D R A G O N 1

Just about three years ago, yours trulywalked timidly in the front door of TSRPeriodicals, hoping to find gainful em-ployment. Just about three weeks ago,the staff of Dragon Publishing walkedback out that same door for the last time.

Don’t worry: DRAGON™ Magazine isalive and well; this issue is proof of that.But the building we used to occupy —which was at one time the site of theentire TSR Hobbies, Inc., operation — isnot so healthy any more. We’ve movedacross town into newer, sturdier quar-ters, to a complex that will eventuallyhouse most of the 200-plus people whowork for TSR.

Closing the door at 723 Williams St.was a bit of a sad occasion. But, if thetruth be known, I didn’t see anyoneshedding any tears. There are lots of ad-vantages to being located in the same

For instance, there’s no more bound-ing up and down a creaky set of stairs atdeadline time. Now there’s an elevator

Of course, a new working environmentmeans a lot of changes in our day-to-dayexistence — but we don’t expect them tobe bad changes. We’re giving up somethings, to be sure, but that’s not neces-sarily unfortunate.

building as the other people who workwith us to keep DRAGON magazinecoming out month after month — advan-tages that we hope will translate to ben-efits for all of our Gentle Readers. Weshould be able to operate more efficient-ly, making our printing deadlines with alittle time to spare — which means wemight be able to produce and distributemagazines to stores and subscribers’mailboxes even more promptly thanwe’ve been doing in the past.

ContentsSPECIAL ATTRACTIONThieves’ Cant Pocket Dictionary — Learn to speak

the way wall-climbers and pickpockets do . . . . . . . . . . . 37

OTHER FEATURESShould they have an edge? — Weapons for spell-users

YES — Sapienza suggests variant rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6NO — Humphrey supports AD&D™ system . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Elfquest — Characters adapted for AD&D play . . . . . . . . . . . 12Is it really real? — Phantasmal Force examined . . . . . . . . . . 31The ‘familiarity factor’ — Keep illusionists in line . . . . . . . . . 32Languages: A special section

Thieves’ Cant: A primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Language rules leave lots of room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Fantasy philology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Old Dwarvish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Dungeon Design Contest rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63An open letter to Rick Loomis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Friends in High Places — She’s not kidding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

REGULAR OFFERINGSOut on a Limb — Letters from readers and writers . . . . . . . . . 3Convention schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sage Advice — Questions & answers on AD&D rules . . . . . 16Featured Creatures— New genies from EGG . . . . . . . . . . . . 20From the Sorceror’s Scroll — New illusionist spells . . . . . . . 22Leomund’s Tiny Hut — More low-level critters . . . . . . . . . . . 54Up on a Soapbox — individuals make a difference. . . . . . . . 58Off the Shelf — Reviews of the latest literature . . . . . . . . . . . 67Dragon’s Augury — Star Smuggler evaluated . . . . . . . . . . . . 70What’s New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

As is the case with most old houses,723 Williams St. had some tenants otherthan the people who made and mailedmagazines. There were mice in the walls,mice in the halls, mice in the floor, micegalore. We caught and caged some of‘em for a while, but one dark night therewas a mass escape, and things werenever the same between us again. Someday soon, when a big iron ball comescrashing through the front window at723 Williams, those mice will realize theerror of their ways. And maybe then thetears will come.

We don’t have to resort to teleport viaautomobile spells to get in touch with therest of the company; no more driving amile on a wild-goose chase, hoping tofind someone who “was just here a min-ute ago.”

that goes from the first floor to the se-cond and back again. It may not save allthat much time, but then again, nobody’sever fallen down a flight of elevators.

family of geniekind with official renditions of the marid, dao,and jann. In Leomund’s Tiny Hut, Len Lakofka offers some ofhis creature creations — intriguing low-level monsters guaran-teed to make even high-level characters use their wits insteadof just their weapons. — KM

e’ve heard it said that the best way to get ahead inthis world is to keep your ears and eyes open — andyour mouth shut. Certainly, that axiom applies tothe adventurers in Paul Sonju’s cover painting, andit’s also good advice to follow with some of the

articles in this issue. With languages, for instance, you’ve got tolook and listen before you can learn to speak. And, when con-fronted by an illusion, what you see and hear (or don’t hear) is alot more important than what you say.

You can enhance the use of languages in your D&D® orAD&D™ adventuring by using this issue’s special inclusion —adictionary of Thieves’ Cant vocabulary that you can fold andtrim to fit in pocket or pouch. To go with it, we’ve assembled aspecial section of “language lessons” you can use to add moredetail and more flavor to that aspect of your campaign.

By their very nature, illusions (and the characters who castthem) are always subject to interpretation. Inside you’ll find acouple of articles suggesting how to keep illusions and illusion-casters in proper perspective. Immediately preceding thosestories is an extra-long edition of From the Sorceror’s Scroll,wherein Gary Gygax unveils twenty-six new, official spells forillusionists in the AD&D game.

An edged weapon has two sides — and so does the debateover the weapon-use rules in the D&D and AD&D systems. Bothsides of the topic are examined at the start of our featuresection, with John Sapienza advocating an alteration of therules and Bruce Humphrey offering his rationale for why therules are fine just the way they’re written.

For the thousands of ELFQUEST fans, and the thousandswho have yet to discover Cutter and the rest of the crew, wepresent the principal characters in the sage described in AD&Dterms — illustrated with full-color portraits by Wendy Pini.

In Featured Creatures this month, Gary Gygax fills out the

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D, and TOP SECRET are registered trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc.™ designates other trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.

Publisher: Jake JaquetEditor-in-Chief: Kim MohanEditorial staff: Marilyn Favaro

Gali SanchezRoger Raupp

Business manager: Debbie ChiusanoCirculation: Cherie KnullContributing editors: Roger Moore

Ed Greenwood

This issue’s contributing artists:Paul Sonju Ray WilliamsRobert Allen Roger RauppWendy Pini Phil FoglioJim Holloway David Trampier

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Vol. VII, No. 5 October 1982

Dear Editor:I would like to address the “Cabot com-

plaint” (Jeff Norton’s letter in issue #63).I assure Mr. Norton that I have indeed read

the entire series of Tarl Cabot’s adventures. Infact, I have recommended the books to manyof my friends and consider myself a fan, not acritic, of the series.

Mr. Norton takes strong objection to myclassification of Tarl Cabot as an Evil charac-ter (large E). After considering what he says, Imaintain that in AD&D terms Lawful Evil isstill a more accurate description of Tarl Ca-bot’s character than is Chaotic Good or Neu-tral, which he proposes.

Tarl Cabot is a very complex character anda two-word descriptive phrase is admittedlyan oversimplification. Is a man who saves theworld Evil? Is one who habitually commitsacts which our society ranks among the mostheinous Good? I considered the matter ofalignment (within the confining space ofAD&D’s nine possibilities) very carefully. Icalled in the opinion of friends who were fa-miliar with both the books and the game be-fore I made my choice.

On page 23 of the Dungeon Masters Guideit says, “Lawful evil creatures consider orderas the means by which each group is properlyplaced within the cosmos, from lowest tohighest, strongest first, weakest last. Good isseen as an excuse to promote the mediocrityof the whole and suppress the better andmore capable, while lawful evilness allowseach group to structure itself and fix its placeas compared to others, serving the strongerbut being served by the weaker.”

I consider Tarl to be Lawful because heupholds the laws of his caste (the Warriors)and serves the interests of his city. When hecan, he helps bring order out of strife andchaos, as when he led the action to replacePort Kar’s collection of rival Ubars (warlords)with an oligarchy of rich and powerful mer-chant-pirates, the Council of Captains. Hehas worked to bring harmony to the tribes ofthe South Plains, of the Tahari and of Tor-valdsland. Moreover, he is an agent of theLawful Neutral Priest-Kings. So much forLawful. Is he Evil?

Tarl Cabot seems to support wholehearted-ly the Gorean caste system, by which (toquote AD&D again) “each group is properlyplaced in the cosmos.” Who can deny that heis also an ardent supporter of the Goreanslave system, which is fully as harsh as that ofthe Roman Republic? True, he is indifferent toenslaving men, but he positively asserts thatby nature and biology women are most fittedfor a life of slavery. Tarl commonly makescategorical statements such as: “Slavery isgood for a woman” (Explorers of Gor, page210). He is as critical of the Good tendenciesof Earth’s western democracies (in which hewas reared, remember) as any AD&D LawfulEvil person would be, believing that these

Rahman’s rebuttal tendencies instill “neuteristic values, Thisproduces unhappiness and frustration forboth sexes” (Savages of Gor, page 199). Hebelieves that since an average woman cannotoutfight nor outrun an average man, it is natu-ral for her to obey and serve him. This seemsto me the classic expression of the strongbeing served by the weak.

Mr. Norton throws up a few ideas to supporthis point of view, but he is unintentionallybeing ironic. He speaks of Tarl as being de-moralized. Tarl was in fact much more of aChaotic Neutral during those months or yearsof demoralization than later, when he re-gained his spirits. His first act when so doingwas to impulsively enslave a loyal, hard-working, and harmless employee — his ac-countant Luma, the same girl whom he hadbefriended and freed from servitude at theheight of his demoralization (Marauders ofGor, page 23). Neither does the protest thatTarl did not take enough ships to be classedas a pirate hold up under a careful reading ofRaiders of Gor (page 196). In fact, he wassuch an innovative and brilliant pirate (or pri-vateer) that the insurance rates forced uponhis victims were nearly running them out ofthe competition.

In the last half of the series, Tarl’s behaviorought to be considered Evil, at least wherewomen are concerned. It is true that many ofthese persons were his or Gor’s enemies, butmany were acting within their rights whenthey offended him and some were entirelyinnocent. A good number of the women hehas subjected to abduction, forced prostitu-tion, compulsive labor, uncomfortable impri-sonment, chaining, flogging and worse wereof a character which no doubt would havebeen protected or championed by a hero ofany kind of Good alignment. Some of uscould stretch the concept of Neutrality tocover such actions, but many can’t.

It is not uncommon to emotionally equate“likable” or “enviable” with “Good.” It is truethat the career of a colorful and daring rogue,thief, outlaw, or gangster makes fascinatingand enjoyable reading. The planet Gor is amarvel of inventive detail and ingenious crea-tion. Nonetheless, the ledger of Tarl Cabotcan be credibly said to come down on the Evilside, as most of us play AD&D. To argue oth-erwise is like saying that Al Capone only soldbeer.

Glenn RahmanThielman, Minn.

Roger's reasonDear Editor:

Some comments on issue #64:In response to Gary Gygax's question (Out

on a Limb), green dragon armor (when prop-erly prepared) possesses some qualities sim-ilar to a Necklace of Adaptation. Dragon ar-mors have an innate resistance to the breath

DRAGON 3

weapon used by the dragon they came from.In the case of green dragon armor, a magicalfield is activated that deflects molecules ofpoisonous gas from the wearer; it makes nodifference if the face, mouth, and nose of thewearer are exposed or not. Obviously, thisresistance is not as powerful as the protectionprovided by a Necklace of Adaptation (it willnot prevent the wearer from drowning or fromvacuum exposure) but it is very helpfulnonetheless.

A minor correction: Finn MacCumhal has a+21 damage bonus vs. giant-type humanoids;this looked like a typesetting error. (Wrong,Rog: I changed it because +21 looked like anauthor’s error. — KM)

The section on assassins was very well pre-pared; “The Assassins’ Guild” was clear andwell organized, and “The Assassins’ Run” wasequally enjoyable. The artwork added im-measurably to the articles; if I recognize thestyle, it was the same artist who did the pic-ture for Tom Armstrong’s and my “Bandits”article in #63. (Right, Rog: His name is StevePeregrine, and he’s a good one.)

I don’t always read the fiction in DRAGONbut “The Next-to-Last Mistake” was an excep-tion, and a superb one at that: one of the mostsatisfying stories I’ve read in a long while.

Roger (“The Learned Author”) MooreLouisville, Ky.

Gary on gunpowderDear Editor:

With regard to gun powder in the D&D® orAD&D™ game systems, I wish to point out thefollowing: The rules contain no provision for

the use of such materials. In general, gunpowder will not work. That is because it func-tions on a scientific principle, and as everyadventurer knows, the fables of science andtechnology are sometimes found in strangeareas, but the laws of magic are such that noone can possibly believe in these arcane pur-suits. They never produce results.

E. Gary GygaxLake Geneva, Wis.

Hold that answer!Dear Editor:

In DRAGON #62, Sage Advice, you said,“Any character or creature under the influ-ence of a Hold person, animal, or monsterspell, literally can’t move a muscle. . . .” If youcan’t move a muscle for a minimum of 6rounds, you would die because you could notbreathe, and your heart would not beat.

I suggest you revise it [the answer]. Maybesay “he cannot talk understandably becausehis facial muscles don’t move, but otherwisethe spell does not affect interior muscles.” Or,move the spell up to higher levels because itis, as you interpret it, a lethal spell.

Alexander PowersNiantic, Conn.

Speaking for the Sage, I can suggest this:The AD&D world is a place where magicworks, a world not bound by the rules of phys-ical and natural sciences. Nothing says thevictim of a “Hold” spell has to be able tobreathe — or needs to — while under theinfluence of the spell. It’s pointless to try torefute magic by citing scientific “fact.” — KM

4 OCTOBER 1982

D R A G O N 5

YESSPELL- USERS SHOULD BE ABLE

TO USE "FORBIDDEN" WEAPONS —BUT WITH DECREASED DAMAGE

BY JOHN S APIENZA

Every edition of the D&D® rules has distinguished betweenthe combat ability of various character classes by limiting theweapons that could be used. The magic-user was limited to adagger as the weapon of last resort, the cleric was limited toblunt weapons, while the fighter was allowed to use any wea-pon desired but strongly encouraged to use the sword by virtueof the fact that it has the best damage range on the weapons list.In effect, mages were limited to d4 weapons, clerics to d6weapons, and fighters steered toward d8 weapons.

In gaming terms, this makes perfectly good sense. Mageshave arcane powers and need to be limited in other areas tokeep them from dominating the game; fighters are weapon-masters and need a system to express this; and the classes inbetween need to be kept at a middling level of skill to favorfighters in their specialty.

The problems arose on the role-playing side of the hobby, forthe rules dictated results without giving any explanation for thereasons. There were even inconsistencies in the rules, such asthe existence for mages of +1 staffs, implying that mages coulduse non-magical staffs as two-handed weapons as part of theirtraining because they had the skill to use the magical versions.

The worst problem was the limitation on clerics. The originalrules stated that the D&D game was open-ended as to societiesin which the DM set the campaign, with gods of any pantheonavailable for clerics to follow. Yet the rules on clerics containedmany provisions that tied D&D clerics tightly to medieval Chris-tianity, and in particular this included the rule limiting clerics toblunt weapons. A mace was the proper weapon of a crusadingwarrior-priest, perhaps, but this weapon choice made no senseat all for a cleric whose god was always depicted in the templestatuary with a sword or a spear — to use a different weaponwould be an affront to the cleric’s own deity. As a matter ofrole-playing, the rule was a mistake, regardless of the game-balance goals that were the reason the rule was used.

There are also problems for fighters in the existing D&Drules. In a tightly run, closed campaign, all the characters areborn in the area and grow up learning the weapons and armorcustomary to the folk. But in most games, characters are drift-ers, often from far lands and with strange garb, gear, and be-liefs. It makes poor role-playing sense to have every fightermarching in lockstep with every other because the game rulesmake one weapon the only sensible thing to use — yet that iswhat happens in a D&D game. Only a hardened role-player isgoing to use anything but a sword, when the rules make thesword the only single-handed d8 weapon on the list, mostothers being d6 weapons regardless of description.

The wargaming considerations that guided the drafting ofthe D&D rules have run roughshod over role-playing consider-ations, it seems to me. One’s character’s choice of weaponsought to depend on background cultural influences, includingracial preferences, as well as professional ones. I think it isdesirable to change the rules to encourage greater diversity ofchoice — but how to achieve this while still keeping the differ-ent character classes from becoming equal in terms of typicaldamage done with their weapons of choice?

( T u r n t o P a g e 9 )

6 OCTOBER 1982

NORULE RESTRICTIONS

ON WEAPON USAGEARE FIRM AND FAIR

B Y B R U C E H U M P H R E Y

“. . . So I pick up the dropped sword,and—”

“Wait a minute. You’re a magic-user,”protests the DM. “You can’t use a sword.”

“Yeah? Why not?”“I’ve been meaning to ask you the

same thing,” says a cleric, reaching for apike.

“But it’s in the rules,” is the DM’s onlyplea to the mutinous pair.

The AD&D™ rules preventing magic-users and clerics from employing certainweapons often cause scenes like this.The rules are necessary for play balance,yet this is not enough for many players:these rules should also be justified in“logical” terms. And the DM should havesome effective (and consistent) recoursewhen these rules are broken. Argumentsabout Gandalf and Odin-worshippingclerics carrying spears can destroy anadventure, or at least the playing ses-sion, so the importance of this topicshould not be undervalued.

The magic-userWhat makes a magic-user tick? Judg-

ing from the rules, the average mage hasexcellent concentration, exercises pre-cision in what he does, a firm belief in thesuccess of his spells, and the calmnessnecessary to bring about this success.All these qualities are essential if he is to“impress” spells on his mind, repeat thewords and movements exactly, and knowthey will work. Being attacked while he iscasting a spell will negate the magic,either because it breaks his concentra-tion or upsets the calmness he mustmaintain. A nervous sorcerer, with doubtsabout the efficacy of his spells, will notbe a sorcerer for long.

It has been suggested that it is not onlynervousness and lack of concentration,but large quantities of metal, which upsetthe delicate balances in a magic spell.Many DMs of my acquaintance claimthat this factor alone would explain whymagic-users may not use weapons. Inpart, this may be correct. A large amountof metal (usually estimated at over twelveounces, or larger than the size of adagger) will tend to disrupt a spell unlessit is part of the material component of thespell itself.

D R A G O N 7

This would account for the “daggeronly” rule, but not for the prohibitionagainst using javelins, spears, or bows(all of which have small metal heads, orheads which are comfortably far fromthe user’s body), nor with using all-woodor bone-tipped spears (not a great alter-native, but seemingly viable for a crea-tive player). Using this loophole in the“metal rule,” a creative group might trysnaring a strong magician with a metal-braided rope, or throwing a metal shieldat him, in hopes of neutralizing his magi-cal talents.

Nor are all types of armor included inthis rationale, since leather and paddedarmor can theoretically be made withoututilizing enough metal to bother thespell-caster wearer. Because of thesedifficulties, the “metal rule” is not a uni-versal enough reason for magic-users toavoid using weapons.

Because of the nature of the magic-user’s mental makeup, there are severalpsychological reasons which can be ad-vanced for the weapon restrictions onmagic-users. Because these “psycho-logical reasons” are in the caster’s mind,they remain with him at all times, andcannot be voided without eliminating hisusefulness in magic as well. Since magicuse is a taught skill, the limitations arepassed on from teacher to pupil, ac-counting for the all-encompassing andcontinuing aspects of these restrictions.

The main reason magic-users can’twear armor is the inhibiting characteris-tics of this form of defense. To castspells, the magic-user must be relativelyfree to move — and this involves not justphysical freedom, but psychic freedom aswell. A mage in armor feels as con-strained as if he were physically tied up.The very act of spell casting is a claim fortotal freedom, for the mage is reachingout to another place, free from the re-strictions of other men. For such a per-son to be constantly (or even temporari-ly) wearing armor — which reducesfreedom — is absurd. Robes and cloaks,the traditional garb of magic-users, areloose and free-flowing clothes, whichperhaps don’t enhance the “bid for free-dom” but certainly don’t work against it.

There is a symbolic aspect to the wear-ing of armor as well, one which wouldinhibit the magic-user’s subconscious.Body armor symbolizes primary concernfor the physical world, framing the mind-set for fighting and other bodily con-cerns. The profession of the magic-useris concerned with the world of the mind,and the continued wearing of such pro-tection would draw his thoughts awayfrom his spells toward more concreteconcerns, no matter how dedicated hisoriginal plans were.

The weapon prohibitions are alsobound to symbolism. The tools of com-bat and the thought mode for their useare the antithesis of the skills andthoughts used in magic, and so are pro-

8 OCTOBER 1982

foundly disturbing to magic-users. Thisalso explains the natural antipathy be-tween fighters and mages. The use ofsuch potent, purely physical, modes ofcombat symbolizes, for the magic-user,the forsaking of magic and the accep-tance of the fighter’s world and values.The use of any weapon, other than theobviously defensive dagger and quarter-staff (these may also be justified, in theM-U’s subconscious, as tools useful formore than just fighting), contradicts themind-set of the magic-user, turning himinto a weak and untrained fighter. Thearmor justification is tied in to this, inthat wearing armor admits the weaknessof the magic-user’s own spells and theneed for such protection. His decision towear armor, or use prohibited weapons,introduces the fear of failure into theM-U’s, psyche, making any subsequentattempt at magic useless.

What happens to a magic-user whouses a prohibited weapon or wears ar-mor? The first occurrence results in theloss of all the rest of his spells for thatday. He cannot use spells again at alluntil he spends a 24-hour period in con-templation. For more severe “first of-fenses,” the M-U may be required to for-feit 10% of his experience points, and/orbe beset with one form of insanity for aperiod of weeks equal to 20 minus theM-U’s wisdom score. The second time amagic-user so assaults his own sensibili-ties results in his losing all spell-castingabilities. One use of a prohibited weaponor armor means the use of such an itemin one combat encounter, for the dura-tion of that (single) battle, no matter howmany rounds it lasts.

The clericLike the magic-user, the cleric has cer-

tain psychological requirements to bemet for the successful casting of hisspells. Primary is the feeling of holiness,the sense of being in touch with his deity.Factors in this are calmness, thoughtspleasing to the god, and self-assurance.The cleric must have no doubts as to hispersonal worthiness to act as the tool ofhis god. These are the thoughts whichaffect the cleric’s choice of weapons.

The cleric seems to be modeled on themedieval priest, who was (officially) for-bidden to use weapons which purposelyspilled blood. But it has been contended(primarily by players of cleric charac-ters) that certain gods who use sacredweapons would promote the use of sim-ilar weapons by their priests, either foridentification, or for a feeling of kinshipwith the god. The ban on the use of wea-pons other than the “smashing” type canbe justified, however, and this justifica-tion especially applies to chaotics andevil types, who would be the first to ob-ject to the rule.

Blood is the primary reason for therestriction, not because of a ban on thespilling of blood, but rather because of

the presence of the element itself. Holythoughts and feelings of closeness to adeity are not easily mixed with violentdeath and spurting blood. An evil clericwould quickly lose his calm facade, be-coming enamored with the idea of hack-ing and murder. A neutral would find itdistasteful to contact the fluid, and goodtypes would find it positively abhorrent.These all pertain primarily to combat,not to the holy spilling of blood, whichinvolves a cleansing ritual and certainselfless feelings. Unless it is “purified,”blood disrupts the sacred thoughts flow-ing through a cleric’s mind, and the mindwould later continue to dwell on thememory of the sight. Any religion whichspecifically promotes the spilling ofblood only does so in certain prescribedrituals, not in the haphazard way ofcombat. Spilling blood for a deity be-comes almost sacrilegious if done out-side of such a ritual. (At least for a cleric,such a ritual would not include wadinginto battle while yelling, “Blood for myLord Arioch!“)

Additionally, players must rememberthat the main goal of any religion is togain converts. There is also the matter ofpunishing the wicked (usually in thecourse of requiring their repentance).Maces and club-type weapons are wellsuited for both punishment and conver-sion (while making certain that the con-vert’s skin stays whole), without beingnecessarily “killing” instruments. Themere presence of such tools reminds thecleric of his duty to his god and his dutyto convert sinners and unbelievers, caus-ing him to feel closer to attaining hisultimate goal.

In a similar vein is the symbolism be-hind the mace and other club-type wea-pons, which comes to the fore in thehands of a cleric. Staff-like weapons por-tray the cleric’s role in divine mattersmuch as the rod (similar in form) is asymbol of kingship. Clerics are taughtthis connection and it becomes deeplyingrained in their minds. A union be-tween the weapon he uses and his rightto perform the holy spells of his office isformed in the cleric’s mind. His weaponpromotes his feeling of sanctity.

The combination of the cleric’s psy-chological need for a certain weaponand the disquiet involving impure blood-letting sets certain restrictions on theclerical mind. Should a cleric take up apointed or edged weapon and use it, theeffects are devastating. His feeling ofimpurity will prevent him from using anyclerical spells until a cleric at least threelevels higher casts a Bless spell on him.In any case, he will lose 10% of his exper-ience points and will (wisdom times fivepercent of the time) feel the need to goon a holy quest or a pilgrimage. The sec-ond time he commits this transgression,he loses his clerical powers altogether,usually becoming the equivalent of afirst-level fighter.

YES(Continued from Page 6)

The solution to this might be to re-examine the rules onweapon damage. This is a touchy subject, on which manypeople consider themselves experts. Since I know perfectlywell that I am not an expert on this, I offer the following sugges-tion with some diffidence.

It seems to me that perhaps weapons cannot be defined withgreat precision as to what damage they do, so what we reallyare talking about is distinctions between weapon groups bysize and mass, rather than by shape and operation. I wouldtherefore not have one d8 weapon, a lot of d6 weapons, and afew d4 weapons. Instead, I would change it to a lot of weaponswhich in the hands of experts will do d8 damage, a smaller lot ofweapons that in the hands of experts will do d6 damage, and avery few d4 weapons. The distinction in the new system wouldnot be by weapons, but by degree of training of the users.

The character classes in the D&D rules are divided basicallyinto fighters who are expert warriors, magic-users who arecompletely incompetent in melee (at least in theory), and abunch of other types in between. In other words, D&D charac-ters fall into fighters, semi-fighters, and non-fighters in terms ofrole models. Why not align weapon damage accordingly? Anexpert would be able to get full potential damage out of aweapon, a person given limited training with arms would beable to get lesser damage, while a person untrained with wea-pons would be able to get only a bare minimum from an unfa-miliar tool picked up in a panicked, last-hope defense.

Single-handed weapons would almost always do d8 damagein the hands of a fighter, the master of weapons. This includesthe broad sword, battle axe, mace, war hammer, etc., and wouldapply to fighters of most humanoid races allowed in the game,which (depending on which edition of the D&D rules you areusing) includes humans, elves, and dwarves. Smaller creaturessuch as halflings would be limited to smaller weapons in amiddle category, such as the gladius short sword. So wouldfull-size folk in unusual circumstances, such as an officerforced to use a dress sword unexpectedly; these would do d6 inthe hands of experts. Thieves, who are limited to light, easilyconcealed weapons because of the nature of their activities,would use d6 weapons also, while as a mixed class they wouldbe limited to d6 damage even if using heavier weapons. Thesame is true of clerics — a cleric with a broad sword would dod6 damage. The reason for this is that, because they spend onlypart of their time perfecting their combat skills, they cannot getas much damage capability out of a weapon as a true expertcould. A magic-user or other non-fighting class would do onlyd4 damage with unfamiliar weapons picked up, including thatbroad sword, again due to lack of skill. Because the magespends all of his or her time locked up with arcane grimoireslearning new spells, there is no time for someone of this profes-sion to acquire the skill needed to do better than this. So, that d4dagger is as good as can be had, and a lot easier to carry, too.

Because this is a weapons expertise system, the lack-of-skillrationale could be applied to any character, regardless of class,who picks up a totally unfamiliar weapon. That is to say, youcould promote role-playing by forcing players to choose whatweapons a character will specialize in, with four weapons forfighters, three for semi-fighters, and two for non-fighters(dagger and staff for mages as their single-handed and double-handed weapons — and no throwing daggers, that’s a separateskill!). Attempting to learn a new weapon would have the char-acter (if a fighter) doing d6 damage for one level of experiencebefore getting it up to d8 expertise, while a semi-fighter woulddo d4 damage for one level of experience before getting up tod6 with the new weapon. Mages don’t go around learning newweapons, and should be told so firmly. The same applies toclerics and other semi-fighters who ask for more training toimprove their damage up to fighter level — they don’t have timeenough to improve that much.

This system, admittedly, bunches all weapons pretty much

d6

d4

d4d4

d8 d4d4—d4d4d4

d8 d4d4d6

into two categories, single-handed weapons of d8 and double-handed weapons of d12 maximum damage. I put the two-handed weapons two dice sizes up for fighters to make up forthe significant loss in armor protection that not being able touse a good magic shield can bring (but would limit mages to d6damage with staff anyway). For those of you who feel thatweapons need to be more differentiated, you can always do thatby using a weapons vs. armor system. The point to using thissystem is that it allows greater freedom in role-playing by mak-ing weapons choice one of cultural and religious considera-tions, while maintaining game balance.

WEAPON DAMAGE TABLEWeapon Category Character Category

Semi- Non-One-handed weapons Fighters fighters fightersBattle axeBroad swordDaggerHalfling weaponsRapierShort swordSpearThor’s hammer (sledgehammer)War hammer (war pick)

d8d8d4

d6d6d8d8d8

d6d6d4d4d4d4d6d6d6

d4d4d4—d4d4d4

d4

Two-handed weaponsGreat axeGreat hammer (military sledge)Great mace (maul)Great swordHalfling weaponsHand-and-a-half swordLance (heavy spear)Lucerne hammer (military pick)Pole arms (halberd, pike, etc.)QuarterstaffStaff, light

d12d12d12d12d10d10d12d12d12d12d10

d8d8

d8d6d8d8d8

d8d6

Throwing weaponsThrowing axe (tomahawk)Throwing hammerThrowing knifeThrowing spear (javelin)

d6d6d4d6

d4d4d4d4

————

Rate of Semi- Non-Fighters fighters fighters

d10 d8 —d8 d6 —

d10+1 d8+1 —2d6+2 d10+2 —2d8+3 d12+3

fire1/rd1/rd1/2rd1/4rd1/6rd —

1/rd —1/2rd

d8d10

d6 d 8

Missile weaponsBow, longBow, shortCrossbow, lightCrossbow, mediumCrossbow, heavy

(arbalest)Sling, handSling, staff —

Notes on Weapon Damage Table“Fighters” includes human fighters, rangers, and paladins,

and dwarves and halflings among the nonhumans.“Semi-fighters” includes human clerics, druids, thieves, and

bards, and all combined-class characters such as elven fighter-magic users.

“Non-fighters” includes magic-users and illusionists.The light staff (same size as a magic staff) is the only two-

handed weapon for which a M-U can receive combat training.Magic-users do not learn the specialized skill of throwing a

dagger, or any other throwing or missile weapon. This is inten-tionally restrictive, and should be strictly enforced if you wantto keep magic-users away from military skills. The throwingweapons are all specialized weapons that are smaller than theirregular melee equivalents, hence the reduced damage.

The crossbow actually takes more time to use than shown,

D R A G O N 9

but the figures given are workable. Since it is a lot easier to use acrossbow accurately because you don’t struggle to hold thestring taut while aiming, I have made them +1 to hit for light, +2to hit for medium, and +3 to hit for heavy crossbows, and this isreflected in the damage figures. This benefit offsets the woe-

fully long time between shots. Hand-drawn bows really oughtto be given higher damage figures for realism, but given that thearcher gets in two to six times as many attacks as the crossbowuser, it seems better (for the sake of balance) to rate them asshown for damage.

Convention scheduleROCK-CON 9, Oct. 16-17 — Miniatures, boardgames, role-playing games and dealer booths will highlight this event, to beheld at Rockford Lutheran High School in Rockford, Ill. Fordetails, contact Cliff Wilson, 14425 Hansberry Road, RocktonIL 61072, phone (815) 624-7227.

AKROMINICON, Oct. 22-23 — This SF/fantasy/gaming con-vention will be held in the University of Akron Student Center.Admission for both days is $6 in advance, $8 at the door. Formore information, contact Tim McFadden, 660 Kling St., AkronOH 44311, phone (216) 535-6280.

FALL SCI-FI CONVENTION, Oct. 29-31 — Role-playing gamecompetition is just one of the many attractions at this gathering.The site is Griswold’s Inn in Fullerton, Calif. Memberships are$7.50 each by mail until Oct. 10; admission at the door is $15 forthe weekend. For information, phone (213) 337-7947 or write toFall Sci-Fi Convention, c/o Fantasy Publishing Company, 1855West Main Street, Alhambra CA 91801.

WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION ’82, Oct. 29-31 — To be heldat the Park Plaza Hotel in New Haven, Conn. Guests of honorwill be Peter Straub, Joseph Payne Brennan, and Donald Maitz,with Charles L. Grant as toastmaster. Information is availableby writing to World Fantasy Convention ’82, P.O. Box 8262,Hartford CT 06108.

STARCON ’82, Oct. 30 — A gaming convention to be held at theUniversity of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Forinformation, contact chairman Ignacy Lipiec, 229 E. 22nd Ave.,Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5V 1T8.

WARGAMERS WEEKEND, Nov. 5-7 — The latest running ofthis semiannual event is sponsored by the Newburyport (Mass.)Wargaming Association in conjunction with Chris’s Game andHobby Shop. It will be held at the Disabled American Veterans(DAV) Hall in Newburyport, Mass., starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday.Advance registration is $3 per day ($1 for Friday). Overnightaccommodations and refreshments will be available at the hall.Those desiring further information can contact Chris’s Gameand Hobby Shop, 83 Lafayette Road, Salisbury MA 01950,phone (617) 462-8241.

AUTUMN REVEL, Nov. 6-7 — The staff of TSR Hobbies, Inc.,will get together with gamers for another of TSR’s mini-conventions at the American Legion Hall, 735 Henry St., LakeGeneva, Wis. A diverse schedule of gaming events will be of-fered, along with the traditional auction, and refreshments willbe available on the premises. Doors will be open from 9 a.m. tomidnight on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.Admission is $5 for the weekend or $3 for one day, and all gameevents are free of charge. For details, write to Autumn Revel,c/o TSR Hobbies, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

10 OCTOBER 1982

ELFQUESTFantasy comic characters

f l e s h e d o u t f o r A D & D � p l a yb y K a r l M e r r i s

ELFQUEST is a graphic novel byWendy and Richard Pini about the colli-sion of disparate cultures, human andinhuman, and the consequences of thatcollision on the people of those cultures.Unlike most fantasy comics, ELFQUESTis not merely a hack-and-slash adven-ture story. Instead, it is a story that dealswith the emotional and intellectual con-

and parry of ideas rather than swords,and the transcendence of the spirit overhistory, culture, and race.

This article concerns itself mainly withissues 1 through 5 of ELFQUEST, al-though it also draws upon informationfrom later chapters of the story. Togeth-er, these issues comprise the first bookof ELFQUEST, “Journey to Sorrow’s

flicts between its characters, the thrust End.”

C u t t e r4th-level elf fighterALIGNMENT: Lawful goodHIT POINTS: 31ARMOR CLASS: 7NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 (with his

sword, New Moon)HIT BONUS: +4MOVE: 15”PSIONIC ABILITY: NilSTRENGTH: 13INTELLIGENCE: 12WISDOM: 16DEXTERITY: 17CONSTITUTION: 13CHARISMA: 17SIZE: S (4’tall)

Cutter is the chief of the Wolfriders, atribe of elves that for many long yearsdwelt in a deep forest they named theHolt. They led a simple, uncomplicatedlife, hunting by night with their friendsthe wolves, trading for metal with theirascible mountain trolls and, on occa-sion, feuding with neighboring bands ofhumans.

There had been bad blood betweenthe Wolfriders and the humans for aslong as anyone could remember. It hadnever escalated into actual warfare;neither the elves nor the humans werequite civilized enough to enjoy that brandof insanity. But from time to time a newterritorial boundary would be drawn,fought over, and drawn again. From timeto time, the elves would steal humanchildren, just for fun. From time to time,bravos from the human camp would go

12 OCTOBER 1982

hunting for elf skulls, just for fun. Eachside, of course, blamed the other forstarting the trouble, and neither side tru-ly wanted to end it.

But, in the time Cutter came to be chiefof the Wolfriders, the feud between manand elf found a final, terrible ending. Theherald of the disaster was Madcoil, amonstrous accident spawned by ancientelf magic, a thing composed of fangs andclaws and an insatiable bloodlust. Fromnowhere it appeared, and in the courseof several days it ripped through thetribes of both elves and men, dealingdeath impartially. It was Bearclaw, Cut-ter’s father, who tracked and woundedthe beast, before falling beneath thecreature’s claws, and it was Cutter him-self, as the head of his tribe, who finallyslew Madcoil.

The human tribes, of course, knew no-thing of the elves’ valiant defense againstMadcoil, but they knew what Madcoilhad done to them, and they could guessthe monster’s origin. Human dislike ofthe elves grew into open hatred, and thec o n f l i c t b e t w e e n t h e t w o r a c e sintensified.

The elves found it harder and harder toavoid contact with the hostile humansand, inevitably, one of the Wolfriders,Redlance the tracker and shaper of trees,was taken prisoner by them. Rushing toRedlance’s aid, Cutter and his Wolfridersstormed the human camp, and in the en-suing fight one of the humans died byCutter’s hand. Having recovered Red-lance, the elves vanished into the forestbefore more blood could be spilled.

But the humans’ revenge was swift incoming and devastating in extent. Driv-en to madness by this latest elvish out-rage, the chief of the human tribe or-dered that the elves’ forest be put to thetorch. The resulting conflagration wasso great that the Holt and all the regionaround it were consumed, and the landsof both Elf and Man were destroyed.

Cutter and his Wolfriders fled to themountains. Forcing his way into the sub-terranean realm of the trolls, Cutter wasable to “persuade” the Troll King toguide the elves beneath the mountainsto the green lands beyond, where theelves would finally be safe from humans.But Greymung, the Troll King, angeredby the Wolfriders’ invasion of his do-main, tricked the elves by leading themto a sterile, sun-blasted desert and thensealing the troll tunnel behind them, sothat the elves could not return.

Cutter persevered. With no other route

Artwork © 1982 Wendy Pini. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Schanes and Schanes.

open to them, he led his tribe into thebarren land, a desolation terrifyingly un-like the elves’ native forest.

After much trial and hardship, Cutterbrought his people out of the desert andinto the rugged mountains beyond.There, much to his astonishment, Cutterfound Sorrow’s End, a thriving village ofelves. Even more astonishing, Cutteralso found Leetah, a proud, capable elf-maiden to whom he instantly lost hisheart.

But, as Cutter soon discovered, find-ing is not having. The Wolfriders hadfound the Sun Folk (as the elves of Sor-row’s End called themselves), but theways and temperaments of the two tribeswere so different (the Wolfriders wildand aggressive, the Sun Folk peacefuland easy-going) that it seemed uncer-tain that the two kindreds could live to-gether. Cutter had found Leetah, but

Leetah would have none of the fierce elfchieftain, despite a certain secret attrac-tion she felt for him.

Ultimately, Cutter had to fight for theright to court Leetah (and, in a moregeneral sense, for his tribe’s acceptanceby the Sun Folk) by accepting the chal-lenge of Leetah’s other suitor, Rayek thehunter, a tough, resourceful elf and aleader among the villagers. As prescribedby the customs of the Sun Folk, the twocombatants met in three contests, oneeach of strength, wit and courage. Thewinner each time, though a very nearthing, was Cutter.

Eventually, Leetah finally yielded toCutter’s charm and good nature, and thetwo were joined. And in their union, thetwo elf kindreds, Wolfriders and SunFolk, came together in peace. They were,in that time, one people.

Cutter, Blood of Ten Chiefs, is a pas-

Wolfriders, Skywise has been at his side,offering good counsel and lightening hisfriend’s burden of responsibility. As hisname implies, Skywise is a stargazer anda collector of stories and folklore, an el-vish natural philosopher. He is also,when required, a conniver, a tricksterand a thief. At once practical and mis-chievous, he often serves to counterbal-ance Cutter’s blunt and sometime im-pulsive nature.

Skywise’s most prized possession is alodestone which he “acquired” from thetrolls. To Skywise its magnetic proper-ties have assumed a magical, almostmystical, quality. Many times it hasserved him as a guide when all otherresources have failed. Certainly it haskept him and Cutter on course through-out their many wanderings.

sionate fighter, unswervingly devoted tothe welfare of his tribe. His responsibili-ties as chief of the Wolfriders are evernear his thoughts, and though given toflashes of anger and reckless action, heis a wise leader when given the oppor-tunity for reflection. The typical elf isprovincial and tradition-bound (as mightbe expected in a people whose lives spancenturies), Cutter is an elf of vision, whocan see beyond past prejudices andpresent fears to the hope of the future.

And, when vision and hope aren’tenough, Cutter has New Moon, a +1 troll-forged shortsword. Interestingly, thereis a key concealed within New Moon’spommel, a key which, Cutter has beentold, can open the way to a vast treasuretrove hidden somewhere in the trollmountains. Having more pressing prob-lems, Cutter has not followed up on this,but he will. In time.

S k y w i s e3rd-level elf fighter/4th-level thief

ALIGNMENT: Lawful goodHIT POINTS: 20ARMOR CLASS: 8NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 (shortsword)HIT BONUS: +2MOVE: 15”PSIONIC ABILITY: NilSTRENGTH: 12INTELLIGENCE: 13WISDOM: 12DEXTERITY: 16CONSTITUTION: 12CHARISMA: 15SIZE: S (4’ tall)

Skywise is Cutter’s closest friend, bestadvisor and most steadfast supporter.Throughout Cutter’s trials as chief of the

L e e t a h7th-level clericALIGNMENT: Lawful goodHIT POINTS: 35ARMOR CLASS: 8NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4 (dagger)HIT BONUS: +1MOVE: 12”PSIONIC ABILITY: NilSTRENGTH: 12INTELLIGENCE: 15WISDOM: 15DEXTERITY: 16CONSTITUTION: 13CHARISMA: 16SIZE: S (4’ tall)

Leetah is a gentle, capable elfmaidenheld in high esteem by the Sun Folk.Reserved and dignified by nature, shefelt shocked and embarrassed by her

deep attraction to Cutter, a wild andwoolly elf whom she considered hardlymore civilized than his wolf. But, in time,she came to appreciate Cutter’s virtuesand understand his weaknesses, and fi-nally love him, warts and all.

Leetah is a singularly powerful healer,able to cure serious wounds, cure dis-ease and neutralize poison by touch (al-though she can only do this a few times aday). Her skill at healing is such that inthe 600 years since Leetah came into herfull powers, no elf has died in Sorrow’sEnd.

She is deeply devoted to the preserva-tion of life, and will harm no living thing ifit can possibly be avoided. At time ofgreat need, however, she can do whatmust be done, and she is an accom-plished knife-thrower.

D R A G O N 1 3

R a y e k4th-level elf fighterALIGNMENT: Neutral

(chaotic tendencies)HIT POINTS: 31ARMOR CLASS: 8NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4 (dagger)HIT BONUS: +1MOVE: 15”PSIONIC ABILITY: NilSTRENGTH: 14INTELLIGENCE: 14WISDOM: 11DEXTERITY: 16CONSTITUTION: 14CHARISMA: 14SIZE: S (4’ tall)

Rayek, Cutter’s rival among the SunFolk, is quite unlike the friendly, peace-loving elves of Sorrow’s End. He is adark, moody elf, driven by some innerdemon to be the best at everything. And,until the arrival of the Wolfriders, Rayekwas indeed the swiftest runner, the mostcunning hunter, the strongest of bodyand will. It was inevitable that he shouldview the chief of the Wolfriders as a chal-lenge to be overcome and not as a friend.

The ancient elf powers run strongly inRayek. Although “sending,” the form oftelepathy practiced by the Wolfriders(see below), is not taught among the SunFolk, Rayek has on his own developedthe ability to “think black thoughts” atother creatures with the effect of a stunspell. Rayek can also employ telekinesiswith the skill of a 10th-level magic-user.

Given his extraordinary skills, it is notsurprising that Rayek is not used to fail-ure. Deeply ashamed at having lost toCutter in the trial of head, hand andheart, Rayek fled Sorrow’s End to seek aplace for himself in the world: a placewhere he could be the best.

14 OCTOBER 1982

All of the Wolfriders possess the talentof “sending,” a form of minor telepathythat allows silent communication but

As might be gleaned from the abovedescriptions, the elves of ELFQUEST arenot the grand sort that build crystal-spired palaces or that weave deep mag-ic, but the simpler sort that live close tothe earth and whose wisdom is that ofrock, twig and stream. They are short, aselves go, averaging about 4 feet in height.They are wiry and very quick. Cutter’speople, the Wolfriders, are fair of hairand complexion, while the Sun Folk aredark-haired and copper-colored. Theymay be considered elves as per theAD&D™ rules in terms of combat abilitiesand saving throws, but magic-use amongthe elves of ELFQUEST is uncommon.

On Elves

P i c k n o s e4th-level “dwarf” fighterALIGNMENT: NeutralHIT POINTS: 40ARMOR CLASS: 5NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 or by weapontypeHIT BONUS: +1MOVE: 12”PSIONIC ABILITY: NilSTRENGTH: 17INTELLIGENCE: 11WISDOM: 11DEXTERITY: 12CONSTITUTION: 16CHARISMA: 12SIZE: S (4’ + tall)

Of all the races described in the AD&Drules, the trolls of ELFQUEST mostclosely resemble dwarves. They areshort, squat, powerfully built beings,prodigious delvers and masters of stoneand metal. They are clannish and secre-tive, suspicious of those not of their kindand not too trustful of those who are.They are very greedy. And — unlikedwarves — they are green.

For all of that, the trolls of ELFQUESTdo possess a certain crude charm. Theymay be driven by avarice and malice, butthey do not apologize for it and, they arerather proud of it. Trolls are devious, butthey are openly devious, crooked in astraightforward way. They enjoy gam-bling and drinking and have a profound,if somewhat vulgar, sense of humor.

Trolls do not like daylight. They arenot harmed by it, but since they spendmost of their lives in the dark under-ground, they find the harsh light of thesun very uncomfortable and will avoid itwhen they can.

Picknose (named for his profile) is a

does not allow the planting of sugges-tions (as per the telepathy spell). Othermagical powers, such as Leetah’s heal-ing ability and Rayek’s telekinesis, arepresent only as “wild talents” and arevery rare. As an example, Redlance, theelf who was taken captive by the hu-mans, is the only elf among both the Wolf-riders and the Sun Folk who can growand charm plants. There are no strictlimits on how often these talents can beused, but they all require concentrationto be effective and, if used indiscrimi-nately, can be physically draining.

The wolves of the Wolfriders are equalto dire wolves as per the Monster Manual(AC 6, MV 18”, HD 3+3, D/A 2-8), but arefairly intelligent and can communicate,on a simple level, with their elf-friends.

troll whom Cutter has had to deal with onmore than one occasion. He is a troll’stroll: gold-hungry, ill-tempered, and anincurable romantic. (Picknose on thesubject of romance: “A maiden’s love isas true as the gold he gives her, and themore gold, the more true her love.”) Itwas Picknose who sealed the troll cavesbehind the Wolfriders after depositingthe elves in the desert, and also Picknosewho attempted to steal the key con-cealed in Cutter’s sword, only to lose it toSkywise’s light fingers.

Although there is little love betweenthe trolls and the elves, there is also littlegenuine hostility. Would that this weretrue throughout the world of ELFQUEST.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Elfquest, Book I(softcover, Starblaze, The Donning Com-pany, 5659 Virginia Beach Blvd, NorfolkVA 23502); Journey to Sorrow’s End(Playboy Press); and Elfquest (maga-zine, WARP Graphics, 2 Reno Rd.,Poughkeepsie NY 12603). All materialcreated and copyrighted by Wendy andRichard Pini.

D R A G O N 1 5

Are demi-humans able to manufacture magical items?Yes, of a wide variety of types, though not as many as humans

are able to make because of the demi-humans’ limited ability toclimb in class levels. Halfling, gnomish, half-elven, elven, anddwarven clerics of 5th level and above may make holy waterwith the proper materials, as outlined in the Dungeon MastersGuide. Gnomish, elven, and dwarven clerics of 7th level orabove may inscribe scrolls of clerical spells of up to the 4th levelin power. Half-elven and elven magic-users, with the aid of analchemist, may make magic potions of many sorts at 7th leveland above; they may also inscribe magic scrolls with spells ofup to the 4th level (for 7th or 8th level half-elven magic-users) or5th level (for elves of 9th-11th level in magic-user ability). Pro-tection scrolls may also be inscribed. Half-elven Archdruidscan, of course, make any druidical magic item.

Beyond this, what can be done? Dungeon Masters mightwish to consider the following possibilities. Grey elves (faerie)

16

Yet it would appear, from some comments in the DMG (p.116), that demi-humans are sometimes capable of makingitems with permanent dweomers. A Dungeon Master coulddeclare that a demi-human cleric who reaches the highestpossible level is able to invoke the favor of his or her deity topermanently enchant certain items, in the same way as normalclerics of 11th level or above, or druids of 13th level and above.The range of the items that could be so enchanted might belimited so that the items would be oriented toward the needsand capabilities of that race (as the Cloak of Elvenkind and

are supposed to get a +1 on their intelligence scores, bringingtheir maximum intelligence up to 19. Could these elves perhapsalso reach the 12th level of magic-user ability with a 19 intelli-gence? At that point, they could manufacture a number of othermagic items, particularly those with a number of charges thatare expended with each use of the item but may be replenishedlater (wands, staves, spell-storing rings, and so forth).

OCTOBER 1982

Boots of Elvenkind are appropriate to elves, and the DwarvenThrower +3 Warhammer is appropriate to dwarves). Elvencleric/magic-users might be able to make a wide variety ofitems in this way, such as magic swords, bows, spears, arrows,armor, shields, daggers, helms, and any other such item asappropriate to the use of elvenkind. Dungeon Masters coulddeclare some items as not being the sort elves would want tomake, either because of cultural concerns (elves do not gener-ally use axes or tridents) or because those items are beyondtheir ability to make (Wish rings, for example).

Gnomish cleric/illusionists might make and enchant items ofillusionist nature (daggers, rings charged with illusionist spells,certain wands and amulets) of temporary or lasting nature;other gnomish clerics or fighter/clerics might make magicalaxes, hammers, armor, shields, daggers, short swords, andmissile weapons. Dwarven clerics or fighter/clerics wouldmake the same sorts of things gnomish clerics make. Halflingclerics and druids do not achieve as high a level at their maxi-mums as do the other demi-human races, so it may be conjec-tured that their magic items would not be as powerful, but DM’smight want to investigate the possibility of some minor magic-item creation appropriate to halflings in general.

Some excellent resource material for figuring out what sortsof specialized magic items a certain demi-human race couldmake may be found by looking over the description of theparticular pantheon that race worships. What sorts of weapons,armor, and items do their deities use? One could simply devel-op scaled-down versions of the gods’ major weapons andequipment and define those as items able to be fabricated bydemi-human spellcasters. Halfling druids who worship Sheelathe Wise (issue #59 of DRAGON™ Magazine) might use per-manently enchanted shillelaghs or amulets that store Entanglespells; dwarven clerics of Dumathoin (issue #58) might haveamulets that duplicate the functions of Wands of Metal andMineral Detection; Aerdrie Faenya (issue #60) could have elven

followers with rings of Feather Falling or Avian Control; andgnomes who are clerics of Segojan Earthcaller (issue #61)could have enchanted crystals that would summon (on a one-time basis) a minor earth elemental for assistance. In any event,Dungeon Masters should try to keep such magical items rela-tively rare; DM’s should also note that demi-humans will notwant to sell or give away their magic items and will fight to keepthem. Only in extraordinary circumstances, such as for acts ofgreat heroism or deeds that greatly benefit a particular race,will demi-humans even consider giving away a magical item.

* * *

How does one make or acquire “elfin chainmail”?Elfin chainmail is a special type of chainmail armor that is

much lighter and stronger than normal, and allows greaterfreedom of movement. It is made exclusively by elven armor-smiths of above average ability, who keep certain aspects of itsmanufacture secret for a number of reasons. Even were itsmanufacturing process better known, duplicating elfin armorwould prove very difficult for most armorers.

What little is known about making elfin chainmail is that thelinks of the chainmail are much thinner and smaller in diameterthan usual. The metal from which elfin chainmail is made isapparently an alloy of high-quality steel and mithral, a rare andvaluable metal of bright silvery color. In the process of makingthe alloy, the elven smiths add a special substance to themolten mixture to cause the metal to be harder; the nature ofthis substance has never been identified, since it is either com-pletely absorbed into the metal in the smelting process, orsomehow destroyed. Not even magical devices appear to beable to determine the nature of this substance. At any rate, thepresence or after-effects of this substance also make the alloyimpervious to enchantment, no matter how powerful the spell.

Elfin chainmail is linked together in an exceptionally intricate

D R A G O N 1 7

fashion; the pattern of the interconnections of links changesfrom place to place across the armor, so that certain generaldesigns may appear. One suit might seem to have a tree-likedesign on the chest, another might have an abstract pattern ofcriss-crossed lines, another might have sunburst designs onfront and back. The intricacy of the links is another reason(aside from the nature of the alloy itself) for the armor’sstrength. It appears that only elves, because of their passion forcomplexity and appreciation of artistic beauty, are able toproperly fashion the armor in this way.

It takes twice as long as normal to make a suit of elfin chain-mail (90 days instead of 45), and may take even longer than thatif the maker desires a particularly complex design for linking ittogether. Only 25% of all elven smiths are able to fashion elfinchainmail, the rest being occupied with making other sorts ofarmor (ring mail, scale mail, etc.) or being of lesser ability.Making elfin chainmail requires the full involvement of thesmith and many years of study as well; player character elves,even those with exceptional characteristics and backgroundsas smiths or armorers, are not able to make elfin chainmailthough they could make some minor repairs on it if necessary.Player character elves could, however, obtain such armor as agift for extraordinary services rendered for the elven people; itis considered a great honor to have a suit of mail made, andsome elves who own magical but human-made chainmail willprefer to use elfin chainmail instead.

Dungeon Masters who like to start out characters with someminor magical item could offer elven characters an elfin chain-mail suit instead, though evil elves would not be able to receivethis benefit. Non-elves are not given elfin chainmail by long-established tradition, and it is never sold. Elves regard it as anartistic treasure as well as an expression of appreciation anddistinction; selling it would cheapen its social and culturalvalue. Most non-elves are not able to wear elfin chainmail any-way, since they do not have the proper build and size to fit an

already made suit, though some thin and light humans and afew large tallfellow halflings might possibly be able to fit into it.Elves would not appreciate seeing a non-elf wearing elfinchainmail, however, and might believe the wearer got it bykilling or robbing the previous owner.

Elfin chainmail weighs about 15 pounds, allows movement atnormal speed (up to 12”), and is regarded as non-bulky; itsweight is very evenly distributed over the body and limbs. A thinlayer of underpadding is required, usually made of tough butsoft materials carefully woven to permit free movement andgood ventilation. Special small helms are usually worn with it,and these take about a week each to make properly (includingdecorations, engravings, and so forth).

* * *

Why are elves unable to become rangers? Why do half-elveshave limited ranger abilities? Shouldn’t sylvan elves haveranger-like talents? How are certain of the elven deities able tohave ranger fighting abilities if their subjects do not?

These questions are all interrelated to some degree, and aresome of the most-asked questions about elves in general. Theanswer to all of them lies in the nature of the ranger class.

Rangers developed among humanity as a response to thepresence of the giant-class humanoids as direct competitorsfor food, living space, and power within the worlds governed bythe laws of the AD&D™ game. The deities of humanity saw fit toencourage certain persons to take up roles of guardianship, inessence entrusted with the safety and security of the humanrace. Rangers are intended to be self-reliant, strong, hardy, andpossessed of the wisdom and intelligence to fully appreciatetheir roles as guardians. They operate in outdoor environmentsby and large, thus being familiar with normal woodcrafts liketracking, hunting, and camping. Rangers develop skills relatedto stealthy movement, spying, and so forth, so they may better

18 OCTOBER 1982

serve as scouts, keeping tabs on local humanoid groups in thewilderness and in so doing, keeping their home communitiesand allied settlements informed of all happenings.

Tracking, however, does not a ranger make. One of the factsof life about being a ranger is that rangers are going to be on thehot spot, in the middle of some very savage fighting, on a fairlyfrequent basis. Humanoids don’t like having humans aroundthem, much less having humans spy on them; furthermore,rangers, in their roles as scouts, are somewhat more vulnerablesince they prefer travelling in smaller groups. It is forbidden formore than three rangers to travel together, because when thishappens rangers interpret this as meaning that they are leavingsome other place undefended, and they will immediately try tospread out and cover the widest area possible. On top of this,rangers have (from their upbringing and studies) an intensedislike (to put it mildly) of all evil humanoids. Rangers are notjust taught how to live off the land; they are taught to kill, and killefficiently and quickly. They learn the vulnerable spots giant-class humanoids have, the ways in which they fight and weartheir armor, and the best way to do battle with them so that theranger, and not the humanoid, is still standing afterwards.

No bones are made about this; some rangers are fond ofdescribing their jobs as “going to exotic places, meeting inter-esting creatures, and killing them.” However, it is understoodthat the purpose of combat is not to make oneself rich, famous,or fearsome. Combat is fought only if it cannot be avoided;humanoids, though, offer all sorts of opportunities for combatwith their distinctly aggressive and often sadistic policies to-ward humanity. Rangers are therefore “on call” at all times inthe defense of their homes, communities, and nations.

Elves, regardless of how they feel about humanoids, do notmake good rangers because their empathy for life and livingthings runs counter to many of the teachings that rangers mustabsorb and learn to use. Elves put a lot of emphasis in combaton style, and cannot rid themselves of their distaste for killing

any creature, even evil ones and even when it’s necessary forone’s own protection (though they are still perfectly capable offighting and killing, too). Rangers, whether lawful good, neutralgood, or chaotic good, all share a high degree of dedication totheir cause (from their loyalty to humanity as a whole, if lawfulgood, or from their personal standards, if chaotic good); elvessee such intense commitment as grievous to a carefree andcheerful spirit. But elves appreciate rangers, because rangersregard them as allies and will usually try to help elves just asthey help humanity.

Half-elves may become rangers since they usually inherit atleast part of their human parent’s viewpoint on life, wateringdown their elven attitudes considerably. They don’t gain thehigh levels humans do as rangers because they are slightlysmaller and less effective in hand-to-hand fighting, and be-cause they still have some of their innate elven distaste forbloodshed in them.

There doesn’t seem to be any particular reason why elves,especially sylvan elves, shouldn’t have a knowledge of how totrack wild game. Human or elven player characters with sec-ondary skills of Forester, Hunter, and possibly Trapper mightreasonably be allowed a limited skill in tracking animals orpersons, around 20-50% in accuracy, in outdoor (and maybeindoor) environments. But the other skills rangers have wouldnot necessarily apply.

Finally, some elven deities have ranger talents because theirageless experience and spheres of interest make this possible.Gods do not operate by mortal rules; they make themselvesproficient with whatever talents they deem necessary for themto best operate according to their respective viewpoints. Forthis same reason, gods may have high levels of experience innumerous character classes, though mortals are quite limitedin the number and levels of proficiency they may achieve intheir own classes. One cannot measure a god’s power with amortal’s yardstick.

D R A G O N 1 9

FEATURED

CREATURESOFFICIAL AD&D™ MONSTERS FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN

©1982 E. Gary Gygax. All rights reserved.

All of you Scholarly Readers are famil-iar with Djinni and Efreeti, the bestknown of Geniekind. Now you will knowall about the rest of the group — Dao,Jannee, and Marids. The Dao and Maridsare included in the Lost Caverns of Tsoj-canth module, along with quite a fewother new monsters, but repetition doesno harm, and many of you will not haveseen the module. Enjoy rounding outyour 1001 Nights scenarios! Next issuewe’ll cover some additional types ofelves and their canine companions.

by Gary Gygax

JannFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-2 (10% 1-8)ARMOR CLASS: 3 (plus possible armor)MOVE: 12”/30”HIT DICE: 6 + 2% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: by weapon,

plus strength bonusSPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%INTELLIGENCE: Very-exceptionalALIGNMENT: Neutral (good tendencies)SIZE: M (6’-7’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI / 975 + 8 / h.p.

The race of the Jannee is the weakestof the elemental humanoids (cf. Dao,Djinni, Efreeti, Marid) collectively knownas Genies. This is because a jann isformed out of all four of the elements andmust therefore spend most of his or hertime in the Prime Material Plane.

Jannee often (60%) wear chainmailarmor, which gives an effective armorclass of 2. They typically use large scim-itars (equal to bastard swords) and com-

20 OCTOBER 1982

posite longbows. Males have strengthranging from 18/01 to 18/00, femalesfrom 17 (roll of 01-50) to 18/50 (roll of51-00).

In addition to their ability to fly, janneehave the following spell-like powerswhich they can employ at will, one at atime, one per melee round: growth/re-duction (twice/day), invisibility (threetimes/day), create food and water (once/day, as a 7th-level cleric), and ethereal-ness (once/day, 1 hour maximum dura-tion). Jannee perform at 12th level ofability for spells, except as noted.

Jannee are able to dwell in air, earth,fire, or water environments for up to 2days (48 hours). This includes the Ele-mental Planes, to which any jann cantravel — even taking up to six individualsalong, if those persons form a hand-holding circle with the jann. Failure toreturn to the Prime Material Plane within2 days inflicts 1 point of damage per houron the jann, until death occurs or a re-turn to the said plane occurs. Travel toother Elemental Planes is possible, sansdamage, providing at least 2 days werepreviously spent on the Prime Materialimmediately prior to the travel.

Jannee tend to be suspicious of hu-mans. They do not like demi-humans,

and they detest humanoids. Jannee willaccept djinn, but shun dao, efreet, andmarids. They favor dwelling in forlorndesert areas, at hidden oases, wherethey have privacy and safety. They willsometimes befriend humans or workwith them for some desired reward (typi-cally potent magic items).

The society of jannee is very open,with males and females regarded asequals. A group of 11-30 individuals typ-ically makes up a tribe ruled by a Sheik,with 1-2 Vizers. Exceptionally powerfulSheiks are given the title of Amir, and intime of need can gather and commandlarge forces of jannee (and allied hu-mans, at times).

Jannee leader types have genius intel-ligence and greater hit dice (up to 8+4 forSheiks, 9+5 for Amirs) and strength (19possible 10% of the time). Vizers havegenius to supra-genius intelligence andthe following additional spell-like pow-ers, usable three times per day each atthe 12th level of ability: augury, detectmagic, and divination.

In addition to knowing the CommonTongue and the various languages ofGeniekind, jannee are able to speak withanimals.

DaoFREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1 (10%, 2-5)ARMOR CLASS: 3MOVE: 9”/15” (6”)HIT DICE: 8 + 3% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-18SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Low-veryALIGNMENT: Neutral evilSIZE: L (8’-11’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII / 1300 + 12 / h.p.

A dao (this form is also the plural) is acreature from the Elemental Plane ofEarth, related to efreet, djinn, jannee,and marids (qq.v.). While they are gen-erally found on that plane (where theyare uncommon), the dao love to come tothe Prime Material Plane to work evil.

Their magical properties enable themto perform any of the following spell-likepowers, one at a time, once each per day:change self, detect good, detect magic,assume gaseous form, become invisible,

MaridFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 0MOVE: 9’/15”//24”HIT DICE: 13% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 8-32SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%INTELLIGENCE: High-geniusALIGNMENT: ChaoticSIZE: L (18’tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: Vlll/5,000+18/h.p.

Marids are the most powerful of allGeniekind. (See Dao, Djinni, Efreeti,Jann.) They are formed of material fromthe Elemental Plane of Water. On theirown plane they are rare; marids seldomcome to the Prime Material Plane.

Their magical properties allow them touse any of the following spell-like pow-ers, one at a time, twice each per day:detect evil/good, detect invisible, detectmagic, become invisible, assume liquidform, polymorph self, purify water. Mar-ids can do the following up to seven

fulfill another’s limited wish (in a per-verse way), use misdirection, passwall,create a spectral force, and create a wallof stone. In addition, dao can transmuterock to mud three times per day and usedig as often as six times per day. Daoperform these abilities at the 18th level ofspell use:

times per day: assume a gaseous form,lower water, part water, create a wall offog, bestow water breathing upon othersfor up to one full day. Marids can alwayscreate water (which they can direct in apowerful jet up to 6” long, causing both ablinding effect on the individual struckand from 1-6 points damage) and waterwalk. Once per year a marid can use analter reality. Marids perform at a level ofspell use equal to 26th.

It is possible for a marid to carry 10,000

It is possible for a dao to carry 5,000g.p. weight without tiring. Carrying dou-ble this weight will cause tiring in threeturns. For every 1,000 g.p. of weightunder 10,000, add one turn to the lengthof carrying ability; i.e., a 6,000 g.p. weightallows seven turns of either walking orflying. After tiring, dao must rest for sev-en turns. Note that dao can move throughearth (not worked stone) as if at a bur-rowing speed of 6”. They cannot takeliving beings on such excursions.

Dao are not harmed by earth-based orearth-affecting spells. Holy water hasdouble the normal (adverse) effect uponthese monsters.

Only the efreet are friendly towardsdao. Dao hate djinn, jann, and marids.The dao dwell in the great Dismal Delveon their own plane, and in deep caves,caverns, or cysts on the Prime MaterialPlane. Their ruler is said to be a khanserved by hetmen and atamen.

Dao regard servitude as do efreet, andare even more prone to malice andrevenge.

Dao speak all geniekind languages, aswell as Common and the languages ofEarth Elementalkind.

Dao can travel in the Prime Material,Elemental, and Astral planes.

g.p. weight without tiring. Carrying dou-ble this weight causes tiring in but threeturns. For every 2,000 g.p. weight beingcarried under 20,000, add one turn tolength of carrying ability; i.e., a 12,000g.p. weight can be carried for seven turnsbefore tiring occurs. Tired marids mustrest for six turns. Note that marids swimvery fast. Of course they can breathe wa-ter and are at home at any depth, havingboth ultravision and infravision.

Marids are not harmed by water-basedspells. Cold-based spells allow them +2on saving throws and -2 on each die ofdamage. Fire does +1 per die of damage,with saving throws at -1. Note that steamdoes not harm them.

Marids tolerate djinni but do not par-ticularly like them. The same is true ofjannee. Dao and efreeti are disliked. Mar-ids are loosely ruled by a Padisha, for allclaim to be shahs, atabegs, beglerbegs,or mufti at the very least. The race ofmarids is very independent and egoistic.

Forcing a marid to serve is a most diffi-cult task. Bribery and flattery may beslightly more successful, but marids cannever be relied upon.

Marids speak all languages through aform of ESP. They can travel the Astral,Elemental, Ethereal, and Prime Materialplanes.

D R A G O N 2 1

by Gary Gygax

© 1982 E. Gary Gygax. All rights reserved.

When the cantrips for illusionists and magic-users were deli-vered (issues #59-61), I promised that spells would followthereafter. Well, as usual, various and sundry things interposedthemselves, and I do apologize for the delay. Here, withoutfurther ado, are the new illusionist spells developed to date forinclusion in the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® ex-pansion volume:

No. 1st Level 2nd Level 3rd Level13 Chromatic Orb Alter Self Delude14 Phantom Armor Fascinate Phantom Steed15 Read Illusionist Ultravision Phantom Wind

Magic16 Spook Whispering Wind Wraithform

4th Level 5th Level 6th Level9 Dispel Magic Advanced Illusion Death Fog10 Rainbow Pattern Dream Mirage Arcane11 Solid Fog Magic Mirror Mislead12 Vacancy Tempus Fugit Phantasmagoria

7th Level7 Shadow Walk8 Weird

SPELL EXPLANATIONS

Chromatic Orb (Alteration-Evocation)

Level: 1Range: 0Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: The chromatic orb spell enablesthe illusionist to create a small globe of varying hue in his or herhand and hurl it at any opponent he or she desires, providingthere are no barriers between the illusionist and the targetcreature, and that the target creature is within 3” (the longestdistance the chromatic orb can be hurled). It is magical, andeven creatures normally struck only by +5, +4, etc. magic wea-pons will be affected by the chromatic orb if it strikes. Magicresistance withstands this spell, of course. At 1” or closer, thereis a +3 chance “to hit,” at over 1” to 2” there is a +2 chance tostrike the target, and from over 2” to the maximum 3” range thechance “to hit” is only +1. The color of the globe determines itseffect when a subject is struck. Low-level illusionists are re-stricted as to what color orb they can bring into existence bymeans of this spell, although the hues below their level arealways available should the choice be made to select a color notcommensurate with level of experience. Colors and effects areshown on the table below:

Minimum Level Color of Orb Hit Points Specialof Spell Caster Generated of Damage Powers

1st Pearly 1-4 light1

2nd Ruby 1-6 heat2

3rd Flame 1-8 fire3

4th Amber 1-10 blindness4

5th Emerald 1-12 stinking cloud5

6th Turquoise 2-16 magnetism6

7th Sapphire paralysis7

8th Amethyst (slow) petrifaction8

9th Ashen (paralysis) death9

Notes on special powers:1 — Light equal to a light spell will be generated and

persist for 1 round/level of the caster, and if the subject

22 OCTOBER 1982

fails to save versus magic it will be blinded for theduration.

2 — Heat from the ruby orb will melt up to 1 cubic yard ofice, and creatures not saving versus magic will suffer aloss of 1 point of strength and 1 point of dexterity for 1round following being struck by the orb.

3 — Fire from the orb will set aflame all combustibleswithin a 1’ radius of the target, and unless the target savesversus magic an additional 2 points of fire damage will besuffered (except when protected from fire by magical ornatural means).

4 — The target subject will suffer blindness for 5-8rounds unless a successful saving throw versus magic ismade (cure blindness or dispel magic negates this effect).

5 — A magical stinking cloud of 5’ radius (around thetarget) is created when a successful hit is made, and thesubject must save versus poison or else be helpless, andin any event will be helpless until leaving the area of thevapors (cf. stinking cloud).

6 —The turquoise orb inflicts electrical damage, and ifthe target is wearing ferrous metal it will be magnetizedfor 3-12 rounds unless a saving throw versus magic issuccessful. Magnetized metal will stick fast to other mag-netized metal items, and ferrous metal items not so af-fected will cling until pulled free.

7 — Unless a saving throw versus paralyzation is made,the subject creature will be paralyzed for 5-20 rounds.

8 — The subject creature will be turned to stone unless asaving throw versus petrifaction is made, and even if thesave is made, the subject will be slowed for 2-8 rounds (cf.slow spell).

9 — The subject creature will die unless a successful.saving throw versus death magic is made, and even if asave is made, the subject will be paralyzed for 2-5 rounds.

The material component of the spell is a gem of the approp-riate hue, or else a clear crystal one (such as diamond). Thegem can be as small (in value) as 50 gold pieces as long as itscolor is appropriate.

Phantom Armor (Alteration/Illusion) Alter Self (Alteration/Illusion)

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 roundSaving Throw: None

Level: 1Range: TouchDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 person

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the illusion-ist creates a quasi-real suit of plate mail. This semi-illusorymaterial covers the subject and actually gives some real protec-tion unless the opponent actively disbelieves in the armor(saves versus magic), or else a dispel illusion or dispel magicspell is cast upon it, or a wand of negation affects it. For eachlevel of the spell caster, the phantom armor will absorb 1 pointof damage delivered by a blow which would otherwise hit armorclass 3. When the phantom armor has absorbed as many pointsof damage as the spell caster has levels of experience, it isdispelled and vanishes. Any remaining and all additional dam-age accrues to the person. Until gone, or disbelieved, the wear-er is protected as if he or she were in plate mail (AC 3). Phantomarmor also allows a bonus of +1 on saving throws versus attackforms which would be similarly modified by magic armor. Thedweomer in no way affects the movement or spell-casting abili-ty of the wearer. The spell will not function with any other formof magical protection. The material component is a small plateof mithral (10 gp value) which disappears when the spell is cast.

Read Illusionist Magic (Divination) Reversible

Level: 1Range: 0Duration: 2 rounds/levelArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This spell is the same as the 1stlevel magic-user spell, read magic (q.v.), except that it appliesonly to spells usable by and used by illusionists, as well as tovarious other inscriptions written in illusionist-type magicscript by illusionists. The material component(s) for the spell(and its reverse) are also the same as for read magic (andunreadable magic).

Spook (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 1 Components: V, SRange: 0 Casting Time: 1 segmentDuration: Special Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: 1 creature within 1” of the illusionist

Explanation/Description: A spook spell enables the illusion-ist to play upon natural fears to cause the subject creature toperceive the spell caster as someone or something inimical.Without actually knowing what this is, the illusionist merelyadvances threateningly upon the subject, and if a successfulsaving throw versus magic is not made, the creature will reactby rapidly turning and fleeing in as opposite a direction fromthe illusionist as possible. Although the spell caster does notactually pursue the fleeing creature, a phantasm from its ownmind will do so. However, each round after the initial casting ofthe spook spell the creature is entitled to another saving throw,and each such saving throw is at a cumulative +1 per round,until the subject successfully saves versus magic and the spellis broken. In any event, the spell will function only againstcreatures with an intelligence of not less than 1.

Level: 2 Components: V, SRange: 0 Casting Time: 2 segmentsDuration: 3-12 rounds +2 Saving Throw: None

rounds/levelArea of Effect: The illusionist

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast the illusion-ist is able to alter himself or herself in a manner similar to achange self spell (q.v.). However, alter self enables the caster toeffect a quasi-real change, so that size can be altered by 50% ofactual. If the form selected has wings, the illusionist can actual-ly fly, but only at one-quarter the rate of speed of a true creatureof that type.

Fascinate (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 2Range: 3”Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

Components: V, SCasting Time: 2 segmentsSaving Throw: Neg.

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell the illusion-ist attempts to captivate the subject creature’s attention andgain its friendship, love, and/or obedience. The spell creates anillusion around the spell caster so that he or she becomes, in theeyes of the subject, a trusted and/or desired companion. Un-less a saving throw versus magic is successful, the subject willfollow the illusionist wherever he or she goes, if possible with-out undue risk to life and safety. If the illusionist is able toconverse with the fascinated creature, the subject will obeyrequests from the spell caster as long as a roll of 3d6 per requestdoes not exceed the charisma of the illusionist. (Requestswhich are obviously against the better interests of the creatureadd +1 to the dice roll, and the more hazardous and unreasona-ble of these requests will add from +2 to +6 to the dice roll.) Thespell is shattered whenever charisma is exceeded, and thesubject will certainly be filled with rage and hate. Creatures ofnormal sort with animal intelligence will remain fascinated foronly a short period of time (1-4 days), but if the illusionist hasbeen careful to treat the subject well, attend to its needs, andfeed it, there is a 2% chance per point of charisma of theillusionist that the subject will willingly choose to befriend andfollow him or her. Otherwise, the creature will attack (if it wasnot cared for) or leave (if it was cared for) when the spell wearsoff. Non-intelligent creatures are not subject to a fascinate spell(cf. charm person ).

Ultravision (Alteration)

Level: 2 Components: V, S, MRange: Touch Casting Time: 2 segmentsDuration: 6 turns +1 turn/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: Creature touched

Explanation/Description: An ultravision spell makes it possi-ble for the recipient to see light in the spectrum above violet.Normally, this power will not be useful underground wheremany of these light rays are screened out, but where ultravioletlight is plentiful, such as at night above ground, it is a veryhelpful power. Ultravision allows the viewer to see as if it weretwilight, i.e. clearly to 10” distance, then hazily to about 30”. (Ifultraviolet light is partially screened, such as by very heavycloud cover, then ultravisual capability is reduced to halfrange.) The material component of this spell is a powderedessence of carrots.

DRAGON 23

Whispering Wind (Alteration/Phantasm)

Level: 2Range: SpecialDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: 2’ radius

Components: V, SCasting Time: 2 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell the illusion-ist is able to either send a message or cause some desiredsound effect. The whispering wind can be prepared so as totravel as many tens of feet underground or miles above groundas the spell caster has levels of experience. Thus, a 3rd levelillusionist could send the spell wafting 30’ in a dungeon or as faras three miles outdoors. The whispering wind will be as gentle

and unnoticed as a zephyr until it reaches the desired objectiveof the spell caster. It then delivers its whisper-quiet message orother sound for a duration of up to two segments. The dweomerthen fades and vanishes — as it will do if the subject is beyondrange, more than two hours of time have elapsed, or it is magi-cally dispelled. The illusionist can prepare the spell to bear amessage of up to 12 words, cause the spell to deliver othersounds for 12 seconds, or merely have the whispering windseem to be a faint stirring of the air which has a susurrantsound. He or she can likewise cause the whispering wind tomove as slowly as 1” per round or as quickly as 20’ (or any ratein between). When the spell reaches its objective, it swirls andremains for the full two segments, regardless of its speedotherwise.

Delude (Alteration)

Level: 3 Components: V, SRange: 0 Casting Time: 3 segmentsDuration: 1 turn/level Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: The illusionist

Explanation/Description: By means of a delude spell the illu-sionist is able to substitute the aura of his or her own alignmentfor that of any other creature within a 3” radius, although thecreature must be of higher than animal intelligence for the auraexchange to work. Any attempt to know alignment will discoveronly the aura (alignment) for which the illusionist has opted toexchange. A detect good or detect evil will detect this only ofthe substituted creature’s aura. If delude is used in conjunctionwith a change self or alter self spell, the actual class of theillusionist will be totally hidden, and he or she will absolutelyappear to be whatever class he or she has opted to appear as,for a saving throw (versus magic) applies only to the auratransfer.

Phantom Steed (Phantasm/Conjuration)

Level: 3Range: TouchDuration: 6 turns/levelArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 turnSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast the illusion-ist creates a quasi-real, horse-like creature. This creature canbe ridden only by the illusionist who created it, or by any personfor whom the illusionist creates such a mount specifically. Allphantom steeds have black heads and bodies with gray manesand tails, and smoke-colored, insubstantial hooves which makeno sound. Their eyes are milky-colored. They do not fight, butall normal animals shun them, so only monstrous ones willattack. If more than 12 points of damage accrue to such amount, the dweomer is dispelled and the phantom steed disap-pears. A phantom steed moves at the rate of 4”/level of the spellcaster. It has what seems to be a saddle and a bit and bridle,but it can not carry saddlebags and the like — only its rider andwhat he or she carries. These mounts gain certain powersaccording to the level of the illusionist who created them:

8th level: Ability to pass over sandy, muddy, or evenswampy ground without difficulty.

10th level: Ability to pass over water as if it were firm,dry ground.

12th level: Ability to travel in the air as if it were firm landinstead, so chasms and the like can be crossed withoutbenefit of a bridge. Note, however, that the mount can notcasually take off and fly.

14th level: Ability to perform as if it were a pegasus.

24 OCTOBER 1982

Phantom Wind (Alteration/Phantasm)

Level: 3 Components: V, SRange: 1”/level Casting Time: 3 segmentsDuration: 1 round/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: 1” broad path

Explanation/Description: When this spell is employed, theillusionist creates a wind which can not only not be seen, butneither can it be felt. This movement of air does, however, serveto blow light objects before it, flutter curtains or drapes, flaploose clothing (such as capes, cloaks, and mantles), fan fires,and move clouds of gaseous materials (such as a wall of fog, afog cloud, a cloudkill cloud, etc.). The wind created moves inthe direction in which the illusionist points, its effects being feltin a progressively longer path as the spell continues, at amovement rate of 1”/round, with the effects lasting the entirecourse of the path. Thus, the spell could, for example, be em-ployed to move several sailed vessels, but the first affected bythe wind would also be the one to move the furthest.

Wraithform (Alteration)

Level: 3 Components: S, MRange: 0 Casting Time: 1 segmentDuration: 2 rounds/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: The illusionist

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the illusion-ist becomes insubstantial and can be hit only by magic wea-pons of +1 or better, or by creatures otherwise able to affectthose struck only by +1 or better magic weapons. Undead of allsorts will ignore an individual in wraithform, believing him orher to be a wraith or spectre. The illusionist will be able to passthrough small holes or narrow openings, even mere cracks,with all he or she wears and holds in his or her hands, as long asthe spell persists. No form of attack is possible when in wraith-form, except versus creatures which exist on the EtherealPlane, where all attacks, both ways, are normal. Dispel illusionis the only way to force an illusionist in wraithform back tonormal form. The spell caster can return to normal form at will.The material components for this spell are a bit of gauze and awisp of smoke.

Dispel Magic (Abjuration)

Level: 4Range: 9”Duration: PermanentArea of Effect: 3” cube

Components: V, SCasting Time: 4 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: Except as noted above, this spell isthe same as the third level cleric spell, dispel magic (q.v.). Notethat the illusionist casts the spell as if he or she were two levelsbelow actual, i.e. a 9th level illusionist casts a dispel magic as ifhe or she were 7th level.

Rainbow Pattern (Alteration/Phantasm) Advanced Illusion (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 4 Components: S, MRange: 1” Casting Time: 4 segmentsDuration: Special Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: 3” x 3” square area

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell the illusion-ist creates a pastel, glowing, rainbow-hued band of interplay-ing patterns. The effect is the same as a hypnotic pattern (q.v.).However, once the rainbow pattern is cast, the illusionist needonly gesture in the direction he or she desires, and the patternof colors will move slowly off in that direction. It will persistwithout further attention from the spell caster for 1-3 rounds,and all creatures (up to 24 levels or hit dice) subject to thedweomer will follow the moving rainbow of light. The rainbowpattern will move away at a rate of 3” per round. The materialcomponents for the spell are a crystal or prism and a piece ofphosphor.

Solid Fog (Alteration)

Level: 4Range: 3”Duration: 2-8 rounds + 1

round/levelArea of Effect: 2 cubic” per level

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 4 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast the illusion-ist creates an area of fog similar to the wall of fog spell (q.v.).However, while these rolling, billowing vapors conform to awall of fog in most respects, only a very strong wind can movethem, and any creature attempting to move through the solidfog will progress at a rate of but 1’ per 1” of normal movementrate per round. A gust of wind spell will not affect a solid fog. Adispel magic will affect it normally. A fireball, flame strike, or awall of fire will burn it away in a single round. The materialcomponents for the spell are a pinch of dried and powderedpeas combined with powdered animal hoof.

Vacancy (Alteration/Phantasm)

Level: 4 Components: V, S, MRange: 1”/level Casting Time: 4 segmentsDuration: 1 turn/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: 1” radius/level

Explanation/Description: When a vacancy spell is cast, theillusionist causes an area to appear to be vacant, neglected,unused. Those who behold the area will see dust on the floor,cobwebs, dirt, or any other condition which would be typical ofa long-abandoned place. If they pass through the area of spelleffect, they will seemingly leave tracks, tear away cobwebs, andso on. Unless they actually contact some object cloaked by thespell, the place will seem empty of what it actually contains.Merely brushing some invisible object will not cause the vacan-cy spell to be disturbed, and only forceful contact will allow anychance to note that all is not as it seems. The spell is a verypowerful combination of advanced invisibility/illusion, but itcan cloak only non-living things. Living things will not be invis-ible, but their presence does not otherwise disturb the spell. Ifforceful contact with a cloaked object occurs, those creaturessubject to the dweomer will be able to penetrate the spell only ifthey discover several items which they can not “see”; each isthen entitled to a saving throw versus magic. Failure indicates abelief that the objects only are invisible. A dispel illusion ordispel magic will remove the dweomer, so that the actual areacan be viewed as it is in reality. The illusionist must have asquare of finest black silk to effect this spell. This materialcomponent must be of not less than 100 g.p. value.

Level: 5 Components: V, S, MRange: 6” +1”/level Casting Time: 5 segmentsDuration: 1 round/level Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 4 square” +1 square”/level

Explanation/Description: This spell is essentially a spectralforces spell which operates through a program (similar to aprogrammed illusion spell) determined by the caster. It is thusunnecessary for the illusionist to concentrate on the spell forlonger than 5 segments after casting it, as the program has thenbeen started and will continue. The illusion has visual, fullaudial, olfactory, and thermal components. If any viewer active-ly attempts to disbelieve the dweomer, he, she, or it gains asaving throw versus magic. If any viewer successfully disbe-lieves, and communicates this fact to other viewers able tocomprehend the communication, each such viewer gains asaving throw versus magic with a +4 bonus. The material com-ponents are a bit of fleece and several grains of sand.

Dream (Illusion/Phantasm/Alteration)

Level: 5Range: SpecialDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: Special

Components: SpecialCasting Time: 1 daySaving Throw: Neg.

Explanation/Description: A dream spell is a form of limitedwish, but it has far more limited scope. The illusionist mustactually find a comfortable place to rest, lie prone, compose hisor her thoughts so as to concentrate upon the desired result,and then go to sleep. If he or she has an undisturbed sleep ofnot less than 8 hours duration, the dream magic will be effectu-ated in from 1 to 12 hours thereafter. Typical things which canbe brought about by a dream are:

recovery of an individual’s lost hit pointsrestoration of a body member such as a hand or footsuccess in locating some object not heavily guarded by

magic wards and protectionsdiscovery of a means of ingress or egresslocation of a safe path through a wildernessapproximate strength of enemy/opponent forcesimprovement of chances for gaining a rich treasure

It must be noted that a dream is not an ultra-powerful spell,and the results of its casting must be strictly limited. The guidegiven above denotes the maximum capability of the casting of adream spell. Results will never exceed these parameters on apermanent basis. If, for example, a dead companion, slain in arecent battle, were dreamed alive, he or she would remain livingfor but 1 turn per level of experience of the illusionist castingthe spell. Thereafter, the dweomer would disappear, the com-panion would return to his or her previous state, and a morepermanent form of magic would be needed to allow the lostindividual to actually live fully again.

A dream cannot be affected by an extension or permanencyspell. The illusionist can use this spell but once per week. If it iscast twice within the same week, the spell will absolutely fail thesecond time and the illusionist will age from 1-10 years.

Magic Mirror (Enchantment-Divination)

Level: 5Range: TouchDuration: 1 round/levelArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 hourSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This spell is exactly the same as thefourth level magic-user spell of the same name. It uses the samematerial components, although if the illusionist casts a visionspell in place of the normal material components, the mirror willscry properly, although the vision spell will not function nor-mally. (Editor’s note: A full description of this spell will bepresented next issue, in the first of a two-part series on newmagic-user spells.)

D R A G O N 2 5

Tempus Fugit (Illusion/Phantasm) Reversible

Level: 5Range: PersonalDuration: 5 turns/levelArea of Effect: 1” radius

Components: V, SCasting Time: 5 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This powerful illusion affects theminds and bodies of all those within the area of the caster. Thespell causes those affected to perceive the passage of time in amuch faster manner. Thus, every turn (10 minutes) spent underthe tempus fugit spell seems like a full hour to those within itsdweomer. Because of this, all functions of affected individualsare speeded up accordingly. They must eat, sleep, and so forthaccording to an accelerated rate. One hour is as six to them,four hours a full day. This acceleration of time allows rest,renewal of spells, and recovery of hit points lost. If desired, thespell caster can reverse the spell so that time is slowed for theindividuals. Thus, an hour will seem as only a turn, a day merelyfour hours. Reversal requires no special preparation. In eithercase, the illusionist is also affected by the spell. Under thereverse, the effects will always last at least one turn after thecaster desires its dispelling, because his or her reactions are sogreatly slowed.

Death Fog (Alteration-Evocation)

Level: 6Range: 3”Duration: 1-4 rounds +1

round/levelArea of Effect: 2 cubic”/level

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 6 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: The casting of a death fog createsan area of solid fog (q.v.) which has the additional property ofbeing highly acidic. The vapors are deadly to living things, sothat vegetation exposed to them will die — grass and similarsmall plants in 2 rounds, bushes and shrubs in 4, small trees in8, and large trees in 16 rounds. Animal life not immune to acidwill suffer damage according to the length of time it is exposedto the vapors of a death fog:

1st round: 1 point2nd round: 2 points3rd round: 4 points4th & succeeding rounds: 8 points

The characteristics of a death fog are otherwise the same as asolid fog. The material components are a pinch of dried andpowdered peas, powdered animal hoof, and strong acid of anysort (including highly distilled vinegar or acid crystals).

Mislead (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 6Range: 1”Duration: 1 round/levelArea of Effect: Special

Components: SCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: When a mislead spell is cast by theillusionist, he or she actually creates a phantasmal double atthe same time he or she is cloaked by improved invisibilitymagic. The illusionist is then free to go elsewhere while his orher phantasm seemingly moves away. The spell allows thephantasm of the illusionist to speak and gesture as if it werereal, and there are full olfactory and touch components as well.A detect illusion, true seeing, or true sight spell, or a gem ofseeing will reveal the illusion for what it is, and a detect invisibil-ity, true sight, or true seeing spell, or a gem of seeing or robe ofeyes will detect the invisible illusionist (cf. shadow door).

Phantasmagoria (Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 6 Components: V, SRange: 6” Casting Time: 6 segmentsDuration: 1 round/level Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: 4 square” +1 square”/level

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell the illusion-ist prepares a special form of spectral forces spell which istriggered by some special action. The phantasmagoria typical-ly includes a full visual, audial, olfactory, and touch illusionwhich involves falling, sliding, or moving rapidly. The effect canbe aimed at making the subjects believe they are so doing orthat something else is doing so. For example, the phantasma-goria may be triggered when falling into a pit, reaching thecenter of an area, opening a door, or performing some likeaction. The subject(s) will then believe that the fall continuesfor scores of feet; that a pit has opened and that they arehelplessly sliding down into an unknown area; that a wall ofwater is rushing down from the area beyond the just-openeddoor, or whatever. Note that unlike the programmed illusionspell, phantasmagoria must always involve the illusion of some-thing falling or rushing, or a dwindling prospective.

Mirage Arcane (Illusion/Phantasm - Alteration)

Level: 6 Components: V,S,M (optional)Range: 1”/level Casting Time: 3 or 6 segmentsDuration: Special Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: 1”/level radius

Explanation/Description: The dweomer of this spell is similarto that of the vacancy spell, only it is more powerful and elabo-rate. Mirage arcane is also similar to the mirage cantrip (issue#61). The spell enables the caster to make an area appear to besomething other than it is. The illusionist is able to make itappear as whatever he or she envisions. The spell will remain aslong as the caster maintains a faint concentration upon it, andeven after this is no longer held the spell will persist for a total of6 turns plus 1 additional turn for each experience level of thecaster. (Note: Faint concentration can be maintained duringnormal conversation but not while spell casting, in melee, or ifharmed by an attack.) In all cases the mirage arcane must be ofsome place the illusionist has actually seen personally. If he orshe actually has a small bit of anything connected with theplace envisioned to create the spell, then it takes on a form of

reality. In its basic form, where casting time is but 3 segments,forceful contact and tactile discovery are necessary to have anyhope of discovering the magic, short of a detection device orspell. In its more complex form, where a material component isused, and 6 segments of casting time are expended, detectionis possible only by some magical means, whether device, item,or spell. Either form of mirage arcane is subject to dispel illu-sion or dispel magic. As with all powerful illusions, the mind ofthe beholder will cause appropriate effects upon the viewer’sbody. Conversely, belief cannot usually affect the laws of na-ture and magic. However, under the influence of this spell, theviewer could possibly walk across a bed of hot coals thinking itwas a shallow stream of water which was cooling his feet, dineupon imaginary food and actually be nutritionally satisfied, orrest comfortably upon a bed of sharp stones, thinking it to be afeatherbed. Gravity, for instance, is not affected by the dweo-mer, so that an envisioned bridge spanning a deep chasm willnot support the believer. Those who may be there to witness theevent will see it as a sudden disappearance of the individual.They will in no way connect it with an illusion unless they areotherwise aware of some magic at work.

26 OCTOBER 1982

Shadow Walk (Illusion-Enchantment) WEAPON SPECIALIZATION

Level: 7Range: TouchDuration: 6 turns/levelArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, SCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: In order to effectuate a shadowwalk spell, the illusionist must be in an area of heavy shadows.The caster and any creatures he or she touches will then betransported to the edge of the Prime Material Plane where itborders the plane of Shadow. In this region the illusionist canmove at a relative rate of up to 7 leagues per turn, movingnormally on the borders of the Shadow Plane but aware of hisor her position relative to the Prime Material Plane. Thus, rapidtravel can be accomplished by stepping from the Shadow Planeto the Prime Material Plane, with the destination controlled bythe illusionist. The shadow walk spell can also be used to travelto other planes which border on the Shadow Plane, but thisrequires a rather perilous transit of the Shadow Plane to arriveat a border with another plane of reality. Any creatures touchedby the illusionist when shadow walk is cast will also make thetransition to the borders of the Shadow Plane. They may opt tofollow the illusionist, wander off into Shadowland, or stumbleback onto the Prime Material Plane (50% chance for eitherresult if they are lost or abandoned by the illusionist).

Weird (Evocation — Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 7Range: 3”Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: 2” radius

Components: V, SCasting Time: 7 segmentsSaving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast the illusion-ist must be able to converse with the subject or subjects to bringthe dweomer into being. During the casting, the illusionist mustcall out to the subject or subjects, informing one or all that theirfinal fate, indeed their doom, now is upon them. The force of themagic is such that even if the subject or subjects make theirsaving throw, fear will paralyze them for a full 7 segments, andthey will lose from 1-4 strength points from this fear, althoughthe lost strength will return in 7 rounds. Failure to save versusmagic will cause the subject or subjects to face their nemesis,the opponent(s) most feared and inimical to them. Actual com-bat must then take place, for no magical means of escape willbe possible. The foe fought is real for all intents and purposes. Ifthe subject or subjects lose, then death occurs. If the weirdcaused by the dweomer is slain, then the subject or subjectsemerge with no damage, no loss of items seemingly used in thecombat, and no loss of spells likewise seemingly expended.Although each round of combat seems normal, it takes but 1segment of real time. During the course of the spell, the illusion-ist must concentrate fully upon maintaining it.

General notes on spells

To utilize these spells —and they are official —simply adjustthe type of die used to determine random spells. This can applyto initially known spells, those otherwise available, or thosefound in scrolls or books.

As a final note, I would have liked to have been able to add stillmore illusionist spells, but to devise a dozen for each of the firstthree levels, another dozen for each of the next three, and fourfor the 7th is just too demanding on time and energy! Theremight be more included in the book, or there might be only whatyou have read here. It all depends on what transpires over thenext few months. Meanwhile, I do hope you will have fun withthis offering. (Editor’s note: See the following page for a last-minute addition concerning starting spells for illusionists.)

In the course of a recent visit from Len Lakofka, wherein wewere principally discussing cleric and druid spells, the subjectof Len’s unofficial “archer” sub-class came up. I concurred withLen’s position that a bowman, shaft readied, target at “pointblank” range, was formidable. I agreed that the game as it nowstands does not reflect such threat. We then discussed how tomesh the concept with the AD&D™ game system, and weaponspecialization arose as the answer. We discussed use of anyform of bow by a fighter or ranger. Certain conclusions werearrived at. However, after reflecting on the matter for sometime, it became obvious to me that we did not go far enough inone case, and we went too far in another! Fighters have too longbeen the last-choice class, the group who posed the leastthreat. This does not apply to paladins, rangers, or the newbarbarian sub-class either; these all have abilities and powersfar beyond the mundane world of a fighter. Therefore, weaponspecialization applies only to fighters, excluding all sub-classes.

Fighters have the option to select one — and only one —weapon to become associated with ever afterwards. This op-tion is known as weapon specialization. To become speciallyproficient with one weapon, the character must elect to do soimmediately. That is, as the fighter is being created, the playermust state that the character has been specially trained in theuse of a single weapon. Furthermore, the weapon with whichthe character is to be specially proficient must likewise bedecided upon at the onset of character creation.

Weapon specialization requires that the fighter give up theuse of initial proficiency in one or two other weapons. Thefighter class is normally allowed initial proficiency in 4 wea-pons. If the player/character opts to use weapon specialization,then this reduces the initial number of weapons in which thefighter can have proficiency, because he or she spent muchadditional time specializing in a particular weapon.

Bows other than crossbows require triple weapon proficien-cy, so that the character can have such a bow as a weaponspecialization and but one other weapon of proficiency.

All other weapons require double weapon proficiency, sothat the specialized weapon and two proficient weapons can bepossessed by the fighter.

In either case, remember that the character must choosewhich weapon he or she will specialize in prior to commencingactive play. Weapons are selected according to the tables, andthe campaign availability as dictated by the DM.

Effects of weapon specializationWeapon specialization gains the following advantages:Bows: Archers with composite, long, or short bows are en-

titled to a “point blank” range category. This range is from 6’ to30’. At this range, any arrow loosed will gain a +2 “to hit”probability and inflict double damage, including the +2 factor.These bonuses are in addition to any others for dexterity,strength, or magic. Furthermore, if the bowman has his arrownocked, shaft drawn, and target sighted, he or she is entitled toloose that arrow prior to any initiative check. It is thus possiblefor such an archer to get off two or even three arrows prior toreceiving any return attack.

At short range the specialist is allowed a +1 bonus both “tohit” and on damage. This bonus is likewise in addition to anyothers which might apply.

The fire rate of the specialist in archery increases with expe-rience, just as the number of attacks per melee round increases.Thus, at 7th level the specialist gains not only additional meleeattack power but also an additional arrow. The rate of fire for aspecialist of 1st-6th level is 2 per round; from 7th-12th level therate is increased to 3, and at 13th level and higher a specialistcan get off as many as 4 shots per round.

Crossbows: All forms of crossbows have a “point blank”range of from 6’ to 60’. Otherwise, they receive the same bo-nuses as other bows, including double damage at point blankrange. The same is true of bonuses at short range, being +1 “tohit” and on damage. Also, at medium range crossbows gain a +1

D R A G O N 2 7

“to hit” bonus, but no damage bonus, when employed by aspecialist. Naturally, the fire rate of a crossbow is not nearly asgreat as that of other sorts of bows, but the specialist is able toincrease it by half steps: From 1st-6th level the rate of fire is 1/2per round for a heavy crossbow, 1 per round for a light cross-bow; from 7th-12th level, the rates are 1 per round (heavy) and1½ per round (light); and at 13th level and higher they increaseto 1½ (heavy) and 2 (light).

All other weapons: Specialization in any other weapon, in-cluding such missile weapons as slings, gain the specialist thefollowing bonuses and advantages:

— Use of the weapon is at +1 “to hit” bonus and at +2damage bonus.

— Number of attacks per melee round is one-half attackgreater than shown on the table, so that at 1st-6th level,the fighter using his or her specialization weapon getsthree attacks every two rounds (3/2); at 7th-12th level itgoes to two attacks per round (2/1), and at 13th level andhigher it goes to five attacks every two rounds (5/2). In thecase of weapons which already have a greater rate of firethan this, simply add 1 to that rate for each category,initially and successively. (In dart specialization, the rate

of fire would be 4, then 5, then 6 per round at 13th level orhigher, for instance.)

As usual, there is no restriction regarding the use of magicalweapons with weapon specialization. Strict categorization ismost necessary, however; the specialist must be a long-swordsman, not just a swordsman.

DUELING IN THE DARKThis has nothing to do with weapon specialization, but it is

also an important point. Nowhere in the game system are theeffects of darkness on combat noted. Here are the facts:

— If the opponent cannot be seen, then attacks are atthe standard penalty for invisible opponents, -4.

— If the opponent is vaguely discernible, let us assumeas a faint blur or a darker shape against the background,then attacks are at a penalty of -2.

— Faerie fire is effective only when outlining opponentsfought in poor light conditions, conditions typical of anunderground setting with illumination only from torches,lanterns, and magic weapons. In daylight, or in an arealighted by a spell such as light, the outlining effect of thespell is lost, and bonuses “to hit” do not apply.

CRITICISM AND COMMENTARYFrom time to time I have used this column to pass along

information and various forms of commentary. “Last minute”items are usually added here (because I am ahead by severalmonths sometimes). I hope to be able to maintain such a forumas a regular feature of the column.

Evidently some months ago some gamer wrote a criticalpiece for a competing publication. The individual apparentlyhad a number of unpleasant things to say about the DEITIES &DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia. I picked up on the tail end of it byreading a letter of agreement over the name of a disgruntledex-TSR game designer. I preface my further remarks by thisfollowing fact: This same individual was responsible for thedungeon random encounter tables in the FIEND FOLIO™ Tomewhich includes the catoblepas as a Level X monster. I need notdetail some of the other errors which somehow slipped throughunder this same individual’s expert editing.

This capable and knowledgeable individual suggests thatdata on the deities is insufficient for usefulness in an AD&D™campaign. That religion, being so much a part of our realhistory, must likewise play a part in your campaign, J. R. R.Tolkien did not agree, for he wrote many pages without men-tion of religion. Most of the heroic fantasy and swords &sorcerybooks written do not feature any particular religious zeal on thepart of their protagonists. Consider Conan, Fafhrd and GreyMouser, Harold Shea, and the list goes on and on. I do not agreethat it needs be a significant part of the campaign. As AD&D™games depend on participant input for their character, thedetailing of deities and those who serve them is strictly a part ofthe role playing aspect of the game. Must all evil characterssound sinister? Does an elf have to be flighty? Need a ranger belugubrious? Actually, the game system tells you what is neces-sary for a campaign, but how the campaign is role-played isstrictly up to the DM and players.

The learned critics’ viewpoints notwithstanding, the DEITIES& DEMIGODS book is an excellent fact compendium fromwhich the DM can build a pantheon — drawn from the materialpresented or merely based on the ideas presented therein.Development of ideologies, rites, dogma, and so forth is purelya matter for the DM — with active participation of players,naturally. It is nothing which we desire to force upon players,nor will we. How a game is role-played is a matter of choice.

I instructed the authors of the work on the detail that shouldbe presented to DMs in the Cyclopedia. I occasionally makeuse of it, principally when the players are in another (alternate)world. As it is, I can then flesh it out by adding my own concep-tions. It fits my campaign and the temper of my players. Thevarious deities used in the Greyhawk campaign will soon ap-

28 OCTOBER 1982

pear in the pages of this magazine. They are a bit more detailedbecause they are part of an actual campaign, not merely rawdata upon which to build a campaign. If, as a DM, you wantsomeone else to do all of your creative thinking for you, by allmeans shun the DEITIES & DEMIGODS book. Creative folkwho have a desire to employ some imagination in their gamingare directed to that useful work.

The goings-on around TSR have been something to see oflate. The operation in Lake Geneva is spread out over some sixlocations. We hope to have the main building, a place of about100,000 square feet of space, in full operation soon. Then themajority of our personnel will be under one roof. We are beingvery careful with planning and control, so you all will benefitsoon by the frequent and regular release of new games, playingaids, and so forth. Also during this recent time period, we haveacquired AMAZING™ Magazine, a craft company, and theassets of SPI. Those of you who enjoy military simulations andthe like can expect to see four re-issued or new SPI gamesevery month starting this fall. Look for both S&T™ and ARES™Magazines back in print from Dragon Publishing soon, too! Wehave also been at work setting up an Entertainment MediaDivision to handle the movie now being written, and other likeprojects now in various stages of planning and discussion.

ACQUISITION OF MAGIC-USER SPELLS, ILLUSIONISTSIllusionists begin with a limited book of spells, just as do

regular magic-users. The spells available are divided into threegroups; one from each group will be known by the beginningillusionist. The illusionist always has read illusionist magic. Thespell groupings are:

Offensive Defensive Miscellaneous1. Color spray Audible glamer Change self2. Hypnotism Darkness Dancing lights3 . L i g h t Gaze reflection Detect illusion4. Phantasmal force Wall of fog Detect invisibility5. Chromatic orb6. Spook

Phantom armor (choose)(choose) (choose)*

* — The DM has three options which can be used here:1) allow an additional (5th) miscellaneous spell, or2) allow reselection of an offensive spell, this time by

the player’s choice rather than by a die roll, or3) simply assume that the roll means nothing more than

choice of a miscellaneous spell, just as a 5 does.Spells from this work were added to the list of initial spells

because of the limited number of illusionist spells originallygiven in the Players Handbook. You will note that this has notbeen done for magic-users of the original sort, as that classalready has sufficient numbers of spells to select from.

DRAGON 29

Is it really real?Be careful with Phantasmal Force:Illusions can kill if used with skill,but ‘fake’ healing is only a feeling!

Sealtest watched and listened as Ros,his apprentice, studied. The youngerman was poring over his spell book. Hehad just recently mastered the ability tocast spells of the third level of difficulty,and was trying to decide which one tomemorize. “There’s Lightning Bolt andthere’s Fireball,” he mumbled. “Bothpowerful spells. But what if the monsteris immune to fire or if there is not enoughroom to safely strike with the lightning?”He thought for a bit longer, and suddenlyhis eyes brightened. “I know!” he fairlyyelled. “Phantasmal force!”

Sealtest smiled indulgently, sighed,but did not discourage the young man.The mission they faced was not overlydifficult, and, the teacher thought, Ishould be able to bail out this youngsterwhen he miscasts the spell. . . .

The Phantasmal Force spell, as de-scribed on page 75 of the AD&D™ PlayersHandbook, has been an endless sourceof arguments and discussions in mygroup. The spell description is not verycomprehensive, and any player in a diffi-cult situation looking for a loophole caneasily find one in this spell unless the DMis extremely careful.

For instance: David Wainwright, in hisletter in issue #46 of DRAGON™ Maga-zine, says, “If belief [in an illusion orphantasm] can cause wounds, then be-lief should be able to cure as well.” Theprincipal argument against that state-ment is that the damage taken as a resultof belief in an illusory pit, for example,and consequently in the ensuing fall, isnot actual damage, but “mental” or“shock” damage: that is, damage inducedby the believer’s mind because the mind“knew” that the “fall” would cause harmto the body. The mind conceived theconcept of “pit,” knew that such a fallwould cause damage, and told the body

byTom

Armstrongthat it was hurt. Since there was no evi-dence to the contrary, such as anothercharacter telling the unfortunate onethat there was no pit, the believer washurt.

The human body operates at the direc-tion of the brain, which receives inputfrom the senses. Sight, sound, smell,taste, and touch are all used by the brainto determine what environment the bodyis presently in. If the senses tell the brainthat the body is in danger, whether or notthe body is actually in danger, the bodyproduces adrenalin, the heart beats morequickly, the muscles tense somewhat,and reflexes are quickened. All of thesereactions are involuntary; the characterhas no control of them.

Belief in illusions has to do with theconcept of psychic shock, first docu-mented in 1919. Virgil H. Moon, in hisbook, Shock, Its Dynamics, Occurren-ces and Management, defines psychicshock as “. . . the resulting of the symp-toms [of shock] without external orphysical trauma.”

This is precisely the situation when acharacter falls into an illusory pit. Bloodvessels constrict (a result of the adrena-lin surge), blood pressure rises, and themental shock — psychic shock — ofstriking the bottom of the pit is relayed tothe rest of the body. Since the body iskeyed up to expect damage, it is recep-tive to any external stimuli. An outsideobserver who disbelieved the existenceof the same pit would see the believerflail his arms about, possibly scream,and fall to the ground. The simple shockof striking the floor would be transmittedto the body as a fall into the pit — and(thinks the brain) since the body did fallinto the pit, it must have taken damage.

A modern example of the same situa-tion is illustrated by a story from the local

newspaper back in 1979. A woman wasdriving her car down a residential street,going about 15 mph. An oncoming vehi-cle struck her car head-on while goingabout 20 mph — and the woman died.The county coroner determined that thewoman’s body had taken no externaldamage, and there were no internal phys-ical injuries. The stated cause of deathwas heart failure due to shock.

If such damage is possible, then thequestion of “creating” an illusory clericto heal the actual damage a party hastaken becomes ridiculous! The illusory“cleric” would, if conjured, dutifully pray(silently, since there is no audible outputfrom the Phantasmal Force spell) andwould make what appear to be clericalsomatic gestures, but there would be ab-solutely no actual healing done.

To reinforce this point, it must be re-membered that a cleric derives his pow-ers from his deity. If an illusory cleric iscreated, it may be seen, but it has noactual physical existence on the PrimeMaterial Plane (or on any other) andtherefore is not a real person. It cannothave studied under a priest, and cannothave been accepted and sanctioned byany deity. If the illusory cleric is notknown to a deity, it cannot receive orcast any spells. Assuming the illusorycleric was created with the foreknow-ledge of all of the characters involved inthe healing attempt, party members canchoose to “believe” the illusion that thecleric is real, if they are capable of thatsort of double-think, but the support of adeity is lacking, and for that reason alonethe “cleric” must fail.

Also applicable in this instance is thefact that Cure Light Wounds, Cure Se-rious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds,and Heal spells will only heal physicaldamage to a body. A character might

D R A G O N 3 1

believe he had been healed (by an illu-sion), but since no actual healing hadbeen done, he could very well bleed todeath while believing himself to behealthy. The body, in and of itself, can-not know that it is healed. Skin and mus-cles do not perceive that a spell has beencast, since magic was not actually car-ried out. Wounds do not heal, bones donot mend just because the mind thinksthey are doing that.

This prohibition on illusory healingdoes not apply, of course, if the damage

being healed was caused by an illusion.If the damage was “psychic shock” dam-age, it could be healed by an illusorycleric — provided the character believesboth illusions — but any real damage thecharacter might also be suffering at thetime can only be really healed throughrest or real magic.

The Dungeon Master must keep sepa-rate records of how many hit points acharacter has lost to illusory damageand how many to real damage. Then, ifan illusion-caster can plausibly cause an

illusory cleric to come upon the party, hecould actually offset psychic shockdamage the party members may havetaken — but not any damage done byreal claws, arrows, sword thrusts, orwhatever. Again, to be healed of illusorydamage, characters must believe the ex-istence of the illusory cleric. It is sug-gested that the DM roll all saving throwsvis-a-vis illusions. Otherwise there canbe a problem with players and charac-ters believing only the illusions theywant to believe. Having the DM secretly

Familiarity factor prevents illusionistsA party of intrepid adventurers moves

silently along the dungeon corridor.They turn a corner and see before them adoor. It is a testimony to the age of thedungeon, this door made of worm-eatenoak and rusty iron. The thieves listen,and the magic-user and illusionist makeready with their spells. A brawny fighterkicks in the door on the first try, and theparty enters a room. It is empty — butsuddenly, through secret portals, orcsenter and surround the party. The fightersflail away at the enemies to the left andthe magic-user casts a Sleep spelltoward the enemies to the right. A few ofthem fall in mid-step, but the survivingorcs push on. The illusionist then castsPhantasmal Force in the guise of a fire-ball and fells all the orcs in the vicinity.The members of the orc band that arestill alive on the opposite side of thechamber (where the fighters are) flee infear of the obvious power of the secondmagic-user.

Hold it.Who did what to whom?For many AD&D players, scenes like

this are not rare when it comes to run-ning a character in the illusionist class:an illusionist can be quite powerful in theright circumstances. At the other ex-treme, an illusionist sometimes seems tobe the most “useless” character sincethe monk. The problem with the monkand illusionist, or any other “useless”character, arises from the fact that manyDM’s are uncomfortable with the classesand don’t have a firm idea of how to givethem their due. In the case of the illusion-ist, how does one deal with the illusionistmimicking the magic-user? This is aproblem the authors have had repeatedly.

The problem is twofold. How does theDM give enough credit to the illusionistwithout stealing thunder from the magic-user, and still not do anything out of theordinary to tip off players that the partythey have just encountered might con-tain an illusionist?

Our introduction to the illusionistcame through our first DM. We were no-

vice players, and whatever he said waslaw. As our characters rose in levels, themethods the DM used for secreting trea-sure became more sophisticated, andeventually we came upon our first illu-sionist trap -cum- treasure trove.

The DM’s way of determining ourcharacters’ belief or disbelief of the illu-sion was to roll a number of d6’s againstour wisdom. The number of d6’s de-pended on several conditions, and thecalculation took a fair amount of time.This immediately told everyone (theplayers) that there was an illusion atwork here somewhere, when only dumbluck would have actually informed ourcharacters of that fact. This proved unsat-isfying. Now, with our added experiencein playing and DMing gained in themeantime, a neater solution seems to beat hand.

Reflecting on those early methods ofhandling illusionists brought us back tothese obvious basic points:

(1) Magic is magic, whether it is druid-ical, illusionist, clerical, or magic-usermagic. Defense for the player is vested inthe saving throw, which allows for theinnate ability of a character or item todefend itself or otherwise escape harm.

(2) Using the saving throw againstspells for some illusions is fine, but thenan illusionary fireball based on a Phan-tasmal Force is as good as a real fireball.That, naturally, will not do.

(3) A reasonable evaluation of howwell the illusionist can form the illusionhas to be made. Remember, the illusionis a projection of the caster’s imagina-tion, based on his experiences. Conse-quently, an illusionist — regardless oflevel — who has never seen a fireballwon’t do a very good job of reproducingthe image of one. And since practice andstudy is mandatory for any magic-user,several witnessings of a real fireballmight be necessary before the illusionistgets it right.

Next must be considered the relation-ships between the various illusion spells:

(1) The best illusion spell is Spectral

modifier is needed.Now, take the opening scene and ad-

vance the magic-user and illusionist afew levels. In this case another party,bent on doing this innocent band of ad-venturers serious harm, has divided itsforce to attack from two sides. Themagic-user unleashes a many-hit-dieFireball on one group while the illusion-ist does “the same” to the others, using aSpectral Force spell. Our heroes are vic-torious. Since all the spoils belong to thevictor, the booty is collected from thesmoldering remains. For the DM, nowbegins one of the great all-time tediousjobs of rolling saving throws for items—but only for the victims of the magic-user’s spell. The illusionist, having stud-ied the Fireball spell of the magic-userand waited for the time that he could useSpectral Force to “duplicate” it, has donesubstantial damage to the enemy andmaximized the gain for the party — with-out running the risk of destroying valua-ble items in the “blast” of his illusionaryattack.

In this system for progressive saving

Force, because it encompasses visual,audial, and textural (thermal and aromat-ic) sensations. The saving throw againstthis would be vs. spells, with no modifier.

(2) The next best is Improved Phan-tasmal Force; the saving throw againstthis spell is made at +1 to the die roll.

(3) The Phantasmal Force spell allowsa save at +2.

This helps put the spells in qualitativeorder. On top of this:

a) Add +4 to the saving throw if theillusionist has never seen whatever spell,creature, or object he hopes to imitate.

2) Add +3 if he has seen it once.3) Add +2 if he has seen it twice.4) Add +1 if he has seen it three times.5) After three times of observation, no

throws based on the familiarity of theillusionist with what he is trying to create,the DM calls for normal saving throwswithout revealing betraying distinctionsabout the illusion to the players. One ofthe main reasons for this system was to

32 OCTOBER 1982

determine belief or disbelief — so thatplayers can’t necessarily suspect whenan illusion has been cast — puts the“choice” between belief and disbeliefout of the player’s hands (minds?) andback with the dice where it belongs.

Also ridiculous is Mr. Wainwright’sstatement that “. . . if your character canfall into and take damage from an illu-sionary pit, then your character shouldbe able to cross an illusionary bridge.”No matter how much the character wouldlike to believe that a bridge is there—

even if the illusionist could arrange it sothat the bridge did not simply appearbefore the party — the first character toset foot on said “bridge” would quicklydiscover that, with the exception only ofcertain magical spells, the basic laws ofphysics still apply. Gravity still works:the unsupported body will not perceivethe imaginary manifestation of a bridge,but will fall and accelerate until it strikesthe ground. There have probably beenthousands of characters who have falleninto real pits because the floor (or bridge)

The Phantasmal Force spell, to be ef-fective, must be employed after muchforethought. It is not enough to cause amonster, a pit, or whatever to simply ap-pear from nowhere. The spell castershould be familiar with what he is at-tempting to create. An illusionist ormagic-user trying to cause a red dragonto appear and breathe on the nasty orcswill find it’s not quite that simple. Firstand foremost, has the caster ever seen a

they believed to be there was actually anillusion.

from stealing the show by Gregory Quinnand Dale Young

prevent exposing information that theplayer characters wouldn’t normally dis-cern because, ironically, of their familiar-ity with game mechanics. In other words,it looks like a normal saving throw fornormal magic, so why shouldn’t it be aregular, run-of-the-mill enchantment in-stead of an illusion?

The simple two-part system of savingthrow modifiers given above could standon its own if it were not for additionalinformation brought out in the DEITIES& DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia. The booklists resistance to illusion spells amongthe characteristics of beings with ultra-high intelligence. At the other end of thescale, non-intelligent creatures are notaffected by illusions because they relyon all other senses without the power ofcognizant belief being a factor, if it existsat all, in their dim intellect. Saving-throwadjustments based on intelligence aresummarized on this chart:

Phan. Imp. Phan. SpectralInt. Force Force Force0 na na na1 +4 +3 +2

2-4 +3 +2 +15-7 +3 +2 08-10 +2 +1 011-12 +3 +1 013-14 +3 +2 015-16 +4 +2 +117-18 +4 +3 +1

19 na +3 +22 0 na

21-25 nana +3na na

na: not applicable.Additional modifiers (when ap-

plicable): +4, +3, +2, or +1 for thefamiliarity of the illusionist, asstated earlier.

For creatures of the low to highly intel-ligent categories (5-7 to 13-14), a wellstudied Spectral Force spell will be aseffective as an actual magic spell (nobonus to an intended victim’s saving

throw). As the target’s intelligence movesmore toward either extreme, the savebecomes slightly easier to make. Thespecifications for Spectral Force keepthe magic-user and illusionist on moreor less equal footing. Spectral Force isacquired by the illusionist at the sametime as the magic-user acquires his firstreally destructive spells (such as Fireballand Lightning Bolt), so the saves shouldbe the same.

Finally, what of the rule that if one per-son disbelieves an illusion, this en-hances others’ chances of disbelieving?First, the individual not affected mustcommunicate effectively to his compan-ions what is happening. In the case of anillusionary lightning bolt or fireball,communication is made much more dif-ficult by the immediacy of the event. Butif the party encounters what appears tobe a red dragon, the unaffected charac-ter or characters (as determined by dis-creet saving throws made by the DM —not the player) have the time and usuallythe opportunity to point out that some-thing is not right here. New saving throwscan be rolled each time a different char-acter or creature tries to convince anotherthat things are not what they seem.There is a +4 adjustment on savingthrows, as described in the PlayersHandbook, for those characters who arebeing told (by a disbeliever) that whatthey face is an illusion. If this bonus isapplied to the same single saving-throwattempt for each “persuader” communi-cating with a single “believer,” the cu-mulative bonuses (+4, to +8, to +12,. . .)might make a saving throw “automatic”in mathematical terms. But this nevernecessarily means that the save is auto-matic. The cardinal rule of DMing is notto give players a free lunch: If a playerdoes not choose to tell the DM that his orher character is attempting to see pastthe illusion, that is the player’s privilege— and very probably his bane.

Now, back to the opening tale. Usingthe saving-throw bonuses from the tablegiven earlier, let’s see how the orcs fare.

The intelligence of an orc is average(low), in the 8-10 range. Let’s say that sixorcs were not slept. The save vs. spell fora 1-hit-dice creature is 17. PhantasmalForce was used; the saving-throw modi-fier for that spell against a victim of 8-10intelligence is +2, so the orcs actuallyneed 15 to save. If this illusionist hasbeen with this party for his entire career,he has most likely never seen a fireball,so his imitation will be more based onspeculation than observation. The num-ber needed for the orcs to save now be-comes 11, after applying an additional +4bonus because of the caster’s unfamil-iarity with the image he is creating. Be-cause the spell’s effect is immediate, theorcs who save have no chance to tell theothers about the illusion.

In the second scenario, again the intel-ligence of the intended victim(s) will beaverage, since the new opponents aremen. Assume an average level of five inthe fighter class for the victims of theillusionist. The base number needed tosave here is 14. The illusionist has bynow had ample opportunity to study thefireball of the magic-user. According tothe chart, there are no modifiers in thatintelligence range for a Spectral Forcespell, and (in this case) no penalties re-sulting from lack of familiarity on the il-lusionist’s part. The saving throw is un-modified, and the same as for the realfireball unleashed by the magic-user.

This saving-throw system also appliesto any other illusion that might be gener-ated, not just those images that mimicthe magic-user. An illusionary pit wouldsuffer from the same constraints as theother situations, except a pit is morecommon than a Lightning Bolt or a Fire-ball spell, so the “familiarity factor” couldlogically be minimized to no penalty.However, the rank odor and echoesemanating from a pit will do more to rein-force that image in a victim’s mind thanjust a black gap in a path or corridor. Theweighting of the saving throws for thevarious types of illusion spells still holdsin cases like this.

D R A G O N 3 3

red dragon? If he has, then he may havea good chance to fool the orcs. But if hedoesn’t know what a red dragon lookslike from personal experience (and goodmemory), the result of his spell might beludicrous. He might get a reaction out ofthe orcs, but it may be one of them fallingdown from laughing so hard.

Phillip Meyers, in his article in issue#43 of DRAGON™ Magazine, “Now YouSee It...But Is It Really There?”, advo-cates the use of a percentage savingthrow to determine belief or disbelief inan illusion, based on (1) the plausibilityof the created situation, (2) the intelli-gence of the creature(s) viewing the illu-sion, and (3) possibly the character classof the individual(s) viewing the illusion.This system works fairly well, though itdoes give the characters a better chancethan the monsters in some instances, butit is also rather unwieldy because of theamount of number-juggling involved.

In my campaign, we use the normalsaving throw vs. spells, adjusted by anywisdom bonuses or penalties and for anyspecial abilities or devices party mem-bers may have available. The reason forthe use of a wisdom adjustment, ratherthan the adjustment based on intelli-gence advocated by Mr. Meyers, is that aPhantasmal Force is actually a mentalattack, and is, in fact, listed as one of the“mental attack forms involving will force”on page 11 of the Players Handbook.The prescribed saving throw can be se-cretly modified by the DM if the situationwarrants it.

Mr. Meyers also says the Phantasmalforce spell is too powerful a spell for a1st-level illusionist to possess. But, con-sider the following: (1) Out of the 12spells from which a 1st-level illusionistmust pick but one, the Phantasmal Forcespell is the only one actually capable ofdoing damage to an opponent. Whenyour character is first level and has per-haps but 1,2,3, or 4 hit points, it is vital tohave something to at least slow down thenasties that are trying to eat you. (2) ThePhantasmal Force spell has no audialcomponent. This means that most mon-sters are going to be highly suspicious ofillusions that are mobile, such as illusorymonsters, yet totally silent. (3) The cast-er must use his common sense (wis-dom?) in deciding what illusion he willcreate and how it will become apparentto the intended victim(s). Even moroniccreatures and characters will be suspi-cious of a pit that appears before theireyes out of nowhere, although they maynot have time to react to their suspicions.If they do have time to react, they willmost likely be curious, and, if they touchit, the illusion will be dispelled.

The caster of this spell must be famil-iar with his intended subject. The crea-tures he is attempting to affect with thespell may well know more about thetypes and numbers of other monstersliving in their area, from (presumably)

34 OCTOBER 1982

having lived there for a good portion oftheir lives. If a new “creature” is sudden-ly introduced into this familiar environ-ment, the denizens may well be suspi-cious of its origin — particularly if theyknow a spell caster is in the adventurers’party. If the caster is inept enough tocause a red dragon to appear from no-where in full view of everyone, the in-tended victims should be sharp enoughto doubt its reality. However, should thecaster cause the victims to come acrossa “sleeping dragon” in natural surround-ings, and if the beast should then happento wake up and “breathe” on them, thechance for them to believe the illusionwould be considerably better.

There is the Audible Glamer spell tolend credibility to the illusionist’s phan-tasms, but it must be cast prior to theaccompanying Phantasmal Force, sincethe latter magic will be dispelled as soonas the illusionist ceases to concentrateon it. The combination of the two spells,therefore, will take at least two rounds tocast, and won’t be a very attractive alter-native when enemies are advancing onthe party and time is of the essence.

The DM can adjudicate the results ofan intended illusion without much prob-lem. All he needs to do is put himself inthe victim’s place and view the illusionthrough his, her, or its eyes. Is the illu-sion an image of a being or object thatmight reasonably be found in this vicini-ty? Are the circumstances surroundingthe illusion conducive to the appearanceor discovery of the illusion? Is the illu-sion understandable by the creature orcharacter at which it is directed? Theillusion of a Fireball being cast (for in-stance) is not understandable by crea-tures that have never seen one before.According to the Fireball spell descrip-tion in the Players Handbook, “A streakflashes from the pointing digit (of thespell caster) and . . . flowers into thefireball.” A monster that doesn’t knowabout magic will see a streak coming inits direction, but will not know it is sup-posed to represent flame until the illuso-ry fireball takes shape. At that point, themonster may or may not realize that theresult is supposed to be flame, since noheat is created by a Phantasmal Force.Similarly, a monster with infravision willmost likely doubt an illusory monsterbecause its eyes will not detect the heatradiation that the creature is accustomedto detecting from all living creatures.

Characters (and their players) shouldbe alert to the possibility of illusions be-ing used against them by the DM’s min-ions. I once rolled up a dragon for anencounter, determined that the dragonknew some magic, and rolled the spellsrandomly. Phantasmal Force was one ofthem. At the time I was disappointed,because I didn’t realize the capabilitiesof the spell at that point in my experienceas a Dungeon Master. However, I de-cided to go with what I had rolled, and

Force spell requires much more thoughtand preparation than do most otherspells. Anyone with the proper trainingcan cast a fireball with scarcely anythought at all; to cast a successful illu-sion requires a great deal of commonsense, accuracy with respect to detail,and creativity. Successful use of thespell requires a player to pay extremelyclose attention to what is going onaround his character and to react ac-cordingly. To have the best chance forsuccess, the illusion-caster must thinkahead of all the possible ramifications ofhis illusion. Does the rest of the partyknow about the illusion? That is, will heinform them of his intentions, therebytaking the chance that the enemy willalso hear and possibly understand? Or,will he keep it to himself, hoping to en-sure that the monsters will not then au-tomatically know an illusion is beingcast? Many players won’t want to be both-ered with all this detail, and under condi-tions such as these might not use thespell very often or at all. Or, playersmight realize that the game experience isenhanced if the DM requires illusion-makers to think out their situation andconsider the possible consequences oftheir actions if they are to prosper in hisgame.

this is what happened:The dragon created an illusion of a

large blue dragon sleeping in a smallclearing surrounded by rocks. The partyindeed came upon the “sleeping drag-on,” and decided to charge en masse,hoping to kill it before it awoke. The realdragon was watching from high in thesky, and caused the illusion to react real-istically — right down to bleeding andawakening abruptly. The illusory drag-on’s reaction in the next round was to“breathe” at one of the party members. Iasked the hapless person to make a sav-ing throw, and it failed. The party hadreceived no saving throws before then,since the dragon had caused the illusionto be an image such as might ordinarilybe found. After the next three rounds,the party had lost three members to“lightning bolts.” (No one had yet man-aged to penetrate the armor class of the“dragon,” so it had not been dispelled.)

When all of this began, I had told theplayers that “The dragon rises to its feetand breathes, but he makes no noise.”But not one of them picked up on thattidbit of information. When a characterfinally managed to hit the “dragon” itwas, naturally, dispelled — whereuponthe real dragon flew down and chuckledat the situation. Three of six party mem-bers were dead from an illusion they (theplayers, and through them their charac-ters) should have detected. The charac-ters were not babes in the woods, andshould have realized all was not rightwhen they found out they were confront-ing a silent foe.

All things considered, the Phantasmal

Thieves� Cant: A primerfor the language of larceny

by Aurelio Locsin

INTRODUCTIONThis work is made possible through the efforts of several

linguists, many of whom have lost their lives in their attempts tolearn as much as they could about Thieves’ Cant. Although thisprimer and the accompanying translation dictionary are admit-tedly incomplete, this is believed to be the most extensivecompilation to date of the language.

PRONUNCIATION AND WRITINGVowel sounds in Cant are sounded the same way as in these

English words: “a” as in bad; “e” as in bed; “i” as in bid; “o” as inlone; “u” as in suit; and “y” as in sly. Optionally, for easierpronunciation by those accustomed to English, “i” can besounded like the “e” in see when the “i” appears in the middle orat the end of a word, and the “y” sound is shortened to soundlike an “i” if the resulting syllable or word is easier to pronouncethat way.

Vowel combinations such as “ai” or “oe” are pronounced bysounding each vowel separately. For instance, the Cant word“laimbo” (twenty) is pronounced la-im-bo and not laym-bo.

In speaking the language, all words in Cant are stressedprimarily on the first syllable. Many words of four or moresyllables will be secondarily stressed on the other odd-num-bered syllables if such accenting makes the word more easilydistinguished or easier to pronounce.

There is no specific Cant alphabet, because Cant is onlyrarely encountered in written form. For the purpose of thisintroduction to the language, the written conventions of theEnglish language are used to “spell” the Cant words. Note thatmany letters of the English alphabet have no representation inCant; “c” and “d” are two noteworthy examples.

NOUNSNouns are words that represent things: inanimate objects,

living things, or concepts. Articles (a, an, the in English) do notexist in Cant. All Cant nouns are given in the singular form, andplural forms of those nouns are produced by simply doublingthe word. Example:

English Cantbox kalboxes kalkal

Literal translation(a, the) box(the) box-box

Modifiers are words that describe other words. In English,these words are called adjectives and adverbs. Those types donot exist as such in Cant. Instead, any modifier can modifyeither a noun or a verb, depending on its location within thesentence and with respect to the words around it. In the exam-ples below, note the location of the modifiers and how theirplacement affects the meaning of the sentences, even thoughboth example sentences contain the same words:

English: The fast man runs slowly.Cant: Obok sen koma ark.

Literal translation: Slowness run speed man.

English: The slow man runs quickly.Cant: Koma sen obok ark.

Literal translation: Speed run slowness man.

MODIFIERS

As with nouns, modifiers may be doubled. This indicates anincrease in quality or intensity. For example, sio kal means “bigbox”; siosio kal means “very big box”; and siosio kalkal means“very big boxes.”

NUMBERSMany numbers, including 0 through 10 and some higher

numbers, are included in the accompanying dictionary as se-parate entries. To create other numbers, simply “add” two ormore “number words” together. For example, “seventeen” isimboula, or “10” (imbo) plus “7” (ula); and “seventy” is ulaimbo,which translates as “seven tens.”

Ordinal numbers, to show the order of an item in a succes-sion of items, are formed by adding the suffix “nk” to thecardinal number (or “ink,” if the number ends in a consonant).Thus, bi (one) + nk = bink (first); lim (five) + ink = limink (fifth).

Fractions are formed by adding the prefix “ob” (which literal-ly means “opposite”) to the appropriate number: ob + la (two) =obla (one half); ob + lim (five) = oblim (one fifth).

PRONOUNSPronouns are words used to represent nouns. The following

pronouns exist in Cant:First person singular, o (l, me); second person singular,

e (you); third person singular, i (he, she, it, him, her).First person plural (including the person spoken to),

oeo (us, we and you); second person plural, oe (you);third person plural, ii (they, them).

First person plural (excluding the person spoken to),oo (us, we but not you).

The word oo is a pronoun form peculiar to Cant, used whenthe speaker means “us” or “we” to include everyone but theperson(s) being spoken to. It has been observed that this pro-noun is most often employed in discussions pertaining to thedivision of treasure.

When a pronoun is used with a verb, it is generally attached tothe end of the verb form: ken means “to steal”; keno is “I steal”;kene is “you steal,” and so forth.

When a pronoun precedes a verb (sometimes done for clarityor emphasis) or stands by itself, a “t” is placed before the simpleform of the pronoun: Ti ken kal means “He steals (is stealing)the box”; keni kal means essentially the same thing, but withless emphasis placed on the “he” and more emphasis on what“he” is doing.

A relative pronoun introduces a clause that describes a noun.In English, these are words such as “which,” “who,” and “that.”The Cant language has only two relative pronouns: nita, used torefer to persons, and om, used for animals or objects. Examples:

Cant: Sen ark nita tyn tif.Literal translation: Run man who has helmet.

English: The man who has the helmet is running.

Cant: Sen simar om tyn tif.Literal translation: Run dog that has helmet.

English: The dog that has the helmet is running.

WORD ORDERWord order is extremely rigid in Cant, since only by its posi-

tion in a sentence can the function or relationship of a word be

D R A G O N 3 5

determined. The following word-order rules apply to clauses,phrases, and complete sentences.

Standard word order:time+verb+subject+place+indirect object+direct object

(Note: Nouns used to modify or explain other nouns alwaysprecede the word they modify.)

Cant: Labne kene kal.Literal translation: Yesterday steal-you box.

English: You stole the box yesterday.Question word order:

question particle+question word+standard word order(The question particle ste serves as a verbal question mark

and is always used to introduce an interrogative sentence.)Cant: Ste tehel labne ken kal.

Literal translation: ? Who yesterday steal boxEnglish: Who stole the box yesterday?

Command word order:subject+verb+time+place+manner+indirect obj.+direct obj.

Cant: Te ken kal!Literal translation: You steal box!

English: Steal a box!

VERBS AND TENSESThe basic (infinitive) form of a verb in Cant ends in the letter

“n.” (Note that some words that end in “n” are not verbs.) Thebasic form does not change, except for the possible addition ofa trailing pronoun. Tenses are indicated by placing a timeexpression at the front of the sentence. Indefinite past andfuture can be indicated by using the word for future (kar) orpast (bir) in front of the sentence. Verbs used without accom-panying time indicators are in the present tense. Examples:

Cant: Labne bano.Literal translation: Yesterday go-I.

English: I went yesterday.

Cant: Kar bano.Literal translation: Future go-I.

English: I will go. (indefinite future)

Modal auxiliaries: These are verbs used with other verbs toform expressions of mood, such as the words “can,” “may,”“might,” and “should” in English. Modal auxiliaries in Cant areplaced before the main verb.

The Cant word sib (may) expresses permission to do some-thing. Miban (must) expresses compulsion; it may also be usedlike the word “should” would be used in English. Beben (can)expresses the ability to do something.

Kutin (might) is used differently from sib (may). Kutin ex-presses conditional action: something that can be done ifsomething else is done first. Example:

Cant: Kutin bano beti mublini.Literal translation: Might go-I if rain-it.

English: I might go if it rains.Takin (would) is not necessarily related to will or desire. It is

used to express determination to do something in a conditionalsentence. Example:

Cant: Beti tyni barbo, takin bano.Literal translation: If have-he boat, would go-l.

English: If he had a boat, I would go.

The verb Mon: This word is loosely equivalent to the verb “is”or “to be” in English. Its primary use is as a helping verb inpassive sentences. Passive sentences differ from active sen-tences in that in the former, the action is performed on thesubject. In the latter, the subject performs the action. Examples:

Labne keno fuid translates as “I stole the crown yesterday.”This is an active sentence. The subject (I) is doing the stealing.

Labne mon keno fuid translates as “The crown was stolenyesterday.” This is a passive sentence. The person or thingresponsible for the action is not indicated; instead, the sen-tence indicates that the action was performed on the crown.

Mon is also used to denote equivalency between two nouns

36 OCTOBER 1982

and/or pronouns: Mone kawabi translates as “You are a cleric.”Mon is never used to express the possession of a quality or

location. Instead, tyn (to have) and bilin (to stand) are used,respectively, for these purposes: Tyni sio literally translates as“Have-he tallness,” and its English equivalent is “He is tall.” Lylakat bilini translates literally as “In book stand-it,” and itsEnglish equivalent is “It is in the book.”

NEGATIVE CONSTRUCTIONSCant uses the single word hibni to express negation. The

word negates an entire sentence when it is placed at the begin-ning: Hibni bano literally means “No go-I” or “Not go-I,” and itsEnglish equivalent is “I am not going.”

To negate individual parts of a sentence, hibni is placedbefore the word it negates: Keno urtel moky hibni kanab means“I am stealing the diamond but not the chest.”

Hibni may also be used to negate an entire clause by placingit at the beginning of the clause: Labne bano moky hibni buronomeans “I went yesterday but I didn’t stay.”

PREPOSITIONSPrepositions are words that show relationships between ob-

jects. Unless specified otherwise, Cant prepositions are usedas in English.

Ro (of) is used to show possession only: lakat ro ark means“(the) book of (the) man,” or “the man’s book.”

Ka (on) is used with horizontal surfaces, while li (on) is usedwith vertical surfaces, such as a wall, upon which things arehung or affixed: Bilin lakat ka ruba means “The book is on thetable”; Bilin likob li liki ro obark means “The necklace is on thewoman’s neck.”

WORD FORMATIONNew words may be formed in Cant by combining two or more

simpler words, trimming letters from one word or another ifsuch a shortening does not cause misinterpretation and makesthe resulting word easier to pronounce: hunar (death) + hin(room) = hunarhin (crypt), which is shortened to hunahin.

Forming a noun from a verb is usually done by simply drop-ping the final “n,” and possibly the vowel that precedes it, fromthe verb form: hunaran (to die) becomes hunar (death); asefan(to drink) becomes asefa (drink).

The opposite of a word can be formed by attaching the prefixob to the front of the word: ob + ark (man) = obark (woman); ob+ ine (day) = obine (night).

Assembling the dictionaryEach of the four-page segments following this page can be

removed from the center of the magazine and folded andtrimmed to produce a pair of pocket-sized translation diction-aries for Thieves’ Cant. Pages 37,38,43, and 44 will make theCant-to-English volume of the dictionary, and pages 39 through42 comprise the English-to-Cant volume.

Remove each four-page section from the magazine by care-fully bending the staples out; then re-close the staples to keepthe remainder of the magazine bound together. To constructthe English-to-Cant volume, for example, hold that four-pagesheet in front of you so that page 40 is right side up on your left.Fold the top of the sheet down, using the line across the middleof pages 39 and 42 as a guide, to meet the bottom of the sheet.Then fold the right-hand half of this strip across to meet theleft-hand part. This produces a four-sheet thickness of paperwhich is half the size of a regular magazine page.

The third and final fold brings the left-hand edge of this sheetover to meet the right-hand edge, using the vertical line be-tween page 16 and page 1 of the dictionary as a guide. Trim thebottom, right-hand, and top edges of the dictionary to theproper size, and put two or three staples along the crease tobind all the dictionary pages in place.

D R A G O N 45

Language rules leave lots of roomfor creativity in your campaign

Language is one of those “grey areas”in the AD&D™ game system, partiallycarved into the rules and partially left tothe discretion and invention of the DM.That the DM was hard pressed to keepeven one jump ahead of the players inthe free-wheeling early days of D&D®

play was shown by author Lee Gold inthe excellent article “Languages,” froman early edition of DRAGON™ Magazineand reprinted in the Best of The Dragon®

anthology. Lee told of incidents such asplayers who opted to learn “Wall” speechin order to wrest secrets from the verywalls of the DM’s dungeons. Sure, it wasworth a try; after all, if they have ears. . . .

Thankfully, we AD&D referees do nothave to put up with that sort of thing. Ordo we? While the Great Tomes — thePlayers Handbook, Monster Manual,Dungeon Masters Guide, FIEND FOLIO™Tome, and the DEITIES & DEMIGODS™Cyclopedia — refer constantly to lan-guage use, both oral and written, eventhe most conscientious DM will search invain for a consistent pattern of speechuse and literacy in The Rules.

This is no wonder, for the subject iscomplex, and a full treatment might failto interest any but specialists. On a prac-tical gaming level, I have attempted todeal with language and literacy underthree broad headings: non-humanoid,humanoid (with special emphasis oncharacters), and magical.

Excluding the use of magic, the realjoker in the language pack, it is probablynot possible to communicate at all withnon- intelligent beings, nor to assumethat they communicate between them-selves. It is possible to communicatewith animal intelligences; gnomes, forinstance, “can speak with burrowingmammals” and couatl speak “most ser-pent and avian languages,” according tothe books. This implies that animals canalso communicate with one another. Butit is not really useful to use terms like

“speak” or “language” for this level ofcommunication, which is almost surelynon-verbal or sub-verbal. Naturalistshave written many books on animalcommunication, but one does not needto go into this topic in great depth forgame purposes.

“Speaking” to animals is a matter oftone, facial expression, and body lan-guage. The communication with and/orbetween semi- intelligent creatures mustbe very similar, though these latter typesmight comprehend a few simple words.

True speech begins among beings oflow intelligence. Monsters on this levelhave their own language, and perhaps asmattering of Common. At least, that isone way to interpret the Monster Manu-al, on the basis of the statement that “Mi-notaurs have their own language and are25% likely to speak common as well.”However, there are apparent exceptionsto the general rule about low intelligenceand language. Ogres, for instance, whileof low intelligence, are real chatterboxes:they speak their own tongue, the lan-guage of chaotic evil, Orcish, Trollish,and “the dialect of stone giants.” (By theway, “stone giant” would seem to be amisprint for “hill giant.“) Hill giants, whileno less intelligent than ogres, can speakonly their own dialect and their align-ment tongue, unless they are in the lucky50% who can manage Ogrish. Creaturesof low intelligence don’t have writtenlanguages, and individuals of those typesnever achieve literacy.

Several monsters are defined as low toaverage (low), or simply average (low)intelligence. Ironically, many of thesecreatures speak more languages thancreature types with higher intelligence.The very intelligent nixies speak onlytheir own language and Common, whilestupid little orcs can babble on in Orcish,lawful evil, Goblin, Ogrish, and Hobgob-lin. Gnolls, also low average in intelli-gence, all speak Gnollish, chaotic evil,

by A. D. Rogan

and Trollish, and 60% of them can learnOrcish and/or Hobgoblin. Of course, thenixies (who are only an example; thereare lots to choose from) have no align-ment tongue, being neutral, but they stillseem short-changed.

This “short-changing” will be exploredfurther later, but for our immediate con-sideration: How come all of these lowaverage intelligence monsters speakeach other’s languages? Because theyalways seem to be making commoncause against the good guys? Surelynot, and even if it were so, the troopswould not need to communicate so free-ly with one another. Multi-lingual lead-ers or interpreters would suffice.

These languages — Orcish, Goblin,Hobgoblin, Gnollish, Kobold, Ogrish,and Trollish —are obviously related andprobably fairly simple. They may haveevolved from an early common languageas the monsters evolved from a commonstock. Or, all these species may havelearned language from one source — mychoice is the Drow — and developedtongues that are separate but nearlyenough related for even sub-average in-telligence to learn. This theory accountsfor the otherwise baffling fact that elvesknow all these languages. Furthermore,Elvish must have influenced modernGnomish, Halfling, and even Dwarvish,though these languages originated else-where. It simplifies the “literacy prob-lem” considerably if one assumes that thewritten forms of these languages havetheir bases in the Elvish alphabet. SeeChart A for one suggestion of how theselanguages interrelate.

When we arrive at average intelligence(8-10), we are dealing with creatureswho can learn other languages and canlearn to read and write if they are physi-cally equipped to do so — no blink dogsor pegasi, please, although this point willbe examined more deeply later. Mosthumans, characters or otherwise, have

46 OCTOBER 1982

‘Do not allow unlimitedcommunication between anunprepared party and justanyone they happen tomeet. . . . Even a comprehendlanguages spell doesn’tconfer the ability to askintelligent questions.’

at least an 8 intelligence. Since charac-ters may learn extra languages, up toseven with an intelligence of 18, in addi-tion to whatever alignment tongue theyhave and the language they might knowby virtue of their race, it seems only fairto grant additional languages to mon-sters with equal intelligence, at least forthe humanoid monsters. While there is,perhaps, no very good reason for thevery intelligent Giant Owl and DragonTurtle to learn other tongues than theirown, why should the Nymph — whichqualifies for four or five extra languagesby Players Handbook standards — havenot even Common, according to theMonster Manual? Extending and expand-ing upon the Middle Elfin language sec-tion of Chart A, we can add two newlanguage families, Aquatic and Sylvan(see Chart B).

Our nymph, then, could speak notonly her own tongue and perhaps Com-mon but also Merspeech, Triton, Sea El-vish, and possibly Dolphinese or Hippo-campian, if she is a sea nymph. A lake orriver nymph’s additional languages mightbe Common, Nixie, Dryadian, and WoodElvish.

The languages of creatures who don’tget around much may vary widely fromlocale to locale, with widely differing ac-cents, dialects, and even actual differentlanguages, as similar and yet as dissimi-lar as Spanish and Portuguese. Nixie “as Assigning language to an entire world

Keep in mind a few thoughts on thegrowth and change of language: Lan-guage changes quickly under the stimu-lus of conquest, migration, trade, or war.A conquest may impose a dual languagesystem on an area, with the victorsspeaking one tongue and the conqueredanother. This was the case in Englandafter the Norman Conquest. Graduallythe two tongues blend into a new lan-guage; in England the process tookabout 300 years and the new language,Middle English, was quite different fromits parents, French and Anglo-Saxon.

If the speech of fabulous races is sodiverse, surely the tongues of man arejust as various. DM’s can assign lan-guage families to large-scale areas ofhuman settlement and define separatelanguages and/or dialects for smallerareas.

On the other hand, the languages ofmore mobile creatures will be more con-sistent throughout a wider area. Thestudy of Triton might be a better invest-ment of a character’s time and goldpieces.

she is spoke” in one lake may be incom-prehensible in another. The accent of abirch-tree dryad may sound odd to anoak-tree dryad. Keep this in mind when,say, a druid character takes a course inDryadian and expects to be understoodall over your map.

seems a formidable task, but it need beno harder than making political and cul-tural divisions. All the inhabitants of anation are likely to speak the same lan-guage, allowing for dialects and possiblescattered pockets of immigrants or abo-riginal inhabitants. Neighboring coun-tries may have a common language, or aseparate but very similar one. A strongempire might have only one language, ifonly for official use. All nobles and mostmerchants and tradesmen would knowthe imperial tongue. There may be acourt language used, as Persian wasthroughout the medieval Arab world, bydiplomats, scholars, and poets. Undoubt-edly every world has, as does ours, an-tique languages, some known only tosavants, some entirely lost save for a fewmysterious inscriptions.

If this sounds complicated, bear inmind that the average party of adventur-ers isn’t going to have to tackle the Tow-er of Babel. Assume that they will man-age to communicate somehow with mostof the humans they meet, if only in halt-ing Common. Do not, however, allow un-limited communication between an un-prepared party and just anyone theyhappen to meet. Let them learn thespeech of the country, find someonewho speaks theirs, or hire an interpreter.Even a comprehend languages spelldoesn’t confer the ability to ask intelli-gent questions.

D R A G O N 4 7

The Players Handbook allows a hu-man character only Common and his/heralignment language. Thieves and druidshave a technical jargon, presumably tocompensate for their lack of an align-ment tongue. To be more realistic, let usassign to each human character up tofour base “languages”: birth, alignment,jargon, and Common.

The birth language is the one that thecharacter learned “at his mother’s knee.”The character will always retain this lan-guage, and the birth language may pos-sibly accent any other tongue he or shelearns. The character can more easilylearn a language related to the birthtongue. A DM can use the birth languageconcept in various ways. What if a brig-and chief recognizes a captive as a goodol’ down-home boy by his accent? Con-trariwise, what if he recognizes thetongue of the invaders who burned outhis little farm and drove him into an out-law’s life? Enjoy.

An alignment language is defined bythe DMG as “a special set of signs, sig-nals, gestures, and words” for limitedcommunication only — in other words,probably not even a proper language perse, but (when spoken) more like a set ofspecial inflections, emphases, and tech-nical uses of an ordinary language. Trueneutrals don’t have an alignment “lan-guage.” The four basic alignment “lan-guage families” are, of course, lawful,chaotic, good, and evil, and the specific“languages” are combinations of these.It is most unlikely that alignment “lan-guages” are ever written, though eachfamily and each specific combinationhas symbols recognizable across lan-guage barriers.

Jargon is a class language or dialectand may contain some elements ofalignment as well. When a couple of fight-ers get into a discussion of the finerpoints (as it were) of swordplay, they arespeaking jargon. The language used as avehicle for jargon often is a perfectly or-dinary one in which individual wordstake a specific meaning for the certainpurposes of a particular class. For ex-ample, “stress” in the jargon of (realworld) engineers has a different mean-ing from “stress” defined by psycholo-gists. This is simple jargon; its sophisti-cated cousin, complex jargon, is either(like Thieves’ Cant) so full of slang, ob-scure words, and special usage as toseem a separate language, or (like Drui-dic jargon) a truly distinct tongue.

Common presents a problem whenone is trying to construct a realisticmodel of a world’s languages; it’s just toocommon. It should be a practical lingafranca in which a player can get direc-tions to “there and back again,” buy adrink, and strike a bargain. Commonisn’t a language for poetry, philosophy,lovemaking, or cursing. In my world, it isan amalgam of two or three major humantongues and modern Elvish. Common

48 O C T O B E R 1 9 8 2

has no alphabet of its own; something“written in Common” usually employsthe Elvish characters. Use discretion inassigning Common to “monsters,” hu-man and otherwise. The more isolated amonster, the less likely it is to speakCommon. This view of Common is muchmore limited than that of the PlayersHandbook. I find extra languages andsemi-languages more credible than auniversal tongue.

Non-human and half-human charac-ters are allowed a much greater numberof languages by The Rules. These sub-stitute for the human birth language,though a semi-human may add his or herhuman parent’s birth tongue. Thesecharacters also have an alignment lan-guage, the jargon of their class, andCommon. The Players Handbook speci-fies how many additional languages anon-human or half-human charactermay acquire. If the character wants tolearn a tongue closely related to one heor she has naturally, the DM might relaxthe rule. Allow, too, for a non-human toknow a branch of his or her racial lan-guage without penalty. All dwarves canand do speak Old Dwarven, althoughonly among themselves and only onspecial occasions.

Creatures with average intelligenceand up may be literate. May, becauseliteracy in a typical campaign is probablytoo widespread to simulate anything likean accurate pre-industrial model. We inAmerica and Europe are accustomed topractically universal literacy, but weought to remember that this is not thenorm for many of our contemporariesaround the globe, and certainly was notfor our ancestors. Even our literatepredecessors probably didn’t read orwrite with any remarkable facility. Wellinto this century, children might attendschool only when chores at home orwork outside the home didn’t interfere,and they might quit school altogether atabout the third or fourth grade.

In medieval times, of course, the liter-acy rate was much, much lower. Welearn in school (though the history booksare rather too simplistic) how the Churchpreserved learning through the DarkAges. Actually, not all religions werefully literate; many secular people wereliterate, especially in the upper (and, astime went by, the middle) class. Oddlyenough, women were more likely thanmen to acquire reading and writing skillsamong the laity; perhaps these skillswere perceived as unmanly — the pro-vince of celibate churchmen. The growthof trade increased interest in literacy,especially among the mercantile classes.Merchants naturally wanted to keeptrack of their own accounts.

In a realistic AD&D scenario, there-fore, practically all fighters (and mem-bers of the fighter sub-classes) ought tobe illiterate. Magic-users and clericsmust be literate. This includes illusion-

ists, but there is no historical justifica-tion at all for including druids. All that weknow about the true druids and their cul-ture indicates that they were anti-literateand that the bulk of a druid’s educationwas devoted to memorizing an astonish-ingly large body of knowledge. Oral tra-dition was the educational norm through-out the world for a very long time; wehave forgotten that it was often more ac-curate and more enduring than the writ-ten word.

Of course, one just cannot play thegame this realistically. What about allthose scrolls? What about the thief’sprecious ability to read languages? Andwhat, oh what, about the poor bard — acompound of fighter, thief, and druid?Unless one is sternly devoted to histori-cal simulation (and if you are, you will bemuch happier with Chivalry & Sorcerythan with trying to re-work such enor-mous chunks of the AD&D rules), thereis no need to be fanatical. Do, however,consider how your game can be playedwith a good deal more accuracy.

Take reading skills alone. The abilityto read is primarily a function of intelli-gence. Since the magic-user class mustbe literate, we, could assume that theminimum intelligence score for thatclass, 9, must be the minimum required ifa character (of whatever class) may learnto read.

Literacy is not, however, a black-and-white proposition. Let us say, therefore,that a magic-user reads on at least a“high school” level — that is, the level onwhich a high school student ought to beable to read, not (sadly) the level onwhich some American high school grad-uates actually do read. Assume then thata character with an intelligence of 6 orbetter can read, but not particularly welland in only one language. (Indeed, withan intelligence under 8, a character can’tlearn a second language at all).

Clerics must be special cases occa-sionally. A pious but not overly brightcleric may be presumed to achieve read-ing ability because of his or her superiorwisdom. In other words, the gods willpull him or her through. (Don’t you wishthe gods had been as kind to you whenyou were in the first grade?)

Reading skills also should be a func-tion of class. Fighters, by and large, willnot bother to learn. Note that paladinsand rangers cannot use scrolls. The thiefbegins to read languages only at 4th lev-el (the assassin at 6th), and then onlylanguages which he or she knows. Theability is imperfect at first; I like to im-agine the night classes down at theThieves’ Guild Local where ambitiousburglars struggle to improve their skills.Monks must be illiterate, since they can-not use scrolls and do not have the abili-ty to read languages along with theirother thieving skills. Whether or not aclass can use scrolls is generally a goodguide as to whether members of that

class can read, and it is a clear touch-stone for writing ability.

Sages are literate, of course. They mayeven have more than the maximum num-ber of languages allowed to charactersand are most likely to know ancienttongues. Astrologers, alchemists, andother learned professionals are surely lit-erate also, and each profession has ajargon of its own. Engineers and mer-chants may or may not be literate, andother classes and types of NPCs proba-bly are not. Scribes and public letter wri-ters are found in most settlements, al-though a backwoods hamlet may have torely on its local cleric.

If each human character starts with asmany as four languages and a non-human with perhaps nine or ten, thenwhat about multi-classed characters,those who add skills requiring new jar-gon, or those who switch from one classto another? The multi-classed characteris a special headache since he or she isnon-human or semi-human anyway. Af-ter allowing the basic jargon and meta-language, where applicable, for oneclass, count the necessary jargon(s) andmetalanguage(s) for the extra class(es)against the number of extra languagesthat the character is entitled to learn.(The concept of metalanguage is dis-cussed later.) If he or she can then learnno other language, so be it. If he or sheexceeds his or her limit with these ne-cessary languages, one might allow theplayer to get away with it or, more plaus-ibly, ask him or her to delete one or moreracial languages, depending upon thecharacter’s intelligence. Similarly, for thecharacter who changes classes, if his orher intelligence score is not sufficient topermit him or her to learn the newtongue, too bad. A possible compromiseis to assume that the character forgetsthe jargon of his or her previous class. Asfor characters who plan to become pa-ladins, rangers, or bards, they must al-low for adding the languages and meta-languages that they will need to knowwhen the need arises. Fortunately, theintelligence minimums for these classesassure that they can add languages. Animportant exception is that Fighter Jar-gon is extremely simple and is notcounted as a separate language in any ofthese cases.

The question which next arises iswhether non-humanoid but intelligentmonsters can read or write. A naga, no

matter how clever, faces insurmountabledifficulties. Physical problems similar tothis, while not as great for other crea-tures, still make it unlikely that any ofthem will be literate. What then about theliterate character polymorphed into mon-strous form? In The Voyage of the “DawnTreader”, C. S. Lewis addresses thisproblem when Eustace is transformedinto a dragon. The boy is an awful bratbut intelligent enough and well educat-ed. Unable to explain his predicament tohis companions — he’s not a talkingdragon — Eustace attempts to write hisstory in the sand. He fails because adragon’s muscles and nerves aren’ttrained for — perhaps aren’t even capa-ble of — the task. There’s no reason tosuppose that such a character couldn’tread, given the skill in the first place anda friend to turn the pages. Bahamut andhis gold dragons have spell books, butthen they can polymorph into humanform whenever they like.

The mention of Bahamut introducesus to the realm of supra-genius and god-like intelligence. Beings on these levelsare likely to be beyond speech. Amongthemselves, they may communicate in amanner incomprehensible to lesser in-tellects Their communication with low-er intelligences may, of course, be bytelepathy. A pair of authors, MadelineL’Engle in her Time trilogy and T. H.White in The Master, indicate that tele-pathic supra-geniuses have difficultyexpressing themselves in human speech,which is an inadequate vehicle for theirthoughts. Both stories have characterswho, when forced to speak to non-tele-paths, express themselves in quotationsfrom poets or philosophers as the mostcompact mode of communication avail-able to both parties.

Language, however, originated at thegod-like intelligence level and was givenby the gods to humankind (or elvenkindor whatever). Thus, Chart B refers toTreant as a Titantic language. Someother languages derived from the titansare shown in Chart C.

Other languages coming directly fromthe god-like intelligence level are the var-ious dragon tongues and the intelligentanimals’ languages. In fact, divine inter-vention provides a rationale for animalshaving language at all. Say that dol-phins, for instance, were granted speechby Bacchus when they rescued him atsea. It is interesting to note in this con-

text that the DEITIES & DEMIGODSbook limits “spirit” to creatures with “atleast an intelligence rating of Low” andthat this is the minimum rating for truelanguage as well.

The most important languages givenby the gods are the metalanguages ofMagic and Miracle. Each metalanguageexists in two forms — M-U Magic andIllusionist Magic, and Clerical Miracleand Druidical Miracle. Metalanguagesare used for spells, and are distinct fromthe arcane or ritual tongues which arethe jargons of these classes. A magic-user, for example, keeps his or her spellbook in an arcane language, but inscribesa scroll in M-U Magic. Druids chatamong themselves in Druidic jargon butspeak with plants in their form of Mira-cle. The transcendent nature of meta-languages is made abundantly clear intheir various uses. Magic/Miracle can beread even by illiterates, as with a protec-tion scroll. The metalanguage disappearsfrom a scroll when it is used. The spokensyllables of Magic or Miracle alter thewhole fabric of reality.

Metalanguages must be the only lan-guages recognizable as such from out-side the Prime Material Plane. Extra-planar communication is almost unima-ginable, although some have tried todescribe it — such as in this passagefrom the historical/fantasy novel TheDeadly Gift by Norah Loft. The elisionsare the author’s as her character search-es for words to describe her out-of-bodyexperience.

“. . . [T]here were voices . . . andlight was something you couldtouch and handle, and colour . . .colour was something you couldtaste. . . and time was. . . you couldsee it. It sounds all confused, butthat is how it was, and I understoodit . . . then.”

Let us hope that players can “under-stand it” on other planes when they arethere.

Creatively used, language can providedeadly traps, comic misunderstandings,more exciting encounters, and morerealistic role-playing adventures for DMand players alike. And that’s the name ofthe game.

CHART C

D R A G O N 4 9

THIEF: ’Ere now! Wot’s ’at?FIGHTER: Oh, no! It’s that illusionist

again, with about three zillion goblins!PALADIN: Whist, father! Pray for us!

Montjoie-St. Denis!THIEF: ’S dark as a bloomin’ coal scut-

tle in ’ere — ’ow about a light spell,parson?

CLERIC: Oremus. Salve, Domine! Solite gloria. Fiat lux. Amen!

ILLUSIONIST: Me genoito! En de nux!FIGHTER: Hey! who turned out the

lights?ELF: Fear not! Aure entuluva!BARD: Eala, aethelingas!HENCHMAN: Doon wi’ th’ Sassenachs!THIEF: Them ain’t Saxons, ye barmy

bilgebrain! These ’ere be goblins, can’tyou ’ear?

GOBLINS: Gobble, gobble.CLERIC: “Gobble, gobble?”MAGIC-USER: Oy, veh!

Now, that’s what AD&D™ or D&D®

playing sessions ought to sound like(sort of). But of course, they don’t. Ac-cents and characteristic speech patternsadd a lot to role playing. But we can’t allbe linguists — least of all the poor DM,who must play hundreds of speakingcreatures.

Nevertheless, language differencescan add a lot to a game, especially interms of the challenge of communicat-ing with people (and monsters) whospeak other tongues and dialects. But aset of rules to facilitate this could easilybecome either overly technical or justplain cumbersome in use. The intent ofthis article is to suggest a set of proce-dures that work well while avoiding theabove-mentioned pitfalls.

To begin with, every DM needs to un-derstand the linguistic situation in hiscampaign milieu. What human languagesand dialects are there? What is the“common” tongue and how widely is itspoken? What demi-human tongues arein evidence? For my campaign, I definedthese relationships. “Common” speechevolved in the manner described by theaccompanying chart.

In the chart, asterisks denote extinctlanguages; dotted lines, distant descent;solid lines, immediate descent; arrows,patterns of heavy influence or borrow-ing, whether of vocabulary or grammar;and wavy lines, dialects. Putting the“Common Tongue” in parentheses de-

50 OCTOBER 1982

notes that it exists only in its four dia-lects. A speaker of the Common Tonguespeaks one of these dialects, not some-thing called “Common.”

By setting out the relatedness of cer-tain languages, you engage in sayingwhy your cultural milieu is as it is. Whydo the people in A speak X, while those inB speak Y? Settle these facts to yoursatisfaction while setting up your cam-paign, and then you are ready to intro-duce the following concepts.

Character languagesEvery player character has a primary

language in which he is 100% fluent, thisbeing his birth tongue.

In addition, he may have one or moresecondary languages, due to culturalconditions, such as growing up in aborder area where cultures mix, or frombeing a demi-human growing up in a so-ciety that employs several languages.

In addition, certain character classeshave tongues which they employ in thepursuit of their profession.

Also, all player characters use align-ment tongues to one degree or another,either as a language of devotion ortheology or as a jargon of those whogrow up among like-minded persons.

And, the player character will have adegree of fluency in languages/dialectsclosely related to his primary languageor other languages in which he is fluent.For example, a student learning Old Eng-lish already knows English, and if he alsoknows another Germanic language, thenhis task of deciphering Old English be-comes immeasurably easier.

Class secondary languagesClerics: In my campaign, most good

human clerics speak Kirkish as a lan-guage of devotion and spell-casting. Butin any case, all clerics of character racesuse a special tongue for spell casting.Half-orcs use the Black Speech, whilehalf-elves use Grey Elven. Clerics notbelonging to the predominant religionadhere to others which also use specialtongues.

Druids: Members of this class speakDruidic, which in my campaign is calledOld High Kehlic. All their spells are castin this language.

Paladins: They may or may not have aspecial language as a language of devo-tion, but will certainly acquire one when

Fantasy philology: Playingthe fluency percentages

by Arthur Collins

of high enough level to employ spells.Rangers: There is no tongue associat-

ed with rangers, but in my campaignmany of them speak Old Common, whichis a tongue now used only by isolatedhill-folk. It is for them a language of lore.Of course, they will acquire a smatteringof spell-casting tongues when they reacha high enough level to cast spells.

Magic-users: The “True Speech.”Illusionists: Phantasmaic.Thieves: Thieves’ cant.Monks: There is no particularly monk-

ish language in the rules, but in order tojustify their cultural presence in myNorthern European-type milieu, I havethem know some Quiltien, an Orientaltongue spoken by their masters andtherefore revered as a language ofinstruction.

Bards: Old High Kehlic, which theyuse as a language of lore and spell-casting.

Fighters and assassins: Members ofthese classes do not start out with anyclass-related secondary languages.

Fluency1) All characters are 100% fluent in

their primary language(s).2) Player characters begin proficiency

in alignment tongues at 2% times theirintelligence ability score, and progressthereafter according to the followingformula, to a maximum of 75%:

.5% x (intelligence + wisdom)per level gained beyond 1st

To progress beyond 75% fluency in analignment tongue, special study is re-quired as described below. As an exam-ple of how to apply the above rules andformula, consider a 5th-level neutral evilplayer character with an intelligence of 8and a wisdom of 10. To start with, hisfluency in his alignment tongue is 2% x 8,or 16%. To take his second through fifthlevels into account, use the above formu-la: .5% x 18 x 4 = 36%. Adding his initialfluency of 16% and his progress towardmastery through five levels of adventur-ing, he is now 52% fluent (16 + 36) in thelanguage of Neutral Evil. Once he attains75%, he cannot improve fluency anymore unless he gets his theological acttogether and does some serious study-ing (see below).

3) Player characters begin proficiencyin class-related secondary languages at5% times their intelligence, and progress

thereafter at the rate of 3% per level to amaximum of 75%. To progress in fluencythereafter, special study is required, asdescribed below. Why does this formuladiffer from the formula for alignment-language fluency? Because alignmenttongues are rarely worked at, but youuse a class-related secondary languageevery day. Therefore, you advance in itmore quickly as you rise in level. As anexample, consider a 3rd-level cleric withan intelligence of 12. He is 66% fluent inhis spell-casting tongue (5% x 12, plus3% for each additional level = 66%).

4) A player character may begin withcertain secondary languages, becauseof having grown up around them or be-cause of his or her racial background.For these, percentile dice are rolled, andnumbers above 90% are ignored. Toprogress in fluency thereafter, specialstudy is required, as described below.For example, an elf has a lot of languagepotential, as described in the PlayersHandbook. Applying this method of lan-guage fluency, we have a high elf whobegins his career with the followingsmattering of tongues he picked up inhis childhood and adolescence:

High elven, 100% fluent; grey elven,58% (23% + 25% +10%; see sections 8 & 9below); gnomish, 77%; halfling, 7%; gob-lin, 4%; hobgoblin, 48%; orcish, 34%;gnoll, 16%; Common, 62%.

As the player of this character, askingyourself why he knows what languageshe does, and how well he knows them,will help you flesh out the character, byconsidering the background of his up-bringing. The above figures show thatthis character has had considerable ex-perience with gnomes, orcs, and hob-goblins (or at least with speakers ofthose languages), but not with halflingsand goblins. Why?

5) Acquiring new languages:5a) A player character may endeavor

to learn as many new languages as hisintelligence or race permits. In addition,bards, druids, and assassins gain theability to learn new languages. Bardsand druids begin their proficiency intheir new tongues at 5% times their intel-ligence, and to progress thereafter muststudy as described below. Assassins be-gin at 1% times their intelligence, but forthem, book-study will gain them increaseof proficiency as described below, which

it will not for bards and druids. Note thatfluency for assassins learning alignmentor class tongues can only be gained byclose association with speakers of thattongue (see below). DM’s note: Havingan assassin “brush up” his Lawful Goodby masquerading as a paladin or cleric ina holy institution is a dangerous and ex-citing way to have to learn the fine pointsof the patois.

5b) All characters endeavoring to learna new language (other than a secondarylanguage, class-related language, align-ment tongue, or bardic/druidic languageacquisitions), have the option of doingbook-study alone or in a class in order tograsp the basics of the language. Study-ing alone will gain an increase in fluencyof 1% times the character’s intelligenceper six months of study, to a maximum of30% by study. Studying under a tutor (orin a class) will double the rate of acquisi-tion (1% x intelligence per 3 months ofstudy), again to a maximum gain of 30%by study. Study can be undertaken atany time, but cannot increase fluencybeyond 75%. To gain fluency beyondthis point is beyond book-learning; onlyexperience will do.

5c) The main way of acquiring newlanguages or increasing fluency in onesa player character already knows is byliving in close association with speakersof that language and employing thattongue daily. Fluency in acquiring lan-guages through close association comesat a rate of 1% times the learner’s intelli-gence per month until the speaker is 60%fluent, whereupon the gain is 5% permonth of close association until a maxi-mum of 90% is reached. Note that “closeassociation” assumes daily use of thetongue being acquired, to the exclusionof most other speech. Living in an en-clave speaking Language A among acommunity of speakers of Language Bwill not help toward acquiring the latter.How many American soldiers in Europeor elsewhere make the effort to reallylearn the local language?

6) Languages acquired via spells are at100% fluency for the spell’s duration.Note, however, that the language ac-quired will be of the textbook variety(flawless and non-idiomatic), and notnecessarily of the dialect or style amongwhich you find yourself, unless this is sospecified and the spell allows it. Spells

and devices to understand languagesoperate at 100% fluency — but many ofthese are merely unconscious transla-tors, and do not confer any real under-standing of the language upon the user.The spell Read Magic differs from theability to read the “True Speech” em-ployed by magic-users only by raisingfluency to 100% for the spell’s duration.

A thief’s Read Languages ability ap-plies only to languages unknown to thethief, or in which he is not as fluent as hisRead Languages ability. In any case, noknowledge of the language is bestowedpermanently. The thief is just hazardinga guess as to what the script says.

7) Fluency scores and ratings are as-signed for each character and each lan-guage known by that character accord-ing to the list below. (Note that playercharacters do not know their scores,only their ratings.)

A fluency of 100% (00) is only possiblefor a primary language (birth tongue); afluency score of 91-99% indicates a Sec-ond Language (different from a second-ary language); 76-90% is Very Fluent;61-75% is Fluent; 41-60% is Conversant;21-40% indicates the character is ac-quainted with the language; a score of01-20% means the character can recog-nize the language when it is seen orspoken.

8) One’s degree of fluency also helpsin getting along in dialects, and in learn-ing new languages related to one al-ready known (see table below). The col-umn on the left applies to one’s fluencyrating in a known language, while thecolumns to the right refer to the bonusone has in getting along in another lan-guage encountered.

Language encountered is:Fluency Parent Dialectrating or sisterof Relatedis: tongue same languagePrimary +25% +44% +16%Second +20% +36% +12%Very Fluent+15% +24% +8%Fluent +10% +16% +4%Conversant +5% +8% +2%

These bonuses apply in the followingsituations:

a) The degree to which you will under-stand a speaker of an otherwise un-known tongue.

b) The initial bonus given in acquiringa new language. After two months ofeither book-learning or learning by close

asking yourself why heknows what languages hedoes, and how well he knowsthem, will help you fleshout the character . . .

D R A G O N 5 1

association, this bonus is automaticallyadded onto a character’s fluency score.Note, however, that simply knowing an-other language cannot at any time in-crease fluency in a language beyond75%. Beyond this, only personal effortand study will work.

9) The “Common Tongue,” or secon-dary language of most elves and manysylvan creatures, is High Elvish. Elveshave a 10% bonus in all elvish secondarylanguages; 30% of all high elves knowGrey Elven as a secondary language,and 30% know Wood Elven. The 10% bo-nus also applies to elvish languages anddialects in situations such as 8) above.

10) All of the foregoing matters be-cause being understood or being correctin the use of language is very importantin the conduct of the game. For instance:

a) For spell casters, spell casting (atleast for player characters) is alwaysdone in a specialty tongue, never in“Common.” Therefore, if you blow yourspell, it could be because you haven’tmastered your spell-casting language.

The first time you use a new spell, youmust roll d% to see if you get it right. If aplayer character rolls his fluency scorecorrectly 4 times out of his first 7 at-tempts, he need no longer roll; he hasmastered the inflections and vocabulary.

Old Dwarvish is still newto scholars of language lore

“Getting it right” means rolling your

If he blows it more than 3 times in the first7 attempts, he must roll every time heuses that spell until he gets it right 3times in a row, or until he rises a level, atwhich time he needs to only succeedonce, and the disability disappears.

fluency score or less with d%. (Note: TheDM does the rolling; see 7) above.) Pen-alties for not “getting it right” are asfollows:

Missing the d% roll by 1-10% indicatesa minor blooper; the spell gets off, butnot perfectly. The character knows hehas blown it. With luck, the spell willwork out more or less as intended.

Students of comparative anthropologyhave long been frustrated by dwarves,that secretive lot of undersized human-oids of unknown origin; indeed, almosteverything about them is a mystery.Their homes, mines, and ancient ruinsabound in all the worlds we have dreamedor discovered; their tombs and templesare covered with runes (which, due tothe dwarves’ regrettable resistance tomagic, are largely undecipherable), andtheir diminutive, sturdy forms are foundin all humanoid careers (except, ofcourse, those requiring the study ofmagic). Yet, despite their omnipresence,we know almost nothing about them.They are great linguists, speaking manytongues, but are never heard speakingDwarvish. If pressed about the history ororigins of their race, they change thesubject; if asked about their personallives, they grow truculent. Indeed, mostnon-dwarves can’t even tell a femaledwarf from a male!

At last, a breakthrough has been made.Boru O’Bonker, that illustrious pursuerof knowledge, has learned something ofOld Dwarvish, the ancient ceremonialtongue and script of the dwarf priestsand gleemen.

Boru has not been able to publish hiswork; in fact, we are not even sure wherehe is at this time. He was last seen in thePurple Mug Tavern, deep in discussionwith one of his colleagues. He was justgetting to the point of his remarks whena pair of very short, heavily armed gen-tlemen entered the establishment. Theyprofessed interest in him, asking the

52 OCTOBER 1982

by Clyde Heaton

barkeep if he had been seen there. Thepublican hastened to point him out, buthe was nowhere to be seen. His col-league said he might have slipped outthe back door, and the two gentlemenquickly departed in search of the errantacademician. But neither he nor theyhave been seen since.

When I returned to my rooms thatnight, I found that Boru had been there.He left his notes on dwarvish lore and ashort note asking that the work be put togood use. Hereafter follow his notes.

OLD DWARVISH DECIPHEREDby Boru O’Bonker

For many years, I have studied the lit-tle folk of many lands and worlds, beingaided by my own short stature and quickwits.

In this work, an effort is made to passon the knowledge I have gained from mystudy of the runes and songs of themountain dwarves of Sa-Marin, writtenand sung entirely in Old Dwarvish.

In common usage, dwarves of todayspeak a hodgepodge of the old tongueand other languages with which theycome in contact every day. The use ofOld Dwarvish is restricted to ceremonialand traditional uses. This is the languageused for heroic lays, historical epics, andepitaphs. It is found in contemporaryspeech only incidentally.

Its lack of common use is explained bythe fact that Old Dwarvish is a primitive,often cumbersome tongue. It served welluntil dwarvish society evolved to the

point where complex, abstract subjectshad to be spoken of; it speaks adequate-ly of what one does or has, but not well ofwhat one feels or thinks. It is written withan alphabet of twenty letters, represent-ing consonant and vowel sounds verysimilar to the Common tongue. Thesounds remain the same, but the runesused vary from tribe to tribe. The com-mon letters not used in dwarvish are C, F,H, Q, Wand Y. The rest are pronouncedas harsh or guttural sounds and assem-bled into syllables of two, three or fourletters.

The number of letters in a syllablegives a clue to its meaning. A two-lettersyllable always starts with a vowel. If itends in a consonant, it is a verb. If thesyllable has two vowels, it representspossession or tense (see the followingexamples), and is always placed beforethe word it modifies:

Ai (did) = past tenseAa (does) = present tenseAu (will) = future tenseAuai (will have done) = future perfect

(a special case)Ua (possessive) = my/mineUi (possessive) = your/yoursUe (possessive) = her/his/theirs

A three-letter syllable always consistsof two consonants separated by a voweland represents a noun or modifier. If thevowel is repeated, forming a four-lettersyllable, it denotes a plural; bar means“tree” and baar means “trees.”

The first syllable of a Dwarvish word isthe subject of what would be a phrase inCommon; the remaining syllables modi-

Missing by 11-20% is a significantblooper; the spell fizzles and is useless,just as if it had not been attempted.

Missing by 21% or more is a majorblooper; the spell backfires.

b) A bard attempting to charm whileusing a secondary tongue must roll hisfluency score or less every time he at-tempts the charm. If he blows it, the dif-ference is subtracted from his charmpercentage. Example: A 5th-level bard isattempting to charm another person inthat person’s language. The bard’s charmpercentage is 30%, and his fluency scorein his target’s tongue is 73% (a rating ofFluent). The DM rolls an 81, so the bard

must roll 22 or less for his charm attemptto be successful (81-73 = 8; 30-8 = 22).The bard rolls a 29 (Just made it — or sohe thinks!), and gets the surprise of hislife when the uncharmed beggar goesfor his throat.

c) Misreading a potion label, a map, ora scroll can lead to interesting situations.

d) Dithering/dickering, etc., with speak-ers of another language can lead to in-teresting results. (A friend of mine triedto order a meal in Ecuador and ordered awaitress instead.) Every time the playercharacter attempts to get a major pointacross, d% are rolled. If this score is lessthan his fluency score, the difference is

subtracted from the reaction score of theother party, which makes an immediatereaction check. Thus, if you were 80%fluent in language X and the DM rolls an89, a reaction check is taken at -9%. Notethat for this purpose, charisma as a fac-tor in determining reaction is eliminated;you having looked very stupid in blun-dering like you did.

Verstehst du? Then you are ready toadd malaprops and Freudian slips to theother challenges of playing an AD&D orD&D adventure. And may it spice upyour game. Remember: Communicationis at the heart of role-playing.

Ak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c u tAd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fightAn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tel lA r . . . . . . . . . . work, makeA z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . begetBak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cutterBar . . . . . . . . . tree, woodBuk . . . . . . . land, countryBur . . . . . . . . . . . . . strongD u r . . . . . big, heavy, ironDul . . . . . . . flight, escapeDum ... mine, excavation

Din . . . . . . . wisdom, wiseDog . . . . . . . . . . skill, craftGun . . . . . . . . . . . . fortressI j . . . . . . . . . . . . . . conquerIn . . . . . . . . . think, reasonJun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . homeKad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . stoneKaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dwarfKur . . . . . . oath, promiseLan . . . . . . . . . . . memoryLur . . . . bravery, courageLuk . . . . . . fierce, terrible

Mur . . . . . . . . safe, shelterMar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greatMaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I, meN o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . neverPan . . . . . . . tales, historyPog . . . . . building, houseOb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . buyOg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . buildOn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sellRut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . prideRul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fearRaz . . . . . . . father, parent

Ruk . . . . . . . . . foe, enemySar . . . high, a high placeSut . . . . magic, unknownT a l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . longTur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fatUk . . . . . . . plant, cultivateUn . . . . . . . . . . . live, dwellUr . . . . . . . . . strike, forgeZak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . axeZin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . silverZog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . oakZon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gold

fy this subject and each other. As an ex-ample, the Common phrase “a big oaktree” would be a three-syllable word indwarvish, organized as “tree-big-oak”(in dwarvish, bardurzog).

Dwarves, by their nature, are realistsand materialists. They have difficulty re-lating to planes and energies beyond thephysical, which both protects and insu-lates them even as it limits them. In keep-ing with dwarves’ emphasis on the mate-rial aspect of the world, nouns alwayscome first in Old Dwarvish grammar.The first word is always the subject of asentence, the second word is the object,and the verb comes last, preceded by atense indicator.

Hence, the sentence “The dwarf cutthe tree” would be reorganized as “Dwarftree did cut,” and translated into Dwar-vish as follows:

Dwarf tree did cut./Kaz bar ai ak/

The slash marks before and after thesentence are the only punctuation used,very similar to ancient Anglo-Saxonpractice. Articles and most prepositionsare not used.

Old Dwarvish does not use complexsentences; the above example is a verysimple one, but the grammar will alwaysbe the same. More complicated or moredetailed concepts are expressed by add-ing modifying syllables to the basicnoun and verb syllables. In actual prac-tice, certain stylized sentences have cometo have meaning in the abstract beyondthe literal meaning of the words, throughlong usage in songs and tales.

Another example: The sentence “Thefat dwarvish woodcutter cut down mybig oak tree with an axe” would be reor-ganized and translated as follows:

Dwarf-fat-cutter-wood mytree-oak-big did cut-down-axe./Kaz-tur-bak-bar ua

bar-zog-dur ai ak-ton-zak/Once reorganized and translated, the

sentence would be properly written as:/Kazturbakbar ua

barzogdur ai aktonzak/This example illustrates or suggests

some of the general characteristics ofthe language, namely these:

1. Tense or possession is shown by thesyllable preceding the word.

2. Modifying syllables apply only tothe word they appear in, pertaining eith-er to the first syllable of the word or to thesyllable preceding the modifier, as in“dwarf-fat-cutter-wood.” The syllable“wood” modifies “cutter” as well as (indi-rectly) “dwarf.”

3. The length of a word is limited onlyby the complexity of a concept or thelongwindedness of a speaker.

4. There is often a structural relation-ship between nouns and verbs; “cutter”(bak) and “axe” (zak) have the verb “tocut” (ak) as a common root. While thisdoes not apply directly to grammar, itmay help in translating an inscription us-ing unfamiliar words. This was a greathelp in understanding my first real expos-ure to Dwarvish music, The Building ofthe Mountain Keep.

Dwarves’ traditional songs are entirelyindependent of the rules of other forms

of poetry and song. Their music isrhythmic, usually percussive, with only afew tones. The lyrics do not rhyme, ex-cept by chance. Instead, the lines matchin number of words and number of sylla-bles per word, and are chanted to rhyth-mic music, the deep voice of the dwar-vish gleeman blending with his instru-ment to produce an oddly beautifulsound.

It was in a dark, somber setting that Ifirst heard this lay, The Building of theMountain Keep:

/Kaazlantal paanlurmak aa anrut//Kaazruldul bukzonmur ai ulman//Ua raazdin junzonbur ai ogdog//Ua raazlur ruklukbur au ulnon//Kaazlukbur kurmarluk aa urrut/

/Maazdogdin gunbursar aa ogdog/This was translated for me by a young

dwarf maid who thought I was a dwarffrom an isolated tribe that had lost theold tongue. Some of the nuances arelost, but the sense of the first verse of thelay is intact.

“Dwarves tell the tales with prideHow the fleeing tribe found safety hereAnd in their wisdom built their homes

Swearing never again to flee a foeSo we build in skill a fortress strong.”This verse gave me the key I needed to

my study of Old Dwarvish. If my identityand race are not discovered by the ones Iam studying, I can continue and possiblycomplete my knowledge of the tongue.The small vocabulary I have positivelydeciphered (see above) is appended tothis writing, in hopes that it will help oth-ers involved in the same work.

D R A G O N 5 3

New monstersfor low levels

(Editor’s preface: Many readers ofDRAGON™ Magazine have expressed adesire for more creature types to chal-

Euparkerialenge low-level characters and to popu-late the lower-numbered levels of a dun- FREQUENCY: Commongeon. In this edition of Leomund’s Tiny NO. APPEARING: 1-6Hut, Lenard Lakofka offers a collection ARMOR CLASS: 5of creatures of just this sort, including MOVE: 13”some normal (non-magical) creatures — HIT DICE: 1+1and some that are anything but normal.) % IN LAIR: Nil

TREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (3’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: 20 + 2/hp

This is a small dinosaur ancestor of thelower Triassic period, about the size of asmall dog. It might be found in groups of1-6. It will singly attack lone figures ofsmall size, or a single medium-sized fig-ure if three or more of the creatures arepresent. The euparkeria is a carnivore.

CompsognathusFREQUENCY: CommonNO. APPEARING: 1-12ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 10”HIT DICE: 1-1% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3SPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise on 1-3SPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (1½ feet tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: 5 + 1/hp

This is a very small dinosaur of theJurassic period. It might hunt in groups.Its small size allows it to hide, even inpacks, and surprise small animals oreven humans, humanoids or demi-humans. Attacks at night might occur onsleeping victims.

54 OCTOBER 1982

MiniatureanimalsFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: Same as for normal-

sized animal of type, but 50% chanceof twice the number diced

ARMOR CLASS: Two places higher(worse) than for normal-sizedanimal of same type

MOVE: As for normal size, multiplied by2/3 (round up)

HIT DICE: See below; roughly ¼ ofnormal size

% IN LAIR: As normal size, plus 10%TREASURE TYPE: In lair only; 40%

chance for type J, K, L, M, or N, plus5% chance for magic; see below

NO. OF ATTACKS: As normal size, orfewer; see below

DAMAGE/ATTACK: Not more than 3-6points of damage from any singleform; see below

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise morelikely for carnivores; i.e., 1 less likelyto surprise on d6 than normal size

SPECIAL DEFENSES: More difficultthan normal size to be surprised, byone point on d6

MAGIC RESISTANCE: +2 to savingthrow versus all attack forms,figured on its hit dice; same savingthrow as normal size animal of sametype vs. poison or death magic

INTELLIGENCE: Animal to semi-ALIGNMENT: Neutral with chaotic

tendenciesSIZE: Half of normal size, 1/8 of weight

(of normal-sized type) are the usualproportion changes

PSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: See below

All miniature animals are small mam-mals. They were created via spells sim-ilar to those that were so successful increating giant reptiles, insects, amphibi-ans and the like. In a locale where minia-ture animals exist, usually an isolatedvalley, small island or peninsula, they are80% likely to be the only type of mammalin the area. They never exist where largecarnivores do, since they would be wipedout too quickly. Miniature animals (mam-mals) conform to their larger cousins inmost respects, but they group/herd to-gether more often. They are also moreaggressive and have a pronounced chao-tic tendency. Thus, any type of miniatureanimal located is 50% likely to be in agreater frequency than are found for thefull-sized animal as given in the MonsterManual or the FIEND FOLIO™ book.Their smaller size harms their armorclass by two levels and causes them tobe slowed by a factor of 1/3 (but roundedup in their favor in all cases). Their hitdice can be as low as 1/4 and as high as3+4.

Type HD #A D/A XPApe, gorilla¹ 1 3 1/1/1-2 10+1/hpApe, carniv.2 1+2 3 1/1/1-3 30+2/hpBaboon ¼ 1 1 5+1/hpBadger ¼+1 1 1-2 7+1/hpBear, black3 1-1 3 1/1/1-2 12+1/hpBear, brown4 1+3 3 1-2(x3) 28+2/hpBear, cave4 2+2 3 1-20(2)/ 50+3/hp

1-3Boar, wild 1-1 1 1-4 10+1/hpBoar, warthog 1-1 2 1-2/1-2 10+1/hpBuffalo 1+2 2 1-2/1-2 20+2/hpBull 1 2 1-2/1-2 10+1/hpCamel, wild 1-1 1 1 10+1/hpDog, war ½+1 1 1-2 7+1/hpDog, wild ¼ 1 1 5+1/hpElephant, 2+4 5 1-4(x2)/ 90+3/hp

Asian 1-3/1-2(x2)Elephant, 2+6 5 2-5 (x2)/ 125+

African 1-4/1-3(x2) 3/hpHippopotamus 2 1 1-4 or 20+2/hp

3-6Horse, wild ½+1 1 1 5+1/hpHyena 1-1 1 1-2 10+1/hpJaguar5 1 3 1/1/1-2 45+2/hpLeopard5 1 3 1/1/1-2 45+2/hpLion6 1+3 3 1/1/1-3 65+2/hpLion, mtn.5 1-1 3 1/1/1-2 25+2/hpLynx7 ¼ 1 1 5+1/hpMammoth 3+4 5 3-6(x2)/ 125+

2-5/1-3 (x2) 4/hpRhinoceros8 2+1 1 1-2 or 90+3/hp

1-4Stag 1-1 1 1-2 7+1/hp

(2) (1/1)Tiger6 2+1 3 1-2 (x2)/ 50+3/hp

1-3Wolf ½ 1 1-2 5+1/hp

Notes:1 — no rending2 — rending for 1-23 — no hug4 — brown bear hugs for 1-3,

cave bear for 2-55 — surprise only on 1;

rear claws 1/16 — surprise only on 1;

rear claws 1-20-27 — surprise on 1-58 — charge for 2-4 or 2-8

No humans, humanoids or demihu-mans can be miniature animals. Thoseanimals listed in the books as giants oftheir type rarely (if ever) become minia-tures and are thus also not included.

Being small, they are more likely tosurprise and less likely to be surprised.Their attacks never exceed 3-6 points ofdamage from any single form, with spe-cial attacks being lost in most cases.

Since they are the products of magic,miniature animals are +2 on all savingthrows but gain the saving throw of thefull-sized mammal versus death magicand poison attacks. If magic is thrown ata miniature animal, its experience pointvalue goes up +20 for a creature of lessthan 1 hit die, +40 for 1 to 1+4 hit dice, +60for 2 to 2+4 hit dice, and +80 for 3 to 3+4hit dice.

Miniature animals are at least as ag-gressive as their counterpart full-sizedanimals, and carnivores are more so.They respect larger opponents and willusually only attack against small prey orwhen they have superior numbers. Natu-rally, they will fight if cornered. Minia-ture animals will not be familiars in anycase. They gain a saving throw of +4 vs.any spell that would charm them, includ-ing the druid spell animal friendship.

Miniature animals are often found inassociation with pixies, dryads, and lep-rechauns (30% likely if the pixie, et. al. isin a truly isolated locale).

Miniature animals may have treasurein their lairs or nearby when a kill is lo-cated. Magic found will usually be ashield, armor, or weapon, though otheritems are possible. It would be unlikelyto find items valued at over 5,000 g.p.

D R A G O N 5 5

VultureFREQUENCY: CommonNO. APPEARING: 4-16ARMOR CLASS: 6MOVE: 3”//15”HIT DICE: 1+1% IN LAIR: 20%TREASURE TYPE: In lair only; 30%

chance for J, K, L, M, or NNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: MPSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: 20 + 2/hp

This scavenger is found in scrub landsand in areas bordering on deserts. It isattracted to the smell of blood, which itcan detect at a distance of two miles. Itwill not attack unless a figure is down orif he or she appears nearly unconscious.

It will pick at open wounds, making thembleed at twice the normal rate, and itsdamage per attack of 1-4 is increased bythe amount bleeding is increased. Vul-tures are not aggressive and can bebeaten off with any successful “to hit”roll, also causing others in the flock tomove off for a period of time. They, willhowever, attack downed victims whilemelees are going on around them, and inso doing they can cause a figure to diewho is lying unconscious, is asleep orheld. (Sleeping and held victims must bebleeding to be attacked.)

Vultures generally appear in 2-7 meleerounds after melee begins. They will cir-cle for a period of 1-4 rounds, seekingfallen victims, and then they will swoopin to investigate and to pick at the re-mains. Those who are unconscious arehit automatically; those being slept willawaken on the next round; and thosebeing held can be eaten alive if the holdis not removed in some way.

Carnivorous flying squirrelFREQUENCY: Uncommon PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

X. P. VALUE: 10 + 1/hpFlying squirrels “fly” by the use of

loose folds of skin on the inside of theirfore and rear legs. They can only glide, infact, and cannot gain altitude once theyhave jumped. Their range is five feet forevery foot of height they jump from (usu-ally a tree). When flying to the attack, ifsurprise is achieved, they make theirinitial attack as monsters of 2 hit dice.They only attack when they have two-to-one or better odds. In their lair (a treetopnest) can be found gems, jewelry, andother small items that are bright andshiny. They would never have treasureconsisting of armor, shields, most wea-pons, potions, or scrolls.

NO. APPEARING: 3-18ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: 9”/15”HIT DICE: 1-1% IN LAIR: 40%TREASURE TYPE: In lair only; 20%

chance for type C, minus coins;see below

NO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3SPECIAL ATTACKS: “Flying,” thus

gaining surprise on 1-4 on d6SPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (1’ long)

56 OCTOBER 1982

Hawk / falconFREQUENCY: UncommonNO. APPEARING: 1 or 2ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 9”/18”HIT DICE: 2+4% IN LAIR: 55%TREASURE TYPE: In lair only; any

small, bright item(s)NO. OF ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3/1-3/1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: Blinding, diveSPECIAL DEFENSES: Surprised only on

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Semi-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (1½ feet tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: 105 + 3/hp

a 1 on d10

Hawks and falcons are exceptionallydangerous opponents. They can fly in toattack at blinding speed and are likely(1-4 on d6) to surprise when they dive tothe attack. Trained birds will go for theeyes of a victim. If they score a beakattack on a victim who does not have eyeprotection, the victim is 25% likely to losethe use of the eye. Hawks and falconsgenerally will not attack medium-sizedopponents unless it is a trained bird. Half-lings, gnomes and kobolds fear themsince these small humanoids are some-times the target of a mated pair.

AnimalskeletonsFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 2-20ARMOR CLASS: 8MOVE: 6”HIT DICE: 1-1% IN LAIR: 85%TREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to sleep,

charm, hold, cold, death magic;half damage from edged weapons

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Non-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S to MPSIONIC ABILITY: NilX. P. VALUE: 10 + 1/hp

Animal skeletons are created fromsmall vertebrates via the spell animatedead, which produces 1 skeleton perlevel of the casting cleric or magic-user.These undead can be turned as a regularskeleton but at +1 in the cleric’s favor,using d6 + 6 to determine the number(7-12) turned or destroyed. The animalsnever have any special attack forms theymay have had in life. Animals smallerthan squirrels or larger than hyenascannot become animated skeletons.

D R A G O N 5 7

UP ON AS O A P B O X

Individuals do make a differenceIt is popular to denigrate the role of the

individual in history and in currentevents. Over and over, in news and opin-ions and lectures, one can hear the re-frain that history is an inexorable tide,sweeping over individual attainments.

The name of the game is socio-eco-nomic forces. Political and social lead-ers merely ride the tide of events; warsmerely confirm changes that have al-ready occurred; great inventors weresimply present at “steam engine time”—the idea being that if technology hasreached the state where a steam engineis possible, then someone will invent a

by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh steam engine. If that person falls under arock, someone else will do it.

There’s a considerable amount of truthto this notion. Take the American Revo-lution. The key change in the coloniesduring that period was not that a bunchof smugglers and amateur terrorists de-cided to stir up a revolution. The impor-tant change had occurred years earlier,very subtly, as Englishmen living inAmerica began to think of themselves asAmericans living in America. It was thischange in the way people thought thatmade it impossible for England to holdthe colonies, because it changed theCrown from a heavy-handed but legalgovernment to a bitterly resented oc-

cupying army. The Revolution merelyconfirmed, for the world to see, that thechange had occurred.

Similarly, steam engines really wereinevitable at the time they were invented.They were so easy to imagine and con-struct that any one of dozens or hundredsof people could have invented the steamengine with no help from the others.

It’s the sizable kernel of truth in thisline of thinking that leads to much criti-cism of heroic literature, in both fantasyand science fiction genres, and a lot ofthat criticism spills over into heroicgames.

After all, if one buys the view that indi-vidual people don’t count for much, howmuch credence can one lend to fiction —or games, which stress individual at-tainment over all else?

I don’t propose to touch the other sideof the coin, which is to question howsuch a person can support a societywhich places the rights of the individualabove all. I’m not writing a book, yet.Let’s confine the discussion to the validi-ty of the notion that individuals have onlya slight influence on the flow of history.

Let’s have a look at three figures infairly recent history, individuals and in-dividualists all, associated with majorevents, and see to what extent their ac-complishments could have been rele-gated to someone else. For a goodspread, we’ll use one political leader,one scientist and one military leader.

There was no law of nature that re-quired that Abraham Lincoln win theelection of 1860. He could have still beena depressed lawyer. A relatively uncom-promising idealist, he could easily havefound it impossible to get serious atten-tion. One could easily see another figuretaking his place at the front of the majorpolitical and social upheaval that was in-exorably taking place, with or withoutLincoln. Regardless of who was (or wasabout to be) in the White House, slaverywas about to take the final plunge, theproblem of states’ rights was about to getpolished off, and the political power ofthe South was about to die.

On the other hand, a different, less

58 OCTOBER 1982

controversial leader might not havetouched off the flare of fury that Abra-ham Lincoln’s election ignited in theSouth. Secession might have been de-layed, or aborted altogether in favor of aprotracted battle in Congress. Even ifsecession were to occur, things mighthave been greatly changed. A leaderlacking Lincoln’s self-confidence andhis flair for psychological warfare mightwell have rushed into the Civil War,dragging a divided and weakened Northwith him. It took lots of nerve to sit andwait, knowing that the South would haveto strike, have to reduce Fort Sumter,and thus provide the same unifying eventthat Pearl Harbor did a century later.Under different circumstances, the warmight have dragged on for more years,might have come to a negotiated settle-ment, or might have been even more bit-ter and destructive than the one weknew. We might still be feeling the rever-berations of such a war.

What about Albert Einstein? A classicsteam-engine case. The problems hesolved had been kicking around physicsfor years; they would have been solvedby someone, sooner or later. All Einsteindid was make it sooner rather than later.

But timing can be important. If Ein-stein had remained a patent clerk inSwitzerland, how long might those prob-lems have remained unsolved? Theyweren’t easy; it took genius to see thesolutions, and genius is difficult to pre-dict or produce. The Michaelson-Morleyexperiment had been bothering peoplefor two decades; it might well have beentwo decades more before someone elsecame up with Special Relativity to put afinal solution on it.

That extra delay could have sloweddown nuclear and subnuclear researchby years. The atom was first split in 1939— the year the Second World War brokeout. Suppose the atom-splitting hadn’thappened in 1939 and wasn’t destined tohappen until 1949. Nobody would havewasted any great amount of war effort onanything so science-fictiony as an atom-ic bomb, and they wouldn’t have gotten abomb in time to affect the outcome of thewar anyway. The most obvious resultwould have been the invasion of Japan:Operation Olympic and Operation Co-ronet. After a protracted and bloodycampaign to finally put down Japan,how far could MacArthur have gone inpicking Japan up after the war, getting itgoing, installing a workable government?How far would either country have al-lowed him to go? It seems doubtful thatJapan would ever have become thepowerful, peaceful ally of the UnitedStates that it is now. The consequencesof such a sequence of history would begreat indeed; Japan’s importance in thepolitics of the Pacific Ocean can scarce-ly be overstated.

The last, and certainly most ephemer-al, figure we’ll consider is a military lead-

er, a general in the Second World War— George S. Patton. Here, surely, is thesort of person whose influence on thecourse of history is slight. A general, notespecially high in the chain of command,a classic individualist, lacking any politi-cal influence or ambition, whose mo-ment of glory was a fight whose eventualoutcome was virtually foreordained —once the United States entered the war,we can see, in retrospect, that there wasno reasonable doubt about the outcomeof the war. The Axis was out of its league.

Certainly Patton could have beenerased from history easily enough. Hewas an old man when the war broke out.He was a walking stress condition. Hetook inordinate risks. Any number ofthings might have slain him or sent himback to the States, perhaps in 1942 or1943.

So he might not have been availablefor Operation Cobra, the breakout fromthe Normandy bridgehead. Could anothergeneral have filled his shoes? Not really.Other generals would have risen to fame,would have made their mark, but nothingon earth could have made, say, the quiet,careful, enormously competent but con-ventional Hodges into the go-for-brokehuman tornado that was Patton.

Hodges, for example, would almostcertainly have carried out his orders inCobra and subdued the Brittany penin-sula. He would never have dreamed ofgoing berserk, smashing his way like

some kind of military Andromeda Strainacross the length of France, regardlessof the best efforts of the high commandsof both sides to stop him.

Would the Allies have lost the warunder different circumstances than Pat-ton provided? Of course not. But theywould have been delayed — perhaps amonth, perhaps two. And with one or twomonths of additional campaigning onthe Eastern Front, the Russians wouldhave marched much further into Ger-many than they did in real life. And, afterthe war, they showed little inclination togive up occupied territory. Can you im-agine the consequences of having theborder between the Warsaw Pact andNATO lie along the Rhine River? Francewould not have been able to afford theluxury of toying with NATO — it wouldhave been that nation’s neck on thechopping block, not West Germany’s.The whole character of post-war politicsfor four decades would have been al-tered. That’s quite a bit of influence for asingle man.

So the next time someone criticizesthe realism of the dominant characters inthe heroic fantasy literature so near anddear to our hearts, or the heroic fantasygames that are perhaps even nearer anddearer, ask them to have a look at histo-ry. Much of what we are today has beenshaped by individuals who didn’t believein their own ineffectiveness.

D R A G O N 5 9

60 OCTOBER 1982

D R A G O N 6 1

62 OCTOBER 1982

The Dragon Publishing 1982Module Design Competition

Dragon Publishing is looking for a few good modules. If you are the more strict, than for previous contests. If you intend to enter, be sureproud creator of an adventure or scenario for any of TSR Hobbies’ your entry is composed and submitted in accordance with all therole-playing game systems, and you think your work compares favora- regulations spelled out in the following text. An author’s failure tobly with modules previously published in DRAGON™ Magazine, we comply with all the rules will almost certainly result in the automaticinvite you to enter your manuscript and maps in the Dragon Publishing disqualification of that entry.1982 Module Design Competition. Contest entries will be accepted for any of the categories listed

This contest is much larger in scope than the design contests we’ve below. Each contestant may enter different modules in two categories,held in the past. Many of the rules are different, and some of them are but not in three or more.

The categoriesA-1: A “dungeon” adventure designed for from 4 (minimum) to 8

(maximum) ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® characters oflevels 1-3. The “dungeon” should be a self-contained adventuring en-vironment consisting of a number of interconnected encounter areas.The total area (in scale) of the rooms, chambers, corridors, and otherfeatures of the “dungeon,” plus the spaces separating those elements,cannot exceed 60,000 square feet on any one level of the dungeon, andthere can be no more than 120,000 sq. ft. in the entire adventuring area.The design can include as many levels or sub-sections as desired, aslong as the overall space limitation is met. The “dungeon” can besubterranean (as with an actual dungeon), above ground (a castle orfort), or a combination of both environments. Dungeon modules inother categories must also meet these requirements.

A-2: A dungeon for 4-8 AD&D™ characters of levels 4-7.A-3: A dungeon for 4-8 AD&D characters of levels 8-11.A-4: A “wilderness” adventure for 4-8 AD&D characters of levels 1-3.

This is an adventure in which all, or virtually all, of the activity takesplace outdoors. The environment may include some artificial (non-natural) structures or enclosures, or natural phenomena such as caves,which have to be entered to be investigated, but the total area of all suchenclosures cannot exceed 5,000 square feet (in scale). There is no limiton how much space the outdoor environment can occupy, but it shouldbe apparent that a “wilderness” area measuring hundreds of miles on aside would be impossible to describe fully within the maximum allow-able page count of an entry (see general rules). Wilderness modules inother categories must also meet these requirements.

A-5: A wilderness adventure for 4-8 AD&D characters of levels 4-7.A-6: A wilderness adventure for 4-8 AD&D characters of levels 8-11.A-7: An aquatic or underwater adventure for 4-8 AD&D characters of

either levels 1-3, levels 4-7, or levels 8-11. The adventure can begin ondry land (presuming that characters will need to equip themselves andprepare for a shipboard or underwater journey), but all of the adventur-ing activity thereafter should take place on or in the water, or on a pieceof land (such as an island or peninsula) that can only be reached bytraveling on or through an aquatic environment.

A-8: An urban (town, village, or city) adventure for 4-8 AD&D charac-ters of levels 1-5. An urban adventure is one that takes place inside, or(partially) in the immediate vicinity of the borders of a town, village, orcity.

A-9: An urban adventure for 4-8 AD&D characters of levels 6-10.

B-1: An adventure or scenario for the BOOT HILL™ game. This

adventure or scenario can be of any general type — indoor, outdoor,urban, rural, or a combination of environments.

D-1: The same as category A-1, except the dungeon adventureshould be designed for 4-8 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® characters oflevels 1-3, and should be constructed in accordance with the D&D®

Basic Rulebook.D-2: The same as category A-2, except the dungeon should be for 4-8

D&D characters of levels 4-14, and should be designed in accordancewith the D&D Basic and Expert Rulebooks.

D-3: The same as category A-4, except the wilderness module shouldbe for 4-8 D&D characters of levels 4-14, and should be designed inaccordance with the D&D Basic and Expert rules.

D-4: An “all others” category for D&D modules that do not belong inone of the other three categories. Included in this category, for in-stance, would be wilderness adventures for characters of levels 1-3,and aquatic or underwater adventures for either levels 1-3 or 4-14. AnyD&D module using a set of D&D rules published previous to the Basicand Expert sets automatically falls into this category. In any case, themodule must be playable by a party of 4-8 characters.

G-1: An adventure for 4-8 characters using the GAMMA WORLD™rules that takes place in a “dungeon” environment; that is, an enclosedor self-contained structure.

G-2: An “all others” category for GAMMA WORLD modules for 4-8characters that do not belong in category G-1.

T-1: A mission for 4-8 TOP SECRET® characters, designed so thatthe primary objective of the mission is one that can be best carried outby a member or members of the Assassination Bureau.

T-2: The same as category T-1, except that the primary objective ofthe mission is related to the activities best performed by a member ormembers of the Confiscation Bureau.

T-3: The same as category T-1, but designed to use the skills of one ormore members of the Investigation Bureau in fulfilling the primaryobjective of the mission.

T-4: A mission for 4-8 TOP SECRET characters that does not qualifyfor one of the other three categories. The primary objective of themission cannot be directly related to any of the objectives listed on the“Table of Missions” in the TOP SECRET rule book. For instance, agentscould be imprisoned at the start of an adventure, and their “mission”could be to break out of prison without outside assistance. Since theobjective of escaping imprisonment does not directly relate to anyfunction listed on the “Table of Missions,” this module would be anacceptable entry for category T-4.

General rulesBe sure the module you intend to enter fits the qualifications for one

of the 20 categories. You must fill in your name and address, the title ofyour work, and the category you are entering on the entry blank (seethe other side of this page), and also include that information on thefirst page of the manuscript. As specified on the entry blank, all entriesbecome the property of Dragon Publishing and cannot be returned.

Every module consists of at least two elements: the text (manuscript),and any maps or schematic diagrams that are needed to play theadventure. A contest entry should include any diagrams or illustrationsthat are essential to the understanding of the text. Optionally, a contestentry can also include accessory illustrations (artwork). The presenceor absence of accessory illustrations will not affect the judging of an

entry, but may serve as helpful information for an artist illustrating aprize-winning module which is to be published. Accessory illustrationsprovided by a contestant will not be published unless they are ofprofessional quality.

Manuscripts must be typewritten on good-quality, 8½ x 11-inch whitepaper. Computer printouts are acceptable if the characters are cleanand dark; if you’re not sure, get a new ribbon. Typewriting must bedouble-spaced or triple-spaced; a manuscript with no space betweenthe lines cannot be edited and will not be judged. Photocopied manu-script pages are acceptable if the copies are, in the opinion of thejudges, legible and easy to read.

A manuscript must contain at least 5,000 words and no more than12,500 words. Pages should have a margin of at least one inch on allsides, and each page should contain no more than 250 words. At the

(Continued on next page)

D R A G O N 6 3

rate of 250 words per double-spaced page, a manuscript should havefrom 20 to 50 pages. (If your word count per page is slightly less than250, the manuscript may contain slightly more than 50 pages and still fitthe maximum-length requirement.)

A contest entry can contain as many maps, diagrams, and illustra-tions as you feel are necessary, within the surface-area limitations (formaps) given under category A-1. Inaccurate or incomplete maps willdisqualify an entry. Maps need not be of reproducible quality (pub-lished maps will be redrawn by our staff), but should be original works(not duplicates or photocopies). Black drawing ink, black felt-tipmarkers, and black or blue ball-point ink are acceptable mediums;pencil, colored pencil or markers, and/or crayons are not.

An entry must be derived directly and entirely from the official pub-lished rules for the game for which it is designed. For the AD&D game,this includes the Dungeon Masters Guide, Players Handbook, MonsterManual, and FIEND FOLIO™ Tome. For the D&D game, this includesthe DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game Basic rulebook and/or the D&Dgame Expert rulebook, or (for an entry in category D-4) an older editionof the D&D rules, such as the Collector’s Edition. For the BOOT HILL,GAMMA WORLD, and TOP SECRET games, any rulebook from anyedition of the boxed game is acceptable. Monsters, character types,magic items, spells, technological items, weapons, and other beings orthings not mentioned in the rulebooks are prohibited. This prohibition

includes material from DRAGON™ magazine and any TSR™ module orgame accessory, material from any other company’s product(s), andnew items and creatures devised by the author.

Exceptions to this “official” rule will be granted for minor additions(not alterations) to a game system, to cover an aspect or function notaddressed in the rules which is essential to the playability of the mod-ule. Minor additions to the rule system must be identified as such at theplaces where they appear in the text, and must be mentioned (withpage-number references) in a cover letter accompanying the entry.

A manuscript will be judged, first and foremost, on originality, playa-bility, and adherence to the rules for which it was designed. The techni-cal quality of a manuscript is also important — almost as much as themain criteria of originality, playability, and “legality.” Manuscriptswhich contain several examples of misspelling, improper word usageand sentence structure, and inaccuracy or incompleteness in descrip-tive passages will not be judged as favorably as entries that do notexhibit those qualities.

Contest entries must be postmarked or otherwise registered for send-ing by Dec. 30, 1982. We’ll notify you of our receipt of an entry if aself-addressed card with return postage is included in the parcel withthe entry. Contest entries or questions about these rules should beaddressed to the Dragon Publishing Module Design Competition, P.O.Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

PrizesCash prizes will be awarded in every category for which at least five

entries are received, as long as the first-place module is judged to be ofpublishable quality. The first-place cash prize in each eligible categorywill be at least $200 and no more than $400, and will vary according tothe number and overall quality of entries received for that category. Asecond-place cash prize amounting to one-half of the first-place cashprize will be awarded to the runnerup in any category in which thefirst-place entry qualifies for a cash prize, whether or not the second-place entry is judged to be of publishable quality.

Merchandise prizes will be awarded to first-place, second-place, and

third-place entries in any category for which cash prizes are not given,and also to third-place entries in categories for which first-place andsecond-place cash prizes are given. The first-place merchandise prizeis a two-year (24 issues) subscription to DRAGON magazine, plus acomplimentary copy of every non-periodical publication (such as fu-ture BEST OF DRAGON™ collections and the annual Dragon Publish-ing fantasy art calendar) released during the one-year period followingthe declaration of winning entries. The second-place merchandiseprize is a one-year (12 issues) subscription to DRAGON magazine, plusa free copy of other products as for the first-place prize. The third-placemerchandise prize is a one-year subscription to DRAGON magazine.

All prize-winning contestants will receive a certificate of achievementto commemorate the occasion.

64 OCTOBER 1982

D R A G O N 6 5

66 OCTOBER 1982

Reviewed by Chris Henderson

THE COMING OF THE HORSECLANSRobert AdamsSignet Books $2.50 0-451-11652-250

THE IRON DREAMNorman SpinradTimescape $2.95 0-671-44212-0-295

A pair of noteworthy reprints havebeen recently issued. The Coming of theHorseclans is the original novel in Ro-bert Adams’ now-famous Horseclansseries. Now in an expanded version, thebook is newly available to anyone whomissed it when it first came out sevenyears ago. There seems no need to go onat great length; like all of the other novelsin this series, The Coming of the Horse-clans is an excellent fantasy tale, settingthe stage well for the seven novels whichfollow it in sequence.

If you’ve never read any of the Horse-clan books, this is a good place to start.All eight books of the series are now inprint, available from the publisher, if notat your local bookstore.

The second “not-to-be-missed-the-sec-ond-time” reprint is Norman Spinrad’sThe Iron Dream, a book which has beentalked about since it first came to publicattention. In fact, it has been banned inGermany, and some people feel it shouldbe banned in other places as well.

The Iron Dream is Spinrad’s title for abizarre setting: he creates in this book a

world in which Adolf Hitler emigrated tothe United States in 1919 to become ascience-fiction writer. The novel has aforeword telling the audience of Hitler’slife in America, an afterword which ex-plains Hitler’s popularity and literarycredentials, and even a list of other titlesby Hitler still in print.

The Iron Dream is, at the least, an in-triguing experiment. At its best, howev-er, it is a powerful warning of how cha-risma, strength, and a sense of purposecan mask what may lie beneath them.There are those who feel that present-day America is beginning to resemblepostwar Germany in many ways; forthem, Spinrad’s warning is even moreappropriate now than it was when thisbook was first printed.

MALLWORLDSomtow SucharitkulStarblaze $4.95 0-89865-161-1

A few years back, an odd set of storiesbegan to be talked about amongst thescience fiction community. The storiescentered around a monstrous, moon-sized cylinder floating in space — thelargest shopping center in the solar sys-tem. Mallworld is a collection of thesestories, presented along with one related

Sucharitkul has created a future uni-verse in which god-like aliens callingthemselves the Selespridar have cuthumanity off from the stars and the otherraces who inhabit other worlds — for ourown good. Trapped within this blockade,going ever crazier from confinement, thehuman race cavorts throughout its littlepiece of the galaxy, with the craziest ofall coming to rest in Mallworld.

Somtow paints a picture of an interest-ingly deranged future, one which ishumorous — and frightening, becauseof its believability. Mallworld is morethan a collection of stories; it is the un-folding of a central theme — one of adoomed humanity playing at workingtoward the future rather than actually do-ing it. Everyone knows the Selespridarare waiting for humankind to prove itsworthiness, and everyone wants thatworthiness to be proved, but hardlyanybody feels as if any of the responsi-bility is theirs.

Biting and stinging, and very drylyfunny, Mallworld is a great idea, and agreat collection.

THE EARTH SHAKERLin CarterDoubleday $10.95 0-385-12477-5

tale that’s never before been printed. On Lin Carter isn’t seen in hardback edi-the surface the stories seem light-heart- tions enough these days, and so it ised, but Sucharitkul manages to inject good to see his latest Prince Zarkonsome barbs at the insanities and inani- book coming out in such form. If youties of our present-day cultural thinking. love the pulps of the ’30s and ’40s, this is

DR A G O N 67

the book for you. Carter’s creation,Prince Zarkon and the Omega Men, is askillful parody of the Doc Savage stories;practically every person and every thingand every place that shows up in a Zar-kon novel is from one pulp story oranother. In truth, the Zarkon books areentertaining just as stories, but they aremuch more fun as trivia teasers, urgingthe audience to try to remember (or findout, if you never read pulps in the firstplace) such things as who Margo Lanewas; who used to eat dinner in the CobaltClub; who stored cars and planes andboats in the Hidalgo Trading Company’swarehouse; who that crippled newsboywas; et cetera, et cetera.

All of the Zarkon novels are great fun,but The Earth Shaker may be the bestone yet.

STAR TREK/THE WRATH OF KHANVonda N. McIntyrePocket Books $2.50 0-671-45610-5-250

Most of the time, movie novelizationsare not worth even contemplating, letalone reading. If you plan to plunk downyour hard-earned dollars to see the film,chances are that reading the story afterwatching it pass before your eyes some-how won’t hold the same appeal. In mostcases, this assumption is shown to betrue.

But in the case of Star Trek: The Wrathof Khan, this isn’t the case. The bookenhances the movie, explains in detailmany of the things only hinted at in thefilm, and fills in some gaps in the plot linecaused by the final editing of the cinemaversion. It is the best movie novel sinceMike McQuay’s Escape From New York;both books actually take the material athand and improve on it.

Of course, one of the delights of anyStar Trek novel, for those who have a

68 OCTOBER 1982

love of the old TV show, is the familiarityof it all. Dialogue leaps from the page toone’s ear, giving this type of story thesame power as any long-running, suc-cessful video series. That phenomenon,coupled with the fact that the secondStar Trek film (and thus the novel, byassociation) is much better than the firstone, gives The Wrath of Khan a lot ofpoints in its favor.

COLLECTED FANTASIESAvram DavidsonBerkley Books $2.50 0-425-05081-5

BOLOKeith LaumerBerkley Books $2.25 0-425-05617-1

Two of the best new anthologies areboth from Berkley Books. Each of themis worth your time and money.

The Davidson book is a wonderful col-lection of his usual light-hearted fanta-sies. Although some of the pieces withinsmack of science fiction, such as “Help, IAm Dr. Morris Goldpepper,” wherein itbecomes the task of the American Den-tal Association to save the world fromalien invaders, all of the stories collectedhere are pure fantasy, and a lot of fun inthe bargain.

Laumer’s Bolo is just as much fun, butnot nearly so whimsical. The Bolos aregigantic, computer-run, self-containedfighting tanks. Equipped with everyweapon a desperate future society couldstock them with, the Dinochrome Bri-gade (as the corps of Bolos is called) wasturned loose on the enemy with orders tokill. The problems really started, howev-er, when the war was over and peoplewanted to turn the machines off.

The Bolos are quite possibly the most

inventive science-fiction land weaponever put before the reading public. Be-sides its entertainment value, Bolo willhold extra interest for any gamers whoadventure in the future instead of thepast, or who like to mix aspects of differ-ent genres and time periods. The con-frontation between a powerful wizardand a Bolo could be most interesting.

Be that as it may, though, even forfolks who just want to sit back and relaxwith a good book, this group of storiespresents some of Laumer’s best work,and it is good to see it back in print again.

ERASMUS MAGISTERCharles SheffieldAce Books $2.50 0-441-21526-2-250

Charles Sheffield has been generallyknown in literary circles as a science-fiction writer. Thus, when he started hishistorical fantasy series based on the ca-reer of Erasmus Darwin (grandfather ofCharles), some people groaned, expect-ing the worst. Fortunately for the readingpublic, they were wrong — so wrong, asit turns out, that Ace Books has collectedall of these tales Sheffield has so farpenned and issued them in one volume.

Sheffield’s blending of real people,places, facts and events with his ownbrand of the unusual is brilliantly done.He lays everything out for the reader as ifpresenting a history lesson — one thatjust happens to include the “true facts”about such things as the Loch Nessmonster, the wee folk, and a few otheroddities. Indeed, after a while, one be-gins to accept some of the things he saysas fact, not realizing they have steppedinto a “trap” — exactly as Sheffield hadplanned.

DEATHStuart David Schiff, editorPlayboy $2.50 0-867-21107-5-250

The most interesting new collectionon the market, from the standpoint ofvariety, is Death, compiled and edited bythe editor of Whispers, Stuart Schiff. Heknows the horror and fantasy field betterthan any other editor in the country, asany issue of his own magazine will show.The theme of Death is the diversity ofways in which people can gasp their last.The eighteen tales in the collection runthrough the entire spectrum of story-telling, from Lord Dunsany’s black com-edy, “Two Bottles of Relish,” to the gut-wrenching horror of G. F. Eliot’s “TheCopper Bowl.”

The book is populated with murderers,no two alike. Here men, women, child-ren, vampires, ghosts, psychotics, and avariety of others all come briefly to cen-ter stage to administer their versions ofsuitable exits through the doors to thebeyond.

BLACK EASTER (0-380-59568-0-250)THE DAY AFTER JUDGEMENT

(0-380-59527-3-250)James BlishAvon Books $2.50 each

Although these books are presentedas two different novels, Black Easter isso closely tied to its sequel, The DayAfter Judgement, that it is hard to under-stand how anyone could — or wouldwant to — read one without the other.

In Black Easter, multimillionaire in-dustrialist James Baines realizes he hasbecome bored with tricking the worldinto war. He wants to see somethingnew. For a man who has flirted with un-leashing World War III just for the fun ofit, not just anything will do; and sureenough, something turns up. Bainesdiscovers Theron Ware, a satanic wizardwho can give him a treat even his jadedsenses can appreciate. Baines hiresWare to unleash all the demons of Hellon the face of the world, for just oneevening.

Things do not work out the way thetwo expect, though, and the Earth istransformed into a site of unimaginablehorror. Baines’ nuclear war comes aboutafter all, plus a lot more, which Blishleaves to be dealt with in The Day AfterJudgement.

The two books add up to one of themost interesting efforts of Blish’s longcareer. The story line treats magic se-riously, following the “true” strictures ofthe art. The reader gets the sense that ifblack magic really worked in this world,the way the wizard Ware plies his craftwould work. Blish was careful in both hismechanical and magical technology,which makes his resulting novels all themore terrifying.

These are not books for people wholike only happy endings. Nor are these

good reading for those of a narrow reli-gious background that can tolerate noquestioning. Black Easter and The DayAfter Judgement are for a more special-ized audience: one which can look attruth — or one author’s version of whattruth might be — and be entertained, notfrightened.

MERCHANTER’S LUCKC.J. CherryhDAW Books $2.95 0-87997-745-0

Some people don’t know how to writea bad book. One of the best novels tocome from Ms. Cherryh in the past sev-eral years was Downbelow Station, herlast new book before this tale. Now, go-ing back to the places and a few of thepeople from that story, she has wovenanother spell-binder, as hard to set downas its predecessor was.

For the most part, the cast is new. Thestory picks up only shortly after theevents of Downbelow Station. The firstof the protagonists we meet is Sandor,the owner and entire crew of a 200-year-old wreck of a starship, who cheats aliving out of the Union planets with falsepapers and names. Sandor meets, andinstantly desires, Allison Reilly. Shewants him for an evening of fun, but hewants her to be his crew. She is amember of a proud family, the owners ofthe Dublin Again, a powerful tradingstarship. It is insane for Sandor to thinkshe would give up a junior post on theDublin to work on his ship — and yet,with so many officers ahead of her, sheknows that the chances of her ever pilot-ing the Dublin are slim, while on San-dor’s Lucy she would be only one stepaway from the captain’s chair. . .

As usual in Cherryh’s books, the mo-tives of every character are mixed with,and complicated by, their different hu-man natures. Allison and Sandor are notthe typical literary lovers. Many thingsintrude on their lives, such as Allison’sDubliner pride; the recent war; Sandor’syears of solitude and thieving and mis-trust; her family, and his lack of one; the

local military; plus the rest of the castand their interference make this a differ-ent kind of love story.

Merchanter’s Luck is one of the mostsuspenseful pieces by Cherryh yet. Hercharacters, as they fail to do the thingswe expect them to (acting more likenormal human beings instead), drive thereader to absorb the book faster and fas-ter to see how it will all end.

D R A G O N 6 9

Go it alone with Star SmugglerReviewed by Tony Watson

Duke Springer, stellar adventurer andstar smuggler, had just docked his Ante-lope class starship at the spaceport onthe second planet of the Talitar system,and was considering his options. His sit-uation was not good. Recent tradingventures had not panned out as well ashe had hoped; now he was four weeksbehind in payments on his ship and hadonly narrowly escaped the repossessionteam on Uruskop. All his hopes lay in thestarship’s cargo hold, in the form ofsmuggled dyla weed; with a little luck, hecould unload the illegal drug at a sizableprofit in one of the planet’s cities. Afterloading the crates on to a rented skimmer,he headed toward the nearest urban area— but instead of meeting a buyer, Dukefound himself face to face with twotoughs demanding the crates and all ofhis cash. Duke’s hand went to the handleof his new tech five handgun. . . .

The above passage might sound like asegment of a space opera, but it’s actual-ly what occurred in a playing of Heri-tage’s new game, STAR SMUGGLER.The resemblance to space opera is nocoincidence: STAR SMUGGLER is de-signed in the spirit of science fiction ad-venture. With the player (it’s a solo game)assuming the role of Duke Springer, starsmuggler and rogue-about-the-galaxy,the activity is perhaps best described as“Han Solo meets the pre-programmedadventure.”

STAR SMUGGLER is a member of theDwarfstar line of games from Heritage,These are fast-playing and colorful SFand fantasy games which each sell for$5.00. The STAR SMUGGLER game sys-tem uses a programmed format of eventparagraphs, dice rolls, and player deci-sions to chart the course of the adven-ture. Duke Springer is a struggling,freedom-loving star pilot who has had toturn to some illegitimate activities tomake ends meet. Duke’s main problem ismeeting the payments on his Antelopeclass starship, his means of livelihood.His ultimate goal is to amass enoughmoney to pay off the ship; to do so con-stitutes a victory in game terms — though,as the designer states, “the process ofplaying the game is designed to be suffi-cient enjoyment unto itself.”

The game’s rules are remarkably com-plete, covering just about all the perti-nent aspects of science fiction adven-ture. There is an extensive section on thestarship and its operation. The ship alsocarries a ship’s boat, useful for shortjaunts on planetary surfaces. The star-ship can get a bit expensive to operate,adding to the impetus to pick up somefast cash. Rules are also provided for the

70 OCTOBER 1982

purchase and use of various types ofequipment and robots. All of these rulesare relatively simple, as befits a solitairegame, but make a lot of sense.

The action in STAR SMUGGLER is setin the Pavonis Sector, a region of spacecontaining ten inhabited systems. Theseworlds are connected by a pattern ofjump lines, used for determining dis-tance and movement routes. In a clevervariation of the geomorphic map con-cept, planets are represented by a set oftwelve 4” x 3½” tiles; eleven of these arehalf a planet each and the twelfth is anasteroid field. To form a planet, two spe-cific tiles are butted together, so that theentire collection of tiles offers a widerange of possible worlds.

On each of the tiles are from three tofive possible sites for contacts and ad-ventures. A sector guide included in therules gives a capsule description of theplanet-generation system. The rulesprovided are not entirely believable orconsistent, but they certainly fulfill theirprime function of providing settings foradventure.

The play of the game is basically acombined function of time and events.Each game month consists of three ten-day weeks, and each day contains tenhours during which adventuring activi-ties can take place. During each day,Duke and his retinue of hired employeesand robots can engage in a number ofactivities, each measured in hours ittakes to accomplish. The three mostcommon activities are travel, contact,and R&R (rest, recuperation, and repair).

Contact is by far the most importantactivity, for it is only through contactsthat lucrative deals and adventure op-portunities spring up. The key element inthis procedure is the entry and contacttable. There are sixteen types of plane-tary areas, ranging from cities, space-ports, and industrial areas to palaces,

prisons, ruins, slums, and scientific sta-tions. The area type the player occupiesis cross-indexed with a die roll to deter-mine what paragraph of the rules theplayer is directed to. This could be anevent paragraph, an opportunity to buyor sell goods, or a reference to a secondtable which offers opportunities espe-cially for the planetary area in question.

The event paragraphs are the key tothe adventure aspect of the game. Thecombination of narrative, player options,and die rolls to legislate the turn ofevents serves to introduce the feel ofrole-playing to this solitaire game. Muchlike other games in this genre, STARSMUGGLER uses a sort of flow-chartapproach to administer events. The eventparagraphs introduce or expand upon asituation and then offer the player op-tions for how to proceed. The selectionof an option, possibly coupled with a dieroll or the employment of the combat ortrade rules, determines the next para-graph in the sequence. The player weighsthe options and makes his choice, whichdetermines what paragraph he turns to.

Of course, combat is a likely occur-rence, and STAR SMUGGLER has somesimplistic but adequate systems for en-gagements between individuals and be-tween starships. The fighting that occurson a planet is heavily influenced by per-sonal characteristics. Each character,including Duke, is rated for endurance(the number of hits he/she can sustain),marksmanship (weapons skill from oneto six), and hand-to-hand combat (alsorated from one to six). The system usedis necessarily abstract. The combatantsare either at dispersed range, for weaponfire, or in contact, for hand-to-hand.

To determine the outcome of a wea-pon attack, the player adds the firingcharacter’s marksmanship to the techrating of the his/her weapon and com-pares the number to a roll of two dice; if

the roll is less, the target is hit, with thepossibility of critical hits and immediatedisablement.

Hand-to-hand combat is handled sim-ilarly, though in this case the ratings ofthe antagonists are compared, and thereis a chance to disarm the opposition. Asone might expect, loss of all endurancepoints means death. Healing of thewounds of survivors can be done eitherslowly (through the rest, recuperationand repair activity) or swiftly (in a medi-cal center). The combat rules are exten-sive enough to cover escape, surpriseand the utilization of vehicular weapons(getting smacked by a starship laser canbe very nasty). Space combat is a varia-tion of ranged combat, though the quali-ty of the ships and weapons involved ismore important personal abilities. Thecombat rules in STAR SMUGGLER are agood mixture of detail and playability.

Two booklets are the core of the game.The first is the 48-page rulebook, with all

the necessary information on starshipoperation, combat, hiring crewmen andother retinue, robots, buying and sellinggoods, procedures for encounters, andequipment. The second booklet, also 48pages, lists all the events. These are trulya varied lot, ranging from the explorationof old ruins, attacks by odd life forms,aliens, or death squads, to encounterswith religious fanatics and unprincipledplanetary officials. For the most part theevents are fully explained and offer anumber of interesting options. The gameshould be good for quite a few sessionsbefore becoming predictable or familiarto the player.

Overall, I’m very pleased with STARSMUGGLER. It’s challenging, remarka-bly complete, and fills the need for aprogrammed adventure in the science-fiction vein. There are, however, a fewproblems. The rules and events bookletsare marred by some poor editing. Typosand jumbled paragraphs appear more

often than they should. The rules forbuying and selling goods could havebeen tightened up a little, and the com-bat procedure makes it very easy for asuperior hand-to-hand fighter to closewith enemies, reducing the effectivenessof hand weapons. The game’s four play-ing pieces are printed on the inside flapsof the gamebox; if they are cut out andused (which is not entirely necessary),the box does not close right.

In the list of components given in therulebook, a foldout sheet of charts andtables is mentioned — however, thissheet is not listed on the inventory ofequipment printed on the box, nor didmy copy have such a sheet. Its omissionwas a major mistake.

Despite these problems, on balanceSTAR SMUGGLER is a fine game. It isjust the thing for the player who has toplay most of his games solitaire ordoesn’t have access to a referee-run SFrole-playing game.

An open letter to Rick LoomisMr. Loomis:

Because you did not have the courtesy tosend copies of your “editorial” attack uponTSR Hobbies, Inc., to the individuals younamed therein, this reply is late. However,someone was kind enough to give me a copyof your publication, Wargamer’s Information,Issue #39, May 9, 1982. Reading it was trulyinformative, but in a sense I believe you neverintended, Mr. Loomis. Your second paragraphis noteworthy: “The purpose of this newslet-ter is to print reviews, gossip (italics mine),opinions, press releases, and inside informa-tion (italics mine) on the wargaming field.” Ifthe publication were retitled as Wargamer’sMisinformation, and the term “propaganda”added to the second paragraph, the truthwould be better served. Now to your so-callededitorial regarding SPI, TSR, GAMA, et al:

If you seriously believe that TSR wouldspend hundreds of thousands of dollars mere-ly to “go to any lengths to destroy GAMA”,you are, in my opinion, either irrational orsuffering from paranoia. The acquisition ofthe assets of SPI was done without anythought of GAMA — and more about thatgroup later. Obviously, TSR made a calculat-ed decision to acquire valuable assets in re-turn for its outlay of cash. The games andmagazines thus acquired will enable TSR tocompete more effectively in the AdventureGaming marketplace in general, and in mil-itary simulation and science fiction gaming inparticular. We do not view competition as sin-ister but as part of the American system offree enterprise. If Flying Buffalo or othermembers of your group regard it otherwise,that, sir, is your problem.

In speaking of the formation of the GAMA,Mr. Loomis, you state that: “a few years ago alarge number of the smaller game manufac-turers. . . decided that they needed to form anassociation. . .” How many so decided? Coulda “large number” be a dozen or so? Is it truethat the original title of this group was theSmall Game Manufacturers Association?

What steps were then taken to promote thehobby of Adventure Gaming by this group? Idefy you to name any which qualify! I hearddiscussion by members about plans to “re-view” games for retailers, promote Origins,and to exchange credit information. The cha-os and inanity were enough to leave any pro-fessional businessman appalled. Of course,TSR did not join! What sound reason couldthere be for joining a group styling them-selves as “small,” with no useful objectives,and tedious discussion of absolutely worth-less topics?

As to the magnanimity of Avalon Hill andSPI joining the group, I submit that therecould have been reasons other than an altru-istic desire to assist small manufacturers. Hadnot both AH and SPI already singly or in con-junction run a number of Origins conven-tions? Had their claim to sponsorship of “TheOnly National Convention” resulted in theirevent displacing the GEN CON® Conven-tion? Could it be that they viewed the smallgame manufacturers and their association asweapons in a market struggle with TSR?Could it possibly be that they intended themto be used as tools? Cats-paws? Considerthat. Think about this too: Had AH and SPIfound it easy to run Origins? Did they discov-er annual sponsorship of a convention of ma-jor size was a drain on manpower and cash?Given that, would the aid and assistance ofnumerous dupes be welcomed? Could it bethat the divestiture of a liability such as Ori-gins was not so much co-operation as “gettingout from under”? As I have said before, inprint, TSR sponsors many conventions, andwe do so as a service to gamers everywhere,because from a financial standpoint, they area loss! Perhaps the gentleman who runs AH(Eric Dott, not Tom Shaw) doesn’t desire tolose money on conventions. It is possible thateven then SPI could not afford to. . . .

The family of GEN CON Conventions isprincipally controlled by TSR Hobbies, Inc.,Mr. Loomis, but you should know as well as I

that it is not for profit. We do not make moneyby running these conventions, and you knowit! Likewise, you did not have the honesty totell your readers that at a meeting of yourgroup of small manufacturers I personallystated that TSR would be happy to discusssharing GEN CON Conventions with yourgroup. It would seem, however, that you allfavored self-service and service to the found-ers of Origins over service to the hobbyist, forthat offer gained not the faintest glimmer ofinterest. So GAMA busily attempts to pro-mote itself and Origins as useful to AdventureGaming. Dozens of companies and one event.In good measure, you all busily attack TSR atevery opportunity. Meanwhile, TSR actuallyserves the gamers by sponsoring THREEGEN CON Conventions and three regionalconventions annually, and actively seeks toassist with yet more such events. Say whatyou will, the facts of the matter belie asser-tions — whether from you or others of your ilk.

You assert, Mr. Loomis, that a TSR repre-sentative left the GAMA meeting because hecouldn’t be convinced that Origins wasn’t the“private property of Avalon Hill”. Aside fromthe fact that AH did, in fact, name the event,and it stands for their purported founding ofwargaming as a hobby through their boardgames, and their name is most frequently as-sociated with the event in advertisements andelsewhere, there is no reason to suppose thatthey are gaining the “glory” without any of theburden of true sponsorship of Origins, thereis no reason to suppose that Origins isn’t real-ly a GAMA (who?) convention. Of course not!And would your firm be interested in buying anice bridge too?!

The hypocrisy of your statements regard-ing GEN CON® East Convention and Origins,Mr. Loomis, is absolutely monumental! It iseasy to envision a forthright look and croco-dile tears of sympathy for poor, disabusedgamers running down your cheeks as youwrote that canard. The facts of the matter arethat TSR has always advocated the estab-

D R A G O N 7 1

lishment and annual running of superior con-ventions in various parts of the continent.That is too well known to dwell on any further.Let us turn instead to the crux of the matter. Itis the assertion that GEN CON East Conven-tion was run against Origins as an attack uponOrigins and at disservice to gamers. Mr. Loom-is, pray tell us what of the instance not manyyears ago when Origins ran in the GEN CONConvention area? Better still, explain to theaudience how it is terrible for TSR to run GENCON East on the East Coast when an Originsevent is slated for a later date but just fine foryou and your cronies to plot an Origins in theMidwest before GEN CON Convention in1983? That explanation, if indeed one isforthcoming, should be a classic case ofdouble-think. Does GAMA serve the individu-al gamer with its one-shot convention? Ordoes TSR, all alone as it always has been, domore? The answer is obvious. The chest-thumping of Origins, AH, and the rest of thegroup trying to make Origins into somethingit has never been nor ever will be has elicited aresponse from TSR, just as lies, propaganda,and baseless assertions will. When the factsare clearly presented, truth will speak moreloudly than editorials and gossip columns.

My dissatisfaction with the Hobby Industryof America and desire for a game manufac-turers association was clearly stated in a pastissue of GAMES MERCHANDISING. Inter-ested parties should, in fact, read what is writ-ten there. The expressed desire was for anassociation of professional firms — ParkerBrothers, Milton Bradley, Atari, Mattel, andthe like — to sponsor a trade and consumershow with the best aspects of the HIA tradeevent and the Consumer Electronics Show

combined. Any resemblance between an or-ganization capable of handling such an un-dertaking and GAMA would be purely coin-cidental, as I am certain Mr. Loomis is aware.Even if TSR gave its fullest support and co-operation to GAMA, the latter group would behopelessly incapable of undertaking such aconvention. The analogy was baseless, andthe inference that TSR sought to form any-thing remotely resembling GAMA was false,another red herring. Whether or not 90% ofGAMA members joined a professional asso-ciation of publishers and manufacturers ofgames of all sorts would be a matter of noconsequence to such an organization. Mr.Loomis, you jape and state: “the rest of us(GAMA) should follow behind him (TSR),happily picking up whatever crumbs he al-lows us to have”. I ask you: Who leads theAdventure Gaming industry? Who publishescheap imitations of TSR games? Who doesspin-off and coat-tail products? How much ofthe industry relies on fantasy? Where wouldthe whole industry be if it wasn’t for TSR lead-ing the way? Who, sir, is crumb-clutchingright now? There is, sir, no need to postulatesome future situation. An examination of thecurrent market is ample demonstration indeed.

The opinions of other manufacturers are asvalid as their success. Acceptance of productreflects the segment of Adventure Gamehobbyists who support the manufacturer ofthat product. Thus, when it comes to matterswhich affect the general populace of Adven-ture Gaming enthusiasts, TSR believes thatpublic acceptance is indeed tied to the weightof a vote. In like vein, the needs of other firmsare principally their own concern. Again, Mr.Loomis, that principle is known as American

Free Enterprise.Finally, Mr. Loomis, manufacturers need

not be a member of any association to exhibitat a GEN CON Convention. Any firm, GAMAmembers included, are free to do so — andwelcome too! They are likewise urged tosponsor tournaments and award prizes. Inshort, TSR makes every reasonable effort toassure gamers that there will be everythingthey hoped for at a GEN CON Convention.Gamers were well served prior to the Originsdevice being invented by Avalon Hill. It is myguess that they will be better served by futureGEN CON Conventions, whether or not Ori-gins continues or ceases. Origins comes intoan area, milks it for a year, and then flits off tosome other locale. Because our conception ofa convention is radically different, TSR doesoperate as if Origins “doesn’t exist.” We willcontinue to do so as long as we perceive thatour methods better serve the gaming com-munity than do those of Origins.

For your edification, sir, it also needs to bepointed out that TSR acquired the valuableservices of Duke Seifried because that worthyis an experienced, knowledgeable, highlyprofessional executive. Whatever he may wishto say regarding your claims about his viewshe will articulate personally. As for TSR, as itsPresident I can state that as we have a historyof success, unparalleled gamer acceptance,and the image of the leader of the industry, wemost certainly do not have any desire tochange either our “ways” or our “image” —except to improve them, of course. Which firmamongst the GAMA membership, Mr. Loomis,would you propose we pattern ourselves afterin order to improve?

E. Gary Gygax

72 OCTOBER 1982

Friends in High Places“The devil you are,” said the fur-clad

barbarian in disbelief, his mug of aleclenched tightly in his fist.

The elven legionnaire sitting acrossthe dining table nodded impassively. “Iam indeed. Were it not for the fact thatmy mother was not married to the King,making my birth, ah, unrecognized, Iwould today be the Prince of the GreyWoods.” He paused to sip at his glass ofpale wine. “I would venture to say,” headded in the quiet that surrounded theirtable in the crowded tavern, “that no oneelse present has such a background.”His eyes lifted slightly to survey the othercustomers who had, until now, beencontent just to listen.

A grey-bearded man in sequined robessitting at the next table rose to the bait.“Quite an interesting tale, if you’ll par-don my intrusion,” he said with a slightsmile. “But I am afraid you have wronglyassessed your company. Humbly I pre-sent my own case. I was personally tu-tored by the Archmage of the City-Stateof Knos herself, and was her steadfastcompanion for many years as well. I wasonce offered the position of astrologer tothe City Lord but was forced to turn itdown for political reasons. Even today,however, I could get the ear of the CityLord if I —”

A loud belch from another table inter-rupted the mage’s speech, and he turnedto glare at a brown-and-orange-claddwarf who now wiped his mouth on hisshirt sleeve. “Humph!” he mumbled in adeep bass voice. “You mortals aren’t theonly ones here who have held the reinsof power, or have friends in high places.Ten years ago I commanded five thou-sand warriors when Tharun IV, King ofthe Iron Axes, ruled from the mountains.I served long and well, and if I chose todo so, I would be allowed to return tocommand again under Tharun V. Gen-erals, not spell-players, have the realpower in this world.” The dwarf pausedto drain his stein of beer, and the conver-sation passed to the barbarian (who wasgrowing red in the face with anger).

“Generals be damned!” he bellowed,smacking the table soundly. “We ber-serkers scorn rulers who sit behind theirarmies and point the way! I’ve led mypeople on a hundred raids, and personal-ly fought giants in the Galgar Valley andslew them with my axe! I could call uphundreds of warriors who would followme anywhere, yea, and I could have mypick of any woman around . . .” Hepaused to glare at a woman who sat in acorner of the tavern, trying hard butwithout success to conceal her laughter

at this last statement.“Mighty as you think yourself, “growled

another fighter, “you are not mightierthan I.” The warrior’s eyes burned fierce-ly, and those near him could not helpnoticing that he wore the scale mail of anorcish chieftain, though his face boresigns of being both human and orcish inancestry. “The shamans of my tribe de-clared at birth that I would be mightierthan any mere human, or—” (with a darkglance at the dwarf, which was returnedwith equal malevolence) “—other crea-tures. I wield true power among my peo-ple, and fear spreads across the land atmy name.” He began to speak louderbecause the laughter and giggling of thewoman in the corner was becomingmore audible. “I have fought thousandsof duels, thousands of battles, slainthousands in my time. Wise you wouldbe not to call yourself my equal or bet-ter!” With this, he held out his woodenmug and crushed it to splinters in his fist.

This demonstration seemed to impressmost of those near him, and they movedaway in respect — all except for a tall,broad-shouldered man in a green cloakand chainmail armor, who looked on inboredom. “Be not so unwise yourself,flat-nose,” he said with a grin. “You are inthe presence of the greatest forester andtracker in the Westlands. You couldn’thope to beat me if I was missing an armand a leg. Fairly I can say that no onehere has seen the things I have, or fought

DRAGON 73

the monsters I’ve fought, which includednot a few of your own kind . . . a trivialenough task, of course. And you wouldnot be able to pull that scimitar you arereaching for out before I would haveyour hands off—”

In a moment the half-orc and theranger were on their feet, and the tavernpatrons cleared away from them. Thenthe sudden silence was broken incon-gruously by the sound of the woman’schuckling. Everyone in the dining roomturned to look in her direction, the brew-ing fight forgotten for the time. Thewoman was leaning against the wall forsupport, arms wrapped around her mid-dle. “How marvelous!” she said aloud,her eyes sparkling. “Who would haveguessed that I would be here with suchawesome company in such a little tav-ern! Favored sons all! And so modest!”

“Wench,” said the bearded wizardheatedly, “You are in no place to beshowing such a loose tongue. You mightmake some formidable enemies. . . .” Hisvoice tapered off warningly, and many ofthe other men in the room nodded theirassent and glared at her, too.

This did not seem to shake the wom-an’s confidence at all. “That would beterrible,” she said with amusement. “Im-agine me having to flee this place, withso many pups snapping at my heels!”

“You go too far!” cried the barbarian,flushed and breathing heavily, handsballing unconsciously into fists. “You

aren’t fit to be here among men! Be off toyour stove and loom . . .” Suddenly thebarbarian’s voice faded, and unaccount-ably he found his throat drying as thewoman’s gaze burned into him. Withoutknowing it, he stepped back a pace.

“Fools,” said the woman under herbreath, though her voice carried to everypart of the dining room. “I fear none ofyou, and none of you could cause me theleast harm. I could strike you down withease if I wished, and I would not work upa sweat doing it.” There was not theslightest trace of doubt in her voice asshe spoke.

There was silence, and several menshifted their positions uneasily. Therewas something about the woman . . .something no one could define, thoughall were aware of it.

Buoyed by those around him, andperhaps because he was the most self-assured of the men present, the rangerforced out a light chuckle and spread hishands in her direction. “And what pow-ers have you, what connections thatwould rival even the least of us here,lady?” Even as he spoke, there was afeeling within him that he would not wantto hear the answer.

The woman got up from her seat andlet her robe fall open, her smile now cooland certain. Polished adamantite chain-mail flashed beams of blue-white lightacross the room. A sheated sword witharcane runes on the hilt and a giant dia-

mond in the pommel were revealed ather side. Jewelry of untold value gleamedfrom her throat and wrists. She wasbeautiful, her features flawless, and sheradiated power. It was obvious that shewas accustomed to such confrontations,and just as obvious that she had neverlost one of them.

“My husband is the Dungeon Master,”she said.

Like a bolt from above, terror struckthe room. Involuntarily, several menlooked up at the rafters in fear. Eyes wentwide, and blood froze.

“Only one who truly bore such a rela-tionship,” whispered the elf, “couldspeak of it without being destroyed.”Hastily he cast some coins for his mealon the table before him and fled for thedoor. Those around him took the hintand decided it would be a good time toget some fresh air, and they all packedthe doorways and windows to capacityfor a minute or two. When the scrambleended no one was left inside the taverndining hall but the woman, who hadwatched the evacuation with considera-ble amusement.

Taking her seat again in the peace andquiet, the woman returned to her mealand signalled to the waiter for morewine.

— by Roger E. Moore(dedicated to Georgia, of course)

74 OCTOBER 1982

76 OCTOBER 1982

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