Dragon Magazine #149

108 Pages·1999·8.44 MB·English

Issue #149
REGULAR FEATURES
Vol. XIV, No. 3
September 1989
1 4 Magic for Beginners (cid:151) Gregory W. Detwiler
Create all-new weapons(cid:151)for 1st-level characters only!
Publisher
Mike Cook
2 0 The Envelope, Please! (cid:151) The editors
Their finest hour: the winners of the 1988 ORIGINS(cid:153) Awards.
Editor
Roger E. Moore
2 2 The Dragon(cid:146)s Bestiary (cid:151) Kurt Martin
Blue horses, six-legged horses, magical horses, and more.
Assistant editor Fiction editor
Anne Brown Barbara G. Young
2 8 Advice for All Mutants (cid:151) Skip Williams
The sage looks at the rules hazards of the 3rd Edition GAMMA WORLDfi
Editorial assistant
game.
Kimberly J. Walter
3 2 Orcs in Space! (cid:151) Ken Rolston
Art director
Mix role-playing, punk elves, and plasma cannon in GW(cid:146)s WARHAMMER(cid:153)
Lori Svikel
40,000 game.
Production staff
4 2 Kesmai and Beyond (cid:151) Cheryl Peterson
Paul Hanchette Angelika Lokotz
Your computer modem is the gateway to fantastic adventure.
Kathleen C. MacDonald Gaye O(cid:146)Keefe
4 6 From Freighters to Flying Boats (cid:151) Matthew M. Seabaugh
Subscriptions U.S. Advertising
Take a dive to the bottom of the sea: the navies of the STAR FRONTIERSfi
Janet L. Winters Sheila Gailloreto
game.
U.K. correspondent
5 6 Getting It Right the First Time (cid:151) Richard W. Emerich
Christopher Christou
Don(cid:146)t be caught with your DM(cid:146)s screen down! Run your convention RPG
event like a pro.
U.K. advertising
Sue Lilley
7 0 The Role of Books (cid:151) John C. Bunnell
Detective work with the Batman, Lord Darcy, and Carlisle Hsing of
Nightside City.
7 6 The Role of Computers (cid:151) Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser
Azure Bonds: You read the book, you played the module, and now
8 4 Role-playing Reviews (cid:151) Jim Bambra
Does the future look dim? Scary? Cruel? Well, you ain(cid:146)t seen nothing yet.
9 0 Through the Looking Glass (cid:151) Robert Bigelow
A fantastic flight on a swan ship, and the wildest football teams ever.
96 Time Marches On (cid:151) Thomas M. Kane
What do the Golden Apple and the Silmarils have in common with your
RPG campaign?
D
EPARTMENTS
5 Letters 52 Gamers Guide 102 Dragonmirth
6 Forum 68 TSR Previews
10 Sage Advice 98 Convention Calendar
COVER
Observant readers who examine this month(cid:146)s cover art will quickly be able to name
the artist and the year in which the picture was painted. Color prints of our cover,
(cid:147)Trinket,(cid:148) are available for sale; interested readers may write to Robin Wood, c/o this
magazine.
4 SEPTEMBER 1989
Ogre-chow
It was a dark and stormy night. His
heart pounding madly, he tore at the
envelope. His thoughts raced as he
considered the message that might lie
inside. His trembling fingers unfolded
the single sheet of paper then he
What did you think of this issue? Do you have spell. They then returned to the island in radia- gasped as he read the sentence that
a question about an article or have an idea for a tion gear and liberated the poor gods who, due instills horror in every author: “We
new feature you(cid:146)d like to see? In the United to their lives among the stars, were immune to have no current interest in this topic.”
States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGONfi radiation at ground zero. Unfortunately, the As the new editor on the DRAGONfi
Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, owner of the isle was standing directly at Magazine block, I(cid:146)ve recently been the
U.S.A. In Europe, write to. Letters, DRAGON ground zero when Mirv(cid:146)s spell hit. We truly perpetrator of many of these heinous
Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry mourn his loss. letters. I hate sending them; some days
Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom. Jake Lovell
I(cid:146)m plagued by sounds like in The Tell-
Louisville KY
Waldorf hysteria Tale Heart, only these hearts are break-
I was a little disturbed when I read the letter ing, not beating. So this editorial is
about Waldorf in issue #137. Well, it just so designed to help put an end to some of
One year ago, in DRAGON issue #137, we happens that my 421st-level magic user, Al- this needless bloodshed by giving ad-
published a letter from a reader whose charac- keronus, was in outer space for the last year vice on how to get your work accepted.
ter, Waldorf (a 358th-level magic-user), had and just decided to come back to Greyhawk. We get dozens of requests for article
destroyed Greyhawk with the nuclear bombs he Alkeronus was, of course, ticked off, so he ideas ((cid:147)Tell me what to write about, and
had invented. Only Castle Waldorf and the salt decided to destroy Waldorf and his castle. With I(cid:146)ll write it!(cid:148)). First, we almost never
mines beneath it (in which all the deities la- his supreme power, Alkeronus made the sun go
assign articles to authors; all the ideas
bored) were left. We received a lot of mail about supernova, which completely disintegrated the
you see in print come from the
that little letter planet. Waldorf is dead, and I expect the charac-
imaginations of their writers. Second,
ter to never be used again. Waldorf, you should
Please tell Waldorf that I have successfully have known better than to mess with Alkero- the content of the magazine is dictated
completed making my savings roll, and ask him nus(cid:146)s alehouse! by our readers; when you send in
how much damage I took from the atomic Wade Beckman articles, you are determining what will
bomb. Sioux Falls SD be published. We simply pick and
P.Y. choose the best of the bunch.
No address given, but we We regret to inform Waldorf the magic-user Okay, so how do you avoid the rejec-
assume it was Greyhawk that he is in eternal servitude to Shamogroth
tion pile? Start by browsing through
Darkmane, a 511th-level Krynn minotaur bar-
some back issues of DRAGON Maga-
My character, (cid:147)Fist(cid:148) Xavier Redlance, has barian and his 89-person barbarian horde.
become ultimately powerful. . . . He owns three Shamogroth was on his home plane avenging zine. By looking at the last 10 or 12
or four completely paid-for and fortified castles. the destruction of his original barbarian tribe, issues, you(cid:146)ll learn which topics have
He and his mount, a 14-HD cloud dragon ((cid:147)Phan- so he was absent during the holocaust. been covered recently, and you(cid:146)ll also
tom(cid:148)), could wipe out Tiamat in one round of Unfortunately for Waldorf, Shamogroth get an idea of our style. Believe it or
combat, or obliterate five tarrasques or even returned to his home forest to see that it was not, we get letters that read, (cid:147)I(cid:146)ve never
Waldorf. He is a 60th-level knight/23rd-level devastated. Shamogroth then searched for the read your magazine, but here(cid:146)s an
bard/23rd-level druid/l4th-level illusionist. . . . only safe place on Oerth to return from the article. . . .(cid:148) Such submissions are
His two weapons are a mounted Dragonlance Border Ethereal: Castle Waldorf. By now, Mr.
usually doomed.
and a + 6 two-handed holy avenger. He is also Darkmane was very steamed (and a little hun-
Follow our writers(cid:146) guidelines. We
psionically imbued. gry), so he and his group of barbarians (ranging
Tell Waldorf that not all of the planet was in levels from 100 to 300) plundered the castle can tell at a glance which authors use
obliterated. (cid:147)Fist(cid:148) Xavier has two of his castles and destroyed it and all within, save Waldorf them. It makes our job much easier and
completely surrounded by granite (i.e, they(cid:146)re and the deities. Shamogroth released the gods, increases your chances of getting
three miles underground). The one thing he who promptly did away with Waldorf(cid:146)s power published.
hasn(cid:146)t done is design a device to clean up post- by exposing him to a little Negative Material Ask yourself whether your idea is
explosion radiation, but he is currently working plane torture, then repopulated Greyhawk. unique. High-powered versions of low-
on the problem. He can come out because his Shamogroth is now an epic hero and is
level spells, variations on the bag of
armor is resistant to just about any substance watched over by the good and kind gods, and
holding, and different colored magic
known to man (or Waldorf). Waldorf is now chained to the bottom of the
Travis Fox Valley of Eternal Pain, created by Shamogroth missiles aren(cid:146)t interesting. We(cid:146)re look-
Virginia Beach VA and his divine friends. Sorry, Waldorf. ing for fresh insights and original ways
James Collins &Jason Ross of playing, not just a new coat of paint
Recently, my AD&Dfi game character, Mirv Woody CA on the same old monsters, spells, and
the Outrageous (a 360th-level mage who had magic items.
developed long-range space travel and left his In response to this so-called wizard Waldorf(cid:146)s Make sure your article relates to
home in the Forgotten Realms) discovered a recent letter, I will not send my character sheets gaming. This may sound obvious, but
small barren world. There were only a few to Mr. Waldorf, simply because I am the most
it(cid:146)s painful to reject a well-researched,
inhabitants on it, on a 3 x 4-mile island with a powerful being in Greyhawk. Maybe you have
interesting article on Chinese foot-
castle. After infiltration, Mirv and his comrades heard of me: I call myself the Dungeon Master.
binding because it has no gaming appli-
discovered the castle(cid:146)s name: Castle Waldorf. And just let me say that I(cid:146)ve been getting pretty
Beneath the castle, working in a salt mine, were annoyed with Waldorf lately, so watch it! cation. Now, if that same article were
the deities of the realm. What a horrible fate. D.M. to provide modifiers to hit points and
So Mirv and his friends returned to their ship Spotsy VA dexterity, and explained how foot-
and destroyed all of the remaining life on the
island through the use of saturation bombing Continued on page 74
Continued on page 74
(phosphorus and antimagic bombs) and Mirv(cid:146)s
favorite spell, power word nuke, a tenth-level
DRAGON 5
DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published
monthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI
53147, United States of America. The postal address for
all materials from the United States and Canada except
subscription orders is: DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box
111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.; telephone: (414)
248-3625. The postal address for all materials from
Europe is: DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd, 120 Church
End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United
Kingdom; telephone: [phone] (U.K.), 44-223-
212517 (international); telex: 816761; fax: [phone]
(U.K.), 44-223-248066 (international).
Distribution: DRAGON Magazine is available from
“Forum” welcomes your comments and opinions campaign should be a blend of high and low game and hobby shops throughout the United States,
on role-playing games. In the United States and fantasy. How many times can your characters Canada, the United Kingdom, and through a limited
Canada, write to: Forum, DRAGON® Magazine, save the civilized world without becoming tnruamdeb einr othf eo Uthneirt eodv Sertsaeteass iosu btlye tsR. aDnidsotrmib uHtioouns eto, Itnhce. , baonodk
P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In bored? The campaign should have several in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Send
Europe, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine, elements of low fantasy to draw the players into orders to: Random House, Inc., Order Entry Department,
TSR Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, the DM(cid:146)s world and also keep the players in Westminster MD 21157, U.S.A.; telephone: (800) 638-
6460 toll-free except Alaska (call [phone] toll-free
Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We ask touch with their characters. in Maryland). Newsstand distribution throughout the
that material submitted to “Forum” be either If the DM is running a campaign and not just United Kingdom is by Seymour Press Ltd., 334 Brixton
neatly written by hand or typed with a fresh running players through one module after Road, London SW9 7AG, United Kingdom; telephone:
ribbon and clean keys so we can read and another, the DM should seriously consider 01S-7u3b3s-c4r4ip4t4io.ns: Subscription rates via second-class
understand your comments. starting the players at 1st level and letting them mail are as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent
advance from there. Most players will initially to an address in the U.S. or Canada; £18 for 12 issues
Regarding the wish spell: While I agree that say that starting at a higher level is fine with sent to an address within the United Kingdom; $50 in
U.S. funds for 12 issues sent by surface mail to any other
wish-class spells should not be used to gain them, but after much thought, I do not think
address; or $90 in U.S. funds for 12 issues sent airmail to
experience or levels directly, I feel that these they will still agree. The players lose valuable any other address. Payment in full must accompany all
gains can be simulated. Wishing for better information about their characters that cannot subscription orders. In the U.S. and Canada, methods of
fighting ability in order to defend a mage be filled in by a paragraph of background payment include checks or money orders made payable
to TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA
against some ogres (say the mage(cid:146)s spell book is material. A player also needs to develop a feel credit cards; send subscription orders with payments to:
lost) could be granted by temporarily raising the for all the abilities of a character. There is a TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 72089, Chicago IL 60678, U.S.A. In
mage(cid:146)s experience level in terms of hit points major difference between role-playing a charac- the United Kingdom, methods of payment include
cheques and money orders made payable to TSR Ltd, or
and fighting ability. (Remember that hit points ter up to 4th or 5th level (or even higher) and
charges to a valid ACCESS credit card; send subscrip-
represent not only strength, but willpower, just reading a brief background paragraph on tion orders with payments to TSR Ltd, as per that
luck, endurance, and the character(cid:146)s ability to how the character got to his current state. address above. Prices are subject to change without prior
dodge blows or minimize them.) Likewise, a The DM also loses when starting characters at notice. The issue of expiration of each subscription is
printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy of
wish to be able to cast a spell as if the mage higher than 1st level. First level is the time the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of
were a higher-level caster could be granted; for when the DM can develop powerful enemies for subscription copies must be received at least six weeks
example, a 20th-level mage might be permitted the characters, establish goals for the characters prior to the effective date of the change in order to assure
uninterrupted delivery.
to throw a 25-HD fireball or some such thing. to strive for when reaching higher levels, and
Back issues: A limited quantity of back issues is
However, I do not think that wishes should allow the characters to reach those goals. Vari- available from either the TSR Mail Order Hobby Shop
simply be ninth-level spells to be grabbed up. ous other NPCs and traveling companions can (P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.) or from
Rather, they should be spells stored by divine also be introduced to characters in their early TSR Ltd. For a copy of the current catalog that lists
available back issues, write to either of the above
beings in objects, granted by supernatural stages. The DM is responsible for challenging addresses.
creatures, or maybe deemed lost and very rare the characters to the fullest extent, and this can Submissions: All material published in DRAGON
(perhaps unique) spells for use by NPC mages or be done more easily at lower levels with the Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the pub-
lisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are
illusionists (for the alter reality spell). As it is, an wide variety of monsters and enchanted items
made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes
18th-level PC magic-user (usually overly power- available. The DM should also help the players unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork;
ful and loaded with magical items) can gain one get a feel for their characters and the charac- however, no responsibility for such submissions can be
wish spell a day, or two with a ring of wizardry. ters(cid:146) abilities. While this can be done at higher assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission
accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of
The recovery period and other limitations are levels, the best results are obtained when the sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published.
not counted if the spell is used for certain characters begin at 1st level. We strongly recommend that prospective authors write
functions (e.g., healing the whole party, teleport- Peter M. Wilbur for our writers’ guidelines before sending an article to us.
In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed,
ing the whole party without error to anywhere, Colorado Springs CO
stamped envelope (9½” long preferred) to: Writers’
etc.). If a PC does gain the use of a wish-type Guidelines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, as per the above
spell, it should be after a search likened to that The latest argument among players and DMs address; include sufficient American postage or Interna-
of finding an artifact or relic, and even then, if is over the weakness of the magic-user class. tional Reply Coupons with the return envelope. In
Europe, write to: Writers’ Guidelines, c/o DRAGON
word gets out, there will be swarms of powerful The magic-user class in and of itself is fine, and I Magazine, TSR Ltd; include sufficient return postage or
mages trying to get it, banging on the player(cid:146)s have seen several players who have done quite IRCs with your SASE.
figurative door. well with mages. The problem here is with the Advertising: For information on placing advertise-
ments in DRAGON Magazine, ask for our rate card. In
Finally, to DMs: If you have a player in your players. Often players don(cid:146)t succeed with mages
the United States and Canada, contact: Advertising
group who(cid:146)s used to being a DM or is just an because the players lack experience or don(cid:146)t put Coordinator, TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, 201 Sheridan
obnoxious rules lawyer, the wish spell has a enough thought into their actions and spells. I Springs Road, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In Europe,
final use. It is an excuse for something happen- have seen many wizards die because they used contact: Advertising Coordinators, TSR Ltd.
DRAGON is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc.
ing in your world that isn(cid:146)t in the books. When their spells quickly and wastefully. Players need Registration applied for in the United Kingdom. All rights
you can(cid:146)t think of any other logical excuse, tell to take time to think about better uses for their to the contents of this publication are reserved, and
them (cid:147)it was wished!(cid:148) spells; that is often the key to a wizard(cid:146)s sur- nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in part
without first obtaining permission in writing from the
Toby Myers vival. It is not much help to a novice player,
publisher.
Hamilton NY however. ® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR,
When players lack experience in playing a Inc. ™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Most
The article by Paul Hancock in issue #143 wizard, I feel that starting them out with one or other product names are trademarks owned by the
companies publishing those products. Use of the name of
contains many good ideas and suggestions. two minor magical items will greatly help. I any product without mention of trademark status should
There are two areas where I disagree with Mr. often start a player character with a ring of not be construed as a challenge to such status.
Hancock. The decision of whether to run a high- protection + 1 or (rarely) bracers of defense, AC ©1989 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Wis.,
fantasy or a low-fantasy campaign is made by 8. These defensive items, along with dexterity
U.S.A., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send
the players and the DM. This decision should adjustments, can help a mage(cid:146)s armor class address changes to TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 111, Lake
not, however, be dependent on character level enormously and will help the wizard survive Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-
or character class. Many stories of high fantasy those first few quests. A DM will notice that 6848.
have the hero starting off at low level only to these items are limited in use, as they quickly
come shining through in the end. The best become obsolete. Thus, these items help a mage
6 SEPTEMBER 1989