Accessory - Dragon Magazine #075, MAGAZINES, Dragon Magazine
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D
RAGON
1
Publisher:
Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief:
Kim Mohan
Editorial staff:
Marilyn Favaro
Roger Raupp
Patrick L. Price
Mary Kirchoff
Roger Moore
Business manager:
Mary Parkinson
Office staff:
Sharon Walton
Pam Maloney
Layout designer:
Kristine L. Bartyzel
Contributing editor:
Ed Greenwood
National advertising representative:
Robert Dewey
c/o Robert LaBudde & Associates, Inc.
2640 Golf Road
Glenview IL 60025
Phone (312)724-5860
Summer what?
Vol. VIII, No. 1
July 1983
Most of you who read this magazine are
presently enjoying the part of the aca-
demic year that I always found the most
fun summer vacation. Whether you
have a job for a while before going back
to the books, or whether it really is a
vacation, at least summer represents a
change from what you do the other nine
or ten months of the year.
But if theres something like summer
vacation in the gaming magazine busi-
ness, nobodys told us about it yet. And
for the gaming industry in general,
summer is anything but a vacation. This
is the time of year when most of the
major game conventions are held and
that means its also the time of year when
companies release lots of new products.
That brings me, in a roundabout way,
to the point of this speech. By the time
you read this, we will be finished with the
production of Volume III of the BEST
OF DRAGON® anthology. Were also
working steadily, if not (yet) frantically,
on finishing our DRAGONTALES II
fiction anthology. Also in the preparation
stage is a volume containing all of the
Wormy episodes weve ever published. By
my reckoning, only about three percent of
the people reading DRAGON® magazine
now were around when Tramps story
started in issue #9 and I hope the other
97% of you are anxious to see how the
story (and the strip itself) have developed
over the years.
Summer vacation? Summer what? . . .
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Can Seapoint Be Saved? . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Another winning AD&D adventure
OTHER FEATURES
The ecology of the mimic . . . . . . . . . . . .6
The Nine Hells, Part I.. . . . . . . . . . . . .16
From Avernus through Stygia
This issues contributing artists:
Jack Crane
Phil Foglio
Roger Raupp
Dave Trampier
Larry Elmore
Mutants, men (?), and machines . . . . .34
GAMMA WORLD® creatures
DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub-
lished monthly for a subscription price of $24 per
year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR
Hobbies, Inc. The mailing address of Dragon
Publishing for all material except subscription
orders is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.
Beyond the rule book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Guidelines for the prospective GM
DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby
stores and bookstores throughout the United
States and Canada, and through a limited
number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates are
as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address in
the U.S. or Canada; $50 U.S. for 12 issues sent via
surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air mail
to any other country. All subscription payments
must be in advance, and should be sent to Dragon
Publishing, P.O. Box 72089, Chicago IL 60690.
Language lessons
I: Even Orcish is logical . . . . . . . . . .54
II: All games need names . . . . . . . . . 58
UK revisited: Games Fair 83 . . . . . . . . . 76
EGG had a jolly good time
A limited quantity of certain bath issues of
DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the
Dungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of available
issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-
ment in advance by check or money order must
accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made
through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken
nor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neither
an individual customer nor an institution can be
billed for a subscription order or a back-issue
purchase unless, prior arrangements are made.
Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Debut of a new comic saga
REGULAR OFFERINGS
Its congratulation time again. Off and
on, weve been using part of this space to
announce module contest winners, and
this time the person in the spotlight is
Bob Waldbauer of Delavan, Wis., who
won category A-7 with this issues special
inclusion, Can Seapoint Be Saved?
Finishing close behind Bobs entry in
the judging were Mystery of the Name-
less Isle by Colin Nordell of Ontario,
Canada, and The Lost Cathedral by
Daniel Biemer of Louisville, Ky., the
second-place and third-place winners,
respectively.
Our appreciation and congratulations
go to all the prize winners, along with
our thanks to everyone else who entered
category A-7 and made the judging that
much more difficult. Dont get the wrong
idea we like it when the judging is
tough. That means at least most of the
entries in a category were high-quality
pieces of work, so we can be sure that the
winner we print is going to be a winner
with you, too.
Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters from readers
The issue of expiration for each subscription is
printed on the mailing label for each subscriber's
copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the
delivery of subscriptions must be received at least
30 days prior to the effective date of the change in
order to insure uninterrupted delivery).
From the Sorcerers Scroll . . . . . . . . . . . 4
New denizens of devildom
Figure Feature: Humanoids . . . . . . . . . 68
All material published in DRAGON Magazine
becomes the exclusive property of the publisher
upon publication, unless special arrangements to
the contrary are made prior to publication.
DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-
missions of written material and artwork; how-
ever, no responsibility for such submissions can
be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any
submission which is accompanied by a self-
addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size will
be returned if it cannot be published.
Review section:
Runequest Companion . . . . . . . . . . . 70
The Solomani Rim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Tales stranger than fantasy. . . . . . . . 74
SF/gaming convention calendar . . . . . 78
DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Pub-
lishing’s monthly adventure playing aid. All
rights on the contents of this publication are
reserved, and nothing may be reproduced from it
in whole or in part without prior permission in
writing from the publisher. Copyright © 1983 by
TSR Hobbies, Inc.
Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Whats New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Second-class postage paid at Lake
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
Geneva,
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva
WI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.
DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D, TOP
SECRET, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc.
TRAVELLER is a registered trademark owned by Game Designers’ Workshop, Inc.
RUNEQUEST is a registered trademark owned by Chaosium Inc.
2 J
ULY
1983
ven though I’ve tried and
tried to resist the tempta-
tion, I can’t help referring
to this one as a devil of an
issue — or, perhaps more
properly put, an issue of devils. No, that’s
not entirely accurate, but more than 20 of
the pages inside are devoted to descrip-
tions of new devils and devil-types for the
AD&D™ game, along with “facts” about
what the environment is like on the var-
ious planes of the Nine Hells. It’s not a
place to spend your summer vacation —
except, of course, in your imagination.
Leading off the devil section is a pre-
sentation of the manuscripts that E. Gary
Gygax has composed over the last few
years (since the release of the Monster
Manual) on the hierarchy of The Nine
Hells and some of the previously unre-
corded devil-types that live there.
Next is part I of “The Nine Hells,” a
massive treatise composed by contribut-
ing editor Ed Greenwood in an effort to
flesh out what Gary had already done. Ed
presents his educated speculations about
what each of the separate planes is like,
and descriptions of the individual devils
that Gary mentions but doesn’t detail.
Because Ed’s manuscript was so long, we
had to break it into two parts; next
month we’ll present his musings on the
lowest four planes, plus notes on how the
effects of various magic spells are
changed, or nullified, if those spells are
cast anywhere within the Nine Hells.
Top billing in the table of contents this
time — our middle-of-the-magazine spe-
cial inclusion — goes to the winner in
category A-7 of our Module Design Con-
test, “Can Seapoint Be Saved?” If the
player characters in your campaign have
never been challenged by an adventure on
(and around) the high seas, just let ‘em
try to sail through “Seapoint.”
There’s a lot more to being a good and
effective gamemaster than knowing the
rules. Lew Pulsipher’s contribution
inside goes “Beyond the rule book,” offer-
ing guidelines on procedures and style
that any “campaign manager” — veteran
or novice — should keep in mind.
'Way back in issue #66, we printed a
package of articles about the use of lan-
guages in role-playing games. As often
happens, those articles prompted other
articles on the same subject — so, inside
are two new “Language lessons.” Both
authors, Clyde Heaton and Katharine
Kerr, make the same basic point: Any
language, no matter how primitive, must
be logical and consistent in order to be
believable and playable.
Lastly, but far from least (or should
that be leastly?), we present the debut of a
new comic adventure strip:
Snarfquest,
drawn and written by Larry Elmore.
Maybe ol’ Snarf isn’t exactly a typical
hero — but then again, this isn’t exactly a
typical magazine. . . . —
KM
PBM problems
Dear Editor:
The April issue of DRAGON Magazine con-
tamed an article entitled “The PBM Scene:
Facts you can use when you choose what game
to play.” Unfortunately, the information about
UNIVERSE II contained in the article was not
factual. To begin with, the address shown had
not been accurate for two years. Since mail
from that address is no longer even forwarded,
anyone trying to contact us will assume we are
no longer in business.
The article stated that UNIVERSE III was a
“new version” of the game, implying that it is
different than UNIVERSE II. This is not the
case, as both are processed using the same
computer program. Each game operates four
quadrants of space which are adjacent to each
other.
It is apparent that Mr. Gray had such
limited experience with UNIVERSE II that he
felt he had to “create” information to include.
He evidently paid very little attention to the
ship he was assigned, as he referred to the
“supply of fuel” when, in fact, the ships need
no fuel. In addition, he claimed to have built
an “alien escape pod” when there is no such
device that can be built.
UNIVERSE II is a game which requires that
a player use intelligence and creativity in order
to be successful. The range of activities is very
diversified and allows a wide variety of roles.
Some players choose to build fleets of ships
(battlecruisers, freighters, shuttles, interceptors,
etc.). They explore the hundreds of unique
solar systems, deal with civilized alien races,
discover new lifeforms, operate trading sys-
tems, raid other ships or colonies, etc. Others
choose to be colonists on uncivilized worlds.
They build fortifications, farm, mine, explore,
operate a wide range of factories, trade with
passing starships, etc.
Player interaction is frequent, with many
player alliances and empires in existence. Wars
are fought, ships destroyed, territory con-
quered. New players are generally started in
quieter areas so they will have a chance to
build up their strength before confronting star-
ships with the capacity to destroy them.
I feel Mr. Gray has done my game a tre-
mendous disservice by including gross inac-
curacies in an article billed as “factual.” As
your magazine has one of the best reputations
in the industry, I am certain you will want to
print this letter in the next issue to provide the
correct “facts” for your readers.
Jon Clemens, President
Clemens and Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 4297
San Clemente CA 92672
of, a letter but for obvious reasons were
making a couple of exceptions to that policy.
(See the following letter as well.)
Unfortunately, Mr. Gray is not immediately
available for us to obtain comments from him
about Mr. Clemens assertions. But this letter
just came to our attention on the day before
deadline for this issue, and rather than hold
onto it and wait another month to correct the
address error, we decided to use the letter now
and contact Mr. Gray at a later date. Maybe
hell have something to say in explanation (or
in defense) of what he wrote, and if so well be
pleased to print his letter next time. KM
Dear Editor:
Thank you (and Mr. Gray) for your recent
coverage of the Play-By-Mail gaming industry.
We would like to point out that in issue #72 of
DRAGON magazine, page 31, the address of
Schubel & Son was incorrectly listed. Our cor-
rect address is: Schubel & Son Inc., P.O. Box
214848, Sacramento CA 95821.
Duane Wilcoxson
Gamer Relations
Schubel & Son Inc.
This time, the mistake was a simple typo-
graphical error: Somehow, between the time
Mike Gray wrote his article and when it got
into print, the 2 got deleted from the post
office box number. Even though Schubel &
Son is probably famous enough for the Sacra-
mento Post Office to find em anyway, it
obviously helps to have the correct address on
the envelope you're sending. Our sincere and
profuse apologies to anyone who tried to con-
tact either Clemens and Associates (see the
preceding letter) or Schubel & Son by using the
incorrect addresses we printed. KM
Champions critic
Dear Editor:
I was very disappointed with the article con-
cerning the superhero role-playing game
“Champions” which you printed in issue #73
of your magazine.
First of all, the author’s suggestion of roll-
ing only for a few characters’ hunteds and
DNPC’s is absurd. What good is having the
disadvantage if it only comes into play every
third or fourth game? On that same note, who
says a hunter that is “scheduled” to appear has
to jump our hero and try to pound in his 14
defense skull! There are
other
ways of dealing
with hunteds, such as having them leave our
hero a threatening message of some kind, per-
haps a riddle leading the hero to the villain’s
hideout (a definite adventure in the making),
or even a trap.
Secondly, the author makes a suggestion for
“timing,” or how to get several heroes into the
game. All I have to say on this is, if you don’t
know of any way to bring “Cosmic Dude,”
Right you are, Mr. Clemens. Were more
than happy to try to straighten out the prob-
lems that the article seems to have caused.
Ordinarily, we dont print complete mailing
addresses of writers in, or under the signature
D
RAGON
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