, which must be lit at both ends.
The candle must burn for the duration of
the spell; if it is extinguished, the spell
ends prematurely. The candle is completely burned if the spell runs its normal
course.
Vampire Dagger (Necromantic)

Level: 6
Components: V,S,M
Range: 0
CT: 6 segments
Duration: 1 rnd./lvl.
ST: Neg.
AE: Personal
Explanation/Description: By casting this
spell on a specially prepared nonmagical
dagger, the magic-user is able to drain hit
points from other creatures that he strikes
with it and bestow those hit points on
himself. The magic-user must attack the
creature normally with the dagger. If the
hit is successful, the creature takes normal
damage from the dagger (l-4 for smalland man-sized creatures, l-3 for largesized creatures, plus any strength bonus),
plus bonus damage of 1 hp for every two
levels the spell-caster has. The magic-user
in turn gains this bonus damage as curaDRAGON 37

tive hit points. If the victim makes its

saving throw vs. death magic, it takes
damage from the dagger but no hit points
are transferred to the spell-caster. If the
save is a natural 20, the magic-user takes
the bonus damage instead of the victim. If
this spell drains more hit points from a
victim than remain in that victim, the
victim dies; only those hit points left to the
victim after the daggers damage (with
strength bonuses) is subtracted are transferred to the magic-user. The magic-user
cannot gain hit points above his normal
hit-point total; all extra hit points are lost.
For example, a 16th-level magic-user hits
a minotaur with 26 hp and rolls a 2 for
damage, doing a total of 10 hp damage.
The minotaur fails its saving throw, and
the magic-user gains 8 hp (he lost 10 hp in
a previous fight). The next round, the
magic-user hits again and does 1 + 8 = 9 hp
damage. The minotaur makes its save, so
no hit points are transferred. On the next
round, the magic-user hits again and does
2 + 8 = 10 hp damage. The minotaur fails
its save and dies, having had only 7 hp left.
Thus, only 7 - 2 = 5 hp can transfer to the
caster. The caster gains only 2 hp, however, since this increase puts him at his
maximum hit-point total.
This spell is ineffective against creatures
that can be harmed only by magical weapons (undead excluded) and creatures that
have no blood (e.g., golems). If the dagger

is used in an attempt to drain an undead

being, the magic-user must save vs. death
magic with each strike or die himself; the
undead being only takes damage from the
dagger and associated strength bonuses.
One of the material components of the
spell is a dagger that has a channel inside
it running from the tip through to the
handle. The dagger must be forged from
an alloy of silver and steel that has been
mixed with the crushed bone of a vampire. The minimum cost of such a dagger
is 2,000 gp. Blood from the daggers
wound must travel through the channel
and touch the bare flesh of the magicusers hand for the hit points to be transferred. The dagger remains after the
completion of the spell. The other material
component of this spell is the claw of a
vampire, which disappears after the spell
is cast. The effects of this spell do not
protect the caster from any unusual effects of the victims blood.
Exchange (Necromantic/Alteration)

Level: 8
Components: V,S,M
Range: Touch
CT: 5 rounds
Duration: Permanent ST: Neg.
AE: Two creatures
Explanation/Description: This spell is
similar to the empath spell, except that it
allows the caster to transfer a hit-point
disability (of up to 2 hp/level of the caster)
between any two creatures, excluding the

caster. The magic-user must be able to

grasp both the creature with the disability
and the creature about to receive the
disability without having to make to-hit
rolls, so the two beings involved must
either be willing to undergo the spell or
else be sleeping or unconscious. The recipient of the disability is entitled to a saving
throw vs. spells if unwilling. If the recipients saving throw succeeds, the exchange
is incomplete and nothing further happens.
If the recipient fails the saving throw,
the disability passes through the magicuser, inflicting him for an instant. If such a
wound would normally place the magicuser below zero hit points, it immediately
does so, and the spell ceases; the creature
that first bore the hit-point loss is healed,
and the recipient is unharmed.
The material components for the spell
are the same as the empath spell, except
for a ruby (worth at least 5,000 gp), which
is shattered as the disability passes
through the caster.
If the risks of some of these spells seem
to outweigh the benefits, remember that
these spells deal with life and death
dangerous territory for magic-users. But
these spells offer new options in roleplaying. Empath and life force transfer
allow magic-users to perform heroic acts
of self-sacrifice without stepping on the
hem of the clerics cloak. Arnvids unseen
limb allows limbless victims to limp along
until a high-level cleric can be found. With
exchange, black wizards can trade lives
and white wizards can save them.
Can your magic-user do something to
heal his wounded comrades? Perhaps
now, the answer is yes.

OA6 Ronin Challenge

AD&D FORGOTTEN REALMS module
by TSR Staff

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40 AUGUST 1989

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Even prayers are useless

against the deck of many things
by Robin Jenkins

Its all there in front of you, Jared said,

scowling as he pulled on his beard. It took
hours to collect my notes and write down
all my observations.
And I appreciate the work youve done,
Basil replied, shuffling the sheets between
his open hands as the fighter looked on.
But these are merely words on vellum;
they lack feeling and conviction. The old
mage let the papers fall from his hands.
They drifted slowly to the hardwood table
below, each suspended by some magical
dweomer. The magician then leaned over
the table, his hands supporting him. His
milky, sinister eyes bored deeply into
Jareds hazel ones. These reports are
merely that-sound effects from a magic
wand, not the tangible experience.
Jared watched the papers spin like lazy
pinwheels until they landed, leaf upon
leaf, on the tables surface. The old guy is
such a dramatist, he thought. Hes difficult
to work for. Still, you had to admire his
flair....
44 AUGUST 1989

Basil settled into his high-backed chair.

Words are of little importance to me. I
read them by the thousands every day,
and still I know little until I feel the experience for myself. That is why I called you
here; it is your experience I require, not
your words.
Jared smiled and pulled a small, ornate
box from the pouch on his belt. If its
experience you need, he said, sliding the
box across the table, I suggest you go
through the deck yourself, one card at a
time.
The wizened mage stared stupidly at the
box before him. The boxs wooden trim
curled repeatedly upon itself like a nest of
carved snakes connected mouth to tail.
Pearly streams of inlaid ivory twinkled in
the candlelight like so many trickles of
spilled milk. Basil found himself mesmerized by the boxs intricate beauty and the
strength of its allure. With a sudden effort, he turned away from the box and
looked up at the man across the table. Do

not be sarcastic with me. I do not require

your information enough to bear the
barbs of your derisive wit.
There was silence, punctuated only by
the occasional caw of the spell-casters
familiar. Jared squirmed in his seat, roasting uncomfortably under Basils reprimanding glare. Another moment passed in
silence before the mage sat back in his
chair and crossed his hands. But I do
require your information, he said. Do we
understand each other?
Jared searched the mages eyes for his
motives. Unable to pierce the milky globes,
he nodded anyway.
Good. Lets begin. You will describe the
experiences of you and your party with
the deck of many things.2 As usual, I intend to read you. You know what that
means, of course?
Jared nodded again. Sure. It means you
dont trust me.
Perhaps. One cannot be too trusting in
these matters; you know that from our

past associations. I would not rely on you

if there were someone else more capable
and available. But as for trusting you, that
I cannot do. Thus, I must warn you: Do
not attempt to block my spell. You and
your friends have been well paid for your
services; I intend to get my moneys worth.
Likewise, do not withhold any information
from me; I will know in an instant if you
are hiding something.
Jared nodded blankly. The wizards
tirades grew less bearable with every
meeting. Besides, he knew the spell merely
copied words; it did not check for truth.
He would be truthful enough, though. If
only there were easier ways to earn gold.
Basil shuffled Jareds report into one pile
and set it to the side of the table. Pulling a
leather-bound tome from a rack, he muttered a brief, unintelligible phrase and
placed the open book before him. He then
drew a black quill from the inkwell and
laid it point first at the top of the page. He
muttered another clandestine phrase and
clapped his hands sharply together. Instantly, the quill sprang to life, floating
perpendicular to the open book, point to
page. Let us begin! The quill scratched
across the page.
Jared watched in silence. He had seen
the wizards tricks a hundred times and
was no longer impressed by parlor magic.
Basil stroked his mustache momentarily,
then extended his crooked, bony hands
toward the ornate box. Withered fingers
wavered above the wooden container,
then descended. Reverently, the mage
wrapped his fingers around the container
and lifted it level to his eyes. With one eye
closed, he examined the box, turning it
over and around in his hands several
times. Basil focused his thoughts as he
scrutinized the treasure. Dimensions: six
inches long by four inches wide by three
inches deep. Composition: mahogany,
perhaps, or possibly cedar. Weight: about
two pounds. Distinguishing features: ornate scrollwork, carvings of humanoid
facessix in allone on each box face.
Three smiling, three frowning. Smiles and
frowns appear opposite each other. The
faces appear to be those of pixies or even
leprechauns.
Basils eyes widened. The pen came to a
halt. The mage pulled the box closer to the
flickering candle, pulling himself closer as
well. Reaching into his cloak, he produced
a single, metal-rimmed lens and placed it
over one pale eye.

knees, hands mimicking the action of a

opening container. You kind of pull at the
top and bottom with both hands. Basil
stared skeptically through the flickering
flame. Trust me on this one, Jared assured. Its simple, and its the only way.
Nodding, Basil wrapped his crooked
fingers around the box and pulled. The
box remained closed. Basil shot a quick
glance at Jared.
Pull a little harder, the young fighter
suggested.
Basil pulled again, harder this time. Lid
and bottom came quickly and equally
apart, dumping ivory plaques all over the
table in clattering piles. A mask of uncertainty, then gradual horror, passed across
the wizards wrinkled face. The lens fell
from his eye. Speechless, he looked to
Jared for help. Jared blinked. The wizard
blinked. Each man remained transfixed by
the others ludicrous stare.
Styx in the Hells! Jared shouted. Hit
the floor! He dove face down under the
table. Basil stammered unintelligibly, unable to find his tongue. Just do it! Jared
shouted.
Basil pushed his chair back quickly. Two
of its legs caught in a crack between the
floorboards, sending both chair and occupant tumbling backward with a thud and a
yelp. Dizzy-eyed, Basil scrambled for
cover, bumping his head solidly against the
leg of the chair. He crawled beneath the
table, cowering.
Minutes passed in silence. Whispering,
the wizard ventured a question. What
happens next? he asked.
Jared remained silent, his face hidden
beneath his arms, his body convulsing.
Basil waited for another moment to pass.
What happens next? he repeated. Jared
continued to shake in silence. Slowly,
muffled sobs seeped from the fighters
hidden head; gradually, they were revealed to be muffled snorts. Within seconds, the fighter rolled onto
his back, wracked with
gales of
laughter.

Basil caught on quickly. Once again,

Jared had played him for a fool. Fear
turned quickly to anger as the mage slid
from beneath the table and jumped to his
feet. Boisterous ass! he shouted, his face
livid.
Unable to contain himself, Jared hooted
loudly, exploding in a fit of laughter. Tears
streamed from his eyes as he cradled his
stomach and pounded his feet against the
floor.
Basil slammed his fist against the table,
sending the pen bouncing into the air. You
irreverent toad! By the gods, Ill send you
to the Ninth Circle of the Hells for this!
Basil grabbed a book from his shelf, tore
open its pages, and began chanting loudly.
Jared saw thatand stopped laughing.
Wait a minute! the fighter shouted. I
was only joking. I didnt mean anything by
it! Wheres your sense of humor? Basil
continued his incantations and gesticulations. He ignored the prone and pleading
fighter, only glancing at him briefly to
chastise with his eyes.
Jared scrambled to his feet. Suddenly,
inspiration came to him. Theres a point!
he shouted. I was making a point!
The mages words trailed off into nothingness. He stared at the fighter for a long,
uncomfortable moment. Well: he said,
Im waiting. Dont waste my time or Ill
pick up reading where I left off!
Uh, the point is that the cards have no
effect unless you announce how many
cards youd like to draw, then pull them
from the deck one at a time.
Basil slammed his spell book shut with
an echoing thud. Jared smiled sheepishly.
Sorry: he offered.

Now all but forgotten,

Jared yawned.

Distinguishing features, Basil continued.

The scrollwork appears to form an elaborate maze, the paths of which connect to
each smiling and frowning head. Odd, but
there doesn't appear to be an entrance or
an exit to the maze. The mage traced a
yellow fingernail around the edges and
sides of the box. Likewise, there appears
no obvious means for opening the box.
How do you open it? Basil asked his
fidgeting guest.
Jared sat forward in his chair, elbows on

DRAGON 45

Basil maintained his scowl. I grow tired

of your sophomoric pranks. He made no
motion to sit again. Continue.
Right. As I was saying, the cards in a
deck of many things are enchanted to act
independently of one another, never in
concert. This makes it possible to flip the
deck over, look at the cards all at the same
time, and suffer no penalty. Of course, in
that case, all the cards appear blank. We
discovered this early on. In the course of
hunting for information on the deck, we
were fantastically lucky and found several
decks of many things. Most of these were
13-card vellum decks, although we did
find two 22-card ivory decks, one of which
you have now. In any event, the standing
joke in our party was to pull a card without announcing the pull, then show it to
an unknowing friend or party member. Of
course, the card was always blank, though
the victim of the prank seldom realized it
immediately. It was always good for a few
chuckles.
The pen, forgotten until now, came to a
halt. Basil grunted to himself and looked
down at the scattered cards. Something is
amiss: he said. These cards are blank.
True enough. As I said, the cards remain blank until the possessor announces
the number of cards he intends to pull:
one, two, three, or four. He can even announce that he wishes to pull them all.
All? Is that wise? Basil righted his chair,

46 AUGUST 1989

slid it to the table, and seated himself.

Jared took the hint that it was time to get
down to business, and he sat down, too.
No, but it is possible. You see, the purpose of the deck is to allureits ability to
entice greed. The deck is one of the most
perfectly random magical items known to
this world; it doles out good as well as bad,
equally and unequivocally. The more you
pull from the deck, the better your chance
of being burned. But the beauty of the
deck is in its balance. One pull and youre
wallowing in wealth; the next sees you
roasting in the Inferno. The thought triggered a memory. Vanel, you little weasel.
Jareds smile broadened to a grin. I told
you not to be too greedy. You should have
listened to me for once.
Basil broke the fighters amused reverie.
You lost a party member, I assume!
Jareds smile melted like a halfling in
Hades. Yes, we didour dear friend
Vanel. Ill miss the little wea, uh, fellow.
The keys, of course, are in the luck of
the draw and in knowing when your luck
is about to run out. Vanel, the halfling who
was our scout, lacked both. We warned
him of the inevitable consequences of
drawing too many cards from his deck. He
refused to listen. The fool was caught up
in the lure of easy success, but fate paid
him back in spades.
What happened to him?
All told, Vanel drew from his own deck

about six or seven times, and he was obscenely lucky. It was staggering. While
watching him, we discovered that once a
card is pulled from the deck and its effects
have occurred, often instantaneously, the
card goes blank. The card must then be
returned to the deck in order for the pack
to continue working its enchantment. If
the card is not returned to the pack, the
deck is useless; any cards pulled from that
point on are blank and nonmagical.
We feared for Vanels life, and in a
moment of stupidity, we hid his deck. In
turn, that night, he broke into our mages
backpack and stole another deck, one of
the two complete ivory sets. We found
later that he then pulled the Donjon card.
According to records found by Tomas, our
mage, the Donjon card signifies imprisonment by some spell or creature.
And is this not the case?
Well, it depends on the kind of deck
found. I'll explain the difference between
the decks in a moment. Anyway, when we
arose the next morning, we found Vanel
gone. At first we assumed that some creature had attacked him during the night.
Later, however, we, discovered the ivory
deck was missing. We then assumed that
his card-pulling greed was to blame, but
we had no way of checkingthat is, until
later. We had usually limited ourselves to
drawing only one card from any deck per
day; this we did with greater rigor follow,

ing Vanels disappearance. Then, on the

following day, Granick, our cleric, pulled a
card from his own deck. The result was
enlightening.
How so?
Granick drew the Knight. This card
grants the holder the services of a minor
but experienced fighterin this case, our
very own Vanel, fresh from the confines of
Hades.
Basil frowned. Wait. Im confused.
So were we, at first. After talking with
Vanel, however, everything became quite
clear. According to the halfling, he had
indeed pulled the Donjon card and had
been transported instantly to Hades,
where he found himself the target of
much abuse. Jared barely kept from smiling. There were others there as wellall
suffering the same torments for the same
bad draws. According to Vanel, these
people would remain in Hades until someone wished them back to the Prime Material plane or until some other card pull
resulted in a need for their person or
services. In this case, the Knight card
called for the services of a minor fighter.
Vanel, being a warrior as well as a thief, fit
the bill and was transported back to our
party to serve our needs. Needless to say,
Granick found many uses for Vanel. . .
more than the little fellow served our
party in his initial membership.
It would be of great assistance if I could

talk to this Vanel. He may have learned

more about the deckand about the Outer
planesthan he told you.
Would that it were possible. As I said,
Vanel is no longer with us. He suffered an
unfortunate mishap in combat and is
probably once again roasting on a spit in
Hades even as we speak. His curse seems
quite intact.
Of course. Your party has a high turnover rate, if I recall correctly.
True enough. Its our payment for high
adventure. Jared did smile this time, and
Basil rolled his eyes. In any case, Vanel
did prove to be of some use before his
untimely departure, and he even contributed a few answers to our quest for
knowledge. For example, although he was
transported to Hades, Vanel informed us
that the true power for the deck of many
things comes from the plane of Concordant Opposition; this he learned from a
knowledgeable sage who had suffered a
similar fate of imprisonment.
According to this sage, the powers of
Neutrality are at the core of the decks
power, and the enchantments of such
decks come from the plane of Concordant
Opposition. As Vanel discovered, any magical items, treasures, and the like that are
lost or gained as a result of the deck go to
or come from that plane. Items that are
lost are stored there, where they are used
by the gods of luck, depending upon their

needs or desires. Items gained by pulls

from the deck come from this point of
storagea realm so full of wealth and
magic that it would make even the richest
of adventurers drool with envy and.
greed. Jared unconsciously licked his lips.
Basil toyed with a blank card. And these
gods of luckthey are the powers responsible for the deck of many things?
It would appear so. As forces of true
Neutrality, such beings seem likely to
benefit from the dissemination of such
items in this world.
To what end? Why introduce something
as random and potentially dangerous as a
deck of many things? Surely there must be
a motive?
Jared smiled broadly, knowing he had
the mages curiosity piqued. There is. The
purpose behind the deck of many things is
to encourage risk. The god Vergadain, for
example, is a gambler. His followers are
dwarven rogues who wish for luck. What
better opportunity for luckalbeit both
good and badthan from the deck of
many things?
Basil stroked his beard as he digested
this bit of information. And these gods
are responsible for distributing these
magical items in our world?
Not entirely. They create and supply the
decks, but a worldly force actually distributes these items. Its simple. Look at the
box in which the deck is protected. See the

DRAGON

49

Lesser 13-Card Deck Results Table

Card

Sun
Moon
Star
Throne
Key
Knight
The Void

Flames
Skull
Ruin
Euryale
Rogue
Jester

Result

Gain one beneficial magical item worth up to 2,000 xp.

One limited wish is granted but must be used within one day.
Gain one point to prime requisite ability.
Charisma increases by one point.
Gain access to a genuine treasure map.
Gain the service of a 2nd-level fighter.
The drawers soul is captured by the card (as per the trap the soul
spell), and the card instantly teleports itself to the most dangerous
monsters lair or NPCs home within 100 miles. A wish can recover the
card; a limited wish only reveals the cards current location. The
drawers material body vanishes as well; burning the card frees the
captured drawer (but causes the deck and broken card to vanish).
Enmity arises between the card holder and a character of similar class
but opposite alignment. A monster may also be chosen. The being will
have levels or hit dice equal to twice that of the drawers level.*
Card holder is attacked by a wraith with 43 hp. If anyone besides the
card-drawer attacks the wraith, another wraith (with 43 hp) is summoned to attack the helper, and so on.
Lose half of all real wealth immediately.**
- 1 penalty to all saving throws vs. petrification for five years.
A random henchman or hireling will turn against the drawer, as per
the usual version of this card. However, this effect may be broken
with a remove curse spell cast upon the affected NPC.
Gain 5,000 xp or one additional draw.

* For a multiclassed player, use the highest-level class.

** This does not include magical items or possessions other than currency.

faces on the sides of the box? Theyre

leprechauns. The entire concept of the
deckrisk, fate, the punishment of greed,
and the reward of extreme luckfits in
perfectly with the nature of those mischievous imps. We took two of our decks from
leprechaun lairs. Some elven or faerie god
must have supplied those particular ones.
I see. You said something earlier about
there being two types of decks?
Correct. Actually, there are three types
of decks, though one is merely an
abridged version of another. The simplest
form is a low-power 13-card deck. These
decks are made of vellum and have fairly
weak rewards and punishments. The
lesser 13-card deck is found in a leather
pouch rather than a carved box. Aside
from these differences, this lesser deck is
identical to the others.6
As for the more powerful decks, there
are two sorts of them: another 13-card
deck and the full 22-card deck. I have
listed the inventory of these decks in the
notes before you; it would be easier if you
look at them after I leavewhich should
be soon, I fear?
Good enough. I have two final questions, however. My notes indicate unique
properties for several cards. We have
already discussed the Donjon card. Tell me
about the Void, the Jester, the Fool, and
the Idiot cards.
Jared sighed audibly. He was tired and
wanted only to get his payment and leave.
The Jester is an interesting but deceptive
card. Not only does it offer a gain of experience, it offers two more draws from the
50 AUGUST 1989

deck. The deception is that most people

drawing this card opt to draw the other
two. Tomas proved this point. His first
draw after the Jester was the Gem card;
this only encouraged his next draw all the
more. Unfortunately, his luck was fleeting.
The next card out of the deck was the
Idiot. It is a brief step from jester to idiot,
both in our world and in the deck of many
things.
Upon drawing the Idiot card, Tomas
immediately lost a substantial portion of
his intellect. As with the Jester, Tomas
received two additional draws if he so
chose. Tomas failed to learn his lesson,
though, and proved himself the greater
fool by drawing once more from the deck.
I thought you said he had two draws,
Basil interrupted.
He did, and he opted to take both. Unfortunately, the first card he drew was the
Void. He wasnt the same after that.
What happened?
The Void card, much like the Donjon,
severely punishes the card holder. In this
case, the possessors body functions, but
his soul is imprisoned on the plane of
Concordant Opposition. As when the
Donjon card is drawn, the deck disappears, presumably returning to the plane
of Concordant Opposition!
And what of Tomas? It was more a
professional curiosity than anything, as
Tomas was a fellow mage. What did you
do with his body?
Of what use is a mage who cant cast
spells? Jared grinned openly at Basil's
dawning horror.

Surely you didnt just let him wander

mindlessly. Not even you could be so callous as that.
Jared shrugged and laughed. Oh, we
found a number of uses for himprobably
more than he offered in his former incarnation. He now helps us check for pits,
traps, that sort of thing!
Basil was appalled. Damned inconsiderate, if you ask me. Basil turned to the stillscrawling pen and reread his notes. And
what of the Fool? What can you tell me of
that?
If there is any single card that best
personifies the deck, it is the Fool. Not
only is the holder punished by a loss of
experience, he is forced to draw twice
more from the deck. I was the victim of
the Fool. Fortune, however, made up for it
in my next two draws.
Basil nodded, then turned to scan his
notes. Jared leaned forward, hopeful of
leaving. The mage ignored him for a moment, setting the pen to the side and flipping back through his notes. Jared cleared
his throat. Are we finished?
Basil looked up from his work. Hmm?
Finished? I suppose so. He returned to his
reading. Jared rose from his seat, fidgeted,
and stood by the desk, waiting. Basil
looked up from his notes once more, disgruntled by the interruption. Is there
something you need? he asked.
Payment would be nice, Jared responded. The mage nodded slowly. It was
a routine they went through with every
service. Basil turned to the shelf behind
him, whispered a couple of words, and
pulled open a drawer. From it, he produced a small pouch of deceiving weight
and tossed it on the table.
You can count it if you like, the mage
suggested.
Jared grinned. Unlike you, Ill take your
word for it. The mage ignored the remark. Jared pocketed the pouch and
reached over to scoop up the scattered
plaques. Basils bony hand stopped him.
If you dont mind, Ill keep these cards.
Jared glared at the wizened mage and
saw greed glittering in his old, milky eyes.
But this is my personal deck, Jared
pleaded. Its never been used!
Nevertheless, I would like to keep it.
Consider it an expense, a part of our arrangement! Basil pushed the fighters
hand away from the table.
For a moment, Jared considered striking
the mage, scooping up the cards, and
bolting for the door. But striking any wizard, especially an old and slightly paranoid
one, was not wise. Then, too, his arrangement with Basil was difficult and tenuous
enough without the addition of battery to
worsen it. The decks had taught a few
lessons, some of which Jared had learned.
The foremost lesson was that no magical
item was worth dying for. Life was far
more precious.
Jared stared down at the plaques and
flipped a few over one last time. Then,
with a snarl, he swept his cloak around

him as he headed for the door.

Again, Basil jibed as the fighter
slammed the door, I thank you for your
services. With a smile of intense selfsatisfaction, the mage returned to his
reading.
The inside of the Belching Balrog Bar
was dark and dusty. Nevertheless, Jared
knew where to look; the party always sat
in the back. He saw Tomas first; his red
locks of hair and vacuous gaze made him
an unmistakeable landmark in any setting.
Jared shuffled through the crowd, took a
seat at the table, and ordered mead from
the barmaid. The others in his group were
already well into their third and fourth
drinks.
So, Renick asked, did you get the
gold? It was his traditional first question
after such sessions. Jared nodded. How
did it go?
The barmaid set the mead before Jared,
who quickly took a gulp and coated his
beard with foam. Quite well, except I lost
my new deck.
Lost it? How?
The old geezer decided to keep it for
himself. Said he needed it for research.
Research! Renick laughed. No doubt
hes pulling cards right now.
Jared smiled. Perhaps.
Renick looked at Jared curiously. Maybe
hell draw the Donjon. Thatd serve him
right, eh?
Jareds smile grew. Its doubtful hell
find it.
Renick leaned forward, his tilted gaze
and twisted smile digging for facts.
Theres something youre not letting on
about, he said. Whats so amusing?
Jared reached into his cloak as foam
dripped from his beard. Grinning toothsomely, he tossed a single ivory plaque
onto the center of the table. It clattered
momentarily before landing face up,
blank.
You see, Jared said, he isnt playing
with a full deck.
Footnotes

1
It is believed by some that the most
powerful deck of many things (the 22-card
ivory deck) has a special, magical allure. A
character looking for the first time at a
deck of this nature must make a wisdom
check on ld20 or be entranced by the
deck for l-4 rounds. In addition, characters so affected are more likely to draw
from the deck. (DMs should use discretion;
it is never advisable to force a character to
do something his player would rather not
have him do.)
The deck of many things is known to
many races by many names. For example,
the leprechauns (the distributors of many
decks) refer to it as the Deck of Fools.
Dwarves, who generally avoid such random magicks (in spite of Vergadains involvement), refer to it as the Deck of
Curses. To many lawful religious orders, it

52 AUGUST 1989

is known as the Deck of Chaosa misnomer, since the deck is the product of
true Neutrality. Nevertheless, clerics,
paladins, and other devotees of these
religious orders avoid these items unless
allured by the deck (see note 1). But not all
names for the deck of many things are
disparaging. Gnomes, who are noted for
their love of gambling, refer to it as the
Deck of Fate or the Deck of Luck.
3
Either type of wood might be used to
make a case for a deck of many things;
both hold magical dweomers quite well.
Cases made of other unusual woods are
possible.
4
If an attempt is made to pull cards
without first announcing a number, the
cards turn up blank and powerless. Once
the number of cards to be drawn is announced, other characters may pull from
the deck in place of the initial character,
thereby assuming the number of pulls
initially announced. Any character who
announces his intention to pull a new
number of cards from a deck erases any
previous number announced, so long as
that previous number of draws was not
completed; this makes it possible for one
deck to pass through many hands. As
stated on page 167 of the AD&D 2nd
Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, the deck
disappears once a number of pulls equal to
the currently announced number is
reached. Note that elective and mandatory
draws (as with the Jester, Fool, or Idiot
cards) may not be transferred to other
characters. Any attempt by another character to draw during this elective or mandatory period turns up blank, powerless
cards. The deck remains in this state until
the previous card holder makes his mandatory draws or relinquishes his right to
his elective draws.
When a deck disappears, it goes back to
the god who made it, who then places the
deck into circulation again by distributing
it to an appropriate agent (leprechaun,
thief, gambler, monster, etc.) If a Balance
card is drawn, the deck does not disappear, although the deck must be forfeited
either given to another character, sold,
or left behind. Until the deck is given up,
any card drawn from the deck is blank
and powerless.
If someone announces that he will draw
all of the cards from a deck, he is immediately compelled to do exactly that. Nothing
will break this compulsion, and the character is obviously doomed. No wish will
ever reverse the effects of the deck in this
event.
5
The gods of luck need not be entirely
Neutral themselves; but they all encourage
risk-taking. See the deities in Legends &
Lore for details.
6
This lesser deck offers results that
differ from those listed on page 166 of the
AD&D 2nd Edition DMG for the deck of
many things. See the Lesser 13-Card Deck
Results Table for details.

Editorial
Continued from page 5
work well together (see DRAGON
issue #103, The Centaur Papers,
and DRAGON issue #115, The Ecology of the Harpy), but more often
we just pick out the best such item
and return or discard the others.
Sometimes we discard all duplicates
to avoid overkill on a particular
topic or to avoid dealing with the
situation. (We rejected all samurai
and ninja classes sent to us for years
before the AD&D Oriental Adventures tome came out simply because
we knew no one would be pleased
with anything other than an official version of either class.)
We have a very healthy respect
for proper usage and fairness, and
we believe the majority of our readers share the same respect. Everyone takes pride in creating something entirely on his ownwell,
almost everyone.
The extreme was reached by the
writer who sent a short story to
AMAZING Stories a few years ago.
The story was quite good and was
on its third or fourth reading when
it was discovered that the story was
a plagiarized copy of Arthur C.
Clarkes The Nine Billion Names of
God. One word had been changed
early in the tale, but otherwise it
was identical to the original. We
wont discuss the legal horrors that
befell the author of the story, nor
the academic horrors that befell the
student who plagiarized The Ecology of the Minotaur from DRAGON
issue #116 and turned it in to his
high-school teacher for an assignment. His teacher was already familiar with the AD&D game and called
our offices to ask about the story.
Borrowing, independent invention, and copying will always be
around, but steps can be taken to
reduce their effects. Writers can
consult the appropriate legal
sources to protect their rights to
their materials, and well keep our
records in order and count on our
readers to look for things we might
miss. With a little effort, we can
share the best of our readers creative works to benefit the entire roleplaying hobby.
But please, dont send any more
brown, gray, rainbow, stone, rock,
or purple dragons to us. We have
lots, thanks.

World War II:

Here, now, and in
your computer!
by Steve Estvanik

Christmas comes to the Ardennes. Your tiny squad steals warmth from sputtering fires amidst the
ruined cloisters of a small abbey Then the soothing crackle of the fire is interrupted by one of your
two forward spotters, returning with word of a German attempt to infiltrate your position. Shortly
thereafter, firing breaks out. You move your squad forward to investigate, arriving to find the other
sentry wounded and pinned by heavy weapons fire from the vicinity of a small hut. Deploying the rest
of the squad, you start the tedious and dangerous game of crawling through the abbeys gardens. The
deadly hide-and-seek game ends abruptly when a figure rises from the hedges and breaks away Your
best rifleman tracks, aims, fires, and brings the figure crashing down in the brush.
The wounded German somehow regains the gardens safety and slips into its dark embrace. You split
your team, sending two men to track the wounded man while the rest of your squad turns its attention
to the Germans firing from the cover of the gardeners hut. You send your machine gunner forward,
covered by a crossfire from the rest of the squad. Once hes in position to provide support for the
squad, you send in the squad. Your grunts crash into the hutbut find only one wounded German.
This wasnt the main group! Where are the other infiltrators? As you search for the rest of the German
patrol, you hear new firing breaking out from the area where your lone sentry watches in the orchard
to the south. . . .

o begins another SNIPER! computer

game, as adapted for the world of
electronic games on the CompuServe
Information Service. I converted TSRs
SNIPER! board-game series into a multiplayer, online computer game, combining
war-gaming strategy with role-playing
emotional impact. Players from around the
country can access CompuServe using
almost any microcomputer with a modem,
usually through local phone connections.
Once on CompuServe, you can find other
gamers with similar interests in the various forums, or go directly to the games
themselves (just type GO SNIPER at any
system prompt).

The Saloon

You start as a recruit in the Sniper Saloon & Salad Bar, a friendly place where
you can pick up the local gossip, brag
about your wins, and explain your defeats.
Here you can also challenge other players
from around the country to a SNIPER!
game. If no one else is available, you can
play the computerized opponent to hone
your skills or try some new tactics. For the
raw recruit, a friendly drill instructor
waits in Bootcamp to show you how the
game is played. In addition, you can check
to see if anyone has beaten your best
scores by examining the Halls of Fame.
Finally, extensive keyworded help is available to answer your questions about the
game.
The game was designed to be easy to
play. Even if its your first time, you can
play a game and try the commands. If you
make a mistake, the program will show
you what your command should have
been. This is a big advantage over board
games, as you dont have to read through
pages and pages of rules before beginning
play. As you become more proficient, you
can try the less-used commands or learn
the subtleties of the commands you already know.

In addition to playing games, you can

conduct reconnaissance. This feature lets
you watch any of the games in progress,
so you can pick up pointers from the
veterans or gain insights into the skills of
your future opponents.

The weight of command

The SNIPER! game is straightforward.

You have a small squad of soldiers under
your command. You play the Germans or
the Americans, somewhere in western
Europe during World War II. There are
two basic missions:
Patrol: This is one of the most common
types of squad-level infantry combat. Two
opposing squads, Alpha and Bravo, meet in
no-mans land between their front lines.
Both squads are on general patrol with the
primary goal of gathering information.
The firefight that results is usually brief.
Both sides want to sweep through the area
and get away with enough men to make a
useful report of the encounter.
Infiltrate: In this case, the Alpha force
must cross from one side of the map to
the other, exiting the map at Bravos Victory Point area. Bravo must try to stop
Alpha.
Since the game is played in real time,
you never have to wait to give commands.
The syntax (how each command must be
input into the computer) may look forbidding at first, but its actually easy to remember. (If you dont remember it, the
computer will show you the proper syntax
for your command.) Commands include
EVade, FIre, HElp, MAp, MOve, RAdio,
SIghting, TRuce, and more; each has its
own special syntax and options. For example, when you FIre, you show which of
your soldiers will fire, then you choose
between targeted or directional fire. Targeted fire requires the code letter of the
enemy soldier you want to shoot. Directional fire only requires the direction in
which you want to aim.

Playing the game

The online SNIPER! game is continually

updated. Each command takes a variable
amount of time to be executed, so orders
are stacked for each soldier. This lets
you give multiple commands to one or
more guys, then turn your attention elsewhere. Of course, as well see later, there
may be additional problems if you split
your group too many ways.
Real-time movement and action are two
major differences youll notice if youve
played the SNIPER! board game before
trying the online game. Most board games
and many computer games use some sort
of pulsed or sequential movements. Its
difficult to make a reasonable simultaneous action game without a computer. For
board games, the best that can be done is
to allow players to write orders and then
execute all orders at the same time. A realtime game has a completely different feel
to it. Things are constantly happening. You
never need to wait for your opponent.
Instead, you have your squad carry out
your plans, reacting to the enemys moves
as you become aware of them. However,
this necessitated a redesign of some of the
original games features. Gone are the
pulses, rounds, and other stepwise parts
of the game. Recovery phases are gone,
too, but in a real battle, the two sides dont
stop for several minutes while people run
around to help allies recover from panic.
Instead, when a soldier panics, he recovers at a later time largely dependent on his
panic rating (an individual trait of your
soldiers).
Another major change was the shift to a
square-grid map. Since the computer
doesnt mind the extra calculations, diagonal and sideways movements are easy to
calculate correctly. Thus, while your
squad faces one direction, your men can
move in several other directions relative to
their facings. This lets you do things such
as fall back while maintaining covering
DRAGON 55

SNIPER! Computer Game: Sample Screen and Sighting

Sighting for your troops

Legend

&
n
#
+

= trees
(arrows indicate individual facing)
1 sights A, B, D, F, G
= hedges
2 sights B
= building wall
= interior wall
3 sights E, G
4 sights all, but can shoot at none of them
. = clear outdoor space (period)
' = interior space (apostrophe)

- = window (hyphen)
; = border (semicolon)

1 - - - - - - - -

6 - - - - -

K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V

; & & & . . . . . . . . . . . n

; . & & . . . . o . . . . . . n
; . . . . . . . o . . . . . . .
; . . . . . . . # # # : # # # #
; o o o o o o o # ' ' ' ' + ' '
; . . . & & A\. -<I<2 ' ' + ' '
; . D \ . . . . B \ # ' ' ' ' ' ' '
; . . . . . . F\# - # # #<3 # #
; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
; . . . . G \ . E \ . . . . . . . .
; . . . . . . . . . 4 > . . . . .
; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

fire against anyone coming after your

retreating squad.
Perhaps one of the nicest aspects of a
computer game is the elimination of dice
and tables. The information is still there
for study, but you dont need to read and
absorb it in order to play. Its much easier
for a novice to start the game.

Nuts and bolts

In the CompuServe version of the

SNIPER! game, one of the most important
concepts is that of activation. This is a
rough measurement of a soldiers responsiveness and initiative, based on his training and motivation, and it serves as an
indicator of the probable time it takes a
soldier to perform an action. Activation is
a continuous, real-time function in the
online SNIPER! gameif you have your
soldier wait for a minute, he waits for one
minute. A units responsiveness and training vary with its nationality, and activations vary by individual. Though you
cannot predict a soldiers precise performance in the game, youll learn that an
Activation 2 soldier will perform much
better on average than an Activation 5
soldier. Youll give the essential tasks to the
high-activation guys, and let the slower
soldiers perform less vital tasks.
Panic ratings are assigned to individuals
by nationality, based on historical parameters. Panicked soldiers normally fall to the
ground and remain there for a randomly
determined amount of time. They cant do
anything until they recover, so they are
very vulnerable. The one bright spot is
56 AUGUST 1989

1 1 - - - - - - - -

Sighting for your opponent's troops

(slashes indicate individual facing)

A sights 1, 4
B sights 1, 2, 4
D sights 1, 4
E sights 3, 4
F sights 1, 4
G sights 1, 3, 4

1 6 - - - .
.
.
#
'
+
+
#
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
'
'
'
#
.
.
.
.

that your opponent cant tell which of

your men have panicked. However, a
panicked soldier may bolt if hes frightened badly enough, causing him to run
madly in a random direction.

New features

The online SNIPER! game has real hidden units. No longer will you be able to
watch what your opponent is doing with
his counters. You dont even know where
he starts on the map; you only know his
men are somewhere in front of you. This
is especially nerve-wracking in the Infiltrate scenarios, in which the entire Alpha
squad can exit the map without ever coming into contact with Bravo.
Its easy to coordinate movement on a
gameboard, where you can see all the
units at once. In online SNIPER! games,
though, your view is limited; so you face
another tough choice. You can keep your
squad together and see everything thats
going on, but you risk getting flanked or
even taken from behind. Or you can
spread. out, perhaps forming two or three
fire teamsbut while youre giving orders
to one team, another may be ambushed.
The game becomes a balancing act as you
seek to keep all teams active and healthy.
The successful leaders achieve this balance. For the successful ones, there are
fame and promotions. For the others,
theres the Eastern Front!
Another area that received treatment
different from that in the board game is
the concept of sighting. Now, any soldier

can sight. Sightings only last for a short

time, though; youll see enemy soldiers
briefly, then theyll disappear again unless
you can maintain a line of sight (LOS) to
them. This is more realistic than the situation in board gaming in which you can
always tell where the enemy is because of
the use of cardboard counters. (A blind
game helps recreate this fog of war, but
the process of searching still reveals much
about where the searching units are and
which areas most interest the searching
player.)
When the computer controls the information about both sides, you can have
true fog-of-war situationsunits appear
from behind a hedge, fire, then drop back.
If you manage to wound an enemy soldier,
you dont know how quickly you should
follow up. If he panicked, he will be unable to respond when your men move in
to finish him off. On the other hand, he
might be waiting there for you, hoping
youll make a better target. (The reverse
can be true, tooyour entire squad may
have panicked, but the enemy wont know
this. All the enemy will know is that none
of your squad members are moving or
firing. A crafty player can create lulls like
this on purpose to lure the enemy forward.)
This method of sighting makes for an
extremely tense game. Some of the scenario maps are modeled after the hill
villages of Italy, with twisted streets and
tiny alleys with close-packed buildings that
usually have interconnecting passageways.
Clearing a block of buildings is not easy
when you dont know the exact position of
every defender. Even if you see a sniper
fire at you, he can be far away by the time
you get your units into place. Youre
forced to move from street to alley and
from room to room, carefully sighting and
shooting as you move in each new defensive position. An opponent with enough
nerve might let you pass his covered position, then attack from the rear. You never
really know how secure your position is.

Coming attractions

One of the pleasures of working with an

online game is that the program itself can
evolve, based on player feedback and
comments. Rules, scenarios, reports, and

maps can change to allow the game to

grow with its players. Some changes will
be made available to all players. Other,
more advanced rules may only be available after a certain level of rank is achieved
in the game by a player.
There are also the maps. In the initial
release of the SNIPER! computer game,
there are six scenarios grouped around
the two basic missions. The maps are
unique, each including terrain features
such as schools, churches (complete with
cemeteries), a monastery with cloisters,
orchards, stables, country houses with
gardens and hedges, and small villages
with winding streets and tight house-tohouse problems. In future versions of the
game, more maps will be available, and
eventually players will be able to create
their own maps. In addition, players will
be able to influence the terrain to some
extent. The addition of grenades and other
explosives means that some terrain will be
destroyed. Smoke and fire will complicate
your sighting problems, and when the
smoke and fire pass, there will be rubble
where once a cottage or cornfield stood.
You will even be able to play a game in
which a bombing raid is conducted before
the game starts, so that the maps are
different every time you play.
Smoke will be generated from any explosion (and lots of it will be generated by
smoke grenades). Each game will have a
wind direction (and possibly wind velocity,
tool, so the smoke will drift. Smoke will be
shown on the map as red asterisks that
cover almost anything that's in that sector.
If smoke covers a sighted enemy unit,
youll see him for a short timethen hell
disappear. Your units will show up
through the smoke, possibly colored red to
indicate they are enveloped in smoke.

Signing up

For more information about the CompuServe Information Service, call toll-free:
(800) 848-8199. You can also write to:
CompuServe, 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd.,
PO. Box 20212, Columbus OH 43220.

The firing to the north crescendoes,

then diminishes while the sentry peers
into the night. Then, without warning,
bullets ricochet off the stone wall behind
him. The squad has been flanked, and hes
now the only one who can stop the German penetration. He squeezes one last bit
of cover from the wall and checks his
ammunition. The enemy will be coming
soon. Their covering fire begins. . . .

58 AUGUST 1989

Forum
Continued from page 32
This is in response to Karen S. Garvins A
Horse of a Different Color article tissue #141).
As a miniatures painter, I find Through the
Looking Glass invaluable. Karens discussion of
the color of horses is no exception.
There are, however, a few points she seems to
have overlooked. There is a sixth group of horse
coloration: the albino. True albinism (pink eyes
and a total absence of pigmentation) doesnt
occur in horses, but any horse that is born
white or almost white is called an albino. The
most common form of albino is a cream-colored
horse. These cream-colored albinos tend to
breed true (they pass their color on to their
offspring), while many white albinos do not.
The eyes of albino horses may be dark brown,
light brown, or blue glass! Another coloration
is dun, which is yellowish-brown to mouse-gray,
with a dark or black mane and tail, dark points,
and an eel stripe down the spine. (Buckskins are
a subgroup of duns.)
Likewise, under the category of gray horses,
Karen left out perhaps the most striking colorationone that is relatively easy to duplicate on a
miniature. A gray horse is born black or dark
brown and gets lighter with age. Dapple-grays
are lightly spotted in gray and white patterns,
giving them a mottled appearance. These dapples may be thought of as white spots with illdefined edges on a gray background, or as gray
rings on a white background. Some dapplegrays are almost uniformly dappled from head
to toe; others are lightly dappled on the neck
and shoulders, with a blanket of darker dapples
on the rump. Dapple-grays may have light or
dark manes and tails and might have dark
points on their legs and muzzles.
To get this effect on a miniature, start out
with a coat of white paint on the entire horse.
For a lightly dappled horse, merely dab all over
with light gray paint, in a random but fairly
even pattern. This will give the horse a subtle
mottled appearance. For a more striking and
darker dapple-gray, start with a slightly darker
gray. Mottle the face and neck with light stabs
of gray paint on the white coat. As you work
toward the rear of the horse, continually but
gradually darken the shade of gray. When you
get to the haunches, begin carefully painting
tiny rings, leaving small white spots showing
through. This will give the horse a distinctly
dappled appearance. Continue the dapples
down the legs, letting the dapples blend into a
solid gray on the lower halves. Dark dapple-gray
horses are likely to have dark gray manes and
tails and dark or black points. Light dapple-gray
horses are more likely to have light manes and
tails. Most dappled horses will have dark brown
eyes, although blue is possible.
Other horses may be dappled as well. While a
grays dapples are its normal coloring and will
change only as it gets older and the gray slowly
turns white, dapples on other horses may come
and go with the seasons. Bay horses, for instance, often get dappled coats during the early
summer. These dapples are a sign of a healthy
coat and may disappear later in the summer as
the horses skin becomes sunburned. Chestnuts,
buckskins, and cream albinos may also get
dapples. For a dappling of any color, use the
same techniques as for a gray; simply darken
the color of paint you used for the main body

and dab it on as dapples. Lightly dappled solidcolored horses tend to have most of their dapples on their haunches. Some horses may be
heavily dappled over the entire body.
When putting markings on horses, remember
this: The pigmentation that causes white hairs
may also cause blue eyes and light-colored
hooves. One horse I know has a small streak of
white jutting out from his blaze to cover one
eye; it looks like a tear, and the eye is a startling
blue. The horses other eye is brown. Horses
with white markings on their legs will often
have light hooves; the hooves of horses with
dark points will be dark. Some hooves will be
streaked light and dark in correspondence to
white spots on their otherwise dark legs. (In her
discussion of Appaloosas, Karen mentioned that
Appaloosas usually have pink and black vertical
stripes. I assume shes referring to their hooves.
Some buckskin or dun horses, however, have
horizontal black stripes on their upper legs,
much like a zebra has.) Most horses hooves
arent black, unless polished or painted to look
that way. They tend to be horn-colored, ranging
from a creamy pinkish color to a dark grayish
brown. Karens advice to use coral pink or a
very dark gray to paint the hooves works for
any color horse.
Pinto coloring will also affect mane and tail.
Where white patches meet the mane or tail, the
white coloration will be continued. Manes and
even tails can thus be light and dark in patches
as well as the main coat. Appaloosas will often
have streaked tails and even manes to match
their spots.
Another color type thats relatively easy to
render in a miniature is the roan. A roan has a
uniform sprinkling of individual white hairs on
a brown, reddish, or black coat. Some roans
have white mixed in with their entire coat;
others have patches of roan on a solid-colored
coat. Dry-brushing with white can be used to
turn an otherwise dull horse into a roan. Care
must be taken not to put the white on in spots
or streaks, however.
As for the specific merits of horses of certain
colors, its all a matter of fashion. The Spaniards
bred many spotted horses (the ancestors of the
Appaloosas were bred by the Nez Perc Amerindians), which were much sought after in Europe
until fashion dictated that riding such showy
horses was vulgar. Cowboys thought that duncolored (buckskin) horses were the hardiest, so
they bred for that color as well as for stamina
and hardiness. This produced many dun horses
of high quality. Napoleon never rode a horse
that wasnt gray. But the truth of the matter is
that color is not a reliable indication of quality.
One of the chestnuts I know is the complete
opposite of the high-spirited and temperamental creatures Karen mentioned. But thats not to
say that color doesnt affect riders choices of
mounts!
My advice to painters who wish to have truly
extraordinary horse miniatures is this: Find a
book or calendar with color photographs of
horses and take your inspiration from that. The
range of coloration and markings is inexhaustible and can turn a plain old, boring brown
into a truly outstanding miniature.
Ann Dupuis
Brighton MA

The monsters are coming! The monsters are coming!

1989 by Jim Bambra
Monsters have always been an integral
part of fantasy role-playing games. At the
most basic level of presentation, monsters
provide ready-made antagonists for the
player characters to cross swords with or
blast with their magic spells. Everyone
remembers with fondness his first adventure, when he traded blows with the evil
orcs or mindless undead that lurked in the
local dungeons. In the first few gaming
sessions, the physical descriptions of your
opponents, coupled with the knowledge
that they are going to chop your character
into pieces unless you get them first, suffice to maintain your interest. Theyre
orcs, right? They are up to no good, and
they hoard the gold and magical items that
your character wants.
60 AUGUST 1989

As time goes on and you gain more

experience with the rules, the simple joys
of monster bashing begin to wane. Players
begin to look for more in their monsters
than a series of statistics. Monsters with
well-defined personalities and motivations
help fill this need. and so does the use of
narrative adventure structures in which
the adventurers feel that they are playing
a pivotal role in the development of a
campaign or a single adventure.
Over the years, fantasy role-playing has
developed tremendously. The large number of background supplements and
sourcepacks now available are witness to
our desire to find out more and more
about the worlds in which our characters
adventure. Campaign supplements are

now an established part of most companies new releases. The majority of products
focus on humans and demi-humans, providing background on how people live in
the various fantasy worlds. Over the
years, a few products have taken a similar
look at the cultures of some of our favorite monsters. Gone are the days when a
paragraph or two on each monster would
cover all our gaming needs. Now we look
for details on how these creatures live and
breed, and why they act as they do.
This month, we look at some products
that feature monsters of one sort or another. Each of the products approaches its
subject from a different angle, showing
some ways monsters can be portrayed
within fantasy role-playing games.

Ents of Fangorn

A MERP game supplement

48-page book
Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc.
$12.00
Design: Randell E. Doty
Editing: Coleman Charlton
Cover illustration: Angus McBride
Interior illustrations: Liz Danforth
J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth is a world
rich in background and myth, and is one
of the most developed fantasy worlds ever
published. With its tales of epic struggles
between Good and Evil, and the more
mundane but no less gripping stories
concerned with the struggles of individual
elves and men, Middle-earth is more than
just a gaming setting. Considering the
depth and detail already present there, it
comes as no surprise that I.C.E.s MIDDLEEARTH ROLE-PLAYING (MERP) game
should boast a large number of campaign
supplements. Of these, the Ents of
Fangorn supplement offers a detailed look
at Tolkiens ents.
Many tales abound in Middle-earth concerning ents. Some portray ents as dangerous monsters that slay all who enter their
forest; others believe ents are extinct
creatures of legend. The people bordering
Fangorn Forest are wary of entering its
alien and menacing interior. Only orcs risk
battles with ents.
The ents are the treeherders of Fangorn
Forest. Being large, treelike creatures
themselves, the ents care for the trees of
their forest. But time has not been kind to
the ents. As men and orcs have spread
across the lands of Middle-earth, they have
chopped down large areas of the forest to
feed their fires and make room for their

settlements. The once-mighty forest of

Fangorn has been greatly reduced. Many
of the ents are themselves turning
treeish, preferring to stay in one place
and sleep. But not all of the ents of
Fangorn Forest are as friendly as
Treebeard, the old ent in Tolkiens The
Lord of the Rings. Other ents are more
violent in their outlooks, preferring to slay
intruders rather than talk to them.
Fangorn Forest is also home to the
huorns, or tree spirits: creatures that lie
somewhere between ents and trees. Most
huorns are quiet and docile, but a few are
bent on destruction. These huorns are a
danger to all who encounter them, including ents.
Ents of Fangorn is a good example of
how to portray monsters in an interesting
style, while still staying true to the splendor and learned feel of Middle-earth. It
does so by presenting ents and their environment in the form of straightforward
descriptions. The main source of inspiration is, of course, the writings of Tolkien,
particularly the chapter in The Lord of the
Rings where the two hobbits, Merry and
Pippin, first encounter Treebeard. The
information provided by Treebeard about
the ents, including his story of the
entwives, is faithfully reproduced in this
product. In addition, further insights into
ent life and culture are extrapolated from
the available background. The supplement
makes for interesting reading and portrays the ents as a deeply motivated race
with an ancient history. The rich legends
and stories, which Tolkien did such a
masterful job of integrating into The Lord

of the Rings, are used in this supplement

to further define the background of
Fangorn Forest.
The background sections on the ents of
Fangorn are relatively complete and cover
all the major areas of interest concerning
ents, Fangorn Forest, and the forests
environs. The maps and illustrations are of
high standard and do much to enhance
the atmosphere of the work.
Ents of Fangorn is less successful in its
handling of the adventure sections, which
are particularly thin when it comes to
presenting narrative elements. Detailed
descriptions of orc-infested dungeons
form the major part of these adventures.
The dungeon descriptions are reminiscent
of the early days of adventure design,
when suitably tooled-up parties would raid
the lairs of local monsters. The two adventures dealing directly with ents are very
skimpily outlined, giving no feel for how
to handle encounters between PCs and
ents. In fact, all of the adventure outlines
are short on character interaction and
role-playing.
Also, the unique atmosphere of Fangorn
Forest is hardly used at all. This is a pity,
as Fangorn Forest is a rich setting that, in
the hands of a skilled adventure writer,
would provide some memorable gaming
sessions. Instead, random encounter tables
are used to handle a partys passage
through Fangorn Forest. The tables are
okay if you like that kind of thing, but
dont expect any colorful or useful staging
tips. Just roll to see what the PCs run into,
then hit them with it.
Evaluation: Ents of Fangorn is a useful
DRAGON 61

product for GMs who like their monsters

depicted in a scholarly style. This is done
remarkably well while staying true to the
writings of Tolkien. As a book on ents,
Ents of Fangorn has many uses outside of
its MERP setting, but it would have benefited from more development, particularly
in showing how this product could be
used to stage and run adventures. Ents of
Fangorn is useful for its background, but
if you are after a source of adventures,
you are advised to look elsewhere. This
supplement is available from Iron Crown
Enterprises, Inc., PO. Box 1605, Charlottesville VA 22902.
Into the Troll Realms
A RUNEQUEST game supplement
48-page booklet
The Avalon Hill Game Company
$9.95
Design: Greg Stafford and Sandy Petersen
Editing: Lynn Willis
Cover illustration: Steve Purcell
Interior illustrations: Daniel Brereton
Cartography: Charlie Krank
This booklet takes a markedly different
approach than Ents of Fangorn in its treatment of monsters. Here, the emphasis is
very much geared to a narrative style of
presentation. By describing trolls in their
natural habitat and by allowing PCs to
interact with them through role-playing,
rather than through violence, Into the

62 AUGUST 1989

Troll Realms clearly shows how trolls can

be used as colorful and interesting NPCs.
Into the Troll Realms offers little in the
way of hard background facts on trolls;
that is left for the forthcoming Trollpak
supplement, an update of a supplement
previously published by Chaosium in 1982.
In fact, Into the Troll Realms is itself an
updated part of that previously published
work. It is to Greg Staffords and Sandy
Petersens credit that Into the Troll Realms
can be extracted from a larger work and
still be well written and useful.
Into the Troll Realms contains three
detailed adventures and three smaller
encounters that can either be played on
their own or integrated into the larger
adventures. The smaller encounters may
also be used in a variety of ways, and the
designers offer many suggestions as to
how PCs came to be involved in the first
place. Instead of getting a bunch of randomly generated monsters that rush at the
party, we get encounters that have lives of
their own.
The first encounter details a troll caravan, which is evidence that the RUNEQUEST games trolls are not the unthinking brutes that many adventurers might
assume them to be. We meet a troll merchant and his helpers as they travel with
their caravan of riding and pack bugs.
This is followed by an encounter with
some assassins, then we get a firsthand

look at a trollkin horde. This latter

encounter is excellent; it builds steadily in
atmosphere and gives us neat and evocative images of how trollkin think and act.
Surprisingly, this is achieved in less than
one page of text.
Now we get to the real meat of the package. Many player handouts with factual
and false information regarding trolls are
available to the PCs at the start of the first
two adventures, from the PCs employers
and other sources. These well-written
background materials can also be used to
form the basis of some short role-playing
encounters between the possessors of the
information and the PCs.
The adventures are of a uniformly high
quality and emphasize role-playing over
combat. Thats not to say that PCs wont
find plenty of opportunities to engage in
combat, but theyll miss out on some great
role-playing encounters if they stir up the
trolls unnecessarily.
Id like to tell you more of the details of
the adventures, but that would only detract from your fun should you ever use
them. Ill just say that the encounters are
excellent examples of how to stage and
present adventures. Groups that enjoy
chatting with interesting NPCs will find
lots of ways to amuse themselves.
As an added bonus, Into the Troll Realms
comes with the rules for playing Trollball,
an ancient game much loved by trolls. The

objective is to carry a live trollkin over the

goal line more times than any other team
during a game. Its kind of like rugby
football, but with a live ball that runs
away from the players if given the chance.
In the event that the trollkin dies during
the course of the game, another trollkin is
snatched from the spectators to take its
place.
Evaluation: Its good to see that material for Chaosiums RUNEQUEST game is
again becoming available, particularly
when the material is of such high quality.
Into the Troll Realms should be in everyones gaming collection. Grab a copy for
inspiration and to enjoy some excellent
monster-oriented encounters. Into the
Poll Realms is available from The Avalon
Hill Game Company, 4517 Harford Road,
Baltimore MD 21214.
GAZ10 The Orcs of Thar
D&D game Gazetteer
48-page DMs Book, 48-page Players Guide,
large 2-sided color map, one sheet of
game counters, and a 6-panel cover
TSR, Inc.
$9.95
Design: Bruce Heard
Editing: Gary L. Thomas
Cover illustration: Clyde Caldwell
Interior illustrations: Jim Holloway
Cartography: Dave Sutherland
The Orcs of Thar is the tenth in TSRs
series of D&D game Gazetteers. Each
Gazetteer details part of the D&D games
Known World, providing information on
culture, society, history, geography, economics, and prominent NPCs of a given
nation. On the whole, the Gazetteers are
excellent and in many ways surpass recent
releases in the AD&D game line.
The Gazetteers have also made a significant contribution to the rules of the D&D
game-not in a gratuitous way (rules are
not added for the sake of adding new
rules) but in order to enhance the background and flavor of a particular setting.
New rules have been added to deal with
character skills, mechanics for handling
sea and overland trading expeditions, new
character classes, and several new types
of magic: Glantrian, runic, and shamanistic, as well as the magic of the merchant
princes of Minrothad, the elves, the halflings, and even the dwarves. To allow
players and DMs of the AD&D game to get
in on the fun, recent Gazetteers have also
included guidelines on converting the
Gazetteers for use with the AD&D game.
With the appearance of The Orcs of
Thar, the D&D game returns to its roots
by allowing players to take on the roles of
monsters: dirty, smelly, depraved humanoids, the kind of scum that players love to
hate. When originally published in 1974,
the D&D game gave some very skimpy
guidelines on using monsters as player
characters. When new editions appeared,
these rules disappeared, and the D&D
game became decidedly human and demihuman oriented. Now, The Orcs of Thar

gives the opportunity to play the bad guys

in a detailed and humorous campaign.
The Broken Lands is where The Orcs of
Thar is set, but many of the modules rules
and background details are readily portable to other settings where humanoids
live. The material is fun to read and informative, and The Orcs of Thar does an
excellent job of describing the lifestyles of
orcs and other humanoids. The Gazetteer
is also humorously illustrated by Jim Holloway; anyone who has seen West End
Games PARANOIA game will be familiar
with Holloways fun-filled art, and here he
does an excellent job of capturing the
flavor of humanoid life.
So, what do we get in The Orcs of Thar?
First comes the Players Guide, providing
an introduction to the Broken Lands and a
humanoid character generation system for
players and DMs. The Players Guide gives
us the history of the various humanoid
races as seen through their own eyes. It
then describes the current situation in the
Broken Lands with a look at the 10 tribes,
their beliefs, and the areas they inhabit.
Next are new rules for generating humanoid player characters, including kobolds,
goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, bugbears,
ogres, and trolls. All of these creatures are
capable of increasing in experience levels,
all the way up to the dizzying heights of
36th level. To maintain game balance, the
larger creatures start off as younger members of their race and must earn experience points before they become fully
grown monsters, as detailed in the D&D
rule books. For example, an ogre begins its
adventuring life as a Youngster with only
2d8 + 1 Hit Dice; a troll begins as a Whelp
with 3d8 + 1 Hit Dice. On the other hand,
the weaker monsters, such as goblins and
orcs, start life as fully mature adults. As all
monster types adventure, they gain additional experience levels that bring increases in Hit Dice, saving throws, and
combat abilities. The system handles these
different types of creatures in a smooth
and integrated manner. Being big has its
advantages, since you start with more Hit
Dice than the other creatures, but it takes
you far longer to gain additional Hit Dice
than it does for the lowly kobolds, goblins,
or orcs.
To help players get into their new roles,
there are tables and suggestions for generating height, physical appearance, and
outlook. All this makes for very wellrounded characters with distinct personalities. As in other Gazetteers, various skills
are available to further add-depth and
interest to the characters. Optional rules
cover many of the more humorous elements of humanoid role-playing. Humanoids dont like shiny new weapons and
armor; beat-up, rusty equipment makes
you look mean and fierce, but it might
break or fall apart in the middle of a fight.
The information in The Orcs of Thar is
also valuable to DMs running conventional
campaigns. Player characters, once they
get to medium levels of experience, are

frequently scornful of the threats posed

by humanoid opponents. As a consequence, humanoids are encountered only
in very large numbers or not at all. With
these new rules, humanoids are going to
earn a lot more respect from human and
demi-human adventurers. That bunch of
orcs up ahead could easily be a party of
8th-level NPCs out for some action. Are
you sure you want to mess with them?
Humanoids are renowned for their love
of battle and mindless slaughter, and for
acting in an obnoxious fashion. To help
them maintain such high standards of
behavior, Thars Manual of Good Conduct
has been prepared. This comes as part of
the Players Guide but is intended to be
pulled out of the booklet, chopped up, and
stapled into a smaller booklet that describes life in the humanoid army. This
humorous booklet gets players and DMs
into the right mood for engaging in humanoid role-playing.
The Dungeon Masters Booklet continues
with the same overall flavor as the Players
Guide. Here, the DM gets the real history
of the humanoids and the details on the
major NPCs active in the Broken Lands. It
also includes new rules for playing shamans and wiccas. These nonhuman spellcasters were first described in the D&D
Master Set; they are the clerics and magicusers of the humanoid races. By dedicating themselves to one of the humanoid

DRAGON 63

Immortals, humanoids can gain spellcasting abilities.

The DM is provided with plenty of information about the best way to stage and
present humanoid adventures, along with
a large number of adventure outlines and
one full-blown adventure. The adventure
outlines do a superb job of capturing the
flavor and atmosphere of humanoid adventuring, with plenty of opportunities for
groveling and attacking the hated humans.
Theres even Oenkmar, a detailed orcish
city for humanoids and humans to explore, as well as the rules for tlachtli: a
ball game played in Oenkmar. This is similar to soccer, but played with a rubbery
ball in an area resembling a squash court.
Tlachtli players carry wooden clubs that
they use to beat their opponents senseless.
A board game is also included in The
Orcs of Thar Orc Wars is set in and
around the Broken Lands and features a
power struggle to see wholl be the top
humanoid. Its good fun. Orc Wars first
appeared in DRAGON issue #132; the
games counters in The Orcs of Thar are
printed on heavier stock than was used in
the magazine, easing their handling and
making this Gazetteer a great value for the
money.
Evaluation: The Orcs of Thar combines neat monster descriptions and backgrounds with a colorful and humorous
narrative style of presentation. Couple this
with its high-quality graphic presentation,
and you end up with a product that no
one should be without. The Orcs of Thar
is wonderfully conceived and executed.
Even if the idea of having humanoid characters doesnt appeal to you, the background material in The Orcs of Thar still
makes it a valuable contribution to your
campaign. Miss this one at your peril.
AC 10 Bestiary of Dragons and
Giants
A D&D game supplement
64-page booklet, 2-panel folder, and a
Dragon Spell Generator
TSR, Inc.
$8.95
Design: James Ward, Warren and Caroline
Spector, Steve Perrin, John Nephew,
Thomas Kane, Gary Thomas, John
Terra, Deborah Christian, Ray Winninger, Rick Swan, Vince Garcia, Bob
Blake, Scott Bennie, and Bruce Heard
Editing: Deborah Christian
Cover illustration: Larry Elmore
Interior illustrations: Wanda Lybarger and
Roger Raupp
Cartography: Dennis Kauth and Ron Kauth
This anthology, dedicated to dragons and
giants, takes a look at how these highpowered monsters live, work, and relax.
The book kicks off with an overview of
the lifestyles of dragons and giants, followed by short adventures that feature
the various giants and dragons. The adventures take place in different locations
and are written for a wide variety of character levels.

The Bestiary of Dragons and Giants adds

little to our knowledge of dragon and giant
lore. It doesnt set out to greatly expand
the information already available concerning dragons and giants, but instead redefines it slightly and provides a ready
source of adventures that can either be
played as stand-alones or dropped into an
ongoing campaign. Of special interest are
the game aids that come with this product.
The inside of the cover folder shows the
relative sizes of the various huge monsters. The monsters are artfully rendered
and are a great aid when it comes to describing these creatures to player characters. In case anyone doubts that storm
giants are really big, you can flash this
picture at him and let him see that even a
6-tall human fails to come up to a storm
giants knee. But even a storm giant looks
short compared to an adult red dragon.
To help DMs generate spells for dragons,
the Dragon Spell Generator has been
included. This nifty device requires a bit
of construction, but once completed, it can
be used to determine which spells the
various normal dragons and the powerful
dragon rulers prefer. It also comes complete with the statistics for each type of
dragon, thereby avoiding any referencing
of the rule books. This can be a great
bonus when you consider that the D&D
game rules are spread across a total of
nine books.
Evaluation: As an anthology, the Bestiary of Dragons and Giants is quite bitty.
But since its major role is to make available a wide variety of adventures about
monsters, this is less of a problem. This is
a book to dip into for ideas or to find a
suitable adventure at short notice, and less
a work to be read from cover to cover. If
your prime concern is to have a ready
source of adventures available, then the
Bestiary of Dragons and Giants is a useful
product. As a source of detailed background information, as found in Ents of
Fangorn or The Orcs of Thar, the Bestiary
of Dragons and Giants adds little to our
knowledge of these creatures.

is available from Steve Jackson Games,

Inc., Box 18957, Austin TX 78760.
TSEl Web Of Deceit, by Bob Kern. TSR,
Inc. $8.95. This 64-page book is the first in
a three-part series for the TOP SECRET/
S.I. game. It pits the player characters
against the evil schemes of the WEB organization. The action takes place on the
fictitious Caribbean island of San Cristobal. With over half the book dedicated to
describing San Cristobal in a colorful and
game-oriented style, Web of Deceit has a
very loose and free-flowing flavor. Instead
of forcing the GM to quickly make up
areas and NPCs when the PCs head out to
explore parts of the island, the GM can
turn to the section describing the part of
the island in question and use the encounters and NPCs listed there. The second
part of the book is dedicated to the adventure proper. When combined with the
background material, it adds up to a very
impressive piece of espionage role-playing.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Officers
Manual, by Rick Stuart and John Terra.
FASA Corporation. $15.00. Players of STAR
TREK: The Role-Playing Game and fans of
the new Star Trek series will find the
major changes and advances made in the
Star Trek universe described here. The
book goes into great detail on uniforms,
insignias, starships and their weapons, the
Ferengi Empire, and how the older aliens
of the original series and movies have
changed in the intervening years. Updating the STAR TREK game to include information from the new television series is
made easy with this book, and devourers
of Star Trek trivia will be kept pleasantly
engaged. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Officers Manual is available from FASA
Corporation, PO. Box 6930, Chicago IL
60680.

Short and sweet

GURPS Ice Age game, by Kirk Tate.
Steve Jackson Games, Inc. $7.95. A game
centered around cavemen and woolly
mammoths? The GURPS Ice Age game
takes this unusual subject and does a firstclass job of turning it into a credible and
detailed setting, including lots of background information and a gaming environment that makes a distinct change from
other settings. This book gives you the
lowdown on early man, rules for using
these characters in a GURPS game, shamanistic magic and spells, and details on
how to set up a prehistoric campaign. The
included adventure is suitable for play
over 2-3 sessions and does an admirable
job of capturing the flavor of life at that
time. The GURPS Ice Age game is also a
handy sourcebook for GMs running timetravel or lost-worlds adventures. This one
DRAGON

65

1989 by Hartley,
Patricia, and Kirk Less&

Of prophecies, candles, and killer canaries

The voting for the Beastie Awards continues, but for only a few more issues.
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Beastie Awards are our way of recognizing
outstanding accomplishments in the field
of computer gaming. Send your vote to:
The Beastie Awards, 179 Pebble Place, San
Ramon, CA 94583. Become part of an ongoing tradition: Vote for your Beastie!

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P.O. Box 3048
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(415) 329-0800

Prophecy

***

MS-DOS version
$39.95
Employing a marvelously effective magic
system, Prophecy is one of the latest fantasy role-playing games to arrive for PC/
MS-DOS computers. We reviewed the
game in its EGA mode and are delighted
with its on-screen color, animation, and
graphics. Prophecy is bound to please
most gamers, despite one or two minor
68 AUGUST 1989

drawbacks. The game can be played using

either the keyboard or the joystick. The
key to Prophecy is learning to avoid conflict at times to complete your quest.
Combining arcade action and roleplaying skills, the game starts when you
find the citizens of CrissCross, your hometown, are slaughtered. You recall the
words of an ancient prophecy that predict
a hero will appear to vanquish Krellane,
the villain, and his Empire. Perhaps you
are that hero!
Leaving CrissCross, you make your way
to a church for the guidance necessary to
complete the prophecy. Adversaries block
your route, and you must fight with only a
shield and gauntlets. Through the judicious use of magic, you can win through
to the church.
Seek, my child, the goblin crown of
mind absorption, states one priest. Return it to a church, and more guidance
will be given. Go now to the right alcove
and pray for transport? Following the
priests advice, you are told that once you
have been magically transported to the
goblin capital city of Gobar, there is no
easy way back to CrissCross. You are then
sent on your way.
As you journey through Gobar, you
realize that discretion is always the better
part of valor. Many of the goblin guards
that appear on one screen simply cannot
keep up as you move to another screen.
Through careful use of your joystick, you
can quickly enter a screen, note the position of stronger opponents, then withdraw. Then you can reenter the screen at
a better place. You can also change weapons to better attack certain opponents.
Prophecy is not copy-protected, so it can
be installed on a hard disk drive. The
game includes both 5.25 and 3.5 disks.
If you dont have a mass-storage device,

the game is playable from the floppy disks,

but some disk swapping is required during
the game. Prophecy supports CGA, EGA,
VGA, MCGA, and Tandy 16-color graphics
boards.
One of the most pleasing aspects of
Prophecy is that you can save the game at
any stage of play. The CONTROL S dual
keypress is required. Before leaving one
screen we found this keypress was the
best action to take. Should the next screen
prove to be more than a match for your
character, you can enter CONTROL L and
reload the saved game. You can also control the games speed, turn the sound on
or off, and activate the joystick or keyboard control at any time.
The joystick is by far the easiest method
for moving your character. To activate
whatever object your character is holding
(such as a sword, bow, or potion), press
the first joystick button. To retreat quickly,
press the second joystick button. If you
dont have a game card installed in your
PC/MS-DOS machine, you can use the
numeric keypad to move the character.
Your character will continue to move in
the direction of the last keypress until you
press the 5 key to halt, then enter the
next direction command.
Other keyboard controls include:
The A key, space bar, or first joystick
button: Attack, using the item in your
characters hand (be certain you have
(E)quipped your character appropriately).
The R key: Review the last message
(great for those times when you forgot to
take notes).
The L key: Search for traps in the
immediate area.
The O key: Opens doors, chests, gates,
etc. (if you are using the joystick, simply
moving toward the gate or chest opens it).
The M key: Memorize spells. Enter the
Magic screen, which shows 10 spells your
character has memorized. Each spell number corresponds to one of the 10 function
keys on your computer. The screen shows
the name of the spell and the number of
spell points it costs to cast. When you
press the function key corresponding to a
spell, the spell goes off in the direction
your character faces. The higher your
level, the longer your spell lasts. To memorize a new spell (there are 31 spells), you
simply move the cursor to a spell that you
wish to replace. Press RETURN, then type
the name of the new spell and press RETURN again. You can also enhance a specific spell by adding a prefix to the spells
name. For example, the prefix Kru means
that, when cast, the spell will affect 13
squares (watch out for backsplash!).
The E key: Accesses the Equip screen,
where you can alter your characters
armor and weaponry. Because your character can only have five items in use at
one time, and because your weapons
needs change a lot, youll use this screen
often.
When you enter the throne room of the
Goblin King to retrieve the goblin crown

of mind absorption, note that there are

three powerful enemies to overcome in
this room and that your character is still a
novice. Think carefully before jumping
into the fray. After the fight, you must
find your way back to the stairs you used
when you entered the city. The stairs will
take you to the next adventure.
The game also possesses its share of
dark humor. For example, in the tax office,
some of the books to be found on the
shelves are titled C.O.D./Cash or Die, I.R.S./
Infernal Revenue Service, and U.P.S./
Universal Peasant Servitude.
When you start a new section of the
game, you are asked to identify the creature displayed on-screen by matching it
with one pictured in the users manual.
The published pictures of these beasties
are rather blurry and not easy to identify.
You must type in the creatures correct
name, not the name youd think was the
creatures true identity. For example, a
rather bearlike nastie is described on page
eight as Helf (wolflike, carrying a bowl,
Lord of Ertaxia. Youd think to enter the
word Helf, but youd be wrong. You must
enter Lord of Ertaxia. If you dont correctly identify the creature after two
attempts, the game locks and you must
reboot the PC.
Some lack of planning is apparent in
some creatures you might encounter. For
example, an evil archer was awaiting our
character in a room with three walls laid
out in a rough T shape. Upon entering the
room, our character was protected by a
small wall. That didnt stop the archer,
who immediately began firing arrows into
the wallarrow after arrow after arrow.
Not only would a half-intelligent archer
wait until he saw his target, but there is
no way that archer could have an unlimited supply of arrows, Your characters
arrow count limits you to the number of
arrows you are carrying, so why not limit
the opposition as well? And to continue
firing into walls is a rather futile gesture.
We enjoyed playing Prophecy If you
enjoy arcade-style games with a hint of
adventure, Prophecy is a good purchase.
The game does not require much thought,
and there are no exasperating puzzles to
solve. There are 28 animated characters,
more than 60 weapons to use, and seven
dungeon levelsmore than enough
goodies to keep your joystick from stagnating. This is a good game for beginners in
computer gaming or for those who have
some experience in fantasy role-playing
games but want a little more action-based
adventuring Activision gives PC/MS-DOS
users an adventure game for their micros
that supports the adage that there are
good games for IBM micros and clones.

Prophecy: A true
hero never gets a
break.

Prophecy: Lovely
scenery may hide
terrible foes.

The Magic Candle:

Youre deep in the
woods, when
suddenly.

Mindcraft Software, Inc.

(distributed by Electronic Arts)

2341 205th Street, Suite 102
Torrance CA 90501
(415) 571-7171
DRAGON 69

The Magic Candle

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the

TSR logo are trademarks owned by and used
under license from TSR, Inc. 1989 TSR, lnc. All
Rights Reserved.

70

AUGUST 1989

***

MS-DOS version
$49.95
As if by magic, here is another excellent
PC/MS-DOS adventure game for IBM micros or compatibles. The Magic Candle
exemplifies a new approach to an otherwise overpopulated genre of computer
gaming and is well worth investigation by
any PC/MS-DOS user. Available in formats
for PC/MS-DOS machines and the Apple II
family for $49.95, and the Commodore 64/
128 computer for $39.95, The Magic Candle is an enormous adventure that spans
the entire continent of Deruvia. Not copy
protected, the game uses a common
method of ensuring that only authorized
owners play the game (a word must be
entered from a specified page number and
column from the users manual).
The forces of darkness have gained
footholds in Deruvia. The players goal is
to somehow halt a magic candle from
burning out. Once the candle is extinguished, an evil being named Dreax will
escape from the candle to wreak havoc on
Deruvia. You have accepted King Rebnards call for a hero, and its up to you
and five stalwart companions to prevent
the influx of peril into the lands.
The game initially places you in the role
of Lucas, but you can rename this character as you wish. You must select five companions from many volunteers. All have
various skills and talents, and only after
careful selection will you be able to adventure forth with some degree of competence. The list of volunteers includes elves,
humans, dwarves, mages, halflings, rangers., and more, all with interesting personalities, possessions, and talents. Note that
Ziyx, the final volunteer, is probably the
greatest wizard who ever lived in Deruvia;
he has the Book of Sabano.
For our initial adventuring party, we
selected Lucas (who owns a short sword),
Nehar, Sakar, Ziyx, Eflun, and Alhan. With
two wizards able to cast two varieties of
spells, and with Nehar and Alhan able to
fire arrows at the opposition, both Lucas
and Sakar can then handle hand-to-hand
combat with those who penetrate our
wilting fire and magic blasts. However, all
action in The Magic Candle requires energy. Youll be quite surprised at how
quickly ones energy can dissipate, especially in combat.
Fortunately, there are two major methods by which you can increase a characters energy. The first is by having a mage
cast an Energy spell on each character
(but only after hes cast it upon himself
first), and the second is by eating the
Sermin mushroom., Other goodies that can
enhance a characters capabilities include
potions, dried leaves, and seed pastes.
Other items that youll find handy range
from rope (to help you get through those
mountains) to pearls (quite useful as a
trading item). Lockpicks, boots, shovels, a
lens (for reading scrolls), and blankets are
all available at stores.
Another goodie packaged with the game

is a four-color map that shows the major

areas of interest in this land. Remember
that every move requires energy, and
when night falls, one of the best ways to
restore depleted energy is to sleep. With
one member of your party on watch, any
sneaky opponents will be spotted before
they reach the party.
One of the most admirable features of
The Magic Candle is the ability to split
your party into different groups. Each
group can then explore or work without
waiting for other groups to complete other
tasks. For example, should you find a job
for Alhan at Port Avur, he can (D)ivide
from the party. You can then place your
highest-charisma characters in another
two-member party to investigate the possibilities around town, speaking to all they
encounter. The remaining three party
members can purchase supplies at various
stores. If specific training schools are
found for various members of your questing party, those members can be separated
from the main group to undergo their
training. In Port Avur, your fighters, wizards, and archers will find training
schools, and the training can be undertaken to the benefit of the entire party
without wasting time. And time is valuable; in the upper right hand corner of the
screen, youll be constantly reminded of
the number of days remaining before the
magic candle totally melts and releases
Dreax.
The game screen is divided into four
information areas. The main screen graphically represents the area where your
party is located. In a town, youll note
individual buildings and nonplayer characters. When traveling, youll be offered a
broad view of the region and, should an
encounter occur, the picture will zoom in
to a more personal graphics level.
The Command screen reveals the commands that are currently active for your
particular screen and are accessed either
with the cursor keys or your joystick. The
more interesting commands include:
ATTACK: This command only works if
you are confronting one of the Minions of
Darkness. However, youll feel foolish if
you havent DRAWN your weapon first!
BEGIN: This is the command for activating a rest period. It also allows you to
select a divided group in case you wish
them to do something while others are
resting or learning spells. When you access BEGIN, the time begins to tick by until
you press the spacebar, ending the rest
period. Should you be resting on the trail
when an encounter occurs, youll be awakened to protect yourself.
CHANT: Applicable for magic spells that
can be learned by talking with many of
the NPCs. Your partys survival is dependent upon proper spelling.
EAT What you have to do to ingest
mushrooms, potions, food, and so on. If
you dont eat, you don't survive.
FIX: Weapons get dull in combat, and
sometimes an axe handle might break.

This command allows you to repair weapons and hone them to a near-perfect state.
FLEE: One heck of a way to escape from
particularly obnoxious monsters. Unfortunately, it eats up energy levels.
FORMATN: Short for formation, this
command rearranges the members of
your party. Highly useful for putting fighters up front and spell-casters in back.
LEARN: Your wizards need this command to learn the available spells.
MAGIC: How you cast an active spell
that has been RECALLed.
RECALL: A magic-users must RECALL a
spell before it can be cast.
VIEW: A bird's-eye view of your quarter
of Deruvia, with a blinking dot showing
where your party is currently located.
The Information section is in the upper
right hand corner of the screen and has
six subsections. Here, youll read the current date and time and see whether it is
light or dark outside. Every five minutes,
the time changes. This is called a click:
Data regarding your partys current position is next. If youre inside an edifice,
youre notified of your current level; if
you are outdoors, longitude and latitude
are shown. Also revealed are the number
of days remaining before the magic candle
has melted away, leaving the land at the
mercy of Dreax. A party formation box
shows you the current positions of each of
the the six members of the party.
The last graphic box is the Status Summary area, where the current action direction is always highlighted. Also within this
area is a description of the partys current
location. This is always helpful, since your
party can not only travel on foot, but by
ship or through teleportation.
If you want to check out the current
statistics for any party member, you simply enter the number of the character you
wish to investigate. Be sure to remain
aware of the health indicator, since your
characters can become tired or exhausted
if they dont obtain enough rest or food
while traveling and fighting. The second
screen for each character reveals his
inventory, including coins, food, and up to
23 different objects. Also shown are any
spell books in that characters possession.
The Magic Candle contains dwarves,
elves, halflings, men, and wizards. Professions include carpenter, fighter, gemcutter, knight, mage, mercenary, metal
smith, ranger, and tailor. Several towns
offer employment for those who possess
certain skills.
The Magic Candle is a very harmonious
adventure that requires the player to
control every movement of the characters.
You can divide your party for additional
investigations, question many nonplayer
characters, and become embroiled in an
adventure that will require many hours to
complete. Despite graphics that are less
than state-of-the-art (even in EGA mode),
The Magic Candle is an addictive game and
will provide PC/MS-DOS gamers with
weeks of exciting entertainment. Mind-

craft has certainly furthered the cause for

game development in the IBM and compatibles arena.

ews and new products

Broderbund Software

17 Paul Drive
San Rafael CA 94963-2101
(415) 492-3200
Broderbund Software has released Wibarm for PC/MS-DOS computers. Pronounced WE-barm, this is Broderbunds
first entry into the category of action roleplaying games. While very popular in
Japan, this genre is relatively new to
North America.
The game features high-speed arcade
action combined with puzzle-solving
depth. In the game, the player must recapture Government Citys orbiting power
plant before it explodes and pulverizes the
planet. The Minister of Power, Dr. Bester,
has suddenly disappeared and malignant
monsters have seized control of the plant.
More than 30 monsters will be encountered. To be successful, the player must
master Wibarms three-phase form, complex dual-level weapon system, and
psychol-link amplification. The player
must race through one mazelike city after
another and go far into space, constantly
battling a menacing menagerie of loathsome monsters while using 10 different
weapons of increasing power. The program is priced at $39.95 and supports EGA
and CGA graphics. Wibarm is packed with
one 5.25 disk and one 3.5 disk.
Cinemaware

Corporation

4165 Thousand Oaks Boulevard

Westlake Village CA 91362
(805) 495-6515
Cinemaware Corporation has released
The Kristal, a 3-D interactive stage production for home computers. Based on The
Kristal of Kronos, an original stage musical, this science-fiction epic brings the look
and feel of a Broadway performance to
home computers. High drama and humor,
abound as the player takes on the role of
Dancis Frake, a space pirate who seeks the
long-lost Kristal of Kronos. Emerging from
a timeless dream with no memory, Dancis
must discover the secrets of his past as
well as his future on this colossal adventure. The Kristal defies categorization as it
includes elements of graphic adventure,
space exploration, and arcade action.
Scores of lifelike animated characters
interact with the player, providing clues to
the quest. If a spaceship is acquired, the
player can travel to planets throughout
the galaxy on his search to locate the
mysterious Kristal. When the going gets
rough, action abounds, as numerous adversaries attempt to obliterate Frake and
his plans to save the universe. Intense
swordfighting encounters and heated
space battles are just part of the action.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the

TSR logo are trademarks owned by and used
under license from TSR, Inc. 1989 TSR, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
DRAGON 71

This game is available for Commodore

Amiga and Atari ST computers for $49.95,
with a PC/MS-DOS version available later
at the same price.
Epyx, Inc.

600 Galveston Drive

Redwood City CA 94063
(415) 368-3200
Just released by Epyx is Devon Aire in
the Hidden Diamond Caper. Set in mysterious Crutchfield Manor, this is the first
discovery-genre game that requires the
player to extensively interact with a number of objects in the household to solve the
puzzle. Lady Crutchfield III has hired catburglar extraordinaire, Devon Aire, to find
the collection of precious stones that her
eccentric (and deceased) husband Montague hid in the manor. This might seem like
a simple task for a man of Devons talent,
but the manor is huge and the floor plan
defies explanation. There are surprises
around every corner, such as secret passageways, hidden doors, barricaded entrances, and numerous dead ends. Killer
canaries and mutant pig-mice, the results
of failed genetic experiments, stalk the
rooms. The game is now available for the
C64/128 and Atari ST computers. It will be
offered in formats for PC/MS-DOS machines, the Apple II computer family, and
Commodore Amiga computers during the
fourth quarter of this year. The suggested
retail price for the C64/128 and Apple II is
$29.95, for PC/MS-DOS machines is $39.95,
and the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga
prices are $49.95.
Technoidcolorgrossarama is the latest
development in action/strategy games
from Epyx. One such game is Axe of Rage,
a game that has it all: barbarians, a princess, fast action, an evil sorcerer, gruesome monsters, a noble and heroic quest,
and a sense of humor. The player chooses
the character of either Gorth the Barbarian or Princess Mariana. Their quest is to
find the evil sorcerer Drax and stop him
from shrinking humankinds brain capacity in an attempt to throw civilization back
millions of years. Gorth/Marianas weapon
is the Axe of Rage, which must be wielded
with might and accuracy. From a simple
high or low chop to flying neck chops,
points are scored for each successful
blow, depending upon the difficulty and
execution of the move. This is currently
available for the C64/128 computer for
$34.95. Future versions include PC/MSDOS micros ($39.95), and the Commodore
Amiga and Atari ST computer ($49.95).

lue corner
Pool of Radiance (SSI)

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the

TSR logo are trademarks owned by and used
under license from TSR, Inc. 1989 TSR, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.

In the slums, use plenty of Sleep spells.

Small monsters have an annoying habit of
swamping low-level PCs with sheer numbers. Sleep usually works against every
thing that has one hit die. For the best

start, there is a hidden treasure in the NW

corner. Get it for a boost in experience.
Under Kutos wall are some catacombs
where bandits lurk. The leader of this
band, Norris the Gray, is tough; the easiest
way to kill him is to throw Sleep and Hold
Person spells at those around him, holding
him safely in the middle of that group.
Then kill him with your archers. In Mendors library, it is easiest to take out the
scepter with Magic Missiles, as they automatically hit their target.
Once you have the treasure in the Textile House, get it past the thieves under the
wall. It contains a magic item.
In Kovel Mansion, there are a number of
hidden treasures. Search for them.
When you meet the nomads, agree to
fight with them against the kobolds. Youll
obtain lots of treasure.
When fighting the goblins, first take out
the wyvern. Then, after the third wave of
kobolds, exit and rest outside the caves.
In the temple of Bane and the wealthy
quarter, search for hidden treasure.
In the buccaneers den, get the pass
from the man by the wall.
In Zhentil Keep, get into one of the
barracks after the alarm rings. After slaying the guards, keep ramming against one
of the end walls. This will limit the number of troops accompanying the leader to
about a dozen.
In Stojanow Gate, it is easiest to sneak
through and rest in the towers after you
fight the ettins.
In Valhingen Graveyard, take out the
groups of undead and the specters in the
towers one by one.
You can also reproduce items such as
magic armor and other valuable items
such as Wands of Lightning and Necklaces
of Missiles. First, load the saved game.
Second, remove a character (not the character with the item you wish to reproduce). Put another character in the
removed characters place. Give all the
items to this added character. Then, remove this character and turn off the
game. Repeat until you have enough items
to keep the party well stocked.
Aleck S. Johnson
Claremont CA
Ultima V (Origin)

Watch out for the keep in the mountains

west of the Bloody Plains: all three
Shadowlords might be present at any time!
When in Cove, talk to a fighter at the
healers at midnight. You will gain a clue to
the location of the Mystic Arms of the
Avatar.
The Glass Sword, which will keep a
Shadowlord from bothering you if you
happen to meet one, is hidden in a clearing in the Serpents Spine Mountains.
A Spiked Collar will protect you from
the pendulum in Blackthornes Castle.
The Crown of Lord British is in the top
floor of Blackthornes Castle. The Crown
can protect the wearer from ANY magical
attack, no matter how powerful.

The Scepter can zap any lock on any

door or chest and is hidden in the Underworld.
The diary that comes with the game
should be carefully read. Follow the diarys directions. Where the skiff was, it still
is, as are the bodies of the three knights.
Favorable characters to incorporate into
your party include:
Katrina (5th-level fighter, New Magincia);
Geoffrey (3rd-level fighter, Buccaneers
Den);
Captain John (Underworld, in his ship);
Mariah (3rd-level mage, Lycaeum);
Julia (2nd-level bard, Empath Abbey);
Gwenno (3rd-level fighter, Britain); and
Dupre (3rd-level fighter, comes with a
two-handed sword and good armor,
Bordermarch).
Characters you should not incorporate
into your party include:
Toshi (1st-level bard, Empath Abbey);
Maxwell (1st-level fighter, Serpents
Hold);
Gorn (3rd-level fighter, Blackthornes
dungeon); and
Saduj (4th-level bard, Lord Britishs
castle).
Saduj is rather a rotter. When you enter
combat with another creature, he will try
to kill all members of your party. He poses
as a gardener in Britishs castle.
You know not to take food from fields or
tables, but that doesnt apply to robbing
houses. Search bookcases, barrels, fruit
trees, stumps, dressers, vanities, and
trunks. In Blackthornes bedroom, for
example, there are about six Summon
Daemon scrolls. In Moonglow, youll find
one Negate Time Scroll, Cure Poison (red)
in the healers bedrooms, Healing Potions
(yellow) in healers rooms, and Resurrection Scrolls.
Search the graveyard in West Britanny
and youll come up with a Resurrection
Scroll and a Regeneration Ring.
If you are lucky enough to find trolls
under a bridge, fight them. They give you
experience, gold, and sometimes gems.
If you ever meet ettins, fight them, unless there are more than four or you are
not in tiptop condition. They give a Summon Daemon Scroll and a Resurrection
Scroll. They can also give you bags of gold
and sometimes a Spiked Collar.
If you meet dragons, try to leave. They
can summon daemons, and then the
daemons are the major threat. If you go
into combat with a dragon and win, you
can get enough treasure to satisfy your
financial needs for a long time. Magic
Bows are also in dragons chests.
For those who arent quite up to dragons, reapers serve well. They can be very
dangerous, so fight with caution; use some
Vas Flam spells first, then concentrate
your missile attacks on one of them and
fight both. They can give lots of cash.
If you meet wisps, get away. They are
far too dangerous.
Try to stay away from water creatures,
as they offer no treasure after theyve

been eliminated.
There is an Ankh hidden in Cove.
If you wait by a Moon Gate until it sinks
into the ground, search the area. There
will be a moonstone there that corresponds to the Moon Gate. Get the moonstone and bury it (by using it); when it
comes time for the Moon Gate to rise, it
will rise in the spot where you buried the
stone.
Sometimes the armorer in the Buccaneers Den is in a good mood; when you
sell him items, he gives you triple normal
price.
Find a sextant with Pirate Dave in a
lighthouse.
Amanda Gupta
Pasadena CA
That wraps it up for this issue. Our
thanks for your interest in this column,
and we hope we are reviewing the games
you wish covered. If not, let us know.
Until next time, game on!
Most product names mentioned in this column are
trademarks owned or licensed by the companies that
produce those products. Use of the name of any
product without mention of trademark status should not
be construed as a challenge to such status.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the

TSR logo are trademarks owned by and used
under license from TSR, Inc. 1989 TSR, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.

by Jim Bambra

Around The
World In
3 6

Levels

Exploring the D&D Gazetteers

(without getting lost)
Yeah, sure. The D&D game? Its all about
going down holes in the ground; whacking
the monsters, and grabbing their treasures.
Once youve done it often enough, you go up
a level. You get tougher and tougher, and go
down deeper and deeper holes. The monsters
get bigger and bigger, and one day you wake
up as an Immortal. Its gross; how can you
take 20th-level characters seriously, never
mind 36th?
Is this what the D&D game means to
you? If so, think again, because the game
is much, much more.
For a long time, the D&D game has
taken second place to the AD&D game.
The D&D Basic Set gave guidelines for
running classic dungeon adventures. With
its clearly presented systems, it served as
an ideal introduction for newcomers
entering the world of fantasy role-playing.
However, while guiding players and DMs
through their first adventures, it lacked a
consistent campaign setting in which to
base future adventures. The world surrounding the dungeon existed only in an
abstract sense: It was a place you went to
be healed between adventures and to buy
more monster-bashing equipment.
78 AUGUST 1989

The arrival of the Expert Set went a long

way toward rectifying this situation. It
opened up the great outdoors, allowing
characters to move around aboveground
and interact with the many diverse peoples populating the world. As they progressed in level, characters were able to
settle down and build strongholds. But
many gamers, instead of continuing their
characters into the realms of Expert play,
opted for the more detailed and complex
systems of the AD&D game.
The reasons for this were many and
diverse. The AD&D game was perceived
as being more solid and real! It offered
more dramatic settings and opportunities
for character development. TSR, Inc.
supported the AD&D game more than the

D&D game, offering adventure modules

galore, a campaigning area in the WORLD
OF GREYHAWK setting, and the steady
flow of hardbacked rule books focused the
spotlight firmly on the AD&D game. But
all was not quiet on the D&D game front.
The Companion Set, while primarily
dealing with characters of levels 15-25,
contained lots of information relevant to
lower-level characters. Specialist character
classes appeared; the druid (a subclass of
the cleric), and the paladin, the avenger,
and the knight (all subclasses of the fighter) were all available to characters of 9th
level and above.
The founding of a stronghold and the
development of its surrounding territory
was given detailed treatment in the rules
on dominions. Dominions could be clearly
defined and made an integral part of a
campaign. As well as clearing out the evil
monsters which lurked in their new holdings, characters could become involved in
developing and expanding the lands under
their control.
While characters could still participate
in dungeon and wilderness adventures,
they could also lead armies using the
Companion Sets War Machine rules. This
set of abstract rules made it possible to
maneuver armies around the countryside
and fight large battles in an easy and systematic fashion. If world domination was
one of your characters goals, then the
War Machine gave you the opportunity to
indulge in warfare to your hearts content.
With the extra material of the Companion Set, the D&D game suddenly developed into a very comprehensive system,
offering opportunities and systems that
the AD&D game had only hinted at. The
development of the D&D game did not
end there, either.
The Master Set described life at the
megalevels of play: 26th-36th. Characters
were shown how they could strive for and
achieve Immortality. The day-to-day life of
a high-level adventurer was concerned
more with founding a dynasty, traveling to
other planes, and becoming involved in
the epic struggles that threatened to tear
the world apart, rather than with the
accumulation of loot and power.
Detailed rules for becoming highly
skilled in various weapons meant that a
characters combat options mushroomed
dramatically, including skills at disarming,
deflecting missile attacks, and inflicting
additional damage. These extra abilities
were available to lower-level characters
too, so there was no need to wait until
25th level to gain all this new stuff.
After Master-level play, characters could
continue their adventuring careers by
shaking off their mortal forms and becoming Immortals. This was a whole new ball
game. The Immortal Set marked a characters progression into the cosmos, as earthly forms were left behind and characters
soared into the vast beyond. The PCs
world was merely one of many, and its
significance dwindled rapidly.

While all this development was taking

place, the game world grew slowly. It
started in the Expert Set and module X1
The Isle of Dread. A world map, accompanied by a few paragraphs on each country,
loosely defined the adventuring lands. The
world was sketchy in the extreme, leaving
DMs to flesh out the vital details needed to
bring it to life. As time went by, various
modules introduced new areas and developed others. The land of Norwald first
appeared in module CM1 The Test of the
Warlords. Norwald formed the basis for
the published Companion and Master
adventures. The ancient enmity between
the empires of Thyatis and Alphatia provided plenty of opportunity for characters
to engage in epic struggles.
The Companion Set, while opening up
Norwald, set aside attention on the
Expert World. It was assumed that the
Expert World was deserted by Companionlevel PCs as they ventured north into
Norwald for high-level challenges.
Then the Companion and Master PCs
came back to the Expert World (now the
Known World), and great changes took
place in the realms of the D&D game. The
background to the D&D games Known
World is being expanded dramatically.
Countries that were previously described
in only a paragraph or two now get the
full treatment. Each country has been
developed into a detailed setting for characters of all levels, with notes on local
economics, culture, society, and politics,
and with lots of adventure ideas to show
how you can use all this new stuff.

The Gazetteers

The D&D game Known World is being

showcased in a series of Gazetteers. The
following gazetteers are available:
GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos;
GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam;
GAZ3 The Principalities of Glantri;
GAZ4 The Kingdom of Ierendi;
GAZ5 The Elves of Alfheim;
GAZ6 The Dwarves of Rockhome;
GAZ7 The Northern Reaches;
GAZ8 The Five Shires;
GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds;
GAZ10 The Orcs of Thar;
GAZ11 The Republic of Darokin; and
GAZ12 The Golden Khan of Ethengar
In addition, a boxed set describing the
warring empires of Thyatis and Alphatia,
Dawn of the Emperors, is scheduled for
release in August.
The benefits to both DMs and players of
a developed campaign world are tremendous. The Known World acts as a backdrop to adventures, providing color and a
meaningful rationale for adventures.
While base greed can be used to motivate
characters, it pales in comparison to the
thrills gained from undertaking an epic
quest to save the local populace from
death or imprisonment.
A developed setting also provides great
scope for role-playing, as the player characters deal with the settings inhabitants
DRAGON 79

on a day-to-day basis. The DM can create

adventures by drawing on the worlds
political and geographic backgrounds.
These adventures will be infused with a
greater importance than those that simply
start the PCs outside of the dungeon
entrance. NPCs encountered in one adventure can reappear later in the campaign,
helping the DM to maintain consistency
and providing friends and enemies with
which the PCs can interact. The PCs
actions affect more than their immediate
surroundings, and their struggles can take
place within a coherent setting. Almost
everything a player character does has
some influence on the world. Whether
Basic-level adventurers clear out a horde
of goblin raiders, or Master-level characters thwart the schemes of some powerful
Immortal, their actions shape the world
and make it a believable place in which to
adventure.
Without a world setting to draw upon,
the DM is placed under an immense burden. The DM must define territorial
boundaries, populate the lands of the
world, create the beliefs and practices of
the inhabitants and, at the same time,
design adventures to challenge the player
characters. This cannot be done overnight;
it takes long hours of careful design
workwork that many DMs simply dont
have the time to do. The availability of
ready-made settings goes a long way

80 AUGUST 1989

toward reducing the work load.

The Gazetteers take the crushing burden of world creation off the DMs shoulders, and they do so without asking the
DM to surrender any creativity in the
process. A DM armed with the Gazetteers
is able to draw on the background to
create some truly memorable adventures.
The DM is not restricted by the contents
of the individual Gazetteers. Its your
world, and you can do what you want
with it.
Whether you like what you read or not,
the Gazetteers serve as a springboard to
the imagination. If you dont like something, go ahead and change it. If something strikes you as ill-defined, simply
develop it until it matches your requirements. The Gazetteers provide the raw
material, and you can work this into any
finished product desired. So whats the
D&D world like?

The Known World

Two great empires dominate the Known

World: Alphatia and Thyatis. Their wars
shape global events, and their spies and
envoys fuel existing political tensions
everywhere.
The mighty empire of Alphatia is the
oldest in the world. It lies to the east of the
main continent, across the Sea of Dawn.
Alphatia is ruled by a council of 1,000
36th-level wizards and, as can be expected, it relies on its impressive magical abilities to impose its will.
The empire of Thyatis is currently 1,000
years old. Since its founding, Thyatis has
expanded rapidly and has clashed with
Alphatia on more than one occasion. Thyatis is ruled by a triad of powers
theocratic, magical, and militaryall
headed by an emperor, Thincol the Brave.
Thincol possesses a keen soldiers mind,
but he also has a reputation for being
cruel and mercilesstraits that he
employs to great effect. Many of the
Empires battles have been won through
treachery and deceit, and Thincols spies
and agents can be found fermenting dissent throughout the Known World.
An uneasy balance of power exists
between the two empires. Neither empire
is keen to wipe the other out, but minor
wars occur frequently in outlying areas.
Alphatia, with its vast array of magical
abilities, has won most of these small wars
but, undaunted, Thyatis still continues to
flex its might.
While the mighty empires continue to
glare at each other across the Sea of
Dawn, life goes on as normal in the minor
states of the world. Not as yet directly
threatened by the machinations of the
great powers, these states have their own
internal concerns to occupy them, concerns that are many and diverse. The
states of the first four Gazetteers will
serve as examples.
The Grand Duchy of Karameikos: The
state most closely tied to a great power,
Karameikos is ruled by the Thyatian

noble, Duke Stephan Karameikos.

Exchanging his ancestral lands 30 years
ago for sole sovereignty of an undeveloped
Thyatian colony, Duke Stephan is now
attempting to transform Karameikos into a
developed state. Many Thyatian nobles
have accompanied Duke Stephan to his
new lands, where they now impose their
will upon the native Traldarian peoples.
Following a bloody and unsuccessful rebellion, the Traldarians have come to accept
their new rulers. Baronies have been
granted by Duke Stephan to many of his
Thyatian followers, but large tracts of land
remain undeveloped and unallocated.
Largely a wilderness setting, Karameikos
is a good setting for low-level adventures.
Here, low-level PCs can make names for
themselves, and in time they may even be
given a land grant by the Duke. Until that
day, adventurers will be kept busy clearing out the monsters that lurk in the forests and mountains of Karameikos.
The Emirates of Ylaruam: This desert
land was the home of Al-Kalim, the
prophet and divine leader of the Ylaruam
peoples. Now worshiped as an Immortal,
Al-Kalim gave the people of Ylaruam their
codes of conduct and the dream of the
Desert Garden. One day, the desert will
bloom and all the prophets people will
benefit from its fruit.
Within the Emirates of Ylaruam can be
found desert warriors, cultured city dwellers, merchants, and the mighty efreet. A
code of personal conduct and honor
marks the people of this land. No social
interaction takes place before certain rites
and customs have been performed. Etiquette is very important, and it is disgraceful to press any kind of business before
the required formalities have been carried
out. This is a culture where outsiders are
at a distinct disadvantage. Ignorant of the
ways of the peoples (and also being unbelievers), outsiders are faced with some
great role-playing challenges as they try to
avoid offending the locals.
This land of burning sands offers adventures in the mold of the Arabian Nights
battling evil efreet, discovering lost cities
buried under the desert, and becoming
involved in duels of honor. True followers
of Al-Kalim respect and follow the code of
the Nahmeh, the sacred book. By keeping
the Nahmehs teachings in their hearts,
true believers can expect to rise to positions of power and be honored guests
throughout the Emirates.
The Principalities of Glantri: A land
where magic use is a developed art is sure
to be a fascinating place, and Glantri certainly is. To be a cleric in Glantri is to
court death, for clerics are outlawed. (The
punishment for breaking the law is death.)
The land of Glantri is ruled by powerful
mages. As a consequence, magic and its
effects are everywhere. Continual light
spells illuminate Glantri City at night, and
invisible stalkers are frequently encountered going about their masters business.
Guilds of monster hunters and monster

handlers cater to the mages constant

needs for magical components.
Glantri has great potential for magicusers. They can enter the Great School of
Magic and learn new spell-casting techniques. These techniques allow students to
cast spells while moving, to conjure companion creatures or familiars, or to
become so fast at spell-casting that they
are able to cast spells in combat before
initiative is rolled.
These impressive abilities are only some
of the basic techniques practiced at the
Great School of Magic. By entering one of
the seven specialized and secret orders
that operates at the school, students have
access to further special abilities. These
include the crafts of Alchemy, Dracology,
Elementalism, Cryptomancy, Illusionism,
Necromancy, and Witchcraft. The crafts,
however, are not freely available. A sponsor must first be found, and entry to one
order precludes access to all of the others.
Magic-users will also find that the Great
School of Magic holds the key to political
power. No one may become a noble in
Glantri without being at least a 9th-level
magic-user. Power is there for the taking,
if you know how to wield it effectively.
Glantri is unusual in other ways, too.
Vampires and werewolves are common, as
are Scottish and French refugees from a
parallel world with similarities to medieval
Europe. Vampires and werewolves may be
nothing new in D&D game campaigns, but
where else are they actually part of the
ruling elite? Where else does a real
Immortal dabble directly in the affairs of
the land?
At the high levels of state, the noble
families constantly vie with each other for
political supremacy, The means are often
exotic, and political intrigues galore make
Glantri an exciting, if dangerous, place.
The Kingdom of Ierendi: These 10
islands are the holiday isles of the Known
World, and the Kingdom of Ierendi caters
to all holiday tastes. Player characters can
find lots of different ways to amuse themselves; they can sip cocktails by the sea,
bask in the sun, go on safari, or visit an
adventurers theme park!
Adventurers looking for a kingdom for a
year should check out Ierendi. Each year,
a group of adventurers compete to
become the monarchs of the kingdom. At
the end of the Annual Royal Tournament,
the highest scoring male and female contestants are acknowledged as the islands
rulers. Adventurers may compete each
year, so it is possible for proficient adventurers to continue to rule from year to
year. Those who dont do well enough to
become the rulers of the isles may become
members of the Adventurers Club. Club
members are expected to go on quests and
aid the kingdom in times of need. This
makes the club a good source of adventures and assures that Ierendi always has
a ready pool of experienced helpers to
deal with any problem at hand. To maintain their memberships in the Adventur-

ers Club, characters must compete in the

Royal Tournament each yearbut as this
could result in one of them becoming the
king or queen, its hardly a problem.
More traditional adventures can be
found on and around the Ierendi Isles.
Pirates ply the seas and hide out in secret
coves. A few of the islands are troubled by
undead spirits and another two islands are
off-limits. Finding out why, and then going
to explore these islands, will provide quite
a few exciting adventures.
As can be seen from even a brief survey
of a few of the Gazetteers, the lands of the
Known World possess their own unique
cultures and societies. Each country has
distinctive traits that set it apart from the
others, and these diverse backgrounds add
a new dimension to role-playing.
Instead of simply meeting a fighter, PCs
can encounter Hazad Al-Rammam,
Defender of the Faithful and Scourge of
the Infidel, a name that conjures up
visions of exotic cultures and a fanatical
devotion to his religion. To handle Hazad
Al-Rammam, player characters have to
tread carefully to avoid offending his
sensibilities. To do so, they need some
knowledge of the society of the Emirates
of Ylaruam. Without this knowledge, the
player characters may make some social
blunder that results in them exchanging a
potentially powerful ally for a powerful
enemy.
Similar problems can occur in Glantri.
Usually, no one thinks twice about slaying
a werewolf or disposing of a sleeping
vampire. Quick, smash the stake in before
it wakes up! Vampires and werewolves are
monsters, arent they? They deserve to
die! But if the vampire or werewolf is
actually a leading noble of the realm, there
will be a horde of relatives and their
retainers out to get you. Youd better think
twice before accepting what appears to be
a simple mission to end the werewolf
menace. The person hiring you could
easily be doing so for political reasons,
getting you to do their dirty work while
setting you up to take the rap for a political assassination.
Just in case you thought things might be
a bit more clear-cut in Karameikos, consider a situation in which a local lord is
oppressing the peasants and carrying out
unspeakable acts in his castle. Looks like a
job for a bunch of adventurersexcept
that the noble in question is Duke
Stephans cousin. Going into the evil lords
castle to put an end to his evil schemes
may win you the friendship of the
oppressed peasants, but the Duke is not
going to be pleased that youve bumped
off one of his relatives.
Ierendi, the holiday kingdom, is no less
an intriguing place for adventurers.
Schemes and counterschemes are woven
in this pleasant locale. Everything is not
always as it seems. Beware of adventures
offered to you on a plate; an apparently
straightforward mission may involve you
in any number of subtle plots. Then again,

it may be as straightforward as it appears.

Only time will tell.
Loaded with intrigue, politics, and colorful NPCs, the Gazetteers provide the background that the DM need only flesh out.
But, its not only the NPCs who benefit
from the Gazetteers; player characters can
also be just as colorful and detailed.

Characterization

Demi-human characters have always

had their own special abilities and traits to
set them apart from the other races.
Human PCs, however, were rarely differentiated by beliefs and culture, with only
alignment serving as a guide to how a
character should act. Now PCs can have
real backgrounds and origins as well. They
need never again be simply two-dimensional killing machines. The Gazetteers
provide all the essential information needed to bring adventurers and their homelands to life.
The background gives characters a sense
of belonging. Characters can have proper
origins, families, and friends. Physical
appearances, cultural traits, styles of
dress, lists of common names within an
area: All of these help to define characters
and make them more than just a set of
statistics. Using these guidelines, a player
character from one country is going to be
different in outlook and appearance than
one from another land. Characterization
can also be greatly varied within a country. Just because your characters come
from the same land doesnt mean they
have to be exactly the same. People from
the same town in our own world vary
greatly, and this is also the case in the
D&D game Known World.
Local beliefs: Each Gazetteer describes
the local beliefs of the people who inhabit
the lands in question. Players should know
of these beliefs, even if they do not adhere
to them. As the Gazetteers are primarily
designed for DMs to use, its not a good
idea to let the players read all of them.
The DM should hold a private briefing
with each player and pass the information
on, either verbally or by showing the
player selected and photocopied bits of the
Gazetteer. By being selective in whats
given out, the DM can tailor each characters knowledge of the campaign background.
For example, human characters from
Karameikos can be of Traldarian descent,
Thyatian descent, or of mixed blood. The
DM may either pick the characters backgrounds or allow them to roll on the character background tables. Once a groups
background has been determined, the DM
can then inform the characters of their
general appearance. Traldarians tend to be
fairly small, with a light build and a pale
complexion. Thyatians are larger than
lraldarians, but coming from a cosmopolitan background, they tend to be diverse in
their appearance.
Once racial type has been determined,
its a simple matter to give the character a
DRAGON 81

home area and then to decide on what a

character knows about the area. A
Traldarian from a remote area may have
had little or no contact with the Thyatian
overlords, and would thus be ignorant of
their beliefs and culture. He would, however, be very knowledgeable about
Traldarian beliefs and culture. This character would be provided with the history
of Karameikos, and with information on
the Traldarian Church and Traldar beliefs.
A Thyatian character would know all
about the history of Karameikos from the
side of the Thyatian overlords. Such a
character might, however, be totally ignorant of Traldarian beliefs and simply
believe the people to be uncouth barbarians. A character of mixed blood, as well as
having the physical traits of both races,
would know about both cultures. She
would be conversant in the teachings of
the Church of Karameikos and the
Traldarian Church. If these three characters meet, they could role-play the meeting, thus drawing on their knowledge of
the land. Each culture could then find out
about the other during play.
Characters do not have to adhere to the
ruling beliefs of their culture; they could
play atypical characters who reject all of
their societys beliefs, or accept the majority while rejecting others. They may decide
that another culture has aspects that they
would like to copy. Anything is possible.

All thats needed to achieve this is some

basic background knowledge for the players to use. Alternatively, the PCs could all
take on the role of Thyatians and discover
the Traldarian beliefs by interacting with
NPCs. Or they could be all Traldarians:
Some might accept their Thyatian overlords, while others might go out of their
way to cause trouble.
Whatever method is chosen, there are
vast opportunities for PCs to interact with
each other and with NPCs. By drawing on
their own backgrounds and physical
appearances, players have lots of hooks
around which to build their characters.
They need never again be merely Fred the
Fighter from the village down the road.
They will be Karameikans of every possible sort.
Demi-humans, depending on their origins, could be ignorant of the ways of the
humans, or be conversant with the basic
background. I favor keeping demi-humans
in the dark about human ways; that way
the demi-humans can discover a world
which is as alien and as exciting as the
darkest dungeon.
The prevailing social trends will do
much to shape a characters development.
Glantrian citizens tend to pursue magic
above all else. Ierendians, whether from
native stock or from one of the many
immigrant continental families, are funloving adventure seekers. In Karameikos,

the concerns of characters revolve around

carving out the land from the wilderness
and gaining political status. In Ylaruam,
religion and honor dictate most of a characters actions.
Each Gazetteer provides plenty of guidelines and rules to assist DMs in creating
the tone and texture of the land. Adventure outlines show how adventures can be
easily created out of the background.
Once the players start developing their
characters personalities in play, youll find
that adventures begin to start of their own
accord. Theres nothing quite like welldefined characters and a good background
for creating subplots all over the place.
Defined characters tend to have interesting motivations, and theyll often adventure for other reasons than just to grab
the loot.
Family ties always make for good adventure openings. Only the most heartless
character is going to refuse a request for
aid from a family member. A mission to
rescue ones kinsman from an evil vizier
makes for a much more interesting adventure than merely being asked to rescue
some unknown messenger from the
viziers dungeon. If the kinsman is killed
and the vizier flees before the adventurers
arrive, vengeance will be a high priority
for the bereaved PC. This is the kind of
motivation that players love and that
makes a DMs job that much easier.
Characters may even be from overseas.
They will still need some background on
their home areas, but they will be more or
less ignorant of the new land before them!
What holds true in their own land may
not apply in another country. By interacting with the inhabitants, the foreigners
will slowly discover the local ways. Roleplaying encounters are enriched, and a
whole new area of play is opened up.
Travelers arriving in the Emirates of
Ylaruam will have to adjust to the fanciful
speech of the inhabitants and to their rigid
customs. The suspicion directed at all
unbelievers must also be overcome. Citizens of the Emirates who visit Karameikos
will discover a land where social graces
and honor are unimportant. The players
can then role-play their characters amazement at the uncouth ways of the infidel.

Room

to

grow

As a general rule, low-level campaigns

are best set within one area, allowing the
characters to become familiar with it and
establish their local reputations. Once
characters are conversant with a setting,
they will treat it as home, making any
threat to that home very meaningful. Just
because the campaign is set in one area,
theres no reason not to have the PCs
encounter Ylaruam traders, Glantrian
wizards, and Ierendian adventurers. Any
visit to a busy port can involve an encounter with an interesting foreigner. The PCs
could uncover the schemes of a Glantrian
wizard, or discover a Magian Fire Worshiper from Ylaruam attempting to open a
82 AUGUST 1989

gate to the plane of Fire.

Another good use of the Gazetteers is as
a backdrop to a more wide-ranging campaign. This can involve PCs of any level.
All thats needed is a reason for them to
travel. This can be a simple desire to see
what life in the next country is like, or
part of an epic, continent-spanning campaign. The following are adventure outlines that may be developed as a means of
drawing PCs to distant lands.
The runaway: A noblemans younger son
has run away from home. His distraught
parents engage the adventurers to bring
him back. The adventurers must follow
the sons trail into a neighboring state and
convince him to return home. Extra complications can easily arise if, for example,
the son has fled to Glantri and the adventuring party contains one or more clerics.
While searching for the son, the clerics
have to avoid being discovered by the
Glantrian mages.
Young and in love: A noblemans daughter has eloped with the son of a village
blacksmith. The two young lovers board a
vessel and travel to a distant land, where
they gain the protection of a powerful
NPC who refuses to let them be taken
back home, either for sinister reasons or
out of a desire to protect them. The adventurers can try to persuade the foreign NPC
to change his mind, or they can attempt to
take the young lovers back by force.
Either way, the PCs must deal with the
local customs and become familiar with
the new country. The young couple may
even decide to slip away from their protector and head for another land.
The emissary: The adventurers could be
appointed as emissaries and sent on an
important and delicate mission to another
country. While enjoying the status of
emissaries, the adventurers also have to
ensure that they do not bring their own
nation into disgrace, Module X10 Red
Arrow, Black Shield, although set 200
years after the current date of the Gazetteers, involves the characters in just such
a mission. In this module, the adventurers
travel from country to country in an
attempt to gain allies in the Known Worlds
first world war.
The repo men: A magical item has been
stolen from a powerful Glantrian noble
who hires the adventurers to repossess it.
The adventurers must travel to a neighboring country and attempt to retrieve the
item from the thief. To add extra spice, the
thief could have been hired by an important NPC who does all in his power to
retain the item, even going as far as framing the adventurers for a murder or
another robbery.
Frying tonight: A group of Magian Fire
Worshipers from the Emirates of Ylaruam
are attempting to open a number of gates
to the plane of elemental Fire. These gates
are situated in remote areas of various
countries. If the gates are opened, large
numbers of fire elementals will enter the
Prime Material plane and wreak havoc

throughout the Known World. The characters can discover the existence of this plot
and then travel around the world dealing
with the Fire Worshipers. Adventures can
revolve around attempting to prevent the
opening of the gates and to close any that
have already been opened.
Fifth column: Thyatian agents are
engaged in fomenting unrest in a number
of countries. They plan to destabilize the
countries in question, giving Thyatis an
excuse to invade. The adventurers can
learn of this plot by various means and
then seek to expose the agents schemes.
Murder most foul: A murder has been
committed and the murderer, or a witness
to the murder, has recently left the country. The PCs must track down the murderer or witness and bring him back (or at
least interview him). This may prove to be
a delicate task, especially if the person is
of high rank in his own country.
Choosing a setting

With all the settings available, the DM

has a wide range of choices in the tone
and location of his campaign. Each Gazetteer also has a number of special rules
that are usable in the other settings. Karameikos has a simple skill system that can
easily be expanded to cover other cultures. Ylaruam has its own skill system
and a ready-to-use village that characters
from other cultures can explore. Glantris
special magic system can be made available to non-Glantrian magic-users by having
a teacher from the Great School of Magic
set up a school in another country of the
Known World. The way in which Glantris
mages react to this could form the basis
for a number of adventure sessions, as
they set out to close down the renegade
school. Glantri also offers variant rules for
creating magical items and spells. This
system can easily be used by magic-users
seeking to expand the magic powers at
their disposal. If large naval battles are
something youve always wanted to run,
then a copy of The Kingdom of Ierendi
will be invaluable, as it contains excellent
rules for conducting sea battles, including
ship counters representing each nations
fleet. Later Gazetteers offer even more
variety.

Conclusion

The Gazetteers are a long overdue addition to the D&D game. They greatly
increase the role-playing potential and add
great depth to any campaigns background. There are plenty of good ideas in
the Gazetteers, making them great assets
to any fantasy campaign. Whether you
play the AD&D game, the D&D game, or
another fantasy system entirely, the Gazetteers have something to offer for every
one. Your adventures need never again
take place against a vaguely defined fantasy background. The world is now rich,
diverse, and above all, fun.

DRAGON 83

Photographs by Mark Hammegren

Were fed up, and were not going to

take any more! The bad guys
marshal their forces for the assault on
Retirement Village.

tired of being kicked around. They live in

their lairs and gather the belongings of
those interlopers who burglarize and
terrorize the monsters happy homes.
Nevertheless, because the monsters do
away with those home-wreckers, they are
the bad guys! Those craven adventurers
who loot and pillage the monsters caverns
are the heroes!
But the monsters have discovered the
whereabouts of one of the first groups
that looted their lairs and started the
stream of vandals. Maybe if this group is
destroyed, the honor of the caverns will
be redeemed and further adventuring will
be discouraged!
The battle report that follows is a combination of players action reports and the
after-game report by Chris Clark. While I
have changed and shortened some of the
text, I present you with what I think is an
amusing battle.
Scenario set-up

Urban renewal at Retirement Village

1989 by Robert Bigelow
With the 1989 GEN CON games fair
(and all of its miniatures events) on the
horizon, it seemed like a good idea to
present a lively fantasy miniatures battle.
Retirement Village was offered as a short
but active event at the last major Gamefest
given by our club, the Gamemasters Guild
of Waukegan. The scenario could accommodate up to 10 people (one gamer per
adventurer or group of monsters). It was
84 AUGUST 1989

designed to be a thinking-gamers battle as

well as a slugfest. The outcome depended
upon skill, luck, and good military planning.
The chief planner and judge for this
event was our club president, Chris Clark.
Chris designs products for his own company, Inner City Games; he has created
many smooth-running but slightly devious
scenarios. This one was no exception.
In this scenario, the monsters are simply

Modified BATTLESYSTEM supplement

rules for the AD&D game were used for
this scenario. Some variations in the
AD&D game rules were also applied that
were used in the local campaign. Due to
aging effects on the retired characters,
some of their statistics were not in line
with AD&D game norms.
The battleground for this scenario was a
6 X 8 table covered with a green felt
surface, with one large forest and some
small hills. There were no rivers but
there were several thickets to limit movement. In addition, there were several small
clumps of trees scattered around the area.
In recreating Retirement Village itself,
the setting should consist of no more than
four or five buildings. We used Greenfields 15mm Inns as our primary structures, with two medieval buildings to

But the good guys are supposed to

beat up the monsters! The aging
heroes (and their young allies)
prepare their towns defenses.

round out the town. We picked Greenfields products because they are well
made and light, as well as easy to paint.
The village should be set up in the
northwest corner of the board, with the
woods to the east exactly two movement
turns away. The adventurers start in the
buildings in town, and the monsters start
on the edge of the eastern woods. Reinforcements for the adventurers should
start just behind the woods to the south,
only five and a half turns away from Retirement Village.
The figures we used included those
from Minifigs, Heritage, Ral Partha, and
Grenadier; many of the figures are no
longer in production. The figures can be
in either 15mm or 25mm scale. See your
local hobby store for assistance. You can
substitute new monsters or characters,
but balance the new figures powers to fit
the scenario.
Forces of good
Army lHeavy lancers (16): AC 2

(men in plate mail with shields), 3 (horses

with plate mail barding); MV 18 (9
charge bonus may be used once); zerolevel fighters on medium war horses (HD
2 + 2); hp 7 (each man), 11 (each horse);
#AT 4 or 1: Dmg l-8 (sword)/l-6/l-6/1-3 or
2-12 (medium lance); AL LG (men), N
(horses).
Army 2Medium swordsmen (6):

AC 4 (chain mail with shields); MV 9

(4 charge bonus may be used once);
zero-level fighters; hp 7 (each); #AT 1;
Dmg 1-8 (sword); AL LG.
Army 2Medium spearmen (6): AC
4 (chain mail with shields); MV 9 (4
charge bonus may be used once); zerolevel fighters; hp 7 leach); #AT 1; Dmg 1-8
(spear) or 2-16 (when set against charge);
AL LG.

Army 3Heavy infantry (9): AC 2;

MV 6 (3 charge bonus may be used
once); zero-level fighters; hp 7 (each); #AT
1; Dmg 1-12 (pole axe); AL LG.
Bartholomew the Bard (human): AC
5 (leather armor + 3 and ring of protection +3); MV 12; Bard14; hp 56; #AT 1;
Dmg by weapon type (unarmed) or spell
use; S 10, I 8, W 12, D 7, C 10, Ch 7, Co 9;
AL NG; Charm ability 24%; Age 59; magical scroll containing fireball, ice storm,
and cloudkill (one use each; roll vs. intelligence on 1d20 for scroll use).
Dula the Dwarf (dwarf): AC 3 ( -2 to
be hit by giant class; plate mail); MV 6;
F9; hp 48; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg 1-8 (heavy
crossbow, 12 range) or l-6/1-6 (hand axe,
can attack twice); S 10, I 8, W 5, D 9, C 9,
Ch 9, Co 8; AL CG; Age 296; hand axe and
heavy crossbow.
Skyle the Bold (human): AC 2 (plate
mail + 1); MV 9; F10; hp 45; #AT 1; Dmg
2-9 (axe); S 9, I 9, W 8, D 10, C 6, Ch 9, Co
12; AL LG; Age 85; battle axe +1.
Amana the Raider (half-elf): AC 2
(chain mail +2 and shield); MV 12; Ran8;
hp 29; #AT 1; Dmg 2-9 (spear); S 9, I 9, W
7, D 7, C 9, Ch 10, Co 7; AL CG; Age 201;
can cast faerie fire (roll vs. intelligence on
1d20); spear + 1.
Moose (human): AC 0 (plate mail +2
and shield); MV 9; F10; hp 80; #AT 1;
Dmg 2-9 or 2-13 (sword); S 9, I 6, W 10, D
9, C 9, Ch 6, Co 5; AL NG; Age 79; long
sword +1.
Forces of evil
Kobolds (10): AC 7; MV 6; HD ; hp 3

each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4; AL LE; MM/57.

Gnolls (12): AC 3; MV 9; HD 2; hp 11
each; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg 1-12 or i-6/1-6
(arrows); AL CE; MM/46.
Bugbears (10): AC 5; MV 9; HD 3 + 1; hp
22 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-12; AL CE; MM/12.
Troll: AC 4; MV 12; HD 6 + 6; hp 48;

#AT 3; Dmg 5-8/5-8/2-12; SA attack three

opponents at once; SD regenerate 3 hp/
round; AL CE; MM/97.
Namor, the giant troll: AC 4; MV 12;
HD 8; hp 62; #AT 1; Dmg 2-16; SD regenerate 2 hp/round, must be burned for 10 hp
damage before being slain; AL CE; FF/90.
Ogre: AC 5; MV 9; HD 4 + 1; hp 23;
#AT 1; Dmg l-10; AL CE; MM/75.
Yulo, the umber hulk: AC 2; MV 6;
HD 8 +8; hp 64; #AT 3; Dmg 3-12/3-12/
1-10; SA confusion gaze weapon used on
any one opponent within 6, use once per
melee round; AL CE; MM/98.
The battle

Bartholomew sat alone next to his

second-floor window, idly gazing at the
verdant woods outside of town. As he sat,
he rocked, his bones creaking only slightly
louder than the runners of his rocking
chair as they touched the hardwood floor.
Bartholomew had been reminiscing about
the day 40 years ago when he and his
friends went adventuring in the Dark
Caverns. That fateful day had shaped the
fortunes of his youth. He and his friends
had destroyed the evil creatures dwelling
in the Dark Caverns and carried home
riches and wealth in volumes almost beyond belief. Even considering the four
decades that had passed, Bartholomew
fancied he could still take on a savage
monster or two. Why, he could
Bartholomew blinked. There was something at the edge of the peaceful woods.
No! An ogre and a troll and a veritable army of monsters! Bartholomew shot
from his chair and raced down the stairs
to the street. He had to warn the town!
Namor, the giant troll, urged his troops
on. Now, with the town in sight, nothing
could forestall his vengeance. Forty years
ago, Namors father had died, bloody and
DRAGON 85

An aerial view of the Retirement

Village playing area, with the village
and heroes on the lower right, the
monsters (in the woods) on the lower
left, and the heroic armies in the
distance.
crippled in his arms, babbling obscenities
about a murderous party of human adventurers who had invaded the caverns his
family called home. At that moment, Namor resolved that he would give all future
adventurers pause before they marauded
through his cave system again. It was time
for a lesson to be taught.
In a far greater universe, the bounds of
which were beyond the ken of both Namor and Bartholomew, four humans speculated on the potential futures of a group
of brightly painted miniatures dispersed
over a variegated-terrain playing board.
Linda and John Rosen controlled the
forces of good, while Milt Levenberg and
Jason Hainer ran the forces of evil. Milt
and Jason chuckled as they pushed the
figures of a horrendous band of hideous
monsters within striking distance of the
sleepy, unsuspecting town. In one more
turn, there would be a holocaust!
Linda and John, surveying with some
apprehension the advance of the evil minions, hurriedly arranged for reinforcements, led by the sons and daughters of
the retired adventurers residing within
the town. Unfortunately, it would be several turns before these forces arrived.
Bravely, John assembled Dula the Dwarf,
Skyle the Bold, and Moose near the town
wall to make a desperate stand using
missile weapons. Their chances were slim,
but the melee might stall the attackers for
a time. Suddenly brightening, Linda rolled
a die. With grim determination, she
grasped the figure of Bartholomew and
placed him once again in front of the
second-floor window of the inn.
Racing to the street, Bartholomew called
loudly for his aged friendsDula the
Dwarf, Skyle the Bold, and Moose. In the
old days, these three had been deadly with

the long bow and crossbow. As the aging

party approached, Bartholomew quickly
informed the group of what he had seen.
Taking command, Moose turned to the
others and shouted, Ill get da bows and
meet youse guys at da town wall! Feeling
helpless, Bartholomew raced back up the
stairs to his second-floor room. Near
panic, he rifled through the papers on his
desk. Suddenly, a scroll caught his attention. It was that old fireball scroll he had
been saving for a special occasion. If only
he could remember how it worked! Racking his brain, Bartholomew probed his
senile memory; suddenly, the process was
made clear to him. Chanting confidently,
Bartholomew grasped the scroll firmly and
pulled back the sash on the window.
Namor bellowed an ancient battle cry as
he exhorted his troops to press their attack on the town. Another hundred yards
and theyd be within the wall, free to
wreak havoc among the townspeople. A
small volley of arrows came from the
town wall to harry the attackers, one of
them striking and killing a kobold in the

front ranks. Laughing uproariously, Namor yelled at the defenders. Hey, you got
one! Then from the corner of his eye,
Namor noticed a small, red streak hurtling
down on his group from the second-story
window of the towns dilapidated inn. He
jumped quickly to the right and flattened
himself to the ground as the world exploded in a flash of fire and light.
The forces of good surveyed the scene
with satisfaction. Against all odds, the
fireball had worked. Their satisfaction,
however, was short-lived. One after another, the monsters somehow managed to
avoid the blast. Only a small number of
the attackers were struck. With a sigh of
regret, John pulled his figures back from
the city wall, leaving only Dula the Dwarf
to stem the onslaught. The forces of evil,
as John had hoped, mistook this as a sign
of weakness and pressed the attack, glee
fully anticipating bloodshed. Seeing this,
John concealed his mirth. Let them gloat,
he thought; we have a plan. . . .
Namor stood up and dusted himself off.
So, the enemy had magic! Still, the effects
had not been that bad. All of the kobolds
had been fried, and just about everyone
had gotten a little roasted, but the marauders were, for the most part, intact. Namor
would simply use a little more strategy.
Motioning for the gnoll troops to come
forward with their bows, Namor glanced
over to the town wall to examine the
strength of the defense. Unbelievably, the
defenders were deserting the wall, leaving
the town undefended! One gnarled old
dwarf was now the remaining obstacle
between Namors army and their prize.
Shouting orders for the gnolls to provide
covering archery fire, he bellowed a shout
of victory and ordered his troops to
charge. Now was the time to bring on the

A new type of tent peg? No, just the

half-elf Amana, following the
sledgehammer blows of one of the
local monsters.

little surprise he had prepared for this

town. Raising his arm in a prearranged
signal, Namor motioned to an umber hulk
to begin tunneling under the town inn.
Skyle the Bold and Moose looked with
dismay at the monsters advancing on the
town. Although Bartholomews unexpected
fireball had made a spectacular display, it
appeared to have barely scratched the
main elements of the attacking army. We
cant hold da wall against dem guys!
Moose hollered to his comrades.
I agree, said Skyle. Come with me. I
have a plan? Grabbing Mooses elbow,
Skyle turned and ran toward the town
tavern.
Im staying, Dula shouted. I may get
killed, but theres going to be some wellfeathered gnolls here before Im through.
With no small effort, Dula cocked his
heavy crossbow and loaded a bolt. There
was a heavy ping, a short hiss, and a gnoll
was down on the field. Rapidly, another
bolt was loaded and another gnoll wished
he hadnt made the trip. Take that, ya
rotten bums! Dula cackled, recocking his
crossbow for another shot. Gnolls, trolls,
and an ogre swarmed toward the wall as
Dula took careful aim. He knew he was
having an effect, but how long could he
hold off such a large force?
Skyle raced into the tavern, dragging
Moose along behind him into the supply
room. He remembered many late-night

card games played by the light of flickering lamps that usedthere they were!
flasks of oil! Grabbing an armload of flasks
and several cleaning rags, Skyle sped from
the tavern across the street to the towns
inn. Moose, following suit, grabbed some
flasks and hurried after him.
But a figure stood at the door to the inn,
holding a vicious-looking 6 spear. Startled
at first, Skyle then recognized his friend,
Amana the Raider.
Ill hold them at the door! Amana cried.
See if you can help Bartholomew. Hes
looking for other surprises in his bag of
tricks. Motioning for Moose to follow,
Skyle took the stairs two at a time while
rapidly stuffing cleaning rags into his oil
flasks. If he could get to a window on the
second floor.
Linda regarded the figure of Bartholomew with hope. Once again, she rolled a
die. Once again, against all odds, the result
indicated success. . . .
Bartholomew was ready to tear out his
hair. He had found another scroll in his
belongings and had rushed to the window,
certain he could vanquish the invading
army. To his dismay, he found that he
couldnt even make out the title on this
scroll. Suddenly the magic came back to
himhe remembered how the spell
worked! Concentrating on the open area
just outside the town wall, he intoned the
arcane passages of the scroll. With a thun-

derclap, an ice storm rained down on the

battle below.
Yulo, the umber hulk, ambled over to
the stone wall of the towns inn and regarded it with his four green eyes, flexing
his monstrous claws. So these are the
creeps who stole our family heirlooms so
many years ago, he thought. I think its
time we stress-test this little town of
theirs. He bent down and literally dove
into the ground, claws tearing through
rock and earth as if through cloth and
paper. A stream of stones and debris flew
behind the monster as vengeance drove
him on.
Skyle fumbled with the candle next to
the second-floor window. Running up two
flights of stairs had left him winded. He
never remembered the inn stairs being
quite so long. Finally, the wicks he had
placed in the two flasks of oil caught fire.
Aiming carefully, he dropped them on
Namors head far below. Try regenerating
this! he chortled as the troll writhed and
fell, his head a mass of flame.
Moose was glad he had decided to help
Amana fend off the intruders at the door
of the inn, for things were not going well
there. Three gnolls, two bugbears, and a
giant troll now faced them, and Amana
had been badly hurt on the monsters first
charge. Then the giant trolls head burst
into flame, and it fell and rolled on the
ground. Glancing upward, Moose noticed

DRAGON 87

Skyle grinning at him from a second-floor

window.
Bartholomew staggered and gasped. For
some reason, the whole inn was beginning
to shake. Grabbing his last scroll, he ran
for the stairs leading to the first floor.
The forces of good scrutinized the scene
with mounting alarm. Many monsters had
died, but there were still too many left
alive for a group of over-the-hill adventurers to handle. Reaching for the figures of
Dula and Skyle, John had them retreat
from the fray. If only they could buy one
more turn, then the reinforcements would
arriveenough cavalry and men-at-arms
to cow a horde twice the size of that
which they currently faced. Ive got one
more ace up my sleeve, whispered Linda
as she reached for a 20-sided die.
Though things were going well for them,
the forces of evil were dissatisfied. The
monsters could still escape if necessary,
and a sharp lesson still needed to be
taught here. Although the umber hulks
burrowing would undoubtedly cause the
collapse of the town inn, the cavalry
would arrive the following turn. Milt
reached for a gnoll figure.
Dernak, the gnoll, got an idea. He knew
that retreating meant dying ignominiously
at the hands of Namor, but that did not
mean he wanted to face the swords and
spears of the bloody-handed adventurers
at the door of the inn. Chuckling maliciously, Dernak sparked a torch into guttering life. Jogging to the tavern, he
dipped behind the bar and soon had a
merry blaze licking at the ceiling. Racing
out the back door, he followed a similar
procedure at the stables. This would make
big points with Namor when they got back
home! Turning to search for still more
buildings to burn, Dernak spied a short
figure near the town wall; it pointed something at him. Dernaks last thought as the
crossbow bolt slammed through his chest
was that he had never really liked older
humanoids; their meat was too tough and
stringy and
Dula decided it was time to retreat. He
had skewered another gnoll with his
crossbow but barely had the strength to
reload it. He would hide in the stables
where the enemy could only come at him
one at a time. Shooting another gnoll by
the stable door, Dula hunched down to
run across the open space between the
buildings. From the other side of the town
wall, however, came the sounds of many
running feet. Dula braced for an attack
but it was the army, commanded by
Mooses son! The town was saved! But
what was that smoke coming from the
stable?
Namor got up from the ground and
slapped the soot from his face. The fire
had hurt him badly, but he didnt care. He
entered the fight again and searched for
an opening to deliver a death blow. Without warning, the inn in front of him began
to crumble. With an ear-splitting groan,
the building lurched at a crazy angle,

shuddered, and collapsed in a pile of

smoky rubble. The monstrous shape of
Yulo erupted from the ruins, engaging the
human fighter called Moose. Seizing his
opportunity, Namor swung his heavy club
over his head.
Panic-stricken, Bartholomew read his
scroll again for the cloudkill spell. But
something went wrongnothing was
happening! Moose and Amana were fighting off savage monsters, and Skyle was
going to help. The tavern and the stables
were raging infernos. Bartholomew
turned and ducked into the town hall. As
he looked out the window of the building,
he saw the giant troll strike Amana in the
head. The force of the blow was so great
that it drove Amana knee-deep into the
dirt of the town square. With a scream of
anguish, Bartholomew tore his worthless
scroll to pieces and flung it to the floor. . .
The forces of evil congratulated each
other on their master stroke. The town
was mostly destroyed, and one of the
adventurers had died a swift yet painful
death. Although the cavalry was now
entering the north side of town, the forces
of evil had accomplished their purpose. It
was time to retreat. . . .
Namor quickly gathered his troops together and headed for the welcome darkness of the forest. Though they hadnt
killed all of the thieving murderers, they
had levelled the town and left a mangled
corpse as a warning. Namor felt sure that
the next generation of adventurers would
think twice before choosing his cave system for a day of fun!
Late in the evening, Bartholomew surveyed the wrecked town through tearstreaked eyes. Skyle, Moose, and Dula had
returned home with their children, but his
friend Amana lay in the cold earth at his
feeta heavy price to pay for all their past
glories.
Let us hear about your own miniatures
battles, and let us know what you think
about the ones you see in this column.
Comments and requests for further information should be sent to: The Gamemasters Guild of Waukegan, 1411B Washington
Street, Waukegan IL 60085 (halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee). Or call us
at: (312) 336-0790. You might find me at the
miniatures-events area at the 1989 GEN
CON games fair.

DRAGON 89

Watch
Your
Step!
by Thomas M. Kane
90 AUGUST 1989

Mines and traps in the TOP SECRET

and TOP SECRET/S.I.TM games
Edwin saw no guards. He could, however, see the crash site
ahead under the predawn sky The tilted tail fin pointing at
the heavens, a twisted wing wrapped around a tree, the dull
black fuselage the wrecked plane was surprisingly intact.
But no guards. Why?
Clutching his pistol, Edwin left the safety of the bush and
started out into the tall grass, moving slowly and keeping low.
Youd think that a crashed spy plane would draw all sorts of
attention, he thought, but there wasnt oops. He froze
then saw the object ahead was just a sign. Howd I miss that?

Edwin crept forward until he could translate what it said.

Mines and fuses

DANGER!
MIDPOINT OF MINEFIELD!
Edwin closed his eyes and
gripped his pistol until his hand
turned white. There was no
point in turning back now.
When he opened his eyes again,
he crouched down and stared
hard at the ground in the dim
morning light. Then, with
infinite caution, he continued
his journey toward the plane
wreck. He had come a long
way. He had a long way to go.

Mines come ready for use with their

own fuses, but fuses can be purchased for
building custom-made traps. For example,
a charge could be wired some distance
from the fuse so that the mine simply
scares its victim. A string of explosives can
be linked to one fuse and laid in a line, so
that the mines will destroy a column of
troops behind the victim. A land mine is
often anchored with an extra fuse so that
the mine goes off when it is lifted. Demolitions experts prefer to make their own
mines to get exactly the right charge and
fuse for the job. A character with a Military Science/Weaponry AOK above 60 can
attach a different fuse or triggering device
to any standard mine.
The tables in this article describe assorted land mines and fuses. They measure
damage based on the explosive equivalent
in pounds of plastique, except where
otherwise stated. An Administrator should
use the Complexity score when agents
attempt to disarm a mine. The Complexity
score is added to or subtracted from the

Both the TOP SECRET and TOP

SECRET/S.I. games give general descriptions of land mines, but neither includes
any details on them. This article describes
the uses and effects of different land
mines (as well as other traps) for either
game system. Note that the TOP SECRET/
S.I. game has rules on page 16 of the
Administrators Guide which replace part
of the Finding them first section herein;
the rules on page 16 can also be used to
see if a victim is caught by other traps.
For the most part, this article applies to
campaigns using the TOP SECRET game. If
you use the TOP SECRET/S.I. game, simply
treat all of this articles references to Physical Strength as STR, Coordination as REF,
and Deactivation or Military Science/
Weaponry AOKs as Demolitions skill.

agents Deactivation score. A mine triggered by pull uses tripwires; pressure

mines are buried and go off when stepped
on. When a range of triggering pressures
is listed (for example, the M14 mine,
which goes off under 20-35 lbs. pressure),
the user simply chooses the degree of
sensitivity he wants.
The United States and the Soviet Union
make most land mines. Information on
Soviet mines comes from the U.S. Armys
Mine Card Soviet. The GTA 5-10-10 mine
card describes American mines.
Unless otherwise noted, one disarms a
fuse by inserting a nail or rigid instrument
into the safety hole, cutting any tripwires,
and unscrewing the detonator. American
mines (not fuses) usually contain dials
which can be set to arm or disarm them.
Soviet fuses
MUV: This fuse appears to be a thin
metal tube, with thinner appendages at
each end and a ring to which tripwires are
attached to keep the charge from going
off. A nearly identical fuse exists: the UV.

Table 1

Types of Mine Fuses

Length

Fuse

Complexity Triggered by:

Soviet
MUV
MV-5
VPF

5
3.5
3

0%
+l0%
+25%

2-lb. pull*
26-lb. pressure
2 -lb. pull

3'
3 "
5"
6"/6"

0%
0%
+25%**
+15%**

3- to 5-lb. pull
l0-lb. pressure
6- to l0-lb. pull
special

American
Ml
MlAl
M3
M5

* The tripwire pulls off a cap, releasing the striker. It is possible to remove this
cap and attach the fuse to a line so that relaxing the pressure detonates the mine.
* * A character needs tools, such as a lockpick set, to disarm this type of fuse.

Table 2

Types of Land Mines

Mine

Weight (lbs.)

Explosive equivalent
(lbs. plastique)
Complexity

Soviet
TM-38
TM-41
TMB-2
TMB-8
YaM-5

American
Ml4
Ml5
Ml6
Ml8Al
Ml9
M21
M-23
M24
M25
M49Al

11.4
12
15.4
17.6
14.5
3.5
30
8.25
3.5
28
18
11
special
3.5
3.5

6.5
8.6
11
13
11
l o z .
22
special
special
21
10.5
special
special
special
special

- 50%
- 20%
0%
0%
- 10%
0%
+ 25%
+ 10%
+ 20%
0%/30%
0%
special
0%
+ 10%

Triggered by:
500-lb. pressure
400-lb. pressure
26-lb. pressure
26-lb. pressure
300-lb. pressure
20- to 35-lb. pressure
300- to 400-lb. pressure
special
remote control
350- to 500-lb. pressure
special
special
special
14- to 26-lb. pressure
l-lb. pull
DRAGON 91

MV-5: The MV-5 is a metal pipe with a

plunger. One can disarm it simply by lifting the MV-5 from its charge and unscrewing its cap. The Soviets make a plastic
version of the MV-5, called the MV-5K.
VPF: This fuse works underwater. It is a
tiny steel device with several clamps and a
ring for tripwires.
American fuses

M1: The Ml is simply a metal tube with

a tripwire ring.
M1A1: This tiny metal pipe contains
several screw eyelets so it can be attached
to an explosive. Its trap consists of a disc
with three upward-pointing prongs. When
something crushes these prongs, the fuse
detonates.
M3: An M3 fuse detonates when pulled
and released, It is very dangerous to disarm. The M3 is a steel pipe with one
tapered end. The tripwire is attached to a
small winch.
M5: The M5 appears to be a metal box. It
goes off when lifted or jostled. The M5 can
also be set to detonate when it is squeezed
and released. This latter type is placed
under a weight of 5 lbs. or more. When a
victim lifts the weight, the mine blows up.
This latter fuse type could also be used to
make the mine arm itself when an enemy
soldier steps on it, then go off when the
victim lifts his foot.
Soviet mines

TM-38: Looking rather like a suitcase,

the TM-38 is a metal box with an X cut in
the top to weaken the metal. It is about
9 X 9 in size. Impact or pressure crushes
the mines lid, triggering the fuse. The TM38 is usually booby-trapped; it often contains devices which detonate the mine if it
is lifted, if the cover is removed, or if the
fuse is taken out. TM-38s are never disarmed in the field.
TM-41: This is a metal can about 1 wide.
The two handles on a TM-41 make it look
like an old-fashioned chamber pot. A TM-41
has a pressure cap that can be loosened by
twisting; then the fuse can be pulled out.
However, TM41 fuses often stickand
pulling can set off the mine. Two

similar models exist, the TM44 and TM46.

TMB-2: This thick, round mind often
rots in moist soil. For game purposes,
there is a cumulative 10% chance per
week that a TMB-2 will disintegrate. The
TMB-2 is made of asphalt-impregnated
cardboard. Its fuse can be screwed out.
Another Soviet mine, the TMB-1, is nearly
identical.
TMB-8: Except as noted in Table 2, this
mine can be treated as a TMB-2.
YaM-5: The YaM-5 is a wooden, boxshaped mine that explodes when its lid is
crushed. To disarm it, an agent removes
the nail or wooden peg from the striker,
opens the lid, and takes out the fuse. The
Soviet use many similar mines with different explosive charges.
American mines

M14: Turning the arming dial frequently

on an Ml4 may cause the dial to wear out
and become stuck in an armed position.
Each time an agent adjusts the dial, there
is a cumulative 5% chance that it will stick.
This mine is a steel disc with several tabs.
M15: The Ml5 looks like a smooth, steel
disc.
M16: The Ml6 mine bounds into the air
and explodes, firing steel shrapnel in all
directions. No arming dial is used with the
Ml6; its fuse is simply screwed in. The
Ml6 looks like a soup can and can be set
to explode from pressure of 8-20 lbs. or
from a pull of 3-10 lbs. on a tripwire. An
M16 inflicts damage as a fragmentation
grenade.
MZ8A1: The M18A1 is often called a
claymore mine, and it is usually detonated
by remote control with an Ml or M3 fuse.
Claymores are placed in a triangular pattern, with a row of three mines closest to
the enemy, two more mines behind them,
and one beyond that. The mines are 150
apart. An operator sits in a foxhole behind
the minefield, detonating each row of
mines as the enemy approaches it. Characters can set unmanned traps with the
M18A1, using tripwires and fuses. This
mine sprays 700 steel balls over a range of
820', across a 60 arc. Anybody within
range suffers the effect of 1-10 gunshot

wounds. Claymores are rectangular, metallic, and appear slightly bent. Most are
painted blue and labeled front towards
enemy! Each stands on four wire legs. In
Vietnam, the Viet Cong were known to
reverse M18A1 mines so that they sprayed
the operator.
M19: An M19 cannot be armed or disarmed without a special safety fork. The
U.S. Army packages M19 devices with the
fork attached. If an agent attempts to
operate an M19 without a fork, its Complexity score is - 40%. This mine is plastic
and shaped like a square box.
M21: This round mine has no arming
dial; a fuse is simply screwed into the
metallic mine itself. Two fuses are available, one which goes off under 290 lbs. of
pressure, and the other (an upright rod)
which fires the mine when brushed. The
latter tilt-rod fuse will also detonate if the
mine tilts 20, which makes it perilous to
disarm the mine. When the tilt-rod is
employed, use the second Complexity
figure in Table 2.
M-23: The M-23 is a highly restricted
chemical-warfare device. It and its cousin,
the Ml, can be set for pressure detonation
or remote control. Any of the poisons in
the TOP SECRET rules can be used with
an M-23. The M-23 is a round disc of thin
metal with a raised lid in the center, having three stripes on one side.
M24: An M24 does not explode; it fires a
missile. To use it, one camouflages a missile launcher near the area to be trapped
and places a discriminator where the
victim will pass. The discriminator looks
like a loop of wire and is attached to the
missile launcher by a cable. It can be set to
fire at either tracked or wheeled vehicles.
The effects of the missile are as per the
descriptions of personal missile launchers
in the TOP SECRET/S.I. games Equipment
Inventory (page 5), in the TOP SECRET
Companion (page 61), or in Desmond P.
Varadays article, Now, Thats Firepower!
in DRAGON issue #102. The missile
always hits. It is simple to dismantle an
M-24, the act requiring no Deactivation
check.
M25: These mines are sometimes nicknamed Elsies. They cause 1 point of
damage when stepped on and can penetrate a tire. An Elsie is a pointed metal
device with a wire handle and no arming
dial. One simply pushes the M25 into the
ground to set it. The wire handle makes it
easy to pull up.
M49A1: This is an automatic flare, not a
weapon. It is attached to a post. The
M49A1 illuminates an area 330 yards in
radius. Characters who look directly at the
flare will be blinded for 1-10 seconds.
Anybody within 20 of the M49A1 must
roll below his Willpower score to avoid
looking at it.

Finding them first

Avoiding traps and mines is the name of

the game here. Whether driving or walking, an agent can detect mines by rolling
92 AUGUST 1989

his Observation score or lower on 1d100;

this check must be made every 100.
Observation is incorrectly described on
page 3 of the TOP SECRET Companion it
equals one-half the sum of the agents;
Willpower and Knowledge traits. A mine
detector always detects metallic mines.
Any other metal detector adds 30% to the
users Observation score when hunting for
metal mines. To look for mines, an agent
must move at one-quarter normal speed.
An agent who is unaware of the presence
of mines or moves faster through a minefield than he should must roll his Coordination or below on 1d100 every 10;
failure means he triggers a mine. Sometimes, of course, these rules will not apply.
For example, if an agent attaches a
tripwire to a door, opening the door detonates the mine no dice need to be
rolled.
To disarm a mine, a character must roll
his Deactivation score or below on 1d100.
If the roll is above the Deactivation score,
the mine stays armed, and the agent must
check his Deactivation again to keep the
charge from firing. An agent may make
only one attempt to disarm a given mine.
When U.S. Army personnel breach a
minefield, 35 enlisted men, one noncommissioned officer, and one officer are
required. The lead man operates a mine
detector or probes with a stick. A soldier
crawls behind him, laying tape to mark a

safe path and covering mines with a small

dome. The NCO comes next. Two soldiers
follow him and dispose of any mines; they
also probe for mines the mine detector
missed. A few mines are disarmed, but
most are set off from safe ranges with a
grappling hook. Sometimes the Army uses
a powerful explosive to detonate a discovered mine. A back-up mine-detector operator comes next, then a radioman. The rest
of the unit follows to replace any casualties suffered.

Other traps

Land mines are only one way to entrap

an area. Wooden punjee stakes are treated
as caltrops, described on page 60 of the
TOP SECRET Companion. The Viet Cong
often poisoned punjee stakes with excrement and filth. A wound caused by such a
device festers unless treated with antibiotics, and the victim loses 2-20 points of
Physical Strength and Coordination. Medical treatment restores this damage at a
rate of 1 point per day. Without treatment,
1-10 points in each ability will be regained,
at a rate of 1 point per week.
Another trap-type weapon of the Vietnam
War is tanglefoot. This is a mesh of barbed
wire with gaps about as large as a human
foot, strung along the ground and hidden in
mud or water. A victims feet will slide
between the wires and be caught. An agent
may escape tanglefoot by spending 1-10

seconds carefully removing each foot. If the

victim is running when captured, the barbs
inflict 1 point of damage.
The Geneva Convention banned razor
wire for use in warfare, but prisons use
razor wire extensively, and secret installations might employ it. An agent takes 1
point of damage each time he brushes
against razor wire. When cutting through
razor wire, an agent must roll his Coordination or lower on 1d100. Otherwise, the
wire lashes the agent as it springs away,
inflicting 2 points of damage.
Secret agents are not issued military
weapons, and that includes land mines.
This is why no prices are listed for the
individual traps and mines described
herein. However, these weapons are not
much deadlier than standard explosives.
On a special mission, the Administrator
may release these devices to agents, and
enemy NPCs can be expected to use them.
So, watch your step!

DRAGON 93

Convention Calendar Policies

This column is a service to our readers
worldwide. Anyone may place a free listing
for a game convention here, but the following guidelines must be observed.
In order to ensure that all convention
listings contain accurate and timely information, all material should be either typed
double-spaced or printed legibly on standard manuscript paper. The contents of
each listing must be short, succinct, and
under 150 words long.
The information given in the listing must
include the following, in this order:
1. Convention title and dates held;
2. Site and location;
3. Guests of honor (if applicable);
4. Special events offered;
5. Registration fees or attendance requirements; and,
6. Address(es) and telephone number(s)
where additional information and confirmation can be obtained.
Convention flyers, newsletters, and other
mass-mailed announcements will not be
considered for use in this column; we
prefer to see a cover letter with the announcement as well. No call-in listings are
accepted. Unless stated otherwise, all
dollar values given for U.S. and Canadian
conventions are in U.S. currency.
WARNING: We are not responsible for
incorrect information sent to us by convention staff members. Please check your
convention listing carefully! Our wide
circulation ensures that over a quarter of a
million readers worldwide see each issue.
Accurate information is your responsibility.
Copy deadlines are the last Monday of
each month, two months prior to the onsale date of an issue. Thus, the copy deadline for the December issue is the last
Monday of October. Announcements for
North American and Pacific conventions
must be mailed to: Convention Calendar,
DRAGON Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake
Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. Announcements
for Europe must be posted an additional
month before the deadline to: Convention
Calendar, DRAGON Magazine, TSR
Limited, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom.
If a convention listing must be changed
because the convention has been cancelled, the dates have changed, or incorrect information has been printed, please
contact us immediately. Most questions or
changes should be directed to either Anne
Brown or Roger E. Moore at TSR, Inc.,
(414) 248-3625 (U.S.A.). Questions or
changes concerning European conventions
should be directed to TSR Limited, (0223)
212517 (U.K.).

94 AUGUST 1989

indicates an Australian convention.

* indicates a Canadian convention.
indicates a European convention.
* Indicates a product produced by a company other than TSR
Inc. Most product names are trademarks owned by the
companies publishing those products The use of the name of
any product without mention of its trademark status should not
be construed as a challenge to such status

Write to: Amazing World of Fantasy, 2518-C

Shorter Avenue, Rome, GA 30161; or call Dana
Pinkard (show chairperson) at: (404) 235-2179;
or Patrick Swinford at: (404) 234-5309
ECONOMYCON II, August 18-20

This years convention will be held at the

Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield,
Ill. Featured events will include hoard, miniatures, and fantasy role-playing games. Registration fee: $4.00. Write to: Bill Wilson, 99
Cottonwood Drive, Chatham, IL 62629; or call:
(217)483-5797.

ECONOMYCON II will be held at the Plaza de

Fiesta, 2740 S. Alma School Rd., Suite #18, Mesa,
Ariz. Admission is free. Events include BATTLETECH* AD&D, and BATTLE FOR MOSCOW*
tournaments, and a painted figures contest with
prizes. Other games will include WWII microarmor*, WARHAMMER FANTASY* miniatures
battles, a WORLD IN FLAMES* campaign game,
and open gaming. Send an SASE to: Roaming
Panther Game Co., 2740 S. Alma School Rd. #16,
Mesa, AZ 85202.

Y-FEST, August 5-6

GATEWAY 89, September l-4

CAPITOL-CON V, August 5

This gaming convention will be held at the

Wick Park Community Center, Park Ave. between 5th Ave. and Elm St., in Youngstown,
Ohio Events include RPGA Network AD&D
tournaments, with BATTLETECH*, CALL OF
CTHULHU*, WARHAMMER FANTASY*, WARHAMMER 40,000*, and other miniatures and
role-playing events. Gaming fees are $5 per day
or $7 for both days. Write to: Breastplate Hobbies, 3002 Center Rd., Poland OH 44514; or call
(216) 757-9791.
HOUSTON FANFAIR, August 12-13

This fantasy festival, which will be held at a

hotel to be announced, will draw 600-800 attendees and will offer 60 dealers tables and 15
guests. Features will include a video room,
Japanimation, programming, gaming, an open
con suite, a masquerade, an art show, filksinging, and more. Admission is $5 for Saturday, $4
for Sunday, and $6 for both days. Write to:
Bulldog Productions, P.O. Box 820488, Dallas TX
75382; or call: (214) 349-3367.
COLLECTORS EXPO, August 18-20

This collectors show is held semiannually at

the Eastgate Mall on Brainerd Road, just off
Interstate 75, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Show hours
are 10 A.M. to 9 P.M. on Friday and Saturday, and
noon to 6 P.M. on Sunday. Guests will include
representatives from Marvel Comics. Events will
include an AD&D tournament (which begins
Friday and ends with final rounds on Sunday);
an ongoing DRAGONLANCE board game; a
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES* event;
workshops on gaming and comic-book and
baseball-card collecting; a miniatures-painting
contest; video showings of Star Trek bloopers,
X-Men cartoons, and more; an auction hosted by
our own Freddy Krueger (with proceeds going
to the American Cancer Society); slide shows;
and a Saturday-night costume contest. Admission to this show is free! The entire mall is the
showroom area. It will include: comic books;
baseball cards; Star Trek, Dr. Who, and Blakes 7
memorabilia; Japanese animation; gaming; and
other related items. Dealers tables are 8 long;
only 50 are available. Prices for these tables
vary with the number of tables a dealer desires.

STRATEGICON will sponsor this convention at

the Los Angeles Airport Hyatt Hotel. All types of
family, strategic, and adventure board, roleplaying, miniatures, and computer gaming will
be offered, as well as flea markets, an exhibitors room, auctions, seminars, demonstrations,
and special guests. Write to: STRATEGICON, P.0.
Box 8399, Long Beach, CA 90808; or call Diverse
Talents at: (213) 420-3675.
NANCON 88-XI, September l-4

NANCON 88-XI will again be held Labor Day

Weekend at the Ramada Northwest Crossing,
12801 N.W. Frwy., Houston, Tex. Numerous
events this year will include two AD&D events,
with SQUAD LEADER* BATTLETECH*, PARANOIA* TWILIGHT 2000*, CALL OF
CTHULHU*, 15mm Napoleonics, STAR WARS*,
HARPOON*, and CHAMPIONS* games. Send an
SASE to: Nans Games & Comics Too, 2011 S.W.
Frwy., Houston, TX 77098.
TACTIKHAN 89, September 1-3

The Denver Gamers Association and Worldwide Wargamers present TACTIKHAN 89, held
at the Ramada Hotel, Westminster, Colo., on
September l-3, Labor Day Weekend, 1989.
Gaming of all hinds, official RPGA Network
tournaments, the Puffing Billy tournament, and
an auction will be offered Miniature events will
be staged by the Colorado Military Historians.
Registration is $14 for the weekend until August
25, and $17 thereafter. Write to: Denver Gamers
Association, P.O. Box 11369, Denver, CO 80211.
AMERICAN GAMES FAIR, September 8-10

Communications, Conferences & Exhibitions

Ltd. presents this premier event, rescheduled
from earlier this year. This show will be held
September 8-10 at the Roosevelt Hotel (45th
Street and Madison Avenue). This event is the
first consumer and trade show for the games
industry to be held in the New York area. A
program of special events and entertainment
will run throughout the duration of the fair.
Highlights include: prize-winning RPGA Network AD&D game tournaments and RPGA
Network PARANOIA* tournaments; an open-

gaming area; daily game demonstrations and

presentations; seminars for game enthusiasts,
manufacturers, retailers, and designers; an
inspirational exhibit of original and poster art;
and a Best of Show game competition. All
categories of games are included within the
scope of the show. Hours for this fair are as
follows: Friday, trade only, 9:30 A.M to 1 P.M.;
Friday, trade and public, 1 P.M. to 10 P.M.; Saturday, trade and public, 9:30 A.M. to 10 P.M.; and
Sunday, trade and public, 9:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. Write
to: CCE Ltd., 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1121,
New York NY 10168; or call: (212) 867-5159,
(212) 682-6232 (fax), or 425442 MEDIA (Telex).
AUSTIN FANFAIR, September 8-9

Over 60 dealers tables, 15 guests, and over

700 convention-goers will be in attendance for
this fantasy festival, which will be held at a
hotel to be announced. Features will include a
video room, Japanimation, programming, gaming, an open con suite, a masquerade, an art
show, filksinging, and more. Admission will be
$5 for Saturday, $4 for Sunday, or $6 for both
days, and will be available at the door only.
Write to: Bulldog Productions, PO. Box 820488,
Dallas TX 75382; or call: (214) 349-3367.
MIRACLECON 89, September 9

This gaming convention will be held at the

Shenango Valley Civic Center, on the corner of
Pitt Street and Shenango Avenue in Sharon, Pa.
Featured events will include an AD&D tournament, an auction, a miniatures-painting contest,
a dealers room, and other role-playing and
miniature games events. Registration fees are $5
at the door. There will be no separate event
fees. Write to: Timothy A. Riley, 308 West
Church Street, Urbana OH 43708; or: 7855 Elm
Street SE, Masury, OH 44438; or call him at:
(513) 653-7848.
VALLEY CON 14, September 9-10

This science-fiction, fantasy, and comics convention will be held at the Days Inn Conference
Center at 600 30th Street South in Moorhead,
Minn. Activities will include video rooms, an art
show and auction, a hucksters room, panels
and demonstrations, a banquet, and many
gaming events, including STAR TREK*, RUNEQUEST*, ROLEMASTER*, SPACEMASTER*,
STAR WARS*, DR. WHO*, CALL OF CTHULHU*,
and AD&D games. Send an SASE to: VALLEY
CON 14, P.O. Box 7202, Fargo ND 58108; or call:
(701)232-1954.
KETTERING GAME
September 10

CONVENTION

This convention, sponsored by Kettering

Parks and Recreation Division, will be held at
the Rose E. Miller Recreation center, 3201 N.
Marshall, Kettering, Ohio. Games will include
CIRCUS MAXIMUS*, RISK*, NUCLEAR WAR*,
FAMILY BUSINESS*, LIARS DICE*, CONSPIRACY*, MONOPOLY*, PICTIONARY*, TRIVIAL
PURSUIT*, UNO*, CLUE*, SCRABBLE*,
YAHTZE*, AGGRAVATION*, EUCHRE*, and
fantasy role-playing games, A game auction will
also be featured. Hours are 12:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M..
Admission is $0.50 for children 12 and under,
$1.00 for 13 and older. Write to: Bob Von
Gruenigen, 2013 Gay Dr. Kettering, OH 45420.
SIOUX CITY WARGAMES IV
September 15-17

This gaming convention will be held at the

Marina Inn in South Sioux City, Nebr. Featured
events will include RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN*,
DIPLOMACY*, ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER*,
SPEED CIRCUIT*, CAR WARS*, AXIS & AL-

LIES*, EMPIRE III*, JOHNNY REB*, HARPOON*,

CHAINMAIL, WWII and modern microarmor,
and science-fiction games, among others. Special
room rates will be available to conventioneers.
Admission to this event is free. Write to: SIOUX
CITY WARGAMES IV, ATTN: Dave Patch, 1600
Pierce, Sioux City IA 51105.
COLONIAL CITY GAMEFEST 1989
September 16-17

The Mt. Vernon Gamers Association will hold

the 7th Annual Colonial City Gamefest at the Mt.
Vernon Memorial Building, East High St., Mt.
Vernon, Ohio. Games will include AD&D,
HARN*, TWILIGHT 2000*, CALL OF
CTHULHU*, GLADIATORS*, CIRCUS IMPERIUM*, and) historical miniatures games, including WWII HO-scale armor, microarmor,
micronaval, ACW, and colonials games. Also
included will be WARHAMMER FANTASY* and
WARHAMMER 40,000*, and 25mm CHAINMAIL
games. Sunday will include the ever-popular
Battle of Mt. Vernon 1862. The convention will
also feature a miniatures painting competition,
auction, retail vendors, and demonstration
games. Hours are: Saturday, 10 A.M. to 11 PM.;
Sunday, 10 A.M. to 11 P.M. Admission: $5 for the
weekend, preregistration only; $3 per day at the
door. Write to: Colonial City Gamefest, c/o Mt.
Vernon Gamers Association, P.O. Box 1184, Mt.
Vernon OH 43050.
1989 CALGARY GAMING CONVENTION
September 22-24

Hosted by the Canadian Wargamers Group

and the University of Calgary, this convention
welcomes all gamers. This three-day con will
include games and miniatures events, such as
SYSTEM 7*, KREMLIN*, SHOGUN*, WORLD IN
FLAMES*, ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER*,
BATTLETECH*, and CIRCUS MAXIMUS* games.
Write to: The Canadian Wargamers Group, 207
Bernard Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T3K 2B6
CANADA.
CONTACT-7, September 29-October 1

This science-fiction, fantasy, and gaming

convention will be held at the Ramada Inn,
located on Hwy. 41 North in Evansville, Ind.
Andrew J. Offutt will be the guest of honor;
other guests will include George Lan
Laskowski, Rick Dunning, and Arlan Andrews
(toastmaster). Events include RPGA Network
sanctioned gaming, closed-circuit television
programming, an art show, a dealers room, and
a 24-hour hospitality suite. Membership is $15
until September 1; $20 thereafter. Write to:
CONTACT-7, P.O. Box 3894, Evansville, IN 477373894; or call: (812) 853-5730.
COUNCIL OF FIVE NATIONS 15
October 6-8

Hosted by the Schenectady Wargamers Association, this convention will be held at the Ramada Inn in Schenectady, N.Y. A number of
RPGA Network events are planned, including a
Masters Level AD&D tournament. There will
also be several other AD&D game tournaments
and single-round events. Other events will
include BATTLETECH*, STAR FLEET BATTLES*,
CIVILIZATION*, DIPLOMACY* (Youngstown 10player variant), CHAMPIONS*, CAR WARS*,
RUNEQUEST*, and various other role-playing,
board, and miniatures games. The convention
will also feature a miniatures-painting contest
and games auction. Advance registration will be
$10 for the weekend, or $15 at the door. To
receive a preregistration booklet (mailed in
August), send an SASE to: Eric Paperman, Con
Director, 418 Vliet Boulevard, Cohoes, NY 12047.

Room rates for this event are $60 a night for

double occupancy and $75 a night for quad. For
information about lodging, contact the Schenectady Ramada Inn at: (518) 370-7151.
DRAGON CON 89, October 6-8

This science-fiction, fantasy, and gaming

convention will be held at the OMNI International Hotel and Convention Center in Atlanta,
Ga. Guests include Anne McCaffrey, Wes Craven, Michael Whelan, Andrew Greenberg,
Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Gary Gygax,
Richard Garriott, Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey,
and Larry Elmore. Preregistration (through
September 15) is $30. Fantasy role-playing,
strategic, miniatures, and computer gaming will
be featured in over 100 tournaments. Other
events will include four tracks of workshops
and panels, masquerade shows, an art show and
print shop, video rooms, art and consignment
auctions, a con suite, and more. Send an SASE
to: DRAGON CON 89, Box 47696, Atlanta GA
30362. You may also purchase your advanced
membership by VISA or Mastercard by calling
Tevex, toll-free, at: (800) 456-1162.
SUNCOAST SKIRMISHES 89, October 6-8

SKIRMISHES presents the ninth-annual presentation of this gaming extravaganza. This

event will take place at the Holiday Inn-Ashley
Plaza, 111 West Fortune Street, in Tampa, Fla.
Room rates are $50 for one to four people.
Events will include: AD&D, TRAVELLER*,
STAR FLEET BATTLES*, CAR WARS*, Napoleonics miniatures, SEEKRIEG*, and other games;
board gaming; a KILLER* tournament; and
dealers. Registration is $18 for the weekend;
send your fees to receive a program booklet.
Write to: SKIRMISHES, PO. Box 2097, Winter
Haven, FL 33883; or call: (813) 293-7983.
TOLEDO GAMING CONVENTION 7
October 7-8

The seventh-annual edition of Northwest

Ohios largest gaming convention will be held at
the University of Toledos Scott Park Campus.
This year we will have over 140 events, including: role-playing, strategy, tactical, board, and
miniatures tournaments; two auctions; demonstrations; painting contests; and dealers and
exhibitors. Featured this year are AD&D,
BATTLETECH*, WARHAMMER 40,000*, STAR
FLEET BATTLES*, GURPS*, STAR WARS*,
ADVANCED SQUAD LEADER*, AXIS &, ALLIES*, and SPACE: 1889* events. In addition,
there will be nonstop movies and open gaming.
Send an SASE to: TOLEDO GAMING CONVENTION 7, c/o Mind Games, 3001 North Reynolds
Road, Toledo OH 43615.
QUAD CON, October 13-15

The RiverBend Gamers Association will sponsor QUAD CON 89 at Palmer Auditorium, 1000
Brady St., Davenport, Iowa. Special room rates
are available at the Best Western Riverview Inn
by calling l-800-528-1234 or (319) 324-1921.
Games will include AD&D, D&D, BATTLETECH*, RECON*, STAR FLEET BATTLES*, CAR
WARS*, STAR TREK*, MARVEL SUPER HEROES,
GURPS*, GAMMA WORLD, TRAVELLER 2300*,
TWILIGHT 2000*, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES *, MERP*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, DR.
WHO*, DC HEROES*, ADVANCED SQUAD
LEADER*, CIVILIZATION*, DIPLOMACY*, and
AIR SORTIE* games. Other events will include
microarmor, a painting contest, multievent
ancients-to-future combat tournament, and a
costume contest (no weapons, please). Preregistration is available August 1 ($7 weekend, $3
per day) but must be received by October 1. AtDRAGON 97

the-door fees are: $10 weekend, $5 per day.

Send a #10 SASE to: RiverBend Gamers Association, PO. Box 8421, Moline, IL 61265.
NECRONOMICON 89, October 20-22

NECRONOMICON 89, a science-fiction, fantasy, and horror convention, will be held at the
Ashley Plaza Holiday Inn in Tampa, Fla. Guests
of honor will be George Alec Effinger (author of
When Gravity Fails) and artist Tom Kidd. Other
guests include Richard Byers (author of Fright
Line) and Richard Louis Newman (author of On
Wings of Evil). Membership rates are $15 until
September 15, and $20 at the door. One-day
memberships are available at the door only.
Hotel room rates are $50 for single to quad
occupancy. Activities will include author and
artist panels, a fan cabaret, a masquerade, a
Batman 50th Anniversary Trivia Quiz, autograph sessions, an art auction, a late-night
dance, an Ygor party, and whatever else we can
come up with by convention time. Write to:
NECRONOMICON 89, P.O. Box 2076, Riverview,
FL 33569; or call: (813) 677-6347.
NOTJUSTANOTHER CON, October 20-22

The Science Fiction Conventioneers of U.

Mass. (SCUM) will hold its fifth NOTJUSTANOTHER CON in the Campus Center of the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Guest of
honor is Oscar-winning filmmaker Mike Jittlov
(The Wizard of Speed and Time). Membership
rates are $13 through October 1; $15 from
October 1-19; and $17 at the door. Send an SASE
to: SCUM, RSO 104 SAO, U. Mass., Amherst, MA
01003; or call: (413) 545-1924.
QUEEN CITY GAMES 89, October 20-21

QUEEN CITY GAMES 89 will be held at the

Cincinnati Technical College, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Events will include BATTLETECH*, STAR FLEET
BATTLES*, and microarmor games, with an
RPGA Network tournament, role-playing,
miniatures, door prizes, seminars, and a costume contest. Write to: Cincinnati Adventure
Gamers, Q.C.G. 89, P.O. Box 462, Cincinnati, OH
45201; or call: (513) 542-3449, 1:30-6:00 P.M.
MILEHICON 21, October 27-29

This science-fiction, fantasy, and gaming

convention will be held at the Executive Tower
Inn in Denver, Colo. Robert Bloch will be the
guest of honor; Forrest J. Ackerman will be fan
guest of honor; and Simon Hawke will be toastmaster. Events will include: literary and scientific panels; an art show and auction; exhibits; a
Critter Crunch (offensive and defensive robot
competition); videos and movies; filk programming; an expanded gaming area; a costume
contest; and a masked ball. Room rates are $47
for single or double occupancy; $52 for triple or
quad occupancy. Dealers tables are $35 until
October 1, then $40 until October 27. Registration fees are $20 until October 15, or $22 at the
door. Write to: MILEHICON, PO. Box 27074,
Lakewood, CO 80227; or call: (303)426-0806.
WARGAMERS EXPO, October 27-29

This expo will be held at the Holiday Inn

Baymeadows, 9150 Baymeadows Rd., Jacksonville, Fla.; phone (904) 737-1700. This new and
exciting convention will deal in many aspects of
fiction, from science fiction to histories to comics. Events will include a costume party with
contest, dealers room, and all types of gaming.
Preregistration is $15, or $18 at the door. Oneday rates will be available. Write to: Xenos, WalMart Center, 103rd St., Jacksonville, FL 32210; or
call (904) 777-9366 from 10:30 A.M. to 5:30 PM.
Mon.-Fri.
98 AUGUST 1989

AU GAMERS CONVENTION
November 10-12

The Au Gamers are proud to hold the largest

fantasy role-playing convention in New Jersey at
the Sheraton Tara Hotel, 199 Smith Rd., Parsippany, NJ. Events will include RPGA Networksponsored tournaments, charity game, costume
contest, dealers area, miniatures painting
contest, and more. Prizes will be awarded for
best players and best gamemasters. For reservations, call (201) 515-2000, ext. 5800. Mention the
convention to receive special room rates. Registration fees before Oct. 20 are $7 per day or $18
for the weekend. After Oct. 20, rates are $8 per
day and $20 for the weekend. Registration at
the door will be $10 per day. Write to: Steven
M. Scheel, Oakwood Village, Bldg #26, Apt #9,
Flanders NJ 07836, phone (201)927-8097; or
John Moir, 361 Vandervier Ave., Sommerville, NJ
08876, phone (201) 725-1257.
SCI CON II, November 10-12

This science-fiction and gaming convention

will be; held at the Holiday Inn Executive Center
in Virginia Beach, Va. Artist guests of honor are
Ron Lindahn and Val Lakey-Lindahn. Special
guest is Frank Kelly Freas. Events will include
panels, readings, video presentations, a costume
contest, an art show, gaming, and more. Memberships are $15 until September 30, or $20 at
the door. Huckster tables (which include one
membership) are $75 until October 1; any tables
available after that point will be $100. Send an
SASE to: SCI CON 11, Dept. DR, P.O. Box 9434,
Hampton, VA 23670.
ARMISTICE CON 89, November 11-12

This gaming event will be held at the Horizon

Activities Center in North Olmsted, Ohio. Special
events will include TRAVELLER*, CAR WARS*,
BATTLETECH*, DIPLOMACY*, microarmor, and
AD&,D game events, as well as Napoleonic
miniatures, board and role-playing games, a
miniatures exhibit, a miniatures-painting contest, and 24-hour gaming. Registration fees are
$12. One-day passes will be available for $7.
Write to: ARMISTICE CON 89, c/o Horizon
Activities Center, 30395 Lorain Road, North
Olmsted, OH 44070; or call Dave Smith or Fran
Haas at: (216) 779-6536 during business hours.
GAMESCON (UK) 89, November 11

This gaming convention will be held at the

Laindon Community Centre, Basildon, Essex.
Dungeon masters and players are required for
AD&D games competition. Contact Chris Baylis
by calling tel. 0268-419933 or write to 67 Mynchens, Lee Chapel North, Basildon, Essex SS115
5EG, UNITED KINGDOM.
PENTAGON, November 11

The Northeast Indiana Gaming Association

will host the fifth annual PENTACON gaming
convention in the Grand Wayne Convention
Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. Games will include
an RPGA Network AD&D tournament,
BATTLETECH*, CAR WARS*, CHAMPIONS*,
CIVILIZATION*, DARKUS THEL*, MORROW
PROJECT*, and SPACE: 1889* games. Other
features are a painting contest and dealers area.
Send an SASE to: N.I.G.A., P.O. Box 11146, Fort
Wayne, IN 46856.
UMF-CON, November 11-12

This role-playing and war-games convention

will be held at the Student Center of the University of Maine in Farmington, Maine. Events will
include TOP SECRET/S.I. and AD&D games,
DIPLOMACY* competitions, miniatures, board
games, and contests. Also planned is another

murder mystery. Admission is $5 per day and

$2 per game. Send an SASE to: Table Gaming
Club, c/o Student Life Office, Student Center, 5
South Street, Farmington, ME 04938.
UCON 89, November 17-19

This role-playing and strategy gaming convention will take place in the Michigan Union at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Events
will include: live role-playing; dealers tables; a
movie room; a costume contest; an AD&D
tournament; and CIVILIZATION*, STAR FLEET
BATTLES*, DIPLOMACY*, and THIRD REICH*
games. Write to: The Michigan Wargaming Club,
PO. Box 4491, Ann Arbor MI 48106.
DALLAS FANTASY FAIR, November 24-26

Featuring over 140 dealers tables, more than

60 guests, and over 2,000 attendees, this fantasy
event will be held at the Marriott Park Central,
7750 I-635 at Coit Road in Dallas, Tex. Attractions will include two 24-hour video rooms,
Japanimation, 24-hour gaming, four-track programming, a masquerade, an open con suite, an
art show and auction, a charity auction, artists
and writers workshops, autograph sessions,
filksinging, dancing, an amateur-film festival, a
talent show, and more. Admission is $15 for all
three days in advance, or $20 at the door.
Single-day admissions may be purchased at the
door; prices are $8 Friday, $10 Saturday, and $8
Sunday. Write to: Bulldog Productions, P.O. Box
820488, Dallas, TX 75382; or call: (214) 349-3367.
MACQUARIECON 89, December 8-10

The Macquarie University Role Playing Society

will host Australias largest role-playing convention on campus at Macquarie University, Sydney
Australia. Events will include AD&D, PARANOIA*, CALL OF CTHULHU*, JAMES BOND*,
TRAVELLER*, STAR WARS*, M.E.R.P*, WARHAMMER*, SPACE: 1889*, JUDGE DREDD*,
boardgames, Freeforms, and others. Registration is $30 Australian for the weekend or $3
Australian per session with a $7 registration fee.
Write to: M.U.R.P.S., P.O. Box 1577, Macquarie
Centre, North Ryde NSW 2113, Australia.
CHATTACON XV, January 12-14, 1990

CHATTACON XV will be held at The Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Chattanooga, Tenn. Accommodations are $60 flat, $85 for sleeper car
suites. Guests will include Michael P. KubeMcDowell, Robert E. Vardeman, David Cherry,
Danny Gill, Wilson Bob Tucker, Stan Bruns,
and Dick and Nicki Lynch. Registration: $18
until Dec. 1, 1989; $25 thereafter and at the
door. Send an SASE to: CHATTACON XV, Box
23908, Chattanooga TN 37422; or call: (404) 5919322 (no collect calls).
JACKSONVILLE SKIRMISHES 90
February 9-11, 1990

SKIRMISHES presents this role-playing and

war gaming convention at the Jacksonville
Motel on the Riverwalk, 565 South Main Street,
in Jacksonville, Fla. Room rates are $52 for one
to four persons. Events will include AD&D
game features, along with TRAVELLER*, STAR
FLEET BATTLES*, CAR WARS*, and SEEKRIEG*
games. Other events will include board gaming,
a KILLER* tournament, dealers, a miniaturespainting contest, demonstrations by the SCA,
and many other role-playing and historical
events. Hotel reservations may be made by
calling (904) 398-8800. Registration is $18 for the
entire weekend. Send your registration fee to
receive a program booklet. Write to: SKIRMISHES, PO. Box 2097, Winter Haven, FL 33883;
or call: (813) 293-7983.

100 AUGUST 1989

DRAGON 101