Accessory - Dragon Magazine #068, MAGAZINES, Dragon Magazine
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D
RAGON
1
Vol. VII, No. 7
December 1982
Publisher:
Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief:
Kim Mohan
Letter etiquette
There was a time when the editor of
this magazine implored readers to write
letters, so that we could be sure of hav-
ing some stuff to put in “Out on a Limb”
every month. Those days are long gone;
hundreds of thousands of people now
read DRAGON™ Magazine, and even
though still only a small fraction of our
Editorial staff:
Marilyn Favaro
Gali Sanchez
Roger Raupp
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Patrick L. Price
Weather in the
WORLD OF GREYHAWK . . . . 42
Business manager:
Debra Chiusano
A climate for campaigning
Office staff:
Sharon Walton
readers write Ietters to the editor, our
“Limb” file is always overflowing.
OTHER FEATURES
Be a two-fisted fighter. . . . . . . 7
Using weapons in both hands
GEN CON® Miniature
Open winners.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Up, up and away . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The DAWN PATROL™ game
Contributing editors:
Roger Moore
Ed Greenwood
How can you give your letter the best
possible chance of being printed? There
are some simple, and fairly obvious,
This issue's contributing artists:
Dave Trampier
guidelines you should follow.
Jeff Easley
Kim Gromoll
Jim Holloway
Mike Carroll
Roger Raupp
Phil Foglio
Daniel Wickstrom
The most obvious, and most often vio-
lated, guideline is simply this: Write it so
L. Blankenship
we can read it. We don’t require letter-
M. Hanson-Roberts
perfect typewritten copy, but we do ex-
pect legible handwriting, loosely spaced
Brian Born
and written large enough so we don’t
Beg, borrow, or steal? . . . . . . . 16
DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub-
have to squint to read it.
lished monthly for a subscription price of $24
Variant for Barbarian Prince
per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR
Hobbies, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI
No letter will be considered for publi-
cation unless it is signed with the writer’s
Thrills and Chills . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
53147.
real name and address. If you don’t think
Ice Age adventuring
DRAGON Magazine is available at hundreds
enough of your opinion to put your name
of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the
on it, you can’t expect us to respect it
Castles by Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . 29
United States and Canada, and through a limit-
ed number of of overseas outlets. Subscription
rates are as follows, with all payments to be
enough to print it.
First of a series
To be sure your letter is considered for
made in advance: $24 for 12 issues
What’s that in the Water? . . . . 36
or Canadian address; $50 U.S. for 12 issues sent
via surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air
publication, address it to “Out on a
Limb.” If you just want to express some
thoughts for the editor’s eyes but not for
Aquatic encounter tables
mail to any other country.
A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON Magazine can be purchased directly
Gaming by mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
print, say so. We read everything we re-
The good & bad of PBM
from the publisher by sending the cover price
plus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue
ceive, but we'll only print a letter if we
know it’s okay with the writer to do so.
You’ve always got a chance.. 81
New use for ability scores
ordered.
ey order
cannot be made through a credit card, and
orders cannot be taken nor merchandise re-
tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub-
scription order or back-issue purchase unless
prior arrangements are made.
Payment in advance by check or mon-
Don’t try to get published by being
provocative or insuIting. We do publish
must accompany all orders. Payments
letters of complaint, but only if they’re
served by telephone. Neither an individual cus-
REGULAR OFFERINGS
Out on a Limb
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters from readers
tastefully worded and not slanderous.
Remember the Golden Rule and you
can’t go wrong.
Don’t wait too long to comment about
something from a particular issue of the
magazine. We like to publish reactions
and responses to articles while the arti-
cles themselves are still fresh in our
is printed on the mailing label for each sub-
copy of the magazine. Changesof ad-
the delivery of subscriptions must be
at least 30 days prior to the effective
Featured Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . 4
dress for
More monsters from EGG
received
rupted delivery.
date of the change In order to ensure uninter-
From the Sorceror’s Scroll . . . 24
New spells for high-level M-U’s
readers’ minds. Letters pertaining to this
All material published in DRAGON Magazine
becomes
upon publication, unless special arrangements
to the co
DRAGON
missions
ever, no responsibility for such submissions can
be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any
submissi
addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size
the exclusive property of the publisher
ntrary are made prior to publication.
Magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-
of written material and artwork; how-
issue (#68), for instance, will probably
not appear any later than #70 or #71,
which means you’ve got about 3 or 4
weeks to form an opinion, write a letter,
and get it to us in time.
Last but not least, put your best foot
forward. You don’t have to agonize over
every word, dot all your i’s and cross all
Leomund’s Tiny Hut . . . . . . . .
l
30
The cloistered cleric
Deities & Demigods
of Greyhawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
on which is accompanied by a self-
Dragon’s Augury. . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Game reviews
Convention schedule. . . . . . . . 82
Off the Shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Books make good gifts
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
wiII be returned to the contributor if it cannot be
published.
your t’s, but you should be sure that your
DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish-
letter says what you mean it to say, and
ing’s monthly adventure playing aid. All rights
on the contents of this publication are reserved,
and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole
we’ll be able to understand the point
you’re making. If we get done reading a
or in part without prior permission in writing
from the publisher. Copyright © 1982 by TSR
letter and our first reaction is “Huh?”
Hobbies, Inc.
then you’ve wasted your time and your
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
20-cent stamp. We value each of our
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
readers’ letters highly, whether or not
What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
that letter gets published — but only if
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva
we can understand what you have to say.
Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
WI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.
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.
2
D
ECEMBER
1982
Carl Lundgren
The issue of expiration for each subscription
scriber's
ark Twain, a fantasy writer
of a different sort from a dif-
ferent time, once remarked
that “Everybody complains
about the weather, but no-
body does anything about it.” Well, an
ingenious and energetic DM by the name
of David Axler has done something about
it. The special inclusion in this month’s
issue of DRAGON™ Magazine is Dave’s
system for generating weather condi-
tions in an AD&D™ environment, using
the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy
Supplement as the basis for his figures.
The system has been examined by E.
Gary Gygax, the man who created the
AD&D game and the Greyhawk cam-
paign, and has received his stamp of ap-
proval. Even if your campaign isn’t set in
the world of Oerth, the formulas and sta-
tistics in Dave’s system are easily adapt-
able to other adventuring environments.
Stapled into the center of this 100-page
issue is a three-page foldout section
containing some of the essential charts
and tables for the system, designed to be
stood up and used as a screen to keep
the information in front of the DM and
away from the prying eyes of players.
Weather also plays a major part in
another of this month’s features. “Thrills
and Chills” by Arthur Collins is an in-
depth examination of what it would be
like to conduct an AD&D adventure in
the Ice Age: no metal armor, no towns,
no “modern” conveniences — not much
of anything except caves, cold, and
plenty of challenges for characters.
When the FIEND FOLIO® Tome was
published, it did not include encounter
tables for aquatic environments. Mark
Harcourt has rectified that situation with
“What’s that in the Water?” The article
offers a complete set of tables, plus de-
scriptions of some monsters that don't
have separate listings in the books.
Official new magic-user spells of lev-
els 5-9, supplementing the lower-level
spells described in our last issue, make
up this month’s edition of From the Sor-
ceror’s Scroll. Other articles from the
pen (or, more accurately, the typewriter)
or Mr. Gygax are the second installment
of Deities & Demigods of Greyhawk and
a trio of formidable fungi that are this
month’s Featured Creatures.
A quick flip through these pages will
show that this is the most colorful issue
we’ve put out in a long time. Of special
note are photographs of some of the top
entries in this year’s GEN CON
®
Minia-
ture Open, and the opening installment
of “Castles by Carroll,” wherein artist
Mike Carroll offers illustration and in-
formation about the mysterious strong-
hold known as Neushwanstein. We hope
the feature will inspire the creation of
distinctive castles for your campaign —
and maybe it wouldn’t be
a
bad place to
spend the winter, if you can afford the
heating bill. . . . —KM
Language articles
interesting to some people, and the use of
different languages in FRP games adds real-
ism and complexity to the games, the article
on Cant went too far in this direction. The
knowledge of the Cant’s uses to thieves does
not require a two-page explanation, nor an
eight-page dictionary. Does the author think
the players will learn Cant for use when gam-
ing? Absurd! This was a terrible waste of pub-
lishing space that could have been used for
issues of broader interest. The same goes for
the article on Old Dwarvish, though this was a
smaller work, and thus a smaller waste. I must
say that the other two language articles are
much more useful, and I was quite happy to
see them included. Please file the useless
trash into the return slot, and keep the space
for more useful and interesting articles.
Karl W. Evoy
Hudson, Ohio
Dear Editor:
I was very pleased by the articles in issue
#66 concerning languages in AD&D cam-
paigns. The article by A. D. Rogan was espe-
cially good, and it reflected many of the prob-
lems that I have observed in two years of play.
The author’s construction of language “fami-
lies” is ingenious, and it smooths out some
very bothersome problems with “official” lan-
guage capabilities. There is an implication
that, for instance, a halfling does not speak
dwarven, elven, gnome, goblin, orcish, and
the common tongue with equal fluency.
Rather, it is reasonable to postulate that the
average halfling could recognize and perhaps
understand a smattering of each of these
tongues, possibly just enough to compre-
hend the gist of an overheard goblin plot or
warn a group of elves of the approach of an
army of trolls.
It is a pity that such thoughtfulness is not
applied to some of the adventure modules
currently on the shelves. I have found a dis-
turbing lack of imagination and logical think-
ing therein, which can prove frustrating to a
DM attempting to lend his campaign some
flesh-and-blood character. This is especially
true in the area of language use. For instance,
in a recent major AD&D tournament, a so-
called “riddle” was encountered by the play-
ers, wherein the phrase “opposite of live”
(with a long “i”) was used. The clue was sup-
posed to indicate the word “evil.”
First: The “opposite” of a word is by defini-
tion its antonym, which in the case of “live”
would, of course, be “dead.” Inverting the let-
ter order of a word is denoted by its “reverse”
or “converse,” not its “opposite.” Second, and
perhaps more important: There is no reason
to believe that the words “live” and “evil,” in
the fictitious common tongue, are the re-
verses of each other as they are in English.
How can the role of a character like an ancient
druid be played when he is expected to inter-
pret a riddle in terms of 20th-century English
word construction? Tricks which involve lan-
guage should be framed in such a way that
they do not clash with the atmosphere of the
milieu.
In general, I would like to see a higher level
of quality with regard to the use of language in
commercial AD&D offerings. The fine articles
on this subject in DRAGON #66 contributed
well to this end; hopefully, game designers
will take note of such good ideas.
Illusionist ideas
Dear Editor:
I was very interested in the articles you pub-
lished in DRAGON #66 concerning illusion-
ists and illusions. This class has been my fa-
vorite for some time.
I want to comment on the way illusionist
spells are treated with respect to emulating
magic-user spells. In my group we have
adopted rules that we hold to be true for all
illusionary spells:
1. Illusionists can duplicate any spell
from the other spell user’s repertoire.
However, those spells with instantaneous
duration will have no effect.
2. The spells of an illusionist affect his
own party as well as a magic-user’s fireball
would.
W e decided that to be effective, the illusion
created must be seen and understood by the
victim. If, for example, a person had never
seen fire, he won’t know that it can hurt him.
This is already accepted in the AD&D rules.
Our addition was that if the illusion happens
too fast, it leaves no time for the person to be
caught up in it. Thus, illusions of magic mis-
siles, lightning bolts, and fireballs (to name a
few) just won’t work. The real magic-user has
the terrible reality of exploding fire that con-
vinces his victims. The illusionist would have
to slow the spell down for victims to see it, and
then they would know it’s not real because it
doesn’t look like a fireball any more. We like
that rule because it keeps the distinction be-
tween magic-user and illusionist. (Editor’s
note: But what if the victim had newer seen a
fireball before?)
The second rule simply means that unless
people in the illusionist’s party know that he’s
going to do a certain illusion (or if they watch
him do it) they will be just as affected as
anyone else. My favorite example of this is an
illusionist who saved his own party when they
were trapped at the top of a deep chasm by an
angry army of evil creatures. The illusionist
(Turn to page 9)
Rick Knight
Chicago, III.
‘A terrible waste’
Dear Editor:
I have long read DRAGON, and the subjects
covered have been of varying interest to my-
self and others. I have never seen an article so
useless as the one discussing the Thieves’
Cant in issue #66. Although languages are
D
RAGON
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