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H G N R L PAGE

he agical ystery ourBy Richard Hamblen

Here is a p ret ty p ro bl em t o p er pl ex a g am edesigner: how do you capture the magic of fantasyl it er at ur e in a g am e? G am es a nd b oo ks can bothpresent stories but they cannot possibly presentt ho se s to rie s in t he s am e way-and the thing thatma ke s fantasy lite rature c ome a live is t he way it istold the details; t he d ep th a nd the descriptions ofremarkable characters striving to c ope in fantasticworlds). Fantasy exists o nl y in t he telling an d isbuilt entirely of skillful storytelling tricks an d tools.If g am es b y t he ir nature have diffe re nt tricks an dtools, then it is a lmost a contradiction in terms t o d oa g am e that captures th e essence. of fantasy. If youdon t believe there is that much c la sh betwe engames an d fantasy, consider these examples.First, variety. N o m at t er how many t imes your ea d a book, it doesn t bother you that it turns ou tthe sa me w a y e ac h time in fac t, i t w ould bother youconsiderably if it turned out differently each timeyou read it). But you expect to play a gamerepeatedly, an d you w ould be utterly outraged if itautomatically turned ou t t he s am e way eac h t im ey ou p la ye d i t. I n a book the hero may be portrayedas making decisions but, in fac t he follows only onepath of adventure. He may have th e choice of joining a caravan bound for da nger, lea ding an outlawb and, or seeking s ome lost t reas ur e in th e wildjungles, bu t he does only one of these an d the othersare mentioned only in passing. In a g am e t he h er omay want to change his adventure from one game toa no t he r a nd diffe re nt heroe s ma y want to do dif-

ferent adventures in the same game. So, in thegame, a lte rna te a dventures have to be c onstructedan d presented.This is a major headache because of the secondp ro bl em : d et ai l. F an ta sy a dv en tu re s capture interest because they are explained in enough detail tomake the experience seem real and to account forthe hero s thoughts an d a ctions. B ooks c an do thisbecause only on e adventure is detailed an d the narr at iv e c an h an dl e that q ui te nicely. I n a g am e allp os sib le a dv en tu re s h ave t o be d eta il ed w it ho utmuch narrative a fte r a ll , you w an t t o p y game,no t read it).

Fantasy games do have one advantage, bu t itjust leads to the third problem: creating a fantasticw orld. G ames c an invoke a w hole fantasy w orld indetail just b y m en ti on in g a f an ta sy w or ld that hasbeen carefully fleshed out in literature. After all,the people w ho buy fantasy games have a lmost c ertainly read fantasy fiction first. The catch is that thefantasy book has fleshed out t he w or ld f ro m o nl yon e vantage point. If nobody ever goes to look onthe other side of a hil l, t he re is n ot hi ng t he re . I n agame tht; w orld has to be fille d out from all possiblev an ta ge p oi nt s, s o t he w ho le w or ld h as to be builtright down to the nuts an d bolts. G ames base d onparticular works of fiction have an advantage herebe cal )s e o nl y t he p ar ts of t he world th at ar e interesting in the book have to be built in. A gameabout a dve nture fantasy in general, a game suc h as

M Ole RE LM has to include all the aspects thaare present in adventure fantasy generally or it doeno t invoke its world. .

The headache is becoming gigantic, and t he re iyet a fourth problem: surpr ise. You get the mostenjoyment out of a f an ta sy bobkthe first time your ead it because fantas y like all f orms of storytelling) relies heavily on surprise to e nte rta in -itreaders and to c re at e t he i llu sio n of real experiences. A game that entertains like fantasy eachtime it is played must there fore be a ble to surprisits players with unforeseen developments even aftet he y h av e p la ye d it many times an d have becomfamiliar with its mechanics. If being surprise d bysomething that is familiar is no t a contradiction int er ms , I don t know what is.) I n this cas e, a gambased o n t he b oo k is at a fatal disadvantage. If thegame c onta ins only the things that a re i n t he b o okt he n it c an hardly surprise yOu after you-have readthe b oo k, a nd i f i t surprises you w ith things not in

the book, it is hardly about the book. Fortunately v ~ n t u r e fantasy generally is so ull of variety thaa game c an be ba sed on it and still provide surprisesbu t only if it c an keep players from becomingcompletely familiar with everything t ha t c a n haRpen. Here the.very size an d complexity of a generafantasy ga me bec omes key advantage: All th epoor g am e de sign er h as t o d o is to b ui ld a w or ldw ith a ll of the variety an d diversity of adventurefantasy.Ouch.

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P A G E 4 TH G N R

DwarfAttack: Axe, FIGHT T6* inSwingManeuver: DUCK T3* in D uc k

Comments: T he C ap ta in could not p la y his MOVE MS in th e meleeb ec au se h e ha d a lr ea dy p la ye d i t in th e encounter step. He needed th eoverstrength FIGHT to i nf li ct t he H ea vy d am ag e t o d es tr oy t he h el mewith on e blow.

Captain

Maneuver: DUCK T3* in D uc kManeuver: Shield in Duck, no

MOVEAttack: Sword, FIGHT M3** inSmashDetermining hits: The Dwarf s attack h its b ec au se th e Captain p la ye d nM OV E a nd the Captain s attack h its b y matc hin g d irec tion s. N eith er a ttack removed.

Second Round of CombatEncounter step: T he Captain plays MOVE MS to s to p t he Dwarf fromrunning.Melee step:DwarfAttack: Axe, FIGHT T6* inSmash

Resolving hits: Th e Captain s attack h as t he l ow er FIGHT time so it resolved first. inflicts Heavy damage equal t o t he D wa r f s vulnerabilityso t he Dwarf is killed an d his attack re mo ve d b efo re it resolved.Fatigue: T he Captain played two FIGHT a sterisks so h e must fatig ueFIGHT counter, choosing FIGHT HS .Comments: The Captain could afford to play no MOVE i n t he meleb ec au se h e k ne w h e ha d a g u ara nte ed first k ill. If the D w ar f s a tt ac k h adb ee n resolve d it w ou ld h av e d estroy ed th e Captain s shield the first piecof armor it c am e t o) an d killed the Captain outright.Note: The readying of w ea po ns was i rr el ev an t in t hi s combat an d waignored to keep the discussion simple. Technically, both weapons werunready at the start of the first Round; the Dwarf s axe was readiedwhen imissed bu t the Captain s sword remained unready ea ch t im e it hi t. ThDwarf s a xe w ou ld h av e b ec ome u n re ad y w he n it h it in the se co nd Round

CaptainManeuver: Shield, MOVE M4*In DuckAttack: Sword, FIGHT M4* inSmash

Determining hits: T heDwarf s attack misses an d removed, the Captain sattack h its b y ma tc h in g d irec tion s h is Smash matches the Dwarf s Duck)an d remains.Resolving hits: The Smash attack hits t he Dwarf s helmet an d inflictsHeavy damage L weapon weight plus one level for sharpness an d onelevel f or p la yi ng an overstrength FIGHT), d es tr oy in g t he h el me t. T heDwarf wounds a FIGHT TS .Fatigue: E ach character played on e MO VE asterisk an d one FIGHTasterisk so each must fatigue one MOVE or FIGHT counter. The Captainc ho ose s a MOVE M 4* , t he Dwarf chooses a FIGHT HS

Tactics: The Dwarf threatens to us e a T strength FIGHT to inflict Maximum damage regardless of armor, bu t h is slo wn ess force s h im to rely onmatching th e Captain s m aneu ver di rection t o get a hit. T he C ap ta inthreatens to inflict Heavy damage that kills if i t a vo id s th e Dwarf s helmet,so he needs to destroy the helmet or m ak e a n undercutting attack thatavoids the helmet.

T he D w ar f s fast DUCK avoids being undercut and forces any attackthat matc he s h is d ire ction to h it his h el me t, bu t his l ac k of other fastMOVES ma ke s h im predictable-he must DUCK, so t he Captain can en-sure a hit each Round b y Sma shing . The f ir st S ma sh will d es tr oy t heDwarf s helmet a nd t he sec on d will d e stroy h im the Captain s attack willb e resolve d first e ac h Round because his FIGHT faste r) so th e Dwarf sonly hope is to hit by matchingdirections on the first Round. He should runan d the Captain should playa M OV E t o s to p h im e ac h Round.First RoundEncounter step: Captain plays MOVE MS to s to p t he Dwarf from run -ning away.Melee step:

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TH G N R LWell, that s the theory behind MAGIC

REALM It s meant to be a complete fantasy worldso full of variation that the players have real choicest o m ak e, s o fu ll of diversity that no matter howmany times it s pla ye d it c a n still surprise you w ithits situations, an d so fille d w ith detail that the illusion of a c om pl et e w or ld s created. All of this sderived from the a nna ls an d possibilities of adventure fanta sy. Y ou c an ride w ith a caravan or warriorband, y ou c an l ea d a c am pa ig n or build an empire,you c an see ka fortune or a good fight, you can meetan d dea l w ith the noble s or dregs of humanity, youcan tamper with dangerous magical forces. Youcannever be sure of what you will find, or what will findyou.One problem w ith suc h a diverse lit tle w orld sthat it s c om pl ex , s o it t ak es s om e t im e to mastertactics an d t ec hn iq ue s. I n f ac t, p ar ts of t he g am ewe re p ur po se fu ll y d es ig ne d t o be s ub tl e so that ittakes a lit tle thought to figure out how to use themt o y ou r b es t a dv an ta ge . The game s full of littlepuzzles that need to be figured out, and each game sp uz zl es a re d if fe re nt I am not r ef er ri ng t o t herulebook, which s an inadvertent puzzle of a dif ferent sort).

With a ll of these possibilities in play, I am willin g t o h av e a l it tl e m er cy an d s ho w y ou h ow t o usec er ta in g am e m ec ha ni cs ; y ou m ig ht call it a lit tl eguided tour of the MAGIC REALM w it h s om eobservations about the dange rs and opportunitiesthat can befall you including some advice on how toescapethe dangers an d make the most of th e oppor-tunities. The individual elements will be discussedin roughly the order they a re introduced in t he E NCOUNTERS. So, if you re only partially throughthe ENCOUNTERS and come to a discussion thatsounds utterly unfamiliar, it probably refers to anENCOUNTER you haven t rea ched yet a t lea st letus hope so).

On w ith the guided tour.Start wh er e t he g am e s ta rt s, wi th t he pl ay er sassembling th e 20 hex tiles to f or m t he MA GIC

REALM Stra te gy begins here bec ause the pla ce m en t d et er mi ne s h ow t he road n et f its t og et he r,w he re c av es a re , what areas will be blo ck ed bym ou nt ai ns a n d w ha t a re as a re a cce ss ib le o nl y bysecret passages or hidde n pa ths. The charactershave abilities that give them advantages in differenttypes of t er ra in , so a p la ye r c an g ai n an advantagein t he game by constructing th e board to favor th echaracter he hopes to pla y in the ga me. Some of thecharacters a dva nta ge s a re obvious. T he D w ar f sgrea t in th e caves an d rotten outside of them, s o h ew ould like to see th e C A VES tiles pla ce d c lose toeach other so that he spends as little time as possiblew he n he moves outside of the caves. He would liket he m t o b e c en tr al ly l oc at ed so t he y g et i n t he othercharacter s way. Characters who have an advantagein dea ling w ith natives suc h as the Captain, WhiteK night, B la ck K night an d the Wiza rd, bec ause ofhis large number of f ri en ds ) w ou ld l ike t o see t heVALLEY t il es c on ta in in g t he d wel li ng s l oc at edclos e t o e ach other. Characters w ho h av e a dv an tages in certain tiles an d w ho will w ork a lone e ithe rbecause of weakness or special advantages shouldplace their favorite tiles of f ou t of th e way, whereother characters will no t comein an d mess things up so th e Witch a nd t he D ru id would like to see theRUINS of f in a corner, an d the Woods Girl feels thes ame way about WOODS tiles generally). Th eWizard would like to see paths and passages get int he way as much as possible. Other advantages aremore subtle. The Dwarf likes caves partly becausehe s designed to f ac e t he s low m on st er s t he re i nstead of the fast ones in the mountains. TheAmazon s e xtra move phase a llow s her to hide an dmove two mountain c le arings so she w ould like tosee mountains blocking th e board to h in de r t he

other p la ye rs . C ha ra ct er s w ho c an take a Spellallowing them to fly like to make normal movementas i nc on ve ni en t as p os si bl e, p ar tl y by p la ci ng t heWOODS tiles where they will cut of f sections of theboard onc e the y a re e nc ha nte d. An d so o n.Once t he board s c om pl et e, t he W ar ni ng ,Sound, T re as ur e L oc at io n, L os t C it y, an d LostC as tl e c ou nt er s a re s ca tt er ed a ro un d t o indicatewhat dwellings, monsters an d tre asure s a re in e ac htile, while the ghosts an d four garrisoned dwellingsa re pla ce d in the V A LLEY tiles. The inha bitants ofthe other ti les r em ai n s ecr et , a lt ho ug h e ac h t il e sterrain gives some ide a of w ha t lives the re ; sma llanimals an d nomadic tribes in the WOODS,treasures an d slow, powerful monsters in theCA VES, a nd mo re treasures an d smaller, fastermonsters in the DEEP WOODS and MOUN-TAINS.

This information s h el pf ul when a p lay er spla nning how ne will approach the game. Plannings important because each playerchooses the conditions he must fulfill to w in the ga me ahead of time,an d bec aus e he h as a choi ce of how to go aboutavoiding risks an d gai ni ng th e p ow er he needs t ofulfill these conditions. It t ak es p la nn in g t o d ea lw ith the dange rs an d opportunities in the MA GICREALM

The f ir st c on si de ra ti on s i n a p la ye r s p la ns a rehis character s strengths an d weaknesses. Eachadventure he can undertake involves differenttasks, dangers an d r e ~ r s s o a c ha ra ct er s ho ul dplan his e ndea vors to match his a bili ties. O nc e hehas chosen his objectives, a character has the choiceof going a fte r them direc tly or going on minor expeditions to gain power first an d thentrying for vict or y. A c ha ra ct er c an p la n a w ho le s tr in g of adventures leading to ultimate victory.A p la ye r s s ec on d c on si de ra ti on s ho ul d be f orthe cooperation, antagonism or indifference of theother p la ye rs in t he g am e. C ha ra ct er s w ho t ra ve ltogether an d c oope ra te in c om ba t a nd o th er act ivi ti es g re at ly i nc re as e t he ir a bi li ty t o s ur vi ve ,search, trade and hire successfully. A whole groupcan profit from a leader s abilities an d discoveries ifthe y a ll FOLLOW h im so t he y m ov e f as te r w he nfollowing the Amazon, use p at hs an d passagesw he n following the Wiza rd an d h id e b et te r w he nfollowing the Druid or E lf ), a lt ho ug h t he groupshould search as individuals. Unfortunately, greedan d fea r a re pow erful motives for one c hara cte r toattack another so c ha rac ters must be c areful of thecompany t he y k eep . T hi s s a consideration thatleads many characters to operate on the ir own. Inpartic ula r, c ha rac te rs w ho a re w ea k in combat theWitch, Druid or Dwarf) have reason to fea r a strongc ha ra ct er t he E lf , B la ck K ni gh t o r W it ch Kin g) .The stronger character, in turn, has reason to fearthat weaker characters will combine against him. Abalance of pow er w ithin the group helps, bu t thisb al an ce c an f lu ct ua te wildly or vanish as thec ha rac te rs a re w ea ke ne d or strengthened duringp la y. I n a dd it io n, c er ta in c ha ra ct er s p o we rs a rem os t eff ect ive w hen al on e t he Druid s PEACEWITH NATURE) or a t a partic ula r loca tion w he reothers may not c are to go the Dwarf inthe CAVES,the Woods G ir l i n t he DEEP WO OD S), w hich e ncourages these characters to go of f a lo ne . T he n etresult s that t he D ru id , D wa rf , E lf , W it ch , WoodsGirl an d W itch King often find the mselve sopera ting a lone for one rea son or another.Operating alone s not a guarantee against beinga tta cke d, however, since a c har ac te r can huntanother d ow n d ur in g p la y a s tr on g c ha ra ct er l ikethe Black Knight can even make a living o f f o f hunt-ing down his fellow players). The system of recording moves an d m ov in g i n a random order e ac h dayallows characters to t ra ck ea ch o th er d ow n o ncethe y a re w ithin a day s journey of each other, since

P Ga pursuer c a nre corda move to thequarry s locati and use the extra phases to s ear ch f or h id denemies, if the quarry s hidden). If the pursumoves first and rolls successfully, t he q ua rr ycaught, an d even if the attempt fails, the quarryst ill w it hi n a d ay s j ou rn ey a nd the tactic canr ep eat ed u nt il it s ucceeds . T he S wo rd sm an cmove first perpetually to avoid being caught o rc a n move first to c atch up e ac h turn w he n he s tpursuer), an d c ha rac te rs w ith an extra MOVphase e.g. the A ma zo n o r a ny c ha ra ct er whorses) can outrun pursuit w ith a lit tle c are, but fmost c ha ra cters the only mea ns of escaping purss to duck into a path or passage the pursuer caus e. A c ha ra ct er w ho a nt ic ip at es b ei ng c ha se dwise to search an d p re pa re a few e sc ap e h at chahead of time.

Whether a c ha rac ter should see k or avoid coba t depends on w he ther he c an deliver the first king blow. E ach Round of combat s an exchangeblows in which each character plays a FIGHcounter an d weapon to s ho w t he s pe ed , s tr en gan d direction of his attack and a MOVE countershow the speed an d direction of his defensimaneuver. If a FIGHT s time undercuts its targeMOVE time then i thits. O therwise it hits only if ttwo match directions. To see which opponent hthe advantage in combat, look at the fastest FIGHcounter that each s able to play which can kill wo ne bl ow if it hi ts. Th e c hara cte r w hose attaw ou ld be r es ol ved f ir st du e to FIGHT timew e apon length) has the a dva nta ge . H e c an relyplaying that FIGHT c ou nt er a nd a slow MOVcounter b ec au se i n an exchange of b low s,attack will kill first. T he opponent who strikes sond must play a MOVE counter that cannotundercut and a s low FIGHT counter because ifcan t a vo id t he u nd er cu t, h e is l os t) . H ow ev er ,this slow FIGHT counter u nder cu ts th e fiplayer s slow MOVE counter then either player cbe defeated by an undercut an d the battle turns ina guessing game. If both players avoid being undc ut t he n t he b at tl e will b e d ec id ed b y w ho m at chdirections first.S tr ik in g t he f ir st b lo w i n an exchange does nwork against armor, because the target will survt o r et ur n t he b lo w e xc ep t w he n t he attack infli Maximum damage). An armored character cmaneuver so t h at a ny blow that matches his diretion a lso matches the area prote cte d by his armso only an undercutting attack from an unprotecta re a c an circumvent the armor. An opponent wcan make such a n a tt ac k c an ignore armor, botherwise, he must first destroy the armor. If unmored, or lightly armored, he needs t o u nd er cu tdestroy the armor quickly without being underchimself. If his armor s stronger than his enemyhe c an p la y f as t FIGHT counters an d slow MOVcounters to bring on an exchange of blows to wdown the enemy s armor. T he battle s once morg ue ss in g g am e i n w hi ch l uc ky b lo ws can chanwh o h as t he armor advantage.

W ou nd s a nd fatigue become important asc ha ra ct er l os es his c ou nt er s b ec au se h e l os esflexibility, his ability to avoid being undercut, ahis a bi li ty t o p la y u nd er cu tt in g attacks . T husc ha ra ct er w it h e xt ra a st er is ks an d c ounters wslowly gain the a dva nta ge in a prolonge d ba ttle.Some characters peculiar.ities affect their tatics. Those with weapons to o light to kill their oppnent or destroy his armor must use avoiding tact

a nd h op e t o stay alive long enough t o w o un d himdea th. Suc h s t he ca se wi th unready bow s w hiare unlikely to kill so t he ir o wn er s must relyavoidance tactics until the bows are readieCharacters who can inflict Maximum damage cignore a rm o r a n d use first-kill tactics. The Knigmust husband their easily fatigued MOVE count

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P A G E 6 TH G N R LILLUSTR TING COMBAT: haracters gainst Monsters

Distribution ttackers The Amaz on places one L an d on e M goblinin t he b ox A , one L a nd o ne M goblin in box B an d the remaining Lg ob li n in b ox C .Targets Th e Amazon attacks on e M goblin an d the Swordsman attacksthe other M goblin.PlaysThe Amazon plays a FIGHTM3** an d sword in THRUST and a MoveM4 in CHARGE.The Swordsman plays a FIGHT L2 ** and his readied s word in Thrust.Rolling rMonsters Th e first roll is 6 s o the lone goblin from box C isplaced in CHARGE/THRUST; his CHANGE TACTICS roll is 1, 6 sohis counter is turned M side up. Th e second roll is 2 so the goblins frombox A go to DODGE/SWING; their CHANGE TACTICS roll is 5 , 5 sothey d o n ot turn over. Th e rem aining goblins from box B a re p la ce d i nDUCK/SMASH an d roll 3 , 4 to CHANGE TACTICS, so they do n otturn over.Determining hits Both the Swordsman s an d the Amazon s attacks under-cu t t hei r t ar ge t s M OV E tim es, so both a tt ac ks h it . Th e g ob li n inCHARGE/THRUST hits by m atching directions, while the res t m is s an dare moved t o o ne side.Resolving hits The Swordsman s attack has the lowes t tim e s o it hits first,inflicting Medium damage that kills the goblin. Then t he n ex t f as te stattack, the Amazon s, hits an d kills that goblin. Both characters weaponsare turnedunready side up. Finally the goblin s attack is resolved, inflictingM ed iu m d am ag e t he s ta r is ignored because of the Armor Bonus) thatw ou nd s t he Amazon s he loses her FIGHT M5 ) and d am ag es h ershield-the first piece of armor guarding the direction th e goblin attacked.Fatigue B ot h c ha ra ct er s p la ye d t wo FIGHT ast er isk s so ea ch loses aFIGHT counter, the S words man los ing FIGHT L3* an d the AmazonFIGHT M4* .Comments Th e characters attacked the goblins that were most dangerous.Third Round of CombatEncounter step T he S wo rd sm an t ak es o ne g ob li n, l ea vi ng t he Amazonwith two.Melee stepSwordsman sheet

Th e g ob li n e nd s u p in DODGE/SWING an d changes tactics.Amazon s sheet

Th e goblins are placed together an d e nd u p i n DUCK/SMASH withoutchanging tactics.Determining hits The Swordsman misses and his attack is removed, hisweapon readied. Th e goblin on his sheet also misses an d is removed. Th eAmazon hits by undercutting; the goblins on her s heet m is s an d are putaside.Resolving hits The Amaz on kills another goblin.Fatigue The Amaz on fatigues a FIGHT M3** for playing two FIGHTasterisks, an d s ince it has two asteris ks s he makes change an d brings herFIGHT M4* back into play.Comments The Swordsman took one goblin to take some pressure of f theA ma zo n; he was p er fe ct ly s af e b ec au se t he g ob li n c ou ld not hit withoutmatching directions, which would cause an exchange of blows in which theSwordsman s attack w ou ld ge t t he f ir st kill b ec au se t he ir t im es w ou ld b eequal and his weapon is longer. The Amazon doubled up the goblins on hersheet to ensure she could no t be h it w it ho ut g et ti ng a h it .Fourth Round of CombatT he c ha ra ct er s s wa p g ob li ns and kill them by undercutting. Th eAmazon killed four goblins, so she gets ten FAM E a nd ten NOTORIETYon e for the first, two for thes econd, etc. The Swordsman gets three FAMEan d three NOTORIETY for his two goblins .

Fatigue None.Comments Splitting the goblins into three groups lim its the damage thatthey can inflict in th e event they change tactics a nd turn over. Th e Swords-man s attack will have a time of 4 -because of his WeaponTime-regardless of the counter he plays , so he plays his s lowest counter.Second Round of CombatEncounter step Amazon keeps five goblins.Melee step

5,6to v ac an t b ox

ThrustA he a d

Hits Charge)

3rd Roll: autogets box B)C H A N G E T A C T I C S rolls:4 , 4 : n o c h a ng e

ATTACKS

3,44,5,6

place in remaining direction

2nd R ol l: Igets box A)C H A N G E T A C T iC S rolls:3 , 6 : nip counters

A T TA C K IN G N O N - C H AR A C T E RSA B

1 st R ol l: 6 )gets box CCHANGE TACTICS rolls:1,5: no change

Determining hits Th e two goblins in CHARGE/THRUST h it by m at ch -ing; the res t m is s an d arem oved to on e side of the sheet. The Swordsman sattack misses an d is r em ov ed , his w ea po n turned r ead y side u p. Th eAmazon hits by m atching.Resolving hits Th e Amazon s weapon has the greater length so her attackis res olved first because it is the first Round-see the Weapon Lengthoptional rule). It inflicts Heavy damage, more than e no ug h t o kill t hegoblin. Th e rem aining goblin then attacks , inflicting L ight damage thesharpness star is ignored because of the Armor Bonus) which has no effect.

Using Optional Rules 2.1,2.3 an d 2.6)Tactics: Th e Amazo n s armo r allows her to absorb m or e d am ag e, so sh ecan let the goblins attack her; th e goblins must change tactics before theycan wound her or damage her armor, since when lighter side up they inflictonly L ight damage t he ir s ha rp ne ss s ta r d oe s not count because of theArmor Bonus optional rule). Then the Swordsman can safely concentrateon picking them off.Note Neither character s weapon is ready at the s tart of the combat.First Round of CombatEncounter step Th e Amazon lets all six goblins attack her.Melee stepDistribution of Attackers

I st roll 22nd roll 1,2,33rd roll

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TH G N R Lcarefully. T he D w ar f s D UC K c ou nt er is his onlyfast maneuv er , maki ng it easy for opponents tomatch his direction. Against most opponents hemust just duck an d hope his helmet holds out untilhe gets in a lucky b low.

The effects of the weapon times,- a r mo r b on usa nd w ea po n length optional rules are worth mentioning. Weapon length an d weapon times changewho has the first-kill advantage each R ou nd , p ar ticularly on the first Round (when weapon lengthdetermines the order of attack) an d each t imeweapons hit (because they become unready), so thecha ract er s should change tact ics according ly .Readied bows gain automatic first-kill status. Thearmor _bonus makes armor h ar de r t o destroy asheavy weapons can no longe r inf lic t Maximumdamage, medium weapons have trouble destroyinga rm o r, a n d light striking weapons cannot damagefull a rm or a t allA quick examination of their counters revealsthe tactics that opponents should use an d which ofthem is likely to win. An armored character has aclear advantage and a character with the first-killadvantage has a decisive advantage if he ca n undercut an d avoid his opponent s armor. If both of thecharacters are armored and/or neither can undercut then the outcome will hang on lucky hits wherethe directions match.A character who wants to avoid being overmatched or to avo id swapp ing r isky b lows canescape by running away. His opponent must playaMOVE counter equal to his lowest MOVE counterto stop him, bu t the opponent s M OV E c ou nt erasterisks count against the opponent s two-asterisklimit t h at R o un d a nd thus prevent him from playinghis fas tes t counter s in c om ba t. T he o p po n en t iswiser to no t stop the character if stopping himwould cause the opponent to lose the battle . This isparticularly true when the opponents a re equal inspeed a nd a r mo r . If one opponent is faster he canstop the other at little cost bu t since he is weakerthan the other he would n ot w an t to. Rather, heshould use his quickness to ru n away.The characters should play th e game with thesetac tics in mind. A character should avoid enemieswith superior fighting ability, an d he should engageequal opponents only if the prospec tive gain isworth t he ri sk . A character who can ru n away canafford to let h imse lf be caught by an enemy, bu t acharacter who cannot ru n away must concentrateon evasive tactics an d hiding to avoid c om ba t. A nimportant point is that a character s combat abilitychanges as his armor is lost, his FIGHT an d MOVEcounters are wounded or fatigued, an d his weaponis readied. This has two effects on play. A charactershould avoid battles that will weaken him severely(especially battles that will cost him his irreplacablearmor even when he will probably win, an d acharacter should prepare for combat so his combatability is a t m ax im um strength when combatbegins. He should rest to recover w ou nd ed a ndfatigued counters, an d characters with bows (or anyweapons when the weapon times rule is being used)should alert them for the start of battle.The same considera tions apply when dea lingwith monsters- fight only when the reward is worththe risk, avoid dangerous monsters you cannot runfrom, avoid weakening battles, an d prepare whenbat tle threa tens. Monsters, however , require different tactics.

In combat, monsters, have the disadvantages ofbeing predictable, of having to attack andmaneuver in matching directions each r ou nd , a ndof having only tooth/claw weapon length. Whenfighting a monster, a character can ensure victoryby playing a killing FIGHT counter that strikes thefirst blow an d either: 1 undercuts the monster smove time; or 2 matches the character s MOVE

counter direction when the MOVE counter cannotbe undercut (so the monster cannot hit without running into the character s first-kill attack). If thecharacter can nei ther undercut no r avoid beingundercut then he must ge t the f irst -k il l advantagea nd h op e for a lucky hit by matching directions. Ifhe cannot get the first-kill advantage his tactics depend on whether he can survive a hit . If he cannot,then he must avoid an exchange of blows by playinga MOVE counter that cannot be undercut and playing a FIGHT counter in a d if fe rent d irec iton inhopes of striking an unreturned blow. If hecan survive a hit, then he can use the normal tactics ofundercutting or attacking an d move in the s amedirection while avoiding the undercut. Thecharacter should choose a play that worksregardless of which side of the monster counter isface up, bu t if he cannot then he should choose theless risky play, always remembering that themonster will probably not turn over.A character fac ing a group of monsters shouldgroup them an d t reat them like one monster thatgets the f irst h it . If he cannot survive their hits, hesplits his MOVE an d FIGHT counters. If he can,then he uses normal tact ic s. Obvious ly, t hedeadliest monsters are his first targets. (Note: Whenthe monsters must be divided into three equalgroups because the DE ADL Y RE AL M rules arebeing used, the character should concentra te thedeadly monsters in one group an d hope they keepmissing while he picks them off.

Groups of cha ract er s a re dead ly when theycoordinate their actions in combat. A character canvolunteer to be a ttacked by a monster an d play hisbest MOVE counter to escape while the othercharacters use their best FIGHT counters to attackfrom three directions to ensure a hit . Againstmultiple monsters each character can volunteer to be a ttacked by the monster he can best avoid and attackthe monster he has the best chance of killing, withthe cha ract er s p ro te ct ing each other f rom themonsters on their sheets. However, characters caneasily double-cross each other in group combat byattacking each other or just abandoning a characterto his own devices after he has committed himself.Monsters on the APPEARANCECHART haveonly a one-sixth chance of being active an d appearing on the board each day, an d even when they doappear they will land on a character only if he is inthe same clearing with the S ou nd o r Treasure locat io n c ou nt er o r in the same tile with the Warningcounter that triggered them. A character can avoidthese tiles an d clearings once he discovers what thecounters are. Monsters that are already on a tile aremore dangerous because when they are active theywill automat ic al ly go to the character s clearingwhen he ends his turn in the tile, an d even whentheyare inactive they block an d fight characters in theirclearings. This also means that when two charactersend their turns inthe sametile, monsters can appearin the ti le when the f irst one moves an d t hen go tothe second character s Clear ing when he moves.This allows characters to decoy monsters into eachother s path, causing groups of characters to drawcrowds of monsters. However, a character who isalone an d who is cautious about hiding an d choosing where he ends each turn is safe if he is just moving through monster territory.

It is when a character is spending a lot of time ina tile ( to f ind , move to, locat e an d loot a Treasurelocation there) that the monsters become a majorproblem. Every day more monsters can appear andmove into his clearing, an d they will attack as soonas he fails a hide rol la t the sta rt of his turn. (The accumulation of monsters is extreme to the point ofbeing r id icu lous in the LOST CI TY a nd LOSTCASTLE where the treasures an d monsters are con-

P A G Ecentrated.) Caution and cooperation are tn e tooneeded to dea l with this problem. A character wavoids ending his turns in the t ile as much as posble (by peering into the t ile from a mountain cleing in an adjacent tile to find th e Treasure locaticounter, circling around outside the tile to moveit, and even dodging in an d out of th e t ile whilelocates an d l oot s it) r et ards the accumulationmonsters there . Once monsters have appearedt he tile, he needs to hide each day , a nd i f they aalready in his clearing he needs to hide on his fiphase or they will b lock an d attack him. As tmonster s gathe r, he can try to thin them ou tfighting each group as it a rr ives, or he ca n moaway an d hide to draw them out of the treasuclearing a nd t he n go back when it is vacant. Ifgroup is looting the t reasure, o ne c ha ra ct er cvolunteer to move away, block any monsters hetracts an d then ru n away during combat, leaving trest of the g ro up t o loot safely an d pay h im a comission. Most importantly, when things s tart to gtoo hot, t he c ha ract er can just leave. Stayiaround to draw just onemore treasure is th e leadicause of character fatalities. Incidentally, potthat at a rate of two phases per day (one if you hidit takes a long time to dig treasures out of a cac lear ing, which gives the monsters a long t imegather.T reasures c an completely change th e waycharacter plays the game. Each treasure confersadvantage in some aspec t of the game, and icharacter gets a t reasure that changes on e ofweaknesses into a strength, it can change the whbalance of power in the game. Treasures are otools, however, an d a character must s tudy howt re as ur e s a dv an ta ge interacts with his ostrengths an d weaknesses to determine what tacthe should use to get the best use out of the treasuparticularly when the treasure is interacting wanother treasure that reinforces or cancels its avantage . -Sometimes a t reasure is useless tocharacter, either because he cannot use it or becauhis own strengths are superior to the strengthsconfers . I t may be very useful to another charact ho ug h, a nd this provides a real motivecharacters t o t ra de with (or plunder) each othwhich is another r ea son why groups a re help(trading partners are always handy).Mos t t re asures also have fame an d notorivalues that show a treasure s effect on its ownereputation among the righteous an d tlawbreakers, an d show how it count s towardsvictory conditions. These values are somewhat oposite, so treasures with a large value in ocategory often have a minus value in the othCharacters thus have thechoice between holdingto (or discarding) treasures regardless of thvalues. Characters can a lso shuff le the t reasua r ou n d t o come to a balance of fame and notorithat exactly fulfills their victory conditions.Treasures can a lso be sold for gold, whichcbe used towards victory determination or ca nspent to buy items or hire natives. Natives ca n havaluable an d useful treasures for sale, as well as iproved weapons, m or e a r mo r , a nd horses to caloads ( to improve a character s movement an dprotect the character in combat). Natives can abe h ired to f ight for a cha ract er , to defend hi mcombat, to help him search, an d togo of f in raidigroups to prey on monsters an d characters whilestays safely behind. Friendly natives are a powerasset who can turn useless treasures an d gold iuseful items and hi red armies . So, a characterwise to operate in an area where friends are nearbeven if he has to wait at a dwelling to stop wanding friends when they appear. Hiring natives is a kto success, especially for characters whooperating alone or who have advantages in deal

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PAGE S TH G N R

ILLUSTR TIN COMBAT: Magic(Using Optional rules 2.1,2.3,2.6,3.1,6.3 and 6.4)Situation: The following characters end the day in the same Clearing, mov-ing in the order listed: White Knight, Woods Girl, Sorcerer, Pilgrim, BlackKnight, Witch King and Druid (assume all weapons are ready side up). TheDruid and Sorcerer are allied against the rest. All of the magic users haveavailable the Spells and transformed color counters referred to in this ac-count, but none of them have prepared MAGIC counters.First Round of CombatEncounterstep The White Knight plays MOVE H4** to stop theSorcererfrom running away and the Woods Girl plays MOVE L2** to prevent theDruid from running away. Then the remaining characters make the follow-ing plays , in the order listed:Sorcerer: Plays MAGIC IV3* and a PURPL counter (transformed IV5*)in his recorded FIERY BLAST Spell box.Pilgrim: Plays MAGIC 14* and a WHIT counter (transformed MAGIC16*) in his recorded EXORCISE Spell box.Black Knight: P lays MOVE H6 to run away unopposed ; he leaves theClearing.Witch King: Plays MAGIC VI2* and a PURPL counter (transformedMAGIC IV4*) in his recorded TRANSFORM Spell box.Druid: Plays MAGIC 112** and a R Ycounter (transformed MAGIC113* in his recorded STONES FLY Spell box.Melee step The characters mix and pick theirATTENTION counters, andselect their targets in the following order:Woods Girl: Selects SorcererDruid: Selects Witch King, White Knight, Woods Girl and Pilgrim. ThePilgrim s Spell is cancelled by the Druid s lower MAGIC time, but theWitch King s MAGIC counter is as fast as the Druid s, so his Spell is notstopped.Pilgrim: His Spell broken, he chooses the Druid as thetarget for his Staff.Sorcerer: Selects the Witch King, White Knight, Woods Girl and Pilgrim.White Knight: Selects Sorcerer.Witch King: Selects the Sorcerer, stopping his Spell.The plays:DruidAttack: MAGIC 112 in ThrustManeuver: MOVE L4 in DuckWoods GirlAttack: Ready bow, FIGHT L4 in ThrustManeuver: MOVE L4 in DuckPilgrimAttack: Staff, FIGHT M3 in SmashManeuver: MOVE M5 in DuckSorcererAttack: noneManeuver: MOVE M4 in Dodge

White KnightAttack: Ready sword, FIGHT H6 in SwingManeuver: MOVE H6 in ChargeWitch KingAttack: MAGIC VI2 in ThrustManeuver: noneDetermining hits The Dru id hits all of his targets by undercutt ing, theWoods Girl hits by undercutting (her weapon time is 1 ) , the Pilgrim hitsby undercu tti ng, t he White Knight hits by mat ching t he Sor ce rer smaneuver direction and the Witch King hits by undercutt ing. No attacksare removed.Resolving hits1. The Druid s STONE FLY and the Witch King s TRANSFORM havethe greates t length and tie for fastest time, so they go into effectsimultaneously.a . The Witch Kingrolls 1, 1 on the TRANSFORM Table and the Sorcererturns into a Dragon.b. The Druid rol ls 3, 5 on the MISSILE Tableagainst the Woods Girl, in-flicting Negligible damage ( L weight plus one star minus two levels for a5 resul t) with no effect. He rolls 2, 3 aga inst the Pi lg rim, inf li ct ingMedium damage that kills him. He rol ls 5, 6 against the White Knight,causing no damage. He rolls 2, 4 against the Witch King, inflicting Lightdamage that kills him.2. TheWoods Girl rolls a 5 on the MISSILE Table against the Druid, in-flicting Light damage ( L weight plus two levels for sharpness minus twolevels for the roll), killing the Druid.3. The Whi te Knigh t infl icts Heavy damage ( H weapon weight-thesharpness does not count against an armored Dragon) which does not af-fect the Sorcerer/Dragon.Fatigue The White Knight and Woods Girl each played two MOVEasterisks, so each fatigues one MOVE counter. The MAGIC andPURPLcounter played by the Sorcerer also fatigue. omments The Pilgrim was able to attack with his Staff because his Spellhad been cancelled. The Sorcerer could have attacked if he h ad had aweapon; he would have had to attack the character on whom hehad placedhis ATTENTION counter (while ignoring the rest of his multiple targets).The way things worked out, he would have attacked as a Dragon insteadof with his weapon.Second Round of CombatThe Woods Girl and White Knight run away.

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TH G N R Lwith natives. On e hireling ca n volunteer to face at-tacking monsters so his owner can escape or attacksafely, an dawhole group can d efeat an y mo nst er orgr oup t ha t vulnerable to their weapons. Acharacter who saves up the gold to hire a few groupsan d who chooses their opponents carefully sincenatives will s ta nd a n d fight to the last ma n evenwhen they ar e doomed has a big advantage,although hiredarmies usually do no t come into playunt il late in the game when the characters have ha da chance to accumulate gold.

Escorting missions to their destinations an d taking treasures t o t he visitors who desire them ar e twoways c ha ra ct er s c a n a cc um ul at e w or ki ng capitalw it ho ut t oo m uc h r isk ear ly in the game. Missionscost nothing except time, an d once a character has al it tle gold he ca n buy i tems desired by the visitorsan d then sell them t o t he v is ito rs for a f at profit,building up quitea bit of gold that he can t h en use totrade with or hire natives.

Campaigns offer t he p ow er fu l advantage ofgaining allies at the cost of some fame an d notorietyan d t he n t ra di ng with and/or hiring these all ies.Characters need to undertake some small ini tialadventures to get th e fame an d notoriety with whichto start a campaign, an d some careful planning required to pay the price an d still fulfill one s vic-tory conditions, bu t a character wh o executes such aplan gains a huge advantage late in the game.Magic so powerful that it d o mi n at es h o w itspractitioners play the game. Spells are powerful bu tvery narrow in application, so a character has toplan his game very carefully, predicting the dangersand opportunities he expects to meet an d t h en t aking al on g t h e Spells he expects to need. Conversely,the Spells a character ca n take should determine hisplans. C ha ra ct er s w it ho ut c om b at Spells cannotplan on being aggressive, characters without protection Spells cannot plan on operating alone, an dcharacters without Spells that ca n help a group can-n ot c ou nt o n t he g ro up s protection. These limita-tions en co u rag e d i fferen t ch aract ers t o follow dif-ferent game plans. Th e Sorcerer an d Witch Kinghave the Spel ls to be aggressive an d independent.T he D ru id , Witch, and Elf have the Spells tooperate alone an d avoid trouble, and the Pilgrimhas Spells that make him valuable in a group. Onlythe Magician an d Wizard have complete flexibilityin choosing how they will play the game. T he maind an ge r to a mag ical character comes from thedanger that contingencies will arise for which he hasno Spell , so every magical character needs t o l ea rnall of the additional Spells he c an f ro m a rt if ac ts ,books, Treasure locations an d visitors.A magical character also has to worry about be-ing able to cast the Spells he has. He should keepMAGIC and trans formed color counters available,an d he can greatly increase his power by transforming his t ile assuming i t p rovides the proper colormagic). Preparing magic an effective way of en-suring that he will be able to cast his Spells, bu t it expensive it costs on e phase to ALERT a nd t he none rest phase to recover the MAGIC counter an drisks being blocked while the counter fatigued, soit should be done sparingly only when the character in imminent danger).

This completes the 2 tour of the M GICRE LM A more detailed description of tactics an dploys would be nice b u t o u t of place in a general ar-ticle about th e whole game. There ar e t oo m an yelements that determine the best tactics in a situa-tion an d these elements vary t o o m uc h from situa-tion to situation the elements: different mapboard,different distribution of monsters as individualsan d armies, and even different treasures an d spellssince only twenty percent of the possible treasuresan d spells get into play in an y game-even change

from game to game). The result a game full ofvariation an d surprises where the players have tofigure ou t how t o h and l e each situation as it arises.

The different characters use very different tac-tics both in c om b at a nd in the play of the game.Usually it takes several games with the samech aracter b efo re a p layer l ea rn s how to make themost of his advantages and the least of his

P Gweaknesses, an d even then unforeseen situatica n catch him of f guard. Hopefully this articlegiyou a genera l i dea of the tactics that ar e availaan d how they ca n fit together in a plan that leadvictory, or at least that leads to an enjoyajourney into a realm of fantastic adventure.

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P G TH G N R L

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By Richard Hamblen

THE G N R LADDITIONAL RULES SYSTEMS

FOR MAGIC REALMP G

M GI RE LM is a very f lexi bl e game t hatcan be modified fo r a number o f different pur-poses: solitaire play combining game sets onelarge game etc. The sections below provide rulesfo r modifying the game fo r these purposes. Playingaid charts fo r these and other rules are included this issue s special insert.TH E DEADLY REALMPlayer s who have become familiar with t hegame mechanics will find that they can defeat or ru na wa y from nea rly a ny monsters or natives that theymee t in the game. Monsters should not be suc h pa tsies, so as soon as you start feeling nonchalantabout r un ni ng i nt o e ne mi es make the followingc ha nges in the rules:THIRD ENCOUNTER1 Al l M ed iu m an d Heavy monster c ounters a returned darker side up at the start of the ga me a nd atthe s tart of each month).2. D ur in g combat, when a character divides themonster counters on his she et into thre e groups an dplaces them in the white A TT ACKING NONCHARACTERS boxes, t he at ta cki ng c oun ter smust be divided as e qually a s possible betwe en thethree boxes. T he character can still choose exactlywh ich c ou nt er s go in ea ch group, but the large stgroup c a n have at most one counter more than thesmallest group.FOURTH ENCOUNTER3. T he L OS T C IT Y an d LOST CASTLE counterstrigger monsters just like Sound counters, exceptthey trigger all of the monsters pictured in their sections of the A P PE A RA N CE C HA RT . After ac ha ra ct er e nd s his turn an d finishe s pla cing themonsters that appear due t o S o un d c ounters in histile, ifhe is in the L OST CIT Y s tile all LOST CITYmonsters still in the MONSTER ROLL row are triggered and appear i n t he LOST CITY S Clearing; ifhe is i n t he LOST CASTLE s tile the remaining active LOST CASTLE mon st er s are placed in th eLOST CASTLE s Clearing.FIFTH ENCOUNTER4. All unhired natives are turned darker side up atthe start of the game an d at the start of each month.5 All a tt ac ki ng n at iv es and the ir horse s) on acharacter s sheet must be divided equally among theATTACKING NON-CHARACTERS boxes as ift he y wer e m on st er s. see r ul e 2 a bo ve ) If a n at iv ean d horse an d monster w er e al l a tt ac ki ng , e ac hwould have to b e p la ce d i n a d if fe re nt b ox .SEASONS

The TABLE OF SEASONS lists the 13 seasonsof the y ea r i n t he M ag ic R ea lm . Each season lastsone lunar month an d modifies the game s rules during that month. Procedure: Before the mapboard is constructedin a gam e, roll t wo dice a nd t ot al t he m; t he g am ewill s ta rt o n day 1 of the month/season whosenumber on the TABLE OF SEASONS matches thenumber rolled, an d thereafter the sea sons follow inthe order they are listed, on e season per month.2. Effects: E ach s eas on s effects are indicated onthe TABLE OF SEASONS.2.1 On the 7t h day of the month the color magicnamed for the se a son is ine ffec t instea d of the colorn am ed o n the PERSONAL HISTORY sheets.2.2 T henumber of MOVE phases required to entereach Mountain Clearing changes from season toseason an d is l iste d for e ac h sea son.

2.3 Th e manner in w hich c ampa ign, mission an dv is it or c ou nt er s a re s et u p and use d c ha nges fromsea son to sea son.2.31 At the start of each month these counters mustbe s et u p as d es cr ib ed f or that month/season.2.311 Counters listed under Dwellings o r L oc at io ns mu st be p la ce d at those locations on theb oa r d, a nd c ounters liste d unde r B oxes must beset up in the named boxes on the APPEARANCECHART, in t he r ow n um be re d 6 .2.312 Counters listed u nd er C on ti nu in g C am paigns are set up at the named locations and boxesonly if t he g am e is just beginning. If t he g am e isa lr ea dy i n p ro gr es s w he n t he s ea so n s ta rt s, t he sec ounte rs re ma in w he re the y a re at the moment.2.313 Counters that are no t l is ted f or a s ea so n a reou t of play that month.2.32 If mission to an d a d es ti na ti on a rel is te d f or a c ou nt er , that counter can be taken tothat destination for gold like a normal mission.2.321 A counter must be delivered to the destination named for it that season; destinations named inthe rules or in other seasons are ignored.2.322 The shortest route to the destination and thepayoff 2 gold per Clearing)are calculated when thecounter is taken. If no route exists or the destinationhas no t been turned up, the payoff is automatically30 gold.2.323 The counter is delivered an d the character ispaid as soon as he ent ers t he C lear in g wher e t hedestination is loc ated. The counter remains theref or t he r es t of the month.2.324 Failure to deliver a counter to its destinationcosts 10 notoriety points.2. 33 A vis ito r m us t be in a character s Clearing forthem to trade . A visitor cannot trade w he n he is of fthe board, being taken to a destination.2.34 C a mpaigns do not a utomatica lly e nd e ac hm on t h. W he n o ne season ends and another begins,all campaigns listed under Continuing Campaignscontinue.2.341 If a c ha ra ct er h as a c am pa ig n li st ed under Continuing Campaigns at the start of a sea son, hemust keep that counter an d continue the campaign.He is c om mi tt ed t o k il lin g all of the campaign senemies again including any that revived at the e ndof the m on th ) a nd mus t pay t he campaign s costa gai n a t t he e nd of the m on th i f he fails. H e m us tpay the campaign s cost each month that he fails tokill its enemies.2.342 When a c ha rac ter suc ce eds in killing the lastof his campaign s enemies in a month he candiscardthe campaign if he wishes, placing it at the startingl oc at io n lis ted f or it that season. If he d oe s no tdisc ard it immedia te ly he must kee p it until the e ndof the m on th a nd i nt o t he next m on th , i f i t c on tinues.2 .3 43 A c am pa ig n a ut om at ic al ly e nd s a t t he s ta rtof a sea son in w hich it is no t listed among the Continuing Campaigns .2.4 The f ou r w ea th er c ou nt er s h av e d if fe re nt ef fec ts in diffe re nt sea sons. Ea ch se ason lists the e ffects that each weather counter has.2.41 We ather determine s how many days a re in theweek an d how many p ha se s a re i n ea ch d ay .2.411 If there are fewer then seven days in thewe ek, t he l os t d ay s a re s ub tr ac te d f ro m t he b eg in ning of the week. Thus, in a w ee k w ith five days thefirst two days will be c rossed o u t a nd skipped overan d play will start on the third day.

2.412 Each day has the indicated number of phainstead of the normal four phases per daycharacters who stay ou t of caves. The limit in cav and for the D wa rf) remains at two pha se s per dregardless of weather.2.42 We ather determine s w he re bonus phases cbe r ec or de d an d executed that week. B ot hnumber of bonus phases an d the types of Clearinwhere they can be recorded an d e xe cu te dspecified; to record an d e xe cute a bonus p ha scharacter must be in the proper type of Clearw he n he rec ords it an d he must be in theproper tyof C le ar in g n ot n ec es sa ri ly t he s am e C le ar ihowever) when he executes it.2.43 Weather c an ca us e c ha ra ct er s t o woundfatigue one or more counters each day of that weWhen a character starts his turn he must immedialy wound/fatigue the number of counters indicaby that week s weather; if the w ea ther inflictswounds/fatigue o nl y in c er ta in t yp es of Clearan d he is no t in suc ha C le aring, he doe s no t losecounters unless an d until he e nters suc h a C lea ri2.44 Weather can prohibit all of the c hara cte rst he g am e f ro m P E ER IN G o r H I DI NG f or a w e3. Explanation of the TABLE OF SEASONEach se ason s e ffec ts a re liste d a cross the seasorow of the TABLE OF SEASONS.3.1 T he MONTHL Y SEASONS column givesseason s name an d number an d describes it brie also names th e color magic on t he 7 th d ay an dnumber of phases required to ent er a MountClearing.3.2 The CAMPAIGN COUNT ERS column lthe starting locations of the campaign, mission avisitor counters that season, indicates which cant ak en t o destinations for gold an d identifies whcampaigns continue.3.3 The WEATHER section is divided into fc olumns c orresponding to the four weatcounters. When a particular weather counter comup at t he s ta rt of a w ee k, c ross-index its coluw it h t he s ea so n s r ow to determine th e weatherfects that week.3.31 The entry gives a one-word description ofweek s weather.3.32 The entry indicates how many d ay s a re i nweek an d how many p ha ses t he re a re each dNormal i nd ic at es a s ev en -d ay wee k and fpha se s per day.3.33 The entry indicates in parentheses) how mabonus pha se s the re a re e ac h day that week an dtypes of C le arings w he re the y c an be re corde d aexecuted.3 .3 4 T he e nt ry i nd ic at es italics a ny spe cialfects that week-whether HIDING or PEERINGforbidden, the number of counters that mustwounded or fatigue d e ac h day, e tc .SOLITAIRE PLAYTo play an ENCOUNTER by yourse lf, usenormal rules f or t ha t E NC OU NT ER plusmodifications given below. Use optional rules athe special solitaire optional r ul es g iv en b el owyou wish.Modifications: Setting Up theMap: Set up the BORDERLANfirst an d the CLIFF adjacent to it. Then shuffleremaining tiles an d stack them in random orwithout looking through the stac k, an d pla y etile in turn f ro m t he top of the stac k subje ct t o

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P Gnormal rules except a VALLEY tile cannot beplaced adjacent to a W OO DS o r VALLEY tile ifany other legal placement possible. If a tile cannotbeplayed legally place it at the bottom of the stack;if unplayable tiles are left over at theend pick up thewhole b o ar d a n d start over. Warning Counters: Set up the WarningCounters normally b ut do n ot turn up the countersi n t he VALLEY tiles. These counters will be turnedup an d the Dwellings an d g ho st s will be p la ce d inthem during the play of t he g am e, in t he s am e waythat CAMPFIRES a re p la ce d in t he WOODS tiles.3 Starting the Game: P ick any roadway that leadsof f the map and that also connects to theBORDERLAND an d enter along that roadway asyour first activity of th e game.4 Winning: You m ust fulfill the ENCOUNTER Svictory conditions within one month to win th egame.

Optional Solitaire Rules:Each rule indicates the earliest ENCOUNTERin wh ic h i t s ho ul d b e u se d. T he se r ul es c an b e u se dtogether or separately.1. Multiple Characters FIRST ENCOUNTER :

Choose any number of characters t h at y ou will usein t he g am e. All of the characters enter along th esame roadway, an d all of the characters must fulfillthe victory conditions within the t im e l im it f or y out o wi n t he g am e.1.1 Killed characters re-enter along the s am e roadway the day after they are killed.1.2 Special: These cha ract er s mu st Block eachother whenever they get the chance. W he n o ne ofthemends a phas e of his turn in another s Clearingan d either of them unhidden or has found hiddene ne mi es , t he y must Block, each other. Note:Characters wh o ar e FOLLOWING-see th eFIFTH ENCOUNTER-cannot Block no r beBlocked.)2. H ir in g Characters THIRD ENCOUNTER):The characters you are no t using a re in t he g am ean d yo u c an start using them during play-for aprice.2.1 Before the .game stack all of th e u nusedcharacters in r an do m o rd er , a nd each time a newDwelling discovered roll one die to see how manycharacters from the to p of t he s ta ck a re p la ce d atthat Dwelling. After t he l as t Dwelli ng ha s b eenplaced pu t any remaining characters at t he I NN .2.2 Whenever your character e nd s his tu rn at aD wel li ng h e c an h ir e any or all of the charactersthere by s ubtracting p oi nt s f ro m his r ec or de dFAME for each character he hires recording minusF AM E i f necessary).2.21 A h ir ed character remains hired until thegameends or until he removed from play.2.22 A hir ed character ins tantly rem oved fromp la y w he n he killed or the character who hiredhim killed.2.3 You use hired c har acte rs just like normalcharacters, with certain exceptions.2.31 A h ir ed character does no t have to fulfill anyvictory conditions for you to win the gam e. He cancarry items an d record points norm ally, bu t all ofhis i te ms an d points count as if they were carried/recorded by the character who hired him.These an d points are lost an d disposed of normally if the character removed from play.2.32 Hired characters cannot Block or be Blockedby other characters, an d they c an n ot a tt ac k n o r beattacked by other characters.2.33 Hired characterscannot hire other characters.2.34 Hired characters have no S pells recorded atthe start of th e gam e. T hey must learn by readingrunes ) any S pells they record an d use.

TH E EXPANDED REALMP layers can com bine their gam e sets to enhancethe size, ferocity an d richness of the Magic Realmthey are playing in. P layers can als o ad d extra comp o ne nt s t o t he g am e to e nr ic h i t, as e xp la in ed inthese guidelines. Combining Games-1 .1 C er ta in c ar ds an d c ou nt er s in eac h g am e setshould be marked with an identifying symbol, usinga different s ym bol for each s et.1 .11 T he T REASURE SE TUP CARD, the Dwellings, monsters, natives, square horse counters an dcampaign/mission/visitor c ou nt er s s ho ul d bemarked.1.12 Warning counters , Sound counters, Treasurelocation counters, LOST CITY an d LOSTCASTLE counters should be marked only on theircolored sides.1.13 All Spell cards, TREASURES WITHINTREASURES c ar ds , t he L OS T KEYS c ar d, Spel lBook cards, Artifact cards and Potion cards shouldbe m ar ke d o n their white s ides only. Other cardsneed no t be marked.1.14 Other cards, counters and tiles need no t bemarked.1 .2 D ur in g i ni ti al s et up , s om e c ar ds an d counterscan be s etup anywhere an d s om e m us t be s et up ontheir own SE T UP CARDS.1 .2 1 Al l of the tiles are dealt o ut a nd the board constructed normally. The first BORDERLANDthat dealt out the first tile played; s ubsequentBORDERLANDS are played like other tiles duringthe construction of the map.1 .2 2 A ll of the V W ar ni ng c ou nt er s a re m ix edtogether and one placed on each VALLEY tile.Similarly, all W countersare mixed an d placed onthe WOODS tiles , etc. All of the V counters areturned up an d the Dwellings/ghosts placed in theirtiles; each Dwelling/pair of g ho st s m us t s ho w t hes am e s ym bol as the V counter in the tile.1 .2 3 All of the S ou nd a nd gold Treasure locationcounters are mixed together face down an d five areplaced in each L OS T CITY or LOST CASTLE section. T he rem aining counters an d the L OST CITYan d LOST CASTLE counters are m ixed togetherface down an d one p la ce d in e ac h t ile w it h sixClearings.1.24 All type I Spells are mixed together an ddistributed randomly to the appropriate locationson all the SETUP CARDS. Type II cards aredistributed similarly to their locations, etc.1.25 All small t re as ur es a re mixed t og et he r an ddistributed randomly.1.26 All large treas ures are m ixed together an d areused, with the treasure counters, to fill theTREASURES WITHIN TREASURES section oneach card. Then the remaining large treasures an dthe TREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cardsar e m ixed t og et he r an d distributed among theSETUP CARDS.1.27 Monsters, natives an d square horse couhtersare set-up on their own cards .1.28 Weapon, armor and round horse counters aredistributed normally.1.29 Campaign/mission/visitor ~ o u t r s ar edistributed normally; they do no t have to be placedon their own SETUP CARDS.1.3 When a c ou nt er or card taken from or returned to a SE TUP CARD, the symbols determinewhich S E TU P C AR D it taken from or returnedto.1.31 The symbols on Warning, Sound andT reasure location counters indentify the card fromwhich ,appearing monsters are taken.1 .3 2 T he s ym bo ls on Treasure location countersand T REASURE S WITHIN TREASURES cardsi de nt if y t he c ar d f ro m w hi ch l oo te d t re as ur es a re

TH G N R t ak en . Simi lar ly, t he symb ol s on Spe ll B ooand A rt if ac ts i de nt if y t he c ar d c on ta in in g t hSpells.1 .3 3 T he s ym bo ls on Dwellings identify the cafrom which natives are taken when they a pp ea rthose Dwellings . S im ilarly, s ym bols on nativT re as ur e l oc at io n c ou nt er s a nd T RE AS URWITHIN TREASURES c ar ds i de nt if y t he caf ro m w hi ch a pp ea ri ng campaign/mission/visicounters are taken.1.34 T he s ym bols on monsters an d natives identt he c ar ds w he re t he y a re p la ce d w he n t he y r ev iSimilarly, symbols on Potions identify where thare placed after they are used.1.35 The symbol on a native leader identifies tcard where his group s box located. Similarly,symbol on a visitor counter indicates where his b located. Items bought from or sold to a leadervisitor go to or come from his box, regardless ofsymbols on the items themselves.1.4 During play, s ym bols are ignored ins om egafunctions b ut n ot in others.1.41 A c ha ra ct er cannot have duplicate treasucards activated.1 .4 2 A c ha ra ct er can r ec or d t he s am e Spe ll mothan once, as long as each time he records itlearns it from a different Spell card. Each characs hould note a s ym bol for each of his starting SpeDuplicated Spells all count towards the SPELv ic to ry c on di ti on , as l on g as t he y c an b e C as t.1.43 A m is sion can be delivered only to a Dwelliwith a m atching s ym bol.1.44 If a character has a certain groupALLIES, he h as all such g ro up s f or ALLIES, eFor example, if Lancers are FRIENDS, all Lancare FRIENDS; if B as hk ar s a re ENEMIES,Bashkars are ENEMIES, etc.1.45 Different groups of natives must be hired atraded w it h s ep ar at el y, ev en w he n t he y a re i n tsame Clearing. Two groups of Lancers in th e saClearings would have to be hired in s eparate HIRphases, for example.1.46 Conditional FAME can be acquired f r om agroup of the indicated type.1.5 An y number of weather counters can be m ixtogether, bu t on ly o ne picked an d u se d e aweek.1 .6 On ly one MONSTER ROLL made each dait applies to all SETUP CARDS.1.7 T wo S words men trying to be CLEVER at ts am e tim e roll to see who goes first.2. Augm enting G a me s -2.1 Extra monsters, treasures, etc. can be a dd eda game without adding all of the other componenas well. Ho we ver , t hese c om po ne nt s shouldadded in com plete sets-if one monster is addthen one whole set of monsters should be added,one treasure added then one whole set of treasuran d Spell cards s hould be added, etc.2.11 A set of m onsters can be a dd ed t o a SETUC AR D j us t by d ou bl in g t he number of monstep la ce d in e ac h b ox . A third set c an b e added, triing the number of monsters in each box, etc. Notithat the number of ghosts placed in t he D A NKtile affected similarly-doubled, tripled, etc.2.12 A set of n at iv es c an be a dd ed t o a SETUCARD in the s am e way, doubling, tripling, etc. tnumber of natives in each box. These natives cantreated in two different ways, as explained below2.121 T he added natives can be treated as partthe normal group in the box, so that together thcomprise one oversized group. T he codes of the aded group s ho ul d b e c ha ng ed so as t o n ot conflwi th t he normal group s codes ; the leader of tadded group changed to the next highest numba ft er t he l as t r eg ul ar m em be r, an d t he r es t of hgroup f ol low s s ui t i n o rd er . T he e nt ir e group honly one leader.

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by Richard HamblenMAGIC REALM ERRATA ADDITIONS

TH G N R L2.122 Th e natives can be treated as separategroupsthat are travelling together. Th e groups s hould bema rke d to distinguish them, an d the added groupsar e given their o wn S ET UP C AR D where theirboxes are located. Toe groups must b e h ir ed an dtraded with separately.2.13 A set of treasures an d Spell car ds ca n beadded, but this requires another SETUP C ARD tohold the treasures an d Spell cards in theTREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cards, SpellBooks and Artifacts. The TR EASUR ES WITHINTREASURES cards, Spell Book an d Artifact cardsthemselves should be marked t o s ho w wh ich c ar dholds their treasures and Spells. T he n um be r oftreasures in the T reasure location piles an d in t henatives and vis itors boxes are doubled, tripled,etc. b u t th e T REA SU RES W IT HINTREASURES, Spell Books and Artifacts boxes arenot increased.2.14 A set of Sound, Treasure location an d LOSTCITY and LOST CASTLE c ou nt er s c an b e addedby doubling the number of such counters placed ineach tile, but this requires the addition of a SETUPCARD, a set of monsters to go on it an d a set oftreasures and Spells for the treasure locations. Th ecounters an d cards should be ma rke d to show theircard.2.15 Warning counters can be added, doubling thecounters placed, but thi s al so r eq ui re s a SETUPCARD, a set of Dwellings an d a set of monsters and a set of natives, if you want anyone to a ppe a rat the Dwellings), all of which should be coded tothe card.2.16 I te ms c an be added freely to natives boxes.2 .2 O bv io usl y y ou can r ea rr an ge t he s et up ofcounters an d c ar ds as yo u wish, shi fting a fewmonsters or natives here an d there, etc. It is particularly interesting to have only one set of visitorsin t he g am e, f or e xa mpl e, giving them all of thetreasures an d Spells that would ordinarily be s cattered among several sets of visitors. All of t he p otions would return t o t he m.2.21 Th e key point to remember when rearrangingt he se tu p is to mark the appropriate cards an dcounters to show which SETUP C ARD they comefrom an d r et ur n t o see section an d followingf or a l ist ).2.22 Fo r ease of p la y, n ev er u se more than on eM ON ST ER R OL L per day an d one weathercounter per week. Y ou re o n your own regardingplay balance when you start fiddling with th e setup.DEVELOPING CHARACTERS

Th e players may wish to keep their charactersfrom game to game an d have them gain in s trengthdepending on t hei r success. Th ese r ules al low ap lay er t o keep a character from game to game anddevelop his strength.1. Th e Development section on the back of eachcharacter card is used. Th e f ir st t im e a character isused he starts at his first stage of development, withthe appropriate combat counters, Spells an d equipment.2. D ur in g e ach g am e, ea ch character must recordan d acquire a number of victory points equal to thenext s tage in his development. Thus, if a characterwas at his first stage of development he must recordand a cq ui re t wo v ict or y p oi nt s; a f ou rt h- st ag echaracter would have to acquire five victory points. Players who prefer longer games can agree to double or triple these numbers if they wish.)3. When a character fulfills his victory conditions,he wins an d the game is over.3.1 Each character who has survived without beingkilled gains on e combat counter. He gains one of

Continued on Page 32, Column 2

ES II iN

Once upon a time there w s a game that tried toeat its designer . From the s tart, MAGIC REALM was m ea nt t orecreate a s mall but com plete fantas y world withenough b re ad th a nd depth to allow adventuring.This admirable ambition led i nt o s tr an ge b ywa ysfilled with hoary de si gn p ro bl em s li ke l im it edknowledge an d simultaneous movement , an d infested with game systems t ha t h ad never been seenbefore. Using novel game systems to slay wound?)the classic design problems was heady stuff, but the

very novelty of t he g am e systems c re at ed a newproblem.Th e new an d terrible problem was: how m uchexplanation is required for gam e s ys tems that no

on e has ever s een before? At t he sam e t ime , h owmuch explanation could be done without havingthegame-and its players-choke on the verbiage?And how many rules could be presented withoutmaking the game i nc o mp re h en si bl e a n dunplayable? Th e answers to these questions ha d tobe balanced against each other in the writing of therulebook, lengthening explanations to explain newg am e syst ems, p ar in g a wa y v erbi age t o keep t herules from getting lost and cutting ou t rules sectionsor w ho le r ul es t o s im pl if y t he o ve ra ll r es ul t. Expostulation, brevity and completeness had to bebalanced against each other, and t he r esul t was arulebook that was a compromise.W it h t he b en ef it of hindsight an d the popularresponse to t he g am e, it is now clear that some ofour worries were groundless and that some of ou rcompromises were wrong. Th e new game systemsdid no t have to be treated so gingerly an d explainedin s uc h d et ail a nd so clumsily); t hey c ou ld h avebeen made shorter a nd m or e comprehensible, part ic ul ar ly w it h t he a id of s om e charts . Th e spacegainedcould have been used to present the rules sections that ha d been d ro pp ed , a nd t o organize th erules so that they could be referred t o m or e easilyduring play.With this information in ha nd we re planning torevise the rulebook in a s econd edition don t orderthis until w announce it is re dy we don t knowwhen it will be d on e a nd we ve hopefully learnedou r lesson about m aking predictions ). T he gam esystem is unchanged except for a few secondthoughts about particular details, bu t the rulebookwill be simplified an d reorganized, an d a l ot of additional m aterial that was originally cut out s olitaire rules , com bining gam es , extending playfrom gam e to gam e, etc.) will be pu t back in.T his article contains m ost of the new m aterialalong with s om e of the charts that present the rulesmore simply.SECOND THOUGHTS AND ER RATAT hese changes in the rules either rectify typos ,clarify ambiguities, reinsert rules that were deletedwhen the rules were simplified or correct contradictions and flaws that can arise in certain circumstances.

P G

LYSIS

SECOND ENCOUNTER17.452 a nd MI SS IL E T AB LE : T he d am ag eflicted by a missile weapon decreases by three levwhen a 6 result is rolled on the M ISSILETAB L17.464 Light damage that is inflicted directly ocharacter without striking armor automaticallyflicts a wound.Optional Rule 2.2: A dagger has negligible weigone sharpness star, tooth/claw weapon length an o w ea po n t im e, w he th er it is readied or not.THIRD ENCOUNTEROptional Rul e 3 .1 All Tr ol ls an d Vi per s a remored an d get th e armor bonus.FIFTH ENCOUNTER41.5233,43.333 an d MEETING TABLE: C hanthe explanation of th e GIFT result to read: GIFIf y ou a re TRADING, the item is free and costsgold. If you are HIRING you pa yno gold to hirenative s), b ut i f you do hire them yo u must subtrtheir value f r om y ou r recorded NOTORIETY.Horse counter: Th e slow horse with no strengthter on its non-asterisk side should have T strenon that side.SIXTH ENCOUNTER49.31 D if fe re nt c ha ra ct er s c an r ec or d t he s aSpell, bu t each character can record a Spell no mthan o n c e - h e cannot duplicate it.49.32 When a character s elects his S pells he csecretly transform any of his MAGIC counters incolor magic so he has color magic available atstart of the gam e. He must reveal these countwhen play begins.53.331 A character can record a Spell only if he ha MAGIC counter of th e proper type t o C as t tSpell; he cannot record a Spell he cannot Cast ushis own counters. He can record a Spell if he haMAGIC counter wh ose t yp e ha s been a lt er ed WITCH S BREW, etc.) into t he t yp e n ee de dCast that Spell; the c ounter must be altered atmoment he records th e Spell.53.332 A character cannot record a Spell that he halready recorded; he cannot record the same Sptwice.53.4 A character can count a recorded Spell towafulfilling his USABLE SPELLS victory conditioonly if at the moment he cl aims v ict or y he h asplaya MAGIC counter of the proper type t o Cthat Spell. He can use MAGIC counters whose tyhas been altered by WITCH S BREW, etc.)fulfill this requirement.FAERIE LIGHTS changes type III c ounters itype II an d type VII counters into t yp e V I as l ison its card, instead of t he c han ges l isted inrulebook.DISSOLVE SPELL VI PURPLE) Spell, Instcauses the target S pell to be broken. cannotused against curses.

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P G TH G N R L

PreviouRank

Timeson List Rating

46. F. Sebastian 7 1649EHL 3747. W. S c ot t, J r. 8 1627FFL 4448. B. Hayden 5 1624HIN 4249. J . R ar ic k 2 1617CFI 4350. K MacDonald 1612EEK 45

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If your favorite game store does no t have tg am e y ou want in stock an d you have a valAmerican Express, Master Charge, or VIScredit card, call ou r Toll Free numb800-638-9292 from a ny wh er e i n t he ContinentUnited States except M ar yl an d t o place yoorder. O ur p ro mp t mail order service will thspeed your o rd er t o y ou with ou r usual lightnid is pa tc h. Y ou must give t he order tak er tnumber, expiration date, a nd na me of your credcard along with your orde r a nd shipping addresWe s hi p UP S wherever possible. If y ou p re fParcel Post, b e sure to specify this.

The Toll Free number is good o nl y f or o rd eing games or othe r merchandise from Avalon Hby credit c a rd payment. No C.O.D. orders canaccepted. The operator will b e unable to answgame questions or switch calls t o s om eo ne wcan.Maryland residents must call 301-254-53

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SEVENTH ENCOUNTERAdvanced: Gloryn a Final Word: Playing t o f ou r victory pointsm ak es f or a f as t g am e, bu t it is usually more satisfying to ad d a point or two an d play to five or six victory points. This is particularly true when there ar ea lot of p la ye rs , s in ce t he g am e t en ds to g o fasterwhen there are more p layers; a game with a lo t ofplayers can actually e nd t oo quickly when they areplaying to only four points. You c a n set the victorypoints to any level you wish, but suggested levelsare:

week). He r,an ch oo se the character w ho w as justkilled or a ny othe r c hara cte r tha t is no t being used.He must ta ke his starting weapon a n d a r mo r fromthe destroyed armor counters, native groups boxesand/ or abandoned piles on the board in that order,if h e h as a c ho ic e) ; h e cannot take them from othercharacters, an d if he cannot get an i tem h e m us t d owithout it n o s ub st it ut io ns a re a ll ow ed ). Impor-tant: Th e player must record new victory conditionsfor h is n ew character, an d eachtime his character iskilled he must record an extra victory point so hew ou ld r ec or d t wo e xt ra p oi nt s if he we re killedtwice).FIFTH ENCOUNTERAdvanced: 5.1,5.4,5.5,5.6,5.7,5.8Suggested Additions: 5.9 new)5 9 Credit: When a character is rolling on the AL LYcolumn of the M EETING TAB LE to hire o r t ra dewith a n ativ e group, he c an announce that he is trying t o bu y o n credit. He must a nnounc e this beforehe rolls, an d if he r oll s a PRICE result an d choosest o t ake th e item he c an pay t he i nd ic at ed p ri ce ingold any t im e within the n ex t fou rteen d ay s co un ting th e day of the trans ac tion as the first d ay );h ow ev er , h e must immediately subtract t he indicated price from his F A ME , a nd h e d oes no t getthese FAME points back until he pays b ac k thegold-and if he fails to pay by t he end of the 14thd ay he l os es t he se FAME points permanently. Heca n p ay b ack th e gold any t im e h e is in the sameC le ar in g w it h t he l ea de r wi th whom he ha d thetransaction even i f t he leader is under hire to someone else. If the leader is killed he can s til l be p ai dwhen he revives a t t he e nd of the month, a s l on g a she is repaid within the original fourteen days.Optional: 5 .2 , 5 .3SIXTH ENCOUNTERAd van ced: 6 .3 , 6 .4 , 6 .5Optional: 6 .1 , 6 .2

45-89+CHARTSA number of charts which summarize informa

tion already in the ga me a re included o n t h e insert inthis issue as a h elp fu l p laying aid . Players will alsofind a helpful compendium of freq uently askedquestions an d answers on play of the ga me in t hesame insert.

CHARACTER CARDSSwordsma n: The Swords ma n s B ARTER ability isto roll on e d ie instead of t wo w he n trading, as isstated on his c ard. The s tate me nt in t he L IS T OFCHARACTERS is wrong.Magician: At each stage of Development the Magic ia n g et s th e MAGIC counters ind icated b y thatstage s Spells-at s ta ge t wo he ge ts a t yp e I I counterinstead of a type VIII, an d at stage three he hastyp es II an d II I instead of V an d VI.OPTIONAL RULES

Th e rules listed as optional in the rulebook are.optional to different degrees. Some a re pa rts of thegame system t ha t a re optional solely because ofthe complexities they introduce; these rules shouldreally b e co nsidered advanced rules that are leftout only when the players are learning t he g am e o rwhen they wish to play th e simplest version of thegame. Some of th e rules refine the ga me system atth e cost of additional com plex ity; these rules aresug gested for th ose p layers w ho a re willing to pu tup with the complexity to improve the game. Finally, som e of the rules are truly optiona l a nd s houldb e u se d only wh en they su it the players tastes.

E ac h o pt io na l r ul e s status is given b e l o w either Advanced , Suggested Addition or Opt io na I . S om e n ew r ul es are a ls o p re se nt ed , w it htheir statuses.FIRST ENCOUNTEROptional: 1 .1 , 1 .2SECOND ENCOUNTERA dv an ce d: 2 .1 , 2 .2 , 2 .3 , 2 .6Suggested Additions: 2 .7 , 2 .8 n ew ), 2 .9 ne w)2 8 Severe Wounds: When a character is struck bydamage exactly equal to hi s v ul ne ra bi li ty , h e isseverely wounded instead of being killed outright.He rolls two dice an d wounds a number of countersequal to double the number rolled on the higher die the lower die is ignored). This die roll is affected bySpells an d treasures tha t a ffe ct d ie rolls g en erally e.g., LUCKY C HAR M .2 9 A lerting DuringCombat: A charactercan playaFIGHT counter during the encounter step at exactlythe same time an d unde r the same restrictions thathe could playa M OV E c ou nt er t o r un away. If hep lays the FIGHT counter he c an no t d o any otheractions that encounter step. If he plays th e FIGHTc ounter then his weapon is instantly turned readyside up , an d is ready for th at R o un d s melee step.Special: Th e Berserker can p la y his BERSERKcounter similarly during an encounter step to goBerserk.)Optional: 2 .4 , 2 .5THIR D ENCOUNTERAd van ced : 3 .1 , 3 .2FOURTH ENC OUNTERAdvanced: 4.3Suggested Additions: 4.1Optional: 4.2, 4. 4 new)4 4 Exchanging Characters use this rule in p lace of2. 4 Reviving): When a player s character is killedthe player can choose a new character an d start thegame o ve r a ga in at the start of the next day or

Optional Rule 6. 3 S TO NE S FL Y mu st also beaimed.SEVENTH ENCOUNTER57.734 Th e WARLOCK pays bonus p ri ce s f or t heSCROLL OF A L CH E MY , n ot the SCROLL OFNATURE.59.1 T he re a re f ou r weather counters, no t six.

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TH G N R L EAST FRONT ASIDES P Gby 10n MishconJon Mishcon besides being one of our mostvaluable playtest sources fo r CROSS OF IRONwas the primary playtest group head fo r the additional CROSS OF IRON scenarios alluded tobelow. He an d his cronies Joe Suchar and JohnKenower played all these scenarios extensivelybefore they were unvei led to the public last April

an d assuch isprobably the preeminent authorityonthe subject at hand. Scenarios A through D were aspecial insert Vol. 15, No 6 of the GENERALwhich s s ti ll available as a back issue fo r 2.00.Scenarios 101-110 make up the SERIES 100scenario pad and is available from the parts dept.fo r 4.00 plus 4fft postage and handling.

The goal of t hi s ar ti cl e is to give players an insight into CROSS OF IRON playtesting and a handle on possible approaches to the individual additional scenarios.

We I note the inherent contradiction of a s ol oplaytester-and hereby give f ul l credit to my cotesters, 10e Suchar, Mike Suchar and 10hnKenower) see two aspects to playtesting. First is rulebusting-we all try hard to abuse the rules to win (I fthe rules don t specifically limit you then you a refree to do whatever). Our biggest problem here isthat we ar e all enthusi as ts who know the game sowell we ve developed pre-conceived notions. Tohelp clear the vision we occasionally just completelyreread the rules.

Once the i di ocy r ul es are eliminated, then wework on play balance. Our contention is that agame is very well balanced when excellent play onboth sides yields no wider split than 60/40. Hereinlies the most delicate task of game development andi t f al ls enti rely to Don Greenwood to evaluate ourand others results and mesh them i nto one finalproduct . The l ion s share of credit (and/or blame)must rest squarely i n h is hands. Which l eads m e totactics.

First, I might suggest that no one tactic in a wellbalanced SLICOI game should work every time. Ineach chain there should be an ill-forged link andevery thrust should be subject to parry. If it takesplayers months to discover-fine. (It took morethan 6 months for us to discover the defense thatmade Scenario 7 pro-American). Therefore eachs ce na ri o will only be reviewed in light ofpossibilities fo r attack and defense.

Scenario A-BurzevoWinter 1941 finds the pressure on the Russian.

The keynote to this scenario is s urvival as th e German. This perhaps may b est b e accomplished bylimiting the Russian advantages i.e., firepower mobility) and maximizing the German advantages;defenders get f ir st crack.

A German leader on the second floor of N2 withsquad and MMG (and possibly a DC for dropping)should discourage Russian tank leaders from longexposure and yield excellent illumination. Considerplacing the 3 Stugs in V8, U9, and U I0 or Q3, R2and Q2 ready to edge into PO RO and Q I) supporting the 88 in e it he r V9 or 01 or RI and being supported by infantry with the ATR and at least onedemo c ha rg e, e it he r around the T9 woods orb ui ld in g S3. B or e s ig ht all g un s in re al clo se andwatch the Russian response.

For the Russians, the only fatal approach is totry to simultaneously kill both squads and themajor weapons . You must find the German weakpoint and use your L g un s and superior armor topierce that one point. Try to roll up the defensefrom a h ole . I p er so na ll y believ e it s worth threeAFVs to tr y to overrun the 88, but rather than useeven onefor that, look for a sneaky FT shot. Do nothesitate to try and set woods afire if spreading firewill rout the rabbits from their warren. If you wasteone turn in this little gem of a game I hear it is a l on gwalk to Vladivostok.

I rate this game as 55/45 pro German.

. ;.ca....._. t

Scenario B-Hill 253.5This vignette of Kursk is a lovely demonstrationof the power of SLICOIto highlight larger battles.The Russians should be aware that the Germanshave only 3 avenues of approach: R7-S8, R4-S4 and

RI-S2. Since the R us s ians l ack anti-tank mines,your only real chance to immobilize or destroy aGerman AFV is to lump mines in one hex. Considerp la ci ng 36 m in es i n perhaps R7 and 4 mines in S8and cover the R8 woods w it h l eader dir ect ed MGfire. Use your infantry in entrenchments as much aspossible in the woods of M7 and M4 and considerhow well shielded 15 is fo r a las t turn advance sayfrom 16 to 15 on turn 7 and f rom there to either 14or K5 on turn 8). If you have artillery oran ATGonM4 you are a l ong shot gambler; t hi s hex covers a lotof terrain bu t it is too vulnerable. Wire in S3, R3,S5, S6, T5, and perhaps 04 covered by entrenchedsquads in Q4 (no l ea de rs h er e) , N 3, M 3, L 2 and N6will substantially slow the German rush. An ATG in14 h as a v er y i nt er es ti ng arc of fire-the Germanmay i ni ti al ly i gnor e i t only to f ind i t cover s cri ti calhexes. Play for t ime and don t hesitate to transferreserves to the more threatened side.

The poor Germans arestuck with AFVs that arevery powerful versus AFVs and incredibly weak inmobility and anti-infantry power. The German iscompelled by this lack of mobility to pickone-repeat ONE -avenue. Fi rs t , l eave the Elefant somewhere close to Z4 as a fire base, thenthrow a brave recce squad (read suicide) down yourchosen avenue. Now if it breaks in a lousy 4 minehex you gotta decide to send another the same wayor down a different la ne as a v er y t ri ck y Russianwon t hesitate to occasionally pu t 4 m ines without

the 36 mine hex behind it). If all g oe s well youthrust down, say RI , then up onto the second levTry bringing in an offboard smoke shell concentrt ion suppl emented by Engineer smoke-thcharge your best troops a 10-2,9-1,8-3-8 and 8-3stack is super for do-or-die jobs) with close armsupport right into the damn N3 woods. You coudo far worse than to set the woods afire.

If you penetrate this first morass , you can thpush your armor deep. B ri ng the Elefant in on troad and smoke the hilltop and charge again ovthe crest. If the Sturmoviks and the Russian Fdon t get you, you ve won a r eal vi ct or y.

Rate 65/35 pro Russian, but a lovely historicsituation. Players might wish to delay the Russireinforcements one t urn to help play balance.

Scenario C Bukrin Bridgeheadlust for fun, glance at Scenario 107 before yplay this. Pressure again on the Russians.German player should plan to win this one whis reinforcements. If the Russian armor is co

mit ted prematurely, the German can essentiathrowaway his light armor to immobilize the Tand destroy the T70 from i n close. The Germmight pu t his 10-3 and two 8-3-8 s i n 5C8 and a 9with two 8-3-8 s in 5F8 with a mixPanzerschreck, DC, and LMGs. Backed up251/10 i n 5 CI O, 5 F9 and 5GIO they both block amor motion and are a very potent counterattaforce. Place all your armor behindwoods all on oside suggest south side Board 4) and all f l ak, motars and MGs beyond a 20 h ex radius of 2R2. If tRussian insufficiently defends his northern flandon t hesitate t o mount up two 8-3-8s and a leadin halftracks and counterattack Hi1l621. The threalone may unhinge the Russian offense. Rememban armor l ea de r w it h a 2 0L gun get s 2 s hot s for imobilization.

The Russian must consider trying to sweBoard 4 from either North to South or vicever sa.strong German force blocking the northern endBoard 5 is b es t contained by four or so squads wa c ou pl e ATRs. Use 6-2-8s along the hilltop of 6t o man your weapons as the German will be abled ue l w it h y ou . Putting the 9- 2 w it h t he 5 0 c al . Mand threesquads in 2R2has a lovely field of fire ana good chance to dig i n on the first turn, but indirefire weapons in the 2S3 woods are very vulnerabto German mounted counterattack. The 62 hilltis safer bu t much more limited.

Sneaky Russians migh