Accessory - Strategic Review #2.2, MAGAZINES, Dragon Magazine
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THE STRATEGIC REVIEW
APRIL 1976
This issue, this column will contain both an obituary and two birth an-
nouncements. It also contains all the assorted gobbleygook that normally floats to
the top . . .
This is the LAST ISSUE OF
STRATEGIC REVIEW.
But harken well, BET-
TER THINGS ARE IN THE OFFING!! The
Strategic Review
will not be forgot-
ten; much of it will live on, in the pages of
THE DRAGON.
(Fanfare and drum-
roll.)
The first
DRAGON,
due in June, will feature an exclusive Fafhrd story by
Fritz Leiber, an article by M.A.R. Barker, a piece by Larry Smith as well as
The
Khitan Armies,
by Scott Bizar, and the first installment of a fantasy novel by Gary
Gygax, to be serialized exclusively in its pages.
LITTLE WARS,
the second magazine, will be a magazine for miniatures en-
thusiasts, but will not neglect boardgames either. It will have battle reports, game
analyses, book and game reviews, figure reviews, as well as weapons data, uniform
information, OB’s and ‘zine reviews. It will cover every environment and period
playable: Napoleonics; WW II, Ancients, Thirty Years War, ECW, ACW, Naval
of all periods, Air, Hundred Years War, WW I, Medievals. American Revolution
and all the rest, irregardless of whether boardgame, miniature or anything else.
LITTLE WARS
will be the same size as
THE DRAGON
and just as colorful.
Both
LITTLE WARS
and
THE DRAGON
will be published bi-monthly, on alter-
nate months. The first
LITTLE WARS
will contain an objective, truthful and un-
biased “History of Wargaming.” (In contrast to a couple of less than honest or
truthful versions recently published by others.) It will also feature a major article
on the Viking Expansion, as well as other pieces by the best in the hobby.
These changes have necessitated a price increase to $1.50 per issue, with a six
issue sub costing $9.00. All subs will be mailed First Class, which means no more
waiting on the whims of the Post Office. Dollar for dollar, you will get the same
amount of material for your money; double size for double price. The advantage is
that you will have a much improved publication, with color and better graphics.
STRATEGIST’S CLUB news will be inserted on a separate sheet, along with the
coupon, for the benefit of the people already having subs. However, please note
that we intend to do away with the coupon concept, as we are aiming for a lot of
over-the-counter sales. When the coupon has been eliminated, we will send SC
news to the members under separate cover.
For some time now, we have felt that our title was somewhat misleading, par-
ticularly so since we have drifted deeper and deeper into fantasy and science fic-
tion, not to mention swords & sorcery. The drift occurred as a result of what YOU,
the readership, have indicated to us that you wanted. We were turned down by the
Post Awful on our application for Second Class mailing privileges because
SR
had
too high a content ratio of our material; articles about our games, etc. We had
become a dyed-in-the-wool house organ. We decided to leave the house-organ
field to the rest of the pack, and fulfill a crying need of the hobby: a good, well
produced objective and visually stimulating magazine devoted to gaming in Fan-
tasy, Swords & Sorcery, Science Fiction and role-playing games. This put us in a
bind, though, because it means we have to exclude a lot of good stuff, and neglect
a good deal of the wargaming field, which does not deserve to be neglected.
Therefore, the following decisions have been made.
First, we have formed another division of TSR Hobbies, Inc.: TSR
Periodicals.
Second, TSR Periodicals will produce TWO magazines; one devoted to S&S,
Fantasy, Sci-Fi and roleplaying games, and the other to deal with the established
types and periods of wargaming. Both will be featuring some of the finest writers
around.
THE DRAGON
will be our magazine of fantasy, s & s, sci-fi, and roleplaying
games, including
DIPLOMACY.
(It will feature a PBM game played by some of
the best players in the country, refereed by Len Lakofka.) Boardgames will not be
neglected, and will get regular coverage. Miniatures will also be a feature. The
criteria is not the means, but rather the subject matter
We are doubling the size, to a whopping 32 pages. To go along with the
renovation, we will be using lots of color.
THE DRAGON
will contain the familiar
MAPPING THE DUNGEONS,
and the DM listings, as well as
WARGAMING
NEWS, CREATURE FEATURES, MIGHTY MAGIC MISCELLANY,
and the
column you are now reading.
This leaves us with one item; current subs. After much discussion, and not a
few die rolls, we think we have hit upon a fair and equitable solution. As of Feb.
25, we have refused any multi year renewals or subs. As of April 1, we will refuse
all renewals and subs to
SR,
and only accept
DRAGON
or
LITTLE WARS
subs,
at the new rate. All existing
SR
subs will be converted to
DRAGON
subs at a 3/2
ratio. That is, for every three SR’s left, we will send two
DRAGON’s.
For the
money spent on a
SR
sub, you will get much more via
THE DRAGON.
The old
price for
SR
entitled you to six, sixteen page ‘zines, for a total of 96 pages. This
way, 48 pages of
SR
(three issues) gets 64 pages of
THE DRAGON,
96 gets 128,
and so on. If you wish to convert your sub to
LITTLE WARS
instead, please write
us to that effect. Subs with less than three issues left will receive
THE DRAGON
#1 only.
TSR Hobbies, Inc. has added yet another member to the staff; David
Megarry, designer of
DUNGEON!.
Dave is no stranger to the field; some years
back, he was part of UTR Production, creators of
GUERRILLA WAR.
Originally
from St. Paul, he came to us via Boston, More biographical data will be forth-
coming in an upcoming issue of
THE DRAGON.
Mike Carr, designer of
FIGHT IN THE SKIES,
is due to join TSR in April.
Best known for
FITS,
Mike formed the
FITS Society,
and publishes their ‘zine,
AERODROME.
More background on Mike will accompany the data on Dave.
Work proceeds apace on
LITTLE BIG HORN,
watch for it. It will be a
realistic, yet fun and fast playing boardgame simulation of George Armstrong
Custer’s last campaign. If played well by the Cavalry, it might not be his last.
Also coming along well is Fritz Leiber’s and Harry Fischer’s
LANKHMAR.
The map promises to be another beautiful eye-catcher,
ala
EPT. Watch for it
around.
MINI-FIG and THE OLD GUARD are hard at work, on our
D
&
D
and
EPT
figure lines, respectively. No release dates have been set yet, but you can be sure
that we’ll let you know when they are. We can promise that they will be of the
highest quality, made to order for the growing field of fantasy miniatures buffs.
WE GOOFED! We erroneously priced
Gladiator
at $6.00; it should be $4.00.
Mea Culpa . . .
Dave Sutherland will be joining us as staff artist in April. Readers of
SR
and
owners of
D
&
D
and the supplements should be familiar with the fine quality of
his work, and his will be a welcome addition to our staff. Dave is yet another Twin
Cities refugee, to add to our growing total of them. By the time he and Carr join,
fully half of our people will be Twin Cities expatriates, three of which are named
Dave. I wonder if we are seeing the beginning of a trend . . .?
The Dungeon is open for business, tho’ we won’t have our Grand Opening,
until April, because we seem to have a problem in receiving the inventory we or-
dered. When the inventory is complete, it will be the most complete line of’
wargaming goodies in the Midwest. Y‘all stop by, hear?
Music is capable of setting the mood for any endeavor, and playing
D & D
is
no exception. If the music is good enough, it can add immeasurably to the ex-
pedition/adventure, and sometimes helps keep rowdy parties quieter and more
manageable. Rick Wakeman has two albums that are particularly noteworthy in
that respect; they also treat the listener to some good fantasy in their own right.
The two I refer to are “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “Myths and
Legends Surrounding King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.”
Another of his that is suitable is “The Six Wives of Henry VIII.” Another artist is
(cont. on p. 7, col. 2)
2
THE STRATEGIC REVIEW
APRIL 1976
The Dungeons & Dragons Magic System
by Gary Gygax
Because there are many legendary and authored systems of magic, many
questions about the system of magic used in
D
&
D
are continually raised. Magic
in
CHAINMAIL
was fairly brief, and because it was limited to the concept of table
top miniatures battles, there was no problem in devising and handling this new
and very potent factor in the game. The same cannot be said of D & D. While
miniatures battles on the table top were conceived as a part of the overall game
system, the major factor was always envisioned as the underworld adventure, while
the wilderness trek assumed a secondary role, various other aspects took a third
place, and only then were miniatures battles considered. So a somewhat different
concept of magic had to be devised to employ with the
D
&
D
campaign in order to
make it all work.
The four cardinal types of magic are those systems which require long con-
juration with much paraphernalia as an adjunct (as used by Shakespeare in
MAC-
BETH
or as typically written about by Robert E. Howard in his “Conan” yarns),
the relatively short spoken spell (as in Finnish mythology or as found in the superb
fantasy of Jack Vance), ultra-powerful (if not always correct) magic (typical of
deCamp & Pratt in their classic “Harold Shea” stories), and the generally weak
and relatively ineffectual magic (as found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s work). Now the use
of magic in the game was one of the most appealing aspects, and given the game
system it was fairly obvious that its employment could not be on the complicated
and time consuming plane, any more than it could be made as a rather weak and
ineffectual adjunct to swordplay if magic-users were to become a class of player-
character.
The basic assumption, then, was that
D
&
D
magic worked on a “Vancian”
system and if used correctly would be a highly powerful and effective force. There
are also four basic parts to magic: The verbal or uttered spell, the somatic or
physical movement required for the conjuration, the psychic or mental attitude
necessary to cast the spell, and the material adjuncts by which the spell, can be
completed (to cite an obvious example, water to raise a water elemental). It was
assumed that the
D
&
D
spell would be primarily verbal, although in some in-
stances the spell would require some somatic component also (a fire ball being an
outstanding example). The psychic
per se
would play little part in the basic magic
system, but a corollary, mnemonics, would. The least part of magic would be the
material aids required, and most of those considered stored or aided magic, so as
to enable its more immediate employment, rather than serving to prolong spell
casting time or encumber the player using these aids. Before exploring the whys
and wherefores of these decisions, a further word regarding magical results must
be said.
Spells do various things, and just what they do is an important consideration,
for some order of effect in regard to the game would have to be determined. Magic
purports to have these sorts of effects: 1) the alteration of existing substance (in-
cluding its transposition or dissolution); 2) the creation of new substance; 3) the
changing of normal functions of mind and/or body; 4) the addition of new func-
tions to mind and/or body; 5) summon and/or command existing entities; and 6)
create new entities. In considering these functions, comparatively weak and strong
spells could be devised from any one of the six. Knowing the parameters within
which the work was to be done then enabled the creation of the system.
Because the magic-using
D
&
D
player would have to be able to operate com-
petitively with fellow players who relied on other forms of attack during the course
of adventures, the already mentioned “Vancian” system was used as a basis, and
spells of various sorts were carefully selected. Note, however, that they were selec-
ted within the framework of
D
&
D
competition primarily, and some relatively
powerful spells were apportioned to lower levels of magic use. Charm Person and
Sleep at 1st level are outstanding examples. The effect of some spells was set to
reflect the level of the magic-user employing them. Many of the spells were
developed for specific use in dungeon expeditions or during wilderness ad-
ventures. A few — mostly drawn from
CHAINMAIL
— were included with the
table top battle in mind. All such spells were assumed to be of such a nature so
that no less than three of the four basic components of magic were required in
their use. All spells were assumed to have a verbal component. Each and every
spell (not found on a scroll or otherwise contained in, or on, some magical device)
would be absolutely mnemonic, magic-users would have to memorize the spells
they wished to have available, and when a particular spell was recalled and its
other parts enacted, then the memory would be gone and the spell no longer
available until it was re-memorized (thus the magic-users’ spell books!). Most
spells were also envisioned as containing a slight somatic and/or material com-
ponent, whether in the preparation of a small packet of magical or ordinary com-
pounds to be used when the spell was spoken or as various gestures to be made
when the enchantment was uttered.
Magic-use was thereby to be powerful enough to enable its followers to com-
pete with any other type of player-character, and yet the use of magic would not be
so great as to make those using it overshadow all others.
This was the conception, but in practice it did not work out as planned.
Primarily at fault is the game itself which does not carefully explain the reasoning
behind the magic system. Also, the various magic items for employment by magic-
users tend to make them too powerful in relation to other classes (although the
GREYHAWK
supplement took steps to correct this somewhat). The problem is
further compounded by the original misconceptions of how magic worked in D &
D — misconceptions held by many players. The principal error here is that the one
1st level spell allowable to a 1st level magic-user could be used endlessly (or
perhaps at frequent intervals) without the magic-user having to spend time and ef-
fort re-memorizing and preparing again after the single usage. Many players also
originally thought scrolls containing spells could be reused as often as desired.
Finally, many dungeonmasters geared their campaigns to the level of TV give-
away shows, with gold pouring into players’ purses like water and magical rewards
strapped to the backs of lowly rats. This latter allowed their players to progress far
too rapidly and go far beyond the bounds of
D
&
D’s
competition scope — magic-
users, fighters, clerics and all.
To further compound the difficulties, many dungeon-masters and players,
upon learning of the more restrictive intent of the rules, balked. They enjoyed the
comic book characters, incredible spells, and stratospheric levels of their way of
playing. Well and good.
D
&
D
is, if nothing else, a free-form game system, and it
was designed with great variation between campaigns to be allowed for — nay, en-
couraged! Of course, there are some variations which are so far removed from the
original framework as to be totally irreconcilable with
D & D;
these have become
games of other sorts and not a concern of this article. On the other hand there are
many campaigns which were scrapped and begun afresh after their dungeon-
masters consulted us or after they read other articles pertaining to the play of
D &
D
as conceived by its authors — just as there will probably be some dungeon-
masters ready to try again after reading this far. It is for all of these referees and
their players, as well as those who have played the game pretty much as was
desired but were never quite positive that you were actually doing so, that the
foregoing was written.
The logic behind it all was drawn from game balance as much as from
anything else. Fighters have their strength, weapons, and armor to aid them in
their competition. Magic-users must rely upon their spells, as they have virtually
no weaponry or armor to protect them. Clerics combine some of the advantages of
3
THE STRATEGIC REVIEW
APRIL 1976
the other two classes. The new class, thieves, have the basic advantage of stealthful
actions with some additions in order for them to successfully operate on a plane
with other character types. If magic is unrestrained in the campaign,
D & D
quickly degenerates into a weird wizard show where players get bored quickly, or
the referee is forced to change the game into a new framework which will ac-
commodate what he has created by way of player-characters. It is the opinion of
this writer that the most desirable game is one in which the various character types
are able to compete with each other as relative equals, for that will maintain
freshness in the campaign (providing that advancement is slow and there is always
some new goal to strive for).
This brings up the subject of new spells. The basic system allows for the
players to create new spells for themselves at the option of the referee. It is certain
that new spells will be added to the game system as the need arises, particularly
with regard to new classes or sub-classes of characters or simply to fill in some
needed gap. The creation of an endless number of more powerful spells is not
desirable in the existing game system, and there is no intention of publishing 10th
or higher level spells. As was said in a previous article, if character level
progression is geared to the game system, it should take years for any magic-user
to attain a level where the use of 9th level spells is possible!
As a last word regarding this subject, this
D
&
D
magic system explanation
also serves another purpose. There should now be no doubt in dungeonmasters’
minds with regard to the effect of a silence spell on a magic-user, or what will hap-
pen to the poor wizard caught in a mess of webs. They will know that a magic
mouth is basically useless as a spell caster — with the exception of those spells
which are based only on the verbal component of the spell. When an enterprising
player tries a wizard lock on somebody’s or something’s mouth he will not be
prone to stretch the guidelines and allow it. Magic is great. Magic is powerful. But
it should be kept great and powerful in relation to its game environment. That
means all the magic-users who have been coasting along with special dispen-
sations from the dungeonmaster may soon have to get out there and root with the
rest of the players or lie down and die.
Editorial
Our editorial in
SR
#5 seems to have stirred up a veritable hornet’s nest, and
also caused the true colors of a few in this business to shine out. We believe it is
time to take the matter to the only arbitration that counts: that of the gaming
public.
Avalon Hill, in the person of Donald Greenwood, New Products Manager,
has replied. In replying, AH has made more than a few rather curious statements
and assertations. We feel that our reply is best given to the public, so that we
might go on record. Let us proceed apace.
Mr. Greenwood says, “While I can see why your people might be angered at a
newcomer con claiming first national status — the fact remains that it was just
that. Never before has a con received complete (sic) hobby and manufacturer sup-
port. Including GenCon — because most years AH & SPI weren’t there to name
just a few.”
In another letter, he continues:
“You can say what you want about the un-
fairness of AH and/or SPI calling the tunes, but the plain facts of the matter are
that these two companies control the lion’s share of the market, and any ‘national’
con without their support is simply kidding itself or national by right of forfeit
only.”
Well, what we’d like to say is this: Since when does the mere presence of either
of these two companies’ representatives bestow legitimacy? Are we to believe
them to be from Olympus? Is their stationery bordered in Imperial Purple? Do
they think they reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? Really, gentlefolk, do your pens
write on stone tablets? Wargaming is no longer the exclusive domain of one or two
companies that it once was.
SPI came to an earlier GenCon; does that mean that THAT GenCon was a
national con, but not the ones when they didn’t grace us with their august
presence?
Mr. Greenwood goes on in another letter . . . “A quick note to keep you in-
formed of the convention picture-national-as we see it. I’ve talked to Howard
Barasch and SPI/AH have agreed to recognize ORIGINS as the national con.
Next year it will be held in NYC under SPI’s auspices.”
Halleluja! Another decree from on high! And this for a con that nearly ex-
cluded miniatures! Like it or not, miniatures hold a large place in this market.
AH’s
TOBRUK
shows that they know this, they just didn’t get it quite right. SPI’s
TANK
is further proof that miniatures have a strong influence on the field, as fur-
ther evidenced by the proliferation of tactical and one-to-one scale games.
We have been accused of excluding, or not featuring heavily enough,
boardgaming at past GenCons. The truth of it is that GenCon supplied what the
con-goer wanted. Recent GenCons have featured more and more boardgaming, as
the desire grew. AH was invited early on to come to the early GenCons, and have
their shot at seeing that the overbalance never occurred, but didn’t deign to
bother. Their loss. . .
AH and SPI maintain that it is in the interests of the hobby to have only one
con, that will be supported by all. Funny that they should think so while thay have
ORIGINS under their thumb.
We have been accused of being a regional con. This simply isn’t so. GenCon
has always been advertised nationally, and entertained gamers from all over the
country. It has stayed in Geneva for a number of valid reasons. For one thing, it
was started by a bunch of gamers in the area, and took off in popularity. Another
is that it is centrally located in respect to the rest of the country. It is equally ac-
cessible from both east and west. To claim that a con that has as yet only been held
in the east, and is scheduled yet again for 77 in the east, truly serves the national
gaming public is preposterous. The West Coast is completely ignored in assessing
accessibility.
It is a well known fact that a lack of competition breeds stagnation. A gamer
shouldn’t go to a con because it’s the ONLY con, but because it’s the best con.
Competition improves the breed, as evidenced by the marked improvement in
gaming in the past 4 or 5 years. The game player can now pick and choose
amongst many titles.
Only one con is not enough exposure if we wish the hobby to reach its full
potential. The more interest we are capable of generating, the better our chances
for growth.
GenCon Update
Plans are proceeding apace for the Premier Wargaming Event of ‘76. We are
currently lining up all the judges that we’ll need for all the tournaments. We will
have complete listings of that in the next issue. In the meantime, a peek at a
couple of new items.
Bob Blake, Rt. 1 Box 47, Valparaiso, IN 46383, needs DM’s to help run a
mammoth
D
&
D
tournament, that will span all three days of the con. The end
result, after three days of dungeoneering, with the same characters, will be a
champion Mage, Fighter, Cleric, Elf and Dwarf. Each participant will run a pre-
determined character, and all participants will be judged on performance, with
eliminations. Sounds really interesting to hear Bob tell it. Get the full lowdown
from him if you are interested in being a DM.
We have another
D
&
D
variation we will try: TEAM
D
&
D!
What will hap-
pen is this; Teams of players will be formed. They can all be from one club or
group, which is what we encourage, or they can just be a bunch of friends, or, if all
else fails, they can be pick-up teams composed on the spot, by draw, or whatever.
When the team enters the tourney, they will be paired at random against another
team. One team will be designated as the Intruder, the other as the Thwarter. It is
the job of the Intruder to enter the area in question, and fulfill some mission, or
retrieve some object, or carry off some treasure, or some such task. It is incumbent
upon the Thwarter to foil the Intruder. The referees will determine the relative ef-
fectiveness of each group, and the team that did the best will move on to the next
round of eliminations. Eventually, only two teams will be left, and in the end, one.
We’re expecting more dealers than last year. So far. Custom-Cast, MiniFig,
Heritage, McEwan, CinC, SPI, Lou Zocchi, Ral-Partha & Taurus, LTD. have all
said they are coming. AH says maybe. Hippocrene might be there, and a number
of others are still unconfirmed but probable.
For people that pre-register, we are preparing a guide for motels, food, trans-
portation and the like. It has been decided that we will not pre-register for tour-
naments, as last year saw a number of mixups and upset gamers. We will register
for all the tournaments one hour before they are to be conducted. That will un-
doubtedly eliminate the high number of “no-shows” that we had last year. This
year’s tournaments will be timed better, due in part to the fact that we will be bet-
ter equipped to handle all the necessary coordination that entails.
Movies! Jeff Perren has three new (for GenCon) flicks which he might bring.
They are
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
(new version),
ROBIN HOOD
(Errol
Flynn!)’ and
HENRY V.
These are excellent films, and, better still, Jeff says that
he may acquire one or more others before August. How would you like to see
THE
VIKINGS?!
Len Lakofka has planned an interesting fantasy miniatures event. Players
will be assigned to opposing sides (rather like teams), and in this fashion about 64
participants will be involved in the first eight matches. The winning sides will then
compete Saturday, these four teams coming down to a two-team final on Sunday.
Len plans to use his adaptation of
CHAINMAIL/D
&
D,
so the complete rules
will appear in the first issue of
THE DRAGON.
We find it curious that the Eastern Establishment should all of a sudden take
such an interest in cons. For years they studiously ignored them, brushing them
off as the province of clubs or miniatures players. For a number of years, GenCon
was the only advertised con of any size, anywhere, for the hobbyist. Now AH and
SPI want to step in and dictate how the hobby will behave. There was a GenCon
long before TSR. Could it be that the Eastern Establishment saw the possible
profit, and so usurped ORIGINS? And now wishes to dictate to the rest?
We are most pleased that ORIGINS was created, regardless of the reasons,
whatever they may be. It is GOOD for the hobby, in our opinion. What is bad for
the hobby is the idea, that two companies decide to dictate to the rest.
The sun may rise in the East, but it travels across the Midwest, and sets in
The West. NOBODY can change that, or gull many into thinking it . . .
Next issue will contain the complete information package, so stay tuned . .
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