Issue #163Vol. XV, No. 6

November 1990

PublisherJames M. Ward

EditorRoger E. Moore

Fiction editorBarbara G. Young

Assistant editorDale A. Donovan

Art directorLarry W. Smith

Production staffGaye O�Keefe Angelika Lokotz

Tracey Zamagne

SubscriptionsJanet L. Winters

U.S. advertisingRoseann Schnering

U.K. correspondentand U.K. advertising

Sue Lilley

4 NOVEMBER 1990

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SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

The endless challenge of magic.

Back To School� Magic School! � Gregory W. DetwilerIf you want to be a specialist mage, you�d better know each school�spros and cons.

�Oops! Sorry!� � Donald HoversonSo you miscast a fireball spell. What could possibly happen?

Hedge Wizards � Gregg SharpSome mages are perfectly happy to never see a dungeon.

Magic Gone Haywire � Rich StumpLots of things can go wrong with a magical item. Such as . . .

A Hoard For the Horde � David �Zeb� CookA gatefold special: A hoard (horde?) of four new monsters for theFORGOTTEN REALMS� setting.

OTHER FEATURES

The Role of Books � John C. BunnellMurders most foul in universes most bizarre.

The Voyage of the Princess Ark � Bruce A. HeardBetrayal and escape�into the claws of darkness.

The Role of Computers � Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk LesserWhen a dungeon thaws out, it goes bad right away.

Storm Winter � fiction by M. C. SumnerHer father was kidnapped. Then a kidnapper came to ask for her help.

The MARVEL®-Phile � David E. Martin, Chris Mortika, Scott Davis,and William TracyJust because a villain is dead doesn�t mean you can�t bring him to life.

Making Law Out of Chaos � J. R. RenaudCan a chaotic-evil half-orc assassin avoid mugging little old ladies?

Professional Monsters � Matthew SchuttGet a job�for your NPC centaurs, orcs, and lizard men!

The Dragon�s Bestiary � Ed O�ConnellFew will escape the spell-weaver�s web.

The Affordable Fort � Ed DobrianskiIf you want a castle, build one right in your living room!

Through the Looking Glass � Robert Bigelow,�Tis the season for a miniatures gift-buying spree!

DE P A R T M E N T S

5 Letters 68 Gamers Guide 96 Twilight Empire6 Editorial 85 TSR Previews 101 Convention Calendar

36 Forum 94 Dragonmirth 104 Sage Advice

COVERAt the 1990 GEN CON® games fair, Larry Elmore said that he had a painting that we

might want to use as a cover for DRAGON® Magazine. He led us over to it, we lookedat it, and here it is. �Dichara�s Tree� is a place of refuge for a tired sorceress, fromwhich she ponders the mysteries of nature and the ways of mankind.

What did you think of this issue? Do you havea question about an article or have an idea for anew feature you�d like to see? In the UnitedStates and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON®Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGONMagazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, CherryHinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, United Kingdom.

Short & strangeThe following letters were actually received

by the editors of DRAGON Magazine and, exceptfor minor editing, appear as they were written.

Dear Dragon:About what time and age do elves stop making

love? What time do they begin?

9:15 P.M., middle age; 9:13 P.M.

Dear Dragon:What are the effects of a severed limb?

None; it just lies there.

Dear Dragon:I was wondering, how much damage does a

paper cut do?

The actual damage is nil, but the characterexperiencing it will easily believe that he hasbeen attacked by a sword of sharpness from thepain alone. See the AD&D® 1st Edition DungeonMasters Guide, page 166, or the AD&D 2ndEdition DMG, page 186.

Dear Dragon:My brother says elves cannot be muscular. I

say they can. What do you think? Do you thinkelves are powerful?

Elves are anemic and weak. They are power-ful only in their imaginations. No offense, ofcourse.

Dear Dragon:How do you gladiate in AD&D games?

You must have two Romanical fighters for anyarenatized combat.

Dear Dragon:Is there a magical chastity belt that can be

controlled only by the wearer?

Having control over your chastity belt ratherdefeats the purpose of it, doesn�t it? We recom-mend that you instead use the word �No,� spo-ken firmly and with great conviction.

Dear Dragon:After Ragnarok (the final battle in the Norse

mythos), where do all of the gods� souls go ifmortals� souls go to the outer planes?

Most will go to Iowa City though some mightbe found in outlying areas like Des Moines,Nichols, or Davenport. See the Elder Edda fordetails.

Dear Dragon:Could you send me a complete set of Dragon

Dice? My sister flushed mine down the toiletwith two character record sheets.

Your sister shows great promise, and weinvite her to work for TSR, Inc., as an editor. Asfor your dice, a free (and real) catalog showingthe most recent dice prices is available from:The Mail Order Hobby Shop, P.O. Box 756, LakeGeneva WI 53147, U.S.A.

Dear Dragon:In one of my dungeons, a player character

had an affair with a succubus (much to hissurprise!). She has conceived an alu demon. Myquestion is, how long is the gestation period ofsuch a child, and how long will it take to growup?

Surprise! All the demons have been taken outof the AD&D 2nd Edition rules, so whoever thatPC had an affair with was not a succubus.Rerolling the encounter for you, we find thatthe PC has gotten a neo-otyugh pregnant in-stead. Good luck!

Dear Dragon:I have a hard question to ask you. I have all of

your books, and I have read them all but can�tfind the answer. My character was swallowedby a monster, and I was wondering if you couldregenerate or resurrect him after [original textdeleted by editors in favor of a more delicatephrasing] he passes through the monster.

You could resurrect him, maybe, if someonevolunteered to get close enough to the, um,remains.

And now for a serious letter:

A serious letterDear Dragon:

I loved your April issue (as I do every year). . . .On page 12, you mention that the only way todamage a gello monster �is to snarf it�i.e., eat itas quickly as possible.� I want to inform Mr.William S. Greenway that he has misdefined�snarf.� The actual definition is drinking (oreating liquid substances) quickly and then beingmade to laugh. Once the person laughs, theliquid comes out his/her nose. That is snarfing,and the classic snarf is with milk, to set therecord straight.

Michael KolodnerRydal PA

The definition of �snarf� from the text on thegello monster was appended by the editor as aclarification. I thought ��snarf� meant �eatingquickly,� but obviously it means different thingsto different people. (Did Larry Elmore get theidea for his fantasy hero Snarf in his �Snarf-Quest� comic from this?) After rereading yourletter, however, I�ve decided that this wholetopic is silly and gross.

DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is publishedmonthly by TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756 (201 SheridanSprings Road), Lake Geneva WI 53147, United States ofAmerica. The postal address for all materials from theUnited States and Canada except subscription orders is:DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111 (201 Sheridan SpringsRoad), Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.; telephone: (414)248-3625. The postal address for all materials fromEuropa is: DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd, 120 ChurchEnd, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LD, UnitedKingdom; telephone: (0223) 212517 (U.K.), 44-223-212517 (international); telex: 818781; fax: (0223) 248066(U.K.), 44-223-248066 (international).

Distribution: DRAGON Magazine is available fromgame and hobby shops throughout the United States,Canada, the United Kingdom, and through a limitednumber of other overseas outlets. Distribution to the booktrade in the United States is by Random House, Inc., andin Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Sendorders to: Random House, Inc., Order Entry Department,Westminster MD 21157, U.S.A.; telephone: (800) 638-6460 toll-free except Alaska (call (800) 492-0782 toll-freein Maryland). Newsstand distribution throughout theUnited Kingdom is by Seymour Press Ltd., 334 BrixtonRoad, London SW9 7AG, United Kingdom; telephone:01-733-4444.

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Submissions: All material published in DRAGONMagazine becomes the exclusive property of the pub-lisher unless special arrangements to the contrary aremade prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomesunsolicited submissions of written material and artwork;however, no responsibility for such submissions can beassumed by the publisher in any event. Any submissionaccompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope ofsufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published.We strongly recommend that prospective authors writefor our writers’ guidelines before sending an article to us.In the United States and Canada, send a self-addressed,stamped envelope (9½” long preferred) to: Writers’Guidelines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, as per the aboveaddress; include sufficient American postage or Interna-tional Reply Coupons with the return envelope. InEurope, write to: Writers’ Guidelines, c/o DRAGONMagazine, TSR Ltd; include sufficient return postage orIRCs with your SASE.

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DRAGON is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc.Registration applied for in the United Kingdom. All rightsto the contents of this publication are reserved, andnothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in partwithout first obtaining permission in writing from thepublisher.

® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR,Inc. ™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Mostother product names are trademarks owned by thecompanies publishing those products. Use of the name ofany product without mention of trademark status shouldnot be construed as a challenge to such status.

©1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Wis.,

U.S.A., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to DRAGON Magazine, TSR, Inc., P.O.Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. USPS 318-790,ISSN 0279-6848.

DRAGON 5

Realistic Fantasy?

I�ve often wondered how much realism istoo much in a game like the AD&D® game.How real should our fantasy worlds be? Doyou want reality to intrude in your game?By �reality,� I mean the problems that we asa society face today: illiteracy, censorship,homelessness, and so on. I think mostgamers (myself included) would react nega-tively to such a suggestion.

But how then do you explain the incredi-ble popularity of so many �dark future�games that have appeared in the past fewyears? Off the top of my head, there are(deep breath) at least four �cyberpunk�games, the TWILIGHT: 2000* game byGDW, TSR�s XXVc� game, Steve Jackson�sCAR WARS* and GURPS AUTODUEL*games, West End Games� TORG* andPARANOIA* games, the RIFTS* game byPalladium, and almost any post-holocaustgame you can think of. All of these gameshave some hellacious badness, in one formor another, coming down on the heads ofthe PCs. Whether the menace is fromextradimensional invaders or our ownmorbid fascination with bigger and betterweapons, the world and the PCs are in aheap of trouble.

�Dark realism� is the term I�ll usethroughout this column to refer to certainthemes and trends in gaming that havecivilization in decline. This dark realismisn�t limited to science-fiction games. Twofantasy games with strong dark realismelements leap to mind: the SHADOWRUN*game by FASA, and the WARHAMMERFANTASY ROLEPLAY* game by GamesWorkshop. Both of these games success-fully combine dark elements (cyberpunkand encroaching Chaos, respectively) intoa fantasy milieu. Also, DRAGON® Magazineissue #155 ran a questionnaire on thefuture of the TOP SECRET/S.I.� game. Theresults overwhelmingly stated that theplayers of TOP SECRET/S.I. wanted real-ism. The people who responded favoredreal-life espionage (e.g., the CIA vs. theKGB, etc.) to the more movie-esque worldof huge, international spy organizations(Orion and Web). By the way, TSR hasproduced TOP SECRET/S.I. adventures andsourcebooks dealing with drug-runners,anti-terrorism, commandos, and covertoperations.

Don�t get me wrong; I�m not saying anyof these are bad games. I�ve played quite afew of these games, and I absolutely loveTSR�s old GAMMA WORLD® game. Also,

Artwork by Larry Elmore

many of the �realistic� themes present inthese games can make for great role-playing. Political corruption, urban pov-erty, near-total societal domination bymegacorporations, the prospect or actual-ity of large-scale war, and terrorism are allproblems that are worth campaigningagainst in games (and in reality). The ques-tion again is: Do we want to continue thetrend of dark realism present in thesegames into our AD&D and D&D® games?

Well, if you�ve been playing close atten-tion, you may have already noticed a cou-ple of instances where this has occurred.In DUNGEON® Adventures #13, there�s anexcellent anti-terrorism adventure, �OfNests and Nations� by Randy Maxwell.Also, the wonderful D&D adventuresDDA1 Arena of Thyatis and DDA2 Legionsof Thyatis, both by John Nephew, dealwith political corruption and the detrimen-tal effects of drug abuse.

This discussion can be viewed as a de-bate about high fantasy versus low fan-

tasy. High fantasy is exemplified bylegendary heroes on epic quests. Highfantasy is full of wonder, drama, and onlypassing attention to realism. The Lord ofthe Rings trilogy and The Silmarillion allby J. R. R. Tolkien are the best examples Ican think of. Low fantasy is dirty, grungy,knife-in-the-back fantasy. Low fantasyadventures are full of action, characterswith as many faults as you or I, and grittyrealism. The Thieves’ World* series andrelated novels are wonderful low-fantasystories from a wide variety of authors.(You can also read �The Highs and Lows ofFantasy,� by Paul Hancock in DRAGONissue #143 for more information on thesesub-genres.)

Both the D&D and AD&D games can beplayed as either high or low fantasy, de-pending upon the preferences of the DMand the players. Each game though, hasdistinctions that make running a particulartype of campaign easier. I think the D&Dgame, with its comparatively loose rules

6 NOVEMBER 1990

structure and incredibly rich background bad as too little (to his mind). Being neu-material, would be the better choice for a tral, he would also shy away from toohigh-fantasy campaign. With PCs capable much evil. Many of the �loner� charactersof evolving into Immortals, how can you in the modern media (especially somehelp but run a high-fantasy campaign? �private eye� characters) qualify for this

The AD&D game, with its more rules- alignment. Also the Waynhim, from theintensive structure and mechanics, is the two Thomas Covenant trilogies, do qualifybetter choice for running a low-fantasy for this idea of neutrality. Although quiteworld. Incorporating some of the AD&D powerful, they stand back until the forces2nd Edition game�s optional rules like of chaos and evil present, in the novelscritical hits can greatly increase the flavor have almost achieved final victory. Theyand realism of a low-fantasy campaign. are not cowards by any means; it is justTSR�s LANKHMAR� campaign setting is a how they believe they should act. This isgreat example of a low-fantasy world. the way I would play the �balance of

What I don�t want this debate to revolve forces� philosophy�stay out of the affairsaround is the old �reality vs. playability� of others as much as possible. Have yourdilemma. I�m not concerned with whether PC lead his own life.or not the D&D and AD&D games are To my mind, there is an alternate ap-realistic; I�m wondering whether the proach or two to the true neutral align-games should deal with any of the modern ment. �Ethically neutral� characters areissues mentioned earlier. How do you feel neutral with respect to law and chaos.about encountering some of the same They will not meddle in the affairs ofproblems in your D&D and AD&D games lawful beings versus chaotic creaturesthat you have to deal with in real life? Do until a situation arises that threatensyou play any of the �dark realism� games, them. An example of this could be a smalland if so, which ones? Do you want to see village of humans living between a largethem covered in the pages of DRAGON society of elves and one of dwarves. TheMagazine? Do you prefer to play in high- humans might lean towards good or evil,or low-fantasy campaigns? Do you want to but because of their geographic circum-see more high-fantasy or more low-fantasy stances, would probably remain neutralmaterial in DRAGON Magazine and other regarding law and chaos.TSR products? Another way to approach neutrality is

Discuss this topic with other gamers, �morally neutral.� The beings or forcesand find out their views. If everyone is so using this approach are neutral regardinginclined, try running an epic quest or a good and evil, and they will not or cannotgritty survival tale as a change of pace, or judge others as good or evil. This is thetry an adventure or two that does deal alignment of most natural animals and ofwith some modern issues. nature itself. A wolf doesn�t kill its prey

because the wolf itself is evil: It kills soNeutral Forgetful: In my editorial in that it can survive. The wolf�s actions are

issue #159, I gave fictional character refer- instinctive, not deliberately malign. Like-ences for the nine AD&D alignments� wise, nature isn�t malevolent when a tor-well, eight of the nine actually. As it was nado or hurricane strikes any more than itpointed out to me at this summer�s GEN is benevolent when the sun shines andCON® game fair, I neglected to discuss the makes the crops grow. It is for this reasontrue neutral alignment. I have since dis- that druids in the AD&D game are consid-cerned that this oversight was due to a ered to be neutral: They are merely exten-feeblemind spell cast on me (and Roger, sions of nature. Play them as naturewho didn�t catch it either) by an unknown personified. Thinking of druids in this wayassailant, who was probably true neutral might provide some insight on playingand didn�t want me revealing certain se- them.crets. Anyway, with a suitably red face,here goes:

True neutral is perhaps the vaguest of allthe alignments. Believing �in the ultimatebalance of forces� (2nd Ed. PHB, page 47)isn�t very specific. I could devote an entirecolumn to this alignment alone, but I haveboiled my ideas down into the paragraphsbelow. I owe inspiration to the 2nd EditionPlayer�s Handbook, for some of the termsused.

The �balance of forces� philosophy forthis alignment just never really worked forme. In the game, a neutral character who

LANKHMAR is a trademark of Fritz Leiber and isused by permission.

switches sides more than once (in order tomaintain the �balance�) is likely to have avery short career. A true neutral person in * indicates a product produced by a company other

today�s society could easily be regarded as than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks

evil. A person, acting for this balance,owned by the companies publishing those products.

would likely disregard any laws that mightThe use of the name of any product without mentionof its trademark status should not be construed as a

get in his way. After all, too much law is as challenge to such status,

DRAGON 7

10 NOVEMBER 1990

In the AD&D® 2nd Edition game, playerswho desire wizard characters have, be-sides the �generic� mage (the magic-user ofthe AD&D 1st edition game), eight differ-ent classes of wizard to choose from.These eight (abjurer, conjurer, diviner,enchanter, illusionist, invoker, necroman-cer, and transmuter) have varying powersand numbers of spells at their disposal. Noone school can perform every mission thatthe magic-users of old could; some can dono more than one or two specific tasks.Dealing with the strengths and weak-nesses of these schools is crucial whenputting together a well-rounded adventur-ing party.

Things are not quite as clear cut whencomparing classes as might be suggestedby the above. No practitioner of a specificschool of magic is limited to that schoolalone. However, at least one �opposition�school of magic is denied to each specialistclass. By way of compensation, a specialistcan cast more spells than a generalizedmage, and spells of his school can be moreeasily resisted by him. Learning spells ofhis particular school is easier as well.Whenever a specialist gains a new spelllevel, he may get two spells, provided thatat least one belongs to his particularschool. This won�t always be the case (anabjurer or necromancer will run out of1st-level spells of his own school by thetime he reaches 4th level), but this doeslower the versatility gap between thespecialist and a mage of the same level.

This article considers the major func-tions of spells, and the ability of eachschool and its practitioners to performthem. The major magical functions are:

1. Personal attack: This is the combatspell that can affect only one target at atime, as exemplified by magic missile,polymorph other, etc.

2. Personal defense: This categorycovers defensive spells that work only onthe caster or on one person. Protectionfrom evil, invisibility, and mirror imageare vital in a fight if one is to survive, butthey rarely help the rest of the party.

3. Mass attack: Here we come to theall-time favorite spells of most players;fireball, lightning bolt, ice storm, cone ofcold, cloudkill. They lack subtlety whenused against a man-size target, but theycan�t be beat for wiping out or softeningup entire military units or giant targets.

4. Mass defense: If you want to pro-tect the entire party from some menace,this is the way to go. Walls of fire, ice,force, iron, and stone are important here.

5. Divination: The information-gathering spells (e.g., detect magic, iden-tify legend lore, etc.) are often ignored byblast-and-hack players, but are quite use-ful to those who take the sensible precau-tions. They may even swing the balance ofpower between evenly matched groups.

6. Servant gatherers: This categorygenerally consists of summoning spells,such as gate, invisible stalker, unseenservant, and the various monster summon-

ing spells. Some personal-attack spells(e.g., charm person, friends) and mass-attack spells (e.g., mass suggestion, masscharm) may also fall into this category.

7. Miscellaneous: These spells don�tquite fit in the other categories or havemultiple purposes. Most movement spells(e.g., levitate, fly) can be either defensive(for escape), offensive (if they get you intoposition for attack), or for peaceful trans-port. Item-creating spells (e.g., minor or

8. Illusions: Illusions are another half-and-half category. They may copy theeffects of spells from almost any othercategory. However, their usefulnessagainst mindless (e.g., golems, most un-dead) or highly intelligent (e.g., demons,devils) foes is almost nil.

this category.major creation, enchant an item) fall into

The schoolsAbjuration spells fall into two catego-

ries: protection (both personal and group)and the repulsion or banishment of ene-mies, almost always other-worldly ene-mies. The defensive spells include two ofthe wizard�s few �curative� spells: dispelmagic and remove curse.

Alteration spells are mostly personalattack, personal defense, and miscellane-ous spells. With a handful of exceptions(such as death fog and time stop), almostno spells are useful against large numbersof foes, at least not directly (a personpolymorphed or shape changed into adragon, however, might have an effect).Practically all movement-related spells areplaced in this category, as changing some-one�s ability to move is a standard methodof altering him. Because of the great num-ber of (and need for) versatile, general-purpose spells, the school of alteration hasthe single largest number of spells.

Conjuration/summoning spellsspecialize in gathering servants, usuallymonstrous or other-planar ones. There arealso a few attack and defense spells (e.g.,prismatic spray, wall, and sphere). Themain attraction of this school, however, isthe fact that one of its 9th-level spells isthe highly coveted wish.

Enchantment/charm spells concen-trate on enslaving or altering the mindsand emotions of enemies, as opposed tosummoning followers up out of nowhere.There are a few other useful spells, nota-bly those necessary for enchanting magi-cal items (enchanted weapon, enchant anitem); this school may be sought aftersolely for this one reason, especially asmagical-item enchantment can take placeat a level lower than the one necessary tolearn a wish spell.

Greater divination spells consist of allinformation-gathering spells and nothingelse. Actually, the list on page 239 of theAD&D 2nd Edition Players’ Handbook ismisleading in that it lists all information-gathering spells. Technically, greater divi-nation covers only those divination spellsof 5th level power or greater; all magic

schools may use the spells of 1st to 4thlevel. This gives the school of greaterdivination fewer spells than any other.

The illusion/phantasm school con-sists of all illusion spells, including afew defensive spells like invisibility. Likeenchantment/charm spells, these spellswork on the minds of living beings,though with the purpose of deluding anddeceiving them instead of controllingthem. For the same reason, they are use-less against undead and other mindlessopponents.

Invocation/evocation spells are thebig-hitting combat spells such as fireballand lightning bolt, a few personal combatspells such as magic missile, some defen-sive spells including shield and almost allwall spells, and a few other useful oddsand ends such as dig and dream. With thegood selection of attack and defense spellshere, I predict that most players whodecide to run specialist characters willchoose this school over all others.

Necromancy spells are all concernedwith dead and undead. Consequently, inan adventuring environment where un-dead are rare or nonexistent, their utilityis sharply reduced. A number of one-target combat spells exist, but most re-quire that the necromancer get closeenough to touch his target (who might hithim first and ruin his spell preparations).Only one mass-attack spell is present:death spell. This spell is used less fre-quently than fireball and lightning bolt, ifonly because you have to be of a muchhigher level to use it. There are also twopseudo-healing spells: reincarnation andclone. Clone is less useful than it was inthe 1st Edition game because it is now twolevels of spell power higher than it was(8th instead of 6th), so fewer spell-castersare able to learn it. Note that contagion,enervation, and energy drain, unlike theiridentical or similar clerical counterparts,are not reversible. If you insist on lumpingall divination spells under greater divina-tion, then the school of necromancy hasfewer spells than any other (one less thangreater divination).

The specialistsNow we come to the abilities of the

character classes, none of whom are re-stricted solely to their own schools.

The abjurer is severely crippled in hisnon-combat versatility by the fact that hecannot use alteration spells. All movementand transforming spells, with a few usefulextras like comprehend languages andtime stop, are out of reach. He may stilluse a fair number of combat spells, includ-ing virtually all the hard-hitting, high-damage ones. The abjurer also has nearlyall the defensive spells, all the servant-gathering and divination spells, and theability to construct magical items. Hisinability to cast illusionist spells isn�t seri-ous as long as he doesn�t want to sneakaround; why cast illusions when you cancast the real thing?

DRAGON 11

12 NOVEMBER 1990

The conjuror is the only specialist un-able to use greater divination spells. Thismakes him the one who is most likely tobe be in the dark about things, unless hesends out a lot of conjured servants to spyfor him. He is also cut off from the hard-hitting invocation/evocation spells; appar-ently the idea is that he should summonothers to fight for him, though he doeshave a few combat spells of his own (e.g.,the power word spells). At very high levelhe has wish. If no monsters are around tobe summoned, he must resort to illusoryversions of the deadliest spells. He can alsouse the many defensive spells of the abju-

The diviner can use the spells of anyschool save for those of conjuration/summoning�no great loss, if he doesn�t

ration school.

want to command his own army of livingor demonic beings. He�ll probably sigh atthe point where he can use 9th-levelspells, though; no wish for him. In termsof versatility, though, this is the next bestthing to being a generalized mage.

The enchanter is cut off from mass-combat invocation/evocation spells (proba-bly because he concentrates on persuasioninstead of large-scale violence) and necro-mantic spells (no doubt because his magicfocuses on living beings). He can summonmasses of creatures with conjurationspells, of course, and has all the protectiveabjuration spells as well as all divinationspells. The long list of versatile alterationspells is also usable by him, and like theconjurer, he can fake mass-destructionspells with illusions. He�d better learnprotection from evil and protection fromevil 10’ radius at the first opportunity,though; almost none of the combat spellshe can use could harm the undead.

The illusionist has the largest number ofschools closed to him: abjuration,invocation/evocation, and necromancy.Thus he has almost nothing in the way ofmass-attack spells that do real damage orreliable defensive spells. �Faking it� withillusions is his best bet, of course, and theversatile movement spells of the alterationschool will be used more often by himthan by any other spell-caster. Like theenchanter, his spells won�t work on theundead, that makes the exclusion from thenecromantic school more painful than it isfor most other specialists. With the abjura-tion spells cut off from him, he can�t evenuse the protection-type spells. In short, the2nd Edition illusionist must be far sneakierthan his 1st Edition predecessor. The factthat he can use alteration spells makes thetransition between editions somewhateasier, as many of his old non-illusoryspells (color spray, gaze reflection, fogcloud, rope trick, wraithform, etc.) woundup in that category. Since he can use con-juration spells, he even gets prismaticspray and prismatic wall back.

The invoker cannot use either conjuringor enchantment/charm spells, but with hispowerful combat abilities he is not likelyto either need them. He has almost all

offensive and defensive spells available tohim, with all divination, illusion/phantasm,and necromancy spells, and even the vastarray of alteration spells. With all themagic at his command at high levels, hemight not even miss the wish spell � wellnot too much!

The necromancer is unable to useenchantment/charm spells because hisspeciality is in controlling the dead, not theliving. He is also forbidden to use illusionspells, but the ability to use �the realthing� makes this loss almost irrelevant, aslong as he doesn�t have to sneak around.With his school�s few spells, he�ll have toborrow early from the other schools; akobold archer could easily kill a first-levelnecromancer and never get within rangeof a chill touch attack.

The transmuter is cut off from the use-ful defensive spells of the abjurationschool (dispel magic will no doubt besorely missed most of all), but he still hasthose of the invocation/evocation schooland can sneak around using invisibilityinstead of non-detection. The necromancyspells are also out of his reach, but withthe vast variety of combat spells at hisdisposal (including the invocation/evocation �biggies�), he can fight any un-dead being to a standstill. Not having someof the specialized defensive abjurationspells can hurt, but having all illusion,combat, divination, servant-gathering, andgeneral-purpose spells definitely makes upfor it.

Players interested in having well-balanced parties capable of facing anychallenge should study these classes andtheir schools of magic carefully beforecreating their characters. Even more sothan in the AD&D 1st Edition game, nothaving a proper balance of characterabilities may now lead to disaster.

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D R A G O N 1 3

Spell interruptions can spell disaster

by Donald Hoverson

As the rules currently stand, if a spell-caster is interrupted during the casting ofa spell, his spell is merely lost. However, awealth of possibilities exist in magic goneawry beyond mere dissipation. The castingof spells requires the focusing of powerfulmagical forces. Just because the caster haslost control of these forces does not meanthat they are going to go away, althoughhe might wish that they had.

The fantasy literature that deals withthis sort of thing often hints at the awfuland strange things that can happen if aspell goes bad. Schmendrick, the youngwizard from Peter S. Beagle�s The LastUnicorn, and Fizban, the senile mage fromTSR�s DRAGONLANCE® saga, come readilyto mind as examples of wizards whosespells do not always perform as expected.

The problem with any attempt to sys-tematize this sort of thing is that the usesof magic encompass virtually limitlesspossibilities. It is somewhere betweennothing and infinity that I have erectedthis framework, with tables showing someof the aftereffects of a ruined spell.

DRAGON 15

In order to determine if a spell is inter-rupted, the normal initiative system givenin the AD&D 2nd edition rules is used. Asper pages 93-96 of the Player�s Handbookthe casting time of a spell is added to theinitiative roll for the caster; if anyonestrikes the caster before the spell is com-pleted, the spell is interrupted. A 20-sideddie is then rolled on the following table:

1d20 Effect1-2 Malign effect3-18 Dissipation/Spell lost19 Neutral effect20 Benign effect

In order to determine the severity of theerror, roll 1d100 on the following table:

1d100 Effect01-75 Minor effect76-95 Medium effect96-00 Major effect

Minor effects are either convenient foror annoying to the characters but do notinvolve much damage or healing.

Median effects are not always life threat-ening but might be bad in certain situa-tions (paralysis in combat, for example).Anything that heals or harms for less thanthree-quarters of its victim�s current hit-point total is considered medium (thiswould include most spells that backfire ontheir spell-caster for normal effect).

Major effects kill or resurrect instantly.The creation of powerful magical items orbeings is a major effect, as is the makingpermanent of powerful spells that are notnormally permanent in duration or effect.

As a rough guideline, effects that mirrorspells of 1st or 2nd level are minor. Effectsthat mirror spells of 3rd to 6th level aremedian, and spells that mirror spells of7th to 9th level are major.

Malign and benign effects either harmor help the caster, respectively. Neutraleffects neither help nor hinder the casteror else help both the caster and his oppo-nents equally. If the color of a fireballwere changed, it would not effect its oper-ation. A faerie fire that works for bothattackers and victims is equally neutral.

In order to determine the specific effectof the miscast spell, a 20-sided die is rolledon the following table. Because of thevariability between situations and thevariability of spell effects even within thesame spell school, it is impossible to clas-sify all of the effects given in this table aseither malign, benign, or neutral. If alisted effect is inappropriate, then eitherroll again or choose one. Following thetable, spells are further broken down byschool for more specific suggestions.

1d20 Specific effect1 Spell affects caster.2 Spell affects 1-4 members of caster�s

party, if any.3 Spell affects caster and caster�s party.4 Spell affects caster�s possessions

16 NOVEMBER 1990

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

(clothes, weapons, money, food, magi-cal items � one or all).

5 Spell affects caster�s and party�spossessions.

by 1-4 levels, for purposes of dura-tion, damage done, etc. (maximum 9thlevel, minimum 1st level).Area of effect of spell is doubled/11

6 Spell affect is limited: i.e., it will affectonly a certain substance or being.

7 Spell�s area of affect takes on a differ-ent shape.

8 Spell affects target�s possessions.9 Spell affects nearby object/area/being,

as determined randomly.10 Spell increases or decreases in power

halved.Spell effect is reversed (e.g., ESP be-comes transmit thoughts).Spell changes to another spell of sameschool, either higher or lower in level.Spell changes to another spell of adifferent school, either higher orlower in level.Spell effect becomes long-term orpermanent (assuming transitory dura-tion), or else transitory (if of perma-nent duration).Spell effect oscillates in duration oreffect (over a period of 1-100 roundsfor one day).Spell effect is delayed (maximum delayof one day).Spell dissipates but does damage tocaster equal to caster�s level in hitpoints.Spell effect occurs at long distance(100-1,000�).Spell effect is in same school but doesnot resemble any �known� spell.

Many of these effects are not mutuallyexclusive, and the DM can choose as manyeffects as desired. Also, because somespells can change into others in the sameschool, it is necessary to be familiar withthe types of spells covered by each. Someexamples of such spell changes follow:

A mage miscasting an Invocation/Evocation spell could find that his fireballhad become a ball of darkness, while aninterrupted stream of magic missiles couldturn and strike the caster.

The miscasting of a Conjuration/Summoning spell could be used by the DMto introduce new technological or magicalitems into the campaign. Any item thusconjured and later found to be too power-ful could simply disappear because theduration of the spell ran out. The onlyway to discern the properties of conjuredmaterials is to test them; the wizard wouldnot automatically know what he hasbrought forth. Messing up this type ofspell could easily fill a dungeon corridorwith stuffed toys or tin cans, to no doubtbe puzzled over by future explorers.

If a Summoning spell goes wrong, thecreatures that appear are not necessarilyunder the control of the spell-caster (thisdoes not preclude the possibility that theymight be friendly anyway). The DM might

wish to use this avenue to introduceunique monsters or beings (even newplayer characters) into the campaign. Aswith conjurations, the summoner will notnecessarily know the properties, abilities,or dispositions of summoned beings. Thisis especially true of any vegetables thatmight be summoned: An oak tree mighthave exploding acorns, the pollen offlowers might heal damage if inhaled, etc.

The miscasting of an Enchantment/Charm spell like charm person could turnevery creature within a 10-yard radiusagainst the caster. A major error in suchspell-casting could result in insanity oramnesia. Putting someone to sleep perma-nently would also be quite possible.

If a Abjuration spell is miscast, it couldbring about whatever condition the spell-caster was trying to get rid of: e.g., anerror in dispel magic could bring on arandom magical effect or else draincharges from charged magical items. Itcould also temporarily or permanentlydrain minor magical items that don�t havecharges (e.g., potions and scrolls).

Miscast Necromantic spells are ex-tremely dangerous (which is as it shouldbe). While a small slip in an animate deadspell might make the spell simply fail tofunction, it has the potential to harm thecaster or else summon up a skeleton,zombie, or other undead. Trapping thesoul of the caster in a nearby object couldeasily result from a bad necromantic spell.

One potential result from a miscastIllusion/Phantasm spell would be that theillusion that was created became real (5%chance). Of course, the caster would at-tempt to disbelieve his creation (to noavail) if it turned on him.

Miscast Alteration spells could affectmaterial objects creatively. What wouldyou do if your wand of magic missilessuddenly became 10� long? The fighter�slong sword +2 could become a sphere+2, which would limit its usefulnesssomewhat. The potential to polymorphthings also has great potential; you couldchange your companion�s shield into aroller skate or your enemy�s wagon into afeather bed. The teleport spell and its kincould have (ahem) far-reaching conse-quences if miscast.

Divination spells that are miscast wouldreveal false or undesired information: e.g.,a detect magic might function as detectevil. Conversely, the opponents of thespell-caster (or perhaps someone elseentirely) might receive the spell�sinformation�but about the spell-caster!

The purpose of this article is to providevariety and surprises to magic. Lethal effectsshould be avoided if possible. It should benoted that these rules apply to all if thissystem is adopted. If used for the players, itshould be used for the NPCs as well.

18 NOVEMBER 1990

knock on a locked chest or mending on a

�Hedge wizard� is a term that�s come up

broken axe handle. Hedge wizards can be

in my campaign to describe the proprie-

up to 11th level, however, since magicalpotions cannot be brewed by a mage of

tors of small �magic shops� in villages and

lesser level, as per the 2nd EditionDungeon Master’s Guide. A number of

cities in AD&D® campaigns. Hedge wiz-

items besides potions might be for sale at ahedge wizard�s domicile. Prices for these

ards specialize in minor but useful ma-

items should be low in keeping with thecommon customer�s finances. A hedge

gicks, using spells like mending and knock

wizard will likely offer reduced prices tolocal customers, charging more to those

rather than magic missile and irritation.Hedge wizards are usually low-level mageswith sage and herbalist abilities.

Hedge wizards are commonly between3rd level and 5th level, sufficient to cast

ing more powerful; either they have be-

family-practice doctor fits the same role as

come discouraged from the effort ofgaining levels, feel that they have reached

the nonspecialist mage. With hedge wiz-

their ultimate level of competence, orsimply don�t wish to rise to the level of

ards, this often means referrals to others

power where they may become targets.They may also wish to live their own lives

within a limited circle of colleagues on a

in relaxation instead of being dedicated tothe pursuit of magic or power.

first-name basis. Because hedge wizardsdon�t have the overhead and malpracticelawsuits that American doctors have, theneed for wizard insurance to pay for allthis has not yet fully materialized.

The specialists among hedge wizards arethose who do not see themselves becom-

Enchanters are the second most com-non of all specialists, transmuters beingthe first. The high-level ones work onmagical items and potions, and most ofthose specializing in enchantment dreamof reaching this stage, Those restricted tolower levels, by talent or otherwise, arehedge wizards who specialize in dealingwith troublemakers by using spells likecharm person. They typically becomemembers of or are on retainer to the cityguard. Because of the time this takes andthe additional money that this generates,their magical shops are smaller than oth-ers. Sage areas are likely to deal withitems of great power and legends, espe-cially those of wizards and their creations.

Abjurers are specialists correspondingto surgeons or pathologists. To be effectivein their specialty, they must be of higherthan 5th level. As such, their prices andchances of success are greater when deal-ing with abjuration spells. Any decentabjurer can cast dispel magic at need, andquite a few have remove curse. Abjurersare likely to have a number of perma-nently inscribed protective circles setabout their homes. Sagecraft will be alsoquite likely, with specialization in one ofthe following: curses, folklore, outerplanes (at least one and possibly more),lower planes (same as with outer planes),and religion.

Conjurer hedge wizards are 70% likelyto have a familiar. The more powerfulconjurers are on retainer to kings andpowerful warlords, ready to conjure ele-mentals on a few hours� notice. Because oftheir practices, large protective circles andthe like will be permanently inscribed ontheir floors, and they are likely to be lo-cated a bit off the beaten path, away fromother businesses. A remote location makesgood sense, since no one wants the con-jurer to be distracted while summoning upsome extradimensional beast. Some veryhigh-level conjurers go so far as to become�dimensional fishers,� reeling in all mannerof wealth from other planes. Sagelikeknowledge that conjurers possess is likelyto be of other planes, as well as aboutcreatures that might be summoned. Con-jurers who can deal with elementals arelikely to further specialize in a particularelemental plane.

Illusionists deal with deception anddistraction; it is as hard to find an honestillusionist as it is to find an honest used-car dealer or mechanic. Because theyspecialize in mind-affecting spells, they arethe psychologists of the magic worlds,having to understand the mind�s workingsin order to get the most out of their spe-cialty. Gnomes often go into this line ofwork, which allows them to work spellsand keep close to the earth with theirherbcraft. The use of illusion to enhanceor entertain is simply the most obvious useof an illusionist�s talents. Typical sagecraftdeals with the mind, though history is avery popular topic.

from out of town.Hedge wizards are not generally consid-

ered to be powerful spell-casters, and theydon�t have the massive spell books orsophistication of their more experiencedcolleagues. Hedge wizards have more of arustic image, preferring a comfortable andsedentary life. Hedge wizards are rarelygood targets for thieves, since these wiz-ards generally have no reputations or vastwealth. Anyone who can best a hedgewizard in a spell duel is unlikely to actu-ally gain much from the accomplishment.Killing a hedge wizard is likewise of littlevalue, though the other merchants andmembers of the town council may getpeeved at people who come in and do suchthings. Finally, since hedge wizards aren�tthat powerful, they tend to stick togethermore than other wizardly professions. If ahedge wizard dies due to other than natu-ral causes, other mages who find out maystart proceedings to deal with the problemand make an example, if nothing else.

In game terms, once a decision to be-come a hedge wizard has been made, leveladvancement is slowed dramatically. Thecharacter does not go on adventures anddoes not make magical items. Experienceis gained only through adventures thatcome to the hedge wizard, such as meet-ing a burglar when opening up the shop inthe morning.

At least 90% of all hedge wizards oper-ate in urban areas, usually toward theedges of town. Magic use generally has apoor public image, not all of it undeserved.One only has to think of the damage thatcould be caused by an out-of-control fireelemental in a city built largely of wood toappreciate the problem. Hedge wizardswho set up shop outside city limits areeither powerful ones (retired adventurerswho don�t really need the money) or oneswho have been chased out of the city.

The specialist schoolsSpecialist wizards are much like doctors

in America. The general practitioner or

Diviners are the ones the adventurersseek out when the latter come home ladenwith plunder. An honest diviner is notdifficult to find, though a few cause badreputations for the remainder. Any divinerin business has the basic detection spells,and the majority have identify and detectcurse. If hired to cast identify, the divinerautomatically charges for the detect curseand casts it first. Because diviners have sofew spells dealing with their specialty, theyperform as sages with at least two majorfields. Commonly a diviner has proficien-cies in astrology and weather sense.

Invokers deal with bringing somethinginto being through their spellcraft. Sincemany combat spells are in this category,hedge wizards specializing in invocation/evocation spells are often put on retainerby the local constabulary. One neverknows when a barroom brawl will esca-late, so having a web spell handy becomesa good reason to keep an invoker about.Invokers are also known to run flamingspheres out over fields to clear them be-fore planting. The typical invoker hasknowledge about a few special fields ofinterest, these being more individual hob-bies than something suggested by theirparticular mind sets.

Necromancers deal with dark magicand the raising of the dead. One wouldtherefore expect them to be a particularlynasty lot, but they are often worse thanimagined. Necromancers tend to go intotaxidermy and have skeletal servitors dotheir fetching and carrying. (Necroman-cers who expect to get along with theirneighbors should not consider using zom-bies, the odor being sure to lower all prop-erty values.) Little dead things are usuallyscattered around the shop, some stuffedand mounted, and visitors often get thefeeling that those glass eyes are still scruti-nizing them. The odors, even if no zom-bies are present, are sufficient to causefaint-hearted customers to flee outside in amatter of moments. Nonetheless, somenecromancers are thoroughly pleasantfellows with good, if grim, senses of hu-mor. They are often undertakers, and theycan cause interesting problems for cus-tomers who don�t pay their bills.

DRAGON 19

Artwork by Ken Widing Transmuters are the most commonspecialists, making alterations in existenceitself. Low-level hedge wizards are likelyto be around trade areas, casting compre-hend languages in order to act as transla-tors, or mending to fix pots and pans.Medium- level transmuter hedge wizardssell lamps with continual light on them,with shades that can be lowered to seal offthe light. Finding a higher-level transmutermay be difficult, since they have so manyusefull spells that they may quickly runinto the problem of �spellgunning wizards��wizards who kill other wizards in order

Finally, don�t discount the possibility ofdual-class hedge wizards, or even �hedgewizards� who can�t cast a single spell.Fighters who have gotten tired of killing,thieves trying for a degree of respectabil-ity, priests who have left the bureaucracythat is found in some temples�any mayhave learned enough woodcraft to openup a functional herbalist shop, with a fewmagical items and the like thrown in.Given the chance to learn something aboutmagecraft, and the requisite ability scores,the possibilities for dual-class charactersare quite diverse. Since nonhumans arealmost always dual-class, a nonhumanhedge wizard is also likely to have a num-ber of other services or surprises ready.

to increase their spellbook contents.

There may also be utter charlatanspretending to be hedge wizards, but keepin mind that word of mouth is the mostacceptable form of advertising in the semi-medieval society of the typical campaign.This cuts down on the utter charlatans, atleast if one bothers to ask around.

Priests may well go in for small templesthat serve the same purposes as a hedgewizard, lacking only spells such as identify.The best Forgotten Realms deities for thispurpose are: Azuth, Chauntea, Deneir,Mielikki, Mystra/Midnight, Oghma, andSelune. Some of these are more likely tobe city-based (Azuth, Denier, Mystra andOghma) and any �hedge wizards� whofollow these faiths will be either outcastsfrom a larger temple, those who tired ofinternal politics, and those who have leftfor personal reasons.

Small chapels out in the wilderness ornear towns are best for this purpose.Typical cleric levels will be: 2nd to 4th ifthey left due to internal politics; 5th to 8thif they�re an outcast or have personalreasons; or 9th to 14th if they fled due tofailure at internal politics, advice fromabove, or personal reasons. If the cleric isabove 14th level, the time just recoveringspells makes having lesser priests andlaymen about more attractive, hence thepresence of the bigger temple complexwith lower-level priests attending theneeds of such a high priest.

Fighters, paladins, rangers, and the likeare not likely to have gone into such a lineof business. Paladins will either considersuch a job below their station or simplytoo rustic. Fighters have to rely on magicalitems to cast spells and rarely have the

20 NOVEMBER 1990

learning in sagecraft or herbal lore neededto work the other ends of the business.Rangers often have herbalist knowledgeand may have reached the point wherespell-casting is a possibility. But, because aranger is often dedicated to protecting anarea and fighting a particular species ofmonster, it is unlikely that a ranger willwork as a hedge wizard.

Rogues may operate a hedge wizard�sshop as a front for more profitable en-terprise. Thieves lack spell ability but maybe able to fake it using various magicalitems such as wand of magic detectionBards have spell ability but are not likelyto ignore the possibility of selling theirmusical abilities along with every otherservice they can offer. Since bards canusually rely on their musical abilities morethan their magical ones, it would be a rarebard who would go into something as�dull� as hedge wizardry.

Hedge wizards are often in the �messageboard� business, since they often deal withadventurers of varying types. These keeptrack of jobs, referrals, out-of-work spe-cialists, adventurers between quests, ru-mors, and local proclamations. They mayeven act as a placement service for would-be members of an adventuring group. Anyfee for such things is paid up front,

The magic shop generally does not havemuch in the way of magical items for sale.The reasons for this are given in the DMG,page 83, and there is no reason to go intothem here. Some items are �common�enough, though, and may be of great usein increasing an adventuring group�schances for survival; these may thereforebe included in just such a shop. There is afair chance that any of the items on Table1 can be found, priced around 2 gp per XPas shown in the DMG tables.

As Table 1 shows, a potion of healing isin stock most of the time and will usuallyrun about 400 gp�steep but well worth it,considering that the poor hedge wizardhas to buy it from a temple. A scroll ofprotection from poison costs about 2,000gp. There may be other items available,especially if another adventuring groupjust came through, but this is uncommon.If the DM wants to equip the group withsomething or to introduce a new magicalitem (say, a potion of dispel magic thatmust be thrown at the area of the magic tobe dispelled) and relieve the group of somecash, then the last adventuring group mayhave sold it to the hedge wizard.

The hedge wizard shop is likely to havea few knickknacks, curios, old tomes, andother oddities for sale or rent. Knick-knacks in this case are small magicalitems, useful but without combat uses.Some examples: a mug that keeps anyliquid within at a constant cool tempera-ture, a stone that absorbs heat for laterrelease at a slow gradient, a bedpan thatmagically empties itself and remains odor-free, a stone that finds lost people or itemsto which it has been attuned, a broom ofanimated sweeping, a collar of protection

from fleas, a chair of comfort, a sleepingbag of warmth, etc. Magical knickknackseither have no combat use, are too bulkyto be carried about, or both. These couldbe found in any hedge wizard shop,though the hedge wizard must be of suffi-cient level to enchant such things.

Hedge wizards are generally held bytheir communities to be craftsmen, some-thing like potters or carpenters with theaddition of some minor spell-casting abili-ties (Table 2 and 3 show costs for pur-chasing spells from these wizards). Thestatistically average hedge wizard is 5thlevel, human, male, in his mid-forties, andis not a specialist mage. He has few or nomagical items. Various drying herbs andsome alchemical devices are in the labroom, and a separate room houses a pro-tective circle of some sort.

The goods listed in Table 4 may be avail-able at any hedge wizard�s shop. Those in�Difficulty #1� are the most common,requiring a herbalism skill roll of 14 orbetter; the availability of ingredients mayvary from area to area. Those in �Diffi-culty #2� require herbalism of 17 or betterand may require alchemy of 14 or better.Those potions and other items under�Difficulty #3� are the most difficult of allto prepare, requiring very high skill rollsin both herbalism and alchemy to prepare.The situation is like that of a chef who ispreparing blowfish, where with one slip,poison results.

Most of the potions in Table 4 last for 1-4hours after drinking (some last for a day),and their uses are usually self explanatory.Few, if any, are effective against magicaleffects. DM discretion is advised in decid-ing the uses for each item. The more unu-sual goods are described hereafter:

Babblejuice: The imbiber must save vs.poison, or he will start speaking of any-thing that comes to mind. Questions maybe answered truthfully, but the answersmay be difficult to understand. This potionshould be very rare.

Brainflight: Wherever people are jaded,tense, dissatisfied with their lives, or readyto make a buck and hang the morality,there will be drugs like this one.Brainflight is a generic fantasy hallucino-gen. It works directly on the nervoussystem, is highly addictive, and causeswildly erratic behavior in frequent users.The exact effects of brainflight should bedetermined by the DM beforehand,though they should be thoroughly nastyand cause a breakdown in behavior of itsusers that increases over time towards analignment of chaotic evil. Because availabil-ity of this is so limited by demand andprobable legal action against those usingand selling it, the price is extremely high.As with babblejuice, brainflight shouldinclude ingredients that are very rare orhard to get, but it is not all that difficult tomake.

Burnsalve: Type I is simply an ointmentthat can be applied to burned skin ortissue. It keeps air off the burn, decreasing

the �to hit� penalty applied if the burn ison a limb. Type II also promotes healing,at the rate of 2 hp healed of burn damageper day of rest. Type III is more effective,healing burn damage at twice the rate ofType II. Type III is at least four times asexpensive as Type II.

Firegel: This thick grainy ointment ishighly fire resistant. Items treated withfiregel receive a + 6 to saving throws vs.normal fire. It is far too thick and expen-sive to be used on creatures, so it is typi-cally used to treat pouches and packetscontaining valuable papers.

Hair restorer: This restores hair to areaswhere it used to be and no longer is. Ifimbibed, all the skin that can produce hairwill do so (sort of a �potion of hairiness�).It is normally applied as a salve to the areaafflicted by hair loss. Repeated treatmentsare needed at least once a month for ayear. There is a version that acts as thereverse�a �salve of electrolysis,� if youwill.

Healing poultice: On normal wounds,Type I doubles the normal healing rate,Type II triples the normal healing rate,and Type III quadruples the normal rate.Note that some wounds, such as thosemade by a sword of wounding, are resist-ant to magical healing. Since poultices arenonmagical in nature, they can help over-come this difficulty.

Love potion: This is not the same as aphilter of love. The reaction is diluted,causing an individual drinking it to be-come more favorably inclined towards thenext member seen of the opposite sex anda similar species. There is no charm effect,nor does the potion cause any behaviorout of the norm for the affected person.The imbiber of the love potion will insteadview the aforementioned member of theopposite sex as being highly charismatic(charisma 19) and of having some undefin-able attractive quality.

Maidenweed: This potion prevents preg-nancy in females who drink it. The po-tion�s duration is one month.

Mermaid’s breath: This one is always instock if the hedge wizard is near a body ofwater. Application in two to four roundsto someone who has drowned will allowthe victim a save vs. death to cough up allwater and start breathing again.

Nullscent: All this does is negate thescent on a creature or the scent thatwould normally be left behind on objectshandled. It requires liberal application,covering the entire body surface of thecreature to be affected. This one is popu-lar with thieves.

Plant grower: This nonmagical potionthat is poured into the root network of aplant. This must be repeated weeklythrough the growing cycle. Plant growerincreases the size of the plant by an addi-tional 10-100%. This can be made in multi-ple gallon quantities.

Scented soaps: The typical medieval soapwas not anything like the �pure� soaps onthe market now. The soaps sold as scented

DRAGON 21

visited. The spell alters normal water intoa magical potion that must be imbibed inthe duration mentioned above. The potionremoves hangovers and other ill effects ofinebriation and will negate any currentstate of drunkenness It is effective againstonly alcohol-based changes in the target�sphysiology, thus being ineffective againstdrugged stupors and poisons. No otherway to use this spell has yet been found.The material component is a pewter mugfull of water.

only speeds the (Divination)

New proficiencies

soaps by a hedge wizard should cost atleast three times that of normal soap, butthey also won�t burn skin or cause moresensitive difficulties the way old fashionedlye soap can.

XYZ balm: This is a general purposeointment or salve that helps to cure burns,scrapes, and such difficulties as are causedby poison ivy. XYZ balm is semi-magical(see �New Proficiencies: Alchemy�) as itrequires water that has run along thespiral of a living unicorn�s horn. The priceshould be accordingly high. Being onlysemi-magical, it does not cure any poison

Alchemy (2): Skill roll = Intelligence - 2.The wizard is familiar with the use ofvarious chemicals and equipment requiredfor the making of magical or semi-magicalpotions, ointments, infusions, and salves.(Semi-magical indicates that the item ap-proximates a magical effect or requiresmagic in its making, but is not itself magi-cal for purposes of a detect magic spell.)Alchemy requires the use of an alchemist�slab: alembics, retorts, distilling apparatus,pitch pots, and condensers. Other equip-ment may be needed for more complexoperations.

or burn outright, butbody�s own recovery.

Chemistry (2): Skill roll = Intelligence - 2.Chemists can attempt to brew poisons andacids from natural ingredients. Acids areusually weak, causing 1-4 hp damage butnot dissolving materials rapidly. Someacids (aqua regia, hydrochloric acid, etc.)are possible but at a -4 modifier to thechemist�s skill roll. If gunpowder is used inthe campaign, then it requires this profi-ciency to manufacture it. Use of this profi-ciency requires the use of a chemist�s lab,equal in price to an alchemical lab, and acertain degree of privacy. Any number ofworks dealing with the history of technol-ogy or science can help pinpoint exactlywhat is possible in a campaign.

Field of study (1): Skill roll = Intelligence-2. This covers everything else in a sage�sfield of expertise not already coveredunder existing proficiencies. The moredetailed a category, the more informationthe sage has and can turn up in research(and the more expensive the researchshould be!). A hedge wizard with a profi-ciency in �elven art� who looks at a pair ofold vases can tell one is an elven vasemade about 1,500 years ago in Myth Dran-nor, and the other was probably madeabout 500 years ago in Everska. A hedgewizard with the field of study of �elven artduring the rule of King Alfroi� can tell thatthe first vase was made by the mastercraftsman Iriam Talltree during his revi-sionist period, but he can�t tell anythingabout the second vase at all other than itappears of elven make. Typical majorfields of study are: art, folklore, cryptogra-phy, languages (doubles the number oflanguages spoken by the hedge wizard�not all that important with tongues spells

22 NOVEMBER 1990

available), folklore, genealogy, geography,geology, mathematics, mathemagics, phi-losophy, and sociology. A failed skill rollmeans either no knowledge (just missedthe number needed) or misinformation (ifroll was off by more than four).

New spellsThe following spells have been devised

by hedge wizards, and fewer than one in30 spell-casters who are not hedge wiz-ards will have any spell below.

Alahandra�s questing call

Level: 3 Components: V,S,MRange: 0 CT: 3 turnsDuration: 3 rds./lvl. Save: Neg.AE: 10-mile radius around caster

Created by Alahandra of Waterdeep, thisspell calls forth the image of adventurerswho are �between quests� at the moment.The spell-caster is not in control of whatsort of adventurers are indicated by thespell, and the adventurers must be withinrange of the spell. The spell often misfires(30%), showing either nothing or scenesfrom another plane of existence entirely.Only the vague shadowy image of one ortwo of the adventurers and their approxi-mate location is indicated by the spell. Thematerial component is a silver mirror, asmall bell, and a candle made from bees-wax. Only the mirror remains after thespell�s completion.

Alvira�s stasis shell(Alteration)Level: 6 Components: V,S,MRange: Touch CT: 2Duration: 1 day/lvl. Save: NoneAE: One small nonliving object

Alvira of the Living City created thisspell to use in conjunction with extension.She then cast it upon a copy of herspellbook and hid it where it would re-main for years, just in case somethinghappened to her original spellbook. Thelargest object that can be affected by thisspell is a large standard spellbook, and thesmallest object is the size of a vial of po-tion. An object protected by this spellcannot be affected by any force less pow-erful than a disintegrate spell or a success-ful dispel magic. Water, fire, acid,lightning, and even dragon breath merelymove along the outer shell of the stasis.The spell cannot affect living tissue di-rectly, though there are reports that livingtissue within a container is affected. Forall intents and purposes, time has stoppedfor the object held within the field.

Bugman�s mug(Alteration)Level: 1 Components: V,S,MRange: Touch CT: 4Duration: 1 turn/lvl. Save: NoneAE: 1 mug of water

Bugman, a thoroughly loathsome-lookingindividual with a heart of gold, createdthis spell for a dwarven friend who often

Heartcall(Divination)Level: 3Range: SpecialDuration: 1 turnAE: Special

Components: V,S,MCT: 3 turnsSave: None

While adventuring in far-off Kozakura,the hedge wizardess Majinhime discoveredthe belief that an invisible thread of fateconnected those destined to marry. Laterresearch bore out this belief, and this spellwas created. This spell indicates approxi-mate direction and distance of the target�strue love, if such exists. Sometimes thespell garners no results, indicating thateither the target being has no true love orthat the time is not right for them to meet.If this true love is on a different dimen-sional plane, some indication of whatdimensional plane (alternate Prime Mate-rial plane, outer plane, Astral plane, etc.) isall the information that can be garneredby this method. The material componentsare a spool of red thread and a glass disk.

Hedge enchantment(Enchantment, Invocation)Level: 5 Components: V,S,MRange: Special CT: 1 + daysDuration: Special Save: Neg.AE: Special

Similar in many respects to the sixth-level spell enchant an item, this spell ismuch less useful and restricted to hedgewizards. It can typically be used to make aspell such as cantrip a part of an object.Such enchantments have little or no com-bat use and are usually restricted to com-fort or everyday use items such as skilletsand blankets. The more pronounced theeffect, the more days the hedge wizardmust spend working over the item, to amaximum of one week (at the DM�s discre-tion).

Another version of this spell enhancesplants that it is cast upon. Any naturalplant (i.e., no molds, shambling mounds,or hangman�s trees) can be enhanced inone respect. Kudzu could be made to growfaster, have broader leaves, or form partof a natural water filtration system. It isbelieved that some druids have this ver-sion of the spell, though it is rare thateven a hedge wizard should have it. Thisversion only enhances a single quality, andthe plant must be a normal non-motileplant (also no venus flytraps, sundews, orsnappersaws). Only qualities that the plantnormally possesses can be enhanced.

Isolde�s answer(Divination)Level: 3 Components: V,S,MRange: Touch CT: 2 roundsDuration: 2 rds./lvl. Save: NoneAE: 1 mile/level

This spell temporarily enhances a magi-cal mirror, crystal ball, or other scryingdevice. The spell-caster then asks thescrying device a question, and the scryingdevice answers that question by showingan appropriate scene if it is within thearea of effect. Typical questions include:�Where did I put that book on magicalapparatus?� �Who is the most beautiful inthe land?� and �Where are the fish bitingtoday?� Note that a scrying device must bein operation at the time the spell is cast.The material component is the scryingdevice, which is not consumed by thespell-casting.

Mental block(Enchantment/Charm)Level: 1 Components: V,S,MRange: Touch CT: 3 turnsDuration: Special Save: Neg.AE: Creature touched

This spell can only be cast on a willingand living target. The mental block affectsa particular message, causing it to beblocked from recall or mental examinationuntil such time as a predetermined triggeris met. The trigger can be as simple as�when you are in the presence of KingAzoun of Cormyr� to �three days hence,when the cock crows� or any reasonablesimilar condition. Torture, spells thatprobe the mind, dispel magic, or any num-ber of other attempts to learn the messagewill cause the permanent loss of the mes-sage instead. This spell is commonly usedby kings wishing to send secret informa-tion by courier; the information is storedin the courier�s mind until the preset con-ditions are met. The material component isa chip of granite.

Nimodes� major delousing(Necromancy)Level: 2 Components: V,SRange: 0 CT: 1 turnDuration: 2 hrs./lvl. Save: NoneAE: 60� radius

All normal insects within the area ofeffect are slain instantly, and no suchcreature may enter the area until after thespell�s duration has ended. Note that thespell area cannot be moved, and onlynormal insects are affected by the spell.Summoned creatures, even if normalinsects, can penetrate the barrier due tothe magical nature of the summons. Crea-tures bedding down for a night in theswamps have been known to pay goodmoney for multiple castings of this spell.

Nimodes� unseen butler(Conjuration/Summoning)Level: 2 Components: V,S,M

Range: 20 yards CT: 2Duration: Special Save: NoneAE: 60 square feet/level

Nimodes has sold this spell to severalenterprising hedge wizards, so it can befound from Kara-Tor to Cormyr. This spellcreates something akin to a superchargedunseen servant who races along like awhirlwind along the area of effect. Theservitor buffs and polishes, cleans andwaxes, straightens and sweeps. The spelllasts until the area of effect is clean, usu-ally three to four rounds. The materialcomponent is a piece of string and drop ofoil. This spell is used to clean the wizard�sown area as well as inns and taverns aftera busy night. All trash and broken itemsare collected in a single heap at the faredge of the area of effect.

Rebinding(Enchantment, Alteration, Invocation/Evocation)Level: 7 Components: V,S,MRange: Touch CT: 2 turnsDuration: Special Save: Neg.AE: One item

Rebinding is possibly the most powerfulspell known to hedge wizards, and it iscertainly the most rare. Out of a thousandhedge wizards, one might know this spell.Rebinding is cast upon a broken magicalitem such as a long sword + 1 in order tobind the magicks into the materials of the

repaired by an expert (a master swords-mith for the long sword), then rebindingmust be cast again on the item. The itemgets a saving throw on both occasions andmust fail both saving throws for the itemto be remade. This has no effect on anitem that has run out of charges, is disinte-grated, or which is missing some pieces.(If, in the example, the long sword was hitby a crystalbrittle or Mordenkainen’sdisjunction spell, it cannot be remade by arebinding spell.) This is typically used forthe repair of family heirlooms, items madein accordance with a prophesy, or simi-larly irreplaceable items. The materialcomponent is two pieces of lodestone anda skein of silver wire costing 50 gp, bothvanishing during the casting of the spell.

Sharpen(Alteration)Level: 1 Components: V,SRange: Touch CT: 3Duration: Instant. Save: NoneAE: 10� square

An enterprising mage who lived near acastle gate came up with this spell. Itsharpens and straightens edges in weap-ons, clearing the normal dents and nicksout. The edges will have a normal sharp-ness, not conferring any bonus to damageor to-hit rolls. Blunt weapons are not

DRAGON 23

affected by this spell, though piercingweapons are. Hedge wizards have beenknown to cast this spell for city guards-men at a discount especially before inspec-tion, just in case the mage needs a handlater on.

Table 1Items and Services Found In a Hedge Wizard�s ShopItem Number in stockPotion of healing 1-8Potion of extra-healing 1-2Potion of sweet water 1-2Potion of speed 1Philter of love 1Potion of rainbow hues 1Potion of polymorph self 1Potion of ventriloquism 1Scroll of protection 1Arrow + 1 1-6Sling bullet + 1 1-4Common material components 1-20Sage categories 1-2Common poultices & herbs 90%Maps, books, & curios 2-20Referrals -Odd minor magical items 1-4

Chance in stock80%35%40%10%5%5%1%3%1%5%5%80%75%

90%99%10%

Table 2Prices of Spells Cast by Hedge Wizards from Scrolls

Spell PriceClairvoyance 300 gp +Continual light 1,100 gpDispel magic 900 gp +In visibility 250 gpLegend lore 1,200 gpTrue seeing 5,500 gp

Chance in stock40%80%60%20%5%5%

Table 3Scroll Spells Sold By Hedge Wizards

SpellDetect magicFeather fallLightMagic missile

Price

500 gp500 gp500 gp

1000 gp

Chance in stock95%5%

35%55%

24 NOVEMBER 1990

Table 4Minor Potions and Remedies

Difficulty # 1Allergy suppressant Breath cleanserBurnsalve I Delousing powderHangover remedy Healing poultice IIvy ointment MaidenweedPurgative Nerve tonicScented soap Smelling salts

Difficulty #2Babblejuice BrainflightBloodstop (clotter) Burnsalve IINullscent Numbing salveSleeping draught Stamina draughtXYZ balm WhiskerbaneHealing poultice II Common poison

antidotes

Difficulty #3Fish summoner Firegel (fireproofingFlameoil (Greek fire) Glow waterHair restorer Love potionMermaid�s breath Plant growerWhiskerbane Healing poultice III

Magical-item misfirings in the AD&D® game

by Rich Stump

The AD&D® game has one of the largestcompilations of magical items in the fan-tasy gaming industry. Unfortunately, thisdoes not prevent many of the players frombuying, borrowing, or stealing copies ofthe Dungeon &laster�s Guide for the solepurpose of memorizing the magical-itemtreasure tables. Once one of these peoplehas implanted the entire collection ofmagical devices into his brain, it becomesvery hard for the DM to keep that playeron his toes.

Players act in this bizarre but very com-mon manner seem to know what everysingle magical item does once it has beenidentified (if not, they look the item uponce they are out of the DM�s sight). Thiscan be very distressing for the DM, as oneplayer acting in this manner can turn agaming session into a shopping trip.

The following tables have been createdto alleviate this problem and to add somespice and variety to existing magical itemsin the AD&D game world. The tables areeasily adjusted to any other fantasy role-playing game, and a creative DungeonMaster could alter these tables for espio-nage and science-fiction role-playinggames. A table of nonstandard magical-item abilities is offered for each majortype of magical items in the AD&D game.

The rationale for such quirks is simple.Most items are created normally, and theyfunction exactly as a standard item of thesame type in the DMG. However, some-times there is a slight mishap in the crea-tion of the device: the steps are notfollowed in the proper order, the astrologi-cal signs do not bode well, the item�s crea-tor is disturbed to begin with, theinstructions are incomplete, or somethingjust plain goes wrong. Any of these resultscan cause a magical item to behave differ-ently from others just like it.

Not all quirks are bad, however. Someare detrimental to the item or its user,some are neutral, and some are evenbeneficial. The possibility of quirks exist-ing (and the actual number of quirks) isdetermined by using Table 1; a specifictable is thereafter used to determine theexact quirks that the magical item pos-sesses. By using these tables, even a playerwith an eidetic memory may be thrownfor a loss when his magical sword doesn�tfunction correctly�unless he�s also memo-rized the tables in this article.

Table 1: Quirks Present

Roll01-9091-9697-9900

ResultNo quirksOne quirkTwo quirksThree quirks

Artwork by Paul Jaquays

DRAGON 27

Table 2: Magical Potion Quirks

Roll Result01-05 Drinker glows (as per a light spell) a random color for as long as the potion is in effect.06-10 Drinker�s skin turns a random color for 1d10 turns.11-15 Drinker is unable to speak or cast spells with verbal components for 1d4 hours after drinking the elixir.16-21 Imbiber gets extremely hungry immediately after the potion is consumed (as per a chime of hunger).22-25 Drinker�s senses sharpen while the potion is in effect, or for a maximum of three turns (whichever is longer). The individ-

ual so affected gains a + 2 bonus against being surprised (unless he possesses the alertness nonweapon proficiency or is aranger, in which case he gains a +3 bonus).

26-30 Drinker cannot hear anything due to ringing or buzzing in ears for as long as the potion is in effect, or for three turns ifno duration is given.Potion is diluted and works 50% as well as a normal potion of the same type. Both duration and effects are diminished inpower.

31-34

35-4041-4445-50

51-53

54-5758-62

63-66

67-7172-7677-7879-83

84-8788-8990-91

92-9596-97

98-99

00

Potion becomes inert and useless if left unstoppered for longer than five rounds.Potion�s duration doubles if it is mixed with wine prior to consumption.Drinker becomes greatly intoxicated for 1d10 hours after the potion is consumed. Only a dispel magic can prematurelyremove the effects of the drunkenness (effects determined by the DM).Drinker gains 60� infravision for as long as the potion is in effect, or for three turns if no duration is given. If the drinkernormally has infravision, it is lost for the same amount of time.Potion has no effect upon demihumans.Drinker experiences slight disorientation for 1d6 rounds after drinking the potion ( -2 penalty on any to-hit roll and +2penalty on armor class during this time).Drinker becomes drowsy; a constitution check on 1d20 must be made every round for four rounds after the potion isconsumed. If the roll on any check is higher than the drinker�s constitution, he falls asleep for 3d6 minutes. The sleepingindividual can be awakened only by taking at least 1 hp damage from a physical or magical attack.Potion is phosphorescent and glows (equal to faerie fire spell) in the dark.Potion is found in powdered form; water has to be added to the powder for the potion to be effective.Potion is stronger than normal; its duration is 150% of a normal potion of the same type.Potion is nauseating to drink; a constitution check on 1d20 must be made in order to gulp the contents of the potion. If asaving throw vs. poison at + 2 is not made thereafter, the drinker feels sick to his stomach for 2d10 turns ( - 1 to hit dur-ing that time).Drinker loses one point of dexterity for 2d10 turns.Potion evaporates (50%) or coagulates (50%) and becomes useless if left open to air for longer than five rounds.Potion is unpredictable: It works normally 50% of the time, does nothing 30% of the time, and sickens the drinker for1d4 + 1 days without any beneficial effect 20% of the time. A cure disease will remove this illness.Potion is unstable; if severely jostled or shaken, it will burst its container (75% chance) and become useless.Drinker suddenly becomes extremely verbose and talks incessantly for the duration of the potion, or one turn if no dura-tion is given. During this time, the drinker and his associates cannot gain surprise on any encountered monsters.If the potion is mixed with anything else, it forms a lethal compound (if swallowed, save vs. poison at - 4 on the roll, ordie in 1d4 rounds).Potion is addictive; a draft of it must be taken at least once every week after such an addictive liquid is imbibed. If theaddict does not drink another such potion every week, he suffers a -2 penalty on all ability scores until the potion istaken or the affliction is removed. Only alter reality, limited wish, wish, or going �cold turkey� without the potion for 1d3months will cure such an addiction.

Table 3: Magical Scroll Quirks

Roll01-06

07-1011-15

16-1819-2223-2728-3132-34

35-40

41-44

45-49

50-5253-57

ResultScroll is old and brittle; any mishandling causes it to disintegrate. A scroll of this type has a - 2 on all saving throwsagainst fire.Scroll glows (equal to faerie fire) when used, opened, or read.Scroll is written in scrawled script and is barely legible; a 5% chance exists of blowing the spell in addition to any othersuch chance.Scroll is waterproof and can be read underwater.Scroll is exceedingly long and takes 1-3 rounds to unroll and prepare for spell-casting.Scroll is specially treated and cannot be burned by normal fire. It has +2 on any saving throws against magical fire.Scroll can only be torn by someone making his bend bars/lift gates strength roll.Scroll is written in magical hieroglyphics; 5-10 days must be spent translating the characters before the scroll is usable, ora comprehend languages must be cast upon it.Scroll is more powerful than normal; any saving throws against a spell from the scroll are at - 1, and the duration of anyspell is 125% normal.Scroll�s print disorients reader for 1d4 rounds after a spell from it is cast. During this time, the reader is at -2 to hit andloses his dexterity bonuses to armor class.Scroll is written improperly; any spell on it will fail 50% of the time (but the spell is not erased from the scroll until asecond reading).Scroll is specially magicked; the spells on it can be used twice each before they vanish.Scroll is permanently stuck in a magically strong rolled-up form; in order to cast a spell from it, the reader must make astrength check with a - 2 bonus to the roll on 1d20. If the die roll is above the reader�s strength, he is unable to keep thescroll held open for that round. Another try may be made the next round. The scroll cannot be ripped or torn.

28 NOVEMBER 1990

Table 3: Magical Scroll Quirks (Continued)

58-63 Scroll is written on a sheet of thin metal instead of on paper; it makes all saving throws as soft metal does.64-70 Scroll�s writing is hidden by an illusory script or secret page spell.71-74 Scroll is protected by a spell, such as sepia snake sigil or magic mouth. The protective spell is activated any time the scroll

is opened, unless a special bypass word is spoken.75-78 Scroll is specially treated and is immune to acid and slimes of any type.79-84 Scroll is dust covered when found; when opened, the opener must save vs. petrification or sneeze and choke on the dust

for 1d4 rounds (no attacks or defense possible).85-89 Scroll�s spells are written in complicated terms; the casting times of all spells upon the scrolls are doubled.90-94 Scroll is substandard in power; all saving throws against spells from the scroll are at +1, and the duration of any spell is

75% of normal.95-98 Scroll is slow to take effect the round after the casting is f inished. Once the casting time is complete,

hitting the reader will not disrupt the spell.99-00 Scroll is very powerful; all spells have an inherent -2 on any saving throw against them, and the duration of a spell on

this s ccroll is 150% normal.

Table 4: Magical Ring Quirks

Roll01-0405-0809-1213-1718-24

25-2829-3031-33

34-37

38-4445-4849-53

54-5960-61

62-6566-6970-7273-7677-8182-8384-8889-92

93-9495-98

99-00

ResultRing is powerless during the night.Ring is powerless during the day.Ring will not function underground at depths greater than 100� below the surface.Ring will not function if a second magical ring is worn.Ring will not function for 1d4 days if it is taken off the wearer�s finger and later placed on a new wearer or on the pre-vious wearer.Ring cannot use its offensive power against any creature of 1 HD or less.Ring is easily damaged; it makes any saving throw at a -2 penalty on the roll.Ring works erratically; there is a 5% chance when its powers are utilized that the ring shorts itself out and is unusable for24 hours.Ring magically grafts itself to the wearer�s finger and cannot be removed by any means other than employing a wish orphysically removing the finger from the wearer�s body.Ring glows a random color (equal to faerie fire) whenever its powers are in effect.Ring is unable to function when within 30� of any other magical ring.Wearer of the ring is colorblind and can see only in black and white for as long as the ring is worn. If the wearer is natu-rally colorblind, he can see normal colors in the visible spectrum for as long as the ring is worn. If the ring is taken off,sight returns to its natural state.Ring is specially enchanted and cannot be destroyed by fire, magical or otherwise.Ring causes its wearer to experience terrible nightmares if it is worn while sleeping, preventing any rest at all. If it istaken off prior to falling asleep, no ill effects occur.Ring is specially enchanted and is immune to the effects of acid of any type.Ring emits a hum audible to those within a 10' radius whenever its powers are used.Wearer�s metabolism is slowed by wearing the ring; consequently, only half the daily amount of food needs to be eaten.Wearer�s metabolism is sped up by wearing the ring; twice the daily amount of food needs to be eaten by the wearer.Ring functions as normal but has no effect on one specific creature type.Ring cannot be crushed by anything short of an irresistable force (such as a deity or several tons of rock).Ring will not work if its wearer is clad in metal armor.Ring has a command word that must be spoken in order for it to operate. If the ring has a power that operates continu-ously, speaking the command word operates the ring for three turns.Ring drains 1 hp for every two days that it is worn, or 1 hp every time it is put on. Normal healing applies.Ring is inhabited by a vain minor spirit who wills its wearer to polish the ring daily. If this is not done, the spirit withholdsthe ring�s powers for one day for each time it is not polished.Ring has a 20% chance of failing to work each time it is activated or put on.

Continued on page 52

30 NOVEMBER 1990

©1990 by John C. Bunnell

Mysterious nights, dragons, and hawks

©1990 by John C. Bunnell

DRAGON�S TEETHLee Killough

Questar 0-445-20906-2 $4.95

H A W K & F I S H E R Simon Green

Ace 0-441-58417-4 $3.95

NIGHTWATCHRobin Wayne Bailey

TSR 0-8038-914-1 $3.95It�s been said that mysteries with fantasy

Twenty-first-century police detectivesJanna Brill and �Mama� Maxwell don�thave that problem; they fit seamlessly intoLee Killough�s detailed image of a largelyautomated and computerized America.The difficulty with Dragon’s Teeth is adifferent kind of split personality: AuthorKillough tries to give equal focus to thefuturistic SF setting and to a tricky pair ofapparently impossible robberies, one ofwhich leaves a corpse behind. But thereisn�t enough space in the story to do jus-tice to both, and neither element getsenough attention to be satisfying.

Bailey�s novel is only partly a whodunit,and his strong characterizations are wellbeyond anything found in the other twovolumes. Both Hawk & Fisher and Drag-on’s Teeth plant their clues subtly andfairly, though Green lets readers get a stepahead of his detectives partway throughthe former.

Is there a lesson amidst all this skuldug-gery? If so, it�s Fagin�s musical signatureline from Oliver!, addressed to all thosewho think they have their mixed-genremysteries planned properly the first timeout: �I think I�d better think it out again!�

or SF settings are difficult to write, but thathasn�t stopped a mini-boom in the categoryof late. Two cases involving murder bysorcery and a high-tech police proceduralmystery are among the most prominentexamples, but, for the most part, all threebooks do more to prove the complexity ofthe task than to rise above it.

All three books weave their mysteryplots credibly, though Nightwatch is per-haps weakest on this score. Then again,

The first challenge in crafting a mixed-genre mystery is establishing a well-identified atmosphere. On that score,Nightwatch scores a qualified success,while the other two novels are marginal atbest. Robin Bailey�s advantage is that muchof his audience is already familiar with theCity of Greyhawk through the wealth ofexisting AD&D® game lore available fromTSR, Inc. While his prose style is notice-ably sparer than that of most otherGreyhawk chroniclers, he retains an accu-rate sense of the city�s personality.

Hawk & Fisher (identified as the first ina series) is also an urban fantasy in a medi-eval setting, but suffers from a severe caseof dual identity. It�s packaged as slash-and-skewer street adventure, and it holds thattone through a 23-page vampire hunt�then abruptly turns into a classic house-party whodunit. Only the fantasy elementsdistinguish the ensuing tale from an armyof Agatha Christie novels and Charlie Chanfilms, and city guard captains Hawk andFisher feel justifiably misplaced in SimonGreen�s neatly plotted murder yarn.

32 NOVEMBER 1990

THE INTERIOR LIFEKatherine Blake

Baen 0-671-72010-4 $3.95The Interior Life is nothing if not in-

triguing. Poul Anderson�s flyleaf testimo-nial seems to promise a brilliant highfantasy. The back cover advertises whatsounds like a variation on Peter Beagle�sThe Folk of the Air. The copyright pageoffers trademark disclaimers for a batchof computer terms and a caveat about amade-up SCA barony. And the novel is setin no less than four different typefaces,two plain and two italic.

Not only is it Katherine Blake�s firstnovel, it�s both an effortlessly pleasant andsatisfying read and a stunningly intricatefeat of craftsmanship. In a word: Wow!

As it turns out, both the high fantasyand Peter Beagle comparisons are borneout. The book puts down firm roots inmodern suburbia, where Sue is trying tobalance housework, motherhood, civicinvolvement, and her husband�s businesspolitics. But it gives equal time to Sue�sgrowing perception of the realm of De-moura, where the mystically gifted LadyAmalia and the pragmatic Marianella arekeystones in a battle to drive dark influ-ences from the land. The exchange worksboth ways; Sue provides moral support toAmalia and Marianella, and the two De-mouran women offer Sue subconsciousadvice on achieving her 20th-centurygoals.

The twin plots are both parallel anddivergent. The Demouran tale has a strongromantic element, while the suburbanthread emphasizes Sue�s growing people-managing skills. But Blake keeps thestrands intricately intertwined, sometimesleaping back and forth between worlds inthe space of a single sentence. (That�swhere the multiple typefaces come in; onepair identifies Demoura, one marks subur-bia. Blake deserves full credit for the inge-nious device, but the novels real wonderis that most of the time, the device isscarcely necessary. The words themselvesconvey enough sense of identity to distin-guish one milieu from the other.)

The Interior Life is a quiet novel; thoselooking for bloody sword-and-sorcerywon�t find it. But Katherine Blake elegantlyrefutes the mindset that fantasy role-playing, in whatever form, is worth onlyscorn, and her rich affirmation of thepower of imagination comes in a uniquelyaccessible package.

ELVEN STARMargaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Bantam Spectra 0-553-07039-8 $19.95I wondered, halfway through this book,

how Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickmancan possibly write their way out of thecorner into which they seem to be paint-ing themselves. To date they�ve alwayssucceeded, but this time there are twonoteworthy differences: Elven Star hasfive sequels forthcoming rather than one,and part of the problem seems to originateoutside the Death Gate Cycle of which thislatest novel is a part.

First, the paradox: One of Elven Star’smajor secondary characters is a peculiarold wizard who keeps trying to remembera particular spell, constantly misplaces hishat, and travels with an enormous dragon.Readers of the original DRAGONLANCE®Chronicles will have no trouble catchingthe right throwaway lines and rearrangingthe letters of �Zifnab� into a different butvery familiar name. The parallel, ofcourse, is immensely amusing for thosewho�ve read the earlier books. If anything,Zifnab is more peculiar than his predeces-sor, as he tosses off casual digs at arche-typical wizards Merlin and Gandalf whilehis dragon complains about not beingassigned to Pern. And like Fizban, Zifnabturns out to be considerably more compe-tent than he initially appears.

But his presence seems to paint Weis andHickman into two (or possibly three) ines-capable corners at once. First: Are the twowizards in fact the same character? Pre-sumably not, if only for legal reasons; asZifnab points out, �Fiz�No, I can�t usethat.�

Second: How are readers expected toview Zifnab? No clear answer seems possi-ble. DRAGONLANCE saga followers willinevitably make guesses based on theFizban parallels, even though they�realmost certain to be proven wrong. Thosewho haven�t read the earlier trilogy, mean-

while, may be unnecessarily bewilderedby the carried-over running gags. Also,among his �ravings,� Zifnab tosses in refer-ences to our own world (Cary Grant, writ-ers� strikes, and the like). In what kind of areality can Zifnab coexist with the DeathGate realms, Earth, and the various SF andfantasy worlds to which he refers?

Third: You�d think that having five booksto resolve the aforementioned paradoxesand puzzles would be far simpler thantrying to accomplish the task in a singlevolume. Just the opposite is more likely;with all that space, Weis and Hickman maywell need to hold back definitive answersin order to maintain suspense, and readerscould easily be left hanging for two orthree books before explanations start tocome together.

Weis and Hickman have built a reputa-tion for impeccable intricacy in their pre-vious work, and the rest of the Death Gatecosmology has held to that standard. Sowhile I�m still troubled by some of thequestions Elven Star raises (e.g., can theDeath Gate Cycle books be fairly evaluatedindependent of the DRAGONLANCEChronicles?), I�m inclined to reserve judg-ment until more of the evidence is in. Fairwarning, though: This is no series forreaders with low cliffhanger tolerance.

GOSSAMER AXEGael Baudino

Roc 0-451-45025-6 $4.50This was a book I didn�t expect to like,

though for reasons not strictly connectedto the story. For one thing, there are al-ready several excellent novels juxtaposingpresent-day musicians with the realms offaerie. For another, the author�s descrip-tion reads entirely too much like her pro-tagonist�s: Both are Denver-based harperswho follow pagan theologies and shareother �progressive� attitudes. But Gossa-mer Axe is neither a polemic nor a re-tread. It�s an intimate yet powerful sagathat puts its own spin on the concept ofmixing elvenkind with music-craft.

Properly, Baudino�s novel features anensemble cast. While sixth-century refu-gee Christa Cruitaire is its keystone, herfriends and fellow performers quicklybecome just as real and sympathetic, andtheir problems are integral elements of thestory rather than subplots. Most of theplayers are women, but the tone isn�tmilitantly feminist and Baudino�s malecharacters don�t lapse into stereotype (thatisn�t to say they�re all likeable). There�s alsoan unusual magical harp that�s more char-acter than prop, and it gets a couple of thebooks very best scenes.

The books other distinction is its choiceof music: heavy metal. Baudino not onlydisplays a solid knowledge of the majorand minor leagues in the �category, butconcocts a thoroughly plausible theory ofmagic to explain why loud electric rockwill allow Christa to reach across worldsand time to rescue her trapped lover fromimprisonment at faerie hands.

DRAGON 33

Gossamer Axe is several sorts of novel atonce: traditionally mythic, drawing onfamiliar old Celtic lore; pragmaticallymodern, with sharp jibes at persistentpersonal and interpersonal biases; andunabashedly romantic, not so much in thesexual sense (though that�s there) as in thedetermined optimism of its central charac-ters. All three are compellingly told andmemorable; Baudino may not be the firstto add today�s music to a fantasy questyarn, but she ably proves that some thingscan be done right more than once.

GALEN SWORD # 1: SHIFTERJudith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Roc 0-451-45018-3 $3.95I�m not sure whether Shifter is a pulp

adventure with delusions of grandeur or afantasy thriller with an identity crisis.Either way, though, this first entry in theGalen Sword series gets more points for itspremise than it does for execution.

If we define pulp adventure to describethe exploits of a larger-than-life hero andhis colorful sidekicks as they confront avariety of dangerous evildoers (e.g., DocSavage, Flash Gordon, the Shadow), Shiftercertainly qualifies. Galen Sword uses hisvast wealth in pursuit of paranormal re-search, aided by a pre-teenage telekinetic,a brilliant but paralyzed physicist, and aJapanese strategist. Opposing him are theparanormals, in the form of a vast andshadowy organization called the FirstWorld, that considers its members supe-rior to humanity and is plotting an even-tual takeover. Sword himself hasconnections to a powerful First Worldclan, but is considered human and outcastby most First Worlders.

But the books writing and structuredon�t fit the formula of the old pulp adven-tures. Every major good-aligned charactergets a share of the viewpoint, Swordsinner motives get far too much examina-tion, and one seemingly regular characteris brutally and definitively written out bythe books end. There�s also a decided lackof atmosphere; no one mood dominatesthe tale sufficiently to establish an overalltone. The outline may be straight from thepulps, but the style is that of a contempo-rary thriller.

The combination is unsettling at best. It�shard to tell what readers should expectfrom this and future entries in the series,especially in terms of cliffhangers andlong-term plot resolution. The authorsonce stated that they have 27 books worthof Swords adventures plotted, which onlyadds to the confusion, supporting thepulp-adventure classification despite themore complex storytelling style.

The prose itself is solid enough, and thepacing is reasonably brisk. But the struc-ture on which the writing hangs lacks awell-established design, so Shifter countsonly as an intriguing but seriously flawedexperiment.

34 NOVEMBER 1990

Raymond E. Feist and Janny WurtsF o u n d a t i o n 0 - 3 8 5 - 2 4 7 1 8 - 4 $ 1 9 . 9 5

Near the end of the first long-termAD&D® game campaign I ran, I tried tomaneuver my uncomfortably high-levelPCs into the political arena by giving themimportant lands and titles. They turnedme down flat, doubtless with visions ofboredom dancing in their heads. DMsfacing similar resistance nowadays shouldshow their players a copy of Servant ofthe Empire and wait for the PCs to beg forelevation to the nobility.

In the realms of Kelewan, political secu-rity comes only to those who master theintricate and dangerous Game of theCouncil. Playing the Game inattentivelycan find a careless practitioner dead at anassassin�s hand, far from home on a hope-less military mission, facing economic ruinas a competitor monopolizes a crucialmarket niche, or forced to honor an innoc-uous promise to devastating effect.

All these situations arise in Feist andWurts� second tale of Mara, a youngwoman thrust by circumstances into theGame as mistress of a minor noble house.Though already familiar with the Game�sbroad strokes, Mara now finds its stakesgrowing higher as her machinations leadher into the topmost circles of the Em-pire�s hierarchy. Her own life is among theleast of her worries as she makes a daringbid to snatch the Empire itself back from apotentially disastrous course.

Feist and Wurts give the tale a uniformlyattentive eye for detail, amply definingcharacters and culture as well as battlesand bargaining sessions. Connections toFeist�s Riftwar novels crop up, as a newMidkemian character takes a major roleand old ones make brief appearances. Butthere�s little time to relax in this book; theoverall pace and tone might reasonably becompared to running a live chess game ona partially charted minefield.

Servant of the Empire avoids most of theusual problems associated with middlevolumes of trilogies, as it�s a generally self-contained novel with a decisive climax. Butthe authors don�t stop to explain somepreviously-covered aspects of Tsuraniculture, so newcomers may feel underin-formed about the insectoid cho-ja or thebackgrounds of certain secondary charac-ters. The series also has a strong Easternflavor (part Arabian and part Oriental)that should especially interest gamersplaying in such settings.

If I�d just had this book seven or eightyears ago. . .

SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DUNGEONGreg Costikyan

Tor 0-812 -50140 -3 $ 3 . 9 5There are plenty of novels officially

adapted from fantasy game settings, andmany more inspired by an author�s indi-vidual game adventures or campaigns. ButI can�t recall a book that plays more effec-tively with the conventions of gameworlds than Greg Costikyan�s Another Day,Another Dungeon.

We get answers to all those naggingquestions about the mechanics ofdungeon-crawling: Where do you findadventuring companions? Why do youcarry an 11� pole? How do you get thatenormous but valuable statue out of thedungeon? How far do you trust a lizard-man guide at three silver pieces a day?

We get a city full of delights and dan-gers: a flying-carpet taxi service, layers ofpolitical bureaucracy, secret societies,elegant mansions, and a college wherewargaming is a favorite faculty pastime.

We get a host of quirky heroes, villains,and supporting players, among them be-ing: Father Thwaite, who�s a talentedhealer when he can remember where heis; Jasper, a dealer in magic who usuallyappears as a flying point of green light;Sidney, an attractive cat burglar for whomthe term has a literal application; and anunappreciated lich doing courier duty foran evil sorceress.

Costikyan puts all this together in awide-ranging but neatly constructed plotin which the aforementioned statue (thatis both hugely valuable and magical) is thetarget of several competing interests whoare chasing each other and the statuearound the city. His smooth executionshould be no surprise, since he�s an award-winning game designer whose creditsinclude work on West End Games� PARA-NOIA* game and Steve Jackson Games�TOON* game. While the heritage of thistale is eminently clear, Costikyan uses RPGconventions as vehicles for his storyrather than crutches, and the results arelively and entertaining. Another Day,Another Dungeon is another winner forCostikyan, and gamers should have partic-ular fun with this first book in his �Cupsand Sorcery� sequence.

Recurring rolesWith the arrival of Stone of Farewell

(DAW, $21.95), there�s enough evidence togive a preliminary thumbs up to Tad Wil-liams� Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn cycle.Williams is much too involved with hischaracters�lots of them�to even comeclose to becoming pretentious, and histreatment of the semi-immortal Sithi hasthe vast wisdom and distant wearinessthat is missing from most peoples� at-tempts at writing Tolkienian elves. It�s a bitdisjointed and ends just before a climaxrather than just after one, but that may bemostly middle-volume syndrome.

The rest of the �middle books� in thecurrent lineup are all solidly self-

contained. Of the three, The Mutant Prime(Foundation, $19.95/$8.95) is the strongest;Karen Haber�s follow-up to The MutantSeason is not quite a half-generation aheadof its predecessor, and finds the mutantsperhaps even more worried (and in moredanger) than the normals when a seemingsuper-mutant embarks on an ambitiouscampaign of self-advancement. Familiarcharacters have matured in the yearsbetween the stories�if anything, perhapsa bit too much so to be convincing to real-world readers.

Lifeblood (Ace, $3.50) is a substantialstep forward in P. N. Elrod�s series aboutvampire Jack Fleming. Elrod pulls a cleverreverse on the usual vampire-hunter plot,and the substitution of a radio-dramasubplot for the previous books gangsterdoings goes a long way to resolve theformerly fuzzy tone.

As for Dragonwall (TSR, $4.95), TroyDenning�s contribution to the Empirestrilogy isn�t exactly undistinguished, but itspreads itself rather thin. This time, thenominal starring role goes to Batu Min Ho,the maverick Shou Lung general who isthat realm�s only hope for defeating theinvading Horde. But the execution of Ba-tu�s strategies is frequently interrupted bya court-intrigue plot in which his wifemust act a spy�s role to uncover a traitor,only to suffer unduly for her success.Denning gives Wu�s adventures too muchattention for their resolution to be satisfy-ing, then has too little space left to domore than rush through Batu�s reaction tothe court events and the setup for thefinal volume. Ultimately, the novel is twogood stories squashed uncomfortably intoone book.

There�s only space for short takes on alarge batch of other new titles. The list ofdon�t-bothers is shorter. Lionel Fenn�s KentMontana and the Really Ugly Thing FromMars (Ace, $3.95) is wildly overrated.Songs of the Dancing Gods (Del Rey, $4.95)is doubly depressing, tacking a frustrat-ingly downbeat codicil onto one of the fewJack Chalker series I�ve actually liked. AndThe Young Astronauts (Zebra, $2.95) looksmore interesting than it really is. This lastbegins a young-adult series sponsored byJack Anderson (yes, apparently that JackAnderson) intended to spark youth inter-est in the U.S. space program, but is morelikely to bore than to attract. He shouldhave commissioned another half-dozen�Planet Builders� novels from the RobynTallis group.

Better news comes from a variety ofquarters: The Warlock Rock (Ace, $3.95) isthe best Gramarye novel in some timefrom Christopher Stasheff, with an in-volved and involving musical plot line anda whole slew of obvious and not-so-obvious puns. Ace has also caught up withBritish author Tom Holt, whose ExpectingSomeone Taller (Ace, $3.95) is a mild-mannered and unexpectedly intricatepresent-day extrapolation of the Ring ofthe Nibelung myth. Few comic fantasists

can get one to laugh thoughtfully; Holt isone of them.

Norse mythologist Thorarinn Gunnars-son heads in a totally different directionwith Make Way for Dragons! (Ace, $3.95),a lively yet detailed yarn that finds amother-daughter dragon family temporar-ily stranded in California and forced toseek help from the natives. Gunnarsson�swyrms are varied and unusual by dracon-ian standards, and his characters are alltoo plausible.

Surrender None (Baen, $4.50) findsElizabeth Moon taking a giant step back-ward in the world of her Paksenarriontrilogy, but it�s in a good cause; the novelrelates the story of Gird, who�s a deity inPaks� time but a reluctant farmer-turned-revolutionary in his own. This one is inter-esting both as a prequel and as a whollyinvented cousin to the historical RobinHood cycle, which Girds tale resembles insome ways.

Despite the TV series� demotion to cable-channel reruns, Avon has kept its Beautyand the Beast novelization program alive,at least for the moment. Ru Emerson�sMasques (Avon, $3.95) follows ably in thefirst books footsteps and should satisfymost fans, but it may not be where you�dexpect to find it in the bookstore.

DRAGON 35

�Forum� welcomes your comments and opinionson role-playing games. In the United States andCanada, write to: Forum, DRAGON® Magazine,P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. inEurope, write to: Forum, DRAGON Magazine,TSR Ltd, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We askthat material submitted to �Forum� be eitherneatly written by hand or typed with a freshribbon and clean keys so we can read andunderstand your comments.

I made two mistakes.I have been playing West End Games� STAR

WARS: The RPG* for over a year, and my mistakeshave totally destroyed game balance. One of myplayers has a character named Red-eyes, a bountyhunter. His scores aren�t that high (6d + 2 Blaster,6d Dodge, most everything else is in the 4d +range). However, I allowed him to amass a largedeal of wealth. That was my first mistake.

I made my second mistake when I used therules for equipment modification in the RulesCompanion. Instead of making him pay forequipment modification in skill points, I let himbuy new equipment. This resulted in a 5d pieceof armor with no dexterity penalty.

For all of you who don�t play STAR WARS: TheRPG, let me explain something: With this armor,Red-eyes walked into an Imperial Base, blew upthe base, shot 50 Stormtroopers, and wasn�tstunned once.

In every game system, something can happento make supercharacters. I have read all about�Monty Haul� campaigns, and I have tried toavoid running one, but this bounty-hunterproblem snuck up on me. I would like to ask theadvice of all game masters out there: How can Irestore balance to my carefully thought-outgalaxy without aggravating my player? Hethinks it�s wonderful to be able to destroy 20stormtroopers in four rounds. I, however, can�tcome up with missions that seem fun to me;what�s the point of thinking if you can just toasteverything and not get hurt?

I tried several plans to destroy the armor, buthe made incredible rolls and still won. The lastthing I want to do is say, �Your armor suddenlyfails.� The GM�s privilege would only upset himand make him leave the game, which of courseis the last thing I want to happen.

Robert RodgerClifton Park NY

Well, it�s nice that your magazine is alwayschock full of advice for Dungeon Masters andobsessive hyper-experienced players who havebeen playing since the game was invented (whomay begin reading the next letter now). I hopeyou let me give a few hints to new, inexperi-enced, or younger players.

The dictionary gives many definitions of whatgaming is all about. One definition is �a contestor competition,� but that applies to sports morethan role-playing. The definition that betterapplies to role-playing is �a form of play, amuse-ment, or recreation.�

To enjoy role-playing, you must always re-member that it�s only a game and that it won�taffect the real world or anything in it, so don�tbecome too wrapped up in it. Anyone (and I domean anyone) can play. All that is needed is agood DM and fellow players (nice people, notjust experienced players).

36 NOVEMBER 1990

Here are some basic guidelines that shouldhelp anyone become a good player:

1. Don�t play if you are not in the mood forinvolving yourself fully (you�ll lessen the enjoy-ment of people who want to play).

2. Don�t plot against your fellow players. Agood DM should provide you with plenty ofNPCs to plot against, although being a minorirritant is reasonable.

3. Develop a character trait, quote, or actionthat represents your character. This gives thecharacter continuity from one game session tothe next, and it helps the other players recog-nize your character.

4. Always include other players� characters inyour actions or discussions. After all, two headsare better than one, and you�ll only get half theblame if something goes wrong.

5. Be reasonable with your expectations andplay. No 1st-level thief is a dragon slayer, andnobody is strong enough to wear a full suit ofarmor with a shield, carry a large sack of trea-sure and a wounded companion, check for trapswith a wooden staff, and still draw a sword,

6. Don�t argue with your DM unless you aresure there has been a serious misunderstanding.He is much too busy to nitpick rules with you.

7. Be creative. Nothing makes the game moreexciting than something new.

8. Remember that your character is likesomeone on a soap opera or a TV series; hemoves from one situation to the next, solvingeach as he goes. A good DM ends a character�slife with some heroic action, sacrifice, or quest,or perhaps allows him to go off into the sunsetto live happily ever after. Your character shouldnot end his existence arguing with the townguard or trapped in some jail cell (unless thecharacter was a real slimeball).

9. Remember what your adventure objectiveis. Don�t fight goblin armies if you�re only afterthe orcs that kidnapped the princess.

10. Watch experienced (entertaining and nice)players play; you may learn more from watch-ing once than playing a few times.

Thank you for reading.B. Night

Toronto, Ontario

In my years of playing the AD&D® game, Ihave played with many different DMs. In myarea, there weren�t many people who playedRPGs at all, so I and the two other people in mygroup were forced to be both players and DMs.Through the years, I managed to get prettygood, and now I have come up with a set ofguidelines that makes DMing fun for playersand DM alike.

1. A good DM is descriptive. Description isimportant in many ways: If a DM isn�t verydescriptive, the player is not only going to bevague in describing his actions, he is likely toskip over something crucial to an adventure(though the truly kind-hearted DM wouldn�tallow this).

Vividly describing a scene can also set certainmoods for the players. Which of the followingsounds better to you? �You continue north downthe 20� corridor to a door. You open the doorand inside there is a 15� × 15� room with a largebed and chest. There is another door on theeast wall.� or �You cautiously walk down thedank and musty stone corridor. The flagstone isslippery under your feet. You peer into the

darkness, straining to see what lies beyond thelight of your torch. You catch a glimpse of alarge wooden door just 20� away. You walk up toit and find it is nearly twice your height. Youpull on the large iron ring, and the door slowlyopens with a loud creak. Beyond lies a room,you estimate it to be about 15� square. The smellof old rancid meat overwhelms you. There is aconstant buzzing of flies. There is an unmade,filthy bed in the corner. It seems quite large incomparison to you. Beside the bed is a largechest, where the stench seems to be the strong-est. On your right is another, smaller doorway.�Although the latter takes longer and requiresmore imagination to describe, it is more appeal-ing to the players. Description can cause tensionby slowing the scene down.

2. It is useful to have a good vocabulary. Idon�t mean using words like �borborygmus� lamedical term for stomach rumbles), but usingwords like �rancid� or �overwhelming.�

3. Accuracy is mandatory in describing things.If the DM is not accurate in his descriptions, theplayers will be confused and complain to theDM, leading to disastrous results.

4. A bit of realism is necessary. When I usethe word realism, it does not apply to the worldwe live in today; after all, who�s really seen aferocious red dragon? The realism I�m talkingabout applies to the alternate reality of yourcampaign. If a 1st-level fighter meets up with ahuge green dragon, will that dragon use hisbreath weapon? Probably not, since a 1st-levelfighter doesn�t pose much of a threat. However,if that 1st-level fighter were part of an army of10,000 men, the dragon would most certainlyuse his breath weapon (or give himself up).

5. Variety is a must. There is nothing moreannoying than a predictable DM, one whosenext scenario the players can dictate to himbefore he runs it. Use variety and surprise yourplayers. If they think they will meet up with aband of gnolls, use something else, perhaps aband of polporphed dragons that look likegnolls. When the PCs expect danger, give them akind old hermit, etc.

If you follow these five easy steps, you can bea master DM in no time.

Matt BogosianSeattle WA

In response to Ahmed G. Amin�s letter in issue#155: I agree that there should be risk to thelives of the PCs, but an adventure can be madechallenging without killing off the characterstoo quickly. The results of an adventure can fallbetween absolute success and the death of thePCs. Characters could fail a quest but still live,or they could be only partly successful. Forexample:

�They killed the dragon, but only after it hadburned down half of the village.

�They completed their mission, but lost allthe treasure.

In such adventures, the PCs might not die, butthe players are still challenged to be completelysuccessful.

In regard to resurrection spells: Using theresurrection survival table, the maximum num-ber of times an average PC is likely to be resur-rected will be four or five.

Allan RobertsKingston, Ontario

I�d like to comment on Ahmed Amin�s letter inissue #155. I have to disagree with his com-ments about resurrection. While the constitu-tion limit [on the number of times a PC can bebrought to life] is too high and should be re-duced (to perhaps one-half or one-third theconstitution), to deprive players of these spellsmakes the DM�S job harder, not easier. Playersall grow attached to their characters and hatehaving them die temporarily, much less perma-nently. This leaves the DM with two options:Make the adventures less lethal (and thus lessexciting) or face an angry bunch of players.Also, it takes away some great role-playing fun.The effort to find a high-level priest able to raisea PC (and any quests that may follow to pay forthe raising) is a DM�s dream. Only in campaignswhere magic is a rarity should these spells bedisallowed.

Jeff BarnesCedar Grove TN

I am writing in response to Ahmed G. Amin�sletter in issue #155. I have been a DM for overthree years and a player for over six years, andI have never encountered players who loseinterest in the game because of characters�resurrection.

I play AD&D games with three parties, and inthose parties players do not regularly resurrectthemselves. Most of the time this is because:

1. They don�t have the money with which toresurrect PCs.

2. The other party members aren�t interestedin taking the dead characters to a cleric whocan return them to life.

3. They start as low-level characters, �so whocares if I start a new character?�

4. I intervene in the course of play. Even if thecharacter has died, I disregard the dice and tellthe player that his character has fallen uncon-scious. The character will need a couple of days�rest, but he will still be alive and that will pre-vent him from seeking resurrection.

I believe in resurrection, not only because itgives inexperienced players another chancewith their characters, and not only becauseplayers who have played for a long time wouldbe very frustrated to have their characters diepermanently, but also because it adds depth tothe AD&D campaign world and because itmakes the adventure much more interesting.

In conclusion, most of the low-level PCs diepermanently in my campaign, but the veterans(the characters who have achieved high levelsby hard work) have either the money, themagical means, the friends, or the gods (i.e., theDM) to save them.

No matter what, the players want to be resur-rected, and they surely don�t stop enjoying thegame as a result of a resurrection.

Oded OfekHerzliya, Israel

I am writing in regard to Ahmed G. Amin�sletter in issue #155 concerning resurrection. Onmore than one occasion in my 14 years as a DM,I have seen grown men and women cry whentheir characters died, even though the rite ofresurrection was available. These players wereprofessional people between the ages of 30 and50, some of whom had played the same charac-ter for five years or more. They had nurturedand identified with their alter egos from thetime that he or she was a 1st-level rookie. Tothem, losing a character would be like losing ason or daughter. Resurrection assuages that lossand sustains interest in the game by providing continuity of character. It gives a player thechance to continue on with the persona that he

has created and molded to fit his own needs.Nothing in the AD&D game should be easy.

Gold, jewels, and magical items should be scarceand require a lot of effort to obtain. Experiencepoints should not be given away lavishly; itshould take a lot of hard work to gain a level.The same is true of resurrection. High-levelclerics who can perform this ritual are not easyto come by. You don�t normally find them in thewilderness or deep underground (at least youwon�t find the type of cleric who would helpyou), nor do you find them in just any surfacecity. The work involved in trying to locate asuitable cleric can be an adventure by itself, andonce you have found such a person and havepersuaded him to perform the rite, there is stillno guarantee that it will be effective. The smallchance that something may go wrong makesresurrection a risky business, and the DM canalways increase that risk by changing the resur-rection survival percentages. Since it may besome time before resurrection can be per-formed, the player might have to sit out a gameor two, or run one of the NPCs until his compa-triots find a suitable cleric to perform the rite(and they might not even want to do that!). Allof the above is generally enough to make aplayer act with a certain amount of caution, sothat while the threat of death is always present,death itself is not a frequent occurrence.

I find that players who lose their characterstoo easily or too often tend to become discour-aged and quit. This can happen if the DM runs�killer dungeons� instead of tailoring the adven-ture to the player characters� levels. Sometimesthe DM can help characters stay alive by mak-ing some traps a little less dangerous, or fudgingon a monster�s bit points, to-hit rolls, etc. If done

carefully, the players won�t get the idea that theDM is helping them, but they will get all thethrill and enjoyment of a risky situation. Ofcourse, if a player is acting recklessly and dan-gerously, don�t hesitate to give him everythingthat he has coming.

Willis M. BurgeSalt Lake City UT

I would like to respond to Mr. Laing�s letter in�Letters,� where he asks for more informationon how to role-play paladins. It is my belief thatthere are many role models available if oneexpands the reading list beyond the realms offantasy and science fiction, or if one resorts towatching television reruns.

My first example of a paladin is from television,and from the genre of the western. Althoughwesterns are filled with examples of almost unkilla-ble straight-as-an-arrow heroes, the best �paladinprototype� I can think of is the character of JamesWest in The Wild, Wild West

Now, mind you, he does not work for a reli-gious group; he works for the U.S. government.But he has many qualities of the paladin: Helives to a rigid code of ethics and laws, he servesone master, and he is expected to performheroic deeds as part of his job. . . . When JamesWest refused to kill, it was because he wasliving up to his code of ethics: He was to capturecriminals and bring them to justice. He was notjudge, jury, and executioner all in one. He knewhis place and rarely violated his rule system.

Also, do you have any guess as to how manyhit points he had? It seems to have been in thehundreds. Or his armor class? I�d guess downaround four, and all he wore was a vest.

One last note: Why didn�t James West kill all

those low-level henchmen? It was not his job.His station was to concern himself with thereally nasty bad guys. For those low-level fight-ers, he contented himself with beating the tarout of them. His job was to fight the epic battles.

Another example of a paladin is found in themystery or spy genre, and he is James Bond.According to the stories, he has a �license tokill.� His job to kill bad guys, and not just thestreet riff-raff, either. What better role modelfor a paladin, whose duty is to kill (or sometimesconvert) creatures of evil?

At least once in each movie, the bad guy triesto bribe James Bond. Does anyone in the movietheater really believe Bond can be bribed? Ofcourse not. Bond also holds to his own unbreak-able code of ethics, just as a paladin should.

One last example I can think of is found in DCComics. He is Batman: The Dark Knight. Okay, Ihear you; he�s certainly not lawful good. He waslawful good once, so what happened? Off hand,I�d say he would now be considered an insanepaladin. He still holds to a code of ethics (thoughnow somewhat twisted), has incredible hitpoints and armor class, and is involved in aquest to destroy evil.

I feel that if Batman showed up in an AD&Dworld, he would still have all his paladin attrib-utes because he has not lost or veered from hisquest; he is simply insane.

As you can see, there are a number of inter-esting, varied, non-stupid paladins available thatcan be used as role models for AD&D gamepaladins. They are out there, waiting to befound in books from different genres.

Jay ToserStevens Point WI

38 NOVEMBER 1990

I am writing in response to Brian Smarker�s�Forum� letter in issue #158. I see nothingwrong with a good cleric animating a corpse toteach paladins, as it may very well save theirlives in the future. The cleric would not �belooked upon with disfavor from his deity for notletting those who have passed away rest inpeace,� because the cleric would get permissionfrom the deity and the spirit of the corpse.

Also, since the school is in a safe territory, anyregions containing undead would have beencleared out long ago, not to mention there beinga lack of any evil priests in the area to animateany undead. Even if you could find an area withundead, it [the teaching situation] would bebeyond the teacher�s control. He would be toobusy fighting for his life to give lectures to hisstudents, who would probably be attacked atthis point, anyway. I�m sure a deity wouldrather have a few corpses animated than have ahigh-level cleric and a promising group offuture paladins killed!

Robert VaughnCarlisle PA

It�s been about 18 months since I sent in theletter that caused quite a stir in �Forum� [inissue #143J, and many things have happened.Right after I mailed the letter, I attempted to jointhe army, only to have the #10 vaccine K.O. me.Shortly after returning home, I ran into a groupof players who held their games in the back ofthe local public library on Saturdays, alternatingbetween evil, neutral, and good-aligned cam-paigns. I�ve been playing with them ever since.

As I look back at the reasons I wrote my firstletter, I see now that the real problem isn�t evilcharacters as much as it is evil players. The first

campaign I participated in at the library hadmostly evil characters, but there was a strongsense of party unity. I still play only non-evilcharacters myself, but the way most of theregular members play their characters make anevil campaign work. There�s the occasionalintraparty petty (and grand) larceny, but rarelywill one character fight another without goodreason. All of us, from the half-dozen survivorsof The Hobby Center in the group to the playerswe�ve met (and sometimes created), realize thatit�s hard to fight battles when you can�t turnyour back on the rest of the party. That trustbetween characters is what usually keeps aparty together and alive. There may be nohonor among thieves, but there can be nosurvival without trust and cooperation.

Although that evil campaign has long sincebeen abandoned, it taught me something. David,our current DM, is running a campaign thatseems to counter the example on pages 47-49 ofthe AD&D 2nd Edition Player�s Handbook. Theparty co-leaders are a lawful-good cleric ofHeimdall and a lawful-evil gnome illusionist. Therest of the characters cover at least five of theseven remaining alignments and include apaladin and at least two other clerics. Yet we�vehad only two major clashes inside the party: oneconcerning a character�s liability for actionsresulting from a cursed berserking sword, andthe other from one cleric�s beliefs about assist-ing the unconscious along to the afterlife.

As I quoted from the DRAGONLANCE® booksin my previous letter, �Evil turns in upon itself.�Campaigns in which the characters and playerscannot put aside their differences due to differ-ing alignment or differences of opinion cannotlast. If any of you reading are ever in the Corbin

area on a Saturday night, come on down to thelibrary and join us. Roll up a character or justsit back, watch, and ask about �The Tale of theVorpal Kitty.� Life�s too short to waste timearguing or backstabbing (at least when it comesto fellow party members).

Stanley BundyCorbin KY

When considering technology in an AD&Dcampaign world, remember the old proverbthat necessity is the mother of invention. In afantasy setting, there would be no need formany modern inventions. Gas, electric, andeven oil lamps would be unused as a cheaperalternative is available: stones with continuallight spells on them that sell for 1 sp each. Suchstones would be cheaper than buying newtorches or oil after every adventure, and safertoo, although dealing with green slime becomesmore problematic. This is not to say that tech-nology would not produce any new inventions.Laziness (the father of invention!) would bringabout labor-saving devices without magic, dueto the costs of hiring a magician for some jobs,Also, a fantasy world would provide new prob-lems for inventors to overcome and wouldspeed up development of such things as news-papers. Imagine the ease of foreign correspon-dents using magical items with powers such asteleport or clairaudience to get stories back tothe printers, or even better, using observation-type spells like wizard eye to view foreignevents without leaving home.

Michael PittChiddingfold, Surrey, England

DRAGON 39

by Bruce A. Heard

This series chronicles the adventures ofan Alphatian explorer and his crew asthey journey across the D&D® KnownWorld in their skyship. The informationherein may be used to expand the D&Dcampaigns using the Gazetteer series.

Amphimir 23, 1965: I woke up at thesound of my bat screeching under the veilof its cage. It must have been late, and thepoor thing was getting hungry. Ever sincethe wild Schaerbeek Regatta, the bat hadshown signs of agitation.

A soft knock at the door came next. Itwas Khufiri and her retinue; she had cometo talk business. It was her opinion thatthe Princess had been so badly damagedthat no magic remained in her hull. Theship�s magic was not salvageable, certainlynot within a reasonable period of time.She offered in the name of the king ofNithia a great amount of gold if the re-mains of the vessels could be left to her

temple. As for the crew, the temple knewof underground passages linking the Sur-face and Hollow Worlds. She was certainthe king would provide a suitable escort.

I found that offer outrageous. I wouldrather entrust the Princess to the care ofthe gnomes rather than abandon her for amere pecuniary reward. Khufiri acted as ifshe was offended.

I also noticed that my bat was staring atKhufiri. She noticed, too, and gazed backat the animal. The poor thing seemed to beparalyzed by terror. Khufiri then turnedto me and added �You really should listento me. This ship will do you no good�andneither will these demented gnomes.�

She left, and I pondered on what shewas up to. Who was she truly? Blasted bethis Hollow World, for I could not usemany of my magical talents to pry thetruth from Khufiri�s mind. I requestedMyojo to come to my quarters. TheMyoshiman warrior did not notice any-thing worth of suspicion so far, but hewould keep a closer look. He seemedannoyed by the affair, but carried on.

Amphimir 24, 1965: After the gatesof Le Nerviens� fortress swung closedbehind the Princess, the gnomes led theship down a series of colossal galleries.Two pilots levitated on metal disks aheadof the bow, leading the airship that carriedthe wounded Princess.

At first the stone galleries were taste-fully carved into the rock, with bas-reliefsdecorating much of their surfaces. Manyopenings could be seen among the sculp-tures, either windows or doors to gnomishdwellings. Exquisite stairways had beenhewn in the walls, crisscrossing from bas-relief to door in an unending and mazelikepattern.

The galleries progressively turned tonatural stone. Soon their surfaces becameeven smoother, totally unlike rugged ca-verns. After hours of meandering through

the dark galleries, our two gnomish pilotsfinally reached a giant cavern.

Le Gros Belouga, their first airship, wasalready there, tethered to a stone post atthe far end of the cavern. L’Epaulardslowly descended and positioned the Prin-cess softly on a large wooden scaffold. Therickety structure creaked, gave a bit, andsettled. I heard a sigh of relief from thecrew when the Princess finally stabilized.L’Epaulard then severed the cables andcast three anchors nearby.

Amphimir 25, 1965: The gnomes ofLe Nerviens have so far acted profession-ally, as befitting their prestigious TradeHouse. Leopold�Leo, as his friends callhim�led us to his Conceptual Leader, whoin turn introduced us to the TheoreticianSupervisor, who took us to the Hypothesi-cian Comptroller, who escorted us over tothe Principlar Master, and so on. I stoppedcounting after 23 levels of hierarchy.

Eventually we reached the CanonicConvictor, apparently one of the highestranking gnomes in Le Nerviens� tradecounsel. The lady was quite charming andmuch was said about each other�s cultures.Of course, the issue of the Heldannic occu-pation was covered in great length, and itwas agreed that if our Glorious Empire ofAlphatia could cause grief to the HeldannicTemple, then Le Nerviens would be hon-ored and delighted to participate in ourflight back to the Surface World. Severaldivisions of the most talented and skillfulLe Nerviens engineers would be dis-patched to the Princess Ark to begin com-plete repairs. The lady then took off tohandle other immediate business as atremendous explosion rocked the chamber(apparently a common occurrence here).

Amphimir 26, 1965: Hundreds ofgnomes boarded the Princess with theirtools and their plans. Trouble started atonce. From that instant on, gnomespopped up just about everywhere on theship, including the most unexpectedplaces. Some of the crew resorted to fisti-cuffs when the gnomes invaded theirprivacy.

There was nothing one could have doneto stop the horde. Hoping the Princesswould not suffer at the gnomes� hands, Iordered the crew to disembark.

Amphimir 28, 1965: The crew andthe officers celebrated the last day of theAlphatian year. I chose that time to climbthe ledges of the cavern and meditate.From there I could observe the gnomes�work below and ponder their activities.

Alphamir 15, 1966: Myojo showed uplater on with alarming news about Khufiri.He saw her discreetly speaking to one ofthe gnomes working on the Princess. Shehad often made a point before to show herdistrust of the gnomes, and yet she didseem to maintain a connection with one ofthem. It also appeared like she did notwant to be seen. That gnome hasn�tshowed up since his conversation withher, either. Worse, Myojo did not find asingle worker on the Princess to be famil-

iar with that gnome�s description. Thisreport is not a good omen. I�ve orderedMyojo to keep a close watch on her.

Alphamir 19, 1966: It has now beenover a year since we left Sundsvall. Someof the crew are homesick. Others showsigns of despair when dealing with thegnomes. Soon it will be time to cast off,when the gnomes are done.

A late note: I�ve received a message fromthe Canonic Convictor mentioning someactivity outside the fortress. A Heldannicbrigade has arrived at the gate and hasdemanded to enter. Parley is in process.I�ve ordered the crew to gather its belong-ings and be ready to board.

Alphamir 20, 1966: Leo returnedtoday from the Princess, happy and proud.The Canonic Convictor joined the engi-neers in a blessing ceremony. Although Icould not see anything different about thePrincess, the gnomes showed great prideand excitement.

It was not to last. As the beer flowedand the gnomes celebrated their accom-plishment, a horn echoed in the far gal-leries. The knights had broken in. Amessage arrived that a traitor had alertedthe knights to the Princess’s presence, andlater had allowed the knights to enter.Khufiri must have had something to dowith this treachery.

The crew immediately began boardingand preparing the riggings. Meanwhile,the gnomes carefully began dismantling,the huge scaffolding. The preparationstook hours. I suspected that Le Nervienswould not risk a battle against the tyrants.Heldannic troops were probably marchingdown the cavernous hallways, straight forthe Princess. There was no time to waste;we had to leave unseen. Rolf had probablyrevealed to his minions our ability to bendlight with the Myoshiman artifact. I sus-pected his officers would use clericalmagic to see the Princess Ark in any guise.

The Heldannic Knights came almost insight of the cavern, but the gnomes clev-erly filled the cavern with smoke as twolevitating pilots beckoned the Princess toanother exit. The flight was frightening.Steering a large vessel like the Princessdown narrow and poorly lit galleries was astrenuous task. The ship responded wellto my commands, however.

Suddenly, the two gnome pilots duckedto the sides while the Princess screameddown a gallery, shooting out from the sideof Oostdok. At last, the sky was oursagain!

I have commanded the Princess to gainaltitude and leave at once. Returning tothe empire is now vital.

Alphamir 21, 1966: It took little timeto reach the skyshield and gain enoughspeed to breach into the void. The sternwatch has spotted five smaller vesselspursuing us. They seem to be quicker thanthe Princess and are slowly gaining on us.Our only hope is to fly out the arctic gateto the Surface World. The flight path hasto be calculated with great accuracy; if we

err so much as a few degrees off course,the Princess will crash just as it did on itsway in.

Alphamir 22, 1966: Our decipheringof the celestial forces is now complete.Talasar cast a find the path spell thatgreatly increased our chance of escape.We had to fly through a field of floatingrocks that delayed our pursuers. Bychance, none of the rocks hit the Princess.As before, she seemed to be able to avoidthe threatening boulders on her own.Soon thereafter, we reached the anti-magicregion that blocked the polar gate. Allmagic progressively died out aboard, andthe Princess followed her course based ona purely ballistic trajectory. Our pursuershalted near the anti-magic area.

Alphamir 23, 1966: Fate was on ourside, for we have crossed back out intoopen space. The Princess came terriblyclose to falling back through the skyshield,as the attraction of the planet below wasfrighteningly strong near the gate. But asthe Princess’ bow pointed dangerouslylow, large panels opened from the sides ofthe hull and revealed two large oblongtubes. Without warning, flames shot out tothe rear of each tube. The tubes exerted aforce that kept the Princess level just longenough to exit the anti-magic area. Suffi-cient magic was restored just in time toresume normal flight.

There is no doubt that the gnomes in-stalled this device. What else have theydone to this ship? After examination, Iconclude that the contraption was devisedby an amazingly skillful alchemist, for nomagic was used here. A very clever systemof pendulums caused the panels to openand the tubes to be aimed and fired at theproper angle. Unfortunately, the tubes arenow empty. Thank Razud nothing was inthe Princess’s path. A collision in the air-less void would have been disastrous.

I hope to recover samples of the sub-stance remaining in the tubes. Perhaps myskills in alchemy will allow me to identifyit. The tubes have meanwhile pulled backinto their recesses, and the panels havesnapped shut.

Our new course is set to Sundsvall.Alphamir 24, 1966: �Ahoy, the prin-

cess!” The guttural shout came loud andclear �In the name of the Heldannic Temple,heave to and surrender your weapons!�

The warning came soon after we exitedthe gate. The voice seemed to come fromevery point of the Princess. A large wargalley was then sighted, coming straight atus from the dark. We were too low abovethe skyshield, and there was no time tomaneuver. It was an ambush. The knightsknew their business.

The shouted voice seemed familiar. Yes,it was him again! Herr Rolf could soon beseen standing near the helm with a grinon his face. The boltmen prepared for alast stand; they knew I would not surren-der to these fiends. The crew braced for aboarding.

Suddenly, a trapdoor popped open near

DRAGON 43

the bow of the Princess. At first nothingcame out except a faint squeaky noise. Thesound of a ratchet followed, and a smallplatform appeared. It was surmounted bya fat, black tube with cranks and levers.And behind it sat Leo!

�Oh, greetings!� he said. �You wouldn�thave a spare mallet, would you? I still havea problem with�� Noticing the crew, heturned around and gawked at the ap-proaching warship. Scrambling with thecranks and levers, he pointed the tube atthe galley and yanked a handle. A pulsat-ing hum grew from the quivering contrap-tion, with ominous hisses. Everyoneducked for cover.

A deafening explosion rocked the Prin-cess as a black, billowing cloud obscuredthe deck. The smoke cleared slowly, re-vealing a scene of horror and confusion.Leo, now all sooty and smoking, still sat onhis platform, holding the handle (whichhad broken free) and scratching his head.The tube was gone.

Ahead of the Princess, the Heldannicgalley was reduced to little more than awreck. Its crew stunned, it drifted on its course and merely bumped into the Prin-cess. Xerdon seized the initiative andboarded the galley.

A raging battle took place between theheavily armored knights and the swiftboltmen. I, for my part, had a personalaccount to settle. It took little magic toenter the galley and locate Herr Rolf in asmall chapel at the galley�s stern. Part ofthe altar had been ripped off its base. I felta waning power fizzle from the unholydebris.

�You!� he said. �You shall pay for this!� Ina fit of blind rage, Rolf seized a two-handed sword and took a wild swing. Hisblade crushed through a heavy chest,barely missing me. He lifted his weapon,preparing for another mighty blow�but Iwas ready for him. My word would be farquicker. How great the anticipation ofarcane strands of webbing shooting forthfrom my fingers! Oh, what rapture! Re-venge at last!

But alas! Fate again decided otherwise.Khufiri unexpectedly appeared at the doorand struck a wicked blow at Rolf�s back.The knight stared blankly, opened hismouth, and fell forward. The back of hisarmor was lacerated as if giant claws hadstruck him.

Khufiri displayed an evil grin, and shehad death in her eyes as she laughed. �Youare so easily fooled, wizard!� she hissed.�One does not rid himself so easily of mykind. I searched a long time for you. Nei-ther the barriers of the stars nor those ofthe Hollow World can stop me. Now, gazeupon me, and see who I truly am!�

Khufiri�s body began to warp and shake.Slowly it grew and expanded to the ceiling.The planks burst outward as the creaturedeveloped fully. In horror I realized whathad happened. Khufiri was none other thanthe Oceanian dragon of darkness that hadtormented us so long ago.

44 NOVEMBER 1990

�You shall not be granted revenge, Halde-mar.� The dragon now towered above thewar galley. All combat ceased immediatelyon the deck. �Synn is my name. You willlearn to hate it for the rest of your miserablelife.� She picked up Rolf�s unconscious bodyand added �You will never have this. His soulis now mine.� Synn gazed a moment at theprincess and snarled, �You can keep yourabomination, wizard. It will not help forwhat is yet to happen!

The night dragon breathed a cloud ofutter darkness and disappeared. Therewas no sign of Myojo. Where was he?

Alphamir 25, 1966: I write this downfrom a hazy memory of the day�s events.Moments after Synn�s strange departure,the sun rose from the east of our world,illuminating the battle scene in a granddisplay of celestial majesty. At the sight ofRolf�s kidnapping, the few remainingknights had yielded. It took hours to trans-fer all worthy spoils of war off the Heldan-nic galley. These knights must have beenplundering some hapless civilization some-where in the void. We seized strange coinsand items I�ve never seen before.

Supplies and captives were broughtaboard the Princess. The Heldannic wreckwas then set ablaze and left behind. Theflames were rapidly consuming the ship�sremaining envelope of air. As the Princessresumed her course toward Sundsvall, wewatched the fiery hulk plummet towardthe skyshield and disappear into theclouds below.

Within hours of our departure, however,chaos seemed to have overtaken the starryvault. Whirling clouds of luminous gasessurrounded the Princess. Flashes and boltsof magical energy raged everywhere.Somewhere in the distance I heard thevoice of Khufiri�Synn. At first it was amere giggle, but soon it turned into anagging laughter. The storm built up to ademented maelstrom of energy. In theback of my mind, I could hear Synn�smocking voice: �For you, death is toosweet. So then, wizard, learn to deal withmy reality!� There was a roar, and thenoblivion.

It was hard to tell how long our uncon-sciousness lasted. The entire crew andmyself had passed out. We apparently didnot move from our previous position,which at first led me to believe that littletime had gone by.

Then the frightening truth came forth.There, standing at the bow of the Princess,was an old lady. Her face was familiar. Sherose upon my awakening and said, �Halde-mar, why did you abandon me? Why didn�tyou return? I trusted you. I gazed at thered skies of Myoshima, praying for yourreturn. Day after day, I hoped and cried.But never did the Princess reappear to takeme back. I endured thirty-four years ofmisery in Myoshiman dungeons. And it isonly now that I am old and tired that acreature of darkness finally returns me toyou. Why, Haldemar?�

To be continued...

If you have any comments regarding thiscolumn or the D&D game�s Known Worldas designed in the Gazetteers, please sendyour inquiries to: Bruce A. Heard, D&DColumn, TSR, Inc. P.O. Box 756, Lake Ge-neva WI 53147, U.S.A. We cannot guaran-tee that all letters will get answers, butthey always get our attention,

The Night Dragon

Night Dragons are particularly chaoticdragons that have become the undeadservants of Immortals in the Sphere ofEntropy. Night Dragons are sometimessent to the prime material plane to accom-plish a mission for their masters. Forexample, after the destruction of Oceania,Synn (a greater dragon) was allowed toremain and guard an ancient secret in herlair. She looks like the shadow of a dragon,totally black, except for her eyes that glowslightly. Very faint shimmering of darkblue or purple reveal some of Synn�s phys-ical features, such as scales and muscles.Night dragons are solid on the prime mate-rial plane.

Night dragons are masters of guile andtreachery. They feed off the sorrow theyinflict upon their victims. They tormentand curse a foe rather than destroy it.Physical combat is not viewed as a meansof achieving their goals; lies are far moreacceptable.

The breath of a night dragon causes abillowing cloud of absolute darkness. Anyliving being in the area of effect must Savevs. Breath Weapon or fall unconscious.The darkness dissipates in 1d6 turns. Thebreath cannot be used in windy areas.

Night dragons have the ability to enterthe plane of entropy through any area ofabsolute darkness. In most cases, thedragon uses its breath to cause darkness,then disappear into the other plane. Like-wise, it may reappear only from a darkspot.

A greater dragon may wrap its wingsaround an unconscious foe, which causesthe victim�s soul to be trapped in the planeof entropy. The body is either destroyedor, more likely, possessed by the dragon. Itretains its intellect and memories, andbecomes a fanatic follower of the dragon.Minor foes often are transformed intobats, which are then used as spies. A nightdragon maintains a telepathic link with itsfollowers that allows it to see and hearthrough them (except in the HollowWorld).

Greater dragons like Synn are grantedone wish per century they spend on theprime material plane, in addition to theirspells. Night dragons use wizard spells.

Lesser dragon spells: four 1st level,four 2nd level,

Greater dragon spells: five 1st level,five 2nd level, four 3rd level, three 4thlevel, two 5th level.

Synn, as an example of this species,often has the following spells: charm per-

son ( × 2), read languages, shield, ventrilo-quism, continual darkness, detect invisible,ESP, invisibility, phantasmal force, clairvoy-ance, dispel magic, haste, protection fromgood 10� radius, curse, polymorph selfwizard eye, magic jar, teleport.

A lesser dragon inflicts 3d10 hp damagewith a bite, and 1d6 + 1 hp damage with itsclaws. A greater dragon inflicts 4d8 +8 hpdamage with its bite, and 1d12 +2 hp withits claws. A successful blow from anynight dragon is similar to the touch of aghoul, producing a Save vs. Paralysis.

Night dragons are particularly vulnera-ble to light and spells affecting undead. Alight spell causes 1d10 hp damage to themonster. A raise dead will destroy a lesserdragon, or inflict 3d10 hp damage on agreater dragon. Direct sunlight from theOuter World sun will destroy any of thesedragons. Both dragons require at least + 1magical weapons to be hit.

A cleric can turn a lesser dragon as avampire, and a greater dragon as a night-shade (see the D&D Companion Set, Play-er’s Companion, page 11). These dragonscannot be turned within 10 miles of theirlairs or on the plane of entropy.

Letters

I think your magazine is fantastic! Iwould be delighted if you included anarticle in your magazine about the king-doms of Ostland and Vestland.

Have you had a look at GAZ7 The North-ern Reaches? That gazetteer does includea great deal of information on these tworegions and Soderfjord.

I agree wholeheartedly with your firstsuggestion! The D&D line has been doingquite well these past years and is regaining

DRAGON® Magazine should have moreinformation regarding the D&D game.There seems to be more about the AD&Dgame than the D&D game.

Also, in the D&D Known World, thereare several countries with no informationabout them. Will there ever be in-depthdescriptions in Gazetteer-style books aboutthese places?

One last thing, Thyatis is for fighters,Glantri for magic-users, etc. What about aplace for thieves or clerics?

its popularity among gamers. Now it is upto you to get the magazine�s writer�s guide-lines; send an SASE to: Writer�s Guidelines,DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 111, LakeGeneva WI 53147, U.S.A. Then you cansubmit more articles on the D&D gameand the Known World.

GAZ13 The Shadow Elves was publishedrecently GAZ14 The Atruaghin Clans willbe out in 1991.

There are no nations in the KnownWorld devoted in particular to thieves or

Night Dragon

Armor ClassHit DiceMove

FlyingAttacksBreath CloudBreath Effect# AppearingSave AsMoraleTreasure TypeAlignmentXP Value

Lesser *0

9****90� (30�)

240� (80�)Up to 7

5 0 � × 4 0 � × 3 0 �Darkness1-4 (1-4)

Fighter 99H

Chaotic4,400

Greater *- 5

20 *****

150� (50�)360� (120�)

Up to 75 0 � x 5 0 � x 3 0 �

Darkness1 (1)

Fighter 3611

H x 2 , IChaotic18,500

clerics—so far. Thieves would do quitewell in the Emirates of Ylaruam. Unfortu-nately for clerics, there are just too manydifferent philosophies to realisticallyround them up within one single nation.

In one of the latest voyages of the Prin-cess Ark, the ship flew into space andtraveled to the second moon. Will thismoon ever be mapped? I would also like tohave the abilities of the rakasta.

Thanks. There are no plans at the mo-ment to map out Myoshima (any volun-teers out there?). You will find thecomplete description of the rakasta in theD&D Creature Catalog, page 44. I amrepeating their game statistics here inshort format for your convenience: AC 6;HD 2 + 1; MV 90’ (30’); #AT 2 claws, 1 bite;Dmg 1d4/1d4/1d4; #APP 0 (3d10 + 1d8sabre- tooth tigers); Save F2; ML 9; TT M;AL N; XP 25 (Intelligence 12).

DRAGON 45

Secret of theSilver Blades (SSI)

Computer games' ratings

X Not recommended* Poor* * Fair*** Good* * * * Excellent***** Superb

Silver blades and Roman swordsBefore we delve into this issue�s column,

we wish to answer a polite letter receivedfrom a gamer in Concord, Mass., whotakes exception to the manner in whichwe present our reviews. The basic miscon-ception within the letter is that we do nothave a right to present our opinionswithin this column. Unfortunately, theletter writer does not seem to compre-hend the fact that everyone has opinions.We are luckier than most in that we areable to offer our opinions to thousands ofreaders through the print media. Ourgame opinions are based on careers thatspan more than a decade of successfulcomputer software reviewing and writing.

Columnists are not reporters. The latterprepare facts for dissemination. Columnists,likewise, prepare facts, but season theirwork with opinion. They are paid to presentwork that offers additional insights into a topic, rather than simply report what hasbeen told to them. Columnists write because

their opinions are considered to hold merit,based on expertise.

We report on software and video gamesfrom the aspect of the consumer. We donot expound on code, the technical aspectsof disk duplication, or on the mechanics ofpackaging. We look at games from theviewpoints of gamers. If it�s fun for us, wefigure it�ll be fun for others.

Therefore, we do find games like Ultima,Mines of Titan, Wizardry V and SSI�sAD&D® offerings are fully worth theirfive-star ratings. They are enjoyable, inour opinion. Other entertainment maga-zine columnists may differ with our find-ings. Gamers may disagree with ourfindings. That�s life!

Yes, we have taken up the banner ofrewarding intelligent copy protection andcastigating unfair copy protection in ourreviews. We strongly feel that copy protec-tion is a critically important element of agame, one that should not interfere withits enjoyment.

If we find Keef the Thief entertainingbut believe its copy-protection methoddumps it into the trash bin, at least wehave stated our opinion up front. A con-sumer who purchases the game and un-derstands our reticence in giving it a goodrating knows beforehand that he will haveto put up with a copy protection methodwe consider poor in its application.

Reviews

DRAGON 47

Strategic Simulations, Inc.675 Almanor Avenue, Suite 201Sunnyvale CA 94086(408) 737-6800

Secret of the Silver Blades * * * *

PC/MS-DOS version (EGA) $49.95Secret of the Silver Blades is a perfect

adventure for those who enjoy cartogra-phy; this adventure offers ruins,dungeons, crevasses, castles, and minesthat all require astute mapping skills.

The basic premise is that, as successfuladventurers who have completed Curse ofthe Azure Bonds, you have grown tired ofpeace and yearn for a new adventure.Having completed Curse, we doubt anyonecould really be tired of peace. Then, too,yearning for new adventure in theFORGOTTEN REALMS� setting seems tobe a needless concern. By simply steppingoutside your tavern or galloping for aleague or two, adventure will find you. Wedon�t feel SSI gave enough thought as tohow the adventurers should enter thisnew quest and left far too much to luck in,introducing you to Secret. The preamble issomewhat contrived and forced, but thegame�s designers had to get you into thescenario and believed this opening wassuitable.

You find yourself whisked away, withoutwarning, to a walled town in a valleysurrounded by the DragonSpine Moun-tains and a glacier. At the top of the glacierrests a castle, and the entire chill of thearea leaves you disquieted. It should, asthis castle belongs to the Dreadlord andhis armies. If you don�t halt theDreadlord�s nasties from spilling out of themines near the town of New Verdigris, theentire Forgotten Realms will be undersiege by these horrid creatures and theDreadlord�s power.

More background is in order. The origi-nal mining town of Verdigris was foundedby two brothers, Oswulf and Eldamar. Thelatter became the Dreadlord during hisexperimentation with immortality, duringwhich he turned himself into a lich. Afraidthat Oswulf would try to kill him, Eldamarcalled upon dark creatures to aid him, andthey overran Verdigris.

Oswulf knew he had to overcome hislich brother, but he was unable to do so.He formed a group known as the SilverBlades, whose mages and clerics cast aspell that formed the glacier. The glacierencased the entire valley, trapping the lichand his beasties. Oswulf became a guardspirit at the gates of the castle, to preventhis brother from escaping.

Unfortunately, not all of the evil oneswere caught in the glacier. Those who didnot succumb formed the Black Circle and,a decade and a half ago, researched a spellthat began to melt the glacier. The oldVerdigris mines became visible as the iceshrank. Miners reworked the shafts forvaluable gems. New Verdigris was builtand became a boom town�until minersbroke into the lower levels of the

4 8 N O V E M B E R 1 9 9 0

Dreadlord�s castle. The influx of fresh airawoke the beasties that had been at rest,and the mines are again infested with evil.

You�re going up against some high-levelfolk in Secret (many 8th level and above),so you might want to create new charac-ters rather than use ones from previousSSI AD&D adventures. Your foes, mainlyfrom a crowd known as the Black Circle,possess magical weapons, armor, andother items. Thankfully, SSI has incorpo-rated a character-creation process thatproduces some pretty potent folk. If youchoose this route for character creation,the mayor of New Verdigris and the min-ers will chip in to provide you with somedecent armor and weaponry at the start ofthe game. We strongly advise that youread the tips on page 8 of the Adventurers�Journal that comes with the game. Thesuggested sample party #2 works well.

The interface remains consistent withprevious SSI AD&D offerings. The 3-D mainscreen shows your surroundings. An areaview, when requested, offers an overheadview of your location and replaces the 3-Dview. In the upper right window are thenames of your characters and their order.Messages appear at the bottom of the screenabove the command line.

Within the town of New Verdigris is agreat pub for rumors, an armory thatbuys and sells weaponry, a Hall of Trainingfor character advancement, a vault forstoring your goodies while you�re away onadventure, and a temple for healing andrestoring life. You�ll also find the shop ofMarcus, who sells some magical items.Marcus is someone you�ll not want toforget! He certainly doesn�t forget you.

Remember the Fire Knives from Curse?Well, they�re back, and they�ll hound youeven in the town. That is, until you cut offthe source of their information.

The process of obtaining additionalinformation throughout the quest usesspecific journal entries found in the Ad-venturers Journal. This information notonly includes tips about the opposition,but also extremely helpful maps.

Before too long, you�ll find yourself inthe mines, the dungeons, the crevasses,and the castle itself. Lots of adventuringcan be undertaken in Secrets, which of-fers an enormously high play value foryour dollars. This game seems to movefaster than previous AD&D releases, prob-ably the result of newly optimized code.The colors are brilliant in EGA mode, andthe AdLib sound enhances play.

In spite of a weak opening premise,Secret offers gamers lots of action as youseek to destroy the Dreadlord. This is yetanother SSI AD&D adventure that shouldbecome part of your software library. Thisgame requires a minimum of 512K RAMwith CGA or EGA graphics capabilities.Tandy 16-color mode requires 640K ofRAM. Both the C/MS and AdLib soundboards are supported.

Electronic Arts1820 Gateway DriveSan Mateo CA 94404(415) 571-7171

Centurion: Defender of Rome * * *PC/MS-DOS (EGA) version $49.95

Centurion is a lively and interestingconqueror game that finds you in theposition of building Rome into an empire.Success is not guaranteed, as you confronteverything from barbaric hordes, enemygalleons, rebellious citizenry, and losses atthe Colosseum.

The game is menu driven. Your startwith one legion of 4,200 infantrymen;your rank is that of Officer. Success in thegame is achieved by gaining provincesthrough negotiation or war. Wheneveryou strengthen a treaty, your reputationimproves. Winning chariot races andholding gladiatorial events increases yourpopularity. However, in order to accom-plish the latter, you�ve got to build anamphitheater�a tough edifice to obtain asyou are low on money (measured in tal-ents). You must offset the demand of Ro-man citizens for gladiator games with theneed for another legion.

Should enemy confrontation be re-quired, you select the type of offense youwish your legion to present. Battle tacticsare detailed in the user�s manual. Onceyou�ve decided on the offense, a fullyanimated battle sequence is shown on-screen, with your Roman legion squaringoff against the enemy troops. You canchange a unit�s orders during battle, andcan order your unit to melee wheneveryou wish.

The drawback to this part of the game isthat you can�t tell what sort of units youare going to face until you�ve selected youroffense. In most battle games, you usuallyhave a good idea as to what sort of forcesand numbers the enemy has. Not here;you�ll adjust your orders a number oftimes during battle as the enemy assaultplan unfolds before you.

The animated battle sequences are pre-sented quite well. If an enemy cavalry unitgoes down before your troops, you�llwatch horse and rider fall and a white flagissue forth. Panicked units retreat fromthe battlefield, chased by the winning side.A message arrives on-screen at the battle�send, informing you of the winner andeach side�s casualties.

Chariot racing is a howl. Whip your ownhorses too quickly, especially when in aturn, and you�ll be dumped unceremoni-ously on the track. Litter bearers thensprint onto the track to get your remains�or your money.

The gladiator portion of the game was adisappointment. Although every screen ofCenturion is alive with color, the anima-tion in this section is burdensome andextremely slow. When you consider thereare only two elements on the screen simul-taneously (your champion and your oppo-nent), you�d expect near-instantaneous

Centurion: Defender of Rome (Electronic Arts)

action in conjunction with your keyboardcommand. After you enter your commandkey, three or four seconds pass before theaction is carried out on-screen. Impatienceleads to multiple key presses that, in turn,result in multiple unwanted actions. Wewondered how the gladiator show couldhave been left in a game whose otherparts are so well programmed.

Centurion is a lot of fun to play. If Elec-tronic Arts could drastically improve thespeed of the gladiator section and improvethe prebattle planning option, it wouldhave a five-star offering on their hands. Asit currently stands, the game is certainlyworth your time to demo at your favoritesoftware retailer. This game requires 640Kof RAM for EGA, mouse, and support forAdLib and Roland sound boards.

Mindcraft Software, Inc.2341 205th Street, Suite 102Torrance CA 90501(213) 320-5215

The Keys to Maramon ** *

PC/MS-DOS (EGA) version $34.95Mindcraft is the company that created

The Magic Candle. The Keys to Maramon,however, is a disappointingly far cry fromthat original and exciting adventure game.Not only does the story behind the gamestretch a gamer�s credulity, but the adven-tures within are nothing more than glori-fied arcade action. After reading the11-page setup story, our response was:Why would anyone bother to rescueMaramon?

As an arcade game, Keys holds up well.The copywriters describe this as a fullrole-playing game on the game�s box. Wefeel that quite a bit of literary license istaken with that statement.

The Keys to Maramon is fun to play for awhile, but the game does not present an

original adventure and becomes an exercisein how quickly you can coordinate yourcharacter on-screen so you can use thespace bar to slay a nasty. In our opinion,Keys doesn�t hold a candle to Mindcraft�soriginal adventure and should not be con-sidered as a sequel to it. This game requiresa PC/MS-DOS computer with 384K of mem-ory, with support for CGA, EGA, and Tandy16 color boards. A joy stick is optional; amouse is not supported. The package in-cludes both 5.25� and 3.5� disks. The gameis not copy protected.

NEC Technologies Inc.1255 Michael DriveWood Dale IL 60191-1094(708) 860-9500

Dungeon Explorer * * * * *

NEC TurboGraphx-16 version $61.99NEC has combined the action of an

arcade game with an action-packed role-playing game. Dungeon Explorer allows asmany as five gamers to become differentcharacters, all in search of the Ora stone,hidden by an evil king.

You can be a fighter, thief, warlock,witch, bard, bishop, elf, or knome. Eachcharacter has strength, intelligence, at-tack, and agility statistics. In addition, eachcharacter also has two different forms ofmagic, white and black.

During the adventure, characters mayfind potions that offer white or blackmagic skills. Each character has a differentwhite or black magic level that rangesfrom shielding and healing to increasingdamage with attacks and the ability tovaporize enemies. The type and power ofmagic your character possesses dependson what character has been selected. Thegame is nicely balanced so that a fightercan kill things quickly with his axe but israther weak in the magic skills area. A

bishop, however, is a powerhouse in magicbut rather inept as a fighter.

Along the way, you�ll encounter non-playercharacters (NPCs) from whom you can learnimportant information, such as thedungeons that must be conquered to suc-ceed. Should you successfully traverse thesedungeons, evil bosses will eventually try todestroy your characters. If these nasties aredefeated, you can retrieve tokens that ad-vance you in levels, increasing your charac-ter�s hit points and abilities.

This game offers players several lives tocomplete the adventure. If a characterruns out of lives, a password is shown atthe bottom of the screen to allow playersto continue with their levels and abilitiesintact.

Dungeon Explorer is a great expandedversion of the game Gauntlet. It amplifiescharacter abilities and magic while stillallowing players the freedom to searchregions without requiring previousdungeon victories. If you�re a Gauntlet orrole-playing fanatic, Dungeon Explorer isfor you.

Sega of America573 Forbes Blvd.P.O. Box 2167South San Francisco CA 94080(415) 742-9300

The Revenge of Shinobi * * * * *Sega Genesis version $49.95

The Revenge of Shinobi is a masterpieceof smooth animation, colorful back-grounds, and what certainly sounds likedigitized music. This offering comes ex-tremely close in presentation to an actualcoin-op arcade game.

The player becomes Musashi, a masterninja. His sensei has been killed, and thelovely Naoko was kidnapped�all by an evilenemy, the Neo Zeed. Musashi has swornnot to rest until he defeats the Neo Zeed.This quest takes the player from Japan toNew York.

You select the number of shurikens yourcharacter will use in the game. The con-trol settings can also be altered to deter-mine what actions three buttons managefor the on-screen character: jump, attack,or perform ninjitsu magic.

Once options are selected, the gamebegins. The game is divided into eightdistricts, each of which has three stages.At the close of every third stage, you mustconquer an enemy boss in order to con-tinue play. Between the start of the gameand the downfall of the Neo Zeed aremany enemies and obstacles to be over-come. The player has a supply of shuri-kens that can be thrown in order todestroy the enemy. If the enemy comes inclose, you can attempt to kick, or attackwith your daggers.

Musashi can also jump over an enemy,sometimes accomplishing a double somer-sault if you hit the jump button a secondtime while Mushashi is at the apex of his

DRAGON 49

first leap. If the player accomplishes thissecond difficult jump in air, you can pressthe attack button. This releases eight shuri-kens that spread out and nearly alwaysinjure anything in their paths. Musashi canalso use ninja magic once per life.

During the battle, Musashi can be in-jured from sword fights, shurikens,bombs, cannon, machine-gun fire andattacking dogs. There are several ways toboth regain energy and extra lives. Whenyour score reaches 100,000, Musashi�s lifebar regains some lost strength. Two extralives are rewarded on completion of ascene. When 50,000 points are reached, anextra life is also awarded. An extra life isgiven to Musashi every 100,000 pointsafter that.

Another way to regain strength or life isto break open crates to gain access to theircontents. Some crates have hearts thatgive you a potion of full strength, whichwill return your character�s life meter tofull. Picking up ninjitsu from a crate al-lows the player to use ninja magic in thesame life, even if it was already used once.But not all crates are helpful to Musashi.Some contain bombs that will either deto-nate when he touches them or when theirtime runs out.

Revenge of Shinobi is an impressivevideo game. The graphics and music areoutstanding. When enemies die, a fireballrises from that spot; the animation for thiseffect is very realistic. And the music isterrific. A single drum beat can be heardupon your character�s death, and thesoundtrack for each scene is awesome.Video gamers won�t be disappointed withthe money spent for this game. The gameis a great way to show off your Genesisvideo game system and to show how itholds its own against computer gamesrunning on the Atari ST or Amiga. A greatdeal of development and testing time musthave been spent on this game to offersuch high play value. Sega deserves around of applause.

News and new products�computer games

Accolade (408-985-1700) has set up atelephone hot line for its customers: (900)990-HINT. This number initially providescustomers with hints for Accolade�s twonew animated graphic adventures, LesManley In: Search for the King and Al-tered Destiny. Using the buttons on atouch telephone, you can respond to anoperator�s recorded inquiries. Within afew seconds, you�ll hear hints and tipsspecifically related to the area of the gameyou have questions about. Callers arecharged 85 cents for the first minute onthe line and 60 cents for each additionalminute. Be certain you obtain permissionfrom your parents first before makingyour call! If you have a modem, you canaccess Accolade�s bulletin board at: (408)296-8800.

50 NOVEMBER 1990

The Lord of the Rings (Interplay)

Interplay Productions (714-545-9001) hasreleased The Lord of the Rings, Volume I,for PC/MS-DOS computers. Based on theclassic Tolkien Middle-earth saga, thisgame combines the best elements ofgraphic adventures and role-playing. Ituses full-screen, top-down, VGA graphics,digitized sound, a point-and-click iconinterface, an offline paragraph system,and four-directional scrolling to maneuverplayers through the huge, seven-mapworld of Middle-earth. Within each maparea, players will be able to go on a seriesof mini-quests and adventures in whichthey can fully explore Middle-earth. Pro-gression from one map area to the next isbased on completion of tasks that willroughly parallel the main story line asestablished by Tolkien. Combat with orcs,wargs, Dark Riders, and other Tolkienmonsters is always an option. Problemsolving is handled by a skill-based systemthat compares skill levels to the complexityof the task at hand. For example, Lockpickwill be necessary to open locked chests.The price of this fantasy role-playing ad-venture is $54.95. An Amiga versionshould be available in December.

Strategic Simulations, Inc. (408-737-6800)has published the Secret of the SilverBlades Cluebook. Selling for $12.95, this isa complete guide with highly detailedmaps for the entire game. There are exactmaps of every major location in the game,with all major encounters located anddescribed. All major magical treasures arelocated and described, and SSI has in-cluded a checklist so you won�t miss any-thing. Included are specific tactics on how

Search For the King (Accolade)

to defeat even the most challenging foes.On a personal note, we feel the price is toohigh for the clue book; it should have beencut in half!

Clue corner

Champions of Krynn (SSI)1. Try not to create an elf character if at

all possible. It�s not worth it if your 8th-level elven Cleric/Mage dies and, since youcan�t resurrect him, you have to makeanother character.

2. To gain experience, you can fight theminotaurs and red dragons that you meet inrandom encounters southeast of Kern. Sim-ply enter the water over and over again. Youwill discover various hostile creatures and,with a bit of luck, the aforementioned reddragons and minotaurs.

3. If you have a ranger, and he attainsthe maximum level before anyone else inyour party, and you are fighting randomencounters for their experience, don�t usethe ranger until you are doing somethingthe commandant ordered you to do.

Darin WoolpertWalnut Creek CA

1. Don�t waste time on attempts to clonethe + 5 long sword found in the tomb ofSir Dargaard; it�s a fake and doesn�t evenregister as magical when a Detect Magicspell is cast.

2. The guide presented at Gargath canbe trusted; the one in Jelek definitelycan�t.

3. There is a secret door at the northeastcorner of the first level of the keep atGargath. This permits the party to leaveGargath in order to train or resupply at theoutpost and then return to the keep withouthaving to go through Gargath City again.

James GillyU.S.S. Simon Lake (AS-33)

DragonStrike (SSI)1. You�ll note that some dragons are

immune to different breath weapons.Here�s one to keep track of: The whitedragon scoffs at silver dragons who at-tempt a cone of frost breath weaponagainst it.

2. Never give up the Arrow of EnemyDetection when advancing to higher or-ders. Surrender healing ointments instead,unless you enjoy playing impossible-to-wingames.

3. If you are attacking an enemy nearthe ground, try a paralyzation breathweapon for best effect.

The Lessers

Thanks for joining us this issue. Don�tforget two important tasks: vote for yourfavorite game of the year for The BeastieAward, and mail in your game hints torescue others from adventuring quag-mires. Send both to: The Lessers, 179Pebble Place, San Ramon CA 94583, U.S.A.Until next issue, game on!

DRAGON 51

Magic Gone HaywireContinued from page 30

Table 5: Magical Rod, Wand, and Staff Quirks

Roll R e s u l t01-04 Wand is inefficient; double the number of charges expended for each use.05-07 Wand has an extra command word that allows it to shrink to half its normal size or return to its normal size.08-13 Wand is made of metal and is magnetic; consequently, the wand is attracted to any large concentration of metal of at least

300-gp weight.14-18 Wand glows a random color ( as per faerie fire) whenever its powers are utilized.19-22 Wand radiates nondetection and registers negatively to any attempt to detect magic.23-25 Wand does 1 hp damage to its wielder each time that the wand's powers are used.26-30 Wand is easily broken; the wand must make ail saving throws at -2 to the roll.31-34 Somatic gestures, as well as a command word, are necessary for activating the wand�s powers. The gestures take 1d4 +4

segments. If the gestures cannot be performed (i.e., the wielder�s arms are tied), the wand will not work.35-39 Wand will not work if the wielder�s hand is covered, gloved, or gauntleted.40-44 Wand is unstable; it fizzles out and does nothing 10% of the time that is activated.45-5051-52

Wand is unaffected by fire, magical or normal. Wand is invisible to everyone except its user.

53-55 Wand�s wielder must concentrate for one round when speaking the command word in order to activate the wand�spowers.

56-60 Wand is unaffected by acid.61-63 Wand cannot be snapped or broken by any creature of less than 18/50 strength. This also applies to any retributive strike

64-6869-71

made by another wand, staff, or rodWand will not work if the wielder is wearing metal armor of any kind (including elven chain mail).Wand has a tendency to overload. It can be used up to three times in a 24-hour period. Any uses beyond that limit causethe wand to short itself out for 24 hours, and the charges activated are lost.

72-74 Wand is extremely powerful; any saves against its effects are at -2 to the die roll.75-79 Wand is unable to function in environments colder than freezing.80-83 Wand is unable to function in environments warmer than normal human body temperature.84-86 Wand will not function underwater.87-89 Wand will activate whenever the command word is spoken by anyone within 30�, whether it is being held or not

Wand can be used as a weapon (if it is not already one). It has a +1 bonus with respect to hitting creatures unharmed bynormal weapons, but has no actual bonus to hit or on damage. A wand does damage as a jo stick; a rod does damage as a

90-93

club; and a staff does damage as a quarterstaff.94-96 If all of the wand�s charges are used, the wand explodes in a fiery blast. The blast has a radius of 15� and does 5d4 hp

damage to anyone therein. Those within 5� of the wand receive no saving throw; others may save vs. breath weapons forhalf damage

97-99 Wand is capable of being placed on automatic mode; every round, it will perform one function as designated by thewielder, using the normal amount of charges, until it is taken off automatic mode. During this time, the wielder is able to

00cast short (1-3 segment) spells, or melee with a -1 penalty to hit.Wand is intelligent; roll on the sword intelligence table and disregard any result of no intelligence. The wand also has anego; its personality can be determined using pages 114-115 of the AD&D 2nd Edition DMG. Though the wand will tell itsowner of the powers it offers, it will never disclose the number of charges it possesses. Note that an intelligent wand willnever willingly use its last few charges!

Table 6: Miscellaneous Magical Item Quirks

Roll01-03

ResultItem has a habit of burying itself in any sack, backpack, or container in which it is carried. If other items are in thecontainer, 1d3 rounds are necessary for someone to find and retrieve the item.

04-07

08-11

12-16

17-2021-2425-2930-3334-3637-3839-4344-48

49-51

52-55

Item works normally, but it appears dirty and ready to fall apart. For example, a cloak of protection +1 might bemoth-eaten and stained, but still functional.Item attunes itself to one owner at a time; if it is removed from its owner, or if another person tries to use the device, itgoes dormant for 1d4 days as it grows accustomed to its new owner.Item has the annoying habit of buzzing when it is used. The buzzing is audible to anyone within 60�, and it is impossible tosurprise anyone while the device is buzzing.Item glows with a soft light (as per faerie fire) when it is used.Item is durable and makes any necessary saving throws at +2 to the die roll.Item will not function if user wears any kind of head adornment (including a hood).Item will not function underground.Item will not function at night.Item will not function during the day.Item is unaffected by blows of any kind, unless the forces are of giant strength (19) or greater.Item has a finite number of uses; it will be found with 2d20 charges remaining. Whether or not the item can be rechargedis up to the DM.Item works erratically; it functions normally 70% of the time, fails 20% of the time, and acts as a wand of wonder 10% ofthe time.Item is magically buoyant and tends to levitate upward at the rate of 5� per minute unless held or tied down

52 NOVEMBER 1990

Table 6: Miscellaneous Magical Item Quirks (Continued)56-60 Item is immune to electricity or magical lightning. If the item is metal, it is also nonconductive.61-64 Item can only be used twice per day; of used more often, it will short itself out and be unusable for 48 hours.65-69 Item causes its owner to become extremely possessive of it. If the item is kept for more than 14 days, a mild form of

paranoia sets in. The owner will assume that anyone mentioning the item wants it. the owner will never relinquish theitem to anyone as a result. A remove curse by a 9th-level cleric, or getting rid of the item before 14 days pass, are the onlyways to negate the paranoia effect.

70-72 Item is powerful; it works 125% more effectively than a standard item of the same type, and any saving throw against itseffects is at -1.

73-78 Item is substandard and only works half as well as a standard item of the same type.79-83 Item has a curse upon it. All saving throws attempted by its owner are made at -1 until the item has a remove curse cast

upon it.84-86 Item will not function underwater.87-90 Item belongs to an extraplanar creature or other powerful being (this is shown on the item by the creature's personal

sign). After 1d4 weeks, the item will be located by the being, and it will show up to claim "its" property.91-95 Item must rest for six turns minimum between uses.96-98 Item cannot be destroyed by any means short of an incredible excess of force (such as a deity), by dropping it into a lava

pit, or the like.99-00 Item is intelligent; roll upon the sword intelligence table, disregarding any result of "no intelligence." The item will have an

ego, and its known languages (if any) are determined as for a sword. The item's personality can be determined on pages114-115 of the AD&D 2nd Edition DMG.

Table 7: Magical Armor and Shield Quirks

Roll Result01-06 Armor is incredibly shiny and reflects light of any kind; furthermore, any creature using a gaze attack within 10' of the

armor has a 75% chance of seeing its own reflection.07-11 Armor is heavy; add 25% to its total weight and encumbrance.12-16 Armor is tight-fitting; if not oiled at least once every three days, the suit will cramp the wearer�s fighting skills. As a result,

the wearer will suffer a -1 penalty on all reaction, to hit, and damage rolls until the armor is oiled.17-21 Armor works normally but appears incredibly beaten up and battered. No amount of repair can change its appearance.

(Status-conscious cavaliers and paladins will have reservations about wearing any armor that does not look good.)22-26 Armor is silent; the wearer does not clank loudly if the armor is metal. Note that this does not mean that the wearer can

move silently; the armor simply makes no more noise than would a suit of clothes.27-32 Armor glows with the light of a faerie fire spell. Only a continual darkness can negate this radiation (and then for six

turns plus one turn per level of the caster). If the armor is covered by clothing, the glow will still shine through.33-37 Armor weighs one quarter as much as normal armor of the same type.38-43 Armor lacks magical protective ability against 1d4 specific types of creatures.44-48 Armor is resistant to fire; it can never be burned or melted by normal or magical fire.49-53 Armor has an �Achilles� heel�; every time the wearer is hit, there is a 5% chance that this �heel� is hit and double damage

is done to the wearer.Armor magically expands or contracts to fit any size wearer from ogre to halfling.Armor is attuned to a place of special magical radiance, in much the same manner as is drow armor. If the armor is notexposed to this place once every 30 days, its magic will be lost.Armor has complicated straps and is hard to put on and remove. Consequently, the time required to put on and take offthe armor is increased by 10 rounds.

54-5960-64

65-70

71-74 Armor can never be scratched, stained, or dented.75-78

79-8485-8990-94 Armor does not provide magical protection if a clothing or covering is worn over it.95-98 Armor is an exquisite piece of workmanship and commands a price of 150% of its normal value due to its quality.99-00 Armor is possessed by a spirit of random alignment; if the wearer�s alignment differs from the spirit�s, the armor

periodically attempts to possess the wearer. Determine the chance of success as noted under the 5th-level wizard spell,magic jar. The spirit�s intelligence can be determined by rolling 3d6. The chance of a possession attempt occurring is 15%per week, cumulative.

Armor has an inherent disruption of magic. While its wearer enjoys a +1 bonus on saving throws vs. spells, he cannotcast spells if he is a multiclassed mage or a spell-using ranger or paladin.Armor attracts monsters; any random encounter checks are at double normal chance for anyone wearing this armor.Armor is a heat and electricity superconductor; add +1 hp per die to all damage from fire or electricity.

DRAGON 53

Table 8: Magical Sword and Miscellaneous Weapon Quirks

Roll Result01-05 Weapon glows (as per faerie fire) in normal darkness.06-09 Weapon is lighter than normal. The wielder has a -1 bonus on any reaction or initiative rolls when the weapon is used.10-14 Weapon is unable to harm 1d4 types of creatures.15-18 Weapon must be used two-handed in order to gain its magical bonus. If the weapon is very short (e.g., a dagger or knife),

19-23is already a two-handed weapon, or this result does not otherwise apply, disregard this result and roll again on this table.

24-28Weapon�s finish cannot be marred, stained, or scratched in any way.

29-32Weapon hums whenever enemies come within 30� (and the sound negates any chance of surprise).Weapon must be baptized in flame after combat, or it loses its magical bonus until it is placed within a fire for at least onehour (weapon is immune to the effects of normal fire).

33-3738-43

Weapon is twice as heavy as normal. The wielder suffers a +1 penalty to all reaction and initiative rolls.

44-46Weapon appears beat up, notched, scratched, stained, and dented. No amount of polishing can alter its appearance.

47-49Weapon�s magic functions only at night, Also, the weapon is evilly aligned and radiates this alignment.

50-54Weapon�s magic functions only during the day. The weapon is good aligned and radiates this alignment.Weapon has a command word upon it that shrinks it as would an item spell, To return the weapon to normal size, thecommand word must be spoken backwards.

55-59 Weapon exhibits no magical properties until a certain condition is met (i.e., a bless spell is cast upon it, a certain type ofcreature is killed with it, etc.).

60-63 Weapon conducts electricity. As a result, the wielder suffers a -+1 point per die of damage.

1 penalty on all saves vs. electricity or lightning and takes

64-68 Weapon radiates nondetection; thus a detect magic spell will not register it.69-7273-75

Weapon is silent; it makes no noise when dropped or struck against armor or another weapon.Weapon�s magic makes it dangerous to wield in combat. If the wielder misses an attack against his intended opponent, hemust roll under his dexterity score on 1d20 or the weapon slips. A to-hit roll must be made against any ally in a 5� radius

76-7980-85

86-8990-9495-97

98-00

(or against the wielder, if no allies are near). A successful hit on oneself or a friend does half damage.Weapon is not affected by acid.Weapon cannot be broken by any means short of divine power or an irresistable force (such as having 10 tons of rockdropped on it).Weapon is immune to the effects of rust (including the attack of a rust monster).Weapon is invisible whenever drawn or wielded in combat.Weapon�s blade or head exists in the Ethereal or Astral plane (50% chance of either), and is able to hit creatures that can�phase out,� become ethereal, and so forth when they are in an alternate plane.Weapon is intelligent (if it isn�t already). The bad side of this is that the weapon has an awful personality and specific goals,Determine the extra magical abilities of the weapon as per the sword intelligence table in the DMG, and the weapon�spersonality on pages 114-115 of the DMG. If the weapon�s goals (determined by the DM) are ignored by the weapon�sowner, the weapon may refuse to fight or use its powers.

54 NOVEMBER 1990

he first snow of the season fell duringthe long hours of night. Light butpersistent, it covered the dirt streets ofthe village and formed low driftsagainst the stone walls of the tightclutch of houses and stores. A northwind carried the snow to the docks,

where it slipped across the ice-crusted boards and gatheredagainst the supporting posts of the almost deserted pier.

The big square-rigged packet that came up every yearfrom Skollten had left more than a week before, taking thefishing families to their winter homes on the mainland.There they�d ride out the bitter months, mending netsand sharpening harpoons, preparing for another seasonfishing at the edge of the pack ice.

Only one ship remained at the winter dock: an agingbrigantine loaded with dried fish for trade in the south.Even as the brief day began, the crew of the ship laboredat the cargo and rigging, anxious to follow their familiessouth. Farther down the shore, the village fishing smackswere neatly lined up on the coarse sand of the little cove.All but one of the little boats were securely lashed to thegnarled trunks of pines that had ridden out a thousandwinters. All but one were stripped to the boards. That oneboat still held a furled sail, its hull still rode in the slushysea, and in its cabin the charts and supplies were waitingto challenge the winter sea.

Kitrin opened the window and scooped a bucket ofsnow from the drift by the house. She hung it above thefire to melt, then went to the backroom for some drieddeepfish and roots. Ever hopeful, she had made enoughbroth for two every day of the past week, and every dayshe had seen most of it go to waste. When the soup waswell stirred, she sat on the workbench where she could seethrough the wavy glass of the side window to the docks.

A surprise knock on the door drove her hopes up for amoment. She moved to answer, but before she could reachthe door, it swung open and Sedark strode in.

Frost rimed the gray beard around the mouth of the oldseaman. He looked down at Kitrin with eyes eternallyfrozen into a horizon-searching squint. �It�s in my mindthat I should make you come with us,� he said.

�Please, Clan-Captain, you know I have to wait.�They�d had this discussion several times over the dayssince the black ship had sailed, and Kitrin was growingsuspicious that much of the delay in Sedark�s departurewas manufactured in the hopes that she might relent andgo south with him.

The old captain closed the door and moved to the fire.�The Gray North will sail before the sunset,� he said.

�Then there�ll be not a soul on the island save yourself.�He paused and turned toward her. �It�s not in my natureto leave a child alone to face the storms.�

�I am not a child. Besides, my father will return soon.�Sedark opened his mouth, then closed it again. He

turned his eyes back to the fire.�No one can sail the pack ice like Father,� continued

Kitrin. �You�ve said as much yourself. He�ll be here soon,and we�ll join you all at. the summer home.�

�Girl, there is no doubt that Weiden is as canny a navi-gator as I�ve ever seen, and I�ll miss him at the helm of

StormWinter

by M. C. Sumner

Illustrations by Charles G. Hiscock

D R A G O N 5 9

the North. But we�re on the edge of storm winter, andthere�s ice floes big as all of Umber just outside the cove.It will be all we can do to make it safe home ourselves.�He moved closer to her and spoke more softly than he haddone at any time before. �Sail with us. Let Faren andLere beach your father�s fisher before its hull is crushed bythe ice.�

Kitrin turned away.�Ah,� sighed Sedark, �if only my crew had been here

when those creatures came and stole away with Weiden.��Who knows how many Viashin were on that evil ship?

You couldn�t have stopped them.�Sedark scowled, unwilling to admit that anything was

too much for his crew. �I can�t fathom it. The Viashinhave their own ways, but they�re not daft. Why take yourfather away? Why sail a ship north into the teeth of stormwinter?�

Kitrin did not answer immediately, but moved to thefire and stirred her broth. In her mind she could still seethe high sides of the black ship as it stood in their smallcove. Still see the long necks, protruding snouts, andhunched backs of the Viashin who peered over the rails.See her father struggling as the creatures led him towardthe beach. Could still hear him calling to her as theyrowed toward the ship.

�He said he would come for me,� said Kitrin, �and hewill.�

The Captain rubbed at his beard. As much as hebarked about leaving her alone, Kitrin knew that the ideaof leaving a seaman to return from a voyage and find hisfamily gone bothered the old sailor even more.

�We�ve stacked thirty arms of wood against the backwall,� said Sedark, �and good Norumber pine it is. Still,you use it too fast and you�ll be ice before the sun rises inthe spring. Understand?�

�Yes.��I�ve seen your stores, so I know you�ve got enough

food, though you�ll probably grow tired of roots and fish.Be sure to eat enough to keep up your heat, and never goout when you don�t have to. A night in storm winter willfreeze the breath right in your chest. Do you hear?�

�Yes.�Sedark grabbed her in a rough hug. �We�ll sail back

early, child. I�ll have that ship here the moment there�s acrack in the ice.� The seaman�s eyes were red. �Please tellme you�ll be here when we get back, child.�

�My father will return soon. We�ll be mending netswith you down in Skollten before the week is out.�

The Clan-Captain turned abruptly and went out intothe cold.

Kitrin moved restlessly around the house, cleaningwhat was already clean and stirring her thin broth. By thetime she felt enough hunger to sit down and eat, the sunwas already setting on the abbreviated day, and Sedark�sship was gone.

She was alone.

For three days the weather was unusually gentle. Kitrinused the time to wander the deserted town. It was odd tosee all the houses and shops, so full of activity in summer,sitting empty and boarded against winter�s wrath. Few of

60 NOVEMBER 1990

the doors were locked�there being no one to lock themagainst� so she had her chance to lay hands on thosethings that were forbidden her in the summer months. Shefingered the carefully stored tools of the keelmaker andsmelled their oily coating, examined the racks of harpoonsat the house of the northwhale hunters, and felt the coldfurnaces of the iron master.

At the end of each day, as the sun dipped quickly to-ward the horizon, she found herself pulled toward thedocks. There she saw nothing but the still, gray sea andthe slowly drifting ice. And each day was noticeablyshorter than the one before, as the darkness of stormwinter came on.

On the fourth day, Kitrin awoke to dead silence. Not abreath of wind stirred in the narrow streets of the summertown. Even the lap of waves on the beach had stopped.

When she went out to fetch snow, she saw the storm. Awall of impenetrable blackness was draped across thenorthwest. For a moment, she was gripped by panic.Then she dashed about the town, gathering as much snowas she could and seeing that the stone shutters weremounted over the precious glass of the windows. Then shewaited.

Within an hour the storm began. The thick stone wallsof her house seemed to sway before the force of the wind,and icy currents slipped through invisible cracks to stealall the warmth from her dwelling. The sound inside wasso great that she clapped her hands to her ears. Over thegeneral roar, she seemed to hear screams. Twice she al-most went to the door, but she persuaded herself that noone was there. Piling every rug, quilt, and scrap of cloth-ing into a heap in front of the fire, Kitrin wrapped herselfin what little warmth she could and tried to sleep. For fivedays the storm raged about her.

When she at last awoke again to stillness, she thoughtshe had gone deaf. After she convinced herself that herears were still working, she went to the door.

She was surprised to see that little snow had fallen.Instead, the wind had swept the village almost clean. Itwas night, and the moon was but a sliver in the south.The air was so cold that one step from the door Kitrin�seyes began to freeze. But she had no more water in thehouse. She wrapped her head in scarfs until only a slotremained, then went in search of snow.

What snow there still was in the village was so thor-oughly mixed with the dust of the streets that it melted toa murky, undrinkable sludge. Adding another blanket toher burden of clothing, Kitrin walked clumsily west untilshe came to a field rippling with clean white dunes.

As she kneeled to pack the snow into her bucket, sheheard a coughing sound. There were few large animals onthe island during the summer, but who knew what mightmove in with the ice? Kitrin rose slowly, ready to swingthe bucket in her defense.

A figure stumbled into view across the dunes and col-lapsed. She dropped her bucket and ran toward it. Beforeshe reached it, Kitrin could tell it was one of the Viashin.Even in the thin light, she could see the odd cant of itsback, and as she drew nearer she saw the swan-curve of itslong neck and the exposed rows of needle-thin teeth in itsgaping mouth. She forced herself closer.

�Where . . . where is my father?�The creature raised its muzzle from the snow and

opened one large eye. �Help me,� it said. Its voice wasdeep, quite clear, and surprisingly gentle.

�Where is my father?��Father?��My father. The fisherman you took from our village,��The navigator,� said the Viashin. Its eye closed. �Your

father is dead,� it said, and its head dropped back to thesnow.

It was almost a day before the Viashin spoke again.It had been as much as Kitrin could stand to touch the

crooked form, and the limit of her strength to load thecreature onto a sledge, but finally she had him at herhouse and swathed in cloth. She fought her revulsion ofthe leathery brute as she unwound its tattered clothingdown to its innermost cloak. When fully revealed, theViashin looked much like the result of a mating betweensome man-sized lizard and an equally gigantic bird.

Trembling, she kneeled over the alien form and ladledwarm broth into its open mouth. She had to revive thebeast. She had to know what had happened to her father.

When the Viashin did not revive after the first hour,Kitrin left it by the fire and went to find a knife. If thecreature ever did awaken long enough to tell her of herfather, she would listen carefully to its tale. And when itstale was done, she would kill it.

When the Viashin did not awaken by the end of thebrief day, Kitrin decided that the knife would not beneeded and despaired that she would never learn what hadbecome of her father. She gave into the sorrow that hadbeen hanging over her ever since the departure of theViashin�s black ship and sobbed throughout the night.

�Where am I?� asked the Viashin. It was just aftersunrise of the next day.

Kitrin, who had been crying quietly by the window,started at the sound of its voice and had to swallow severaltimes before answering. She still had the knife hidden inthe voluminous sleeve of her coat as she walked back to-ward the fire. �Norumberbod Island. Fisher�s Port. Whoare you?�

The blue eyes blinked slowly and the Viashin raiseditself on its thin arms. �I am Agustlas Finur, lately Masterof the ship Tarchen. How long have I lain here?�

�Through a night and a day,� said Kitrin. �I broughtyou here from the snow outside. Do you remember?�

�I remember. You asked about your father.��Yes,� she said, and tightened her grip on the secreted

knife. �My father. What happened to my father?�Finur crawled closer to the fire on his short arms and

pulled the rugs tightly around himself. �Your father . . .was a good navigator. So good that it cost him his life.�One of his eyes rotated and fixed on Kitrin. Like hisvoice, the eye itself, though large and mounted in a ringof scaly flesh, was uncomfortably human. �Do you haveanything to eat?�

�Just some broth and some dried fish.��Either will do.�Kitrin went to the backroom and brought out a bundle

of deepfish. She was surprised to find herself looking for

something to feed the ugly brute. A night of tears seemedto have taken the edge from the hatred she had felt whiledragging the creature in from the ice. Still, as soon as hehad finished answering her questions, she would kill him.

�My thanks to you,� said Finur when she handed himthe fish. His long, claw-tipped fingers pulled the toughfish into halves.

�My father . . .� began Kitrin.�A good navigator, as I said. He led us to the Point, the

mountain at the edge of the ice.� He fixed Kitrin with hisoverwhelming gaze. �Do you know this place?�

Though she had never been there, the mountain at theworld�s top was well known to her people. Kitrin nodded.

�Yes, well that is where my passengers wanted to go.And when he had brought us safely to its jagged shore,they killed him.�

She had thought that her pain had departed with heranger, but it had not. It came back to her now in a razor-sharp torrent. �Who killed him? Why?�

�My passengers were priests of Maleat, one of the an-cient gods of the Viashin. They believe that the mountainin the ice is a place sacred to Maleat and would not permitany human to walk there. Besides, they did not want any-one to know what they sought in that desolate place.�

�What did they want?��This,� said the Viashin. He reached into the folds of

his cloak and withdrew a lump of dark-green stone shotthrough with streaks of deepest red. �I took it fromthem.�

�You sailed to the edge of the ice, in winter, kidnapedand killed my father, all for a piece of rock?� Kitrin feltthe tears welling again in her eyes.

�This is not what I wanted; it was the priests.�He held the stone out to the fire and immediately it

burst into verdant flame that filled the cabin with uncom-fortable warmth. A scent of damp places and mold as-sailed Kitrin, and she seemed to hear irregular chantsrumbling from the earth.

�For this stone,� said Finur, �they have killed manytimes. And they will be willing to do so many times more.They stole not only your father but my ship as well.�

He leaned toward Kitrin, and in the light of the stone,the Viashin�s huge eyes were as black and empty as thesea at midnight. �I took the stone from them in the nightand ran my own ship aground to prevent their plans. Thisstone is a piece of the First World, Maleat�s world, and allbefore it are mist before the sun. With it, they would sobolster their power that neither other Viashin nor thekingdoms of men could stand against them.�

Finur placed his other hand over the stone, and its lightwas abruptly extinguished. �Have you a ship?� he asked.

�You�re sure they will come?� said Kitrin as she freed thesails.

The Viashin was on shore, working clumsily at the lineswith his long fingers wrapped in cloth. He snorted a cloudof frozen breath into the air. �I did what I could. Thepriests knew my heart, and they would not allow meenough freedom to destroy the ship, but I did manage tolead them into the shallows and escape with the stone.Still, I grounded the Tarchen only a day north of this cove.

DRAGON 61

62 NOVEMBER 1990

Even were the priests to kill every one of my crew, whichthey may well do, they will probably get under sail at thenext tide.�

�Perhaps they think you�re dead.��Perhaps, but the priests detected the presence of this

fragment from half a world away. I�d not bet against themfinding it now.� The Viashin captain loosed the ropesholding the smack to the shore and, despite the weight ofhis makeshift clothing, jumped nimbly onto the deck ofthe small fishing vessel. Standing, the Viashin�s head onhis long neck was slightly higher than Kitrin�s, his backheld almost level with the ground. The effect remindedher of the running birds of the Skollten plains.

From the mouth of the cove came the sound of icegrinding against ice as the floes drifted inexorably south-ward. Finur�s head swiveled sharply back and forth be-tween the sea and the sail.

�We�ll never make it through the ice,� said Kitrin.�I think we might.��My father was the best seaman in the clan, but even

he would be sorely pressed to ride a fishing boat before therage of storm winter!�

�Human child,� said Finur, �I don�t know how muchyou know of the Viashin, but know this: we can sail.�Bumping against barrel-sized chunks of ice, the boatmoved into the Umber Sea.

By the time the day had ended, Norumberbod Islandhad vanished to the north. During the long hours of dark-ness, Kitrin huddled near the metal firepot while Finurstood on the bow, pushing the boat from the larger rafts ofdrifting ice with a stout pole. Kitrin watched him work,his oddly hinged arms thin but powerful. The large eyeswere always moving. His splayed feet sat far apart androde the swells with ease. Despite his earlier ordeal inescaping from the priests, he now seemed tireless.

�How is it that you speak Tamini so well?� askedKitrin.

�I�ve �been a trader for twenty years. You have to speakTamini if you want to deal with humans.�

�Do you deal with humans often?��Sometimes.��Do we look as . . . I mean, how do humans look to

you?�He turned to her and cocked his long head to one side.

�You mean �Do I look as strange to you as you do to me?�Correct?�

Kitrin thought she heard amusement in his voice. �No,not that.� But Finur only continued to look, and after amoment she said. �Yes, I guess I do mean that.�

�Don�t worry about offending me. Even we Viashindon�t think all other Viashin are especially handsome.�

�And humans? Do you find us ugly?�No. Not at all. Do you not have animals that you find

attractive? The powerful riding beasts, the sleek huntingcats; I know humans celebrate such creatures, in their ownart. Come to a Viashin home and you�ll find humans inthe artwork, humans in the trim of the wood. You are likebeautiful animals to us. So fluid, so right.� He gave her afine-toothed grin. �Particularly the females, like yourself.�

Kitrin blushed: �Then why do you hate humans somuch?�

Finur clicked his hard lips together and made a quickgesture with his arms. �Why do humans hate us?�

�You made war on us. You took Tamini Island and sankthe human fleet.�

�We made war with you. We took the island back.�For a moment they stared at each other. Kitrin was full

of indecision and suddenly comforted by the weight of theknife that was now hidden at her belt. If there was anyindecision in the Viashin�s eyes, she could not recognize it.

There was a thump as a chunk of dull ice bounced awayfrom the hull. The Viashin hissed. �Now you have dis-tracted me from my work.� he said, and he gave the ice ajab with his pole. �Come, it is your turn to push away theice.� He handed her the long pole, and they slid past eachother carefully.

Finur settled by the firepot and made a soft groaningnoise. �You do not appreciate how painful this cold is to aViashin,� he said. �Viashin skin is not meant for snowand wind. Viashin feet can get no grip on ice.�

�Why not wear shoes?��Viashin feet cannot stand shoes,� he said and flexed

the three long toes of one foot.�Then why not just stay in the south?� said Kitrin.Finur did not reply.

A sound woke Kitrin some time later, and she realized shehad fallen into a doze with the ice pole still in her hands.She opened her eyes and jumped to her feet when shefound herself facing an iceberg big as the summer village.

The wind was dead calm, and the sails hung limp.Whether the boat was moving toward or away from thelarge berg, she could not say, but it was doing neither atany great speed.

There was a another sound. Kitrin leaned her head tothe side to try and hear better. A drumming sound fromsomewhere out across the darkened sea. And . . . voices?Could they have come far enough to meet ships from thekingdoms of men? The sounds grew louder.

Dum-dum-dum-DUM, went the sound. Dum-DUM-dum-dum.

�Malalmalalmalalmalal . . .� ululated the voices.Suddenly, Finur surged to his feet in a flurry of agita-

tion. �The Tarchen,” he hissed, his voice sibilant and sud-denly inhuman.

�How did they catch us?� said Kitrin as she strained tosee into the blackness.

�Magic,� said the Viashin. �Necromancy.�The word was more chilling to Kitrin than the winter

air. �Necromancy?��All the priest�s magics require the death of someone.

They�ll be sacrificing my crew to get a wind.� He reachedinto the tiny cabin and extracted two short paddles. �Wemust move so that the iceberg is between us and thepriests. Perhaps they�ll pass us by in their haste.�

Kitrin took the wooden blade from his hands andleaned over the side of the boat. Finur lowered the sail,then took his place on the other side. Together they beganthe laborious job of moving the craft through the still wa-ter. The fisher was small to be sailing in storm winter, butit was quite large to be paddled and their progress wasslow.

All the while, the sound of the approaching Viashinship grew louder. The pounding noise was soon joined bya low thrumming that made Kitrin�s teeth ache.

By the time they had managed to draw near to the bergand place some of its comforting bulk between themselvesand the approaching ship, false dawn was on them and theTarchen was visible as a darker shape against the grayingsea. Close behind the ship rose a wall of boiling cloudsthat was lit from within by continuous bursts of lightning.Occasionally, green-tinted arms of vapor would lash up-ward from the storm and crash down like breaking waves.Kitrin knew that, compared to this storm, the gale thathad locked her into her house for live days was little morethan a summer squall.

Finur appeared at Kitrin�s side, starling her. �Stoppaddling,� he shouted into her ear. �Get down and stayquiet.�

The noise from the approaching ship and its attendantstorm was so loud, Kitrin could not see how anything shecould do would be heard above the clamor. She droppedher paddle to the deck and crouched behind the gunwale.

The sound grew until it seemed to come from the sea aswell as the air, and the timbers of the boat vibrated insympathy. An oddly warm wind accompanied the ap-proach of the ship, bringing with it a painful bombard-ment of hail and hard-driven rain. The gelid sea waschurned, and the small fishing boat rocked violently.

As the black ship slid past the shoulder of the iceberg,Kitrin could see that it was connected to the storm by awrithing tentacle of lightning that pulsed and spit droplets

of liquid fire into the sea. Suddenly, the fiery umbilicusdimmed, and the ship surged to a stop just past the berg.The storm halted as if it had hit a wall of glass. In a mo-ment, the cacophony of sound diminished to the noise ofwaves lapping against the iceberg.

Kitrin crawled across the wet deck of the boat to whereFinur crouched near the bow. �Do they know we arehere?� she whispered.

�I do not think so,� he said carefully, �but they mayknow we are near.�

Kitrin peered over the low gunwale of the fisher at thesharp prow of the Black Ship. Some figurehead was af-fixed to the dark wood below the bowsprit of the ship. Avague shape of lighter gray sheathed in a rind of sea icewith its feet just above the waterline. Something about thefigure made Kitrin�s soul shrink. �What is that on thebow of the ship?�

�Get down. Do not look at it.��What is it?�Finur let out a long hiss. �It is your father.�She tried to scramble to her feet, but the Viashin�s

strong arm held her down.�He feels no pain. He is dead. Do not bring his fate on

yourself.�As the black ship angled toward them for a moment,

Kitrin could see clearly the tortured form of her fatherbound to the wood, his skin bleached as gray as the wintersky.

�But why?� she sobbed.�Necromancy. I told you that they killed your father

DRAGON 63

when they reached the mountain, but they could not es-cape without a skilled navigator. So the Maleat priests areusing necromancy to pull the skills of your father from hisbody and pilot the Tarchen through the ice. Believe mewhen I say he feels no��

He was cut off by a terrible scream from the black ship.Instinctively, Kitrin looked toward her father, but the ice-shrouded body had not changed.

A moment later, a Viashin appeared at the bow of theship. He wore an elaborately ornamented cloak whosesilver chasing caught the green light of the storm. In hishand was an indistinct bundle that he stretched out overthe sea.

�Malea ild ol sulva!� cried the Viashin priest.The storm at his back answered with a series of blinding

verdant flashes. In the sporadic illumination, Kitrin couldsee that the object the priest carried was a severed Viashinarm. She could see drops of dark blood apparently frozenin their fall by the irregular pulses of light.

Before the flashes had ended, the priest had turned theirway. With a groaning of timbers, the black ship rotated inplace, and the bow with its gruesome figurehead was di-rected at the tiny fishing boat. Whatever restraints thepriests had laid on the storm were released, and it surgedforward in a roiling mass.

Finur scrambled to his feet and ran to raise the sails.�Get the pole!� he yelled. �They�ve seen us!�

Kitrin lifted the pole and pushed the boat away fromthe big berg. The sails filled with a snap, and she nearlytoppled into the sea as the boat lunged forward. The blackship was almost on them, but the fishing smack acceler-ated faster than the larger craft, and for a moment thedistance between the two vessels grew. The Viashin priestleaned over the high sides of the ship and screamed downat them, �Amal! Amal! Amal!�

�What is he saying?� Kitrin shouted over the wind asshe dropped the pole and moved to help Finur with therigging.

�Die. Die. Die. It is a very popular theme with Maleatpriests.�

Finur tacked the boat toward a cluster of ship-sizedbergs, deftly navigating the gaps between them in thegrowing gale, while Kitrin retrieved the ice pole and stoodby nervously. The return of the fearful drumming noisesignaled the resurrection of the black ship�s lightning pro-peller, and the dark craft closed on them rapidly.

Kitrin looked back as the Tarchen entered the ice field,wincing as the harrowed figure of her dead father seemedabout to be smashed against a craggy wall of ice. But atthe last moment, a blast of light originated from the en-crusted body and the massive iceberg was hurled from thepath of the black ship. Another berg stood in the way ofthe onrushing ship, and again the ice was flung aside by abolt of hideous energy that came from her father�s tor-tured frame. The gap between the two crafts continued toshrink.

�Not without the risk of my soul.�Kitrin turned her head to see that the sharply pointed

�They are going to catch us!� she shouted into therecessed ear of Finur. �Can you not do something withthe stone?�

64 NOVEMBER 1990

bow of the black ship was almost touching the stern of thefisher. �What will happen to your soul if they catch us?�she asked.

Finur hesitated for a moment, but as the boat shook atits first contact with the Tarchen, he reached into a pouchand took out the stone. He hissed and dropped it to thedeck when he saw that it was already alight, glowing witha green brilliance that was painful to see. �They are draw-ing from it even now!� he cried.

The boat shook again as the prow of the black ship slidalong one side. Then they were riding the bow wave of theship, carried along by its headlong rush toward anotherflock of massive icebergs. Kitrin looked up and saw theshape of her father no more than an arm�s reach away.

From above, the Maleat priest cried in triumph. MoreViashin gathered at the rail, ready to board the fishingboat. Tendrils of green flame began to dance from thestone lying on the fisher�s deck to her father�s body.

Grabbing Finur by his narrow shoulder, Kitrinscreamed to be heard. �Steer for the ice!�

�You saw what they can do! It�s no use; they have us!��Steer for the ice!�Releasing the Viashin, Kitrin drew the knife from her

robe and scrambled onto the gunwale of the boat. Withone hand holding firm to a line, she leaned out across thesurging sea and faced her dead father.

His frozen eyes were a centerless, cloudy gray. Hismouth hung open in an endless scream. Stout lines boundhis arms back and held him fast to the ship, and the wrin-kles of his clothing were frozen in place. The streamers oflight that left the stone danced over his teeth and darteddown his throat to emerge again tinged by blood. Glints oftheir awful energy glinted from the depths of his lifelesseyes.

There was a shout from above. The Maleat priestreached down to snatch Kitrin�s wind-blown hair. Shestruck at the corded wrist with the edge of her knife, thenwinced as hot blood sprayed against her face. But thepriest did not relinquish his grip, and she found herselfbeing pulled from her feet. She slashed at own hair andfell from the priest�s grasp.

The two vessels ground together, and Kitrin found hercheek against the cold face of her father. She did not flinchaway.

�Good-bye, Father,� she said softly, and she hacked atthe ice-crusted ropes that bound him to the Viashin ship.The line parted quickly, and the body tumbled away fromthe black ship. As it fell, sparks and bolts flew between itand the dark wood of the vessel. Kitrin reached out herarms to catch her father, but the stiffened form slippedthrough her grasp and splashed into the boiling sea.

At once, the noise of the preternatural drive was cut off.The ice pole swung past Kitrin�s head in a whistling arc,and she turned to see Finur shoving them away from theside of the ship. She had a single, tear-blurred glimpse ofhunched figures running on the deck above, and then theTarchen smashed full bore into an iceberg.

The masts of the ship snapped with a sound likecannon-shots and fell to the deck with a tremendous crash.The sides of the ship split open along their length. Adozen of the Viashin were thrown from the ship and bro-

ken against the hard ice.The fishing boat sheered across the sunken flank of the

berg with force enough to almost shatter the wooden hull.Narrow jets of water shot upward from holes gouged bythe ice. The fisher shook and moaned as it ground its wayover the berg, and then they were past, and the black shipwas left crumpled behind them.

The storm vanished in a moment. In the sudden si-lence, the voice of the priest could be heard. �Amal!Amal! Amal!� he screamed.

�I told you it was a favorite,� said Finur.There was a grinding, sucking noise, and the black ship

slipped from the berg and slid quickly beneath the waves.The light from the stone lying on the fisher�s deck flick-ered and died.

It took three days of difficult sailing through bitter winterwinds to reach the coast of Skollten. Kitrin spent much ofthat time below decks, bailing the frigid water that leakedin around their makeshift patches.

It was snowing when Finur brought the fisher into thebroad bay of the winter village. He did not try to make itto the village docks. Instead, he beached the boat gentlyon the sands at the bay�s mouth.

Kitrin stepped onto the beach with more appreciationfor solid ground than she had ever felt in her life. Softflakes of snow settled in her hair and melted against her

face. She turned and, with only a moment�s hesitation,took the hand of her companion. �Come with me,� shesaid.

The Viashin shook his long head. �I have to find some-where to hide the stone.�

�Throw it in the sea.��The priests were willing to sail to the top of the world

to get it. I do not think a little water will stop them.� Hepulled his hand from hers and scratched at his cheek witha clawed finger. �I must find somewhere more clever.�

�Stay here until you think of it.�Again he shook his head. �I might endanger you. Be-

sides, some of your relatives may not like me.� He ges-tured down the beach, and Kitrin turned to see thesnow-softened forms of men spilling out of the village.Even at this distance, she could make out the waving graybeard of Sedark.

�They won�t hurt . . .� she began, but when she turnedback, she found that Finur was pushing the boat into thegentle surf.

�Good- bye, human child,� he said as he jumped to thedeck. �Warn your people.�

�Warn them of what?��If I am not clever enough, if those of Maleat find the

stone, it will be the death of peace.� He raised the sailbefore the quickening breeze, and the small boat movedtoward the warm south.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION

Title of publication: DRAGON® Magazine Date of filing: 1 October 1990Publication no.: 0279-6848 No. of issues published annually: 12Frequency of issue: Monthly Annual subscription price: $30.00Complete mailing address of known office of publication: DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva (Walworth Co.) WI

53147, U.S.A.Complete mailing address of the headquarters of general business offices of the publisher: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva

WI 53147, U.S.A.Publisher: James M. Ward, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.Editor: Roger E. Moore, P.O. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.Owner: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mort-

gages, or other securities: None

Extent and nature of circulation

Average no. copies each Actual no. copies of singleissue during preceding issue published nearest

12 months to filing date

Total no. copiesPaid circulation

1. Sales through dealers and carriers2. Mail subscriptions

Total paid circulationFree distribution by any meansTotal distributionCopies not distributed

1. Office use, left over, etc.2. Return from news agents

Total

108,936 103,128

72,325 64,04426,630 27,91298,955 91,956

120 12299,075 92,078

8,660 11,0501,201 -

108,936 103,128

I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.James M. Ward, Publisher

DRAGON 65

DRAGON 67

70 NOVEMBER 1990

MARVELMARVEL

by David E. Martin, Chris Mortika, Scott Davis, and William Tracy

Leftovers II: The Villains

This month we�ll take a look at twoMARVEL UNIVERSE� villains who didn�tmake the final cut to appear in MU6,Gamer’s Handbook of the MARVEL UNI-VERSE 1990 Character Updates book:Nebulon and Solarr. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Barb Nish, PeggyCooper, Judy Gifford, and Steven Schendfor their assistance in compiling thiscolumn.

NEBULON�

F GD(10)A GD(10)S MN(75)E UN(100)R IN(40)I TY(6)P MN(75)

Health: 195Karma: 121Resources: EX(20)Popularity: - 10** Nebulon had Monstrous worldwidepopularity while head of the CelestialMind Control Movement.

BACKGROUNDReal Name: UnknownOccupation: Prospector, guru, would-bconquerorLegal Status: Citizen of Ul�lulaPlace of Birth: Planet Ul�lula, Ul system,Milky Way galaxyMarital Status: MarriedKnown Relatives: Supernalia (wife,deceased)Base of Operations: Ul�lula, later EarthPast Group Affiliations: Leader of theCelestial Mind Control movementPresent Group Affiliation: None

™

KNOWN POWERSBiospheric Energy Manipulation. Nebuloncould manipulate the biospheric energy ofplanets at Unearthly rank. His powerstunts included:—Energy Bolts: Nebulon could projectenergy blasts of Amazing intensity with arange of five areas.—Defensive Shield: Nebulon could create aprotective energy shield at Incredible rankagainst all attacks.�Force Bolts: Nebulon could project con-cussive force bolts at Shift X rank. Nebu-lon�s force bolts had a range of 10 areas,Shape-Shifting. Nebulon had the ability toshape-change at Monstrous Rank into anyform. The transformation process wasvery strenuous, though, requiring anEndurance FEAT roll to remain conscious,so Nebulon did not undertake it often. Anytime Nebulon�s Health dropped by morethan 50 points in a single combat round,he had to make an Endurance FEAT roll orrevert to his natural form.Teleportation. Nebulon could teleport withMonstrous rank ability for a variety ofeffects. His power stunts included:—Teleport Self: Nebulon could teleportanywhere on the surface of a planet,—Dimensional Travel: Nebulon couldtravel to alternate worlds in parallel di-mensions—Teleport Others: Nebulon could transportothers either across the planet or across thedimensions with a Psyche FEAT roll.Weakness. If Nebulon were to go withoutcontact with a biosphere long enough, hispower level would be no more than that ofa normal human being

ROLE-PLAYING NOTESNebulon was a powerful, shape-changing

alien initially intent on finding a mineral-rich world for his starving people to ex-ploit. The very survival of his race dependedon his success and that of others like him.However, Nebulon fell in with a lot of supercriminals and soon forgot the dire straits ofhis homeworld in pursuit of personal gain,

DRAGON 71

MARVELMARVEL

If you want to use Nebulon in yourcampaign, you will need to come up withan explanation of his �exaggerateddeath��but in comics that�s not a bigproblem. A resurrected Nebulon is power-ful enough to seriously threaten yourheroes and their world. Perhaps he hasreturned to complete his original missionof trying to make Earth suitable for hisrace to colonize (see �History�), or maybehe just wants Earth for himself. He couldorganize a team of lesser villains to sup-port him (this is great for bringing backold, hated enemies of the heroes). Histeleportation ability is a built-in escaperoute. Your heroes finally manage to getNebulon just where they want him and�BING! He�s gone!

HISTORYNebulon was a member of the alien

Ul�lula�ns, a race of six-tentacled, finned,water-breathing non-humanoids, who hadbegun to deplete the mineral resources oftheir homeworld. To remedy the situation,the Ul�lula�n High Tribunal dispatched anundisclosed number of prospectors tolocate and secure worlds with the appro-priate mineral resources for the race�ssurvival.

Possessing vast biosphere-tapping powerand the ability to assume other forms,Nebulon took a glistening golden human-oid form when he neared star systemswith humanoid populations. He was not,however, particularly successful at pros-pecting. Unexpectedly, Nebulon came incontact with the misanthropic Hyperion ofthe Squadron Sinister, who had been im-prisoned by the thunder god Thor in aglass sphere floating in space. Upon rescu-ing him, Nebulon told Hyperion of hismission.

Hyperion was seeking vengeance againstthe people of Earth for the imagined de-struction of his world, and he offered tolet Nebulon have Earth. Unaware of thealien�s true form, Hyperion directed theUl�lula�n to Earth to reorganize Hyperion�sone-time comrades, the Squadron Sinister.Nebulon wished to take custody of theworld with all of its land masses com-pletely submerged under water. To effectthis, the Squadron members pooled theirresources to create a powerful laser can-non capable of melting Earth�s icecaps.The Squadron member Nighthawk was anunwilling accomplice to the proceedings,however, and took the first opportunity tosummon help.

Contacting the Defenders, Nighthawkoutlined the nature of the crisis and theyswiftly traveled to the North Pole to en-

72 NOVEMBER 1990

gage the Squadron in battle. In the courseof events, Nebulon expended so muchenergy that he lost control of his human-oid form and allowed his allies and ene-mies to see his true self�a sight thatdismayed even his allies. Nighthawk seizedthis moment of confusion to train the lasercannon on Nebulon, who seemingly im-ploded, taking along his three Squadronaccomplices.

In actuality, Nebulon dispatched himselfto the aquatic extradimensional world ofZaar, inhabited by a race of philosopherscalled the Ludberites. The Ludberitesexplained to Nebulon the essence of theirphilosophy�that it is the obligation ofhigher beings to improve the lot of theirinferiors. For unknown reasons, Nebulontook this philosophy to heart, severed hisloyalties to his people, and abandoned hisoriginal mission to instead save the beingsof Earth from their own innate foibles.Returning to Earth, Nebulon assumed aless-imposing human guise than beforeand started a movement called CelestialMind Control that promised to liberate thepowers of the human mind but that actu-ally robbed its participants of free will.

As Nebulon spread his movement acrossthe world, the Defenders eventually triedto thwart him. In defense, Nebulon dis-patched some of the Defenders to anotherdimension to prevent their interference.At the same time, the Headmen, a group ofrenegade scientists, undertook their ownscheme to gain worldwide political power.Soon Nebulon and the Headmen foundthemselves working at cross purposes.After months of effort, the Defendersmanaged to expose the Headmen�s politicalmachinations and to convince Nebulon itwas a hopeless task to force humanity tobetter itself. Nebulon abandoned his massmovement and disappeared.

When the Tribunal of Ul�lula learned ofNebulon�s interference in Earth cultureand abandonment of his mission, it triedand convicted Nebulon for treason againsthis race. But before he could be takencaptive, Nebulon fled into Earth�s oceanwhere he used his shape-changing abilitiesto assume the form of Lady Dorma, thedeceased bride of the Sub-Mariner. Con-vincing the Atlanteans that Dorma hadsurvived, Nebulon used her popularity aswell as his own powers to convince theAtlanteans to attack London. The De-fenders then got involved since the Sub-Mariner was one of their originalmembers and uncovered Nebulon�s decep-tion. Soon afterward, an Ul�lula�n starcraftappeared and took custody of Nebulon,who was sentenced to be stripped of half

his biospheric power, entrapped within hishumanoid form, and exiled on Earth. TheTribunal suggested to Nebulon that hecommit suicide, the honorable alternativeto disgrace according to his culture, butNebulon flatly refused. Learning of Nebu-lon�s dishonor, Nebulon�s wife Supernaliatraveled to Earth to force him to take thehonorable action.

Nebulon had, in the meantime, made hisway into the ranks of the Avengers withthe hidden goal of using his technology tosiphon power from them to replace thatwhich he had lost. Supernalia enlisted theaid of the Defenders, and soon the twoteams of champions were manipulatedinto battle. By the time Nebulon�s motiveswere revealed, the Earth heroes werealready being drained of their energies.Supernalia was made to realize that heractions on Earth also constituted a viola-tion of her people�s ethics, so she chose tocommit suicide. In trying to stop her,Nebulon fell victim to the same energy-draining ray that was killing his wife. AsNebulon died, he admitted that at last hewas acting honorably. The Avengers andDefenders buried the aliens where theydied, in the snowy Himalayan mountains.

SOLARR�

F TY(6)A GD(10)S TY(6)E GD(10)R TY(6)I TY(6)P T Y ( 6 )

Health: 32Karma:. 18Resources: TY(6)Popularity: - 10

BACKGROUNDReal Name: Silas KingOccupation: Professional criminalLegal Status: U.S. citizen with a criminalrecordIdentity: Publicly knownPlace of Birth: Carson City, NevadaMarital Status: SingleKnown Relatives: NoneBase of Operations: Mobile; later Pro-ject: Pegasus complexPast Group Affiliations: Former mem-ber of Egghead�s Emissaries of Evil, formerally of KlawPresent Group Affiliation: None

MARVEL

KNOWN POWERSManipulate Light Energy. Solarr was amutant with the Unearthly ability to ab-sorb, store, and manipulate large amountsof energy from light, especially directsunlight. This energy he then used for thefollowing power stunt:—Heat Blast: Solarr could project a blast ofheat energy that would do Incredibledamage and had a range of three areas.After 10 turns of continuous blasting,Solarr had to recharge for 45 minutes.Heat Resistance. Solarr�s mutation madehim highly resistant to heat attacks. Heatattacks are reduced - 3CS versus Solarr,and then a Red FEAT roll was required toactually injure him.Supplemental Power Source. Eggheadonce designed for Solarr an auxiliarypower supply that allowed him to operateat full power at night.

ROLE-PLAYING NOTESSilas King was a no-good drug-smuggling

lowlife who unfortunately developed amutant power and turned to crime.

Solarr, if alive in your campaign, is asimple, straightforward villain. He couldbe a wonderful nemesis for a lone hero ora small number of low-powered goodguys. Since he is so simple, he also makesa wonderful �soldier� for a major villain(maybe even Nebulon). His heat-generatingabilities could be in high demand amongcriminal masterminds; just think of all thesafes, vaults, armored cars, etc., that hecould melt. If Solarr develops a few morepower stunts (light or heat-related; look tothe Human Torch for ideas) and gets hishands on another supplemental powersource, he could be quite nasty.

HISTORYSilas King was born with latent mutant

powers that might have remained dor-mant if he had not been exposed to pro-longed solar radiation. A former smugglerof illicit narcotics, King was making one ofhis frequent runs from Los Angeles toNew York City when his van broke downin the Mojave Desert. King spent severaldays in the desert trying to make his wayback to civilization, marginally survivingon cactus pulp. The several days� exposureto the desert sun catalyzed the latentmutation within his body that enabledcertain of his cells to store solar energy.When King eventually reached civilizationhe was immediately hospitalized for sun-stroke and dehydration. While recovering,he accidentally discovered he could dis-charge the solar energy he had stored asheat blasts.

After recuperating, King made his wayto New York City to take up a criminalcareer. He named himself �Solarr� andinitially used his superhuman powers torob banks. His criminal career broughthim into partnership with Klaw and mem-bership in the Emissaries of Evil, led bythe criminal mastermind Egghead. How-ever, Solarr repeatedly met defeat at thehands of such crimefighters as the Aveng-ers, Captain America, Spider-Man, and theThing. Eventually, the captured Solarr wasimprisoned at the Project: Pegasus com-plex, a federal energy research center, inNew York State. There his ability to storeand discharge solar energy was studied byProject scientists.

Another captive and subject for study atthe Project was Bres, a member of thesuperhuman other dimensional raceknown as the Fomor. Bres was held pow-erless by electromagnetic shackles thatwere fed a continual stream of chargedparticles that somehow neutralized hisability to employ his magical powers. As aresult of a series of power failures at thecomplex, the flow of particles was inter-rupted long enough for Bres to stop italtogether without any Project personnelbecoming aware that he had done so. Bresthen secretly used his powers to try andtake control of the minds of various per-sons at the complex by giving them mentalvisions in which each was forced to con-front the evil side of his personality. Oneof Bres� victims, a guard named HarryWinslow, suffered heart failure as a resultof his vision. Bres animated Winslow�scorpse from afar to use it to commit mur-ders at the complex.

To add to the confusion at the Project,Bres used his magical powers to free So-larr from his cell. Solarr hated Winslow,and upon finding his unmoving corpse,incinerated it using his powers. But thenthe charred corpse rose, animated by Bres�magic. Solarr fled in panic but could notescape the walking corpse that caught upwith him and killed him. The costumedcrimefighter Iron Fist soon defeated Bres,who was once again rendered powerlessby the electromagnetic shackles.Winslow�s corpse was safely buried.

Those of you who have purchased MU6have noticed by now that Moon Knight�supdated statistics are not included, as theback covers claims. Marc Spector wasbumped from MU6 at the last minute, toolate to change the back cover. You can findstatistics on Moon Knight in MU3. All youneed to note is that he no longer possessesthe Power Boost ability, and he no longer

has anything to do with Khonshu or hisparaphernalia, but his Health is the sameas listed and his current primary weaponis nunchakus. Current statistics for MoonKnight do appear in MLA2 Night Moves,by Anthony Herring.MARVEL SUPER HEROES is a trademark of the MarvelEntertainment Group, Inc. All Marvel characters, names, andthe distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of theMarvel Entertainment Group, Inc. ©1990 MarvelEntertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

™

DRAGON 73

MAKINGMAKINGLAWLAWOUT OFOUT OFCHAOSCHAOS

Since the AD&D® game was introduced, �Note that alignment does not necessar-there has been no end to the controversy ily dictate religious persuasion . . . Theover alignment. It seems that many play- overall behavior of the character (or crea-ers and DMs don't know how the align- ture) is delineated by alignment, or, in thement classifications in the various AD&D case of player characters, behavior deter-

1st Edition volumes should affect a charac- mines actual alignment. . . . alignmentter�s style of play. Granted, the rulebooks� describes the world view of creatures anddescriptions are somewhat vague and lack helps to define what their actions, reac-detail, but numerous articles, editorials, tions, and purposes will be. . . . and align-and letters in DRAGON® Magazine have ment also aids players in the definitionaddressed the problem. and role approach of their respective

The result of this confusion is that manyplayers ignore this aspect of the gamebecause they aren�t sure what constitutesproper behavior regarding their charac-ters alignments. But a good role-playershould make the alignment system anindispensable (not to mention that dreadedword �official�) part of the AD&D game.This article can help make the alignmentsystem more understandable and playable.

In order to introduce the material of thisarticle, let�s see what the Dungeon MastersGuide (page 23) has to say on the matter ofalignment:

game personae.�Up to now, what has been written be-

fore on the subject seems to indicate thatmost players and DMs suppose the align-ment system to be a set of moral or ethicalcodes to which a PC or NPC should striveto adhere. The inherent flaw in this kindof assumption is that �morality� and �eth-ics� are completely subjective matters. Forevery person who considers himself moraland ethical, there is someone who thinksthat same person is a scandalous brute.

Admittedly this is a generalization, butthe point is that each player or DM willview law, good, evil, and chaos differently.Conflicts are inevitable if a player feels heis being true to his character�s alignmentwhen others don't see it that way.

So what is good or evil? What constituteschaotic or lawful behavior in a playercharacter?Redefining the

AD&D® 1st Editiongame's alignmentsystem

by J.R. Renaud

74 NOVEMBER 1990

Why have alignments?Perhaps the best place to begin this topic

is in a rather touchy area. Here we willdefine the age-old differences betweengood and evil, law and chaos�the forcesof light and darkness, order anddisorder�and the reasons for the exist-ence of these forces (and that of neutral-ity) in the AD&D game.

Good, evil, law, and chaos exist as uni-versal balancing forces. Without all four,neutrality would not exist, humans anddemihumans could not make moral andethical choices. Without opposing forces,there would be no measure by whichvirtue and sin could be rewarded oratoned for in the afterlife.

But the multiverse is neither good norevil, ordered nor chaotic. The choices ofits intelligent creatures, both mortal andimmortal, create the circumstances of lifeon any given plane, world, or specificsociety. And, since the majority of AD&Dgame societies have already manifested aworld view of good, PCs and NPCs will beunder severe constraints and biases whenthey attempt to define their own good.Nonetheless, many will choose to scorngood or at least think of it as irrelevantwhen they seek places in the social order.

But such conflict is, after all, whatmakes the AD&D game interesting andviable. Without conflict between good andevil, or law and chaos, what would be thepoint of adventuring?

So what is good in terms of characters�(and orcs�) behavior? In our world, a defi-nition of the word �good� may be found inany dictionary. If a player applies thesynonyms, he can�t go too far wrong. A�good� act may be said to be any of these:virtuous, honest, decent, kind, caring,forgiving, benevolent, generous, sympa-thetic, considerate. On page 23 of theDMG, it says that �the tenets of goodare. . . creature rights. Each creature isentitled to life, relative freedom, and theprospect of happiness.�

An evil act, on the other hand, might bedefined as the absence of good, or an actdescribed by antonyms of any of theabove adjectives (e.g., wicked, dishonest,indecent, unkind, uncaring, unforgiving,harmful, injurious, unsympathetic, incon-siderate). The DMG goes on to say that evil�does not concern itself with rights orhappiness; purpose is the determinant.�

In a lawful society, the ideals will likelybe order, harmony, structure, regulation,conformity, justice, sociability, reliability,loyalty (to the group over the individual),and trustworthiness. Again, the DMG (page 23) makes it clear that law �dictatesthat order and organization is [sic] neces-sary and desirable,� and �generally sup-ports the group as more important thanthe individual.�

A chaotic character, on the other hand,would likely prefer to be disordered,inharmonious, unstructured, unregulated, nonconforming, unjust, unsociable, unreli-able, loyal to none but himself, and un-

trustworthy. It might be guessed that aschaos is the opposite of law, the DMGimplies that chaotic characters promotedisorder and individuality above all else.

But now we come to a more difficultarea: What is �neutrality�? Generally, aneutrally-aligned character is the proverbialfence-sitter in some regard, walking thefine line between at least two of the fourother alignments. It might perhaps be ofgreatest benefit to take the definition of aneutral character straight from Webster�sNew World Dictionary of the AmericanLanguage, Second College Edition, as �be-longing to [no] extreme . . . withoutstrongly marked characteristics; indefinite,indifferent, middling, etc.� In addition, inthe DMG (page 23), the following may befound: �[Other creatures] may be more orless important, but the neutral does notconcern himself or herself with these con-siderations except where it is positivelydetermined that the balance is threatened.�

The neutral character, when faced witha choice between acting in one of severaldifferent ways, should choose the pathclosest to the center of neutrality. Alawful-neutral PC, for example, might facea choice between being either forgiving(good) or unforgiving (evil) in a given situa-tion; he�ll rarely be concerned aboutwhether or not to be sociable (lawful)since he already does that. When forcedinto an �extreme� action or reaction, theneutral character�s ultimate decision mustbe consistent with any non-neutral part ofhis alignment and with the perceivedcircumstances. He must seek (first, last,and always) to promote his alignment�sideals, then to �preserve the balance.�

Readers may have noted that severaladjectives that could have been includedabove were not, such as ethical/unethical,worthy/unworthy, exemplary/unexem-plary, etc. These terms could apply to anyalignment; both good and evil PCs may, forinstance, be �exemplary� in their behav-iors and attitudes. Of course, DMs andplayers still have leeway in adding theirown ideas to the descriptive lists herein.

Alignments as traitsUsing the preceding definitions as a

place to start, the cure for most of theapparent confusion is to view the align-ment headings as subjective, moral labelsstanding for a combination of characteris-tic traits. Naturally, not all characters willdisplay the exact same traits to a like de-gree as do others of their alignment, andthis (along with the fact that each PC willhave many different habits, characteris-tics, idiosyncrasies, etc.) ensures that nocharacter will ever be forced to act in thesame manner as another of his alignment.

With this in mind, below are listed aseries of personality traits that I feel arecommon and indigenous to each particularalignment. An attempt has also been madeto relate this material to the passagesunder each of the alignment headings asfound in the AD&D 1st Edition DMG

(pages 23-24) and the AD&D 1st EditionPlayers Handbook (pages 33-34) in regardsto the personality traits assigned them.Lastly, the value that should be put on lifeis suggested for each adherent.

Lawful good: Friendly, courteous,sensitive to the feelings of others, scrupu-lous, honorable, trustworthy, reliable,helpful, loyal, respectful of �life, love, andthe pursuit of happiness.�

As it states in the Players Handbook,lawful-good characters are group andorder oriented, and will cooperate withauthority in all cases to promote �thecommon weal.� Yet the DMG implies thatnot all lawful-good beings view the cosmoswith an equal desire for lawfulness andgoodness, so there is no such thing as aperfectly balanced �lawful-good� attitude(nor a perfectly balanced attitude for anyother alignment, for that matter).

In general, however, a lawful-good char-acter promotes the ideals and rights of themajority over those of the individual (andthis includes himself as well as others) andupholds the rights of the weak and op-pressed members of society, who shouldbe allowed to reap society�s benefits withequanimity. The lawful-good being feelsthis is the best way that all members ofsociety can enjoy the rights of existencetogether. Life is important to the lawful-good being, but life is not exclusive oforder, and vice versa.

Lawful neutral: Reliable, responsible,truthful, orderly, loyal, respectful of au-thority, regular, structured, rigid, neat,methodical, precise.

The lawful-neutral being normally seeslaw and order as of prime importance,with the well-being of the group put aheadof the individual on almost every occasion.The Players Handbook description showsthat such persons see good and evil asimmaterial and unimportant in the struc-turing of the universe into perfect orderand harmony, in which lies society�s onlyhope for survival. The DMG (page 23) goesfurther to say that �whether a law is goodor evil is of no import as long as it bringsorder and meaning.�

Thus personal gratification of needs anddesires is well and fine, as long as thisdoesn�t interfere with the ultimate order-ing of the cosmos; all other considerationsare secondary. Life, to the lawful-neutralbeing, has no meaning without order, andthus it�s expendable when faced with thechoice between it and harmony.

Lawful evil: Cruel, vengeful, proud,callous, hostile, taciturn, malevolent, calcu-lating, plotting, merciless, domineering,severe, tyrannical, commanding, orga-nized, respectful of authority and power.

To paraphrase both the Players Handbookand the DMG in regards to the lawful-evilbeing, this character seeks to increase hispower over others within the hierarchy ofthe universe, the �strongest first and theweakest last.� Naturally, most adherents ofthis alignment wish to be first.

Like the other two lawful alignments,

DRAGON 75

the lawful-evil being normally holds thatstrict order is of utmost importance, buthe sees it as necessary to further the endsof the deserving strong over the undeserv-ing weak and worthless. Usually it is thatbeing�s own ends that are to be promotedabove all others, but he respects the willof the group and the power and authorityof those above him�unless he believes thelatter are not deserving of that position.

A lawful-evil being is seldom subject tothe secular laws of good society in general,as he sees those laws as restrictive andunfair because they deny the worthy theirproper place. So-called �good� is seen as ameans by which the undeserving are givenor kept in positions of power, whereaseach person should be allotted his place byhis leaders according to personal merit.Life is valueless to the lawful-evil charac-ter; those too weak to defend their posses-sions and positions don�t deserve to havethem in the first place.

Chaotic good: Unpredictable, indepen-dent, free spirited, cheerful, optimistic,easy going, carefree, helpful, kind, merci-ful, respectful of personal liberties,anarchic.

As indicated in the Character AlignmentGraph on page 119 of the Players Hand-book, the chaotic-good character has a�beatific� attitude toward existence. In thischaracter�s opinion, any laws, social struc-tures, or other such hierarchies that re-strict his freedom are abhorrent and to bedone away with. The inviolable right ofthe individual to seek his own pleasures isone of the cornerstones of society; but,being good, the chaotic-good being will nottread on others to get his own way, for hefeels that every other creature has theright to the pursuit of pleasure as well.

Friends of a chaotic-good character willfind him unreliable in the clutch only if heputs his own well-being ahead of that ofhis companions. Obviously, almost every-one has this tendency, but it is left up tothis individual whether or not he values afriendship enough to risk self sacrifice.(DMs should see if such a being�s actionsjeopardize the lives of other persons orcreatures unnecessarily.) Life is valuable,but without sufficient personal freedom itis demeaned. Life and freedom are thefoundation of the universe.

Chaotic neutral: Unreliable, indepen-dent, greedy, inconsistent, unpredictable,selfish, disorderly, anarchic, self centered,confusing, unfettered, free, egotistic.

In direct opposition to the lawful-neutralbeing, this character views ultimate free-dom and disorder as most desirable. ThePlayers Handbook states that he sees goodand evil in a secondary role, and neithershould be allowed to interfere with purechaos. The DMG (page 24) says: �Whetherthe individual . . . chooses to do good orevil is of no concern.�

Violence is not a chaotic-neutral trait,but adherents will often not hesitate to useintimidation and nonlethal violence toachieve their goals. These characters will

76 NOVEMBER 1990

almost always seek some selfish goal (suchas acquiring wealth) in addition to thepromotion of universal disorder, and arethus seen as �greedy� by others. Naturally,the chaotic-neutral being won�t see this asgreed, but rather as �self-fulfillment.�

Thus, respect for others does not standin the way of the pursuit of individuality.Since death is inevitable anyway, thechaotic-neutral being isn�t averse to speed-ing certain creatures on their ways if it�sdeemed necessary, although he won�t goout of his way to inflict pain and sufferinglike an evil being would (�. . . life can onlybe justified as a tool by which order iscombatted. . . �: DMG, page 24).

Chaotic evil: Violent, cruel, capricious,malicious, untrustworthy, unreliable,heartless, volatile, inconsistent, uncaring,unfeeling, deceitful, discourteous, selfish.

The paragraph allotted to this alignmentin the Players Handbook might be con-densed to read, �The chaotic-evil beingseeks personal freedom at the expense ofthose who aren�t smart, capable, or ruth-less enough to get what they want.� Takingit a step further with the DMG, if whatthis being wants will come only at theprice of the freedom and happiness (not tomention the lives) of others, so be it(� . . . other individuals and their freedomsare unimportant if they [freedoms] cannotbe held . . . through their [the individuals�]own strength and merit.�).

All else being equal, the chaotic-evilbeing is perhaps the most dangerous char-acter of all, because one rarely knows howhe might react to a given encounter. Forreasons often known only to himself, hecould ignore some situations, then sud-denly explode in apparently identical ones,His behavior patterns are almost impos-sible to predict, for he has probablylearned to curb and control his penchantfor �evil� due to the constraints of civiliza-tion. A chaotic-evil being is not expected togo about insanely slaughtering and tortur-ing everyone he meets, for he isn�t usuallystupid. He will realize the consequences ofsuch activities and will participate in suchpleasurable distractions only when safefrom discovery. To a chaotic-evil being, thelives of others have no value and are inci-dental in the pursuit of ultimate freedomand personal power.

Neutral good: Self reliant, helpful,courteous, kind, respectful, sensitive,friendly, loving, merciful, gracious, hu-mane, altruistic, giving, respectful andprotective of life.

We can begin with a neutral-good being�sviews on life, for the Players Handbookimplies this character will most likely holdlife as the most important factor. To aneutral-good being, life and the assuranceof other creatures� rights take precedenceover all else. (This is not to say that thischaracter will have an aversion to takinganother�s life when faced with a choicebetween an attacker�s and his own.) Also,�law and chaos are merely tools to use inbringing life, prosperity, and happiness to

all deserving creatures� (DMG, page 23).Neither numbers nor individual concernshave any bearing on decisions regardingthe needs and rights of any given crea-ture. In other words, in the view of aneutral-good being, rarely will either theneeds of the many or the personal desiresof an individual outweigh the needs of anyother creature. All life is given even-handed treatment.

As with all nonchaotic or nonlawfulalignments, the key to these adherents�personalities is �self-reliant.� In the crunch,neutral-good characters trust in them-selves and in no other individual or group.This doesn�t mean they can�t make friendsand develop trusting relationships withothers, however. Neutral-good beingsaren�t normally as independent as chaotic-good beings, and they can cooperate ingroups. But they won�t always trust agroup to be more effective than they couldbe themselves.

Neutral: Diplomatic, judgmental, enig-matic, aloof, distant, self-reliant, media-tory, even handed, fair, indifferent,impartial.

A true neutrals outlook, according tothe Players Handbook and DMG, is thatlaw, chaos, good, and evil are all necessaryforces in the universe. But all are of equalimport, and none should be allowed totake precedence over another, unless andimbalance should be perceived�in whichcase corrective steps must be taken untilthe balance is righted once again.

Hence, the motives of the neutral PC areperhaps the most difficult for any otheralignment to fathom, for a neutral willusually act first to preserve the balance,second if he deems it his business, andthird if it is in his own best interests.

For these reasons, being nature�s media-tors, true-neutral characters should bediplomatic and tactful, but they may alsocome across as being strange and enig-matic until one gets to know them andtheir �world view� better. This is becausetrue neutrals look far beyond the immedi-ate situation to the overall balance of thecosmos.

Most true-neutral characters will,throughout their lives, tend more or lesstoward one of the other alignments, de-pendent upon their perception of the stateof the world and what force should bebalanced (see the Legends & Lore tomefor examples of this behavior in deities).Such a �deviation� should be excused bythe DM until there exists a situation inwhich a neutral character refuses to rec-ognize and modify his actions in accord-ance with the new balance. For example,once the strong evil forces in an area havebeen conquered, the neutral charactershould stop acting �good.� In, addition, thisattitude of balance will ordinarily be re-flected in a true neutral�s choice of adven-turing companions and should thus bedemonstrated with reasonable consistency.

As all things in the cosmos are equallyimportant and necessary, life is as valuable

DRAGON 77

as death to the true neutral being, becauselife is inevitably followed by death. In thischaracter�s view, one�s time will comewhen it is supposed to come, and nosooner or later.

Neutral evil: Unfeeling, uncaring,insensitive, unkind, uncooperative (unlessit suits him), self reliant, wicked, cruel,depraved, corrupt, immoral, hateful, vi-cious, destructive.

In the case of the neutral-evil being, thePlayers Handbook and DMG both statethat law and chaos are beneath consider-ation in this character�s quest for pure evilin the universe. At the root of this charac-ter�s personality is the word �wicked.� Evilis his goal; natural and man-made forces, ifallowed to take their course, weed out theweak and useless in society. The deservingshould take advantage of this condition tofurther their own goals by any meanspossible, especially to destroy weaklingswho put forward �good� actions to pro-mote the well being of all, which is just anexcuse used to deny the deserving theirdue. To the neutral-evil being, life is of novalue, for those who cannot take advan-tage of their superiority don�t deserve it,and they�ll only interfere with the rightfulpursuits of those who do.

The (first) last wordAs usual, the DM must be the final arbi-

ter in regards to what constitutes properalignment behavior, but two cautionsshould be mentioned. The first is simple:Be consistent. Nothing frustrates playersmore than to act in one fashion one ormore times with no repercussions at all,then suddenly have the DM give an align-ment warning or, worse, abruptly changea character�s alignment in a similar situa-tion. The second caution is that forcingcharacters into involuntary actions treadson a player�s sacred ground, and DMsshould proceed lightly to avoid outragingtheir players due to perceived vindictive-ness or desire to control the proceedings.No character should be obliged, merelybecause of alignment, to act in a rashmanner that would endanger himself, his

friends, or other innocents, except in rarecases as adjudicated by the DM.

One of the very few instances in which aDM might condone interference in a PC�slife might be in a critical situation thatcould possibly upset game or campaignbalance. The DM could say �That would becontrary to your alignment,� or, �To dootherwise would be wrong.� Normally,however, he should allow the PC to dowhatever he wishes, then rule on theconsequences of the PC�s actions.

Religious beliefs and constraints alsotake precedence over all other behavior. Inany encounter involving a particularlydangerous person or group, a character�ssacrifice of himself may be expected (per-haps by his peers, but most especially byhis deity) and hence would be seen as �theultimate sacrifice� (i.e., matyrdom) for thereligious cause. It might be a good idea forthe DM to give such characters a break byhaving their gods raise them or make anyother equitable recompense for such agesture. Take care not to allow PCs to actrashly in the belief that their patrons willrescue them for being so �exemplary.� Agod shouldn�t save everyone, but a godmay feel it�s in his own interests to putsuch a faithful adherent back to workamong mortals as an example to others.Such rewards depend on the faithfulnessof a character to his alignment; if an evilcreature was to sacrifice himself for an-other�s well being, his evil deity mightsimply write him off as a particularly badexample of evil. In all such cases, the de-scription of the particular religion or godshould spell out any such behavior ex-pected by a patron deity.

Additionally, specific actions may berequired of a good-aligned character that inany other context could be seen as evil acts.Take, for instance, the common practice ofputting down suffering animals; death, tomany (even �good� people), is usually pref-erable to allowing a beast to suffer. Buthow far is this to be taken? Would themercy killing of a human, demihuman, orhumanoid be seen as an act of decency and�goodness�? Maybe, but not very often.

Because the circumstances of such asituation will vary a great deal, no hard-

Consider the ethical problems with eutha-

and-fast ruling can be given on this matter,

nasia in today�s world, for example.

especially not within the scope of thisarticle. Such decisions must be left entirelyto the DM�s own consideration of thevariables and extenuating factors.

The only other instance in which a DMmight interfere with the role-playing of acharacter�s alignment would be to make aruling that a given character doesn�t havethe necessary wisdom to foresee the con-sequences of his actions if they happen tobe consistent with his alignment but con-trary to better judgment. Thus a charactermay perform seeming foolish or recklessacts that agree with his alignment butmight cause trouble later, such as having alawful-good being question and arresteveryone who registers as �evil� with adetect alignment spell, or having a chaotic-evil being kill everyone he meets.

The (final) last wordsNot all traits listed under a particular

heading or ethos are equally applicable toevery character of that alignment. As oneexample, the degree of generosity in alawful-good character can vary greatly,depending upon certain factors such asthe character�s own means. But out-and-out stinginess shouldn�t be a lawful-goodtrait by anyone�s reckoning. As anotherexample, a chaotic-neutral character mightcare not a whit for monetary gain (surelysome kind of deviant recidivist), but hemust be motivated by something, be itonly the simple pleasures of dungeon-trashing and monster-bashing (watchingthe evil element, of course). As a finalexample, a neutral-evil being may findpointless torture and suffering distasteful,or at best be indifferent toward it (anotherhopeless aberration, to be sure).

Lastly, it must always be kept in mindthat, when dealing with human or demi-human foibles and imperfections, there isno such thing as pure �goodness� or �bad-ness.� A reasonable DM should see nothingwrong with, say, a paladin having a badday wherein he snaps at everybody, kickshis dog for soiling his favorite suit of ar-mor, or even loses his temper and yells ata persistent beggar. And the world isn�tlikely to end if a chaotic-evil thief helps anold lady across the street without there-after mugging her, or gives a copper to ablind man.

After all, nobody�s perfect.

Out of Supplies?

Write for a free catalog from theMail Order Hobby Shop, c/o TSR,Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI53147 U.S.A.

78 NOVEMBER 1990

ProfessionalMonsters

Give semihumans and humanoids some class in yourAD&D® 1st Edition game

by Matthew Schutt

Because of the presence of humanoidand giant shamans and witch doctors inthe AD&D® game, it seems feasible toallow humanoids and semihumans theability to study and train in other profes-sions. This provides the DM an opportu-nity to add surprising elements toall-too-familiar creature encounters. Suchcharacters should be used only as NPCs;this article does not allow players agreater range from which to pick theirraces (see �Hey, Wanna Be a Kobold?� inDRAGON® issue #141 for humanoid PCraces and classes). The following examplesare the centaur cavalier, the orc barbar-ian, and the lizard-man druid. Similarclasses may be designed for goblins, ogres,satyrs, and related races, as appropriate toyour campaign.

Centaur cavalierThe fealty of a centaur cavalier is given

to his herd, specifically to the ruler of hisherd. Like a human cavalier, the centaurcavalier (also called a peer) must keephonor, bravery, and a chivalricmost important guides. A peer

code as hismust pro-

tect his herd from outside-dangers andkeep harmony within the herd itself. Peersare the centaurs� law enforcers and makeup the officers and the elite corps of themilitia. Note that only the more advancedand intelligent centaur populations areable to support peers.

Centaur cavaliers come from prestigiousbloodlines and hold very high social statusin centaur societies. With this prestigecomes responsibility. Peers must showextreme expertise in the arts of warfareand must display style and grace.

Peers are always lawful good. They usethe attack and saving-throw tables appro-priate to their hit dice (not levels), and theexperience-point tables (with modifica-tions) of cavaliers. A peer starts with 4 HDat 1st level; for every odd-numbered levelgained above the 1st, up to his maximumlevel of 7th, the centaur cavalier adds 1HD (reaching 7 HD at 7th level).

80 NOVEMBER 1990

Peers may use any weapon found incentaur culture, but they prefer profi-ciency in the following weapons: footman�smace or footman�s flail, dagger, club orhammer, short composite bow, and me-dium lance. These cavaliers also gain to-hitbonuses with these weapons of choice aslevels are advanced:

-At 1st level, the peer is +1 to hit withthe medium lance.

-At 2nd level, the peer is +1 to hit witheither the club or hammer.

-At 3rd level, the peer is +1 to hit witheither the mace or flail.

-At 4th level, the peer is +2 to hit withthe medium lance.

-At 5th level, the peer is +2 to hit witheither the club or hammer (the same aswas chosen at 2nd level).

-At 6th level, the peer is +2 to hit witheither the footman�s mace or footman�sflail (the same as was chosen at 3rd level).

-At 7th level, the peer is +3 to hit withthe medium lance.

This to-hit bonus does not apply to dam-age, and it does not allow the peer tostrike monsters hit only by magical weap-ons. Weapons proficiencies are gained asper normal cavaliers. Peers have as manyattacks per round as normal centaurs. Adamage bonus of +1 hp per level is gainedwhen the centaur peer uses a mediumlance in a charge. They never use oil orpoison, but magical devices will be used ifappropriate.

The peer shares other abilities commonto normal cavaliers described in Un-earthed Arcana, pages 14-16: the ability toparry, an immunity to fear, a protectionfrom fear aura of 10� radius (that affectsonly allied centaurs), a 90% immunity toall magical or magiclike powers that affectthe mind, saving throws at +2 versusillusions, and the ability to function atnegative hit points. Of course, peers havenothing to do with armor or mounts,though they will use shields of all sizes.

The centaur cavalier shows rank withfeathers and trinkets fixed in his tail,

Artwork by Tom Baxa

which is groomed continually to appearregal and commanding. This cavalier fol-lows a code of conduct and ethics, but it ismuch narrower compared to the otherchivalric versions. The peer�s life is alsofull of glory, honor, bravery, pride, andunbridled courtesy, but only within cen-taur society. The peer gives no service noroffers any respect to noncentaurs, be theymore powerful or not. The peer considersany such individuals to be possible dan-gers or, at best, facts of nature and cir-cumstance to be studied and possibly dealtwith (e.g., orcs or the weather).

[Articles on centaurs as PCs include:“The Centaur Papers,” in issue #103, and“The Rest of the Papers,” in issue #105.]

Orc barbarianJust as the cavalier is the most elite of

the centaurs, the barbarian (or vandal) isthe most honored among orcs. Vandals donot, however, hold any protective respon-sibility toward the rest of the orcish com-munity; these creatures are the rulingclass. Orc barbarians train themselves,which ensures that only the strongestattain this �prestigious� profession.

Vandals are always neutral evil or cha-otic evil. They use the attack and saving-throw tables of fighters, and theexperience-point table (with modifications)of barbarians (see Unearthed Arcana,pages 18-21). A vandal�s maximum level is8th. Being the toughest of all in an orcclan, a vandal gains bonuses to hit anddamage based on his strength, which isalways 18 (roll 1d100 for percentile value,from 18/01 to 18/00). He also gains anadditional +1 to hit and damage for everyother level of experience gained (i.e., +1at 3rd level, +2 at 5th level, and +3 at 7thlevel). Vandals do not gain bonuses to theirarmor classes based on dexterity, as hu-man barbarians do. Orc barbarians startwith 1 HD at 1st level, and gain an addi-tional hit die (1d8) for every level abovethe first.

The weapon proficiency list of a vandaldepends upon what is available to orcs ofhis tribe, though any sort of weapon ispossible. He may use any armor or shield,and he may freely use oil or poison incombat. A vandal may make one hand-to-hand attack per round.

Orc barbarians also hate magic and willdestroy magical items and spell-casters ifsuch are recognized. Vandals never associ-ate with mages or clerics, no matter thebarbarian�s level. Shamans and witchdoctors are not allowed in a tribe ruled bya vandal, which makes the irreligious andvulgar vandals very unpopular with orcishgods. Of course, it is possible for an orcbarbarian to use a magical weapon unwit-tingly, if he finds that it works well incombat and is not obviously magical (like aflame tongue or a speaking sword).

Of the other barbarian powers, thevandal does not have the natural ability tostrike creatures normally requiring amagical weapon to strike, but he does

Lizard-man druidThe dire erudite derives much use from

the wilderness in aiding its tribe, helpingthe clan survive efficiently with little ad-verse effect on local wildlife. The lizard-man druid avoids metallic objects such asarmor, weapons, and tools as much aspossible, such as the scimitar and thekhopesh sword. Armor is not used, thoughshields may be employed. Oil and poisonare not used in combat.

The dire erudite is always neutral inalignment. This class uses the normalcombat and saving-throw tables of clericsof equal level, and it uses the experience-point table of the druid (with modifica-tions). A dire erudite starts out with 1 HD,gaining 1-4 hp per level after the first. Likenormal druids, this version gains addi-tional powers at the 3rd and 7th level.Note that in using the shape change abilitygained at 7th level (maximum level), thedire erudite will transform into animalsnative to its environment, like frogs,snakes, and alligators. These druids, how-ever, do not gain additional languages orreceive saving-throw bonuses against fireand lightning.

Spells usable by dire erudites are listedin the Lizard-Man Druid Spell Table.

have all the saving-throw bonuses uniqueto barbarians. Orc members of this classalso have all other primary and secondaryabilities common to barbarians. Note thatthe primary ability of leadership works onall orcs, not just other barbarians. Thelocale of the tribe dictates the use of thebarbarian�s secondary skills and deter-mines the number and type of tertiaryabilities the vandal has. A vandal can alsoassemble a barbarian horde of orcs just ascan the barbarian upon reaching the 8thlevel.

Vandals are usually found only amongorcs living in especially harsh environ-

1st LevelAnimal friendshipDetect balanceDetect magicDetect poisonDetect snares & pitsEntangleLocate animalsSpeak with animals

ments. Their tribes are primitive andbrutal in the extreme, even for orcs. Ameeting between an orc tribe ruled by avandal and one ruled by a normal chiefalways leads to an immediate fight to thedeath between both sides.

Lizard-Man Druid Spell Table

2nd Level 3rd LevelCreate water Cure diseaseCure light wounds Hold animalFeign death Know alignmentLocate plants Neutralize poisonObscurement Plant growthSlow poison SnareTrip Spike growthWarp wood Summon insects

4th LevelAnimal summoning ICure serious woundsDispel magicHold plantRepel insectsSpeak with plants

DRAGON 81

Spell Weaver

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: AnyFREQUENCY: Very rareORGANIZATION: SolitaryACTIVITY CYCLE: AnyDIET: HerbivoreINTELLIGENCE: Genius (17-18)TREASURE TYPE: Magical items (see text)ALIGNMENT: NeutralNO. APPEARING: 1 (2-5 if on raid)ARMOR CLASS: 2MOVEMENT: 12HIT DICE: 10THAC0: 11NO. OF ATTACKS: Variable (spells)DAMAGE/ATTACK: As per wizard spellsSPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise bonus when

invisibleSPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to effects of

pain and to psionic and fear-basedattacks; planar impenetrability; innatespell powers (detect magic and detectinvisibility); invisibility at will

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%SIZE: M (5’ tall)MORALE: Champion (16)XP VALUE: 10,000

Spell weavers are nonhuman spell-casters of great power, originating from analternate Prime Material plane. Onlyvaguely humanoid in appearance, theyhave a combination of mammalian, reptil-ian, and insectoid features. Aloof andinscrutable, spell weavers are generallyregarded as intelligent, if bizarre. Al-though the race usually expresses littleinterest in humanity, a history of destruc-tive encounters has earned them man-kinds fearful respect.

Spell weavers are totally silent, usingtelepathy (10-mile radius) to communicateamong themselves. Humans find thattelepathic communication with spell weav-ers is extremely difficult and even danger-ous, resulting in temporary insanity forany individual who attempts ESP or tele-pathic rapport and fails a save vs. spells(wisdom bonuses apply; insanity lasts 1d6days, with effects as per the mage spell,confusion). Spell weavers have left writtenmessages for humans, but such messagesare often cryptic and confusing. Infre-quent alliances with humans in order toacquire magical devices have been re-ported, however.

Spell weavers possess a keen interest inmagical items and phenomena of all kinds.A group will organize to steal a uniquemagical device in a commando-like raid ofhellish ferocity, invisibly bypassing outerguards to appear near the item itself. Thegroup will destroy or incapacitate theguards, then seize the item and escape.Spell, weavers automatically detect magicand detect invisibility in a 100� radius.Each can plane shift once per day, shiftingonly from its home plane to an alternateone or back again (the latter usually at theend of a raid).

Spell weavers are solitary creatures,

82 NOVEMBER 1990

though it is possible to meet more thanone if they are on a raid. They reproducethrough a magical fissioning process thatresults in two identical spell weavers ofhalf the size and strength of the original. Itwould appear they have no control overthis process, as they have been known todivide even during crisis situations (1%chance per meeting of this occurring;process takes 5-10 rounds, during whichtime the individual makes no attacks). Aspell weaver is immune to fear, includingall magical fear-based attacks, though theywill retreat if common sense so dictates.Their peculiar decentralized nervoussystems render them resistant to pain andto all psionic attacks.

All spell weaver activities appear to beconfined to the Prime Material planes.Each spell weaver can create a region ofplanar impenetrability around itself (200�radius) once per day for 10 rounds. Allscrying attempts and planar travel into,out of, or through this area, whether byspell, artifact, psionics, or intrinsic ability,result in failure. This ability requires noexpenditure of energy on the part of thespell weaver, although this effect will notbe activated in a round in which the spellweaver has been surprised. The activationof this planar shield takes a full round ofconcentration during which the spellweaver cannot cast any spells.

Each spell weaver possesses a fixedassortment of spells that it casts solelythrough the use of complex arm and handgestures, using no verbal or material com-ponents; the casting time for such spells isthe same as for humans. Some of thesespells are previously unknown to human-ity, but usually they are mage spells of upto the 6th level (cast at the 12th level ofability). The segmented brain of a spellweaver supports magical multitasking,allowing it to cast multiple spells simulta-neously. To cast a spell, a spell weaver usesas many arms as the spell has levels; thusa single creature could cast a fourth-levelspell using four arms, while simultane-ously casting a second-level spell with itsother two arms. Spell weavers use thisability whenever they face multiple attack-ers. A spell weaver may cast two or moreidentical spells simultaneously (two fire-balls, for example).

A spell weaver has a number of �spellpoints� (one point for each spell level, afirst-level spell being equal to one, a second-level spell equal to two, etc.) equal to its hitpoints. It can use each spell in its arsenalany number of times within the limits of itsspell-point total. Thus, a spell weaver with43 hp can cast a number of spells each dayadding up to 43 spell points. Spells areselected at the time of casting.

Spell weavers have the unsettling habitof lying dormant and invisible for monthsin various areas of magical interest (magi-cal temples, castles, portals, dungeons,etc.), becoming active only if detected.When encountered in this fashion, theyare generally murderous and implacable.

They always carry magical items (1-2 percreature); one item is always of the con-ventional sort (random roll for type, nonecursed), and the additional item (if any) isa unique device that humans call the chro-matic disk, described later. Any magicalitem may be employed at the same time aspell weaver casts any spells, devoting oneor two arms (as necessary), to the effort.

Spell Selection Table:Offensive Spells

A chromatic disk is a 6� -diameter disk ofan unknown, indestructible substance; itglows with a bright light that slowly shiftsthrough the visible spectrum, becomingred, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,and violet in a matter of seconds. The diskis a vessel of magical power that spellweavers can tap, thus increasing theireffective spell-point total by a total of 10points. Each disk releases magical energyas it is used, allowing the spell weaver tocast more of its spells. The disk is con-sumed in the process, evaporating as itsenergy is exhausted. A spell weaver mayemploy a disk in combat, devoting onearm to holding the disk.

1d20 Spell (level)1-2 Magic missile (1)

3 Web (2)4 Ray of enfeeblement (2)5 Fireball (3)6 Hold person (3)7 Lightning bolt (3)8 Slow (3)9 Confusion (4)

10 Evard’s black tentacles (4)11 Fear (4)12 Ice storm (4)13 Cloudkill (5)14 Cone of cold (5)15 Conjure elemental (5)16 Chain lightning (6)17 Death spell (6)18 Disintegrate (6)19 Stone to flesh (6)20 Unique spell (DM�s creation) (1-6)

All recorded human attempts at employ-ing chromatic disks have resulted in explo-sive disaster (10d4 hp explosion in a 30�radius; material items must save vs. crush-ing blow). It is rumored that spell weaversuse arcane means of their own to createsuch disks by drawing the magic out ofenchanted items (such as swords, wands,or scrolls) that they have captured. Thisprocess permanently destroys the magical properties of the objects so used.

Spell Selection Table:Defensive Spells

Spell weavers make their lairs in a bewil-dering variety of locations, including un-derground, outdoors within giant mutatedtrees, on magical floating platforms dis-guised as clouds, etc. All spell-weaver lairscontain 1-8 unusual pillars, being 10�-tallstone or wood columns covered withmagical runes that are indecipherable tohumans. Stolen magical items are some-times (10%) found atop a pillar. Whileprolonged study of the runes on a columncan be mentally damaging (save vs. petrifi-cation once per round or be confused ford10 rounds), incidental viewing producesonly mild headaches. Touching the runesmay have unpredictable magical effects (atthe DM�s whimsy).

1d20 Spell (level)1 Armor (1)2 Feather fall (1)3 Shield (1)

4-6 Invisibility (2)7 Wizard lock (2)

8-12 Dispel magic (3)13 Protection from normal missiles (3)14 Fire shield (4)15 Polymorph self (4)16 Stoneskin (4)17 Wall of fire (4)18 Anti-magic shell (6)19 Globe of invulnerability (6)20 Unique spell (DM�s creation) (1-6)

Spell Selection Table:Utility Spells

The accompanying tables may be used togenerate a spell weaver�s bank of usablespells. A 1d4 roll is made on the SpellWeaver�s Spells table for each being; thenthe particular spells each spell weaver hasare generated using the Spell SelectionTables. A spell weaver can cast only thesespells and no others. Feel free to augmentthe lists and manipulate the results inorder to produce an interesting spellweaver.

1d20 Spell (level)1 Darkness, 15’ radius (2)

2-3 Levitate (2)4 Clairvoyance (3)5 Fly (3)6 Dimension door (4)7 Wizard eye (4)

8-10 Passwall (5)11-15 Teleport (5)

16 Wall of iron (5)17-18 Contingency (6)

19 Invisible stalker (6)20 Unique spell (DM�s creation) (1-6)

Spell Weaver�s Spells1d4 Spells

1 2 offensive, 2 defensive, 1 utility (maximum spell level 5)2 3 offensive, 3 defensive, 2 utility (maximum spell level 6)3 4 offensive, 4 defensive, 3 utility (maximum spell level 6)4 4 offensive, 4 defensive, 4 utility (maximum spell level 6)

DRAGON 83

NEW PRODUCTS FORNOVEMBER

Castles Box SetAD&D® boxed setby Jeff Grubb, David �Zeb� Cook, and

Bruce NesmithCastles stand for power in the worlds of the

AD&D® game, and castles for all three estab-lished TSR campaign settings (DRAGONLANCE®,GREYHAWK®, and the FORGOTTEN REALMS�)are included in this set. Each is detailed in itsown 48-page booklet plus full-color 3-D acces-sories, special BATTLESYSTEM� rules informa-tion, full-color posters, and suggested adven-tures. If you use castles in your campaign, don�tmiss this one!Suggested Retail Price: $24.95/£15.95Product No.: 1056

FR11 Dwarves DeepAD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS�

accessoryby Ed GreenwoodThis accessory outlines many new projects

and abilities that your FORGOTTEN REALMS�PC dwarves can learn. This material can be usedin any TSR fantasy role-playing game.Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.95Product No.: 9300

AD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS� moduleby Ed Greenwood

FA1 Halls of the High King

Evil lurks in the hearts of the marauders ofMoonshae! Viking lords are laying waste to whatwas once a peaceful island of magic. The en-chantments now wane, and water monsterslurk within this 64-page module. Don�t miss thisthrilling adventure from the creator of theRealms, Ed Greenwood.Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.95Product No.: 9301

WGA3 Flames of the FalconAD&D® GREYHAWK® moduleby Richard and Anne BrownAssaults on the City of Greyhawk by a venge-

ful cleric have terrified the citizens and causeda panicked exodus. If the cleric continues herplans, the city will become a ghost town, ripefor the picking by the cleric�s followers. Yourmission: Stop her! A 25-mm fold-up mansion isincluded, compatible with the Cities &Mysteryaccessory.Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.95Product No.: 9302

HWA1 NightwailD&D® HOLLOW WORLD� module

This is the first module based on the newHOLLOW WORLD� boxed set! In this adven-

by Allen Varney

ture, player characters discover the mightiestkingdom in the Hollow World. Details on thepowerful Azcan Empire are revealed within thisfirst installment of a three-part quest.Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.95Product No.: 9303

25CR2 Earth in the 25th CenturyXXVc� game accessoryby Dale �Slade� HensonTSR presents the latest sourcebook on the

solar system of the 25th Century. Earth . . . thebirthplace of mankind, and humanity�s lasthope. What lies within its mutant-infestedbarrens, its blighted urban sprawls, and itsbesieged arcologies? Pick this up, and find outfor yourself!Suggested Retail Price: $9.95/£6.50Product No.: 3567

Tanis, The Shadow YearsDRAGONLANCE® Preludes II Trilogy,

Volume Threeby Barbara & Scott SiegelTanis Half-Elven once disappeared in the

DRAGON 85

mountains near Solace. It is told that he re-turned changed, ennobled�and with a secret.The adventure begins with a dying wizard whoneeds Tanis� help.Suggested Retail Price: $4.95Product No.: 8333

BOOTHILL® Wild West GameThird edition RPGby Steve WinterThe Old West comes alive in this revision of a

TSR classic role-playing game! Range wars,Indians, sheepherders, and cowboys all come tolife again. This revision includes an all-new skillsystem. Take part in showdowns at high noon asyou role-play a character in the classic Ameri-can adventure setting: the Wild West!Suggested Retail Price: $20.00/£12.50Product No.: 7005

NEW PRODUCTS FORDECEMBER

FRA3 Blood ChargeAD&D® FORGOTTEN REALMS�

adventureby Troy DenningThis is the thrilling conclusion to the trilogy

of Horde modules! The climax of this conflictthreatens the whole of the Realms! This series isalso supported by The Horde boxed set and theEmpires trilogy of novels. You, and your PCs,don�t want to miss this!Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.95Product No.: 9304

LNA2 Nehwon ExileAD&D® 2nd Edition moduleby Blake Mobley

FORGOTTEN REALMS� Dark ElfTrilogy, Volume Two

TSR presents another in the LANKHMAR�series of adventures. In this adventure, yourPCs have been chosen to take part in a rareoccurrence: a magical scavenger hunt that onlytakes place once every 140 years. The objects ofthis hunt are several very powerful magicalitems that are being used improperly. Yourmission is to get them back!Suggested Retail Price: $9.95/£6.50Product No.: 9305

by R. A. SalvatoreThis second book of the trilogy finds Drizzt

exiled from the drow city of Menzoberranzan.He must now seek acceptance in a society thatnormally wars on his kind, and prove himself tobe different from his evil kin. And all the while,he must keep looking over his shoulder forthose same brethren�those hunting him!Suggested Retail Price: $4.95Product No.: 8482

MLA3 Night Life The Alien Dark

MARVEL SUPER HEROES� moduleby Anthony Herring

TSR� Books

The third module in the Gang Wars trilogy,this adventure culminates in the knock-down,drag-out battles between the gangs of New Yorkand your PCs. Your heroes had better befor anything; the gangs are out for blood!

ready

Suggested Retail Price: $8.95/£5.50Product No.: 6897

by Diana G. GallagherOne hundred million years in the future, an

alien race has launched six vessels to search fora world to colonize. Their home world is dying,and deep space is their only avenue of escape.Read this intriguing novel from a truly alienpoint-of-view.Suggested Retail Price: $3.95/£2.50Product No.: 8216

Galen Beknighted Unless otherwise noted:

DRAGONLANCE® Heroes II Trilogy,Volume Three

by Michael Williams

® and ™ denote trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.©1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Once a weasel, always a weasel. GalenPathwarden has always been out to save hisown skin at any cost. But when his brotherdisappears, he sets aside his best judgment andembarks on a quest to find his brother and hisown courage.Suggested Retail Price: $4.95Product No.: 8336

LANKHMAR is a trademark of Fritz Leiber and is used withpermission.

BUCK ROGERS and XXVc are trademarks used underlicense from The Dille Family Trust. ©1990 The Dille FamilyTrust. All Rights Reserved.

MARVEL SUPER HEROES is a trademark of the MarvelEntertainment Group, Inc. All Marvel characters, names, andthe distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of theMarvel Entertainment Group, Inc. ©1990 MarvelEntertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

86 NOVEMBER 1990

Photography by Ed Dobrianski

TheAffordable

FortBuild your own castle�from cardboard!

©1990 by Ed Dobrianski

After purchasing DRAGON® issue #86, IAfter purchasing DRAGON® issue #86, Iwas very impressed with the cardboardwas very impressed with the cardboardcut-out castle �Great Stoney� featured incut-out castle �Great Stoney� featured inthat issue. I became intrigued with thethat issue. I became intrigued with theidea of making that castle on a muchidea of making that castle on a muchlarger scale. Such a castle, I thought,larger scale. Such a castle, I thought,would be perfect for displaying my minia-would be perfect for displaying my minia-tures. Although there are already castles,temples, and similar items that can betemples, and similar items that can bepurchased through most hobby stores,purchased through most hobby stores,most of these are very expensive. I sur-most of these are very expensive. I sur-mised that I could construct my own cas-mised that I could construct my own cas-tle, principally out of ordinary cardboardtle, principally out of ordinary cardboardboxes, for less than $40. It could be largerboxes, for less than $40. It could be largerand more detailed than any castle that isand more detailed than any castle that iscurrently on the market.currently on the market.

Cardboard is the major building materialCardboard is the major building materialused in the construction of my castlesused in the construction of my castlesbecause it is inexpensive and very easy tobecause it is inexpensive and very easy towork with. Reinforced, it can be extremelywork with. Reinforced, it can be extremelystrong. It is not brittle and can easily ab-strong. It is not brittle and can easily ab-sorb a small impact without major dam-sorb a small impact without major dam-age. If it is damaged, it can be easilyage. If it is damaged, it can be easilyrepaired with additional cardboard.repaired with additional cardboard.Painted, it will become semi-water resist-Painted, it will become semi-water resist-ant. Used properly, it is a stronger andant. Used properly, it is a stronger andmore durable material than most peoplemore durable material than most peoplewould believe.would believe.

I decided to make my model of GreatI decided to make my model of GreatStoney four times its original size (it wasStoney four times its original size (it wasabout 1/500th scale). An exact reproductionin 25-mm (1/72) scale would have beencloser to seven times its size, but thiscloser to seven times its size, but thiswould make it too large to easily fitwould make it too large to easily fitthrough a standard-size door. Even at fourthrough a standard-size door. Even at fourtimes the size, its plywood base measurestimes the size, its plywood base measures3� × 3�, and the height of its main tower isover a foot. (If you intend to make yourover a foot. (If you intend to make yourown castle, be wary of the size. Generally,own castle, be wary of the size. Generally,the larger the castle, the longer it will takethe larger the castle, the longer it will taketo complete. You may later discover thatto complete. You may later discover thatyou lack a large enough area to properlyyou lack a large enough area to properlydisplay it!)

88 NOVEMBER 1990

Getting readyDesigning your castle requires a fair

amount of preparation. First draw a roughsketch of the type of castle you wish tobuild. You can use a picture or map of areal medieval castle as your guide. Avoidanything that is too complex; be realistic.Remember that it will take many hours tosee your project to its conclusion, andcomplexity adds time, money, and effort.

Next, draw your castle in great detail;sketch out front, side and top views ongraph paper. Drafting skills will prove tobe a definite asset. Next, decide how tobreak the castle design down into individ-ual fold-up pieces, as was done with GreatStoney, and draw out each piece. To getthe proper size of each piece, simply mul-tiply all dimensions on your drawingsaccording to the size you want the con-structed castle to be. You may discoverthat many sections of the castle (e.g., tow-ers and walls) are identical throughout thedesign; this greatly speeds construction,Once you have drawn out one such sec-tion, the others are easily made, using thefirst as a guide.

You will next need to assemble yourbuilding materials: cardboard, bristolboard, glue, wall patch material, shelfpaper (wood grain finish), cocktail sticks, aplywood base, and grass mat and lichen(for local vegetation). Model railroad scen-ery may also be used. Other materials maybe added as the castle is constructed (e.g.,flagpoles, banners, chains for the draw-bridge, models of siege weapons, etc.).

The proper tools will also help: a selec-tion of X-acto or utility knives, scissors, ametal ruler or straightedge (to keep cut-ting lines straight), scrap wood workingsurface, a small putty knife, a small paintbrush, and (if you like) an airbrush.

Doing the workTransfer the drawings of the cut-out

pieces required for assembling your castleto the cardboard in pencil. (In GreatStoney�s case, this meant redrawing theheavy-stock pieces from the center ofissue #86.) Cut out the cardboard pieceswith an X-acto or utility knife; use extremecare, as these knives are very sharp. If astraightedge is used, make sure it is metal-lic so that the knife does not cut into it. Toavoid damage, do all cutting on a pro-tected surface, such as a piece of scrapplywood. Gently score the cardboard withyour knife where folds should be. Wher-ever possible, make all folds on the insideof the piece (it may be easier to fold thecardboard using a metal straightedge).With the piece folded in the desired shape,check it for the proper fit against otherpieces. If it proves to be right, make ailother pieces that are identical to that one,using the first as a guide.

After the cardboard pieces have beenfolded and checked for fit, they should bepainted. First use a light-colored flat paint;an off-white or light gray color is usuallybest. Next, dark castle bricks should bepainted on. Most bricks appear gray,brown, or reddish-brown in color. Nor-mally, it would take forever to paint somany bricks, but by making a few simplestencils, this task can be accomplished inmuch less time. Cut a piece of bristolboard about the size of a standard piece ofpaper. Draw your brick pattern on it,leaving a generous gap between the brickswhere the mortar would be. Next, cut outall the brick shapes, revealing the finishedstencil. The stencil is then be placed overthe previously painted piece. Using spraypaint or an airbrush, spray the paint ontothe stencil; after it dries, remove the sten-

cil to reveal the brick pattern. Remember,bricks are not identical; making somedarker or lighter than others will add tothe realism of the finished castle. For thetops of towers or similar round pieces, useanother stencil on which the brick shapesfollow a circular pattern. You can paintany bricked areas on the plywood base inthe same manner.

Although your castle should not beexposed to water, high humidity mayaffect the glued surfaces over time. Use ahigh-quality glue that dries transparentand waterproof. Reinforce all large pieceswith additional cardboard braces insidethem. While a glued piece is drying, hold ittogether with heavy twine wrapped manytimes around it. Later the twine can beeasily removed.

AssemblyPrepare the plywood base by beveling all

four corners. Depending on the size of thebase, I find using a bevel depth of 1�-to-1�ratio works best. The beveled cornersenhance the overall appearance of thecastle. On the base, draw a floor plan ofwhere all the pieces are to fit. Cut andglue the grass mat to all appropriate areasof the base. Also, glue strips of grass matto the exposed ends of the plywood. Grassmats can be purchased in hobby storeswhere model-train accessories are sold.

After the base has been prepared, care-fully glue the castle pieces together, thenglue them to the base. Start from thecenter and work your way out, checkingand measuring the positions of all piecesbefore you glue them in place. Using wall-patching material and a small putty knife,fill in all exposed ends and crevices in thecardboard structure. Later, when thepatching material dries, you may paintover it using a small paint brush.

DetailVery lightly paint or airbrush a moldy

green color over areas of the castle thatcontact the grass mat. In general, youshould spray more heavily closer to thebase. This will give the castle the realisticappearance of moss growing on thebricks. Later, lichen (a small flowerlessplant that is available in many differentcolors and can be purchased in mosthobby stores) can be glued onto variousparts of the castle and its grounds. Itshould be most heavily placed on theoutside of the castle walls and towers,closest to the base, to resemble vines andshrubs growing up and along the walls.Another nice touch is to add plastic treesfrom model railroad scenery around thecastle grounds. Don�t get carried away; toomuch can be worse than too little.

Windows can be easily made by air-brushing a glossy light-blue paint on apiece of bristol board. Once it dries, drawin a brown or black window frame using apermanent waterproof marker. Finally, cutout and glue the windows in the desiredlocations. Many different window sizes

Great Stoney castleDRAGON 89

and shapes can be used. An even simplermethod to make windows is to find an oldmodel airplane box and cut out windowshapes from the sky background on thebox. Glossy cardboard works best, as itreflects light and gives the appearance of areal window.

Doors and trapdoors are made in asimilar fashion. I recommend that you useshelf paper that has a simulated wood-grain finish. Simply draw in the doorframe, cut it out, and glue it on. Most shelfpaper already has adhesive on the back.

A gate or portcullis can be made bygluing cocktail sticks together. Lay two ormore sticks horizontally. Next, glue moresticks vertically on top of them, leavingabout one eighth of an inch spacing inbetween. Later, glue additional stickshorizontally to the opposite side, matchingthe position of the other sticks. Allowthese to dry, then paint the gate gray,brown, or black. For additional realism,lightly airbrush a moldy green color to thefinished gate.

Other structuresWith a little perseverance, just about

any type of structure can be built. Smallbases for 25-mm miniatures are best madeout of wood. Finished wooden blocks forflooring are excellent for bases, becausethey are already cut and easy to workwith. Most of these are made of solid oakand can be bought by the bundle in lum-ber supply stores. Put each piece in a vice,then cut it into the desired shape using asaber saw. (Save all waste material, as youmight use it later.) A brick or stone-blockpattern can be made by cutting criss-crossed grooves into the wood using thesaber saw. Finally, paint and add finely cutlichen to your base to give a touch ofrealism to the finished work.

SummaryMany different types of structures can

be created using simple and inexpensivematerials. Look around your home, andyou may find just about everything youwill need. Building a castle is by far thebest way to enhance and display yourminiatures. As with anything worthwhile,a great deal of time and patience is re-quired. A castle may take many hours ordays to complete. Do a little work eachday, and watch it develop into the finishedwork. Your greatest reward will be in thepersonal satisfaction of doing it yourself.

[�Great Stoney” was reprinted in The Artof DRAGON Magazine. Additional 25-mmbuildings and structures made of heavy-stock paper may be found in the followingTSR products: FR8 Cities of Mystery, theWGA Falcon series of modules, and theCastles boxed set.]

A unique castle with high central tower

90 NOVEMBER 1990

D R A G O N 9 1

9 2 N O V E M B E R 1 9 9 0

DRAGON 93

96 NOVEMBER 1990

D R A G O N 9 7

98 NOVEMBER 1990

D R A G O N 9 9

100 NOVEMBER 1990

Convention Calendar Policies

This column is a service to our readersworldwide. Anyone may place a free listingfor a game convention here, but the follow-ing guidelines must be observed.

In order to ensure that all conventionlistings contain accurate and timely infor-mation, all material should be either typeddouble-spaced or printed legibly on stand-ard manuscript paper. The contents ofeach listing must be short and succinct.

The information given in the listing mustinclude 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 re-

quirements; and,6. Address(es) and telephone number(s)

where additional information and confirma-tion can be obtained.

Convention flyers, newsletters, and othermass-mailed announcements will not beconsidered for use in this column; weprefer to see a cover letter with the an-nouncement as well. No call-in listings areaccepted. Unless stated otherwise, alldollar values given for U.S. and Canadianconventions are in U.S. currency.

WARNING: We are not responsible forincorrect information sent to us by conven-tion staff members. Please check yourconvention listing carefully! Our widecirculation ensures that over a quarter of amillion readers worldwide see each issue.Accurate information is your responsibility.

Copy deadlines are the last Monday ofeach month, two months prior to the on-sale date of an issue. Thus, the copy dead-line for the December issue is the lastMonday of October. Announcements forNorth American and Pacific conventionsmust be mailed to: Convention Calendar,DRAGON® Magazine, P.O. Box 111, LakeGeneva WI 53147, U.S.A. Announcementsfor Europe must be posted an additionalmonth before the deadline to: ConventionCalendar, DRAGON® Magazine, TSRLimited, 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom.

If a convention listing must be changedbecause the convention has been can-celled, the dates have changed, or incor-rect information has been printed, pleasecontact us immediately. Most questions orchanges should be directed to the maga-zine editors at TSR, Inc., (414) 246-3625(U.S.A.). Questions or changes concerningEuropean conventions should be directedto TSR Limited, (0223) 212517 (U.K.).

❖ indicates an Australian convention.❉ indicates a Canadian convention.❁ indicates a European convention.

* indicates a product produced by a company other than TSRInc. Most product names are trademarks owned by thecompanies publishing those products. The use of the name ofany product without mention of its trademark status should notbe construed as a challenge to such status.

AUG-CON II, November 9-11AU Gamers are proud to announce that this

convention will take place at the Sheraton TaraHotel in Parsippany, N.J. Featured events in-clude RPGA� tournaments, a game for charity,costume and miniatures contests, an auction,and a dealers� room. Registration: $10/day at thedoor. Call the hotel for special room rates: (201)515-2000, ext. 5800; be sure to mention theconvention. Write to: AU Gamers, c/o OakwoodVillage Apts., Bldg. #26, Apt. #9, Flanders NJ07836; or call: (201) 927-8097.

NEBULOUS CON II, November 9-11Penn State University�New Kensington

campus will be the site of this gaming conven-tion. Various role-playing and strategic gameswill be featured, along with a video room, and acostume contest Sleeping space in the gym willbe available. Registration: $13/weekend prere-gistered and $4 for Friday, $7 for Saturday orSunday, and $15/weekend at the door. Send anSASE to: NEBULOUS CON II, c/o Penn State NewKensington, 3550 Seventh Street Rd., NewKensington PA 15068.

RECON II, November 9-11Sponsored by the Colorado Springs Gaming

Assoc., with the U.S. Air Force Academy, thisconvention will be held at the Sheraton HotelNorth in Colorado Springs, Colo. Events includeall types of historical, SF, and fantasy gaming.Other activities include vendors, displays, vid-eos, an SCA demo, and an auction. Registration:$10 postmarked before November 1st; $13 atthe door, plus $1 per game entered. Write to:Dick Fickes, 2045 Chapel Hills Dr., ColoradoSprings CO 80920; or call: (719) 599-3688.

KETTERING GAME CONVENTION,November 10-11

This gaming convention will be held in theCharles I. Lathrem Senior Center in Kettering,Ohio. Events include FRPGs, DUNGEON!®,CIVILIZATION*, CIRCUS MAXIMUS*, DIPLO-MACY*, ACQUIRE*, RAIL BARON*, STOCKS &BONDS*, RAILWAY RIVALS*, NAVAL WAR*,RISK*, MONOPOLY*, and TALISMAN* games.Dealers will be present, and there will be anauction. Registration: $2/day or $3/weekend forthose age 13 and over; $.50/day for those 12 andunder. Write to: Bob Van Gruenigen, 2013 GayDr., Kettering OH 45420.

PROVOCATION, November 10-11 ❉Organized by the Quebec Gamers� Assoc.

(AQJS), this convention will be held at Pierre-Dupuy High School in Montreal, Quebec, Can-ada. Activities include 33 hours of nonstopgaming, plus an auction, open gaming, an artshow, and a figurine contest. Registration: $21U.S./weekend and $13 U.S./day. Write to: PROV-OCATION, Box 63, Station M, Montreal, Quebec,

CANADA H1V 3L6; or call Christine: (514) 596-0115 or Daniel: (514) 252-3032.

TURP-CON, November 17-19 ❁This gaming convention will be held at the

Torquay Boys’ Grammar School in Torquay,Devon, England. Events include AD&D®, PARA-NOIA*, MERP*, ROLEMASTER*, WARHAMMER40,000*, BLOOD BOWL*, and D&D® games,miniatures demos, painting contests, videos, andgaming tournaments. Registration: £0.50, plus a£1.50 fee to play (all fees are one-half price tostudents). Send an SASE to: Richard Barrow, 169Windsor Rd., Ellacombe, Torquay, Devon,GREAT BRITAIN, TQ1 1SR; or call: (0803) 297314evenings.

CONTEX 8, November 23-25This convention will be held at the Hilton

Southwest in Houston, Tex. Guests includeRobert E. Vardeman, Sherlock, and Willie Siros.Activities include gaming, merchants, an artshow, costuming, writers’ workshops, filking,films and videos, and the Contex Cross-Tavern Cosmic Tour. Dealers are welcome! Write to:FRIENDS OF FANDOM, P.O. Box 266996, Hous-ton TX 77207-6996; or call: (713) 729-6733.

EUROPEAN GEN CON® GAMES FAIR 1990November 30-December 2 ❁

Europe’s largest residential gaming conventionwill be held in Camber Sands, Rye, Sussex.Guests of honor include TSR’s Blake Mobley, JimWard, Jeff Easley, Harold Johnson, Jean Rabe,and free-lancers Larry Elmore and Tom Wham.Tournaments include AD&D® European Open,BUCK ROGERS™, STAR WARS*, 2300 AD*,SPELLJAMMER™, CALL OF CTHULHU*,BATTLESYSTEM™, and BATTLETECH*, games.Registration: £39.95 including accommodation.

Write to: EUROPEAN GEN CON® Games Fair,120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge,CB1 3LB ENGLAND.

TROPICON 9, November 30-December 2This convention will be held at the Ft. Lauder-

dale Airport Hilton hotel. Guests include HalClement and Bruce Pelz. Events include pro-gramming, filking, an art show, a video room, adealers’ room, a banquet, a trivia contest, amasquerade, and gaming. Registration: $20 untilNov. 1; fees will be higher at the door. Write to;TROPICON 9; c/o South Florida Science FictionSociety, PO. Box 70143, Ft. Lauderdale FL33307; or call Tony Parker at: (407) 391-4380.

SYNDICON III, December 8This convention will be held at the Interna-

tional Inn in Orlando, Fl. The guest of honor isRembert N. Parker, RPGA™ Regional Director.Events include one- and two-round RPGA™AD&D® tournaments, with BATTLETECH*,ILLUMINATI*, CAR WARS*, CALL OFCTHULHU*, SHADOWRUN*, SPELLJAMMER™,DIPLOMACY*, and DRAGONQUEST™ games.Registration: $8; $6 for RPGA™ Network mem-bers; $10 at the door. All fees include four freeevents. Write to: SYNDICON III, 11324 PortoCourt, Orlando FL 32821; or call: (407) 857-1896or (407) 788-3014.

ROACH-CON '91, January 19, 1991The first kind-of-annual convention will be

held at La Roche College and is sponsored byProject Achievement. Events include AD&D®,TOP SECRET/S.I.™, and BATTLETECH* games.Other activities include movies, vendors, and a

miniatures- painting contest with an entry fee of$2 per figure. Registration: $5 preregistered; or$7.50 at the door. Write to: ROACH-CON '91, LaRoche College, Box 22, Allison Park PA 15101; orcall Bob at: (412) 793-6028 or (412) 341-6450.

JANCON '91, January 19-20This two-day gaming convention will be held

at the Quality Inn Conference Center in NewHaven, Conn. Events include AD&D®, BATTLE-TECH*, and DIPLOMACY* games, with minia-tures painting, movies, and a dealers’ room.Other activities include a banquet on the 20thand a benefit game with all proceeds going toAlzheimer’s research. Send an SASE to: JANCON'91, P.O. Box 822, Shelton CT 06484.

PANDEMONIUM VIII, January 19-20 ❉

This convention will be held at the RyersonHub Cafeteria, Jorgenson Hall, Ryerson Poly-technical Institute, in Toronto, Ontario. High-lights include two game auctions, over 50games, a miniatures contest, and many localdealers. Prizes will be awarded to tournamentwinners. Registration: $10 (Canadian)/day. Writeto: PANDEMONIUM VIII, c/o 17B Wales Ave.,Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5T 1J2; or call:(416) 597-1934.

ADVENTURERS� INN II, January 26-27This gaming convention will be held at the

Stockton Growers’ Hall in Stockton, Calif. Amedieval/fantasy atmosphere will highlight thisgathering of gamers. Events include official andopen gaming, SCA demos, a 36-hour campaign, acostume contest, and a dealers’ area. Registration:$15/weekend until Jan. 1; $13/day or $20/weekendat the door. A $3 discount goes to anyone inmedieval/fantasy costume. Write to: ADVENTUR-ERS’ INN, PO. Box 3669, Turlock CA 95381.

by Skip Williams

If you have any questions on the gamesproduced by TSR, Inc., �Sage Advice� willanswer them. In the United States andCanada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON®Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: SageAdvice, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120Church End, Cherry Hinton, CambridgeCB1 3LB, United Kingdom. We are nolonger able to make personal replies;please send no SASEs with your questions(old SASEs are being returned with writ-ers� guidelines for the magazine).

This month, the sage considers a fewmagical enigmas. Page numbers refer tothe AD&D® 2nd Edition game books un-less otherwise stated (one question refersto the D&D® Immortals set).

One of my characters was recentlytricked into donning a girdle offemininity/masculinity. What op-tions do I have for getting the char-acter back to normal? If thecharacter finds another such girdleand puts it on, will this change himback? My DM says this won�t workbecause the item�s description saysa wish has only a 50% chance ofrestoring the character�s originalsex. Obviously, a polymorph otherspell could restore the character,but I�m leery of dispel magic andanti-magic shell spells.

It isn�t often that I get a question with somany . . . possibilities.

What a wish will do is irrelevant in thiscase; the girdle’s absolute power to changethe character�s gender is stronger than thewish’s general power to remove misfor-tune. (Several powerful miscellaneousmagical items are more potent within theirlimited portfolios than wishes are.) If thecharacter dons a second girdle, he mighthave his gender restored, or he might loseall gender�and your DM might rule thatthis is more likely than the standard 10%chance (DMG, page 170), since the charac-ter is fiddling around with things best leftalone. But your character�s gender will bealtered if he puts on a second girdle, asthese items are quite potent.

There is nothing in the polymorph otherspell listing to suggest that secondarycharacteristics like age or gender can be

104 NOVEMBER 1990

altered by the spell. Individual DMs arefree to include the ability to change gen-der along with form, but players shouldn�tcount on it without consulting the DM.Furthermore, assuming that your DM doesallow polymorph other to change gender,there would be at least a 50% chance thatthe attempt would fail. A wish certainly ismore powerful than the 4th-level poly-morph other. If the character was poly-morphed back to his original gender, asystem-shock roll would be required. Asuccessful dispel magic would change thecharacter back to the �wrong� gender andwould require another system-shock roll.

You are quite right to be worried aboutanti-magic shells, but note that an anti-magic shell cannot permanently dispel along-term effect such as polymorph other.The effect temporarily dampens magic, itdoes not dispel it. If the polymorphedcharacter entered an anti-magic shell, hewould be forced back into the �wrong�form, and this would require a system-shock roll. Upon leaving the anti-magicshell, the character immediately wouldresume the �correct� form, and anothersystem-shock roll would be in order.

How is each spell�s school chosen?Also please explain how the variouspairs of opposing schools of magicwere chosen. What is the nature ofthe opposition? Why do illusionistshave to contend with an extra oppo-sition school?

Generally, spells are grouped intoschools according to the types of effectsthey produce and, by extension, the typeof power used to produce their effects.Abjuration blocks, dispels, or protects;alteration produces changes in its target;conjuration/summoning brings materialfrom some other place; enchantment/charm grants its users or targets specialabilities; greater divination reveals infor-mation; illusion/phantasm causes per-ceived changes that are not real;invocation/evocation creates matter orenergy; and necromancy provides orremoves the energy of life. See The Com-plete Wizard’s Handbook for detailedexplanations of each school.

No two schools of magic are mutuallyhostile due to their natures; oppositionarises from how the spells are learned and

used. Specialist wizards employ methodsof study and mental discipline that en-hance their abilities to use certain types ofmagic and erode their aptitudes for oth-ers. This is why generalists can freely usemagic from opposing schools while special-ists cannot. Specific pairs of opposedschools were selected according to com-mon sense and game balance. For exam-ple, if invokers spend a lot of time learninghow to bring things into being from noth-ing, they probably neglect to learn how tocall things from one place to another.Illusionists, who spend their time trying tocreate believable unrealities, have a hardtime casting magic that produces andchannels real energies; there are threesuch schools: invocation/evocation, necro-mancy, and abjuration.

I�ve noticed that a few spells areparts of two opposing schools ofmagic. For example, the limitedwish spell is both conjuration/summoning and invocation/evocation. Can specialist wizardsfrom either school use such spells?That is, can conjurers or invokersuse limited wish? How is it that aspell can be from two opposingschools anyway?

A specialist wizard can use any spell thatfalls within the schools allowed to him,even if the spell in question also falls un-der an opposing school. Certain effects,such as limited wishes, can be produced inmore than one way; in this case, what iswished for can be plucked from someother place and delivered, or it can simplybe created to order.

How do you calculate a multi-classed or dual-classed character�spersonality score or chance to de-tect scrying?

For a multiclassed character, use eitherthe character�s highest level or the level ofthe pertinent class. For example, a fighter/wizard would use his fighter level whencalculating his personality score in a con-flict with an egotistical magical weapon,but would use his wizard level to deter-mine his chance to detect scrying. The DMshould decide which method to use, thenuse it consistently. Dual-classed charactersuse the level of the class in which they are

currently active. If the character has moreexperience in the previous class, he canuse the higher level but must pay theexperience penalty for reverting to thatclass (PHB, page 45).

Will a spider climb spell negate theeffects of a grease spell?

This is up to the DM, but I suggest not.The coating from the grease spell wouldkeep a spider climbing creature fromadhering to a surface if that creaturefailed a save vs. spells, as per the greasespell description. A spider climbing crea-ture (or any other creature normally ableto climb sheer surfaces or ceilings) can stilltraverse greased surfaces; however, if theyfail their saves, they fall.

There is a contradiction in theD&D® Immortals rules regarding theeffects of mortal magic on Immor-tals. Page 6 of the Players� Guide toImmortals says that Immortal mindsare immune to mortal magic, buttheir corporeal forms are not. Butpage 16 says mortal magic is ineffec-tive against Immortals in any form.

Page 6 is right. The second sentenceunder the heading �Limits on Use� on page16 should be deleted.

I�m confused by the castle con-struction section of The CastleGuide. When using smaller workforces (page 60), is the savings calcu-lated once per project, or more of-ten? The �Larger Work Forces�section on the same page suggeststhat the savings be calculated perweek, but if that�s the case a charac-ter could get a castle for free just bycutting the work force in half andwaiting patiently through the in-creased construction time. Also, if acharacter is feeling frugal but still isin a hurry, what�s to keep him fromreducing the work force but keep-ing it above 75% of normal, thusgaining substantial savings and notextending construction time?

The savings from reduced work forces iscalculated per week, so dropping oneworker saves 520 gp each year. However,The Castle Guide editor Bill Connors saysthere is some dropped copy in the�Smaller Work Forces� section. The lastsentence in the second paragraph shouldread: �No reduction below 50% in thework force or cost is possible.� While acastle builder can reduce labor and admin-istration costs, he can�t get them for freeand must still pay for materials. Smartcastle builders will adjust their work

forces to get some savings, but I can thinkof two ways to discourage this if the ref-eree thinks the practice is getting out ofhand. First, an accident or misfortune(such as a raid or marauding monster)might deplete a reduced work force evenfurther and cause a construction delay.Second, morale in the reduced work forcemight deteriorate. Workers who believethey are being asked to do the impossibletend to be resentful. This might promptthe referee to recalculate the ProductionModifier in mid-project and declare a �costoverrun� for the castle.

DRAGON 105

Photography by Mike Bethke

©1990 by Robert Bigelow

Some items for your holiday shopping lists

As I write my November column, I findthat I have three different subjects tocover. First, events in and around Iraqhave unfolded quickly, leaving the U.S. andother countries close to war with thatnation. Those gamers who use modern-day settings in their campaigns may wishto use the Iraq situation and other currentevents in their scenarios. Adventures forTask Force Games� DELTA FORCE* orTSR�s TOP SECRET/S.I.� game can bedevised for role-players, and GDW�s COM-BINED ARMS*, TTG�s CHALLENGER II*, orISM�s OVERWATCH* miniatures game canbe used to enact military combat in theMiddle East.

Reviews

Miniatures' product ratings

* Poor* * Below average*** Average**** Above average***** Excellent

Second, some alternatives for the cam-paign rules for FASA�s BATTLETECH*game, detailed in issues #161 and #162,are noted below. And third, it�s also timefor our yearly gift review column, whichfollows last.

The alternate campaignrevisited: Bloodtech

We have made some modifications andadditions to the alternate campaign set-upfor mercenaries (from issue #162) thatmight make things a bit more interesting.We�ve also revised the turn sequence forthe set-up.

Mineral or resource planet: Raisethe available resource tonnage to 800 tons.Also add one general-purpose 'Mech facil-ity. This factory can handle constructionprojects or repairs of any 'Mech up to 100tons. 'Mechs under 50 tons may be built orrepaired in multiples of two, with anyextra capacity being used for spare-partproduction for that type of vehicle only.Only one 'Mech of over 50 tons may bebuilt here at a time, with no spare partsbeing made at the same time. If a 'Mech ofup to 100 tons is only being repaired,spare parts for that weight class may bemanufactured (e.g., if a 50-ton 'Mech isbeing repaired, the facility can repair the'Mech and build 50 tons of armor andparts).

106 NOVEMBER 1990

Turn sequence: In order to get theflavor of strategy along with the mayhem,the following turn sequence is used forthe mercenary campaign sequence:

1. Move combat-ready forces.2. Send resources and damaged 'Mechs

to homeworld from controlled planet orbattle scene (will arrive at stage 7 on thefollowing turn).

3. Fight battles.4. Retreat (if necessary).5. Repair units.6. Build new units and parts.7. Receive resources or damaged 'Mechs

from last turn.Ranges: The locations of production

and resource planets are shown in theMercenary Campaign Set-Up diagram onpage 107 of issue #162. A productionplanet on the inner ring of worlds mayeasily attack any other inner-ring planet,as well as the production and resourceplanets adjacent to it that are in line withthe sun; all other planets are a long-rangejump away. An outer-ring planet mayattack the two production planets to eitherside of it, the nearest production planet inline with it and the sun, and the threenearest resource planets; all other planetsare at long range.

Ships: Dropships may be capturedusing special infantry or basic sneakiness.Jumpships cannot be damaged except ondeep raids.

Repairs: Repair rolls must be witnessedby another player and must be signed intorecord for campaign purposes.

Duels: Personal duels and challengesfor control of certain planets are allowableupon request and acceptance by bothparties. Honor is added for both units.

These additions are designed to improveyour enjoyment of the game. If you haveany other questions or suggestions, pleaselet us know.

Geo-Hex609 N.E. Schuyler St., Unit #lPortland OR 97212

GSFL�Forest Floor * * * *½

Forests have many military uses. Inparticular, they provide defensive coverfor troops and vehicles, and they obstructthe movement of forces. In gaming, thesesame forests sometimes also detract fromthe game. Much time and work can bespent in placing individual trees, and theuse of green felt to indicate a forest isfairly crude; the presence of forests cannegate all the advantages of using terrainby sapping our fun. Geo-Hex has produceda new product that gives the feel of realitywhile using a relatively flat surface andregular trees.

Forest Floor is exactly what its nameimplies. It�s a 10¼" X 12� loose-weave mat,marked to represent a forest as seen fromabove. The markings represent severaltypes of trees, with foliage, bushes, andpathways. The mat also has elevation linesand wavy circles that could easily repre-sent pits or holes. The forest density iseasily apparent.

The fabric is a felt weave, with thesmooth side painted. The rough side isplaced face down and acts like Velcro,attaching itself to anything it lays on so itdoes not shift. The trees, bushes, andbrush are painted on in layers, with a thinflocking attached to the high points oftrees and bushes. The product is ex-

tremely durable; we tested it by carryingit for several days in a briefcase, and nofold lines or damage were evident.

One suggested use for this mat is inconjunction with either individual minia-ture trees or a group of miniature trees,the latter made by supporting WoodlandScenics foliage or lichen on braced matchsticks, to form a liftable canopy. By placingsome brush on the outside, figures can behidden on the paths for ambushes. Whenthe battle is to be joined, the screening�trees� are moved to reveal the placedfigures, and the fight is conducted on themarked paths. When the battle is over,replace the trees to impede any sighting oft h e f i g u r e s .

This product has many uses, as it can becut into different shapes. It also can bepurchased with a hex overlay (GSFL-X).The only real disadvantage is price. At$5.95 for a regular piece or $6.95 for onewith the hex overlay (Battlescape ForestFloor), it can take considerable sums ofmoney to cover large gaming areas.

Black Dragon PewterP.O. Box 290Mass NY 11758(Attn.: Cindy Sudano)

418-Unicorn Key Chain * * * *½

9311-Moon Dreams *****

These two items do not fit into the fieldof miniatures as we normally presentthem here. They are pewter castings, oneflat and one pseudo-diorama, of fantasysubjects. They are not playing pieces butare nifty show pieces that fit in well withour holiday buying preview.

The unicorn key chain is a flat pewterpiece consisting of a unicorn�s head andneck, a metal chain, and a key ring. Thekey chain is very basic, but the head de-serves a closer look. The piece measures1½� X 2 5/8�. The bottom of the neck iscurved and covered by well-carved, inter-twining flowers, vines, and leaves. Thebase of the neck thins out toward thehead, and the jaw, cheeks, and ears jut outin a very life-like manner. The eye is afaceted blue stone that at once draws yourattention and blends with the differentfeatures. The horn is short for a unicorn,but the whorls can be seen even thoughthey are slightly obscured by the mane.The mane flows from the neck with single-strand highlights. The only detractionswere a couple of pin holes, common onmany pewter pieces, and the tendency ofthe joining ring for the key ring to sepa-rate.

Though not for someone who carrieskeys in a pocket (which would damage thepants) or in the open (which would weardown the unicorn�s detail), this would beideal for purse use or for display. Thepiece is great, and price is only $15.

The second piece is one that I particu-larly like. The scene is 2 1/8� high, 1½�long, and ½� wide at the base, and con-sists of four individual parts that blend

Unicorn Key Chain (Black Dragon Pewter)

well. The base is made of slightly irregularand rounded puffs that appear to be ei-ther clouds or small rocks. These puffshave random stars that contain smallfaceted blue gems.

Rising from this base is a drowsy quar-ter moon, with a sleepy grin, a beaklikenose, dimples, chubby cheeks, and almost-closed eyes. A tiny, scaled dragon liessprawled over the upper point of themoon, with its eyes closed and its headresting on a paw. The dragon�s other armreaches down to a ring from which threesmall glass beads hang. The dragon�s tailrolls down the moon.

On the tapered base lies a small wizard,his robes and hat covered with engravedstars and moons. His face is composed inquiet slumber, a small jeweled wand in hishands.

This piece is not �realistic,� being like acartoon sketch transferred to pewter, butthe easy flow and blended parts cause it toassume a strange realism of its own. Thisone is recommended as a gift at only $21.

West End GamesRD 3, Box 2345Honesdale PA 18431

40311�Rancor Pit * * ½

West End Games� STAR WARS*: The RPGuniverse holds many dangerous creatures,not the least of which is the rancor. Therancor figure in this set, manufactured byGrenadier Models but sold by West EndGames in the U.S., is 61-mm tall and 110-

Moon Dreams (Black Dragon Dreams)mm long from tail to nose. The body ofthe rancor has great folds of leathery skin,especially in the neck and face area. Thespine is plated up to the midback, thenchanges to pointed ridges. Sharp teethshow in its mouth, and the arms end intalons.

The rancor�s keeper is a rather rotundhumanoid, about 26-mm tall. He wears ahood that spreads to his shoulders; hisface is puffy and almost has a smirk, whilethe eye and nose detail is fair. His upperbody and legs are bare except for leatheror skin studded armlets on his upperarms, and he has the type of trunks that asumo wrestler wears.

Unfortunately, the quality of the rancormodel is as ugly as the creature itself issupposed to be. Thick lines of mold flashspread across the creature�s back, obscur-ing some details. The arms and legs havesome minor flash, but most of this can becleaned with some work. Unfortunately,some pitting is also present. The arms andlegs don�t seem to fit correctly to the body,although some of this appears to be excesslead on the ball castings that can becleaned up with work; many spots can be

DRAGON 107

Rancor Pit (West End Games) Sorcerer (Thunderbolt Mountain)

fixed with filler. Also, detail on the keeperis not sharp.

This particular casting has severe prob-lems. I personally hope that this was acasting made with cool lead on a slightlyseparated mold, which then slipped pastquality control. If you purchase this minia-ture, check it out immediately at the store.If your model has these same problems,exchange it.

I must stress that this model is simply notof the quality that West End/Grenadier usu-ally makes, and it may simply be my copy. Ifyou don�t mind lots of work, this could be aninteresting model, but it would not be worthit to me. Its price is $12.

Thunderbolt MountainMiniaturesP.O. Box 37024Cincinnati OH 45222-0024

Thunderbolt MountainMiniatures70 Harcourt St.Newark, NottinghamUNITED KINGDOM NG 241 RF

1000-Sorcerer *****1001-Barbarian and Lady *****

All too frequently in the hobby business,when you don�t hear from a company, thatcompany is no longer in business or is sobusy that it simply doesn�t have time torespond. Luckily, Thunderbolt Mountain isin the latter category, as I found out at the1990 GEN CON® games fair.

Thunderbolt Mountain Miniatures pro-duces limited-run, high-quality figuressuitable for play, but designed more forcollecting or dioramas. We are pleased topresent some new figures from this com-pany to be released this November.

The Sorcerer is a 54-mm, two-part fig-ure. The pieces consist of a base and anunattached figure. The base is a 60-mmX 35-mm rectangle sculpted to resemble astone floor in disrepair. On this floor aremany of the objects necessary for spell-casting, such as a bowl containing un-known objects, three wax candles invarying sizes with wax build-ups, andthree spell books with inscriptions andclear binding. The open pages of one ofthe books shows wording that can almost

be read with a magnifying glass. Twoscrolls and a well-rendered rat are alsopresent on the floor.

This is a highly detailed figure with aneastern European or Persian style of cloth-ing. The conical hat has overlays and anengraved band. Intense concentrationshows on his face; his mouth is open as ifspeaking. His nose is sharp and hooked,his hair is straight, and his beard is cut toa long taper and curled up. The right armstretches out with fingers extended as ifcasting a spell. A large cape covers hisshoulders and back, with runes along thehem and a tasseled front held by a clasp.The sorcerer wears an ornate breast plate,a stomach protector that (if you look verycarefully) contains a face, and an ornatebelt with a fancy buckle and a front straphanging to the floor. Several spell compo-nent packages hang from the belt. Thefigure wears a pleated smock, pantaloontrousers, and ornate leggings with ties.The pointed shoes have curled toes andornate buckles. This figure is well doneand costs a reasonable $8.

Figure #1001 is entitled Barbarian andLady. This set is also molded to 54-mmscale and consists of three pieces: a base,the barbarian, and the lady. This base isalso 60 mm X 35 mm, but it represents asemi-smooth floor such as a passageway ordungeon floor. The floor is covered with awealth of detail, including a scroll tube,coins, pouches, necklaces, broken andhollow bones, a monkey or kobold skull, askeletal hand with a manacle and a keyclose by, rocks, and a snake.

The barbarian and the lady both havethe primitive style of dress made famousby Conan. The woman has long hair swirl-ing in disarray as she flees from some-thing. She wears a tiara, a necklace, ashell-type G-string with chain fasteners,wrist bracelets, rope sandals, and nothing

108 NOVEMBER 1990

Barbarian and Lady (Thunderbolt Mountain)

else. All �objectionable� areas are tastefullycovered, and the body and face are verygood. The main thing that grabs yourattention is her look of abject terror.

The barbarian holds a huge sword,poised to cut downward in his right hand;his left hand is empty. He has wrist bandson both wrists and wears only an inter-locking disk belt, a loincloth, and ropesandals; a knife hangs from his belt. Hishair flows straight down. The physicalsculpting is excellent, with good muscletone and hair. The most striking area onthis figure is his face, which reflects asnarling, killing frenzy.

This figure is a good display model and avalue at $16. Both figures are secured totheir bases by pegs. All sections are made to be painted first, then attached to theirbase by adhesive or the very judicious useof a soldering iron to spread the pegs. (Ifyou have never used a soldering iron, havesomeone else help you.) These are excel-lent display models and with a little workcan make fine collectors� pieces.

Iron Crown EnterprisesP.O. Box 1605Charlottesville VA 22902

#910-Pharsii II * * * *½

#907-Teal Hawk ****Iron Crown�s SILENT DEATH* game is a

new space combat system that includes anew line of fighter spaceships, each withindividual capabilities and places of origin.This game is compatible with ICE�s SPACEMASTER* SF role-playing game.

Item #910 is a Pharsii II fighter. Lookingin the SILENT DEATH game�s StarshipInventory booklet, we find that the craft,armed with five different weapons, is bigby game standards at 900 tons. The minia-ture is 30-mm long and 25-mm wide from

Space fighters (ICE)

wingtip to wingtip. Stubby and square, thebody has leading wings and twin engines.The combat cockpit and weapons blistersare clearly visible. The rear wings arestraight and angle under the engines. It�srefreshing to see the complete lack offlash and very minute mold lines. Theprice is $4 for package of two.

#907 is a Teal Hawk, by definition a smallfighter with only three weapons�and, ac-cording to the book, not a very good fighter.The miniature has a 33-mm wingspan and is31-mm long. The body is flat and has a

wedge-type nose and flared engine housingsin back. (For World War II gamers, it lookslike a Soviet Yak 3 with upturned wingtipsand no tail.) Two of the weapons are dis-played under the wings. Two of these fight-ers come in a pack for $4.

There are very good points to both theseproducts, but a couple of concerns as well.The miniatures are very well made andare simple pieces that don�t have thewealth of fine detail that makes you hesi-tant to use them frequently for fear ofwear. They are also relatively inexpensiveand can be used with other game systems.The problems are that the ships don�tseem to be even close in scale. The TealHawk at 300 tons is larger than the PharsiiII at 900 tons. Then, too, the stands seemto be loose enough to need filling. Both aresimple problems that will probably befixed later on.

*indicates a product produced by a company otherthan TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarksowned by the companies publishing those products.The use of the name of any product without mentionof its trademark status should not be construed as achallenge to such status.

DRAGON 109

Four creatures from the lands of the barbariansEditor�s note: In this gatefold, you�ll

find four creatures that were originallyslated to appear in The Horde boxed setfor the FORGOTTEN REALMS� campaignsetting. Fortunately for DRAGON® Maga-zine, there was no room for them in theboxed set. The boxed set�s designer, David(�Yurts don�t float!�) Cook, wandered intoour offices and offered them to us.

by David �Zeb� Cook We took him up on his kind offer andhereby present four new beasties specifi-cally suited for use with The Horde cam-paign setting. These can, of course, beused in any campaign with a climate andgeography similar to the Asian steppes (oranywhere else you please). Feel free toeither remove the gatefold itself from themagazine or make photocopies of these

sheets for your use. Enjoy!

Dragon, Dzalmaus

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: SteppeFREQUENCY:ORGANIZATION:ACTIVITY CYCLE:DIET:

Very rareSolitary

DayCarnivore

INTELLIGENCE:TREASURE:

Very (11-12)Nil

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil

NO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS:MOVEMENT:

Special6, FL 30

HIT DICE: 8 (Base)THAC0: 13 (Base)NO. OF ATTACKS: 5+ specialDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/ 1-6/3-18 (x3)SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:

Breath weaponVariable

MAGIC RESISTANCE: VariableSIZE: G (30’ base)MORALE: Elite (16 base)XP VALUE: Special

Age123456789

101112

BodyLength

3-66-154-23

22-3131-4041-5252-6364-7576-8788-99

100-111112-123

TailLength AC

BreathWeapon* Spells MR

XPValue

2-5 7 Nil4-13 6 Nil

12-19 5 Nil18-25 4 Nil24-33 3 Nil34-43 2 044-53 1 -154-63 0 -264-73 -1 -374-83 -2 -484-93 -3 - 594-103 -4 - 6

* The numbers listed are modifiers to the victim’s savingthrow.

The dzalmaus is a dreaded species of dragon, feared asmuch for its appetite as its great size. Unlike other drag-ons, it is not the least bit sociable, not even to others ofits kind. As a consequence, it roams dusty grasslands,following the movements of its prey, humans.

Unlike other dragons, the dzalmaus is not a brightlycreature with glistening scales. It is particularly drab incoloration. The dzalmaus is sand-brown colored to lightyellow across its back. Its body is flatter and without theback r idges common to many dragons. The neckbranches into three heads, each broad, with the eyeshigh on the skull. For its huge size, the dzalmaus is ableto conceal its body in the tall grasses of the steppe amaz-ingly well.

Combat: The dzalmaus is a constant predator, stalkingits prey across the grasslands or swooping down fromthe air. It then strikes with its three heads, quickly rend-ing the victim apart.

Nil Nil 420Nil Nil 975Nil Nil 2,000Nil Nil 3,000Nil 5% 6,000Nil 10% 9,000Nil 15% 10,000Nil 20% 12,000Nil 25% 13,000Nil 30% 14,000Nil 35% 15,000Nil 40% 16,000

Dragon, Dzalmaus

It uses its other attacks (claws, tails, and wings) only forself defense, never for hunting.

The dzalmaus can bite up to three different targets in asingle round, provided all are within the front 180 degreearc of the creature. Its necks, while flexible, are not sobendable that it can reach behind itself.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: Dzalmauses ofadult age or greater possess a fearsome breath weapon.They are able to project a cone of vampiric life-draining60 feet long, 1 foot wide at the mouth, and 20 feet wide atthe base. All creatures within the area of the cone mustmake a saving throw vs. breath weapon or be drained oneenergy level. Hit points, spells, and combat ability arelost immediately. The life-draining of older dragons ispowerful enough to lower its victim�s chance of making asuccessful saving throw.

Levels drained by the dzalmaus are added to its own inthe form of additional hit dice, one die for each leveldrained. The additional hit dice do not alter the THAC0,damage, age, or size of the creature. Once it has drainedlevels equal to its hit dice, the creature cannot use itbreath weapon until the drained energy dissipates. Dam-age suffered by the dzalmaus is taken from these hitpoints first.

Fortunately, the energy drain is not permanent. Thosedrained regain their levels 1-4 hours after the attack. Hitpoints, combat ability, and spells known are returned tonormal, unless, of course, the character was slain. Mem-orized spells that were lost are not regained, however. Atthe same time, the dzalmaus loses the additional hit diceit had gained. It also regains the use of its breathweapon.

The dzalmaus has a strong will. It is immune to allcharm and mind control spells. In addition, the dzalmausdevelops a minor magic resistance as it grows older. Itcan speak the languages of the steppe people, in addi-tion to the dragon tongue.

Habitat/Society: Although intelligent, the dzalmaus isa solitary and savage creature. It prefers to have littlecontact with other dragons, especially those not of itsown kind. The dzalmaus makes no known lair and doesnot collect treasure. Instead it roams the steppe, follow-ing the movements of the human nomads.

The dzalmaus only mates as is necessary. The femaleraises the young on her own. At this time, the mothermakes a concealed nest, usually in the tall grass or asmall stand of trees. Bold hunters will search for thesenests, hoping to steal the infants away while the motheris out hunting. Such thefts invariably cause the motherdzalmaus to go on a rampage, at which point the thiefhad best be far away.

Ecology: The dzalmaus lives on a diet of meat, withhorseflesh most common, followed by humans. In timesof famine, it will eat whatever is available.

Fortunately for its kind, the dzalmaus does not createany useful by-products. The young can be sold as exoticrarities for 5,000 to 10,000 gp.

Manni Horde

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate forest and steppeFREQUENCY: RareORGANIZATION: FlockACTIVITY CYCLE:DIET:INTELLIGENCE:

DuskScavengerLow (5-7)

TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:

P (Y x2, W)Chaotic evil

NO. APPEARING: 1-6ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVEMENT: 9, FL 18HIT DICE: 3THAC0: 17NO. OF ATTACKS: 2DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:

1-6 and by weaponNilNil

MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:XP VALUE:

NilM (4’-5’)Unsteady (5-7)65

The manni, also known as kara or “black ones,” are a pes-tiferous and evil race that haunt the bleak and wastedcorners of the steppe. They are fond of decay and deathand are often found near grave mounds and in ruins.

The manni looks like a humanoid, long-beaked crow orraven. It stands on two bandy bird legs. The body is com-pletely covered by black feathers, hence its nickname. Ithas long wings instead of arms. The feathers hide threelong fingers that allow the manni to grasp and use items.It does not speak any human tongue, but communicatesin a series of clacks and whistles.

Combat: The manni is a furtive and cowardly creature,preferring to avoid combat when possible. However,since it must eat and it cannot always rely on the kills ofothers, the manni is sometimes forced to fight. When itmust make a kill, the manni prefers to attack from am-bush at times when it is certain to win uninjured. To thisend, it will build snares along game trails, lurk on theedges of encampments, and attack with an entire flock,overwhelming by sheer numbers.

In combat, the manni fights with its sharp beak and aweapon. Most often this is a spear, the easiest item forthe manni to use with its awkward wings. In some cases aclub is favored. Swords are not used by the bird men, asthese are too difficult for the creatures to manage.

In addition to its beak and weapons, the manni canalso use its wings to buffet an opponent. Generally, this isa tactic of last resort, since it requires the creature to getvery close to the enemy and places it at risk of beinggrappled. Buffeting causes little damage, only 1-2points, but can disorient and confuse an opponent longenough for the manni to fly away. Creatures buffetedmust make a saving throw vs. spells or be stunned forone round.

Habitat/Society: The manni are a fairly loathsome anddisgusting race of creatures. Not noble, brave, or trust-worthy, they live as scavengers on the steppe.

The manni form together in flocks of 10-30 individuals.Of these no more than one-fourth are males. The remain-der are females and young. In combat there is no differ-

ence between the males and females, and the young aretoo helpless to fight. Any hatchling old enough to bearweapons is treated as an adult.

The flock lives in a poor imitation of a village. It is usu-ally located in a sheltered stand of woods or hollow. Herethe manni make their nests, simple domed huts of wovengrass and branches. These are carefully camouflagedwith branches, moss, grass, and dead leaves. The hutsare not particularly weatherproof, but they do providesome protection from the elements.

As scavengers, manni are far from the cleanest of crea-tures. Their villages are rank with decay and pollution. Intimes of famine, the manni dig up burial mounds, tearapart wind burials, and have even been known to eattheir own dead.

The manni have no liking for humans. They fear the“wingless ones,” and because they fear, they hate the hu-mans. The humans care no more for the manni, either,and nomads usually attempt to kill them on sight.

The manni speak their own tongue and no other. Al-though they can learn to understand human languages,it is impossible for their beaks to speak human words.

Ecology: As scavengers, the manni fill a clear-cut nichein the ecology of the plains. Their own weaknesses, cruel-ties, and cowardice keep them from dominant roles inthe land and so they have been surpassed by others.

Manni feathers are used for decorations by some of thenomadic tribes. Merchants have also been known to buythe feathers for sale in exotic markets.

Morin Horde

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Plains or steppeFREQUENCY: UncommonORGANIZATION: PackACTIVITY CYCLE: DuskDIET: ScavengerINTELLIGENCE: Animal (1)TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:

(Z)Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 3-12ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVEMENT: 18HIT DICE: 2THAC0: 19NO. OF ATTACKS: 6DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:XP VALUE:

1-2 eachSwarmBurrowingNilS (1’-2’)Special120

The morin is a dangerous, but rarely seen, creature of thesteppes. However,when it does appear, its ferocity,speed, and numerous attacks make it dangerous.

The morin is a small creature, oblate in shape. Thehead and rear are difficult to distinguish, except for thebeaklike mouth. The creature’s eyes are small and weak.It has six short legs that end in thick claws good for bur-rowing and slashing. The creature is dirty mauve, paleand sickly in appearance. It is almost hairless.

Combat: The morin is a pack animal and is never en-countered singly. Individually, it is not a fearsome crea-ture, although its numerous attacks do pose a threat.

When attacking, the morin springs at its target. Thecreature can only leap 3 feet, but this is sufficient to takedown most of its prey. In the first round of combat, it at-tacks with all six legs, becoming a miniature whirlwind ofclaws. If four or more attacks hit, the creature grips itstarget and thereafter automatically causes 1 point ofdamage per gripping claw each round. It retains its holduntil someone—it or the victim—dies. Those encum-bered by a gripping morin suffer a -1 on their chance tohit for each creature. Thus, a warrior with three of thebeasts clinging to him has a -3 modifier on his rolls to hit.

What makes the morin truly fearsome, however, is theswarm. Whenever eight or more morin are encountered,the creatures are swarming. A swarm will attack any liv-ing creature the size of a horse or less. The entire swarmattacks a single target. Instead of calculating each at-tack individually, a single roll is made for the entireswarm (THAC0 17 for their ferocity). The swarm attackcauses 2 points of damage for each creature in theswarm. Thus, a swarm of 11 creatures causes 22 pointsof damage. If the target is not killed in the first attack, 2-12 morin cling to it. These creatures cause an automatic4 points of damage per creature in subsequent rounds.Once the victim is slain the morin immediately begin bur-rowing, taking their prey with them.

Perhaps once in a score of years, the morin gather intoa great swarm of 100 or more creatures. They are thestuff of terrifying tales when they appear. When this hap-pens, there is little for normal folk to do but leave the

area. Such swarms eventually disintegrate through attri-tion and natural events.

Morin normally have a morale of 12. However, whileswarming they never make morale checks.

Habitat/Society: The morin are burrowing pack crea-tures, living in colonies known as pods. During most ofthe day they live in colonies beneath the surface. Theseare collections of tunnels, dens, bolt holes, and storagechambers. On the surface, a morin colony looks verymuch like a prairie dog town—mounds built up aroundholes. One or two morin are always on watch, althoughthey have few predators to fear.

The morin are exceptionally fast diggers, using thisability to hunt, lying in wait just below the surface. Moreoften they rely on their speed to run down their prey.

The morin are adapted to life in the plains in othersways. They breed quickly, producing litters of two to fiveyoung every year. They drink little, getting most of theirmoisture from their kills. During times of drought themorin hibernate in large underground nests, sealed offfrom the surface. All the members of the pod hibernate ina single chamber. When the rains return, the morin surgeforth and immediately swarm in search of food. Thechance to encounter morin increases after a thunder-storm, making such times dangerous on the steppe.

Ecology: The morin are predators and scavengers. Whilethey prefer to make their own kills, the pack will alsoscavenge carrion on the steppe. They normally huntsmall mammals and antelope and only attack humans orlarger targets when they are swarming. They are a plagueon shepherds, since sheep are a favorite prey.

Sand Cat

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Desert or dry steppeFREQUENCY: UncommonORGANIZATION: DenACTIVITY CYCLE: NightDIET: CarnivoreINTELLIGENCE: Animal (1)TREASURE: NilALIGNMENT: Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 8MOVEMENT: 15HIT DICE: 1+1THAC0: 19NO. OF ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE/ ATTACK: 1-4/1-3/1-3SPECIAL ATTACKS: Rear claws 1-2, surpriseSPECIAL DEFENSES: SurpriseMAGIC RESISTANCE: NilSIZE: S (2’-3’)MORALE: Average (8-10)XP VALUE: 120

The sand cat is a small desert feline that preys on manyof the small mammals of the desert and dry steppe re-gions. Slightly larger than a regular house cat, it is asandy brown color. The ears are long and pointed, endingin a long, white tuft. The tip of the tail is a darker brownthan the rest of the body.

Combat: Although the sand cat is a predator, its prey isnot man or other humanoid creatures. It will not attack aperson under normal circumstances. However, if forcedto fight (cornered, etc.), it attacks savagely. The sand catis a small and stealthy creature and so applies a -1 to allopponents’ surprise rolls. At the same time, its keensenses make it very hard to surprise, giving it a +1 on allsurprise rolls.

When the cat attacks, it springs toward its target. Thesand cat can leap 5 feet upward and 10 feet forward, witha running start. It strikes with both front claws. If both ofthese hit, the rear claws automatically rake the victim for1-2 points damage each. Thereafter it will bat and bite asmuch as possible.

The sand cat seldom fights to the death, instead tryingto escape any opponent stronger than it. However, amother will not abandon her young unless it is to lure anattacker away. If the sand cat is defending its young, itgains a +1 on its THAC0 and damage rolls.

Habitat/Society: The sand cat lives in a small familygroup called a den. Depending on the time of year, theden will have two to seven individuals: two adults and kit-tens. Sand cats mate for a single season and the male re-mains with the female until the young are grown, whichtakes about 10 months to a year.

The sand cat makes its lair in a small cave, shelteredoverhang, or abandoned burrow. The latter is preferred ifthere is one available. The lair is normally occupied onlywhile there are young to be raised. During this time, oneadult always remains near the kittens.

Sand cats are very territorial. They hunt over a range of5 to 10 square miles. They are nighttime predators andmostly bring down small mammals. They are seldom athreat to larger creatures.

Ecology: The sand cat is a natural force in the local ecol-ogy, keeping down the numbers of small vermin in a re-gion. Unfortunately, the sand cat is also valued byhumans. The kittens, if taken young enough, can betrained. Among the tribes of the desert and steppe, sandcats trained to hunt are the gifts of sheiks and khans.These animals can run down hares and other game fortheir masters. Others are sold to traders, who in turn sellthe little cats in the cities. Here they are raised as pets—dangerous and savage little pets. A sand cat kitten is eas-ily worth 500 to 2,000 gold pieces.