D R A G O N 1

print, say so. We read everything we re-

You’ve always got a chance.. 81New use for ability scores

Leomund’s Tiny Hut . . . . . . . . l 30The cloistered cleric

Deities & Demigodsof Greyhawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

issue (#68), for instance, will probablynot appear any later than #70 or #71,which means you’ve got about 3 or 4weeks to form an opinion, write a letter,and get it to us in time.

Last but not least, put your best footforward. You don’t have to agonize overevery word, dot all your i’s and cross all

Publisher: Mike Cook

Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan

Contributing editors: Roger MooreEd Greenwood

This issue's contributing artists:

Phil FoglioDaniel Wickstrom The most obvious, and most often vio-L. Blankenship lated, guideline is simply this: Write it soM. Hanson-Roberts we can read it. We don’t require letter-Brian Born perfect typewritten copy, but we do ex-

pect legible handwriting, loosely spaced

Jeff EasleyKim GromollJim HollowayMike CarrollRoger Raupp

Dave Trampier guidelines you should follow.

How can you give your letter the bestpossible chance of being printed? Thereare some simple, and fairly obvious,

Carl Lundgren

readers write Ietters to the editor, our“Limb” file is always overflowing.

Letter etiquetteThere was a time when the editor of

this magazine implored readers to writeletters, so that we could be sure of hav-ing some stuff to put in “Out on a Limb”every month. Those days are long gone;hundreds of thousands of people nowread DRAGON™ Magazine, and eventhough still only a small fraction of our

Vol. VII, No. 7 December 1982Editorial staff: Marilyn Favaro

SPECIAL ATTRACTION Gali SanchezRoger Raupp

Weather in the Patrick L. Price

WORLD OF GREYHAWK . . . . 42 Business manager: Debra ChiusanoA climate for campaigning Office staff: Sharon Walton

OTHER FEATURES

Be a two-fisted fighter. . . . . . . 7Using weapons in both hands

GEN CON® MiniatureOpen winners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Up, up and away . . . . . . . . . . . . 14The DAWN PATROL™ game

REGULAR OFFERINGS

Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Letters from readers

Wis., and additional mailing offices.

What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93readers’ letters highly, whether or not

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toDragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva

that letter gets published — but only ifDragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 WI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848. we can understand what you have to say.

Remember the Golden Rule and youcan’t go wrong.

Don’t wait too long to comment aboutsomething from a particular issue of themagazine. We like to publish reactionsand responses to articles while the arti-cles themselves are still fresh in our

Dragon’s Augury. . . . . . . . . . . . 76Game reviews

Convention schedule. . . . . . . . 82

Off the Shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Books make good gifts

Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Hobbies, Inc. then you’ve wasted your time and your

Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, 20-cent stamp. We value each of our

To be sure your letter is considered for

United States and Canada, and through a limit-

What’s that in the Water? . . . . 36 or Canadian address; $50 U.S. for 12 issues sentvia surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air

Gaming by mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 A limited quantity of certain back issues ofDRAGON Magazine can be purchased directly

tastefully worded and not slanderous.

ordered.ey order cannot be made through a credit card, andorders cannot be taken nor merchandise re-

tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub-scription order or back-issue purchase unlessprior arrangements are made.

Beg, borrow, or steal? . . . . . . . 16 DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub- and written large enough so we don’t

Variant for Barbarian Princelished monthly for a subscription price of $24 have to squint to read it.per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSRHobbies, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI

No letter will be considered for publi-

Thrills and Chills . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 53147. cation unless it is signed with the writer’s

Ice Age adventuring DRAGON Magazine is available at hundredsreal name and address. If you don’t think

of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the enough of your opinion to put your nameCastles by Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . 29 on it, you can’t expect us to respect it

First of a seriesed number of of overseas outlets. Subscriptionrates are as follows, with all payments to be enough to print it.made in advance: $24 for 12 issues

publication, address it to “Out on aAquatic encounter tables mail to any other country. Limb.” If you just want to express some

thoughts for the editor’s eyes but not for

The good & bad of PBM from the publisher by sending the cover priceplus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue

ceive, but we'll only print a letter if wePayment in advance by check or mon- know it’s okay with the writer to do so.must accompany all orders. Payments Don’t try to get published by being

provocative or insuIting. We do publishserved by telephone. Neither an individual cus- letters of complaint, but only if they’re

More monsters from EGGdate of the change In order to ensure uninter-

From the Sorceror’s Scroll . . . 24New spells for high-level M-U’s All material published in DRAGON Magazine

Featured Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . 4 dress for

The issue of expiration for each subscription

scriber's

received

rupted delivery.

is printed on the mailing label for each sub-copy of the magazine. Changes of ad-the delivery of subscriptions must beat least 30 days prior to the effective

becomesupon publication, unless special arrangementsto the coDRAGON missionsever, no responsibility for such submissions canbe assumed by the publisher in any event. Anysubmissiaddressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size

DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish- your t’s, but you should be sure that youring’s monthly adventure playing aid. All rights letter says what you mean it to say, andon the contents of this publication are reserved,and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole

we’ll be able to understand the pointor in part without prior permission in writing you’re making. If we get done reading afrom the publisher. Copyright © 1982 by TSR letter and our first reaction is “Huh?”

wiII be returned to the contributor if it cannot bepublished.

the exclusive property of the publisher

ntrary are made prior to publication.Magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-of written material and artwork; how-

on which is accompanied by a self-

readers’ minds. Letters pertaining to this

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

2 DECEMBER 1982

ark Twain, a fantasy writerof a different sort from a dif-ferent time, once remarkedthat “Everybody complainsabout the weather, but no-

body does anything about it.” Well, aningenious and energetic DM by the nameof David Axler has done something aboutit. The special inclusion in this month’sissue of DRAGON™ Magazine is Dave’ssystem for generating weather condi-tions in an AD&D™ environment, usingthe WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ FantasySupplement as the basis for his figures.The system has been examined by E.Gary Gygax, the man who created theAD&D game and the Greyhawk cam-paign, and has received his stamp of ap-proval. Even if your campaign isn’t set inthe world of Oerth, the formulas and sta-tistics in Dave’s system are easily adapt-able to other adventuring environments.Stapled into the center of this 100-pageissue is a three-page foldout sectioncontaining some of the essential chartsand tables for the system, designed to bestood up and used as a screen to keepthe information in front of the DM andaway from the prying eyes of players.

Weather also plays a major part inanother of this month’s features. “Thrillsand Chills” by Arthur Collins is an in-depth examination of what it would belike to conduct an AD&D adventure inthe Ice Age: no metal armor, no towns,no “modern” conveniences — not muchof anything except caves, cold, andplenty of challenges for characters.

When the FIEND FOLIO® Tome waspublished, it did not include encountertables for aquatic environments. MarkHarcourt has rectified that situation with“What’s that in the Water?” The articleoffers a complete set of tables, plus de-scriptions of some monsters that don'thave separate listings in the books.

Official new magic-user spells of lev-els 5-9, supplementing the lower-levelspells described in our last issue, makeup this month’s edition of From the Sor-ceror’s Scroll. Other articles from thepen (or, more accurately, the typewriter)or Mr. Gygax are the second installmentof Deities & Demigods of Greyhawk anda trio of formidable fungi that are thismonth’s Featured Creatures.

A quick flip through these pages willshow that this is the most colorful issuewe’ve put out in a long time. Of specialnote are photographs of some of the topentries in this year’s GEN CON® Minia-ture Open, and the opening installmentof “Castles by Carroll,” wherein artistMike Carroll offers illustration and in-formation about the mysterious strong-hold known as Neushwanstein. We hopethe feature will inspire the creation ofdistinctive castles for your campaign —and maybe it wouldn’t be a bad place tospend the winter, if you can afford theheating bill. . . . —KM

Language articlesDear Editor:

I was very pleased by the articles in issue#66 concerning languages in AD&D cam-paigns. The article by A. D. Rogan was espe-cially good, and it reflected many of the prob-lems that I have observed in two years of play.The author’s construction of language “fami-lies” is ingenious, and it smooths out somevery bothersome problems with “official” lan-guage capabilities. There is an implicationthat, for instance, a halfling does not speakdwarven, elven, gnome, goblin, orcish, andthe common tongue with equal fluency.Rather, it is reasonable to postulate that theaverage halfling could recognize and perhapsunderstand a smattering of each of thesetongues, possibly just enough to compre-hend the gist of an overheard goblin plot orwarn a group of elves of the approach of anarmy of trolls.

It is a pity that such thoughtfulness is notapplied to some of the adventure modulescurrently on the shelves. I have found a dis-turbing lack of imagination and logical think-ing therein, which can prove frustrating to aDM attempting to lend his campaign someflesh-and-blood character. This is especiallytrue in the area of language use. For instance,in a recent major AD&D tournament, a so-called “riddle” was encountered by the play-ers, wherein the phrase “opposite of live”(with a long “i”) was used. The clue was sup-posed to indicate the word “evil.”

First: The “opposite” of a word is by defini-tion its antonym, which in the case of “live”would, of course, be “dead.” Inverting the let-ter order of a word is denoted by its “reverse”or “converse,” not its “opposite.” Second, andperhaps more important: There is no reasonto believe that the words “live” and “evil,” inthe fictitious common tongue, are the re-verses of each other as they are in English.How can the role of a character like an ancientdruid be played when he is expected to inter-pret a riddle in terms of 20th-century Englishword construction? Tricks which involve lan-guage should be framed in such a way thatthey do not clash with the atmosphere of themilieu.

In general, I would like to see a higher levelof quality with regard to the use of language incommercial AD&D offerings. The fine articleson this subject in DRAGON #66 contributedwell to this end; hopefully, game designerswill take note of such good ideas.

Rick KnightChicago, III.

‘A terrible waste’Dear Editor:

I have long read DRAGON, and the subjectscovered have been of varying interest to my-self and others. I have never seen an article souseless as the one discussing the Thieves’Cant in issue #66. Although languages are

interesting to some people, and the use ofdifferent languages in FRP games adds real-ism and complexity to the games, the articleon Cant went too far in this direction. Theknowledge of the Cant’s uses to thieves doesnot require a two-page explanation, nor aneight-page dictionary. Does the author thinkthe players will learn Cant for use when gam-ing? Absurd! This was a terrible waste of pub-lishing space that could have been used forissues of broader interest. The same goes forthe article on Old Dwarvish, though this was asmaller work, and thus a smaller waste. I mustsay that the other two language articles aremuch more useful, and I was quite happy tosee them included. Please file the uselesstrash into the return slot, and keep the spacefor more useful and interesting articles.

Karl W. EvoyHudson, Ohio

Illusionist ideasDear Editor:

I was very interested in the articles you pub-lished in DRAGON #66 concerning illusion-ists and illusions. This class has been my fa-vorite for some time.

I want to comment on the way illusionistspells are treated with respect to emulatingmagic-user spells. In my group we haveadopted rules that we hold to be true for allillusionary spells:

1. Illusionists can duplicate any spellfrom the other spell user’s repertoire.However, those spells with instantaneousduration will have no effect.

2. The spells of an illusionist affect hisown party as well as a magic-user’s fireballwould.We decided that to be effective, the illusion

created must be seen and understood by thevictim. If, for example, a person had neverseen fire, he won’t know that it can hurt him.This is already accepted in the AD&D rules.Our addition was that if the illusion happenstoo fast, it leaves no time for the person to becaught up in it. Thus, illusions of magic mis-siles, lightning bolts, and fireballs (to name afew) just won’t work. The real magic-user hasthe terrible reality of exploding fire that con-vinces his victims. The illusionist would haveto slow the spell down for victims to see it, andthen they would know it’s not real because itdoesn’t look like a fireball any more. We likethat rule because it keeps the distinction be-tween magic-user and illusionist. (Editor’snote: But what if the victim had newer seen afireball before?)

The second rule simply means that unlesspeople in the illusionist’s party know that he’sgoing to do a certain illusion (or if they watchhim do it) they will be just as affected asanyone else. My favorite example of this is anillusionist who saved his own party when theywere trapped at the top of a deep chasm by anangry army of evil creatures. The illusionist

(Turn to page 9)

D R A G O N 3

by Gary Gygax

©1982 E. Gary Gygax. All rights reserved.

Some of you will be encountering thenasty fungoid monsters which are begunhere and will be completed next issue. Ihave them included in a module, but no-thing else needs be said.

Unlike the Myconids of module A4 (Inmonsters, I hope you find them amusingand entertaining.

the Dungeons of the Slave Lords), thesecreatures are evil and not fun to encoun-ter: all attack and no talk. Because theyare quite different from most sorts of

AscomoidFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 3MOVE: 12” (see below)HIT DICE: 6 + 6% IN LAIR: 40%TREASURE TYPE: IncidentalNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1 h.p./1’ cloudSPECIAL ATTACKS: Spore jetSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowINTELLIGENCE: UnratableALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)SIZE: L (5’-10’ cloud)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII / 775 + 8/hp

Ascomoids are huge, puffball-like fun-gi with very thick, leathery skin. Theymove by rolling, and at first this is slow:3” for the first round (after being station-ary), 6” the next, then 9”, then 12” — butthe creature can maintain this 12” rate,once it is attained, for hours without tir-ing. The surface of an ascomoid is cov-ered with numerous pocks which serveas sensory organs. Each creature canalso emit a jet of spores.

Ascomoids attack by roiling into/overtheir opponents, but they can likewiseuse their spore jets to attack dangerousenemies. Large opponents, or those whohave inflicted damage upon ascomoids,will always be attacked by spore jets.The stream of spores is about 1 foot indiameter and 30 feet long. Upon striking,the spore jet puffs into a cloud of about6-foot diameter. The subject creature(s)must save versus poison or die from in-fection of its (their) internal systems.Even those victims who make savingthrows are blinded and choked to such

4 DECEMBER 1982

an extent that it will require 1-4 rounds torecover and rejoin melee. Meanwhile,such victims are helpless, and all attacksmade upon them are at +4 with no shieldor dexterity bonuses allowed to thedefender.

Ascomoids are able to heal themselvesunless pierced deeply. Piercing weaponsover 6 feet long (such as spears) scoredouble damage. Shorter stabbing weap-ons do damage as if against a small-sized opponent. Smashing weapons donot harm ascomoids; slashes and cutsfrom edged weapons cause only 1 pointof damage. Magical attack forms such asmagic missiles, fireballs, lightning bolts,etc.. are saved against at +4, and damageis only 50% of normal. (Cold-based at-tacks are at normal probabilities.) Sincethese fungi have no minds by discerniblestandards, all spells affecting the brain

(charm, ESP, etc.), unless usable versusplants, are ineffective.

BasidirondFREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS: 4MOVE: 6”HIT DICE: 5 + 5% IN LAIR: 60%TREASURE TYPE: IncidentalNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8 (+ smothering)SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hallucinatory

spores (see below)SPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowINTELLIGENCE: UnratableALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)SIZE: M (6’-7’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI / 475 + 6/hp

Basidironds are multi-stemmed fun-goid monsters with woody, leathery bo-dies of orange color and upper portionslooking much as if they were reversedumbrellas whose interior is sooty black.In combat the fungoid monsters lashforward with their cone-shaped caps. A

PhycomidFREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 3”HIT DICE: 4% IN LAIR: 80%TREASURE TYPE: IncidentalNO. OF ATTACKS: 2DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-6/3-6SPECIAL ATTACKS: InfectionSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowINTELLIGENCE: UnratableALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)SIZE: S (2’d. maximum)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V / 280 + 5/hp

Alga-like phycomids appear to be fi-brous blobs of decomposing, milky-col-ored matter with capped fungi growingout of them. They have a highly alkalinesubstance which they exude when at-tacking. Attack by phycomids involvesan extrusion of a tube and discharge ofthe alkaline fluid — small globules whichhave a range of 7-12 feet. These fungoidmonsters have sensory organs for heat,sound, and vibrations located in severalclusters.

In addition to alkaline damage, theglobs which these creatures dischargemight also cause victims to serve ashosts for the growth of new phycomids.

successful hit inflicts 2-8 points of dam-age and requires the victim to save ver-sus poison or else have spores cloggingits respiratory tract. A victim will smotherfrom these growths in 2-5 rounds unlessa cure disease (or its equivalent) is castupon the individual. Basidironds canotherwise use their hallucinatory spores,which they emit only when they arestanding quietly. These spores form aninvisible cloud in a radius of 20” to 35”from each fungus. The spores causeeach creature within a cloud to save vs.

If a victim fails to save versus poison, theindividual will begin to show mushroom-like growth in the infected area. This willoccur in 5-8 rounds and inflict 5-8 pointsof damage. The growths will then beginto spread throughout the host body, kil-ling it in 5-8 turns, and turning it into anew phycomid.

Phycomids are immune to all forms ofmental attacks, including charms, holds,etc. Fire-based attacks are saved againstat +4, and damage inflicted is either halfnormal or none.

poison or begin hallucinating. Halluci-nation lasts as long as the individual iswithin the cloud area and for 1-4 roundsafter the victim leaves it. Typical halluci-natory perceptions and their effects onvictims are:

1. Individual in a swamp; stripsoff armor to keep from sinking.

2. Spiders attacking; individualstrikes/attacks floor area to killthem.

3. Individual has shrunk; shoutsfor help to return to normal size.

4. An item being held turns into aviper; individual drops it and leapsback to avoid strike.

5. Individual is suffocating; runsgasping in random directions tobreathe.

6. Associates are diseased; indi-vidual avoids 50’ proximity of them.

7. Individual feels as thoughbody melting; stands howling and“holding self together.”

8. Leech on back; individualtears off anything worn on backand attacks it.

Basidironds have no minds as humansdefine/discern them, so all forms of men-tal attacks, including charm monster,hold monster, and spells, have no effect.Cold-based attacks do not damage ba-sidironds, but they slow the monsters to50% normal movement and prevent bothtypes of spore attacks.

D R A G O N 5

One of the more obscure rules in theAD&D™ Dungeon Masters Guide is onpage 70, under “Attacks With Two Weap-ons.” It states, briefly, that a charactermay choose to attack with a weapon ineach hand if so desired. The weapon inthe favored hand may be any one-handedweapon, but that in the other must be ahand axe or a dagger. Dexterity affectscombat, with increasing penalties “tohit” for characters with relatively lowdexterity and lesser penalties for thosewith higher dexterity.

This rule needs expansion; it leaves alot of situations open to interpretation,and some of the potential problems andbenefits should be described in more de-tail. If Dungeon Masters allow players touse a weapon in each hand, characterswill obviously become more powerful of-fensively. A high-level fighters with highdexterity will become particularly fear-some in combat. Other character classescould also benefit from this ruling. How-ever, players may well not choose tohave their characters use such an attackmode, since they will generally be un-able to use a shield to defend themselvesat the same time. Though the expansionof the rules in the DMG presented here isunofficial, I have tried to make it work-able and logical within the present gameframework.

Handedness should be established foreach character in whatever manner theDM sees fit, with either the right or lefthand becoming dominant; it’s best to letthe player make this simple choice rath-er than using a table. Once declared,

handedness is permanent for that char-acter, alterable only by use of a wish oran act of the gods.

The following table, adapted from theDMG, gives the penalties “to hit” for aplayer character using two weapons,one in the primary hand and the other inthe secondary hand:

Character’s Primary Secondarydexterity hand hand

3 -5 -74 -4 -65 -3 -5

6-15 -2 -416 -1 -317 0 -2

18-20 0 -1

These scores were determined by us-ing a base “to hit” penalty of -2/-4 for theprimary/secondary weapon hand, andadding the Reaction/Attacking adjust-ments for dexterity, as given in the AD&DPlayers Handbook and the DEITIES &DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia. If a characteruses a weapon in his or her secondaryhand, without using a weapon in theprimary hand or while holding a shield inthe primary hand, the penalties “to hit”for the secondary hand should be usedas shown above. Rather than have a se-parate category of people defined asambidextrous, able to use a weaponequally well in either hand, persons withhigh dexterity (17+) could be consideredambidextrous; their secondary handswill function almost as well as their pri-mary hands.

As to the sorts of weapons that may beused in the primary and secondaryhands, the following selections are giv-en. It was arbitrarily decided to restrictthe types of weapons usable in the pri-mary hand to those not exceeding 4’ inlength or 100 g.p. in weight, and whichcan be used in a space of 4’ or less. Sec-ondary hand weapons would be limitedto one-half of the above specifications.These rules would govern weapons usefor characters of approximately man size(5’ to 7’ height).

Weapons usable in primary hand:battle axe, hand axe, club, dagger,horseman’s flail, hammer, footman’smace, horseman’s mace, footman’spick, horseman’s pick, scimitar, broad-sword, longsword, shortsword.

Usable in secondary hand: handaxe, dagger, hammer, horseman’smace, horseman’s pick, shortsword.The DMG states that only a dagger or

hand axe may be used as a secondaryhand weapon. DM’s are free, of course,to adhere strictly to this ruling; the selec-tions above were added to increase va-riety within a reasonable degree.

Characters using a weapon in eachhand will effectively double the numberof attacks they may make each round, asshown in the table below. Such attackswould apply only to thrusting or strikingweapons. Fighters and members of fight-er subclasses in combat with creatureshaving less than one hit die will gain anadditional attack: For instance, a 2ndlevel fighter normally gets 2 attacks perround with a weapon in each hand, and

D R A G O N 7

has 3 attacks per round in the same sit-uation against a creature with less thanone hit die.

Attacks per round with two weaponsClass/level Attacks/roundFighter 1-6 2Paladin 1-6 2Ranger 1-7 2Other classes 2

(of any level)Fighter 7-12 3Paladin 7-12 3Ranger 8-14 3Fighter 13 & up 4Paladin 13 & up 4Ranger 15 & up 4

A character striking an even number oftimes per round will have those attacksdivided evenly and alternately betweenthe two weapons being used, startingwith the primary hand weapon. If thecharacter strikes an odd number of times,the attacks will be made alternately be-tween the two weapons, starting andending with the primary hand weapon.

Any strength bonuses to hitting anddamaging scores are applied to attacksmade with either hand. Any non-profi-ciency penalties for using a weapon acharacter has not used frequently areaccounted for in the attacks a charactermakes with that weapon, no matter whichhand it is used in.

A character may, if desired, hold botha dagger and a small shield in the secon-dary hand. In such a case, at the start ofeach round of combat the charactermust declare whether he or she is goingto attack with the dagger or defend withthe shield in that round; the charactercannot gain the shield’s benefit and usethe dagger in the same round. No otherweapon but a dagger is suitable for thiskind of combat. Attacks with the daggermust be made at an additional -1 penalty“to hit,” on top of all other penalties orbonuses “to hit,” because of the weightof the shield on the forearm.

For characters of racial types general-ly shorter in height than 5’, the followingselection of weapons for primary andsecondary hand use are given. Thoseprinted in italic type may be used in theprimary hand by dwarves only, sinceonly they are massive and strong enoughto manipulate the indicated weapons.Halflings, gnomes, and other small racesof 3’ to 5’ average height may make useof the other weapons.

Weapons usable in the primary handby those under 5’ tall: hand axe, club,dagger, hammer, horseman’s mace,horseman’s pick, scimitar, longsword,shortsword.

As a side note, the only other weapons

Weapons usable in the secondaryhand by those under 5’ tall: hand axe,dagger.

a dwarf could logically use one-handed(with a shield) besides those mentionedabove would be the horseman’s flail,footman’s mace, and broadsword. Allother weapons (including the ever-pop-ular battle axe) must be used two-handedbecause of their size and weight.

The DEITIES & DEMIGODS book of-fers a couple of examples of characterswho commonly use two weapons: Fafhrdand the Gray Mouser from the Nehwonmythos. Interestingly, the material in theDDG book seems to contradict the rul-ings in the DMG. The Gray Mouser fits inwith the above tables as far as attacksper melee round with two weapons, butreceives no penalties “to hit” because hehas a 19 dexterity. Fafhrd, who likewiseuses two weapons, is a 15th level rangerwho attacks only twice per round; it isnot mentioned whether he receives apenalty “to hit” with his left hand’s weap-on. Though I would probably let thesecharacters stand as written, it would be agood idea to establish some internalconsistency to an AD&D campaign andadopt rules that apply to all characters.

ons, too?. . .

Until such time as official rulings areoutlined on the above, this article is of-fered to cover these situations. Next timeyou want to scythe a pathway through anorc army, use two weapons instead ofone and double your fun. But doesn’tthat half-orc chieftain have two weap-

8 DECEMBER 1982

(From page 3)directed them along the chasm to a small footbridge, which they all crossed in haste, with-out question. Only after they reached the oth-er side and saw the bridge melt away did theyrealize it was a mere illusion.

This brings up another point. If an illusion isreal enough to hurt someone, it is real enoughto be taken for “real” in all cases. In this sensewe have made the illusion absolutely real toanyone who sees it and fails his save. Thus, anillusionary cover over a pit trap will hold aperson up (until he disbelieves it). A few in mygroup thought that this was going very far,making it almost a philosophical concept.However, I don’t feel that giving some crea-tures automatic saves is right, either. If thecover to the pit gave way, that would be tan-tamount to what would be happening.

All this has the effect of making the illusion-ist a very powerful, yet very fun, class. Insteadof being a simple magician throwing magicright and left at the evil beasties, the illusionistis a clever schemer who uses his illusions tobuild some elaborate plots and subplots in theminds of the unsuspecting. The illusionist be-comes more of a thinking character, but withthe higher intelligence that is granted in thegame, I feel that this is what the illusionist isexpected to do.

Geoff MeissnerPoughkeepsie, N.Y.

‘The nature of faith’Dear Editor:

I enjoyed seeing my article on the use ofweapons of choice in DRAGON #66 printedwith a rebutting article by Bruce Humphrey,defending the rules limiting certain characterclasses to specific weapons. Bruce’s approachconcerning magic-users and his suggestedpsychological aversion to using physicalweapons and defenses being an essential partof the mindset required to cast magic spellswas interesting. It’s certainly as valid an ex-cuse for the rules as any I’ve seen, if you cantalk your players into seeing it that way. Theopposite approach is the gamer who plays hisMU as wearing daggers stuffed into his boots,belt, and backpack in profusion, with protec-tion rings and spells letting him jump intomelee!

I strongly disagree with Bruce concerningclerics, however. Here we part company onthe very nature of religious faith. It seems tome that Bruce insists on transferring theChristian aversion to the shedding of blood tothe priests of all pagan deities. He argues thateven less-than-good deities would limit theirclerics from spilling blood in other than ritualgrounds and temples. The problem with thisis that it ignores the gods of war. Granted thatmost religions that required blood sacrifice,including human sacrifice, did so for the mostpart at the altar or sacred grove in ritual condi-tions. But the logical place for a sacrifice to agod of war is on the battlefield, and a study of

history yields a number of instances in whichsocieties were formed around this concept.

The most extreme example of this was thewar god of the Aztecs. Most primitive earlycultures had fertility or nature deities to whomblood sacrifices were offered every year toinsure the end of winter and the blossomingof crops to maintain the life of the tribe. TheAztecs carried this idea to extremes; unlikethe early Greeks, who only made sacrificesonce a year, the Aztecs went to war withneighboring tribes to feed the earth withblood in honor of the gods.

I’d like to avoid pointless arguments overthe different standards appropriate to differ-ent gods in each section of the AD&D nine-fold alignment system. Whether or not shed-ding blood seems “good” or “neutral” or “evil”to you is beside the point in discussing theweapons that would be selected by the clericsof a specific god. If a god uses weapons at all,and at least half of the gods are so described,then it logically follows that the worshipers ofthat god will use the same weapons for thesame purpose their patron deity does, infurtherance of his commands. If a cleric is afollower of a war god, he is going to regardspilling blood as an inherent part of his duties— and a mere incident to the main activity,which is killing enemies.

The argument that the mace is a symbol ofauthority because it resembles the rod orsceptre is also spurious. In a world in whichthe gods are real, and can be called upon foraid, the symbol of authority carried by a priestof a specific god will be the kind of thing thatcharacterizes the god’s function in the uni-verse. A god is generally symbolized by onespecific thing, such as the bow for Diana, thespear for Odin, and so forth. A weapon is ofitself a symbol of authority, and a priest whocarries his god’s favorite weapon is a symbolof the authority of the god himself, whostands behind the priest and gives him hispower and station in society. Therefore, it ishard to believe that a priest of a warlike godwould ever feel comfortable without thatweapon, specific to his patron god, either inhand or within easy reach.

This is at least the second time such argu-ments have appeared in DRAGON, but theyare just as culture-blind today as in the past.The problem with this approach to rationaliz-ing rules is that it ignores the society thecharacter lives in, the religion the characterbelieves in, and the fundamental role-playingassumptions that go into creating a characterwho is a cleric of a pagan deity. Instead, weget a warmed-over and disguised version ofChristianity poured into the wrong molds. Towhich I respond: Nonsense. Play a medievalChristian warrior-priest under the mace-limit,but don’t try to force that rule on my priest ofOdin, because when you do so the gameceases to be a role-playing activity in anymeaningful sense. May I suggest a study ofhistory as a source of role models?

John T. Sapienza, Jr.Washington, D. C.

Spell books revisitedDear Editor:

I would like to reply to a letter by Roby Wardpublished in DRAGON #64. It’s obvious thatMr. Ward has neglected to look more closelyat the article about spell books (from issue#62). He says that a magic-user can “writeextra pages of a certain spell which he knowsinto his book for casting during an adven-ture.” I agree it is possible to cast a spell froma spell book, as there is a scroll-like dweomerused to create the magical runes, but this isnot usually done for practical reasons.

If you consider the weight and size of atraveling spell book, you can see that the bookwould take about as much space as a medium-sized notebook. Although it would be possi-ble to carry one in your hand, this sure wouldruin your ability to cast a spell! And it’s evenworse when you’re trying to dig the book outof your pack: Do you grab the right object inyour haste? And do you know how long this isgoing to take, even if you grab the right ob-ject? Even if you get it out, it’s still going totake a few segments to find the desired spell,and through all this time you’re going to stickout like an elf in an orc’s lair. And if the DM isdoing his job, you’ll know it!

The idea of casting spells out of the bookmay be useful in a less hurried situation, al-though this idea might be discouraged be-cause you’d probably lose the ability to castthe spell on that sheet.

The idea that Mr. Gygax has put into hisarticle will work very well if the DM remembersto keep things in perspective.

Robert HiltonAPO New York, N.Y.

Translation anddesign opportunity

Is Japanese your first language? Areyou fluent in English as well? Is Japa-nese history well known to you? Are youa student of mythology of the Far East?Do you play D&D® and AD&D™ gamesregularly?

If you can answer each of the abovequestions affirmatively, then you mayhave an unparalleled opportunity withTSR Hobbies, Inc.! We are now seekinga full-time translator and designer towork with our line of fantasy role play-ing games. The position has excellentpay and benefits plus opportunity foradvancement based on performance.Employment location is at the mainCorporate offices in Lake Geneva, Wis.Applicants must send a complete re-sume with salary history. Be sure tostate how many years you have playedboth the D&D game system and theAD&D game system. Indicate familiar-ity with other FRP games, please. Sub-mit information to:

Cheryl GleasonInternational DivisionTSR Hobbies, Inc.P.O. Box 756Lake Geneva WI 53147

D R A G O N 9

10 DECEMBER 1982

Painting miniatures and creating dioramas isa wondrous pastime, and one of the more enjoyable aspects of the hobby is the chance to createa new trend or tradition, especially one that isconnected with a convention. However, whenone is dealing with a convention the size of theGEN CON® XV event and getting support fromthe major companies in the field, the experiencebecomes almost one of ecstasy.

A number of years ago I had the pleasure ofattending my first CEN CON game convention.One of the things I remember most about it wasthe miniatures painting contest. This was thefirst time I had seen miniatures painted by the“pros,” and, boy, was I impressed.

The contest came and went over the years,until, at the GEN CON XIII show, it disap-peared. I made some inquiries and found that anumber of folks inside and outside the industrythought a permanent painting competition was agreat idea, but no one had the time (or inclina-tion) to put one together. It was then that I beganseriously wondering whether an individual out-side of the “professionals” could organize suchan event and receive backing from the variousmanufacturers of miniatures and miniatures-related items (games, paints, etc.).

That was three years ago, and now we arepreparing for the third GEN CON MiniatureOpen, to be held next summer. As shown by thephotos accompanying this article, the contest

has become quite a high-quality event, attract-ing hundreds of entries from miniaturists all overthe country. While this is not a “pro” competi-tion (such as the breathtaking Miniature FigureCollectors of America shows), it is the best eventof its kind currently being offered at a gameconvention.

Why is it the best? Because of (a) the samelocation and coordinator for consecutive years;(b) advertising of the event well in advance of

An orc captain in Richard Wheeler's"Raiders of the Last Orc diorama gazes at thepyre holding his comrade's remains — while,above him, a python gets ready to attack.

the convention; and (c) most importantly of all,great support from the sponsors.

Sponsoring an event like this means morethan supplying a few “token” gift certificates.The sponsors for the event at CEN CON XVdished out a generous supply of merchandiseand gift certificates worth thousands of dollarsaltogether. True, the smaller firms give smalleramounts (which is only natural), but what isunusual is that the “big boys” of miniatures arewilling to give in proportion to their size. Con-tributors and the dollar amounts of their giftswere as follows: Adventure Gaming Magazine,$120; Broadsword Miniatures, $50; DragonPublishing, $264; Grenadier Models, $230(Grenadier also laid out more than $1,000 forthe company’s AD&D™ Painting Competition);Heritage U.S.A., $230; Martian Developments,$170; Mini-Figs, $230; Polly S Color Corp.,$140; RAFM Co., $60; Ral Partha Enter-prises, $120; Teka Fineline Brushes, $100; andTSR Hobbies (trophies), $425. Total prize con-tributions for the GEN CON Miniature Openamounted to more than $3,139.

Again, these are firms that were not requiredto contribute anything, but did so because theywished to reward the winning miniaturists. Andspeaking of winning miniaturists, they were:

Historical Gaming Units: 1st, Jim Zylka,“Wallachian Cavalry”; 2nd, Jim Zylka,“Swiss Confederation.”

D R A G O N 1 1

Historical Diorama: 1st, Eric Heaps,“Viking Raid”; 2nd, Steven Meyer, “Jere-miah Johnson.”

Junior Historical: 1st, Dan Edwards,“Marc the Avenger”; 2nd, Bill Marotti,“Pikeman.”

Monsters: 1st, Richard Wheeler, “Raid-ers of the Last Orc”; 2nd, Tony Toich,“Mama & Babies.”

Fantasy Diorama: 1st, Richard Wheeler,“Gules & Or Inn”; 2nd, Tim Elliot, “Wehave him now!”

Junior Fantasy: 1st, Chris Jones, “LostTreasure of Senoj in the Ice Caverns ofKrile”; 2nd, Sean Dunn, “Hecteron.”

Individual Figures: 1st, Matt Materne,“Keltic Kzin”; 2nd, Steven Meyer, “JimBridger.”

Large Scale Dioramas: 1st, RichardWheeler, “The Woods”; 2nd, Steven Meyer, “A’ Courtin’.”

Junior Personalities: 1st, Bill Marotti, “Il-lusionist”; 2nd, Casey Gaffney, “DwarfFighter.”

BEST OF SHOW:Richard Wheeler, “The Woods.”

MASTER OF 1982:Eric Heaps, “Cornered.”

Highlights from Richard Wheeler’s striking display“Raiders of the Lost Orc” are shown at the top of this pageand the preceding page. The work depicts on orc party ona swampy, snake-infested island looking for the lost remainsof their former leader. The large photo on the preceding pageshows on orc warrior about to eliminate one of the fearsomereptiles. Wheeler’s isle was filled with snakes and lizards— all of them handmade.

12 DECEMBER 1982

One of the reasons Richard Wheeler was awarded Masterstatus is his “Gules and Or Inn” (bottom left), constructedcomplete with realistic dirt floors, wooden furniture, andguzzling patrons.

A wide-angle view of Eric Heaps “Viking Raid” onan English church (bottom right) shows the situation at hand.Although the church is afire, it is being valiantly defended byknights and men-of-arms.

As is evident from the photos, a few magnifi-cent painters really stood out this year. In re-cognition of this fact, a “Master” status has beenintroduced to the contest. Starting this year andevery year from now on, one or more miniatu-rists who have excelled in their craft will bepronounced a Master. This places them in acategory in which they will only compete withother Masters, thus allowing up-and-comingpainters a chance at the limelight in the normalcategories, while giving the Masters a chance tocompete with others at their level.

There were a couple of special competitionswithin the overall Miniature Open. GrenadierModels held its Second Annual ADVANCEDDUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Painting Com-petition, a great success with a much largerturnout than last year. The judging was alsomore difficult this year, since the average entrywas of better quality. The winners of trophiesfrom Grenadier were:

Single Figure: 1st, Steven Meyer, “OrcPriest”; 2nd, Jim Stevens, “Druid”; 3rd,Andy Stevens, “Xorn.”

Diorama: 1st, Richard Wheeler, “Raidersof the Last Orc”; 2nd, Gene Elsner, “Druid-

ess Summoning an Elemental”; 3rd, RonShirtz, “Who Goes There?”

Junior: 1st (tie), Casey Caffney, “DwarfFighter,” and John Selzer, “Goblin Warrior.”

Master: Eric Heaps, “Wizard’s Room.”

This rendition of “Jim Bridger” (directly above), executedby Steven Meyer, shows the advantages of pointing a larger-scale figure. The photograph does fair justice to the exquisitedetail of such things as the figure’s watch chain, stripedpants, and skin texture.

Tim Kask of Adventure Gaming Magazinealso gave out special awards for excellence(subscriptions plus a set of his Fineous FingersFigures) to Steven Meyer for his “JeremiahJohnson” scene and to Tony Toich for his“Forest Ambush,” a huge diorama portrayingthe forces of evil raiding an elvish procession in aforest.

The awards announcements ended with theproclamation of the Masters, the first such clas-sifications recognized at a GEN CON event.The charter members of the group are EricHeaps, Steven Meyer, Tony Toich, RichardWheeler, and Jim Zylka.

The third GEN CON Miniature Open was agrand event, and those of us who enjoy minia-tures and dioramas are grateful to all those whoentered. Plans are already being drawn up fornext year’s CEN CON Miniature Open, and wehope to make it the best yet. Look in upcomingissues of DRAGON™ Magazine and theRPGA™ network’s POLYHEDRON™ News-zine for word about categories, dates, and sofo r th .

This close-up of a section of Eric Heaps� �Viking Raid�(top of page) illustrates the amount of detail work that goesinto a prizewinning presentation. Note the scarred shield, thefallen Viking, and the realistic ground cover.

Junior awards were given out for the first time at theGEN CON XV competition. The photo at the top of thiscolumn is a look at Sean Dunn�s �Hecatron,� which wasa winner in the Junior Monster division. The junior divisionwas such a success and had so many entrants that itwill definitely be a part of all future Miniature Openpainting contests.

A pair of adventurers�in 77mm scale, no less�emergefrom the undergrowth in Richard Wheeler�s diorama�The Woods.� This entry was the well-deserved winnerof the Best of Show award at the Third GEN CON MiniatureOpen. Of special note is the incredibly realistic foliage,obviously an essential element in the creation of awoodsy scene.

Two final notes: If anyone knows Matt Ma-terne, please have him contact us. And, on a sadnote, Bill Marotti, the Junior entrant who did sowell, had his entries stolen after they were takenfrom the exhibition hall. Any individual whoprovides information leading to the apprehen-sion of the thief or the return of Bill’s miniatureswill be given a Lifetime Membership to theRPGA Network. Please send any and all infor-mation to Kim Eastland, Role Playing GameAssociation™ Headquarters, P.O. Box 509,Lake Geneva WI 53147. All correspondencewill be held in the strictest confidence.

Photography byDan Sample

Up,upandaway

You’re flying back over the front lines, checking the damage to your left wing, whensuddenly three German Albatros fighters are on you at once. The first two swing inbehind your tail and the third descends from above. The tak-tak-tak of their spandauguns fills the cockpit, and your plane shudders as the slugs impact.

Your adrenaline begins to pump, your gut tightens. You open up the throttle, kickinghard on the rudder at the same time, dropping your right wing and throwing the SPADXIII into a power dive. Badly shot up and outnumbered, you continue the dive and tryto head for home.

“Come on, hold together,” you mutter to the controls under your breath. You canhear the wings groan under the stress, their wire supports singing a high-pitchedwhine.

The Germans chase, but fall back as your SPAD outdives the slower, less sturdyAlbatrosses. Another thousand feet, and they abruptly break off and turn back.Carefully, you pull out of the dive and level off. . . the controls seem to be okay. As youget your bearings for the trip home, you allow yourself a slight smile. That was close,you think, but this isn’t horseshoes. . . .

You can live this kind of adventure,and keep both feet planted securely onthe ground all the time, by playing theDAWN PATROL™ game —TSR Hobbies’new version of the classic FIGHT IN THESKIES™ game. It’s the 7th edition of therules, first published in 1968 by MikeCarr, the game’s author. During the in-tervening fourteen years, the rules havebeen expanded and refined repeatedly,

14 DECEMBER 1982

culminating in the new DAWN PATROLset. The box includes a 32-page rulebook, 32 more pages of charts and cards,a full-color map, and two sheets of full-color counters — a total of 103 WorldWar I vintage airplanes plus anti-aircraftartillery and a couple of dirigibles.

The game is a combination of simula-tion and role-playing activity. Players“become” the pilots of WWI aircraft and

A classicgame soarsto new heights

byJim Quinn

must successfully contend with enemypilots and the other hazards of early avia-tion warfare as they try to (a) stay aliveand (b) gain status and become aces.

Three new aircraft are included in theDAWN PATROL rules: the Dorand AR.2,SPAD XI, and Morane-Saulnier Al. Theaircraft counters are printed in histori-cally accurate colors for the first time;before, enthusiasts had to color their

own counters to distinguish particularplanes from one another.

The new set includes “Two-SeaterRandom Aircraft” charts for generatingencounters with observation and reco-naissance planes or bombers. By usingthe new charts in conjunction with the“Fighter Random Aircraft” charts, play-ers can randomly recreate all the ele-ments of dogfights just like they actuallyoccurred. The charts are divided intomonths (from February 1917 throughOctober 1918), and each plane’s likeli-hood of appearing randomly depends onwhether that type was in action (and ifso, how often) during that particularmonth of the war.

Although the combat sequence lookscomplex on paper, the mechanics aresimple to learn, and action flows smooth-ly after a few practice runs. Playerschoose sides and aircraft, roll their start-ing altitudes randomly, and the actionbegins as the two formations close inand mix it up. With higher dice rolls mov-ing first, everyone takes a turn (corres-ponding to 20 seconds of real time) tomaneuver his planes and pick out atarget. Firing takes place; damage givenand received is recorded, and some pi-lots may make checks for mechanicaland structural problems related to thatdamage. Any restrictions or reductionsin a plane’s performance are noted, andeveryone’s ready for the next turn.

For purposes of assessing damage,each plane is divided into sections, andeach section (engine, forward fuselage,right and left wings, tail, etc.) can onlytake a certain amount of damage beforethe aircraft is shot down. The advancedgame has a provision for an greaterchance of added problems as the dam-age taken in a given area increases.

The opportunity to role-play each pilotadds a personal dimension to the game.You’ll have a different pilot for each ofthe aircraft types, and whenever thattype comes up bn a table, that pilot willfly. Pilots have names, nationalities, andpersonalities: some are gutsy daredevils,some cautious, others coldly calculating— all reflected in the way they fly andfight. Every time a pilot takes to the air,you credit him with a mission, and chalkup any kills he gets. Pilots who survivefor 12 missions or notch 5 kills reach acestatus and gain several game advantages.Some will work their way up to doubleace (24 missions or 10 kills) or evenhigher. Outstanding pilots can receivemedals, commendations, promotions inrank, and/or reassignment to a superioraircraft.

World War I aerial combat didn’t — anddoesn’t, in the game — consist exclusive-ly of dogfights; the rules also provide forpilots tangling with bombers, reconais-sance planes, and observation missions.Balloon-busting forays are great fun,

and usually a great and interesting chal-lenge because of ack-ack and machinegun ground defenses.

The basic game rules have been re-written and simplified, both in terms ofcontent and presentation. Movement andmaneuvers, fields of fire, and examplesof play are well diagrammed, making therules easy for new players to absorb. Asplayers get more experienced (and theirpilots likewise), the advanced game andoptional rules can be incorporated foreven more realism. These rules coversuch things as low-level flying, gunjamming, wounded pilots, and landingsand takeoffs (so you don’t have to startplaying in mid-air).

A single mission, involving any numberof players and pilots, takes 1-1½ hours toplay. (It’s best to have at least four peo-ple and no more than ten.) If there is anodd number of players, one of them canact as an observer and fly two-seatercraft to keep the number of players oneach side equal.

The game incorporates so many vari-ables that no two missions are ever thesame. Even if the same planes fly againsteach other for a succession of separatemissions, the events and outcome ofeach of the missions will be distinct fromall the others. Players, just like the pilotsthemselves more than 60 years ago, cannever tell ahead of time how a missionwill go.

D R A G O N 1 5

BEG, BORROWor STEAL?

Six ways to aid Cal Arath�s cash flow

The best solo game in this writer’s ex-perience is Dwarfstar’s Barbarian Prince.The game is a programmed adventure inwhich the player leads a character,Prince Cal Arath, through a series ofrandom adventures and tactical choices,causing a kind of living adventure to un-fold. Success comes by accumulating acash reserve of 500 gold pieces in just 70days (turns). Missing the victory condi-tions, or dying, means failure.

Perhaps nothing so limits Cal Arath’schances of success as the difficulty ofearning money in a pinch. Gold falls hisway when he defeats an enemy charac-ter, or via a lucky encounter or an au-dience with a lord, but all too often hesimply cannot meet his budget for foodand bribes. Lack of funds often means hedare not enter a town, temple or castle,where hunting or camping is not feasible.

It seems to this writer that towns, tem-ples and castles are precisely the placesto go if a strong young man is deter-mined to fill his purse by fair means orfoul. Towns, after all, are commercialcenters and abodes of the wealthy; cas-tles and temples are storehouses fortreasure and tribute. Certainly a manmust have his wits about him if he hopesto support himself — and to make thebiggest gains he must take the biggestrisks. With all this in mind, the followingvariant rules are offered.

Daily actionsIn addition to those daily actions al-

lowed only in certain types of hexes(r203 in the rules booklet), the followingshould be added. Each of these actionsis explained in detail below the list.

Seek an honest job (r344) intown or castle

Beg in the streets (r345) in town,castle or temple

Borrow from a Shylock (r346) intown

by Glenn Rahman

Rob a house (r347) in townRob a castle or temple (r348) in

castle or templeRob a passerby (r349) in town

r344: Seek an Honest JobIn a town: If you make a roll on one die

less than your “wit & wiles” rating, youhave found a job opening. While work-ing, no other activity is possible. Roll onedie to determine the type of job:

1 or 2 = Part-time menial work;food and lodging provided.

3 or 4 = Common labor; food andlodging plus 1 gold per day.

5 = City guard position; food andlodging plus 2 gold per day.

6 = Private bodyguard; food andlodging plus 3 gold per day.

In a castle: If you make your wit &wilesroll, as in a town, the captain of theguards appreciates your merits as aswordsman and allows your enlistment:

1, 2, 3, or 4 = Castle guard posi-tion; food and lodging plus 2 goldper day.

5 or 6 = Mounted patrolman posi-tion; food and lodging plus 3 goldper day.

r345: Beg in the StreetsIf you are wounded and starving, it is

forgivable to beg. To determine the suc-cess of the day’s begging, roll a die:

1 = Scorned, buffeted and insult-ed; no gold received.

2 or 3 = Paltry gleanings; 1 goldreceived.

4 = Looked on with compassion;2 gold received.

5 = Meet philanthropist; 3 goldreceived.

6 = Confronted by 1-3 local con-stables (r305). They are all skill 5,endurance 4 and wealth 4. If yousurrender, you must go to e060a(minor offense). If you defeat them,

you must escape (r218a) from thehex. If you fight them and are de-feated (but not slain), you arethrown into the dungeon (e062).

r-346: Borrow from a ShylockA loan of 10 gold may be obtained

from a local usurer. Seven days later, orwhen you are about to leave town, 12gold is due as repayment. If you cannotrepay on time, or if you attempt to leavetown without paying, you must make adie roll for a result lower than your witand wiles rating. If the roll is made, re-payment can be avoided for one moreday, or you may flee town. If the roll ismissed, the usurer’s henchman will con-front you (r305). His skill is 7, his endu-rance 6, and his wealth 2. If you defeathim, you may escape from town (r218a);if you are defeated, you are slain as anexample to other “deadbeats.”

If you owe money to a usurer in a townyou have fled from, you will be wanted bythe constables there. If you return to thetown, you must pay 100 gold, in interestand fines, and even if you pay the fines,no usurer in that town will ever trust youfor a loan again. If you return and do notpay 100 gold, you must make a roll onone die less than your wit &wiles ratingeach turn or be set upon by 1-6 consta-bles with skill 5, endurance 4 and wealth4 (r305). Unless you escape (r218a), youare taken to debtor’s prison (e062). If youare so unfortunate as to kill a constablein your failed attempt to escape the hex,you will be sentenced to die (e062).

r347: Rob a HouseIf desperation drives you to a life of

crime, you may try to rob a rich man’shouse. If you roll on one die a numberless than your wit & wiles, you may robthe house without attracting the guards’attention. If you fail the roll, you are con-fronted (r305) by 1-6 guards, skill 4,

16 DECEMBER 1982

endurance 4, wealth 4. If you defeat theguards, you may rob the house. Howev-er, if guards are encountered you mustescape the hex (r218a) at the end of theturn, as there will be a description out onyou .

To determine your loot, roll a die. Thisyields the wealth code for the obtainableloot:

1 = 10 gold2 = 30 gold3 = 50 gold4 or 5 = 100 gold6 = 110 gold

r348: Rob a Castle or TempleThere are comparatively richer pick-

ings in a castle or temple. To rob withoutarousing the guards, you must make aroll on one die less than your wit & wilesrating. If you rob a castle in which youare a castle guard, subtract one from theresult. If you fail the roll, you are con-fronted by 2-12 guards (r305), skill 5, en-durance 4, wealth 4. If they defeat you,you are slain. If you defeat them, youmay grab some loot and escape the hex.To determine the nature of the loot, roll adie for the castle/temple wealth code:

1 or 2= 703 or 4= 1005 or 6 = 110

If one robs a castle/temple, he mustescape the hex (r218r). Should he everreturn to the hex, he will be beset by 2-12

guardsmen (as above) but has no chanceto rob anew.

r-349: Rob a Stranger Hoping to win a fat purse, you lurk

along the dark alleys. Suddenly you hearshuffling footsteps and see a dim outlinein the half-light. If you roll on one die anumber less than your wit & wiles, youare able to recognize what sort of personis approaching. If you fail to make theroll, you may still attack the stranger, butcannot identify him until committed tothe attack. To determine the nature ofthe passerby, roll two dice:

2 = Dwarf — skill 6,endurance 7, wealth 21.

3 = Priest — skill 2,endurance 3, wealth 2.

4 = Amazon — skill 6,endurance 5, wealth 4.

5 = Thief — skill 4,endurance 3, wealth 25.

6 = Vagabond — skill 3,endurance 3, wealth 1.

7 = Townsman — skill 3,endurance 3, wealth 15.

8 = Soldier — skill 5,endurance 5, wealth 5.

9 = Swordsman — skill 6,endurance 7, wealth 7.

10 = Nobleman — skill 6,endurance 7, wealth 21.

11 = Magician — skill 4,endurance 4, wealth 60.

12 = Elf — skill 5,endurance 5, wealth 12.

If you slay a priest, you are liable to getthe “mark of Cain,” as described in e018.

If you attack a Magician, he may use awizard fireball, as described in e023.

If you attack an Elf, he will turn out tobe a Magician-Elf on a roll of 5 or 6 (onone die) and will have the fireball (e023).

If you attack a Nobleman, and he sur-vives the surprise attack, he may haveservants nearby. Roll a die: 1, 2, or 3 willbring that number of servants, and a rollof 4, 5, or 6 will bring no servants. Aservant has skill 4, endurance 4, andwealth 2.

When you attack a stranger in order torob him, you get surprise on your side(r220d). However, if he is not dead orunconscious after your surprise attack,there is a possibility that the local con-stables will be attracted by the noise andshouting. At the beginning of each sub-sequent combat round, roll a die; on aresult of 1, you encounter 1-3 constables(each of them having skill 5, endurance4, wealth 4).

If you are forced to escape from yourvictim or the constable(s), you must es-cape the hex (r218a), since a man of yourdescription will be sought. If you shouldreturn to the town after such an escape,each turn you must make a successfulwit & wiles roll or be set upon by 1-6constables (r305).

D R A G O N 1 7

Many are the monsters from the Pleistocene Epoch roamingthe pages of the AD&D™ Monster Manual. But for the most part,I’ve let them stay there. I mean, why would players want to goadventuring in the Ice Age? There’s no metal-workjng — ergono armor, no steel for weapons, and no money. There’s nocivilization — ergo no castles, no cities, no society (as we tendto think of it) to adventure in. There’s no agriculture, no com-merce, and no writing: just lots of ice, dangerous animals, anddeath lurking in every corner. So what is there about the Ice Agethat could hold a player’s attention? The answer: lots.

After reading The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, I got ahankering to adventure in the Pleistocene. Cave halflingsdanced before my eyes, blizzards blew through my feveredbrain, and survival became the only game in town. In the end, Ithought of three basic role-playing modes that could send oneoff into the Ice Age.

Number One: The Clan. The object of this mode is the preser-vation of the Clan, a small tribal society of hunter-gathererswho must depend on each other to survive. I drew up a clan ofabout 20 halflings and singled out the player character types:1st-level individuals who can rise in the clan pecking order,becoming its leaders and providers. The challenge to the play-ers is to ensure the clan’s survival in an incredibly hostile world.Food must be secured. Shelter must be found. Outsiders mustbe kept away. Offspring must be propagated. Weather, preda-tors, and disease must be overcome. And everything hangs onthe intelligence and cooperation of the party (the group of PCswithin the clan). In short, even with no castles or coins, this sortof situation has all the makings of a desperate and nobleenterprise.

Number Two: The Individual. Take a first-level player charac-ter, make him an outcast or an orphan, and set him down tomake his way alone in the savagery of the Pleistocene. Verychallenging: this even has possibilities for solo adventuring.The object here is to explore while securing food, shelter, andother necessities. The individual must survive. And along theway, this hero could build up followers and henchmen to formthe nucleus of a new clan — the surest ticket to survival.

Number Three: Mix and Match. A regular party of adventur-ers, bored with dungeons and slums, might go for a trip to theIce Age. Maybe they get dumped there through the ire of asuper-powerful wizard? Maybe they enter a time warp? Maybethere is a corner of your campaign area that never got over theglacial period? Or, you could dump some Ice Age charactersand creatures into a regular AD&D campaign. Either way, youcan make players see things through new eyes, and have a lot offun besides.

18 DECEMBER 1982

Okay. Having justified the trip, then how does one go aboutsetting up a Pleistocene campaign? The first thing is to under-stand what the absence of civilization means. No cities. Nostructures more complicated than a lean-to, a hide tent, or acage. No agriculture beyond gathering whatever grows whereit happens to grow. No politics beyond the clan/tribal gatheringor an occasional encounter with outsiders. No organized war.No crowds. No books, scrolls, glass, wheels, metal, wovenfabrics, or machines. Not even much leisure time.

So what do Pleistocene folks do? Basically, they work: mostof the time either gathering food, hunting food, processingfood, or manufacturing clothing, tools, and weapons. (Exceptin winter, when they hole up in their cave(s), snowed in, dealingwith a monumental case of community cabin fever.) “Adventur-ing” consists mostly of hunting trips, migrations, going to gath-erings every few years, and coping with an occasional raid by(or on) a pack of predatory creatures.

Of course, there is story-telling and worship and play andeven romance, but all these are an integral part of clan life; thereare very few solitary pursuits in this society. Numbers meanstrength, but too many mouths strip an area of food. Balancingout the equation of survival in your favor is the only way to keepalive, and an individual acting with an individual purpose hasalmost no chance of surviving. It’s a hard life, and it never getseasier. Since treasure is almost non-existent (except for roughgems), the only way to rise in levels is to kill beasts and defendthe clan. Experience can be gained in no other way. So let usconsider how Ice Agers spend their time.

To nutritionally sustain one person for one month requires 1hit die of meat-bearing animal or fish, plus 2 bushels of roots,grains, and assorted vegetable matter. Children require half ofwhat adults do, but do not contribute significant labor for ourbroad generalizations. (A month has four weeks, and there are13 weeks in a solar year.)

Keep in mind that animal/vegetable sources must be kept inthis 1 h.d./2 bu. ratio. The life of the clan requires both sorts ofnutrients. Game and fish provide fur, leather, fat for lighting,waterskins, ivory, and other materials, in addition to food. Thegrains and roots gathered also will include reeds for weavingbags, sticks to make into utensils, medicinal plants, and soforth. If the food ratio gets lopsided, the clan can survive byconsuming 1 additional h.d. of meat per person per month inplace of the 2 bu. of grains, or vice versa, but in these cases theDM should consider incorporating such effects as an increasedchance for disease (because of vitamin deficiency), a higherlikelihood of important equipment (such as protective clothing)wearing out, and so forth. The DM can assume that as long as

ARTICLE BYARTHUR COLLINS

PAINTING BYKIM GROMOLL

DRAGON 19

both proportions are supplied, most of the necessities of livingwill be taken care of. The only alternative to these general rulesis to keep a detailed account of everybody’s production andconsumption of everything, which would be a colossal bore.

Thus, a clan of 15 adults and 4 children = 17 full consumers. Inone year, they must kill, gather, and process 221 hit dice ofgame (above and beyond an occasional rabbit or pigeon) and442 bushels of wild grains, yams, seeds, and so on. The task forthe summer task is not only to keep alive, but to store away stufffor the winter, when one can neither hunt nor gather. Starva-tion, if it happens, usually comes in early spring, when there isno food to be found and the winter’s stores are depleted (orruined by vermin).

The facts of Ice Age lifeGathering of grains, plants, and so forth may take place in

earnest starting the first week after the last frost (usually the11th week of spring) up until 4 weeks after the first frost of thecoming (usually the 2nd week in autumn). The growing seasonaverages 91 days. Gathering can usually be done, then, over aperiod of 18 weeks; during the 7th through 11th weeks, gather-ing may be done at 150% efficiency (this is when the “crops” aremost bountiful and convenient to pick). One adult may gather1½ bushels of usable stuff in a day. The same area cannot begathered in more than one week in six. Note also that moun-tains contain vegetation, but are not worth picking at. The DMmight want to make an assessment of the relative bounty of thearea; there is no distinction made here between hills, plains,forests, and swamps: edible stuff exists in all these places.

Hunting, unlike gathering, is not an “automatic” activity. Thisis where the DM and players can get down to adventuring. Youmust work for every hit die of beast trapped or hunted. I wouldallow a basic 1 in 12 chance of an encounter twice or thrice a

20 DECEMBER 1982

day (morning &evening, plus one more during the night, if theparty is camping out). Not only game would be encountered,but also predators, vermin, and other creatures (see encountertables). Good hunters (especially rangers) could probablytrack well enough to better the odds of having an encounter.

However, hunting and gathering are both alike in one re-spect: they are only a part of life. Only 2 days per week perperson can be spent doing either or both. The other 5 days aretaken up with the other business of life: processing food, mak-ing weapons and clothes, repairing and manufacturing the stuffof daily existence, worshiping. Groups from the clan can takehunting trips of 7 days’ duration once in every 5-week period(weather permitting).

This all is not to suggest that all life means is work, work, andmore work: only that, in general, one must accept major claimson one’s time for the purpose of ensuring survival. Ceremonies,story-telling, raids, and daily problems “caused” by the DMmay go on as one pleases without causing any problems insimulating the survival needs of the Pleistocene. But limitinghunting and gathering to only 2 days a week per person andstaking out most of the rest of an individual’s time as alreadyobligated to some thing or another is a game device to ensurethat sufficient time is spent on necessities without the playershaving to keep track of how many flint knives and fur robes theymake. Flexibility in the monitoring of clan activities is required;the DM should note an increasing disruption of the clan’s life-style only when a significant number of man-hours are lost.When sickness, injury, raids, or whatnot cause the number of“work days” to fall below the minimum, the DM may announcethat such-and-such piece of equipment has worn out, or theclan’s supply of this or that material has been exhausted; recti-fying this problem then becomes the challenge to meet. The

DM should read The Clan of the Cave Bear and other fictionbased in the Ice Age to get a feel for the working rhythm of thiskind of society.

Generally, males hunt and females gather. This is not a sexistthing, but merely a wise division of labor. Both have much to doand division of labor is a wise idea. Survival is dependent onboth game and plants. It makes good sense to see to both needsat the same time.

Races among the glaciersThe lack of agriculture and technology in the Pleistocene

affects each of the player-character races. Cavemen (as in theMonster Manual) require no adjustments to their specifics toplace in the Pleistocene world. For that matter, a group ofnomads (afoot; horses and cattle have not been domesticatedyet) armed with stone weapons would fit right in. So wouldstone-age berserkers. But PC races are another matter; somethought needs to be given to their cultural differences.

Dwarves should be very few, secreted in their deep places. Tothese types alone, if the DM allows it at all, some primitivemetallurgy could be attributed. High-level tribal leaders mighthave crude metal weapons (+2, at least in comparison with thenormal stone weapons) and studded leather armor. This benef-it would place dwarves higher on the technological ladder thanany other race. Therefore they ought to be very rare.

Elves would be +1 with spear and sling (instead of bow andsword, neither having been invented). While all races wouldhave discovered ritual fermented or narcotic potations, to theelves would belong the specialty of making wine from wildgrapes. Also, only wood elves would be around in Ice Agetimes. (Editor’s note: Since the Players Handbook says all play-er character elves are considered to be high elves, abiding bythis stipulation would make it impossible for player-characterelves to exist in this environment. If the issue must be resolved,DMs will have to either ignore the author’s recommendation orchoose to allow a relaxation of the rule.)

Gnomes, the best stonecutters in the usual AD&D world,

D R A G O N 2 1

would be the best flint workers in the Ice Age. All their stoneweapons should be considered +1 relative to those producedby non-gnomes.

Half-elves are virtually non-existent. Their racial specialtywould be in woodcraft. Rangers, druids, and bards lead thissociety.

Halflings are the tamers of wild dogs. While other groupsmight capture an animal, only the halflings have domesticatedthem and learned to breed them. They even use them in hunt-ing. A clan will consist of all tallfellows, all hairfeet, or all stouts,with no intermingling of the various racial strains and no “half-breed” halflings.

Half-orcs are the only race to use poisoned darts, and are theinventors of the blowgun used to fire them.

Humans have the advantage of having all classes open tothem, with unlimited advancement potential, as is the case inthe AD&D rules.

Cavemen (humans), should the DM allow such types to beplayer characters, should be +1 with a spear and -1 with allthrowing weapons.

Considering that a clan would be xenophobic in the extreme,certain problems are presented. If the player-character groupmust be all dwarves or all elves, for instance, then eligibility incertain character classes needs to be extended to the race inquestion. Also, the level of technology and civilization (or lackthereof) in the Pleistocene epoch influences the maximum levelattainable in certain character classes. The table in the PlayersHandbook on “Class Level Limitations” is modified for the IceAge, so that it looks like this chart:

22 DECEMBER 1982

Dw Elf Gn ½Elf Hlf ½Orc HumCLERIC 8 7 7 5 no 4 U

Druid no no no U 6 no UFIGHTER 9 7 6 8 6 10 U

Ranger no no no 8 no no UMAGIC-USER no 11 no 8 no no U

Illusionist no no 7 no no no UTHIEF 5 no no 5 U 5 U

Assassin no no no no no U UBard no no no U 6 U U

All restrictions noted in the Players Handbook not changedabove should be observed. Note that paladins and monks sim-ply do not exist. Thieves are very rare (What is there to steal?Where is the society to steal from?), but the class is open todwarves, so they can sneak around dungeons; to halflings andhalf-elves, to enable them to be used as scouts and as prepara-tory to bard status; and to half-orcs, who also use thievingability to act as scouts, and are nasty to boot. Humans can bethieves because no class is closed to them. The assassin classis a half-orc prerogative, but of course also open to humans.Note that even though the cleric class is opened to PC dwarves,elves, and gnomes, non-human PCs still must be multi-classedclerics. Halflings are allowed to be bards because they can alsobe druids, fighters, and thieves, the three classes represented

(Turn to page 72)

D R A G O N 2 3

by E. Gary Gygax

©1982 E. Gary Gygax. All rights reserved.

This month’s installment finishes up the presentation of newmagic-user spells slated for inclusion in the upcoming AD&D™rules expansion. New spells of levels 5-9, supplementing thelists in the Players Handbook, are these:

No. 5th Level 6th Level25 Avoidance Chain Lightning26 Dismissal Contingency27 Dolor Ensnarement28 Fabricate Eyebite29 Leomund’s Lamentable Mordenkainen’s Lucubration

Belabourment30 Sending Transmute Water To Dust

7th Level 8th LevelBanishment BindingForcecage DemandMordenkainen’s Otiluke’s Telekinetic

Magnificent Mansion SphereSequester SinkTeleport Without ErrorTormentTruenameVolley

No. 9th Level13 Crystal brittle14 Energy Drain15 Mordenkainen’s Disjunction16 Succor

Where credit is dueCredit for original conception or inspiration for certain of the

new spells (including some presented in last issue’s column)should be distributed as follows: Melf — Luke Gygax; Leomund— Len Lakofka; Evard and Otiluke are NPC characters of theGreyhawk Campaign; Chain Lightning was devised by John R.Kingsbury, and the spell won a 1st place in the 5th InvitationalAD&D™ Masters Tournament; likewise, Contingency was de-vised by David Waksman, overall winner of the same tourna-ment. Mordenkainen is my own character.

No.171819

2021222324

24 DECEMBER 1982

SPELL EXPLANATIONS

FIFTH LEVEL SPELLS:

Avoidance (Abjuration/Alteration)

Level: 5 Components: V, S, MRange: 1” Casting Time: 3 segmentsDuration: Permanent until dispelledArea of Effect: Up to 3’ cube Saving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the castersets up a natural repulsion between the affected object and allother living things except himself or herself. Thus, any livingcreature attempting to touch the affected object will be re-pulsed (unable to come closer than 1’), or will repulse theaffected object, depending on the relative mass of the two; i.e.,a lone halfling attempting to touch an iron chest with an avoid-ance spell upon it will be thrown back; a dozen such halflingswould find themselves unable to come within 1’ of the chest,while the chest would skitter away from a giant-sized creatureas the creature approached. The material component for thespell is a magnetized needle. Because the spell can not be castupon living things, any attempt to cast avoidance upon theapparel or possessions borne by a living creature entitles thesubject creature to a saving throw.

Dismissal (Abjuration) Reversible (Conjuration/Summoning)Level: 5 Components: V, S, MRange: 1” Casting Time: 1 roundDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: One creature

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user seeks to force or allow some creature from another planeof existence to return to its proper plane. (Cf. fourth level clericspell, Abjure.) The name of the type of creature to be returnedmust be known, and if it has a given, proper, or surname, thistoo must be known and used in the spell. Magic resistance, ifany, is checked for effect immediately. Then, the level of thespell caster is compared to the level or number of hit dice of thecreature being dismissed. If the magic-user has a highernumber, the difference between his or her level is subtractedfrom the saving throw score of the creature to be affected by thedismissal. If the creature has a higher level or higher number ofhit dice than the level of the caster, that difference is added to itssaving throw score. Exception: If the creature desires to bedismissed, then only an unmodified saving throw is needed.Certain arcane works are reputed to allow greatly enhancedchances for spell success. If the spell is successful, the creatureis instantly whisked away, but the spell has a 20% chance ofactually sending the subject to a plane other than its own.

The reverse of the spell, beckon, attempts to conjure up aknown and named (if applicable) creature from another plane.Success or failure is determined in the same manner as for adismissal spell, but in this case magic resistance is onlychecked if the creature has no known proper name. If the spellsucceeds, the creature is instantly transported from wherever itwas to the plane of the spell caster. This does not guarantee

that the beckoned creature will be kindly disposed to themagic-user, nor will it in any way be subject to his or her wishesor commands without some additional constraint. Because ofthis, various sorts of protective measures are generally takenwhen using this form of the spell, and even with careful prepara-tion, the results might be unwholesome.

The material components of the spell vary with the type ofcreature to be dismissed or called. In general, items which areinimical and distasteful to the subject creature are used for adismissal, and for a beckon spell materials which are pleasing,desirable, and rewarding must be used.

Dolor (Enchantment/Charm)

Level: 5 Components: V, SRange: 1” Casting Time: 5 segmentsDuration: 2 rounds Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: One creature

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user attempts to force compliance or obedience from someoppositely aligned or hostile creature from a plane foreign tothat of the spell caster. The dweomer causes unease in thecreature in question during its mere reading, and on the roundthereafter, the subject becomes nervous and filled with doubts,while on the last round of effect the creature actually feels adull, all-encompassing dolor. The initial effects cause the crea-ture subject to make all saving throws versus commands/re-quests at -1 on the dice rolled to determine whether or not itresists, the adjustment favoring compliance. The secondaryeffects cause the adjustment to go to -2. The tertiary effect is anadjustment of -3. Thereafter, the creature is no longer affectedand it makes further saving throws without adjustment.

When uttering the spell, the magic-user can be mentallyassailed by the creature if the subject has a higher intelligencethan the spell caster. In such a case, the creature has a 5%chance per point of superior intelligence of effectively charm-ing and dominating the magic-user. In the case of such control,the creature will then do with the spell caster as its alignmentdictates. If the spell caster is distracted or interrupted duringthe casting of the spell, the subject creature is able to automat-cally effect the charm and domination.

The verbal component of the spell must deal with the class ofcreature in question, with as much information as possibleabout the subject creature.

Fabricate (Enchantment-Alteration)

Level: 5 Components: V, S, MRange: ½”/level Casting Time: SpecialDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: 1 cubic yd./level

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user is able to convert material of one sort into a product ofdesired nature which is of basically the same material as wasinitially used when the fabricate was cast. Thus, the spell castercan fabricate a wooden bridge from a clump of trees, a ropefrom a patch of hemp, clothes from flax or wool, and so forth.Magical or living things cannot be created by a fabricate spell.The quality of items made by means of the spell is commensu-rate with the quality of material used as the basis for the newfabrication. If mineral material is worked with, the area of effectis reduced by a factor of nine; i.e., 1 cubic yard becomes 1 cubicfoot.

Articles generally requiring a high degree of craftsmanship(jewelry, swords, glass, crystal, etc.) cannot be fabricated un-less the magic-user otherwise has great skill in the craft consid-ered. Casting requires 1 full round per cubic yard (or foot) ormaterial to be affected by the spell.

Leomund’s Lamentable Belabourment(Enchantment/Evocation)

Level: 5 Components: VRange: 1” Casting Time: 5 segmentsDuration: Special Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 or more creatures in a 1” radius

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user causes a combination of fascination, confusion, and rageupon 1 or more creatures able to understand the language inwhich the spell caster speaks. Upon casting the spell, themagic-user begins discussion of some topic germane to thecreature or creatures to be affected. Those not saving versusmagic will immediately begin to converse with the spell caster,agreeing or disagreeing, all most politely. As long as the spellcaster chooses, he or she can maintain the spell by conversingwith the subject(s). As long as there is no attack made uponthem, they will ignore all else going on around them, instead“choosing” to spend their time exclusively talking and arguing.

If during the course of the maintenance of the spell the casteris attacked and/or otherwise distracted, he or she is still pro-tected, for the subject or subjects will not notice. The magic-user can leave at any time after the casting and the subject(s)will continue on for 1 full round as if he or she were still there toconverse with. In these cases, however, saving throws versus

If the spell is maintained for more than 3 rounds, each subject

spell for continuance of the spell are not applicable, even if, for

creature must attempt another save versus spell. Those failingto save this time will wander off in confusion for 3-12 rounds,avoiding proximity of the spell caster in any event. Those who

instance, the subject(s) would otherwise have had to save to

make the confusion save are still kept in fascination and must

avoid confusion or rage. Note that the spell is entirely verbal.

also save in the 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds (or for as long as thecaster continues the dweomer) to avoid the confusion effect. Ifthe spell is maintained for more than 6 rounds, each subjectmust save versus spell to avoid going into a rage — either atoneself, if one is the sole object of the spell, or at all othersubjects of the spell — and attack suicidally (regular “to hit”probability) against one’s own person, or fall upon the nearestother subject of the dweomer with intent to kill. This rage willlast for 2-5 rounds. Those subjects who save versus spell on therage check will realize that they have fallen prey to the Bela-bourment, and will collapse onto the ground, lamenting theirfoolishness, for 1-4 rounds unless attacked or otherwisedisturbed.

Sending (Evocation)

Level: 5Range: SpecialDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

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

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the caster isempowered to contact a single creature with whom he or she isfamiliar and whose name and appearance are well known. If thecreature in question is not on the same plane of existence as thespell caster, there is a 5% chance per plane removed that thesending will not arrive; i.e., if the subject were two planesremoved there would be a 10% chance of failure. The magic-user can send one word per level of experience, with articlesnot considered; e.g., a, an, and the are not treated as words withrespect to the message sent. Although the sending is received,the subject creature is not obligated to act upon it in anymanner. The sending, if successful, will be understood eventhough the creature has an intelligence of as little as 1 factor (1point, or animal intelligence).

The material component for this spell consists of two tinycylinders, each with one open end, connected by a short pieceof fine copper wire.

D R A G O N 2 5

SIXTH LEVEL SPELLS:

Chain Lightning (Evocation)

Level: 6Range: 4” + ½/levelDuration: InstantaneousArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 6 segmentsSaving Throw: ½ or Neg.

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the electri-cal discharge begins as a single stroke of lightning, ¼” wide,commencing from the fingertips of the caster and extending tothe primary target, which must lie within the maximum range ofthe spell as dictated by the level of the caster.

Chain lightning differs sharply from a normal lightning bolt(spell) in that when it strikes its intended target, it does not thendissipate. If the primary target makes a successful saving throwversus spell, one-half damage from the bolt of chain lightning istaken; otherwise, full damage (1d6 points per level of the spellcaster) will be inflicted.

In addition, after striking the initial target, the bolt arcs to thenearest other object, be it animal, vegetable, or mineral. Thischain of striking continues from one object to another objectnearest it, possibly setting up an oscillation between two (pre-sumably stationary or immobilized) objects, or a regular pat-tern involving three or more objects. If two or more possibletargets are equidistant, the chain lightning will arc to metal first,then to the one with the most fluid, otherwise at random.

The chain keeps building up to as many “links” (including theinitial target) as the spell caster has levels. Thus, a 12th levelmagic-user casting the spell would hit 12 targets: the primarytarget first, then 11 other (not necessarily different) targets.After the initial strike, each object subsequently struck is en-titled to a saving throw versus spell, if applicable. Success onthis save indicates that the stroke actually arced to the next

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user is able to place another spell upon his or her person so that

Level: 6 Components: V, S, MRange: 0 Casting Time: 1 turnDuration: 1 day/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: The magic-user

Contingency (Evocation)

The lightning inflicts one less d6 of damage on each target ithits after striking the primary target for the first time; if the initialtarget was struck by a 12d6 bolt, the next target struck takes an11d6 bolt, then 10d6, 9d6, 8d6, 7d6, and so on all the way downto 1d6 — the last spurt of energy from the bolt. (A saving throwfor half damage applies on each strike, different from the savevs. spell to see if the lightning actually hits a secondary target.)The caster can be struck by an arc from his or her own spell.The material components are a bit of fur; an amber, glass, orcrystal rod; and as many silver pins as the spell caster has levelsof experience.

The arcing bolt will continue until it has struck the appro-priate number of objects, as indicated by a target’s failure tosave or lack of the opportunity to do so (as for an inanimateobject of non-magical nature), until the stroke fades out orstrikes a target that grounds it. Direction is never a considera-tion in plotting the path of the arcing chain lightning. Distanceis a factor, though; a single arc can never be longer than therange limit. If, in order to arc, the bolt must travel a greaterdistance than its maximum range, the stroke fades into nothing.A tree or a substantial piece of conductive metal — such asinterconnecting iron bars of a large cell or cage — will groundthe lightning stroke and prevent further arcing.

nearest target, and the target that saved takes no damage.

26 DECEMBER 1982

the latter spell will come into effect upon occurrence of the caster. The base chance for an ensnared creature to break freesituation dictated during the casting of the contingency spell, depends on the manner in which the confining design wasThe contingency spell and the spell it is to bring into effect made. A hand-done one has a base 20%, one inlaid or carved— the “companion spell” — are, in effect, cast at the same time has only a base of 10%, and that for the first time only (which(the 1 turn casting time indicated above is a total for both indicates whether or not the job was done properly). The basecastings). The spell to be brought into effect by the prescribed chance is modified by the total score of the magic-user’s com-contingency must be one which affects the magic-user’s per- bined intelligence and experience level compared to the intelli-son (feather fall, levitation, fly, statue, feign death, etc.) and is of gence score and the experience level or number of hit dice ofa level no higher than one-third of the experience level of the the creature summoned. If the spell caster has a higher total,caster, rounded down: a 4th level “companion spell” maximum that difference is subtracted from the percentage chance forat 12th, 13th or 14th level of experience; a 5th level maximum at the creature to break free. If the creature has a higher total, that15th, 16th, or 17th level of experience, and so forth. difference is added to its chance to break free.

The situation prescribed to bring the spell into effect must beclear, although it can be rather general. For example, a contin-gency cast with an airy water “companion spell” might pre-scribe that any time the magic-user is plunged into or otherwiseengulfed in water or similar liquid, the airy water spell willinstantly come into effect. Likewise, the contingency couldbring a feather fall into effect anytime the magic-user falls over2’ distance. In all cases, the contingency immediately bringsinto effect the second spell, the latter being “cast” instantane-ously when the prescribed circumstances occur. Note thatcomplex, complicated, and/or convoluted prescribed condi-tions for effecting the play of the dweomer are likely to causethe whole spell complex (the contingency spell and the com-panion magic) to simply fail when called upon.

The material components of this spell are (in addition tothose of the companion spell) 100 gold pieces worth of quick-silver; an elephant ivory statuette of the magic-user; and aneyelash of an ogre magi, ki-rin, or similar spell-using creature.Note that the ivory statuette is not destroyed by the spell cast-ing (although it might be subject to wear and tear), and it mustbe carried on the person of the spell caster for the contingencyspell to perform its function when called upon.

Ensnarement (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 6Range: 1”Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: Special

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 turnSaving Throw: Neg.

Explanation/Description: The casting of this spell attempts adangerous act: the luring of a powerful creature from anotherplane to a specially prepared trap where it will be held until itagrees to perform one service in return for freedom from theensnarement spell. The spell causes an awareness of a gate-like opening on the plane of the creature to be ensnared. Aspecial saving throw is then made to determine if the creaturedetects the nature of the planar opening as a trap or believes itto be a gate. To save, the creature must roll equal to or less thanits intelligence score with 3d6. The score is modified by thedifference between the creature’s intelligence and that of thespell caster’s. If the creature has a higher score, the differenceis subtracted from its dice roll to save. If the spell caster has ahigher score, the difference is added to the total of the 3d6.

If the saving throw succeeds, the creature merely ignores thespell-created opening, and the dweomer fails. If the savingthrow is not made, the creature steps into the opening and isensnared. The type of creature to be ensnared must be knownand stated, and if it has a specific, proper, or given name, thisalso must be used in casting of the ensnarement spell.

When actually ensnared, the creature coming from anotherplane to that of the spell caster is not constrained from harmingthe one who trapped it. Therefore, the caster uses a magiccircle (for creatures from the upper planes or the Astral Plane),a thaumaturgic triangle (for creatures from the Ethereal, Ele-mental, or Concordant Opposition planes), or a pentagram (forcreatures from the lower and infernal planes). Regardless ofsuch protection, there is a chance that the entrapped creaturewill be able to break free and wreak its vengence upon the spell

The chance may be further modified by care in preparation ofthe protective symbol. If the hand-made protection is inscribedover a longer period of time, using specially prepared pigments(1,000 g.p. per turn of application), the chance of an ensnaredcreature breaking free is reduced by 1% for every turn spent sopreparing; i.e., an expenditure of 1 turn and 1,000 g.p. reducesthe chance of breaking free by 1%. This can bring the basechance to 0%, but the further modifications for intelligence andlevel/hit dice still must be made thereafter, and no amount ofspecial preparation can negate that risk. Similarly, an inlaid orinscribed protective design can be brought to a 0% chance ofbreaking free by inlaying with various metals, minerals, etc.This cost will require a minimum of one full month of time andadd not less than 50,000 g.p. to the basic cost of having theprotection inlaid or inscribed into stone. Any breaking of thelines of protection or blurring of the glyphs, runes, and sigilswhich guard the magical barrier spoil the efficacy of the dweo-mer and allow the creature to break free automatically. Even astraw dropped across the lines of a circle destroy its power.Fortunately, the creature within cannot so much as place astraw upon any portion of the inscribed protective device, forthe magic of the barrier absolutely prevents it.

Once safely ensnared, the creature can be kept for as long asthe spell caster dares. (Remember the danger of somethingbreaking the inscription!) The caster can offer bribes, usepromises, or make threats in order to exact one service from thecaptive creature. The DM will then assign a value to what themagic-user has said to the ensnared creature, rating it from 0 to6. This rating is then subtracted from the intelligence score ofthe creature. If the creature makes its saving throw, a scoreequal to or less than its adjusted intelligence, it will refuseservice. New offers, bribes, etc. can be made, or the old onesre-offered 24 hours later, when the creature’s intelligence hasdropped by 1 point due to confinement. This can be repeateduntil the creature promises to serve, until it breaks free, or untilthe caster decides to loose it by means of some riddance spell.It need not be stressed that certain other spells can be used toforce a captive creature into submission.

Once the single service is completed, the creature need onlyso inform the spell caster to be instantly transported fromwhence it came. Forced service is resented. Memories are oftenlong. Revenge can be sought. (Cf. Monster Manual, Efreeti;Players Handbook, Aerial Servant and Invisible Stalker.) Im-possible or unreasonable commands will never be agreed to.

Eyebite (Enchantment/Charm, Illusion/Phantasm)

Level: 6Range: 20’Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

Components: V, SCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: An eyebite spell enables the casterto merely stare at his or her subject and speak a single word tocause the dweomer to be effectuated. With this single spell, thecaster can choose which particular effect is to strike the sub-ject, but the eyebite spell is then dissipated, even though onlyone of its four possible effects were used.

(Turn to page 54)

D R A G O N 2 7

Author’s Introduction“Beefing up the Cleric” in issue #58 of DRAGON™ Magazine

was the first installment in this column in a discussion of thecleric in the AD&D™ system. This second installment, broughtabout by much urging and assistance from Brad Nystul, willdiscuss the non-adventuring cleric. This material is not anofficial addition to the AD&D rules.

The non-adventuring clericThe regular cleric, according to the AD&D rules, must have

the following statistics: strength in a range of 6 to 18, intelli-gence 6 to 18, dexterity 3 to 18, constitution 6 to 18, charisma 6to 18, and wisdom 9 to 18. (Half-elf clerics must have a wisdomof at least 13; it might be extrapolated that other demi-humanclerics also must have a minimum wisdom of 13, though half-orcs, since their maximum wisdom is 14, might have their min-imum lowered — say, to 11.) If the cleric is not a human, his orher ability-score minimums and maximums must also be inaccordance with the limits for that race.

However, one wonders if non-player characters must meet allthe same requirements, especially with regard to the minimumscores necessary to be a cleric — and, if they are allowedvariation, how they might be “balanced” to retain some advan-tage for characters who do meet all the regular requirements.

The AD&D game models its cleric after the medieval fighter-cleric, à la Templar or Hospitlar. Yet we are all aware that allclerics, then and now, do not meet that standard. The AD&Dgame does not take into account scholarly (sometimes calledcloistered) clerics, or brothers who are not ordained but havesome clerical functions. I would like to fill in those two gaps andallow for regular clerics, as non-player characters, who do notmeet the ability-score minimums for player character clerics.

The easiest group to rule on is those clerics who do not meetthe required minimums in strength, intelligence, dexterity (fornon-humans), constitution or charisma — the minimum wis-dom score must be kept at 9. If the cleric has a low strength,dexterity or constitution (less than 6), he or she will be at a greatdisadvantage in melee: the character will be -1 (or worse) “tohit” or to damage, +1 (or more) on defensive adjustment, and/or-1 (or worse) on hit point adjustment. The way to limit such acleric is to say that if either strength or dexterity is less than 6,he or she cannot wield all the weapons permitted to the class.Such a cleric could use a club, hammer, horseman’s mace, andstaff only. The flail is either too difficult to maneuver or tooheavy; the footman’s mace is too heavy. If strength is less than6, the hammer can be wielded but not thrown. If both strengthand dexterity are less than 6, the character will fight as a first-level cleric forever — no matter how many levels he or shemight gain in the future.

Non-player character clerics with constitutions of 6 or lowerwill tire easily in melee, so that after some number of roundsthey will be -1 “to hit” regardless of strength and/or dexterity.That number of rounds would be determined by rolling d6 andadding it to a base number: 4 rounds for a constitution of 6; 3rounds for a constitution of 5; 1 round for a constitution of 4;and 0 rounds (use the d6 roll only) for a constitution of 3. Suchnon-player clerics might be encountered by a party but theywill usually be part of a local clerical establishment (abbey,monastery, temple, etc.), or perhaps part of a pilgrimage. Theywould not appear as simple “random monsters,” nor would they

30 DECEMBER 1982

ever be found as humanoid shamans. Such non-combatantclerics, who have full spell ability and other clerical powers,would likely never rise above the level of Patriarch (8th).

Cloistered clericsWe cannot call these characters “monks” in the AD&D game,

though that term would be most applicable if we are usingEurope as a model for this type of cleric. The cloistered cleric(let’s call him or her a friar) will be apart from the outside worldin a monastery, abbey, or other such structure. Some selectfriars will be allowed to greet and talk to those who might visitthe monastery. The other friars might not be allowed contactwith the outside world and might be under vows of silence aswell. (They may only speak during church ‘services, in emer-gencies, and to convey necessary information.)

The majority (85%) of cloistered clerics will have large librar-ies of from 100 to 10,000 books, manuscripts, and scrolls. Clois-tered clerics of at least 9th level with wisdom and intelligencescores of at least 13 and 15, respectively, and who have a libraryof at least 5,000 items, will have the abilities of a minor sage.They will have sage ability in one Major Field and one MinorField only, and no other supporting knowledge whatsoever.Their percentage chances to know the answer to a question areas follows:

General Specific ExactingIn minor field 36%-47% 21%-28% 9%-14%

(35+d12) (20+d8) (8+d6)In major field 51%-70% 35%-46% 16%-25%

(50+d20) (34+d12) (15+d10)Such a cloistered cleric/sage will expect and demand a liber-

al contribution to the abbey (church, etc.) of not less than 1,000g.p. for general information, 2,000 g.p. for specific information,and 3,500 g.p. for exacting information. There is no fee if thecloistered cleric/sage does not know the answer to a question.

Cloistered clerics will have the following statistics: Strength,3-18 (roll 3d6); Intelligence, 6-18 (roll 4d4+2); Wisdom, 9-18(d10+8); Dexterity, 3-18 (3d6); Constitution, 3-18 (3d6); Cha-risma, 3-18 (3d6).

Cloistered clerics fight as magic-users, and are allowed theuse of the footman’s mace, the hammer, the club, and thequarter staff only. They gain only one new weapon, that at 9thlevel. They do not wear armor or use a shield but are allowedrings of protection, cloaks of protection, and bracers of de-fense. Their chance of owning such a protection device is 15%per level, as is their chance of owning a magic weapon. Theyare allowed to use any written item allowed to a cleric or amagic-user, except for those items which would grant themlevels of experience. They may employ potions allowed to cler-ics or magic-users (or to all classes) as well as any magic ring.They may use no rods, staves, or wand except a rod of cancella-tion, a rod of resurrection, a staff of curing, and wands of enemydetection, fear, illumination, and negation.

Cloistered clerics use four-sided dice for accumulated hitpoints. They make their saving throws as clerics, but at -2 in allcases .

They are usually (50%) lawful but might be neutral (35%) orchaotic (15%). They can be either good (40%), neutral (35%), orevil (15%) as well.

Cloistered clerics are almost always human, but on occasiona half-orc or half-elf might be found in their number. Cloistered

clerics have no effect upon undead.Their possible eventual level is strongly tied to their wisdom

and intelligence scores. Experience-point ranges are not givenfor them, since they are always non-player characters.

Cloistered clerics table

Experiencelevel

12345 56 107891011

Min.Int.68688

1112121314

Min.Wis.

999

1111131415151617

cl-sided dicefor

accumulated Levelhit points title

1 Novice2 Ostiary3 Brother4 Father

6PadreChaplain

7 Subdean8 Dean8+1 Prior or Abbot8+2 Father Superior8+3 Archimandrite

Spells usable by class and level — cloistered clericsCleric Spell levellevel 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 — — — — — —

2 1 — — — — —3 2 1 — — — —4 3 2 1 — — —5 4 3 2 — — —6 4 3 3 1 — —7 4 4 3 2 — —8 4 4 4 3 1 —9 4 4 4 44 4 4 2 —

10 4 4 4 4 3 —11 4 4 4 4 4 1

Note: Cloistered clerics do not gain bonus spells forhigh wisdom.

Spell list for cloistered clericsNote: Spells printed in italic type are from the AD&D

Players Handbook. Those marked “¹” were describedin the Leomund’s Tiny Hut column in DRAGON #56.Those marked “²” are new spells devised for cloisteredclerics and are described in the following text.

Those marked “³” are reversible spells, but the re-verse of the given spell is not allowed to lawful goodcloistered clerics; likewise, it is 70% unlikely that aneutral good character will have the reverse spell, and40% unlikely that a chaotic good cleric will have thereverse. Those spells containing the word “evil” can bereversed to either form by lawful neutral or chaoticneutral clerics.

1st level 2nd levelBless³ AuguryCeremony (Burial)¹ Ceremony (Dedication)¹Ceremony (Coming of Age)¹ Ceremony (Investiture)¹Create Water Ceremony (Consecrate Item)²Combine¹ Ceremony (Bless Newborn)²Cure Light Wounds³ ChantDetect Evil Death Prayer¹Detect Magic Detect CharmHand Fire² Detect Life²Magical Vestment¹ Holy Symbol¹Protection from Evil Know AlignmentPurify Food & Drink LightRemove Fear³ Slow PoisonSanctuary Speak with AnimalsScribe² Translate²

3rd levelCeremony (Special Vows)¹Create Food & WaterCure Blindness³Cure Disease³Detect Curse² ³Dispel MagicEnthrall¹Glyph of Warding (paralysis)Hold PersonLocate ObjectPrayerRemove CurseRemove ParalysisSpeak with DeadDismiss Undead² ³

4th levelCeremony (Consecrate¹ or

Desecrate² Ground)Continual LightDetect Lie³ExorciseNeutralize Poison³Protection from Evil 10’ radiusSpeak with PlantsScroll²TonguesWard, minor²

5th levelAtonementCommuneCure Critical WoundsDispel EvilQuestRaise Dead³True SeeingWard, major²

6th levelCommunicate²Heal³Stone TellWord of Recall

New spell explanations

Hand Fire (Alteration)

Level: 1 Components: V, SRange: 0 Casting Time: 1 segmentDuration: Special Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: Cleric’s hand

Explanation/Description: This spell allows the cleric, by turn-ing his cupped hand upward and saying a command word, toproduce a cold flame that casts the equivalent of torch light.The hand fire will remain lighted until the cleric casts any otherspell or until he or she uses his or her hand to perform someother function. The fire is non-harmful and will not ignite anycombustible materials, even oil. It cannot be blown out, butmagical darkness will dispel it instantly.

Scribe (Alteration)

Level: 1Range: TouchDuration: PermanentArea of Effect: Variable

Components: V, S, MCasting time: 1 roundSaving throw: None

Explanation/Description: Via this spell, the cleric’s handwrit-ing, if it happens to be poor, is greatly enhanced. Furthermore,he or she can write twice as rapidly as normal and still producehigh-quality copying of a text or map. The scribe spell can beused when writing down the text of magical scrolls. It furtherdecreases the chance of error by 25% in the copying of any andall text. The scribe spell will stay in effect as long as the clericcontinues to copy or compose a text, with a limit of eight hoursof such writing in any case. Any interruption of the copying willruin the spell from that point forward. The material componentsare ink, quill and parchment (book or scroll) and perhaps thatwhich is being copied. Note: Magical scrolls cannot be copiedor composed by any cleric below 7th level.

Ceremony (Bless Newborn) (Abjuration)

Level: 2Range: TouchDuration: Six monthsArea of effect: One infant

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

D R A G O N 3 1

Explanation/Description: This spell is used to protect a new-born (within 14 days) infant from possession and other ill ef-fects that might befall him or her. Such a protected infant gainsa saving throw bonus of +2 from any type of possession. Fur-ther, he or she is under the effect of a half-strength resist fireand resist cold spell for the full six-month spell duration. Theceremony of blessing the newborn has no effect upon infantsolder than two weeks of age. (Note: usual cost is 2-5 g.p.)

Translate (Alteration)

Level: 2 Components: V, S, MRange: Self Casting Time: 1 roundDuration: 3 turns/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: One text or scroll

Explanation/Description: This spell allows the cleric to readtexts (scrolls, maps) written in a foreign or alignment language(including thieves’ cant). It does not allow the reading of magicor the deciphering of some coded message. The spell can beused in conjunction with a scribe spell (see foregoing) if thetranslation is to be written down. Any scroll containing a spellor recipe for a potion or powder cannot be translated.

Detect Curse (Divination)

Level: 3Range: TouchDuration: PermanentArea of Effect: One item

Components: V, SCasting time: 6 roundsSaving throw: Neg.

Explanation/Description: Via this spell the cleric can tellwhether an item is cursed, if the item fails a saving throwallowed to it. The suspect item must be touched by the clericand, in some cases, this might release the curse effect. Cursedscrolls must be opened, but not read, for the spell to have aneffect. Artifacts will not answer to this spell in any case. Thebasic saving throw allowed to an item is 13, though very power-ful cursed items will have a saving throw as low as 5 (the DMmust decide the appropriate saving throw on an item-by-itembasis). This spell cannot detect charms; it can detect curses onpersons, though the person is allowed a normal saving throwversus magic. Casting of this spell will affect the cleric sostrongly that he or she cannot cast any other spells whatsoeverfor four hours after this casting, though spells already prayedfor are not lost from memory.

Dismiss Undead (Abjuration)

Level: 3 Components: V, S, MRange: 6” Casting Time: 2 segmentsDuration: 3-12 rounds Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 6” long cone, 2” diam. at base

Explanation/Description: By the casting of this spell, a clois-tered cleric can temporarily gain the ability to possibly turnundead or command it/them into service. For purposes of de-termining success or failure of the turning/commanding at-tempt while the spell is in effect, the level of the cloistered clericwill be that of an adventurer-cleric minus four levels. Thus, a 7thlevel cloistered cleric would turn undead as a 3rd level adven-turer-cleric. Undead can be commanded to service by evil clois-tered clerics. Neutral cloistered clerics can only turn (notcommand) the undead.

Ceremony (Desecrate Ground) (Abjuration)

Level: 4 Components: V, S, MRange: 3” Casting time: 1 hourDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: One building, graveyard, etc.

Explanation/Description: This spell is the reverse of cere-mony (consecrate ground), which was described in DRAGONissue #58. It may be used by a cleric of any alignment versus abuilding or area of ground representing an opposing align-ment. For a building (generally a church or other cleric-oriented edifice) to be desecrated, the altar inside must becovered with holy or unholy water, manure, etc., while thecasting of the ceremony (desecrate ground) is in progress. Adesecrated building is 1% likely per year to collapse; thischance is not cumulative. Roll at the end of each year of dese-cration to see if the structure collapses. A desecrated buildingcan be consecrated at a later time by application of the unre-versed form of this spell.

If an area of ground (such as a graveyard) is the object of thespell, it is necessary to know if the ground was consecrated inthe first place. Desecrate ground will only remove the conse-cration if one was in effect. A second, subsequent desecrationhas no effect. The area can be reconsecrated. A graveyard thathas never been consecrated is more likely to have its gravesyield lesser undead. If the spell animate dead is cast in such agraveyard, one extra skeleton or zombie will rise from thegraveyard. Further, any attempt to turn undead in an unconse-crated graveyard (if and only if the undead come from thesegraves) will be as if the cleric were two levels lower than he orshe actually is.

Scroll (Alteration)

Level: 4Range: TouchDuration: PermanentArea of Effect: One scroll

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

Explanation/Description: Via this spell, the cleric can com-pose a magical scroll of a spell he or she knows with a 40%smaller chance of error (see DMG, page 118). The scroll spellcannot be used in combination with a scribe spell (q.v.). Alter-natively, the scroll spell can make the cleric write the scrollfaster (double normal speed), but then the reduction in thechance for an error is canceled.

Ward, minor (Abjuration)

Level: 4 Components: V, S, MRange: Touch Casting time: 3 roundsDuration: Until broken Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: Hemisphere of 15’ radius

Explanation/Description: Via this spell, the cleric brings intobeing a special barrier of force. It cannot be physically brokenthrough by a physical attack of any sort, including the use ofpowerful weapons like a vorpal blade. The minor ward, howev-er, can be brought down by several spells: disintegrate, limitedwish, phase door, shadow door, plane shift, or wish spell, or anyone of the following spells that does at least 20 points of dam-age: fireball, lightning bolt, cone of cold, flame strike, Otiluke’sFreezing Sphere (second or third application), or meteorswarm. Anything within the hemispherical area of effect is notdamaged when the minor ward is brought down (but might beput in jeopardy). The minor ward cannot be entered or exited bytraveling astrally, or via dimension door, passwall, or teleport.Characters and creatures in the hemisphere cannot cast spellsout, though spells can be cast so as to affect those inside theminor ward, such as cures, neutralize poison, commune, etc.

The minor ward will remain in effect as long as the cleric isconscious; in the round after he or she falls asleep or is knockedunconscious (or worse), the ward will collapse. The caster canwill it to come down at any time, but this act takes 1 full round.To effect the spell, the cleric must space seven small pearls (atleast 100 g.p. value each) evenly on the ground in a 30-foot-diameter circle. Smaller circles can be made, if desired, butnever larger ones. The pearls are consumed in the casting.

32 DECEMBER 1982

Ward, major (Abjuration)

Level: 5 Components: V, S, MRange: Touch Casting Time: 3 roundsDuration: Until broken Saving Throw: SpecialArea of effect: Hemisphere of 10’ radius

Explanation/Description: This is a stronger variation of theminor ward. It can only be brought down by certain of the spellsthat affect a minor ward: a damage-producing spell (fireball,lightning bolt, cone of cold, flame strike, Otiluke’s FreezingSphere, meteor swarm) that does at least 50 points of damage,or a disintegrate, limited wish, or wish spell. As with the minorward, dispel magic has no effect whatsoever on it. The majorward will remain up until the cleric casting it becomes uncon-scious. The material component for the spell are seven gems(they can be of different types) valued at no less than 250 g.p.each. They are consumed in the casting.

It should be noted that the minor ward and major ward affordno protection from underneath, so tunneling into one is possi-ble if the proper equipment or magic is available. The person(s)inside a ward cannot teleport, dimension door, travel astrally,use a word of recall, etc., unless the ward is brought down first.

Communicate (Divination)

Level: 6 Components: V, S, MRange: Unlimited Casting Time: 3 roundsDuration: 1 turn + 1 rd/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: Caster and one other person

Explanation/Description: Via this spell, a cleric can commu-nicate with another person anywhere on the Prime MaterialPlane. He or she casts the spell using a mirror as a materialcomponent. The person to be contacted must be known to thecleric, and the subject cannot be within any type of force fieldlike a cube of force, minor ward, major ward, major or minorglobe of invulnerability, etc., nor may the contacted person beunder the protection of a mind blank spell or a psionic defenselike tower of iron will. The subject, if asleep, will awaken if thatperson makes a saving throw versus magic (a new saving throwis allowed every other melee round). Once contact is estab-lished the cleric can see, if the subject is willing, whatever thatperson can see, and vice versa. Hearing is also allowed, sosomeone speaking to the cleric or person can be overheard —but the words must, of course, be repeated for others to haveknowledge of them.

The communication link is so strong that the cleric can cast acuring spell of any type through the link to the person beingcontacted. Once the cure is so cast, the link breaks immediate-ly. The cleric who casts the cure spell can do no further spellcasting for one full day plus one additional day for each level ofthe cure cast through the communication. The receiver, whomay be of any character class, has no way to contact the cleric,although prearranged contacts are certainly possible.

Contact established by means of this spell while the subjectis occupied (casting a spell or involved in melee, for instance)will require that the receiver stop pursuing the current activityin order to accept the communication. The cleric can onlycommunicate with, or look in on, someone who is willing anddoing nothing else at the time. If this is not the case, the clericwill realize the communication has been rejected, for a reasonwhich may not be known to him or her, and the contact willbreak. The cleric will see or hear nothing through the subject’ssenses if that person rejects the communication.

The life of the cloistered clericThe cloistered cleric is both literate (if his or her intelligence

is 6 or above) and can write. The character spends most of hisor her time studying or copying texts and scrolls. He or she mayalso have mundane duties to perform, and some groups ofcloistered clerics do not exempt even a Dean from such duties.

The abbey or monastery where the cloistered cleric resides isalmost always (90%) made of stone and is usually (60%) sur-rounded by a wall of stone as well. Farm lands tended by thecloistered clerics surround the abbey or monastery. Most ab-beys and monasteries exist outside of towns, and many are wellaway from main roads. Only cloistered clerics involved inteaching will have residence in a town or city. These teacherswill run schools and colleges, and such an individual’s librarywill have a minimum of 2,500 scrolls and/or books.

The abbey or monastery never has fighting clerics or monksin it, nor are fighting clerics or monks ever employed on apermanent basis by cloistered clerics. For their own protection,in hostile territories, abbeys or monasteries may have in theiremploy men-at-arms (if evil, humanoids of one hit die or less)headed by a fighter (but not a ranger or a paladin) of 1st to 7thlevel. (A fighter of 3rd or higher level may have from 1-6 ser-geants or even 1 lieutenant to aid him or her.) Cloistered clericsdo not hire a thief or assassin, unless to recover some itemstolen from them. A magic-user or sage occasionally may be intemporary residence in an abbey or monastery, doing research(15% and 3% likely, respectively).

Learning and recovery of spellsCloistered clerics have one important difference in the way

they gain and use their spells. They must rest for the appro-priate time, as any other spell caster. They then must pray for aperiod of not less than one hour per level of the highest levelspell that they will memorize; i.e., an Archimandrite would haveto pray to his or her deity for six hours to replace his or her 6thlevel spell, but could also replace any first to fifth level spells aswell after this period. Once the cloistered cleric has prayed, hethen reads the desired spell from a spell text, just as a magic-user does, taking 15 minutes per spell level per spell. He or shedoes not have to roll a percent chance to “know” a spell in anycase, but he or she must have the minimum intelligence andwisdom as outlined earlier! All cloistered clerical spells arewritten in large tomes as large as magic-user spell books. Theyare written in a language which, while it can be learned byanother cleric, will never give spell power to any other type ofspell caster including a druid.

An adventuring cleric who knows the language of cloisteredclerics can read from their texts to learn a spell. This processwill take the adventuring cleric 30 minutes per spell level perspell and in no way counts as a spell known to that adventuring-class cleric. Further, if a given spell is not available until ahigher level to a cloistered cleric, it must be memorized by anadventuring class cleric at that (higher) level. The adventuring-class cleric must also pray to his deity, just as the cloisteredcleric must, before the book or text will release its power fromthe written word. A cleric who does not pray prior to reading willgain nothing from the text. Example: A 5th level adventuringcleric (a Prefect) wants to read hold person from a cloisteredcleric’s book of spells. For the cloistered cleric this is a thirdlevel spell, so the adventuring cleric must pray for three hoursand then read the spell text, memorizing it as a third level spell,in the next one and half hours. (The cloistered cleric would onlytake 45 minutes to read the same spell.) If the adventuring clerichas not learned the prayer for hold person before, the charactermay not now pray to his or her deity for it, even though he or shehas just memorized it. Cloistered clerics usually only have oneor two spell books in their abbey or monastery, and thus theywill not willingly part with a book, even a duplicate.

Cloistered clerics are very poor, using any wealth they maygain only to pay for food, clothing and items used in the abbey,monastery, or school. Even their altar wear is usually plain, asare the altar pieces and church/temple decorations. What mon-ies they do collect from donations and spell casting — theyalways charge for spell casting — may be divided up and sent toother temples, churches, abbeys, etc.

BrothersBrothers are clerics who are not ordained. They have func-

D R A G O N 3 3

tions around and about the church/temple, but often have asecond occupation totally unrelated to the church (shopkeep-er, blacksmith, housewife, etc.). A brother or sister (not thesame as a nun) might also be a teacher, scholar, money-handler, assistant in the service, and so forth. His or her second-ary profession might allow the character to be trained with aweapon; in fact, the brother or sister might be an adventuring-class character of some type.

Fully 60% of all brothers and sisters have no education infighting. They would be unarmored and 50% likely to be un-armed as well. Those who do bear arms might carry a dagger(unless their organization forbids it), a short sword (again,some organizations might not allow edged weapons carried byany clerical figure), club, mace, quarter staff or hammer. Theywould fight as zero-hit-dice figures but would obtain the savingthrows of a first level cleric in all categories, because of theirreligious training.

The balance of brothers and sisters (40%) will have someweapon skills. Those weapon skills are apart from any second-ary profession. These brothers and sisters can don armor intimes of strife, wearing leather or studded leather most oftenand occasionally bearing a shield as well. They fight as firstlevel clerics and obtain the same saving throws. They will haveone eight-sided die for their hit points (the non-fighting brotherand sister will use a six-sided die, as all zero-level figures do).The weapons allowed to them are as a cleric, but some mightbear daggers, short swords, or broad swords as well. None ofthese brothers and sisters, in either category, ever obtain morehit points, nor do they ever become better at melee.

Brothers and sisters may also be deacons in the organization.One in four brothers will be a deacon, and a congregation withmore than four deacons will have an archdeacon as well. Arch-deacons and deacons are allowed two and one first level cleri-cal spells, respectively, per day. (They cannot re-pray for theirspell after four hours of rest like a first level cleric).

The list of spells available to archdeacons and deacons islimited to these only: bless, cure minor wounds (works as curelight wounds but does only 1d4 of healing), detect evil (mightbe reversible in some organizations), endure cold, endure heat,purify food and drink, remove fear, and sanctuary.

Endure heat and endure cold are generally only known inareas where extremes of heat and cold are in fact present.Remove fear cannot be reversed to cause fear, and purify foodand drink cannot be reversed to putrefy food and drink. Someorganizations might allow the reverse of cure minor wounds tocause minor wounds if the organization is evil or chaotic neu-tral, or if there is great need and the temple or church might fallif the spell is not made available to its deacons and archdeacons.

Brothers and sisters otherwise will be found in most churchesand temples and occasionally in abbeys, monasteries, andschools. They will likely not reside on the organization’s prop-erty. They will perform mundane duties in most cases (washingfloors, cooking, cleaning the temple or church — though rarelythe altar and other services) — but some, as mentioned earlier,will be scholars and teachers. A deacon is of equal rank to anAcolyte or Novice, but an archdeacon is superior to an Acolyteor Novice. Brothers and sisters do not go into battle unless thechurch or temple, or the town in which it is located, is threatedwith destruction. They surely do not adventure and do not gointo dungeons. If a deacon or archdeacon administers a cureminor wounds spell, he or she can expect 40 g.p. from astranger for the spell. He or she might cast this spell for free onthe members of the church’s congregation.

If the reader would like to study the fantasy cleric, both theadventuring and non-adventuring types, he or she might wishto read the Camber of Culdi trilogy by Katherine Kurtz (Del ReyBooks) or the Chronicles of the Deryni (Del Rey Books) Note:The Legends of Camber of Culdi is a prequel to the Chroniclesof the Deryni.

34 DECEMBER 1982

by Mark S. Harcourt

The FIEND FOLIO™ Tome includes anappendix of updated, expanded randommonster encounter tables, incorporatingcreatures from the AD&D™ MonsterManual as well as those from the FFbook. However the appendix does notinclude expanded encounter tables forunderwater and waterborne adventures.This article is offered to help fill this gap.

When using the tables given below,DMs must take note of three special as-pects. First, the tables include a fresh-water variety of sea hag and a marinevariety of vodyanoi, both of which arementioned but not detailed in their re-spective texts. At the end of this articleare some suggested specifications forthese creatures, as well as other notesfor those creatures which are said to bethe marine variety of the same air-breath-

36 DECEMBER 1982

ing creature, as the kopoacinth is to thegargoyle.

Second, several monsters in the FIENDFOLIO book are said to inhabit subter-ranean areas where water is found (aswith the blindheim or giant bloodworm),or where special conditions are said tobe necessary (as with the bullywug).DMs must be sure they do not introducea creature called for by these tables intoan area where that creature would not befound.

Last, in some instances, the informa-tion contained in the FIEND FOLIO bookwas not complete enough to establishwhether the creature described is foundin fresh water or a marine environmentand whether it is encountered in shallow,deep, or both shallow and deep water. Incases where no restriction (marine vs.fresh water, shallow vs. deep) is indicat-ed, the creatures are fisted on the en-counter tables for both categories.

LUNG WANG(Sea Dragon)

WATERBORNE ENCOUNTERSIN FRESH WATER

Small Body of WaterDice score Creature encountered

01-10 Beaver, giant 1

11-20 Crocodile 2

21-30 Hippopotamus 2

31-32 Kelpie33-51 Lizard man 4

52-56 Nixie 1

57-61 Nymph62-72 Otter, giant73-77 Thork78-87 Throat leech88-98 Turtle, snapping, giant99-00 Water weird

Large Body of WaterDice score Creature encountered

01-02 Beaver, giant 1

03-04 Crayfish, giant05-06 Crocodile 2

07-10 Crocodile, giant 2

11-15 Dinosaur (see Subtable)16 Dragon, carp (Yu Lung)17 Dragon, spirit (Shen Lung)

18-23 Gar, giant24-25 Hippopotamus 2

26 Kelpie27-29 Koalinth (hobgoblin)30-31 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)

32 Lacedon (ghoul)33-36 Lizard man 4

37-50 Man, buccaneer(or warship)

51-75 Man, merchant76-81 Man, pirate

82 Naga, water83-87 Nixie 1

88-90 Otter, giant95 Thork

96-97 Turtle, snapping, giant98-99 Vodyanoi

00 Water weird

WATERBORNE ENCOUNTERSIN SALT WATER

Shallow Water, Coastal Waters,Small Inland Seas

Dice score Creature encountered01-05 Crabman06-07 Crocodile, giant 2

08-14 Dinosaur (see Subtable)15-21 Dolphin

22 Dragon, sea (Lung Wang)23 Dragon turtle

24-25 Elf, aquatic26 lxitxachitl27 Kelpie

28-29 Koalinth (hobgoblin)30 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)31 Lacedon (ghoul)32 Locathah

33-40 Man, buccaneer(or warship)

41-60 Man, merchant61-63 Man, pirate64-65 Man, pirate (tribesman

with small craft)66-68 Merman

69 Nymph70 Octopus, giant

71-75 Sahuagin76-78 Shark, giant79-81 Snake, sea82-84 Thork85-87 Triton

88 Turtle, sea, giant89-90 Vodyanoi, marine91-96 Whale, carnivorous, small97-00 Whale, small

Deep WatersDice score Creature encountered

01-05 Dinosaur (see Subtable)06-12 Dolphin

13 Dragon, sea (Lung Wang)14 Dragon turtle15 Kelpie

16-17 Man, buccaneer(or warship)

18-25 Man, merchant26-27 Man, pirate28-34 Merman35-39 Octopus, giant40-44 Sahuagin45-49 Shark, giant50-52 Snake, sea53-54 Squid, giant55-63 Triton64-66 Turtle, sea, giant67-69 Vodyanoi, marine70-73 Whale, carnivorous, large74-78 Whale, carnivorous, med.79-85 Whale, carnivorous, large86-90 Whale, large91-95 Whale, medium96-00 Whale, small

UNDERWATER ENCOUNTERSIN FRESH WATER

Shallow Water Encounters (to 50’)Dice score Creature encountered

01-04 Beaver, giant 1

05-07 Bloodworm, giant 3

08 Blindheim 3

09-11 Bullywug12-14 Bunyip15-18 Crayfish, giant19-23 Crocodile 2

24-25 Crocodile, giant 2

26-28 Dinosaur (see Subtable)29-31 Eel, electric 2

32-36 Frog (see Subtable)37-40 Gar, giant41-42 Green slime 1

43-47 Hippocampus48-51 Hippopotamus 2

52 Kelpie53-56 Koalinth (hobgoblin)57-58 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)

59 Kuo-toa 3

60-61 Lacedon (ghoul)62-65 Lamprey 1

66-70 Leech, giant71-75 Lizard man 4

76 Naga, water77-80 Nixie 1

81 Nymph82-86 Otter, giant87-89 Pike, giant

90 Quipper 1

91-94 Spider, giant, water95-98 Turtle, giant, snapping

99 Vodyanoi00 Water weird

D R A G O N 3 7

Deep Water Encounters (below 50’)Dice score Creature encountered

01 Bever, giant 1

02-06 Beetle, giant, water07 Blindheim 3

08-10 Bunyip11-13 Crayfish, giant14-17 Crocodile, giant 2

18-22 Dinosaur (see Subtable)23-25 Dragon, carp (Yu Lung)26-27 Dragon, spirit (Shen Lung)

28 Dragon turtle29-33 Eel, electric34-38 Gar, giant39-40 Giant, storm41-42 Hippocampus

43 Kelpie44-45 Koalinth (hobgoblin)46-49 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)50-53 Lacedon (ghoul)54-59 Lamprey, giant60-64 Lizard man 4

65-67 Mottled (purple) worm68 Naga, water

69-73 Nixie74-78 Otter, giant79-84 Pike, giant

85 Sea hag, fresh-water86-91 Spider, giant, water92-95 Turtle, giant, snapping96-99 Vodyanoi

00 Water weird

UNDERWATER ENCOUNTERS INLARGE BODIES OF SALT WATER

Shallow Encounters (to 100’)Dice score Creature encountered

01-02 Barracuda03-04 Crab, giant05-06 Crabman

07 Crayfish (lobster), giant08-09 Dinosaur (see Subtable)10-13 Dolphin

14 Dragon, sea (Lung Wang)15 Eel, giant

16-19 Eel, weed20-21 Elf, aquatic22-23 Eye, floating

24 Giant, storm2 5 - 2 8 Hippocampus29-30 Ixitxachitl

3 1 Kelpie32-36 Koalinth (hobgoblin)37-38 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)39-40 Lacedon (ghoul)41-43 Locathah44-45 Masher46-48 Merman

90

94 Vodyanoi, marineWhale (see Subtabte)

4 9 N y m p h50-51 Ochre jelly52-53 Octopus, giant

61-62 Ray, sting63-66 Sahuagin

67 Sea hag68-72 Sea horse73-77 Sea lion78-80 Shark

81 Shark, giant82 Snake, sea83 Squid, giant

84-86 Strangle weed87-89 Triton

91-93Turtle, sea, giantUrchin (see Subtabte)

Por t . man-o-war , g ian t57-58 Ray, manta59-60 Ray, pungi

95-00

38 DECEMBER 1982

Deep Water Encounters (below 100’)Dice score Creature encountered

01-03 Crayfish (lobster), giant04-05 Crocodile, gnt. (salt water)2

06-10 Dinosaur (see Subtable)11-17 Dolphin

18 Dragon, sea (Lung Wang)19 Dragon turtle

20-21 Eel, giant22 Eye of the Deep23 Giant, storm

24-28 Hippocampus29-31 lxitxachitl32-33 Koalinth (hobgoblin)34-36 Kopoacinth (gargoyle)37-38 Lacedon (ghoul)39-40 Lamprey, giant41-42 Locathah

43 Masher44-48 Merman49-50 Morkoth51-52 Octopus, giant53-55 Ray, manta56-59 Sahuagin60-61 Sea hag62-66 Sea horse67-71 Sea lion72-76 Shark, giant77-78 Snake, sea79-80 Squid, giant81-83 Triton

84 Turtle, giant, sea85-87 Urchin (see Subtable)88-90 Vodyanoi, marine91-00 Whale (see Subtable)

NOTES ON ENCOUNTER TABLES1— Result possible only in cool wa-

ters, otherwise roll again.2 — Result possible only in warm wa-

ters, otherwise roll again.3— Result possible only in subterra-

nean waters (caves, grottos, etc.), oth-erwise roll again.

4— 5% of these encounters will in-clude a lizard king among the lizard men.

DINOSAUR SUBTABLEDice score Creature encountered

01-15 Archelon ischyras16-35 Dinichtys 1

36-55 Elasmosaurus 2

56-75 Mosasaurus 2

76-00 Plesiosaurus 2

1— Encountered only in deep wa-ters, otherwise roll again.

2— If encountered in fresh water, itmust be in a relatively warm climate(sub-tropical), otherwise roll again.

FROG SUBTABLEDice score Creature encountered

01-70 Giant71-80 Killer81-00 Poisonous

URCHIN SUBTABLEDice score Creature encountered

01-40 Black41-62 Green63-84 Red85-92 Silver93-00 Yellow

ful evil. They prey on any availablecreatures. Koalinth are of lighter col-oration [than hobgoblins], havinggreen faces, and have webbed handsand feet.”

so says the creaturesThe book alare found in “shallow water in cavernsand sea caves,” but they seem to fre-quent other watery areas as well,since they appear on encounter ta-bles (in the DMG) for fresh-water anddeep-water environments.

For every 20 koalinth in a group,there is a leader (sergeant) and 2 as-sistants, each having 9 hit points. it

Several monsters. . .are said to inhabit subterraneanureas where water is found, or where special conditions arenecessary. DMs must be sure they do not introduce acreature into an area where it would not be found.

respects.... Koalinth speak only their

gills. They are similar

From the AD&D™ Monster Manual:The koalinth is “a marine species ofhobgoblin withto their land-dwelling cousins in most

racial language (hobgoblin) and law-CRABMAN

46-65 Large66-85 Medium86-00 Small

WHALE SUBTABLEMarine, Shallow Water

Dice score Creature encountered01-11 Carnivorous, large12-22 Carnivorous. medium23-55 Carnivorous; small56-66 Large67-77 Medium78-00 Small

WHALE SUBTABLEMarine, Deep Water

Dice score Creature encountered01-15 Carnivorous, large16-30 Carnivorous, medium31-45 Carnivorous, small

AQUATIC VARIETIESFor creatures detailed in the above

charts which the Monster Manual saysare aquatic varieties of the samemonster, the following suggestionsare offered. Both the kopoacinth(gargoyle) and the lacedon (ghoul)have the same characteristics as theirland-based counterparts, except formovement rate, which is 9”//18” ineach case. (The kopoacinth is notable to fly through the air.) The giantcrayfish statistics can remain as theyare for the lobster variety. The koa-linth, fresh-water sea hag, and marine-variety vodyanoi are dealt with inmore detail below.

KOALINTH (Hobgoblin)FREQUENCY: UncommonNO. APPEARING: 20-200ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 6”//18”HIT DICE: 1 + 1% IN LAIR: 25%TREASURE TYPE: Individuals K, M;

D, Q (x5) in lairNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 or

by weapon typeSPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AverageALIGNMENT: Lawful evilSIZE: M (6½’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/XP VALUE:

Normal (1 + 1 HD): l /20 + 2/hpSub-chief: l /35 + 3/hpChief: l /60 + 4/hpShamans/Witch doctors: Variable

D R A G O N 3 9

Vodyanoi can change color, from deep sea green to solidblack, to blend in with underwater terrain features. . . . If thevodyanoi finds itself being beaten in a fight, it will attempt toflee and will utilize its camouflage ability to avoid detection.

100 or more koalinth are encountered,there will also be a sub-chief present(AC 3, 16 hit points, +2 to damage,fights as a 3 HD monster). If koalinthare encountered in their lair, there willalso be, in addition, a chief and 5-20bodyguards. Koalinth chiefs are AC 2,22 hit points, do 2-11 points of dam-age without a weapon, and are +1 tohit and +3 to damage with weapons.They fight as 4 HD monsters.

For every 40 koalinth in a group,there is a cumulative 20% chance thateither a shaman (60% of the time) or awitch doctor (40%) will be present. (Ina group of 200, the chance of a sha-man or witch doctor being present is100%.) The shaman will be of 5th-7thlevel and will have from 1-4 assistants,each of either 1st or 2nd level. Thewitch doctor will be of 2nd-4th level(both as a cleric and as a magic-user)with 1-3 assistants, each 1st level inboth classes. There will also be fe-males and young in the lair equal to150% and 300%, respectively, of thenumber of males.

Koalinth lairs are located in under-water caves and grottos. There is a60% chance that there will be from 2-8giant crayfish (in fresh water) or from2-6 sea lions (in salt water) serving asguards for the lair.

Koalinth leaders are always equip-ped with either a spetum or a tridentand net (50% chance for each). Otherkoalinth are typically armed with thefollowing weapons: spear (40%), tri-

The tribal standard will be with asub-chief 20% of the time. It is alwayswith the chief if koalinth are encoun-tered in their lair. Sight of the tribalstandard causes koalinth within 6” tofight at +1 to hit and +1 on morale(reaction) dice rolls.

FRESH WATER SEA HAGFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: 15”HIT DICE: 3% IN LAIR: 10%TREASURE TYPE: C, YNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: DaggerSPECIAL ATTACKS: Death lookSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%INTELLIGENCE: AverageALIGNMENT: Chaotic evilSIZE: MPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/XP VALUE: V/600 + 3/hp

Except for frequency, magic resist-ance, and the fact that the creaturemay be found in any non-arctic freshwaters, this sea hag is identical to itsmarine counterpart. (Note that theremust be sufficient light available tosee the sea hag before its special at-tack and special defense can be used.)

VODYANOI, Marine VarietyFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-2MOVE: 6”//12” (but see below)HIT DICE: 12 + 6% IN LAIR: 50%TREASURE TYPE: UNO. OF ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-24/4-24/2-16SPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise on 1-3;

grasping (see below)SPECIAL DEFENSES: CamouflageMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: LowALIGNMENT: Chaotic evilSIZE: L (14-20’ talI, 8-12’ wide)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/XP VALUE: VIII/4,500 + 16/hp

40 DECEMBER 1982

dent (40%), spetum (15%), or trident &net (5%).

These predators fear nothing, asthere are very few creatures in the seawho would have a good chance ofdefeating them in a fight. Their skin istough and sandpapery to the touch.They can change color, from deepsea green to solid black, using achameleon-like camouflage ability toblend in with vegetation, rock, andother underwater terrain features.Opponents are surprised on a roll of1-3 on d6. lnfravision and ultravisionwill not help detect their presence,since these creatures are cold-blood-ed. Though their normal swimmingmovement rate is relatively slow, thesecreatures are able to put on greatbursts of speed (up to at least 24”) forshort periods (1 round at a time, nomore than once per turn). This abilityis often employed when rushing for-ward from a hiding place to attackprey. (Treat this attack as an under-water charge for those characters notsurprised and able to attack on thecharge round.)

Like the fresh-water variety, themarine vodyanoi preys on mediumand large size creatures. Often, thevodyanoi will attack passing ships,ripping hulls out of vessels more thantwice as large as itself and capsizingboats less than twice its size.

In melee, should the vodyanoi suc-ceed in hitting with its mandibles, theopponent (assuming it is 8’ tall orless) is held with a grasping strengthof 18/75, and is -2 to hit back and atleast +2 to be hit by the vodyanoi untilthat grasp is broken. In order to breakthe grasp alone, the victim must havean effective strength (perhaps magi-cally enhanced) of at least 18/76,which would give a 01% chance ofbreaking free. This chance increasesby 01% for every increment through18/00 strength, which yields a 25%chance of getting free per attempt. Aneffective strength of 19 allows a 50%chance of success, and 20 or greaterwould automatically allow the victimto break free. In order to free another,the character attempting to free thevictim must forgo attacks each roundan attempt is made.

If the vodyanoi finds itself beingbeaten in a fight, it will attempt to fleeand will utilize its camouflage abilityin an attempt to avoid detection. Thechance of success for this “escape”attempt depends on such variables asthe amount of light and cover availa-ble nearby.

MOTTLED (Purple) WORMThis creature is identical in all re-

spects to the non-aquatic purpleworm, except that it burrows throughthe muck and gravel of the oceanfloor and surfaces underneath itsprey. This attack allows it to surpriseon a roll of 1-3 on d6.

D R A G O N 4 1

WEATHER I N WORLDT H E

A CLIMATE FOR REALISTIC AD&D� ADVENTURING

INTRODUCTIONThis article describes a system by

which a DM may easily deal with themany problems of adding weather ef-fects to an AD&D™ campaign. Whilespecifically designed for use with theWORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy Set-ting, it can easily be adapted to anothersort of world by modifying the calcula-tions in the first section. In addition toweather, this system includes othergeophysical and astrophysical pheno-mena such as times of sunrise andsunset, the phases of the moon(s), sea-sonal variations, tsunamis (tidal waves),earthquakes, and volcanoes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIn creating this system, I have often

felt much like an interior decorator, ow-ing an immense debt to the architect forgiving me a place to practice my skills. Inthis case, of course, the architect is E.Gary Gygax, who I must thank not onlyfor the AD&D system, but also for open-ing his personal world — Greyhawk — tothe public. It was the modules he createdand set in this world — especially GlacialRift of the Frost Giant Jarl (G2) and Hallof the Fire Giant King (G3) — that firstcaused me to recognize the need for aweather system that would be consistentwith the AD&D rules. But it was not untilthe WORLD OF GREYHAWK setting waspublished that I was provided with theperfect locale to test my ideas. I cannotthank Gary Gygax enough for allowingme to use his world as the basis for mysystem.

42 DECEMBER 1982

Thanks are also due to Frank Mentzer,who first introduced me to high-qualityAD&D play, from both a player’s and aDM’s perspective, and whose criticismswere invaluable in refining this system.Finally, I want to express my apprecia-tion to my own players, who patientlysuffered through months of play testingand corrections while the system slowlyreached its final form.

BASIC ASSUMPTIONSIn order to accurately deal with weath-

er and related phenomena, several setsof data are needed. The first is some ba-sic facts about the world to which thesystem will be applied. A set of maps willprovide most of this information. Onemust also know the size of the world, sothat the system can be appropriatelyscaled. In addition, a set of “baselineweather” data is necessary, providing afull year’s worth of meteorological in-formation for a specific latitude and ter-rain. Finally, some astronomical infor-mation is required.

A simple way to acquire all this data isto begin with a predesigned world onwhich meteorological data from our ownEarth can be overlaid. If this is done, thenthe DM must assume that the fantasyworld is similar to Earth in details such assize, rotation and revolution periods,and angle of inclination from the ecliptic.

This approach is particularly appro-priate for use with the world of Oerth asset forth in the WORLD OF GREYHAWKGazetteer. Oerth’s year is 364 days long,close enough to Earth’s 365-day solar

cycle that differences can be ignored. Ifit is assumed that Oerth is also approxi-mately the same size as Earth, then aone-to-one correspondence can be easi-ly drawn.

Because changes in climate are relat-ed to changes in latitude, the size of theworld is crucial to the design of a weath-er system. On Oerth, it is assumed that70 miles of travel (2 1/3 hexes) in a northor south direction covers one degree oflatitude. Oerth thus has a polar circum-ference of 25,200 miles, quite close toour own planet’s 24,800 miles. The ac-companying table shows typical conver-sions between degrees of latitude, mile-age, and hex counts on the map. (Note

DISTANCE CORRESPONDENCESBETWEEN HEXES, DEGREES OFLATITUDE, AND MILES

N-SN-S distance N-S

distance in degrees distancein hexes of latitude in miles

1 .428 302 .856 602 1/3 1 704 2/3 2 1405 2.14 1507 3 210

10 4.28 30011 2/3 5 35020 8.56 60023 1/3 10 70035 15 1050

OF GREYHAWKADAPTABLE FOR USE IN YOUR WORLD

BYDA V I D

AX L E R

that the Gazetteer states that a hex isapproximately 30 miles across. This fig-ure is always true for north-south travel,but the width of a hex will vary depend-ing on the latitude.)

The use of this scale means that theGreyhawk maps, which cover 2,910 miles(97 hexes) on the north-south axis, alsocover 41.571 degrees of latitude. If wecompare this to Earth, we find that suchan area covers the portion of NorthAmerica extending from Guatemala,central Mexico, and the main Caribbeanislands to as far north as Labrador, theAleutian Islands, and the middle of Hud-son Bay. This is reasonable, given thetypes of climate implied by the Grey-hawk map and Gazetteer-tropical jun-gles in the south, a central temperatearea, and chilly northern reaches.

The equivalence between Oerth andEarth is completed when parallels of lati-tude are superimposed on the Greyhawkmap in a way which maintains the sim-ilarities between the two worlds. In thissystem, the superimposition is based onthe assignment of the city of Greyhawkto the climate and latitude of Memphis,Tennessee (latitude 35°9’ north). A sec-ond table shows where the latitude linesare located on Oerth, referring to the hexnumbers at the right-hand edge of eachmap sheet and indicating locales on orclose to each parallel.

The final step is to acquire baselinedata from our own Earth to be applied atthe equivalent Oerth latitude. The base-line used in this system is taken from30-year weather surveys of Philadelphia

(latitude 39°56’ north), made by the U.S. One final introductory comment is nec-Weather Bureau, and is applied to the essary. Unlike our planet’s weather, that40th parallel on Oerth. The baseline in- of Oerth is affected (and possible gener-formation for Oerth is shown on the ated) by magic. Some of the spells andBaseline Data Chart (next page). items which can bring this about are de-

It is assumed that for each degree of scribed in the AD&D Players Handbooktravel in a north-south direction, the and Dungeon Masters Guide, and thebaseline temperature will change by two DM should recognize the possibility thatdegrees Fahrenheit. Thus, a trip seven high-level players and NPCs may do thehexes north of Veluna City takes one to a research necessary to develop newpoint where the temperature is six de- spells. Great care should be taken whengrees colder, since seven hexes equals such spells are implemented, not only tothree degrees of latitude; a trip seven preserve game balance but also to dealhexes south would raise the temperature with the fact that localized magicalby the same amount. (If one crosses the changes to the weather may have reper-Equator, each degree of travel away cussions elsewhere in the world (and,from the baseline works in reverse.) perhaps, on other planes as well).

LOCATION OF MAJOR PARALLELS OF LATITUDE ONTHE WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ MAPS

North Hex # on maplatitude (Right (Left Major geographic features and

(degrees) half) half) locales on this parallel15 93 129 Amedio Jungle; Pelisso Swamp;

Forgotten City20 81 117 Port Toli; Lordship of the Isles24 72 108 Pitchfield25 69 105 Gryrax; Pontylver30 58 94 Rushmoors; Grandwood Forest35 46 82 City of Greyhawk; Ullakand; Edgefield40 34 70 Crockport; Spinecastle45 23 59 Exag; Troll Fens; Feelreev Forest50 11 47 Knudje; Kelten; Cold Marshes54 02 38 Land of Black Ice; Icy Sea

Note: Latitude lines run horizontally across the map, and do not slopesouthwest to northeast as do the numbered lines of hexes.

D R A G O N 4 3

BASELINE DATA CHARTFireseek Readying Coldeven Planting Flocktime Wealsun

Base temp. *Daily high adj.Daily low adj.

Sky conditions:ClearPartly cloudyCloudy

Chance of precip.:

Mid-month time of:Sunrise (a.m.)Sunset (p.m.)

32 34 42 52 63 71+d10 +d6+4 +d8+4 +d10+6 +d10+6 +d8+8-d20 -(d10+4) -(d10+4) -(d8+4) -(d10+6) -(d6+6)

01-23 01-25 01-27 01-20 01-20 01-2024-50 26-50 28-54 21-55 21-53 21-6051-00 51-00 55-00 56-00 54-00 61-00

46% 40% 44% 42% 42% 36%

7:21 6:55 6:12 5:24 4:45 4:325:01 5:36 6:09 6:39 7:10 7:32

Fireseek Readying Coldeven Planting Flocktime Wealsun

Phases Of Luna 1/4: 4th day of month and4th night of Growfest

Full: 11th day of month3/4: 18th day of monthNew: 25th day of month and

4th night of Needfest

Full: 4th day of month and4th night of Richfest

3/4: 11th day of monthNew: 18th day of month1/4: 25th day of month

Phases Of Celene Full: Mid-Needfest andMid-Growfest

3/4: 19th of FireseekNew: 11th of Readying1/4: 4th of Coldeven

Full: Mid-Growfest andMid-Richfest

3/4: 19th of PlantingNew: 11th of Flocktime1/4: 4th of Wealsun

* — Base temperature can be affected by wind and chill factors, and (optionally) by record highs and lows.

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENAThe Baseline Data Chart shows the

time of sunrise and sunset for the middleof each month at the baseline latitude of40 degrees. For each degree of latitudeaway from the baseline, the times shouldbe adjusted by two minutes, adding ifabove 40° north and subtracting if bel-ow. The DM should note that sunrise andsunset are not the times when light ap-pears and disappears, since reflectionsfrom sky, clouds, and terrain may affectthe hours of normal vision. (In the depthsof a steep valley the period of vision willbe significantly reduced, while atop theadjacent mountain it will be extended.)

DMs should note that on any selectedparallel of latitude, sunrise will occur atthe same local time everywhere. Onlyeast-west travel of lengthy distances willcreate a need for time zones. On Oerth,as on our planet, a one-degree change inlongitude will change the times of sun-rise and sunset by four minutes.

At latitudes above 60°, the phenome-non known as the Midnight Sun can oc-cur. During mid-summer months, thesun never sinks far enough below thehorizon to permit total darkness; duringmid-winter, there may be days when thesun never rises. At exactly 60° latitude,these effects will occur only on Mid-summer Day (no sunset) and Midwinter

44 DECEMBER 1982

Day (no sunrise). For every degree oflatitude beyond the 60th parallel towardthe poles, these phenomena will eachoccur for two additional days, one be-fore the midpoint and one after.

In order to provide a pattern for Oerth’stwo moons that is both regular and easyto use, the year has been extended byfour days from the duration specified inthe WORLD OF GREYHAWK Gazetteer.These four days are added, one apiece,to the four great festivals, making eachcelebration a full week in length. Thetotal year of 364 days consists of twelvemonths, each having four seven-dayweeks, plus an additional “month” madeof the four festival weeks.

The smaller moon (Celene, or TheHandmaiden) goes through four cycleseach year, becoming full on the middleevening of each of the festivals. This ev-ening, of course, becomes the high pointof the celebration, especially in the caseof Midsummer’s Night, when those whouse druidic spells are gathering mistle-toe for the coming year.

Luna, the large moon, makes thirteencycles of twenty-eight days during anOerth year. Its cycles are linked withthose of Celene in a manner that causesboth to be full on Midsummer’s Night inRichfest. On Midwinter’s Night, howev-er, only Celene appears; this period is

known as the Dark Time, or the DimNights, to many superstitious peasants.

The exact dates for new, waxing (1/4),full, and waning (3/4) moons are shownon the Baseline Data Chart. The astuteDM will note that the combinations of themoons will have interesting repercus-sions on lycanthropy. Most characterswho become lycanthropes (as describedin the DMG) will have their were-cycleslinked to the cycles of Luna only. How-ever, 10% of lycanthropes are affectedonly by Celene, and another 10% are af-fected by either moon. In any case, when-ever both moons are full, all were-crea-tures will be out a-hunting. (This hap-pens on Midsummer’s Night, unfortu-nately for mistletoe hunters!)

The seasons must be defined in termsof local temperature change. The follow-ing are suggested as guidelines:

Winter: Average base tempera-ture less than or equal to 32° F.

Spring: Average increases from32° to 50°.

Summer: Average rises from 50°)then falls to 60°.

Autumn: Average falls from 60°to 32°.In areas with lengthy summers, the

early half (rising temperature) is consid-ered to be Low Summer; the second half(falling temperature) is known as High

Good-Reaping month Harvester Patchwall Ready’reat Sunsebb

77 75 68 57 46 33+d6+4 +d4+6 +d8+6 +d10+5 +d10+6 +d8+5

-(d6+6) -(d6+6) -(d8+6) -(d10+5) -(d10+4) -d20

01-22 01-25 01-33 01-35 01-20 01-2523-62 26-60 34-54 36-60 21-50 26-5063-00 61-00 55-00 61-00 51-00 51-00

33% 33% 33% 36% 40% 43%

4:45 5:13 5:42 6:12 6:46 7:197:29 6:57 6:10 5:21 4:45 4:36

Good-Reaping month Harvester Patchwall Ready’reat Sunsebb

3/4: 4th day of month and New: 4th day of month and4th night of Brewfest 4th night of Needfest

New: 11th day of month 1/4: 11th day of month1/4: 18th day of month Full: 18th day of monthFull: 25th day of month 3/4: 25th day of month

Full: Mid-Richfest andMid-Brewfest

3/4: 19th of ReapingNew: 11th of Goodmonth1/4: 4th of Harvester

Full: Mid-Brewfest andMid-Needfest

3/4: 19th of PatchwallNew: 11th of Ready’reat1/4: 4th of Sunsebb

Summer. In areas with long winters, the It should be assumed that the highfirst half is called Early Winter and the temperature for the day will occur aboutsecond half Late Winter or Bitter Winter. one hour after mid-day, and the lowThe elves and barbarians, of course, temperature will occur about one hourhave their own names for these periods. before sunrise.

DETERMINING THE WEATHERPlaytesting experience has indicated

that the best way to use this system is forthe DM to generate the weather for oneor two weeks at a time, in advance ofactual play. This approach makes it mucheasier for the DM to calibrate the weath-er with the game-world’s calendar, andwith the actions of the player charactersas well. The sole exception to this iswhen the party is on an extended tripthrough the wilderness, covering variedtypes of terrain, since it is hard for theDM to predict the exact location of theparty in advance in such cases.

To determine current or future weath-er conditions, the DM does the following:

1) Find the base temperature for thecurrent month on the Baseline DataChart. Roll dice as specified to find theadjustments to the base temperature forthe day’s high and low. Adjust both thehigh and low for terrain and for the dis-tance away from the 40th parallel (add 2°Fahrenheit for every 2 1/3 hexes south;subtract the same for distances abovethe 40th parallel).

At the DM’s option, the possibility oftemperature extremes may be added inthe following way. Before the monthlybase temperature is used, roll percentiledice and check this table:

01 Extreme record low02 Severe record low03-04 Record low05-96 Normal temperatures97-98 Record high99 Severe record high00 Extreme record high

To determine the new monthly basetemperature during a record high or rec-ord low, adjust the monthly base tem-perature from the Baseline Data Chartby the maximum high or low possible forthe month. Severe highs and lows are

determined by adjusting the monthlybase temperature by double the maxi-mum high or low. For extreme highs orlows, adjust the base temperature bythree times the maximum.

During each day of a record high orlow, the daily temperature range is de-termined by adjusting the monthly basetemperature and then applying all otherappropriate adjustments.

A period of record high or low temper-atures will usually span several days, theexact number determined by rolling d20:

01 1 day duration02-03 2 days04-10 3 days11-14 4 days15-17 5 days18-19 6 days20 7 days

2) Roll percentile dice to determine thesky conditions (clear, partly cloudy, orcloudy) for the day.

3) Roll percentile dice to determine ifprecipitation will occur during the day.This roll is affected by terrain, as speci-fied in the Terrain Effects Table (page47). The base chance of precipitation isgiven in the Baseline Data Chart.

If precipitation will not occur, roll d20and subtract one to get the current windspeed in miles per hour, and adjust thisspeed for the terrain. Adjust the temper-ature for wind chill if necessary.

If precipitation will occur, an addition-al percentile roll is made to determinethe type of precipitation, using the Pre-cipitation Occurrence Table (page 48). If00 is the result, roll percentile dice againand consult the Terrain Effects Table todetermine what type of Special WeatherPhenomenon will occur; these phenom-ena differ by terain type. (Optionally,once the Special Weather Phenomenonis determined, the DM can then repeatStep 3 to see if the Special Weather isaccompanied by a more normal form ofprecipitation.)

Note: Certain varieties of precipitationrequire specific conditions, as noted inthe Precipitation Occurrence Table, suchas a maximum or minimum temperature.If the day’s conditions do not fit the spec-ified value, the DM may either roll againor cancel the precipitation entirely.

4) Once the type of precipitation isknown, the DM should refer to the Stan-dard Weather Table (page 49) or theSpecial Weather Phenomena Table (page50) to discover the effects the weatherwill have on wind speed, movement, vis-ibility, etc. In addition, the duration of

D R A G O N 4 5

HIGH WIND EFFECTS TABLEWindspeed(mph) On land At sea In air* In battle

0-29 No effect No effect No effect No effect

All travel slowedby 25%; torches willbe blown out

Sailing difficult; Creatures eagle-size Missiles at ½rowing impossible and below can’t fly range and -1 to hit

30-44

45-59 All travel slowedby 50%; torches andsmall fires will beblown out

Minor ship damage(d4 structuralpoints) may occur;wave ht. 3d6 ft.

Man-sized creaturescannot fly

Missiles at ½range and -3 to hit

60-74 Small trees areuprooted; all travelslowed by 75%;roofs may betorn off

Ships are endan-gered (d10 structur-al damage) andblown off course;wave ht. d10+20 ft.

No creatures canfly, except thosefrom the ElementalPlane of Air

No missile fire per-mitted; all non-mag-ical weapon attacksare -1 to hit;dexterity bonusesto AC cancelled

7 5 + Only strong stone Ships are capsized No creatures can fly,buildings will be and sunk; wave ht. except those fromundamaged; travel d20+20 ft. or more the Elemental Planeis impossible of Air

* — Note: When wind speed exceeds 35 mph, the use of a carpet, wings, or broom of flyingbecomes extremely dangerous. The percentage chance that a creature or object will beblown off a broom or carpet is equal to the wind speed (in mph) minus the carpet’s maximumspeed (in”). This percentage should be reduced by 5% for every 100 pounds of body weightand encumbrance. Characters and objects weighing less than 100 pounds have theirpercentage chance increased by 1% for every 5 pounds below that limit.

Also note: The use of a potion of gaseous form during high winds (more than 35 mph) maycause dispersion of the gas to such an extent that the creature cannot reform!

No missile fire per-mitted; all non-magical weaponattacks at -3 to hit;20% chance per at-tack that any weap-on will be tornfrom the wielder’sgrip by the wind;dexterity bonuses toAC cancelled

the precipitation is given. When this du-ration expires, the DM should roll per-centile dice; if the result is equal to orless than the specified chance of contin-uing, then the precipitation will continuein some form. In this case, the DM mustroll d10 to see if the type of precipitationchanges, as follows:

1 Up one line on Precipi-tation Occurrence Table

2-9 No change; roll for durationof continuation

10 Down one line on Precipita-tion Occurrence Table

5) Any time that the temperature fallsbelow 35° F., the DM should consult theWind Chill Table to determine the day’strue effective temperature. Other rele-vant data on sub-freezing conditions isin Appendix A.

6) When precipitation ends, the DMshould check as to whether or not a rain-bow occurs, as shown on the Precipita-tion Occurrence Table.

7) Whenever the DM needs to deter-mine the relative position or direction ofa phenomenon (i.e., the position of avolcano), d8 should be rolled to selectone of the eight cardinal points of the

46 DECEMBER 1982

Wind Temperature (degrees Fahrenheit)(mph) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15 -20

5 33 27 21 16 12 7 1 -6 -11 -15 -22 -2810 21 16 9 2 -2 -9 -15 -22 -27 -31 -37 -4315 16 11 1 -6 -11 -18 -25 -33 -40 -45 -51 -5820 12 3 -4 -9 -17 -24 -32 -40 -46 -52 -58 -6425 7 0 -7 -15 -22 -29 -37 -45 -52 -58 -65 -7230 5 -2 -11 -18 -26 -33 -41 -49 -56 -63 -70 -7835 3 -4 -13 -20 -27 -35 -43 -52 -60 -67 -75 -8240 1 -4 -15 -22 -29 -36 -45 -54 -62 -69 -76 -8345 1 -6 -17 -24 -31 -38 -46 -55 -63 -70 -77 -8450 0 -7 -17 -24 -31 -38 -47 -56 -64 -71 -78 -8555 -1 -8 -19 -25 -33 -39 -48 -57 -65 -72 -79 -8660 -3 -10 -21 -27 -34 -40 -49 -58 -66 -73 -80 -87

compass: 1 = North; 2 = Northeast; 3 = of a wind is needed, but should also takeEast; 4 = Southeast; 5 = South; 6 = into account geographical phenomenaSouthwest; 7 = West; 8 = Northwest. that may affect wind direction, such as

6) The WORLD OF GREYHAWK Gaz- mountain ranges.etteer says that prevailing winds come 9) The DM should be aware that strongfrom the north and northeast during the winds can have harsh effects, some offall and winter seasons, and from the which are described in the druid spelleast and southeast during the remainder Control Winds. The High Wind Effectof the year. The DM should use this in- Table (above) delineates some of theformation as a guideline when direction consequences of great wind velocity.

WlND CHILL TABLE

TERRAIN EFFECTS TABLEAdjustments to:

Chance of Temperature Special weatherType of terrain precipitation (in degrees) Wind speed phenomena

Rough terrain None None +/- 5mph 01-80: Windstormor hills 81-00: Earthquake

Forest None - 5 -5 mph 01-80: Quicksand81-00: Earthquake

Jungle +10% +5 -10 mph 01-05: Volcano06-60: Rain forest downpour61-80: Quicksand81-00: Earthquake

Swamp or marsh¹ +5% +5 -5 mph 01-25: Quicksand26-80: Sun shower81-00: Earthquake

Dust² -25% +10 (day) None 01-40: Flash flood-10 (night) 41-70: Dust storm

71-85: Tornado86-00: Earthquake

Plains3 None None +5 mph 01-50: Tornado51-00: Earthquake

Desert4 -30% +10 (day) +5 mph 01-25: Flash flood-10 (night) 26-50: Sandstorm

51-65: Oasis66-85: Mirage oasis86-00: Earthquake

Mountains None -3 degrees +5 mph 01-20: Wind stormper 1,000 per 1,000 21-50: Rock avalanche

feet of feet of 51-75: Snow avalancheelevation elevation 76-80: Volcano

81-00: Earthquake

Seacoast5 +5% -5 (cold +5 mph 01-80: Earthquake(within 2 hexes current) 81-94: Tsunami

of coastline) +5 (warm 95-00: Undersea volcanocurrent)

At sea5 +15% -10 (cold +10 mph 01-20: Tsunami(more than 1 hex current) 21-40: Undersea volcano

from coast) +5 (warm 41-00: Undersea earthquakecurrent)

Notes:1 — In the Cold Marshes, temperature ad- 4 — No fog, mist, blizzard, monsoon, tropical

justment is -5. storm, gale, or hurricane permitted.2 — No fog, gale, or hurricane permitted. 5 — Duration of fog & mist doubled.3 — No monsoon or tropical storm permitted.

General notes for the DM may re-roll the chance (and/or 91-98 Demons, devils, or crea-Terrain Effects Table type) of precipitation. tures from the appropriate

1. Sylvan forest zones should have 3. All Special Weather Phenomena Elemental Planetemperate weather conditions and min- have a 10% chance that they have been 99 A deity or his/her servantsimal precipitation throughout the year, caused by one of the following: 00 A battle between two ordue to the influence of Faerie upon the 01-30 Elemental(s) or giant(s) more deitiesclimate. 31-60 Elemental(s) under NPC 4. All terrain effects are cumulative

2. When Special Weather Phenomena control and may therefore cancel each otherthat do not involve precipitation occur, 61-90 NPC or monster out, except that intervening mountains

D R A G O N 4 7

will eliminate all “coastline” effects.However, when a Special Weather Phe-nomenon is needed, the DM should se-lect one terrain type for which the ran-dom selection will be made, and thenmodify the results of that selectionappropriately.

5. In the desert, there is a 2% per hourcumulative chance that a creature orcharacter will become blinded by theglare. The effects are equivalent to aLight spell being cast on the creature’svisage, and may be repaired with a CureDisease or a night’s sleep. Those crea-tures normally dwelling in such areas areimmune to this effect. Note: Althoughthe chance here is cumulative, it doesnot accrue from day to day. After a weekof travel in the desert, the cumulativechance drops to 1% per hour, and afterone month of continual exposure tothese conditions, the possibility is entire-ly removed.

EXAMPLE OF PROCEDUREThe party is currently camped at an

elevation of 3,000 feet in the Yecha Hills(latitude 48° north) during the month ofPatchwall. The baseline temperature is57°, and two d10 rolls (of 5 and 3) indi-cate that the day’s base high and low willbe 65° and 49°. These are then adjustedfor latitude by subtracting 16 degreesfrom each figure, and are adjusted forterrain by subtracting an additional 9degrees for the elevation, resulting in ahigh of 40° and a low of 24°.

A roll of 48 indicates that the sky ispartly cloudy, and a second roll of 23indicates precipitation will occur. TheDM’s first roll on the Precipitation Oc-currence Table indicates a monsoon —but this roll is ignored, because thetemperature will not rise to 50°) the min-imum required. A re-roll shows that theparty is surrounded by heavy fog.

Further rolls and results specified by

the Standard Weather Table indicatethat the fog will last for 8 hours, withwinds of 12 mph. During the fog, visibili-ty will be cut to two feet, movement willbe at one-quarter speed, tracking (by aranger) will not be possible, and the par-ty members’ chance of becoming lostwill be increased by 50% (if they travel).

When it is time for the fog to lift, theDM rolls percentile dice again, getting a33. This indicates that precipitation willcontinue. A 10 comes up on the d10 rollfor continuation, indicating that theheavy fog will become light fog. The DMthen determines the duration of the newweather and its effects.

Finally, the DM notes that the tempera-ture will fall well below 35° by late after-noon. After the Wind Chill Table (page46) is consulted, the party is informedthat the effective afternoon temperatureof 30° will feel like 12° to them — and thenight will probably be even worse!

PRECIPITATION OCCURRENCE TABLEChance

Temp. required (°F.) Chance of ofType of weather Min. Max. continuing rainbow

Diceroll

Notallowed in:

01-02 —03-05 —06-10 —11-20 —21-25 —26-27 — —28-3031-3839-40 —41-45 —46-60 —61-70 —71-84 —85-89 —90-94 —95-97 —98-99 —

00

Blizzard, heavyBlizzardSnowstorm, heavySnowstorm, lightSleet stormHailstormFog, heavyFog, light-MistDrizzleRainstorm, lightRainstorm, heavyThunderstormTropical stormMonsoonGaleHurricane or typhoonSpecial — —

(refer to Terrain Table todetermine type)

2030302525253040554055

1020253535656070

5% — Desert10% —— Desert20% ——25% 1%20% ——10% Desert, dust25% 1% Desert, dust30% 3% Desert15% 10%20% 5%45% 15%30% 20%15% 20%20% 10% Desert, plains30% 5% Desert, dust, plains15% 10% Desert20% 5% Desert, dust

1% (if no —continuation, roll new formof precipitation)

Note: If rainbow occurs, roll again: 01-89 = single rainbow; 90-95 = double rainbow (may be an omen); 96-98 = triple rainbow(almost certainly an omen); 99 = Bifrost bridge or clouds in the shape of rain deity; 00 = rain deity or servant in sky.

48 DECEMBER 1982

STANDARD WEATHER TABLEPrecipi- Chancetation Range of Range of of Wind

amount Movement normal ultra- and Effect on getting speed(inches) Duration rate vision infravision tracking lost (mph)

2d10+10 3d8 F: x 1/8 2’ No No +50% 6d8+40hours H: x ¼ radius

C: no

Phenomenon

Blizzard, heavy 1

Blizzard2 2d8+8 3d10 x ¼ hours (all)

10’radius

x ½ +40% +35% 3d8+36

x ½ +20% 3d10-25%x ½4d6 x ½hours (all)

2d8+2Snowstorm, heavy3

Snowstorm, light3 d8 2d6 F: x ¾hours H: normal

C: normal

x ¾ x ¾ -10% +10% 4d6

3d10+5%-10%x ¾x ¾d6 F: x ¾hours H: x ½

C: x ½

½d4Sleet storm

Hailstorm4 see note4 d4 x ¾hours (all)

Normal Normal -10% +10% 4d10

Heavy fog d12 x ¼hours (all)

2’radius

x ½ -60% +50% d20

x ¾ d10+30%-30%x ¼2d4 x ½ hours (all)

Light fog

Mist

Drizzle

Rainstorm, light5

¼d4

2d6 Normal Normal Normal -5% Normal d10hours

d10 Normalhours

Normal Normal -1%/turn Normal d20(cum.)

d12 Normal Normal Normal -10%/turn Normal d20hours (cum.)

½d6

Rainstorm, heavy5 d4+3 d12 F: x ¾hours H: normal

C: x ¾

x ¾ x ¾ -10%/turn +10%(cum.)

2d12+10

-10%/turn +10% 4d10(cum.) (+30% if

horsed)D R A G O N 4 9

x ¾d4 x ½hours (all)

d8Thunderstorm6 x ¾

Phenomenon

STANDARD WEATHER TABLE (cont.)P r e c i p i - Chancetation Range of Range of of Wind

amount Movement normal ultra- and Effect on getting speed(inches) Duration rate vision infravision tracking lost (mph)

Notes: (F = foot travel; H = horse travel; C = carts & wagons; No = not allowed.)1 — Snowdrifts of up to 10’ per hour may accumulate against buildings, walls, etc.2 — As with heavy blizzard, but only 5’ per hour.3 — Drifts of 1’ per hour will occur if wind speed is above 20 mph.4 — Average diameter of hailstones is ½d4 inches. If stones are more than 1 inch in diameter, assess 1 point of damage per ½ inch

of diameter every turn for those AC 6 or worse. (1½ -inch diameter stones cause 3 points of damage.) Rings, bracers, etc., give noprotection from this damage, but magic armor does.

5 — A drop in temperature to 30 degrees or less after such a storm may result in icy ground, affecting travel, dexterity, etc.6 — Lightning strokes will occur once every 10 minutes, with a 1% probability on each that the party will be hit. This chance is

increased to 10% if the party shelters under trees. Damage done will be 6d6, with a saving throw for half damage allowed.7 — Every 3 turns, a 10% chance of gust damage if wind speed is over 40 mph. Damage is 1d6 for every full 10 mph above 40 mph.8 — Unprotected creatures suffer 1d6 wind damage every 3 turns, and buildings take 1d4 structural damage each turn.

all parties, even those with maps, be-cause landmarks are obscured, trails cov-ered, and so on. Note: Terrain adjust-ments for this possibility, as stated in theDMG, also apply. If a party stops travel-ing until precipitation ceases, the effectsare cancelled, except those for snow.

General notes for “jamming” similar to that which occursStandard Weather Table when military aircraft drop bits of metal

1. The effects of precipitation on infra- foil to confuse enemy radar systems,vision and ultravision occur because the 2. The effects on tracking should betemperature of the precipitation is usual- used to adjust the chances for a rangerly different than that of the surrounding to track any creatures in the wilderness.air and terrain, resulting in a form of 3. The chance of getting lost applies to

M o n s o o n 7

Tropical storm7 d6/day

d8/day

Gale7X¼

Hurricane ortyphoon8

d8/day

d10/day ½d8 F: x ¼ x¼ x¼ No +30% 7d10days H: x ¼ +70

C: no

½d6 F: x ¼days H: x ¼

C: no

d6+6 F: x ¼days H: x ¼

C: no

½d6 F: x ¼days H: x ¼

C: no

x½

x¼

x½ No

x¼ No

x¼ No

+30% 3d12+30

+30% 6d10

+20% 6d8+40

SPECIAL WEATHER PHENOMENA TABLE

Phenomenon

Sand storm 1—

or Dust storm 1

Wind storm2

Range of Range of Chance WindPrecipi- Duration Movement normal ultra- and Effect on of getting speedtation or area rate vision infravision tracking lost (mph)

1-8 No No No No +80% 5d10hours

— 1-10 x½ x½ x¾ No +30% 8d10hours (all) +20

— -50% +10% d20(+30% on

horse)

NormalF: x¼ NormalH: x¼

C: no (maybe over-turned)

1-10hours

Earthquake3

(If undersea, atsunami willoccur in d10hours)

Avalanche4

(rock or snow)5d10 1-10 May be Normal Normal -60% +10% if d20

inches minutes blocked trail iscovered

50 DECEMBER 1982

SPECIAL WEATHER PHENOMENA TABLE (cont.)Range of Range of Chance Wind

Precipi- Duration Movement normal ultra- and Effect on of getting speedPhenomenon tation or area rate vision infravision tracking lost (mph)

Volcano5 d8 ½d20 x½ x½ -50% +20% d20(If undersea, an inches days (all)

x ¾(x½ if

island will be of ash(+40% if

undersea onformed after per day due to2d6 days)

horse)mist)

Tsunami6 Wave ½d4 Normal Normal Normal No Normal 5d10ht. 10d20 hours +10

feet

— Covers Normal Normal Normal No +20% if d20radius of (until skirted

d20” entered)

see d6+2 x¾ Normal Normal -5%/turn +10% d20note8 hours

1 inch 3d4 hours F: x½ x¾ x¾ -5% per +20% 0-5per hour H: x½ turn (d6-1)

C: no

Quicksand7

Flash flood 8

Rain forestdownpour 9

Sun shower 10 ½ 6-60 Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal d20minutes

Tornado orcyclone 11

Oasis or —mirage oasis 12

1 inch 5-50 No x¾ x¾ No +40% 300per hour hours

3-6”radius

Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal d20

Notes: (F =foot travel; H = horse travel; C = carts and wagons; No = not allowed.)1 — 50% chance of d4 damage every 3 turns, no saving throw, until shelter is found.

2 — 50% chance of 2d6 rock damage every 3 turns. (Characters must roll dexterity or less on d20 to save for ½ damage; monstersmust save vs. petrification.)

3 — Center is 1-100 miles away from party, with shock waves extending 1-100 miles. The first shock wave of the earthquake will bepreceded by 1-4 mild tremors, which do no damage but cause untrained horses, cattle, and other animals to bolt in fear and run foropen ground. After a delay of 1-6 rounds, the first shock wave reaches the party, and there are 1-6 shock waves in an earthquake.Roll d20 to determine the number of rounds between each of the shock waves. Each shock wave causes damage as the 7th levelcleric spell Earthquake.

4 — Damage is 2d20 pts., with save (vs. dexterity or petrification, as in 2 above) for ½ damage. Victims taking more than 20 pointsof damage are buried and will suffocate in 6 rounds unless rescued.

5 — Ash burns: d4 damage every 3 turns, no save. Location: 0-7 (d8-1) miles from party. Lava flows at d10 mph, does damage as asalamander’s tail. For every day a volcano continues to erupt, the base temperature will rise 1 degree in a 60-mile-diameter area.This overheating will lapse after 7-12 months, as particles of ash in the air bring the temperature back down, but the chance of clearskies in the area will be cut by 50% for an additional 1-6 months thereafter.

6 — Save vs. dexterity/petrification (see 2 above) or drown. If save is made, victim takes d20 damage.7 — An individual wearing no armor, leather armor, studded armor, elven chain, or magical armor will only sink up to the neck if he

remains motionless, keeps his arms above the surface, and discards all heavy items. Other characters will be dragged under at therate of 1 foot per round if motionless or 2 feet per round if attempting to escape. Drowning occurs 3 rounds after the head issubmerged. If a victim is rescued after his head has been submerged, assess damage of d6 per round of submersion once characteris resuscitated.

8 — A flash flood will begin with what appears to be a heavy rainstorm, with appropriate effects, during which 3 inches of rain willfall each hour. The rain will stop when 50% of the flood’s duration is over, at which point all low areas will be covered with runningwater to a depth which is triple the amount of rainfall. This water will remain for 6-10 turns, and then disappear at a rate of 3 inchesper hour. The current will vary from 5-50 mph, increasing when water flows in narrow gullies.

9 — The ground will absorb up to 6 inches of water; then mud will form, converting the area to a swamp for travel purposes.10 — 95% chance of a rainbow; see note under Precipitation Occurrence Table.11 — 10% chance party will be transported to the Ethereal Plane. Otherwise, treat as a triple-strength hurricane for damage.12 — If the oasis is real, roll d20. A result of 1 or 2 indicates that the oasis is currently populated (determine population type via the

Wilderness Encounter Charts in the DMG), while a 20 indicates that the last visitor has poisoned all the wells. If the oasis is a mirage,anyone who “drinks” must save vs. spell or take d6 damage from swallowed sand.

D R A G O N 5 1

APPENDIX AEFFECTS OF CLIMATIC EXTREMESThe DM should be aware of some of

the possible effects that can occur whena party confronts extreme temperatures.The suggestions in this section are onlythat, and make no attempt to present thefull range of possibilities.

A. Cold Weather1. Always use the Wind Chill Table to

determine true temperatures.2. The bulky clothing needed for pro-

tection in cold climes can affect a char-acter’s dexterity, armor class, and “tohit” rolls. A deduction of one point fromeach of these characteristics for everyten degrees below 0° F. is suggested.

3. The use of heat-producing magic,from spells or items, can, have severe re-percussions on the local environment.Snow will melt and re-freeze into glareice, for example, after a Fireball, and icefloes will crack and separate after in-tense heat. If it occurs in mountainousterrain, intense heat may cause a snowavalanche or a rock avalanche.

4. Extremes of cold may affect the us-age of personal possessions. Oil, for in-stance, may not flow. Liquids may freeze,cracking their containers in the process.A potion may lose its effect, or bechanged, after being subjected to ex-treme cold.

5. If a party travels with animals, pets,familiars, etc., or summons monsters, besure to take the effects of the cold intoaccount when describing the actions ofthese creatures. Extra food will often beneeded under these conditions. Crea-tures from the Elemental Plane of Firewill be extremely annoyed at those whocall on them in cold climes (double thechance of rebelling if summoned).

6. Drinking hot beverages at tempera-tures below -20° F. offers the possibilitythat the drinker’s teeth may crack fromthe sudden temperature change.

7. Frostbite will destroy an exposedbody part in 10-30 minutes at tempera-tures of -40° F. and below. Body parts

52 DECEMBER 1982

lost to frostbite damage can only be re-stored by regeneration, such as from thecleric spell Regenerate, a ring of regen-eration, or similar means. Frostbite ismost likely to develop in situationswhere: (a) tight clothing is worn; (b) theextremities (hands, feet, ears, etc.) areinactive or immobile; (c) the charactersuffers from chronic vascular disease;and/or (d) the air is both cold and moist.

8. The DM should decide if it will bepossible to cast spells with somaticcomponents while the caster is wearinggloves, heavy clothing, etc. One possibil-ity is to assign a chance of spell failurebased upon temperature, such as 5% forevery 10 degrees below -20° F.

9. On a sunny day, there is a 2% perhour cumulative chance that a charactermay become snowblind for d4 turns. Theeffects of this are equivalent to a Lightspell being cast on the character’s vis-age. Monsters that dwell in snowy climesare immune to this effect.

B. Hot Weather1. When the temperature rises above

75° F., the DM should roll percentile diceto determine the current relaive humidi-ty. Whenever the total of temperature

and humidity is 140 or higher, consultthe Temperature arid Humidity EffectsTable (below) for the consequences tounprotected characters and creatures.

2. In hot climates, most mammaliancreatures need additional salt to replacethat lost through perspiration. Charac-ters who fail to take precautions willsuffer from double vision, dizzy spells,and shortness of breath for 1-4 hours.(Treat as a Blindness spell for effects onarmor class, etc.) This condition can beremedied by Cure Disease. The effectsgiven above describe a mild form of sun-stroke. Severe sunstroke only occurswhen the temperature and humidity totalis higher than 200, and has a mortalityrate of 20% (30% for characters who areOld or Venerable).

3. Heat cramps are caused by physicalexertion at temperatures above 100° forthose with a constitution of 12 or less(+10° for every point of constitutionabove 12). The cramps can be alleviatedby Cure Disease, or by drinking a quartof salt water and waiting 1-4 hours— butif not cured within 2 turns of their onset,the cramps will last for 6d20 hours.

4. The effects of extreme heat on itemsand animals will be similar in scope to

TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY EFFECTS TABLEVision Rest Chance

Temp. + (all needed of spellhum. Move AC To hit Dexterity types) per hour failure*

140 - Normal 0 0 -1 Normal 2 turns 5%160

161 - x¾ 0 -1 -1 x¾ 3 turns 10%180

181 - x½ -1 -2 -2 x½ 4 turns 15%200

Above x¼ -2 -3 -3 x¼ 5 turns 20%200

— For spells with somatic components only*

the effects of extreme cold, and the ef-fects may in some ways be the “reverse”of each other. Very high temperaturesmay cause spontaneous combustion,especially when highly flammable items(such as oil in glass bottles exposed tothe sun) are concerned. Be sure to ac-count for evaporation, spoilage (winebecoming vinegar, etc.), and similarproblems. Creatures from the ElementalPlane of Water, or those which use cold-based attacks, will strongly resent beingbrought into a hot climate. Remember,also, that metal items left out in the hotsun will quickly become painful to thetouch.

5. When the temperature is above 75°and there is little or no precipitation, thepossibility of fires in the wilderness mustbe considered. In areas that are no morethan one hex away from a coastline orlake (but not a river), there is a 1% perday cumulative chance of spontaneousfire in wooded and agricultural areas. Ifthe area is normal forest or grassland,this cumulative chance is 2% per day,and it rises to 3% per day if such an areais within one hex of a desert. This chanceshould be lowered by 1% for each quar-ter-inch of precipitation that has fallenwithin the preceding week, and thechance is reset to zero after any rainfallof more than two inches.

A forest or grassland fire will have aninitial radius of one-quarter mile, and thecenter will be located 1/3 to 4 miles awayfrom the party (roll d12, divide by 3). Ifthere is no wind, the fire will spread slow-ly, increasing its radius by an additionalquarter-mile every 6 hours. It will only beblocked by fire trails or rivers at least 180feet wide. If there is a wind, the fire willmove in the direction of the wind at ahigher rate: For every 5 mph of windspeed, deduct one hour from the time ittakes to move another quarter-mile, andadd another 30 feet to the width of riversand fire breaks that would be able to haltthe blaze. For purposes of moderatingactivity in a melee situation, such afire isassumed to move at a base rate of 1” per

round, plus an extra 1” for each 5 mph ofwind speed.

It is possible for fires to spread intoany type of terrain except water and des-ert. When a fire occurs, all creaturesdwelling near it will flee from it at theirmaximum movement rate. If there is nowind, these creatures will take any ran-dom path that does not cross the fire. Ifthere is a wind, it is possible that the firewill be literally driving the creatures be-fore it. Such creatures will precede thefire’s arrival at a site by d10 tenths of amile, and will always attack (no moralechecks) any creature or character thatattempts to hinder them.

C. Burns and Their Effects1. Sunburn can occur in any climate,

and is particularly likely at high altitudeand when there is reflection of sunlightoff ice, snow, sand, or water.

2. Severe electrical burns (those caus-ing damage greater than half of a crea-ture’s total hit points) have a 25% chanceof causing 1-6 turns of unconsciousness(90%) or immediate cardiac arrest (10%).

3. Burns of any type which cover morethan 10% of the body’s surface will befollowed in 1-4 hours by secondaryshock, which will manifest itself as acoma of 1-10 hours’ duration.

4. Burns which are not treated imme-diately must be kept in an antisepticstate. If this is not done, the character’schances of acquiring infections in theburned areas are increased by 5% foreach turn the burns remain untreated.

5. Whenever a character’s internalbody temperature exceeds 106°, irre-versible brain damage will occur. Forev-ery three turns that this condition per-sists, the affected character will lose onepoint each of intelligence, wisdom, anddexterity. This damage can be repairedby regeneration or by a wish.

APPENDIX BTIDES AND CURRENTS

DMs whose campaigns include a greatdeal of waterborne travel and combat

may wish to expand it by the addition oftides, ocean currents, and similar phe-nomena. Because of the complexity ofthis topic, only a few suggestions andreminders will be made here:

1. On a planet with one moon, high tideoccurs when the moon is overhead, andlow tide when the moon is on the oppo-site side of the planet. A matching pair ofhigh and low tides will be caused by theplanet’s sun. This may lead to cancella-tion and/or reinforcement of the moon’stides, depending on how the sun andmoon are synchronized. When more thanone moon exists (as with Oerth), the tidalpatterns will be far more complex.

2. All rivers flow in a general directiontoward the equator.

3. High winds will affect both the tim-ing and wave height of tides.

4. Ocean currents can affect weatherconditions, especially (but not exclusive-ly) along coastlines and in areas nearcoastlines.

BIBLIOGRAPHYA number of references were extreme-

ly useful in the creation of this system.The Bulletin Almanac for 1974 (Phila-delphia: Bulletin Publishing Co.) pro-vided the U.S. Weather Bureau’s 30-yearsurvey of Philadelphia weather, fromwhich was derived the information in theBaseline Data Chart. This volume wasalso the source for the Wind Chill Tableand some precise definitions for variousweather phenomena.

The American Institute of PhysicsHandbook, 3rd edition, supplied theformula for the temperature-altitude re-lationship as well as some other con-stants. Van Nostrand’s Scientific Ency-clopedia was also useful in this regard.The Weather Machine by Nigel Calderprovided a useful reference for basicmeteorology.

The effects of temperature extremeson the human body were developed fromthe descriptions of various ailments giv-en in the latest edition of The MerckManual, a standard medical tome.

D R A G O N 5 3

(From page 26)The four effects of the spell are these:Charm: The magic-user can charm a person or monster by

gaze and vocalization of a single word. The effect is tomake the charmed subject absolutely loyal and docile withrespect to the charmer. It is otherwise the same as a charmperson or charm monster spell.

Fear: The magic-user can cause fear by gaze and vocaliza-tion of a single word. The subject will act as if struck by afear spell unless a saving throw versus spell is successful.

Sicken: This power enables the caster to merely gaze at thesubject, speak a word, and cause sudden nausea and sick-ness to sweep over the subject’s body. The victim will beatone-half normal abilities (strength, intelligence, etc.) fromthe pain and fever. Movement will be at one-half normalrate also, and the victim will have to rest half of each turn inorder to be able to move at all. A saving throw versus magicwill negate the power of the dweomer. Otherwise, the vic-tim will remain struck by the sickness, losing one actualpoint of constitution per day until death occurs at zeroconstitution points. The effects are negated by a success-ful dispel magic spell or by a heal spell. Alter reality, limitedwish, and wish will also remove the sickness. Note: Allnon-human, non-demi-human, and non-humanoid crea-tures save at +4 versus this effect.

Sleep: The magic-user can cause any individual to fall into acomatose slumber by means of gaze and a single word,unless the subject makes its saving throw versus magic.Creatures normally subject to a first level sleep spell save at-2. Undead are not subject to this power. Affected crea-tures must be shaken or otherwise shocked to bring themback to consciousness.

Mordenkainen’s Lucubration (Alteration)

Level: 6 Components: V, SRange: 0 Casting Time: 1 segmentDuration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: The magic-user

Explanation/Description: By use of this spell, the magic-useris able to instantly recall any spell he or she has used andotherwise forgotten during the past 24 hours. The spell musthave been memorized and actually used during the stated timeperiod, and it cannot be of greater power than fifth level.Mordenkainen’s lucubration enables the spell caster to recallany first through fifth level spell precisely as if it had neverbeen cast. Only one such spell can be so recalled by use of thelucubration dweomer. The spell recalled can thereafter be castnormally on the following or successive round. Additionalspell components of a material nature must be available if thespell recalled requires such, or else the remembered spell isfruitless until the material components are available.

Transmute Water To Dust (Alteration) Reversible

Level: 6 Components: V, S, MRange: 6” Casting Time: 6 segmentsDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: None (special)Area of Effect: 1 cubic”/level

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the subjectarea instantly undergoes a change from liquid to powdery dust.Note that if the water is already muddy, the area of effect will beexpanded to double normal, while if wet mud is concerned thearea of effect will be quadrupled. If water remains in contactwith the transmuted dust, the former will quickly permeate the

54 DECEMBER 1982

latter, turning the dust into silty mud if a sufficient quantity of effect of the dweomer are caught and contained unless they arewater exists to do so, otherwise soaking or dampening the dust able to pass through the openings — and of course all spellsaccordingly. Only liquid actually existing in the area of effect at and breath weapons can pass through the gaps in the bars ofthe moment of spell casting is affected. Liquids which are only force of the forcecage. Furthermore, creatures with a magicpartially water will be affected insofar as the actual water is resistance can apply that resistance to a single attempt to passconcerned. If a living creature is concerned, a saving throw through the walls of the cage. If resistance fails, then the crea-versus magic is required, and only one creature can be the ture in question is caged. Regardless of success, any and alltarget for such spell usage, regardless of the size of the creature other creatures also in the area of effect of the spell are trappedconcerned. The reverse of the spell is simply a very high- unless they also have magic resistance which allows them topowered create water spell which requires dust as a compo- escape. The forcecage is also unlike the solid-walled protectivenent. Either usage requires material components of a bit of device, cube of force, in that it can be gotten rid of only byseashell and diamond dust of at least 500 gold piece value. means of a dispel magic spell or by expiration of the dweomer.

SEVENTH LEVEL SPELLS:

Banishment (Abjuration-Evocation)

Level: 7 Components: V, S, MRange: 2” Casting Time: 7 segmentsDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 2 levels/hd of creature(s) per level of the caster

Explanation/Description: A banishment spell enables thecaster to force some creature from another plane to return to itsown abode. The effect is instantaneous, and the subject cannotcome back without some special summoning or means ofegress from its own plane to the one from which it was ban-ished. More than one creature can be forced into magical ban-ishment, providing the spell caster is of sufficient strength(levels of experience) to do so, and providing that the potentialsubjects are within range of the spell. The spell requires that themagic-user both name the type of creature(s) to be sent away,give its proper name as well, and call upon powers opposed tothe creature(s).

The material components of the spell are substances harm-ful, hateful, and/or opposed to the nature of the subject(s) ofthe dweomer. For every such substance included in the casting,the subject creature(s) loses -2 from the dice rolled to deter-mine save versus magic. For example, if iron, holy water, sun-stone, and a sprig of rosemary were used in casting a banish-ment upon a demon, its saving throw versus the spell would bemade at -8 (four substances times the factor of 2). Specialitems, such as hair from the tail of a ki-rin or couatl feathers,could also be added to bring the factor up to -3 or -4 per item. Incontrast, a devil’s scale or titan’s hair, or mistletoe blessed by adruid might lower the factor to -1 with respect to a demon. If thesubject creature makes its saving throw versus the spell, thecaster will be stung by a backlash of energy, take 2-12 points ofdamage, and be stunned for 2-12 segments.

Note: If the powers called upon when casting the banishmentspell are directly and actively opposed to the creature(s) to bebanished, or if they are favorably and actively concerned withthe interests of the spell caster, these powers can augment theefficacy of the spell components by from -1 (least concerned)to -6 (most concerned). Specifics of this effect are left up to thejudgement of the referee.

Forcecage (Evocation)

Level: 7Range: 7” per 2 levelsDuration: 6 turns +1/levelArea of Effect: 2” cube

Components: V, S + specialCasting Time: 3-4 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This powerful spell enables thecaster to bring into being a cube of force, but it is unlike themagic item of that name in one important respect: The force-cage does not have solid walls of force; it has alternating bandsof force with ½’ gaps between. Thus, it is truly a cage rather thanan enclosed space with solid walls. Creatures within the area of

By means of special preparation, a forcecage spell can bealtered to a forcecube spell. forcecube is one-half the area ofeffect (a cube 1” on a side), and the dweomer then resemblesthat of a cube of force in all respects save that of the differencesbetween a cast spell and the magic of a device.

Although the actual casting of either application of the spellrequires no material component, the study of the spell requiredto commit it to memory does demand that the magic-userpowder a diamond of at least 1,000 gold pieces value, using thediamond dust to trace the outlines of the cage or cube he or shedesires to create via spell casting at some later time. Thus, inmemorization, the diamond dust is employed and expended,for upon completion of study, the magic-user must then tossthe dust into the air and it will disappear.

Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion (Alteration/Conjuration)

Level: 7 Components: V, S, MRange: 1” Casting Time: 7 roundsDuration: 1 hour/level Saving Throw: NoneArea of Effect: 300 sq. ft./level

Explanation/Description: By means of this spell, the magic-user conjures up an extra-dimensional dwelling, entrance towhich can be gained only at a single point of space on the planefrom which the spell was cast. From the entry point, thosecreatures observing the area will see only a faint shimmering inthe air, an area of some 4’ in width and 8’ in height. Onceobservers have passed beyond the entrance, they will behold amagnificent foyer and numerous chambers beyond. The placewill be furnished and contain sufficient foodstuffs to serve anine-course banquet to as many dozens of people as the spellcaster has levels of experience. There will be a staff of near-transparent servants, liveried and obedient, there to wait uponall who enter. The atmosphere and temperature will be clean,fresh, and warm.

Since the place can be entered only through its special por-tal, outside conditions do not affect the Mansion, nor do condi-tions inside it pass to the plane beyond. Rest and relaxationwithin the place is normal, but the food is not. It will seemexcellent and be quite filling as long as one is within the place.Once outside, however, its effects disappear immediately, andravenous hunger will strike unless the individuals actually atenormal food. For each meal eaten inside the Mansion, theindividual leaving must spend 1 hour sitting and eating normalfare. Failure to do so means that he or she has lost as manypoints of strength as he or she ate meals when in the mansion-like space. Such strength loss is restorable upon eating asnoted, but this must be done within 6 hours or the loss ofstrength will be permanent. The components for this spell are aminiature portal carved from ivory, a small piece of polishedmarble, and a tiny silver spoon. These are utterly destroyedwhen the spell is cast.

(It is worth mentioning that this spell has been used in con-junction with a normal portal, as well as with illusion magic.There is evidence that the design and interior of the spacecreated can be altered to suit the caster’s wishes. It is alsonoteworthy that elves have some version of this spell which iscastable at a lower level.)

D R A G O N 5 5

Sequester (Illusion/Phantasm-Abjuration)

Level: 7 Components V, S, MRange: Touch Casting Time: 1 roundDuration: 1 week + 1 day/lvl Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 2’ cube/level of caster

Explanation/Description: When cast, this spell not only pre-vents detection and location spells from working to detect orlocate the objects affected by the sequester spell, it also ren-ders the affected object(s) invisible to any form of sight orseeing. Thus, a sequester spell can mask a secret door, a trea-sure vault, or whatever. Of course, it does not render the subjectproof from tactile discovery or from devices such as a robe ofeyes or a gem of seeing. If cast upon a creature not desiring tobe affected and able to resist and avoid the spell, a normalsaving throw is given. Living creatures (and even undead types)affected by a sequester spell become comatose and are effec-tively in a state of suspended animation until the spell wears offor is dispelled. The material components of the spell are basi-lisk eyelash, gum arabic, and a dram of whitewash.

Teleport Without Error (Alteration)

Level 7Range: TouchDuration: InstantaneousArea of Effect: Special

Components: VCasting Time: 1 segmentSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This spell is similar to a teleportspell. The caster is able to transport himself or herself, alongwith the material weight noted for a teleport spell, to any knownlocation on his or her home plane with no chance for error. Thespell also enables the caster to travel to other planes of exis-tence, but any such plane is, at best, “Studied carefully.” Thisassumes that the caster has, in fact, actually been to the planeand carefully perused an area for eventual teleportation with-out error. The table for teleport is used, with the appropriateknowledge of the area to which transportation is desired usedto determine chance of error. (Exception: See 9th level magic-user spell, succor, described below.)

Torment (Evocation-Alteration)

Level: 7 Components: V, S, MRange: 1” Casting Time: 1 roundDuration: Special Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: One creature

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, the magic-user seeks to force submission and obedience from a captivecreature from another plane from whom a service is beingdemanded (see dolor, ensnarement spells). The initial utteringof the spell causes a link from the caster to the captive creaturebound in a magic circle, thaumaturgic triangle, or pentagram.Thereafter, the magic-user continues to read the balance of thespecially prepared writing, and each round this continues, thecaptive feels progressively worse — discomfort and then pain.The first two rounds bring twinges, the third and fourth roundsof reading bring shooting pains, and the fifth and sixth roundsof reading cause aches and cramps.

The creature refusing to submit to the performance of aservice is given a straight saving throw versus magic, adjustedeach round for the intensity of the dweomer to be affected by it.The save in the first round is made at -1 to the die roll, thesecond at -2, the third at -3, the fourth at -4, and the fifth andsixth at -6 and -8 respectively.

It is likely that any intelligent creature with low moral stan-dards will submit once it realizes the nature of the spell it isbeing subjected to. Naturally, this does not cause the creature

anything other than immense hatred for the magic-user. Theforced service will be carried out to the letter, as is the case withall such agreements, but the entity will most certainly seekwhatever revenge it can.

Preparation for the casting of a torment spell requires eitherthe secret name for the type of creature or its given name to beinscribed in the text of the incantation. The caster must alsoidentify himself or herself. This establishes the link and allowsthe dweomer to be efficacious. However, for every 1 point ofintelligence of the creature above that of the spell caster, thereis a 1% chance that the captive creature will gain control, drawthe caster into the confines of its prison, and carry him or her offto its own plane and whatever fate is thus decreed. If the magic-user is interrupted or distracted during the reading, there is a5% chance per point of intelligence of the captive creature thatit will gain control. The merest mispronunciation of a singleword in the text gives the captive creature a 1% chance perpoint of intelligence of gaining control.

The material component of the spell is the aforementioned“specially prepared writing” (in the form of a scroll). Its specialinks will require an expenditure of not less than 1,000 goldpieces per hit die of the creature to be affected by the dweomerof the spell.

Truename (Enchantment/Alteration)

Level: 7 Components: V, SRange: 3” Casting Time: SpecialDuration: Special Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: Thing named

Explanation/Description: This spell enables the magic-userto have great power over any living thing which has a name,generic or individual, known to the spell caster. Naturally, mosttrue names are not known, for the common names of mostthings are not their true and secret names. The casting of atruename spell requires the magic-user to call out the truename of the subject and then begin a recitation of verse whichencompasses the nature and/or history of the subject. This willrequire 3 segments. Thereafter, still in verse (and preferablyrhyming or near-rhyming), the caster must describe the desiredresult of the truename spell. Each possible result differs in thelength of time necessary to effectuate it:

Multiple Suggestion: The verses can contain from 1to 4 suggestion powers, just as if each were a spell.Each verse requires 1 segment to recite. (See sugges-tion spell.) In a total of 7 segments, 4 suggestions canbe made.Weakness and Surrender: The verses recited cause

actual loss of 1 point of strength for each segment ofrecitation. With the loss of each point of strength, thesubject must save versus paralyzation or meekly sur-render. Each verse must continue for 1 segment.Strength loss is recovered in from 2-8 rounds after therecitation ceases, and with recovery of strength thesubject regains its will to resist.

Polymorph: The verses can cause the subject tochange into something else, just as if a polymorph anyobject spell had been cast. No system shock savingthrow is needed. The length of time in verses (1 seg-ment per verse) to cause the polymorph depends onhow radical the change:

mineral to animal = 10 versesmineral to vegetable = 9 versesvegetable to animal = 8 versesmonster to normal = 7 versesmonster to monster = 6 versesother to human = 5 versesanimal to animal = 4 versesvegetable to vegetable = 3 versesmineral to mineral = 2 verses

56 DECEMBER 1982

The reverse of the preceding cases also holds. In magic-user prepared with a volley spell. The volley has beencases not stated, the DM is to use the closest stated cast also, so that when the power word kill is aimed at the target,case as a guide. The subject returns to its natural form the volley causes the spell to bounce back upon its caster.in time. Duration is 6 turns per level of the spell caster Then, if the caster of the first spell fails to make a saving throwminus 1 turn for every verse required to effect the versus spell, the power word kill works upon its caster ratherpolymorph. The subject will think and behave exactly than its intended target. However, if the original caster doesas a non-polymorphed thing of the same type. save versus spell, the spell once again flies toward the original

Sending: When the sending verses are recited, the target. The caster of the volley spell must then save versus spell,subject will be teleported or otherwise transferred to or be affected by the attack. Again, if the caster of the volleysome other place. The number of verses required de- spell saves, then the spell is returned to its originator, who mustpends on the location of the sending: again save or be affected. The spell will be sent back and forth

area normal/100 mile range = 4 verses until one or the other fails to save, or until the spell loses power.area normal/500 mile range = 5 verses Each exchange will take but two seconds. A spell will losearea normal/2,000 mile range = 6 verses power if it passes through a number of exchanges equal to itsone plane/world removed = 7 verses level, counting each volley, but not the original casting, as halftwo planes/worlds removed = 8 verses of a single exchange; i.e., a 1st level spell will be cast, volleyed

The subject will automatically be altered so as to be the first time, (perhaps) return volleyed, and then will dissipate;able to physically survive the normal conditions of the a 2nd level spell would go through four volley portions (twoplace to which he, she, or it is sent. complete exchanges) before being exhausted; and so on. The

If at any time during the recitation of the spell the caster is material component is a bit of bent willow or other flexibleinterrupted, the magic fails and the spell is lost. wood, crisscrossed with specially prepared strands of gut.

Volley (Abjuration)

Level: 7Range: SpecialDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: Special

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

Explanation/Description: This highly dangerous dweomerenables the prospective recipient of a spell to turn the casting toits sender. Thus, the range, duration, area of effect, and savingthrow of this spell depend upon circumstances and the spellbeing volleyed. Assume that a power word kill is cast at a

EIGHTH LEVEL SPELLS:

Binding (Enchantment-Evocation)

Level: 8Range: 1”Duration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

Explanation/Description: A binding spell enables the casterto bind a creature from the lower planes. The subject mustalready be confined by some form of restraining diagram such

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: SpecialSaving Throw: Special

D R A G O N 5 7

as a magic circle, thaumaturgic triangle, or pentagram. Theduration of the spell depends upon the form of the binding andthe level of the caster(s), as well as the length of time the spell isactually uttered. The components vary according to the form ofthe dweomer, but include: a continuous chanting utteranceread from the scroll or book page giving the spell; gesturesappropriate to the form of binding; and materials such as minia-ture chains of special metal (iron for demonkind, silver fordiabolical creatures, nickel for the minions of Hades, etc.),soporific herbs of the rarest sort, a diamond or corundum gemof great size (1,000 gold piece value per hit die of the subjectcreature), and a vellum depiction or carved statuette of thesubject to be bound.

A saving throw is not applicable as long as the experiencelevel(s) of the caster(s) is (are) at least twice as great as the hitdice of the subject. In a case where the foregoing does not hold,then the subject creature gains a saving throw versus spell,modified by the form of binding being attempted and the rela-tive ratio of level(s) of experience of the caster(s) to the subjectcreature’s hit dice. For purposes of determining this number,the level of the principal caster is augmented by one-third of thelevel of experience of each assistant magic-user of 9th orhigher level, and an additional level is gained for each assistantof 4th to 8th level. No more than six other magic-users canassist with a binding spell.

The various forms of binding are these:Chaining: The subject is confined by restraints which gener-

ate an antipathy affecting all creatures who approach thesubject, except the caster. Duration is as long as one yearper level of the caster(s).

Slumber: Brings a comatose sleep upon the subject for aduration of up to one year per level of the caster(s).

Bound Slumber: A combination of chaining and slumberwhich lasts for up to one month per level of the caster(s).

Hedged Prison: The subject is transported to or otherwisebrought within a confined area from which it may notwander by any means until freed. The dweomer remainsuntil the magical hedge is somehow broken.

Metamorphosis: Causes the subject to change to some non-corporeal form, save for its head or face. The binding ispermanent until some prescribed act frees the subject.

Minimus Containment: The subject is shrunken to a height ofone inch or even less and held within the hedged prison ofsome gem or similar object.

The saving throw, if applicable, is made at the normal level forthe chaining form of the spell. Slumber allows the subject a +1,bound slumber a +2, hedged prison a +3, metamorphosis a +4,and minimus containment a +5 on the save. However, if thesubject is initially weakened by magical means such as dolorand/or torment spells, the saving throw is subject to an adjust-ment of -1 for the former spell, -2 for the latter spell, and -4 forboth in successive combination. A successful saving throwenables the subject to burst its bonds and do as it pleases.

A binding spell can be renewed in the case of the first threeforms of the dweomer, for the subject does have the opportuni-ty to break the bonds. After one year the subject gains a normalsaving throw versus spell. Whenever it is successful, the bind-ing spell is broken and the creature is free. (If anything hascaused a weakening of the chaining or slumber, such as at-tempts to contact the subject or magically touch it, a normalsaving throw applies to the renewal of the spell.)

Demand (Evocation-Enchantment/Charm)

Level: 8Range: SpecialDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature

Components: V, SCasting Time: 1 turnSaving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: This spell is essentially the same asa sending spell (q.v.). Demand differs from sending in that the

58 DECEMBER 1982

spell caster may phrase his or her message so as to contain asuggestion spell (q.v.), and if the subject fails to make its savingthrow versus spell, it will do its best to carry out the suggestioncontained in the message of the demand. Of course, if themessage is relatively impossible or incongruous according tothe circumstances which exist for the subject at the time thedemand comes, the message is understood but no saving throwis necessary and the suggestion is ineffective. The materialcomponents of the spell are a pair of cylinders, each open atone end, connected by a thin piece of copper wire and somesmall part of the subject creature — a hair, bit of nail, etc.

Otiluke’s Telekinetic Sphere (Evocation-Alteration)

Level: 8 Components: V, S, MRange: 2” Casting Time: 4 segmentsDuration: 1 round/level Saving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: 1’ diameter sphere per level of caster

Explanation/Description: This spell is exactly the same as the4th level magic-user spell, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, with theaddition that the interior of the globe is virtually weightless; i.e.,anything contained within it weighs only 1/16th of its normalweight. Any subject weighing up to 5,000 pounds can be teleki-netically lifted in the sphere by the caster. Range of controlextends to a maximum distance of 1”/level after the sphere hasactually succeeded in encapsulating a subject or subjects.Note that even if more than 5,000 pounds of weight is englobed,the essential weight is but 1/16th of actual, so the orb can berolled without exceptional effort. Because of the reducedweight, rapid motion or falling within the field of the sphere isrelatively harmless to the object therein, although it can bedisastrous should the globe disappear when the subject insideis high above a hard surface. In addition to the material compo-nents for the resilient sphere, the caster must have a pair ofsmall bar magnets to effectuate this spell.

Sink (Enchantment-Alteration)

Level: 8 Components: V, SRange: 1”/level Casting Time: 8 segmentsDuration: Special Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 creature or 1 object of 1 cubic”/level

Explanation/Description: When the magic-user casts a sinkspell, he or she must chant the spell for 4 segments withoutinterruption. At that juncture, the subject creature or object willbecome rooted to the spot unless a saving throw versus magic(with respect to a creature) or a saving throw versus disintegra-tion (for an object with magical properties) is successful. (Note:“Magical properties” include those of magic items as listed inthe Dungeon Masters Guide, those of items enchanted or oth-erwise of magical origin, and those of items with protection-type spells or with permanent magical properties or similarspells upon them.) Items of a non-magical nature are not en-titled to a saving throw. The subject will also become of thesame density as the surface upon which it stands at this junc-ture if its saving throw was not successful.

The spell caster now has the option of ceasing his or her spelland leaving the subject as it is, in which case the spell will loseits dweomer in 4 turns, and the subject will return to normal. Ifthe magic-user proceeds with the spell, the subject will begin toslowly sink into the ground. On the 5th segment the subject willsink to one-quarter of its height, on the 6th another quarter, onthe 7th another, and on the 8th segment it will be totally sunkeninto the ground.

This virtual entombment will place a living subject into a statewhich duplicates stasis but does not otherwise harm the sub-ject. Non-living or living, the subject will exist in undamagedform in the surface into which it was sunk, its upper extremity as

far beneath the surface as the subject has height; i.e., a 6’ highsubject will be 6’ beneath the surface, while a 60’ high subjectwill have its uppermost portion 60’ below ground level. If theground around the subject is somehow removed, the spell isbroken and the subject will return to normal — although it willnot then rise up. Such spells as dig and transmute rock to mudwill not harm the subject of a sink spell and will be helpful inrecovering it in many cases. If a detect magic spell is cast overan area upon which a sink spell was used, it will reveal a faintdweomer of undefinable nature, even if the subject is beyonddetection range. If the subject is within range of the detectmagic, the dweomer will be noted as magic of an enchantment-alteration nature.

NINTH LEVEL SPELLS:

Crystalbrittle (Alteration)

Level: 9 Components: V, SRange: Touch Casting Time: 9 segmentsDuration: Permanent Saving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: 2 cubic ft./level

Explanation/Description: The dweomer of this spell causesmetal, whether as soft as gold or as hard as adamantite, to turnto a crystalline substance as brittle and fragile as crystal. Thus asword, metal shield, metal armor, or even an iron golem can bechanged to a delicate, glass-like material easily shattered byany forceful blow. Furthermore, this change is unalterableshort of a wish spell; i.e., dispel magic will not reverse the spell.

The caster must physically touch the target item — equal to ahit in combat if the item is being worn or wielded, or is amonster. Any single metal item can be affected by the spell.Thus, a suit of armor being worn by the subject can be changedto crystal, but the subject’s shield would not be affected, or viceversa. All items gain a saving throw equal to their magicalbonus value or protection. A +1/+3 sword would get a 10%(average of the two plusses) chance to save; +5 magic armor a25% chance to be unaffected; an iron golem a 15% chance tosave (for it is hit only by magic weapons of +3 or better quality).Artifacts and relics of metal have a 95% chance to be unaffectedby the spell. Affected items not immediately protected will beshattered and permanently destroyed if struck by a normalblow from a metal tool or any weighty weapon, including a staff.

(Editor’s note: The description of this spell was originallypublished in issue #42 of DRAGON™ Magazine.)

Energy Drain (Evocation)

Level: 9Range: TouchDuration: PermanentArea of Effect: 1 creature

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 3 segmentsSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: By casting this spell, the magic-user opens a channel between the plane he or she is on and theNegative Material Plane, the caster becoming the conductorbetween the two planes. As soon as he or she touches (equal toa hit if melee is involved) any living creature, the victim losestwo energy levels (as if struck by a spectre). A monster loses

two hit dice permanently, both for hit points and attack ability.A character loses levels, hit dice and points, and abilities per-manently (until regained through adventuring, if applicable).The material component of this spell is essence of spectre orvampire dust. Preparation requires three segments, the mate-rial component is then cast forth, and upon touching the victimthe magic-user speaks the triggering word, causing the dweo-mer to take effect instantly. There is always a 5% (1 in 20)chance that the caster will also be affected by the energy drainand lose one energy level at the same time the victim is drainedof two. Humans or humanoids brought to a zero energy level bythis spell become juju zombies.

(Editor’s note: The description of this spell was originallypublished in issue #42 of DRAGON™ Magazine.)

Mordenkainen’s Disjunction (Alteration-Enchantment)

Level: 9Range: 0Duration: PermanentArea of Effect: 3” radius

Components: VCasting Time: 9 segmentsSaving Throw: Special

Explanation/Description: When this spell is cast, all magicand/or magic items within the radius of the spell, except thoseon the person of or being touched by the spell caster, aredisjoined. That is, spells being cast are separated into theirindividual components (and so are spoiled), types of magic areseparated (usually spoiling the effect as does a dispel magic),and permanent and magicked items must likewise save (versusspell if actually cast on a creature, or versus a dispel magicotherwise) or be turned into normal items.

Even artifacts and relics are subject to Mordenkainen’s Dis-junction, although there is only a 1% chance per level of thespell caster of actually affecting such powerful items. Thus, allpotions, scrolls, rings, rods et al, miscellaneous magic items,artifacts and relics, arms and armor, swords, and miscellane-ous weapons within 3” of the spell caster can possibly lose alltheir magical properties when Mordenkainen’s Disjunction iscast.

Succor (Alteration-Enchantment) Reversible

Level: 9Range: TouchDuration: SpecialArea of Effect: 1 individual

Components: V, S, MCasting Time: 1 to 4 daysSaving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: This spell is essentially the same asthe 7th level cleric spell of the same name. (Editor’s note: Newcleric spells, of which this is one, have not yet been published inDRAGON™ Magazine.) The succor cast by the magic-user tele-ports without error the individual breaking the object andspeaking the command word. If the reverse is used, the arch-mage is likewise brought to the presence of the individual.Intervening planes have only a 1% chance each, cumulative, ofcausing irrevocable loss of the individual or spell caster in-volved in the succor.

The material component used must be gem material of notless than 5,000 gold piece value; whether it is a faceted gem ornot is immaterial.

D R A G O N 5 9

Gaming by mailcan be nice — ifyou're willingto pay the price

Do you have trouble getting lots ofplayers together at once for a long,multi-player game? Or are you lookingfor a new way to enjoy gaming — a wayunlike any other? Play-by-mail gamesmay be just what you’ve been lookingfor. These games offer a new and chal-lenging experience to those who like tosink their teeth into a good contest.

First the good news. . .As with most things in this world, there

are both advantages and disadvantagesto getting involved in multi-player play-by-mail games. Because the advantagesare more numerous and more important,they’re given first:

7. You don’t need to find opponentsbefore you can play.

Persuading or coercing people to playin multi-player games can be disastrous.Even moreso than in a “regular” game,people who don’t really want to play in aPBM game will generally not have agood time and will not be competitiveopponents.

In PBM games, you send in an entryfee and then receive the game rules with-in a few weeks. Usually there is a delay ofseveral weeks before the start of an en-tirely new game, or a new session of anexisting game. This delay allows time forthe game to attract a roster of players.Some PBM games (generally the giant,ongoing ones such as Tribes of Crane)have no player limit, so you can startright away.

2. All of your opponents are seriousplayers.

It stands to reason that anyone whobecomes involved in a PBM game is aserious player. Your opponents all re-ceive the same rules you do, and theyalso are paying good money to play. Youcan be sure that some players in yourgame are veterans, with great knowledgeof the intricacies of the game. These

60 DECEMBER 1982

players are the ones to ally with: Know-ledge is power!

3. The GM conducts the game; all youhave to do is play.

The Gamemaster, or GM, is the refe-ree. A good GM will be fair and impartial.He or she should be very interested inthe rules that you have difficulty playingor understanding, and should be veryinterested in your comments about thegame. Don’t hesitate to ask questions.

4. You can play whenever you havetime.

If you have a busy schedule, study thegame and plan your strategy wheneveryou wish. Some games require a returnmove by a specified date; other gameshave no time requirement. This freedomto take your time, in those games thatoffer it, gives you a better, longer oppor-tunity to plan your moves. You can moveyour pieces about on the board (if thereis a board) without your opponents see-ing what you’re trying to accomplish.

5. You can make new friends.I have met several PBM gamers who

are now my good friends. Occasionallyyou’ll find an opponent who lives nearby.The closer an opponent lives to you, theless expensive it is to call him or her byphone. This sort of closer contact makesthat opponent a better prospective ally.PBM gamers often play in several gamesat once, “meeting” people with a widerange of interests.

6. You can be ruthless and not lose afriend because of it.

We all know people who won’t playRisk or Kingmaker or Diplomacy, be-cause they always get wiped out. Well, inPBM games you can have the time ofyour life wiping out strangers! And be-lieve me, they’ll try to do the same to you!Some games, like Diplomacy, actuallyare enhanced if played by mail, so thatplayers have plenty of time for planningand strategy between moves.

7. You can choose your game and yourstyle of play.

You can play whatever you like, asoften as you like. Sometimes you caneven choose games that offer several dif-ferent response times. For example, youcan play Heroic Fantasy with turns dueonce a week, twice a week, once amonth, or twice a month. I know onefellow who has played ten games ofStarweb concurrently!

8. You can earn recognition for out-standing performance.

Flying Buffalo, Inc., some Diplomacyassociations, and other PBM groups pub-lish top players’ names and ratings on aregular basis. It is very rewarding to seeyour name in print after playing (andperhaps winning) an exciting game.

9. You can write articles, getting in-volved in ways other than being a player.

Dozens of “fanzines” are published byGMs of PBM games. These small maga-zines include strategy articles, cartoons,fiction, replays of great contests playedby top gamers, and other material. TheDiplomacy fanzines are probably themost numerous.

And now the bad newsPlay-by-mail games have a number of

aspects that might be considered disad-vantages, but there’s a silver lining insidemany of these negative aspects:

1. Your opponents are not present.No, you can’t watch your opponent’s

face as you destroy his or her well-laidplans. You cannot watch your ally grovelas you consider the merits of cancellingyour alliance. But they can’t do thesethings to you, either!

2. You must communicate, if at all, byletter or telephone.

If you wish to negotiate or coordinateyour moves with an opponent or ally,you must call or write (when there istime). You can contact other players

through the GM by sending messageson index cards with your turn — butthese messages won’t reach the otherplayers until after the current move iscompleted. Knowledge is power — butobtaining knowledge from phone callscan be expensive.

3. PBM games cost a lot to play.You should figure on spending from

$2.50 to $10, plus postage, per turn. Thiscost varies with the game and how com-plex your turn instructions are. Some ofthe ongoing campaign games (such asTribes of Crane) never end. Watch outfor hidden costs: In one game, if an op-ponent attacks you, you are sent a battleresult and charged for it!

And do not underestimate the com-pulsion you will feel to make long-dis-tance telephone calls! It’s just too easy.My phone bills have gone up by as muchas $50 a month when I was playing sev-eral games concurrently.

4. Many games have incomplete rules.Many of the exploration/adventure

PBM game rules tell you only what youneed to know to make your first move.The negative aspect of this approach isthat you have to ask lots of questions andtry different things every turn. The posi-tive side is that you are forced to discov-er these things on your own. When youdo discover something, the GM will sendyou an information sheet on the areayou’ve explored. However, if you aren’tclever enough to ask about these thingsand you never hear about them fromother players, then you’ll never knowwhat you were missing.

Rules for some of the more complexcomputer-moderated games do not ex-plain the exact sequence of events thatcan occur. Often you’ll try to do some-thing and then find out you can’t performthat action in conjunction with someother action on the same turn, and soyou may misplay a turn. This can be frus-trating. But if you ask questions ahead oftime, you can avoid some of these prob-lems. I have been told that the reasonrules such as these are a bit vague is toprevent the programs from being easilycopied.

Occasionally, I will join a new gamewhich has not been thoroughly playtest-ed. Maybe there are bugs in the program,problems with game play, or perhaps theend game has not been worked out. Yourbest bet is to start by selecting a gamethat has a proven track record.

5. You must wait to find out the resultsof your turn.

Some GMs are better than others onturnaround time. If everyone’s moves arejudged on the same day, then the mailservice is the only variable that will affectwhen you get your results. The closeryou live to the GM, the more time you willhave to deliberate between turns be-cause of the reduced time needed formailing. I have known of players who gotfour moves per month to my two moves

because they lived in the same state asthe GM. If this strikes you as unfair . . .well, you’ve been warned. You might tryto ally with an opponent who can getturns in more often than you can, insteadof trying to fight him.

Some games offer different turn dead-lines (once a week, twice a month, etc.).When you receive once-a-week turns inthe mail, you have perhaps only a day orso to phone your allies and then phone inyour move. When you get twice-a-monthturns by mail, you have a few extra daysfor communicating and negotiating be-fore you must mail back your move.Once-a-month turns allow lots of timefor planning and negotiating, but gamesplayed at this pace can last for years!

6. Watch out for dropouts.Almost any PBM game will have drop-

outs: players who have lost interest inthe game, or are losing in the play of thegame (or both), or who have run out ofmoney. A dropout is usually replacedwithin a few turns by a standby player— someone who will accept an aban-doned position. If you sense that a playerhas dropped out, you might attack be-fore a standby player takes over theposition.

7. You can’t win a no-win game — butno one else can, either.

Many PBM games are no-win proposi-tions; they just go on forever. You gener-ally start these kinds of games with min-imal resources and little informationabout the rules. You wander about, try-ing to discover things and become morepowerful. These games can be interest-ing and a lot of fun — but someday youmay lose interest and drop out. To getthe most out of a no-win game, you mustcommunicate with other players as soonas possible after enrolling to get factsabout the “secrets” of the game.

Players can enter a no-win game atany time. There are no turn deadlines, soyou can move as often as you like. Beadvised that you could be wiped out veryquickly by an attack from a player withseveral years of experience. (This hasonly happened to me once.) All you cando when this happens is start over, orfind a new game to play.

8. You’re at the mercy of the system.The quality of your PBM gaming expe-

rience is largely dependent on the gamesystem established by the GM. Such fac-tors as turn deadlines, fees, incompleteor unclear rules, and GM interventioncan seriously affect your situation. If youcan’t get your turns in on time throughthe mail, then you’ll have to phone themin (more $$$) or drop out. If the rules areunclear to you, ask questions. ManyGMs will distribute errata sheets, ques-tion-and-answer sheets, or new editionsof their rules to those who request them.

Gamemaster intervention is a rareproblem, but very serious when it oc-curs. I have been in a game where theGM delayed a turn for three additional

weeks just to accommodate one player! Ihave also witnessed a GM trying to bal-ance a game by giving additional forcesto a group of weaker players. I happenedto be on the weaker side, but I stillthought it was unfair. I saw it as an at-tempt to prolong the game, keepingmore players active for a longer time,and thereby collecting more turn fees.

If an ad for a PBM game interests you,send the company just enough money topay for the rulebook. Tell the GM in aletter that you want to read the rules firstbefore deciding whether or not to play.Tell him not to sign you up for a gameuntil you write back. Also ask for a copyof a sample turn results sheet. If you de-cide to join the game, send the GM acheck for at least $25. Don’t send smallpayments all the time, or you will even-tually miss a turn because you had nomoney in your account. After you startplaying, ask lots of yes-and-no ques-tions to make sure you understand thegame. Contact other players as soon asyou hear about them. Defend what be-longs to you, but don’t attack an oppo-nent until you talk to him or her. Theopponent may have a lot of valuable in-formation, might become your ally —and perhaps your personal friend.

How to get started

Companies to contactThis is not intended to be an exhaus-

tive list of PBM companies. It includesmany of the larger, more popular games,as well as all games that have been ad-vertised in DRAGON™ Magazine in thepast six issues.Flying Buffalo Inc., P.O. Box 1467,Scottsdale AZ 85252-1467

Games: Starweb, Heroic Fantasy,Battle Plan, Nuclear Destruction, andmany others.

Schubel & Son, P.O. Box 214848,Sacramento CA 95821

Games: Tribes of Crane, Catacombsof Chaos, Star Master, Star Venture,and many others.

Games Systems Inc., P.O. Box 430587,Miami FL 33143

Game: Earthwood.Entertainment Concepts, Inc. (ECI),6923 Pleasant Drive, Charlotte NC 28211

Games: Silverdawn, Star Trek.Sanctuary Games, P.O. Box 10576,Santa Ana CA 92711

Game: Logan’s Run.Knights of Chivalry, P.O. Box 3027,Erie PA 16508

Game: Knights of Chivalry.Odyssean War Games, 626 UniversityPlace, Rm. 422, Evanston IL 60201

Game: Super Filet Wars.Diadem Enterprises, P.O. Box 123,Trafford PA 15085

Game: Star of Uldor.Genji Games, P.O. Box 3689,San Bernardino CA 92413

Game: The Way of the Warrior.

D R A G O N 6 1

62 DECEMBER 1982

(The Far Wanderer)Stars, Space, WanderingLesser godARMOR CLASS: -5MOVE: 18”HIT POINTS: 242NO. OF ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +6

(strength bonus)SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: 90%SIZE: MALIGNMENT: Neutral goodWORSHIPPERS’ ALIGNMENT: GoodSYMBOL: Black circle with seven starsPLANE: AstralCLERIC/DRUID: 4th level clericFIGHTER: 15th level rangerMAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 14th /eve/

magic-userTHIEF/ASSASSIN: /Vil/nilMONK/BARD: Nil/nilPSIONIC ABILITY: II

Attack/Defense Modes: All/allS: 18/00 I: 20 W:18D: 20 C: 20 CH: 19

It is said that Celestian and Fharlanghn(q.v.) are brothers who followed similarbut different paths. While the latter chosethe distances of the world, Celestian wasdrawn to the endless reaches of the starsand the Astral Plane.

The Far Wanderer appears as a tall,lean man of middle years. His skin is ofebony hue and smooth. His eyes are ofthe same color as his skin. He is quickand absolutely silent in his movement.He speaks but seldom. His garments areof deep black, but somewhere he willalways wear his symbol: seven “stars”(diamond, amethyst, sapphire, emerald,

topaz, jacinth, ruby) blazing with the col-ors of far suns.

Celestian has no personal weaponwhich is always with him. He will typical-ly carry one or more of the following:

a +3 long bow with 20 +3 arrowsa +4 spear which appears to be but 5’

in length but darts out to 10’ lengtha +5 short sworda +3 battle axe that can be hurled 40’a +6 dagger of unbreakable metal

Often he will go unarmed, for Celes-tian has, in addition to magic spells usualto a 14th level wizard, the following sin-gular powers:

Aurora Borealis: A spell-like powerwhich causes a sheet of dancing, shift-ing light to encircle Celestian, or asmany creatures as will fit within its 1’ to 7’radius. The aurora borealis can be castup to 7” distance. It lasts for 7 full turns(or until Celestian chooses to dispel it).The 7’ high sheet of fiery light will cause3-24 points of damage to any creaturetouching it — except its caster, who isimmune to its force.

Comet: This power brings a flamingmissile which will strike one individualtarget, up to 7” distant from Celestian,igniting all combustible substances onthe subject and inflicting 5-30 points ofdamage from flaming, poisonous gases.

Heat Lightning: A bolt of lightning iscalled down instantly by this power. Itwill strike an individual target up to 7”distant from Celestian, causing all non-magical metal to fuse and inflicting 5-50points of damage.

Meteors: By use of this power, Celes-tian causes 2-5 (1d4+1) stone spheres ofabout one-half foot diameter to shootfrom his hand up to a distance of 7”.From 2-5 targets will be struck (at Celes-tian’s option) for 5-8 points of damageper meteor.

Space Chill: A spell-like power whichenables Celestian to bring a wave of

D R A G O N 6 3

cold, 4” wide, roiling from him out to amaximum distance of 7”. Its cold andvacuum kills all vegetation in the affect-ed area. Other living things will take 2-8points of damage from the vacuum con-dition and 2-8 additional points of dam-age from the chill, if applicable.

Star Shine: When this is cast, a blazingwhite sheet of light issues from Celes-tian’s eyes, enveloping up to 4 creaturesas far away as 7”. This sheen blinds thesubjects for up to 1 turn. (See powerword, blind for the process usable tocure the blindness prior to expiration ofthe effect.)

Thunder: This power causes a great,rolling thunderclap to sound directlyover Celestian’s head. All creatures, savethe deity himself, within a 3” radius arestunned for 1 round and deafened for 2-5rounds, no saving throw. Those at a dis-tance of from 3” to 7” will be deafenedonly (saving throw applicable).

All of these powers take but 1 segmentto employ. Each is usable once per day.Celestian must be under the open sky touse any of these powers, however. Magicresistance checks are applicable. Savingthrows versus magic also apply (exceptfor the thunder power, as noted), butthey are made at -3.

In addition to his seven special pow-ers, and magic spells applicable to a 14thlevel magic-user, Celestian can employany magic spell of movement/travel onan unlimited basis. These spells include:dimension door, levitate, feather fall,spider climb, fly, teleport, and jump.

Celestian can travel astrally. He cangate in 2-5 astral devas (q.v.) under thestarry sky, otherwise only 1-3. He has allthe powers typical of a lesser god.

Celestian’s habits and disposition us-ually keep him from close associationand involvement with other gods. Hehas but a small following amongst man-kind. Those who involve themselves withthe cosmos or the sky — scholars, as-tronomers, astrologers, dreamers, navi-gators — make up the bulk of the Celes-tian faithful. His priests wander the land,emulating their deity whenever possibleby traveling the reaches of space.

There are seven orders of the priest-hood of Celestian. These orders are dif-ferentiated in four ways, as given below.The experience level range applicable toa certain order is given first, followed bythe color of robe worn by members ofthat order, the main gem in the symbolfor that order (the one in the center of thesymbol, surrounded by the six others),and the special spell which is gained by acleric upon attaining membership in thatorder.

FHARLANGHN1st Order: Cleric of levels 1-2who wear light blue robes, have aruby as the main gem in the sym-bol, and have feather fall as a spe-cial spell.

2nd Order: Levels 3-4, light grayrobes, jacinth, jump.

3rd Order: Levels 5-6, violetrobes, topaz, levitate.

4th Order: Levels 7-8, blue-grayrobes, emerald, spider climb.

5th Order: Levels 9-10, dark bluerobes, sapphire, fly.

6th Order: Levels 11-15, deeppurple robes, amethyst, dimensiondoor.

7th Order: Levels 16 and up,black robes, diamond, teleport.

Each special spell is gained imme-diately upon entering a different order, isin addition to all other normal clericspells, and cannot be used more thanonce per day. Thus, a priest of the 1stOrder has one special spell, one of the7th Order has seven different specialspells.

Service and worship are always con-ducted in the open, during the night,preferably when the sky is clear andmany stars are visible.

As Celestian (q.v.) wanders the star-roads, his elder brother Fharlanghnroams the four corners of the world. Heis, in fact, regarded as the god of traveland distance. Fharlanghn sometimes en-ters the Elemental Plane of Earth, but heseldom enters the Plane of Air and shunsthose of Fire and Water. He can travel toany Inner Plane, however.

Fharlanghn, Dweller on the Horizon,appears to be a middle-sized man, withbrown, leathery skin, creased by manywrinkles. His bright green eyes belie hisseeming age. Fharlanghn’s movementsseem slow and measured, but he actual-ly moves quickly — especially with re-gard to actual travel. He always moves asif he wore boots of striding and springing.

Fharlanghn will converse readily, al-though he is not loquacious. He favorsclothing of plain stuff such as leatherand unbleached linen. His symbol is awooden disc, with a curving line repres-enting the horizon across its upper part.It is said that the deity himself wearssuch a symbol, known as the Oerth Disc.This symbol is made of many sorts ofwood, inlaid with jade and turquoise,with a bright golden sun set into it.

The Oerth Disc will depict any area ofthe surface of the world. Fharlanghnsimply looks upon the Disc, concen-

(Dweller on the Horizon)Horizons, Distances, Roads, TravelLesser godARMOR CLASS: -6MOVE: AnyHIT POINTS: 262NO. OF ATTACKS: 2DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-20+2

(strength bonus)SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%SIZE: MALIGNMENT: NeutralWORSHIPPERS’ ALIGNMENT: Any

(neutral preferred)SYMBOL: Disc with a curved line

across it (the horizon)PLANE: Oerth (Prime Material Plane)CLERIC/DRUID: 9th level cleric/

9th level druidFIGHTER: NilMAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 9th level

magic-user/9th level illusionistTHIEF/ASSASSIN: 20th level thiefMONK/BARD: NilPSIONIC ABILITY: I

Attack/Defense Modes: All/allS:18 I:18 W:20D: 20 C: 20 CH: 19

64 DECEMBER 1982

trates, and the miniature image of theland desired appears in a 1/12,000 re-production. It is then possible to teleport(without error) to any locale so pictured.The Oerth Disc will also shoot forth aburning, golden ray of varying intensity:

1. A beam of pale yellow light up to660’ long. This ray is equal in bright-ness to continual light. The beam hasa diameter of 6’.

2. A ray of brilliant golden color upto 66’ long. This intense beam isbright enough to cause any creaturestruck in the eyes to be permanentlyblinded (save vs. magic applies). Theray’s diameter is just under eightinches. Even those who save whenstruck full in the eyes, as well as crea-tures within 3’ of its shaft, will bedazzled from the brilliance and un-able to see for 1-10 segments.

3. A coruscating rod of burning, fi-ery golden light up to 16½’ long lan-ces forth to slice through virtually any-thing. The ray will cut through 6inches of stone or half an inch of steelin one blast. Creatures struck by thispencil-thin ray suffer 10-60 points ofdamage (save vs. magic negates alldamage). The intense heat of thisbeam instantly sets aflame combusti-ble objects it touches.In addition to the spells commensu-

rate to his level of expertise as a magic-user, illusionist, cleric, and druid, Fhar-

langhn also has the following spellsavailable on an unlimited basis: dig, di-mension door, dispel magic, earthquake,find the path, fly, improved invisibility,move earth, pass plant, passwall, poly-morph self, pass without trace, plantdoor, stone tell, stone to flesh, transmuterock to mud, transport via plants, wall ofthorns, wind walk.

He also has the following spells on alimited basis, as indicated: duo-dimen-sion (1/day) and phase door (2/day).

He can read languages and read mag-ic. He has the ability to detect charm,evil, good, illusion, magic, and snaresand pits. He speaks all the tongues ofOerth and communicates with other crea-tures telepathically.

Fharlanghn is most attentive to thoseon roads and paths or in long tunnels. Hecan strike with his iron-shod staff, inflict-ing damage unfailingly upon any crea-ture he chooses. He can curse an enemyso that any travel which is greater than 1league distance will take twice as long asnormal. Fharlanghn’s curse lasts onemonth. It is removable only by a cleric ofFharlanghn of 10th level or above, or bysome godling or deity able to do so.

If desired, Fharlanghn can summonany one of the following types of earthelementals:

Dust Elemental: A 16 hit dice earthelemental doing only 2-12 points ofdamage per attack but able to form a

choking, blinding cloud of dust whichcovers an area of 4,000 cubic feet. Inthe latter form, the elemental does notstrike, but it obscures the vision of allwithin it to a 1-foot range and causes1-4 points of suffocating damage eachround. In the latter state, the elemen-tal can be harmed only by magic, butit can stay in a cloud for only 3 rounds.It can be summoned only in dry, dustyareas such as deserts, prairies, etc.

Earth Elemental: A typical, 16 hitdice elemental.

Magma Elemental: A 20 hit diceearth elemental doing 6-36 points ofdamage per attack. It can be sum-moned only in underground areas.

Mud Elemental: A 12 hit dice earthelemental doing only 3-18 points ofdamage per attack, but also able tospread itself over an area of up to 400square feet and slow creatures to halfnormal movement in addition to itsnormal attack. It can be summonedonly in wet areas where mud alreadyexists.Fharlanghn uses all spells and powers

at the 18th level of proficiency, eventhough he is actually 9th level. Specialpowers take but one segment of time touse, save for the summoning of an earthelemental which requires one round.The elemental comes willingly and serveswithout duress for up to one turn.

Fharlanghn can be hit only by +3 or

DR A G O N 65

better weapons. He is never surprised onthe Prime Material Plane. Spells of earthdo not affect him. He regenerates 1 pointof damage per round.

The priesthood of Fharlanghn is of twosorts, urban and pastoral. The formerwear brown robes and generally arefound in small chapels in communities.Urban clerics of Fharlanghn gain theability of a passwall spell at 7th level.Those of the pastoral order wear greenrobes and minister by traveling thehighways and byways, occasionally stop-ping at wayside shrines to Fharlanghn.Pastoral clerics of Fharlanghn gain theability of a pass plant spell at 5th level.

Worshippers of Fharlanghn are mostactive in the Central and Southwest re-gions of the Flanaess. Followers of thisdeity are typically merchants, adventur-ers, itinerants, and the like. Services areoften conducted outdoors, under thesunny sky.

EHLONNA(of the Forests)Forest, Meadows, Animals,

Flowers, Fertility

Lesser goddessARMOR CLASS: -6MOVE: 32”HIT POINTS: 180NO. OF ATTACKS: 3DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +5

(strength bonus)SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better

weapon to hitMAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%SIZE: MALIGNMENT: Neutral goodWORSHIPPERS’ ALIGNMENT: Neutral

good, any Good, neutralSYMBOL: Unicorn hornPLANE: Prime MaterialCLERIC/DRUID: 11th level druidFIGHTER: 12th level rangerMAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 10th level

magic-userTHIEF/ASSASSIN: NilMONK/BARD: NilPSIONIC ABILITY: 111

Attack/Defense Modes: All/allS: 18/99 I: 19 W: 18D: 21 C:18 CH: 21

66 DECEMBER 1982

Ehlonna of the Forests is said to be thepatroness of all folk — elven, human orotherwise — who dwell in woodlandsand love such surroundings. She is like-wise the deity of those who hunt, fish,and otherwise gain their livelihood fromthe forests. She is thus worshipped byrangers, foresters, trappers, hunters,woodcutters, etc. More females thanmales serve Ehlonna.

It is possible for Ehlonna to take eitherof two forms, a human or an elven fe-male. In human form, Ehlonna will haveeither chestnut or black hair, while inelven form her tresses will be pale goldenor coppery gold. Her eyes are either start-ling blue or violet, and her complexion ismost clear and fair. Her garments rangefrom those of a huntsman or ranger tothose of an elven princess.

Ehlonna has adamantite bracers whichgive her protection equal to armor class0 and in addition bestow a bonus of +2 onall saving throws. She has a long bowwhich always causes its arrow to strikeits target, even at its maximum range of21”. She has arrows of slaying for manywoodland creatures — bears, stags, etc.Her quiver holds 40 arrows, the balanceof which are +3. She has a long swordwhich is equal to a +6 defender, and a +4dagger. Ehlonna fights with both of theseblades, often defending with the swordand striking twice with the dagger.

In human form, Ehlonna has special

powers over horses; in elven form, shecan command unicorns. Her high-pitch-ed whistle can call either creature fromas far away as a league. Either sort ofcreature will gladly serve as a mount forher.

She has the attributes and powers typ-ical of a lesser deity. Ehlonna is person-ally served by a planetar.

Brownies, elves, gnomes, and halflingsare especially attuned to this deity. If Eh-lonna requests service, it is 90% likelythat members of such races will aid herin any manner she asks. She often trav-els among these folk.

Clerics of Ehlonna are able to track asif they were rangers, at a level of abilityequal to their level of experience; i.e., 1stlevel cleric equals 1st level ranger ability.At 5th level they gain a spell equal to theanimal friendship spell of druids. This isin addition to their normal cleric spells,usable once per day, at a level of exper-tise equal to the cleric’s experience level.

of Ehlonna are always in sylvan settings,although small shrines are occasionallylocated in villages. Services of worshipinvolve wooden and horn vessels, var-ious herbs, and the playing of pipes andflutes.

The worship of Ehlonna is centered inthe area from the Wild Coast to the Ulekfiefs, from the Kron Hills to the sea. Herclerics wear pale green robes. Temples

PHOLZUS(of the Blinding Light)Light, Resolution, Law, Order,

Inflexibility, Sun, Moon

Lesser godARMOR CLASS: -5

illusionist

MOVE: 21”

THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil

HIT POINTS: 286NO. OF ATTACKS: 2

MONK/BARD: Nil

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-12 +2(strength bonus)

PSIONIC ABILITY: III

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better

Attack/Defense Modes: All/all

weapon to hitMAGIC RESISTANCE: 85%

S: 18 I:17 W:23

SIZE: MALIGNMENT: Lawful good (neutral)

D: 19 C: 23 CH: 20

WORSHIPPERS’ ALIGNMENT: Lawful,Lawful (evil), Lawful (good)

SYMBOL: The Silvery SunPLANE: ArcadiaCLERIC/DRUID: 20th level clericFIGHTER: NilMAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 12thlevel

D R A G O N 6 7

It is said the regularity of sunrise andsunset, the cycles of the moon, are asfixed as the resolve of Pholtus to show allcreatures the One True Way, a strict pathwhich allows no deviation but gives ab-solute assurance of rightness. Some fol-lowers of the Blinding Light actuallyclaim it is their deity, Pholtus, who or-dered the rigid progression of the sunand moon and maintains them in his reg-imen. Such claims are not regarded asdoctrine.

Pholtus appears as a tall and slenderman, pale of complexion, with flowingwhite hair and bright blue eyes fromwhich the fire of devotion to the causeshines forth. He always wears a gown ofwhite, silky material and a cassocktrimmed with suns and moons embroi-dered in gold and silver. In his hand is anivory staff shod in silver, topped by a discof electrum that represents the SilverySun.

Pholtus’ staff, The Staff of the SilverySun, strikes as a +6 weapon, although itonly causes from 3-12 points of damage(plus wielder’s strength bonus, if any).Its major powers, however, are in itsmagic. The staff can shoot forth variousforms of lights as if it were a wand ofillumination. The top, however, can

cause blindness or cure blindness bytouch, or shoot forth a pulsing flash ofradiation which plays from the infrared,into the visible, and through into the ul-traviolet spectrum. This spectrum beamis 8’ wide and 80’ long. Any creaturestruck by it must save versus magic or beunable to remove its gaze from the Staffof the Silvery Sun and be subject to eachand every command uttered by theholder of the device.

It can also release a globe of greatbrilliance, an expanding sphere of lightwhich begins from the staff and spreadsto a 40” diameter. All within the globe(except Pholtus himself) must save ver-sus magic or become permanently blind.Curing this blindness is possible only bymeans of the staff, a wish spell, or by adeity able to cure blindness or fulfillanother’s wish. The spectrum power ofthe staff is usable 4 times per day, theglobe but once per day.

In addition to the usual spells knownto a cleric or illusionist of the same level,Pholtus has these spell-like powers:

Dispel darkness: By merely touch-ing any area of magical darkness,Pholtus is able to cause it to instantlydissipate and be unable to return/re-form for 8 turns. When this power is

68 DECEMBER 1982

used as a cleric spell (see below), it isnecessary to have Pholtus’ holy sym-bol and speak his name when usingthe power. Duration is 4 rounds, +1round per level of the cleric.

Glow: By pointing, any creaturewithin an 8” distance from the casterwill be caused to glow brightly, shed-ding radiance equal to light in a 10”radius, for 8 rounds, no saving throw.If the caster chooses, the glow canspring forth from his (or her) ownbody, with effects as follows: if theglow comes from the face, the casterhas +2 to charisma for the duration ofthe glow; if it radiates from the eyes,the glow produces light beams 40”long with a 4” base diameter. Whenused as a cleric spell, Pholtus’ holysymbol and a 1 segment prayer to theBlinding Light are required. Castingtime is 2 segments, and duration is 1round/level of the caster.

Reflect: By means of a mystic passand reference to the Blinding Light,Pholtus can cause his body to reflect

all forms of radiation, thus becoming their deity, the clerics of Pholtus contin-mirror-bright. Gaze weapons are re-flected back upon their users, heat

ually seek to reveal the Light to unbe-

has no effect, and even creatures us-lievers. They will brook no argument, ofcourse, and resisters will be shown the

ing infravision or ultravision will be way of the Blinding Light. There arestruck sightless for 1-8 segments af- three ranks of this priesthood:ter looking upon Pholtus, unless they Glimmering: Clerics of levels 1-4;save versus magic. If light conditions white vestments, dispel darkness (asare very bright, such as in full sun- above) as a special spell.light, sightlessness will last 2-16 seg- Gleaming: Clerics of levels 5-8;ments. When used as a cleric spell,reflect has a duration of 1 round, re-

white and silver vestments, glow (asabove) as a special spell.

quires 3 segments to cast, and re- Shining: Clerics of levels 9 andquires a holy symbol of Pholtus plus above; white and gold vestments, re-the use of crystal prayer beads. flect (as above) as a special spell.Pholtus can employ each of these Upon a cleric’s attaining a certain

powers four times per day. Pholtus oth-erwise has all of the abilities and powers

rank, the ability to use the special spell isgained, and special spells of lower ranks

typical of a lesser deity. are retained; i.e., a shining cleric can useThe Ethereal Plane, the Positive Mate-

rial Plane, and the Prime Material Planeeach of the special spells once per day.

The priesthood of Pholtus is at its mostare open to Pholtus, although the deity active in urban districts. Consecratedtypically remains on his own plane (Ar- buildings are white. Typical services fea-cadia). He can gate in from 1-4 monadicdevas to do his bidding.

ture many burning candles and long

Following the inflexible example ofsermons. The anthem of the worshippersis “O Blinding Light.”

STANDARD DIVINE ABILITIESAll deities have the following powers and abilities in

common, each usable at will:

Astral & ethereal travel GeasComprehend languages Infravision & ultravisionContinual darkness Know alignmentContinual light LevitateCure (blindness, deafness, Mirror image

disease, feeblemind, Polymorph selfinsanity) Read languages & magic

Detect (charm, evil/good, Teleport (no error)illusion, invisibility, Tongueslie, magic, traps)

In addition, each group of deities has other particu-lar powers and abilities, as described below. A numberin parentheses after a listing indicates the times perday the power can be used; lack of a number means thepower is usable as often as the deity desires.

Greater Gods:Anti-magic shell (2) Protection from evil/good,Command, 4 rd. effect (2) +3, 30’ radiusControl environment¹ Quest (2)Cure critical wounds (3) Remove curseDeath spell (2) Remove fearDispel (evil/good, Regenerate

illusion, magic) (8 each) Restoration (3)Fly ResurrectionGate (3) Shape change (3)Globe of invulnerability (1) Summon2

Heal (3) Symbol (3)Holy/unholy word (3) Time stop (1)Improved invisibility Trap the soul (2)Improved phantasmal force True seeing (5)Polymorph any object (1) Vision (1)Polymorph others (3) Wish (2)

Lesser Gods:Anti-magic shell (2) Polymorph others (2)Command, 3 rd. effect (1) Protection from evil/good,Control temperature, 10’ r, +2, 20’ radiusCure serious wounds (3) Quest (1)

Death spell (1) Remove curseDispel (evil/good, Remove fear

illusion, magic) (4 each) Restoration (1)Gate (2) Resurrection (3)Heal (2) Summon3

Holy/unholy word (2) Symbol (2)Improved invisibility Trap the soul (1)Improved phantasmal force True seeing (3)Minor globe of Wish (1)

invulnerability (1)

Demigods:Anti-magic shell (1) Phantasmal forceCommand, 2 rd. effect (1) Protection from evil/good,Cure light wounds (3) 10’ radiusDispel (evil/good, Raise dead (3)

illusion,. magic) (2 each) Remove curse (3)Finger of death Remove fearGate (1) Summon4

Heal (1) Symbol (1)Holy/unholy word (1) True seeing (2)Invisibility Wall of forceLimited wish (1)

Notes:1 — Control environment subsumes both control temperature

and control weather. It actually allows the greater god toadjust the surroundings of his or her immediate environmentto suit his or her desire, even if the change is radical. Thearea of control extends from a 12” radius to a 72” radiusdepending on how radical the change required is.

2 — A greater god can summon from one to six creatures of thesame alignment as the god, and all of the same type, with thetotal hit dice of the creatures so summoned not to exceed 40.

3 — The summon power of a lesser god can bring from one tothree creatures of the same alignment as the lesser deity.Each must be of the same sort as the others summoned. Nomore than 25 total hit dice of creatures can be so called.

4 — For demigods, the summon power is limited to one or twocreatures of not more than 20 total hit dice. Again, creaturesmust be of the same alignment and (if more than one issummoned) of the same type.

D R A G O N 6 9

TRITHERON(The Summoner)Individuality, Self-Protection,

Liberty, RetributionLesser godARMOR CLASS: -4MOVE: 24”HIT POINTS: 163NO. OF ATTACKS: 2DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type +7

(strength bonus)SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: +3 or better

weapon to hitMAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%SIZE: MALIGNMENT: Chaotic goodWORSHIPPERS’ ALIGNMENT: Chaotic

neutral-Chaotic goodSYMBOL: Rune of pursuitPLANE: GladsheimCLERIC/DRUID: 9th level clericFIGHTER: 11th level fighterMAGIC-USER ILLUSIONIST: 10th level

illusionistTHIEF/ASSASSIN: NilMONK/BARD: NilPSIONIC ABILITY: I

Attack/Defense Modes: All/allS:19 I:19 W:19D:20 C:19 CH:19

70 DECEMBER 1982

Trithereon, “The Summoner,” is thedeity of individuality and the right of self-protection. His symbol, the rune of pur-suit, indicates many things, includingthe need to strive for liberty and to seekto bring to an end to those who are benton abridging life or freedom.

When upon the Prime Material Plane,Trithereon appears as a tall, well-builtyoung man with red-gold hair and grayeyes. He is typically clad in pale blue orviolet garb, with a shirt of golden chain-mail often visible. He carries a broad-bladed spear, a broad sword, and a scep-ter in his broad girdle of gold-studdedleather.

The spear is called Krelestro (“TheHarbinger of Doom”). It is a +7 weaponwhich can be hurled 9” and will return inthe same round. The sword is calledFreedom’s Tongue. It is a +6 weaponwhich causes fear (cf. fear spell) in a 3”radius to all opponents of its wielder un-less a saving throw versus magic is suc-cessful. The scepter is the Baton of Re-tribution. It can locate any enemy, nomatter where, unless some extra-power-ful magical protection against locationexists. The scepter also permits itswielder to summon certain creatures asdetailed later. Merely possessing theBaton of Retribution allows the posses-sor to travel to any place on any plane ofexistence not protected by some magicto prevent such entrance.

When held and wielded, the Baton will,upon desire, cause the surrounding areato become a strange place, unfamiliar tothose opposing the wielder of the device.Thus, it could be a barren desert of pur-ple rock and green skies, a swamp ofmilk-colored water with red plants, a fea-tureless plain of gray and black whoseground glows as if it were translucentfire and whose heavens are black andopaque. At each such place, Trithereonmust be answered one question truth-fully, or else the creature in question willbe consigned to the strange world for 100years, barring some means of escape.This transferral and questioning can oc-cur three times with respect to any indi-vidual or associated group.

As “The Summoner,” Trithereon isable to call up three creatures, one at atime, to pursue and combat those guiltyof enslavement, abridgement of liberty,and similar crimes. Summoning requiresbut a single round. The three creaturesare:

Nemoud the Hound: AC 0; MV 21”;HD 8; HP 64; #AT 1; D 4-16; SA fastens

bite until destroyed; SD struck onlyby magic weapons; MR 30%; Int 5; SzM. Nemoud is an iron-jawed creaturethat tracks prey as if it were a 20thlevel ranger. When it attacks success-fully, the hound locks its jaws and au-tomatically causes 16 points of dam-age to its victim each round there-after. This creature is 80% likely to beundetected. It is never surprised.

Harrus the Falcon: AC 2; MV 3”/30”;HD 9; HP 72; #AT 2 or 1; D 5-8/5-8 or3-12; SD struck only by magic wea-pons; MR 40%; Int 6; Sz L. Harrus is ahuge bird-like creature with visionbetter than that of an eagle. It canplummet at twice flying speed, andsuch attacks add +4 to hit probabilityand talon damage. After an initial tal-on attack, the creature uses its beak(1 attack doing 3d4 damage).

Ca’rolk the Sea Lizard: AC 1; MV3”//27”; HD 10; HP 80; #AT 1 or 1; D3-30 or 2-16; SA overturns small crafts;SD struck only by magic weapons;MR 20%; Int 4; Sz L. Ca’rolk is acrocodile-like reptile of some 40’ inlength. Normal attack is by tail smash,although biting is quite dangerousand often done. The creature is ableto upset vessels up to its own length25% of the time it so attempts, 30’ ves-sels 50% of the time, 20’ vessels 75%of the time, and 10’ or smaller vessels100% of the time.

Each of these creatures can be sum-moned by Trithereon once per day. Thesummoned creature will follow orders tothe best of its ability. If slain in the courseof doing so, it will take 1 week to reformon its own plane and so cannot be sum-moned during that period.

Trithereon is also able to gate in one ofeach type of deva (astral, monadic, andmovanic), one per round. This deva-summoning requires one round to ef-fect. It can be performed once per day.He will do so only to combat great evil, ofcourse. He otherwise has powers com-mensurate with his status as a lesserdeity.

Priests of Trithereon wear dark blue orpurple robes, silver or gold trimmed.During special ceremonies they wearcassocks of golden red emblazoned withthe rune of pursuit. Each has trackingability as a ranger of one level below hisor her cleric level, to a maximum of 8thlevel tracking ability (for a 9th or higherlevel cleric). Those of 4th and higher lev-el are permitted the use of spears, and at8th and higher level clerics of Trithereoncan employ broad swords.

The followers of this deity are com-mon in large towns and cities and in cer-tain states in the Flanaess, notably theYeomanry and the Shield Lands. Typicalservices feature ceremonial flames, bells,and iron vessels and symbols of varioustypes.

DR A G O N 71

(From page 22)within the bard class. The DM might consider including sha-mans, witch doctors, and witches as (rare) character classes.

Language also presents a problem. There is no “common”tongue. Nor do demi-humans speak other than their own lan-guages. Cavemen and humans speak different tongues. Whatlanguage a speaking dragon talks is a matter for the DM todecide. It would depend on what humanoids the dragon hasassociated with, I suppose.

The arms race, or lack thereofThe level of Pleistocene weapons technology is very low. The

only “armor” available is the equivalent of leather or paddedarmor (hides and furs). Shields are rare, since there is no mil-itary science. You don’t use shields in hunting, so unless youencounter a warlike race that uses shields, you would have noknowledge of shields. Thus, the best non-magical armor classwhich can be achieved is AC 3 (leather + shield, on a characterwith 18 dexterity). The tables on missile fire cover and con-cealment adjustments (p. 64, Dungeon Masters Guide) wouldplay a large part in the hide-and-seek style of warfare dictatedby Ice Age technology.

The sling comes into its own in the Ice Age, since bows havenot been invented. The table below illustrates the extent ofPleistocene weapons technology.

Dmg. Dmg. Fire Rangevs S/M vs L rate S M L

Stone knife 1-4 1-3 ¹ — — —Stone axe 1-6 1-4 ¹ — — —Stone-head hammer 2-5 1-4 1 1 2 3Spear 3 1-6 1-8 1 1 2 3Bola (trip) ² 1-3 1-2 1 2 4 6Sling (stones only) 1-4 1-4 1 4 8 16Staff 1-6 1-6 — — — —Club 1-6 1-3 1 1 2 3Javelin 3 1-6 1-6 1 2 4 6Dart (blowgun) 1-3 1-2 3 1½ 3 4½Net (entangle) 1 ½ 1 1½Fist (see weaponless combat tables) — — — —Flaming oil 4 4 1 1 2 3

1 — Not balanced for throwing.2 — Saving throw vs. trip allowed; monsters of more

than 9 h.d. are not trippable.3 — Double damage when set vs. charge.4 — Splash does 1-3, direct hit 2-12 vs. any size creature.

Religion, magic, and “modern” lifeMagic and religion undergo some radical changes in the

Pleistocene. Magic items are very, very rare. There are noscrolls, because there is no written language. Magic-users andillusionists employ carved sticks and sacred rocks as mnemon-ic aids to relearn their spells. The basic form of a magic item isthe potion, of which there are many in this herbalist’s paradise.

under-Subtable mts. marshAerialAnthropoidDungeon/Cavern — — — — — —

Fresh Water/Swamp — — — —GameInsectoid —

PredatorReptileSalt Water/Seashore

plain forest01-15 01-0516-19 06-12

13-2020-59 21-3560-67 36-5068-92 51-8093-97 81-95

river,lake,

hills01-20 01-30 01-0221-40 31-55 03-20

21-5041-55 56-65 51-6056-60 — 61-7061-85 66-80 71-8086-93 81-00 81-90

Wasp giant/Hornet giant (FF)Vermin 98-00 96-00 94-00 — 9 1 - 0 0 —

sea ground01-05 —06-15 01-20

21-5556-65

16-20 66-7071-80

21-30 81-8531-35 86-9536-00 —

Aerial Encounter Subtable (d12)1 = Bat, giant (FF)2 = Blood Hawk (FF)3 = Eagle, giant4 = Dragon/Pseudo-dragon5 = Ki-rin6 = Griffon7 = Hippogriff8 = Owl, giant9 = Pegasus

10 = Roc11 =

PLEISTOCENE ENCOUNTER TABLE

— — — — —96-00 12 = Wind Walker

Disease and injury are not just mere nuisances; where curativespells are rare (it takes a 5th level cleric to cure disease), suchthings need to be paid attention to. The DM must be scrupulousin making disease checks (p. 13, DMG).

The highly developed religions described in the DEITIES &DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia are not much in evidence. Most hu-mans, at least, will be into totemism. Under this system, eachperson has a totem (guardian spirit). An encounter with a wolfis thus a “divine,” or at least uncanny, encounter for someonewith a wolf totem.

Lucky and unlucky days play a significant role in the clan’slife. The best days for hunting and ceremonies must be chosen.Roll d10 (or have the clan’s priest roll, if he/she is a PC): 1-3 =unlucky day; 4-7 = nothing special; 8-0 = lucky day. An auguryspell might be used for this purpose. On an unlucky day, theclan (or the person for whom it is unlucky) would have a -1penalty on all dice rolls, while their opponents would have a +1penalty on all rolls. This situation is reversed on a lucky day.

Generally, the following divinities and pseudo-divinities fromthe DDG book would “fit in” with the Ice Age milieu: Raven,Heng, Hotoru, Shakak (very important), Thunder Bird, Yanau-luha, Tobadzistsini, Loviatar, Thrym, Surtur, Prometheus,Norns, and the Non-human deities. And so would the Hound ofIII Omen and the Elemental Princes of Evil from the FIENDFOLIO™ Tome.

Druidism would be much more primitive and nature-orientedthan as presented in the DDG book. The American Indianmythos drawn upon above seems the most congenial to Pleis-tocene religion, but other congenial types have been added.Note that undead and spirit (astral) world encounters would bevery significant in the religious life of the period; not that theyshould be common, but they would have a telling effect. Dryadsand the like would be considered supernatural beings by manyraces (and so might even elves and gnolls, come to think of it).Remember the paranoia of the time. Everything but one’s ownclan or tribe is to be feared and viewed as probably hostile.

Your adventure is now almost ready; only a few more detailsto consider, like terrain, encounters, weather and seasons. Tomake matters simpler, I have simplified the terrain categories inthe following Pleistocene encounter tables. “Ruins” do notexist in this era; there has been nothing built to be ruined. Keepin mind the glaciation (and vulcanism?) of the time. This willaffect your campaign area.

I have not been picky on the encounter sub-tables. One ismore likely to encounter a badger than a displacer beast anyday, now or then, but I didn’t want to be rolling dice forever insetting up an encounter. After the encounter table gives you thesub-table to look at, you may roll to see what is encountered,and then feel free to roll again if you feel what comes up doesn’tmake sense. Also, do adjust the numbers. A herd of game willbe much larger in the Pleistocene than a herd of game would benow. And anthropoids would be very few: no “30-300 orcs”nonsense. No anthropoid encounter should be more than 2d12adults, plus a few children (2d4?). And half of those adults willbe females. Probably no more than 40% of all adults would behunter-fighter types.

72 DECEMBER 1982

Anthropoid Encounter Subtable (d20)1-7: Human (roll d6)

1 = Berserkers 4 = Frost Man (FF)2 = Cavemen 5 = Nomads3 = Character party 6 = 10% chance divine

encounter (see text)

8-10: Demi-human (roll d6)1 = Dwarf2 = Elf (wood)3 = Gnome4 = Half-elf

5 = Halfling (roll d6:1-3 = Hairfeet;4-5 = Stout;6 = Tallfellow)

6 = Half-orc

11-12: Giant (roll d8)1 = Ettin2 = Giant, Fire3 = Giant, Frost4 = Giant, Hill

5 = Giant, Mtn. (FF)6 = Giant, Stone7 = Ogre8 = Treant

13-18: Humanoid (roll d20)1 = Bugbear2 = Doppleganger3 = Dryad4 = Flind (FF)5 = Gnoll6 = Goblin7 = Hobgoblin8 = Kobold9 = Lizard Man

10 = Nixie

11 = Nymph12 = Ogrillon (FF)13 = Orc14 = Sylph15 = Troglodyte16 = Troll17 = Troll, giant (FF)18 = Troll, ice (FF)19 = Umpleby (FF)20 = Yeti

19: Lycanthrope (roll d6)1 = Jackalwere2 = Werebear3 = Wereboar

4 = Wererat5 = Weretiger6 = Werewolf

20: Miscellaneous (roll d10)1 = Demon, manes2 = Devil, ice3 = Ghost/Astral

Searcher (FF)4 = Merman5 = Sahuagin

6 = Skeleton7 = Umber Hulk8 = Wight9 = Yellow Musk

Zombie (FF)10 = Zombie

Dungeon/Cavern Encounter Subtable (roll d24)1 = Bat, giant (FF) 13 = Mimic/Will-o-Wisp2 = Black pudding 14 = Mold, brown3 = Cold Woman/ 15 = Mold, yellow

Cold Spawn (DDG) 16 = Ochre Jelly4 = Fungi, violet 17 = Piercer5 = Gas Spore 18 = Purple Worm6 = Gelatinous Cube 19 = Roper7 = Gorgon 20 = Salamander8 = Gray Ooze 21 = Shrieker/9 = Green Slime Shambling Mound

10 = Lava children (FF) 22 = Slithering Tracker11 = Lizard, subterranean12 = Lurker Above/

23 = Slug, giant24 = Stirge

Trapper

Fresh Water/Swamp Encounter Subtable (roll d24)1 = Beetle, giant, water 13 = Lamprey2 = Catoblepas 14 = Lamprey, giant3 = Crayfish, giant 15 = Leech, giant4 = Crocodile 16 = Naga, water5 = Dragon Turtle 17 = Pike, giant6 = Eel, electric 18 = Quipper (FF)7 = Eel, weed 19 = Spider, giant, water8 = Fire Toad (FF) 20 = Toad, giant9 = Frog, giant 21 = Toad, ice

10 = Frog, killer 22 = Toad, poisonous11 = Frog, poisonous 23 = Turtle, gnt. snapping12 = Gar, giant 24 = Will-o-Wisp/

Mottled Worm

Game Encounter Subtable (roll d24)1 = Axe Beak 13 = Horse, pony2 = Baluchitherium 14 = Horse, wild3 = Beaver, giant 15 = Irish deer¹4 = Boar, giant 16 = Mammoth5 = Boar, warthog 17 = Mastodon6 = Boar, wild 18 = Porcupine, giant7 = Buffalo 19 = Ram, giant8 = Bull 20 = Rhinoceros, woolly9 = Camel, wild 21 = Stag

10 = Cattle, wild 22 = Stag, giant11 = Flightless Bird 23 = Titanothere12 = Herd animal 24 = Unicorn/Rothe (FF)

1 — Irish deer, like all such beasts, rut in thefall, not the spring. Ignore the Monster Manualon this point.

Insectoid Encounter Subtable (roll d12)1 = Ant, giant 7 = Hornet, giant (FF)2 = Beetle, bombardier 8 = Spider, giant3 = Beetle, boring 9 = Spider, huge4 = Beetle, fire 10 = Spider, large5 = Beetle, rhino 11 = Spider, phase6 = Beetle, stag 12 = Wasp, giant

Predator Encounter Subtable (roll d30)1 = Anhkheg 16 = Jackal2 = Astral Wolf (DDG) 17 = Leopard3 = Badger 18 = Lion, mountain4 = Badger, giant 19 = Lion, spotted5 = Bear, black 20 = Lynx, giant6 = Bear, brown 21 = Otter, giant7 = Bear, cave 22 = Rat, giant8 = Blink dog 23 = Skunk, giant9 = Caterwaul (FF) 24 = Tiger, sabertooth

10 = Devil Dog (FF) 25 = Weasel, giant11 = Displacer Beast 26 = Wolf12 = Dog, wild 27 = Wolf, dire13 = Hoar Fox (FF) 28 = Wolf, winter14 = Hyena 29 = Wolverine15 = Hyena, giant 30 = Wolverine, giant

Reptile Encounter Subtable (roll d20)1 = Dragon, black 11 = Ice Lizard (FF)2 = Dragon, bronze 12 = Lizard, fire3 = Dragon, green 13 = Lizard, giant4 = Dragon, red 14 = Pseudo-dragon5 = Dragon, white 15 = Remorhaz6 = Firedrake (FF) 16 = Snake, amphisbaena7 = Fire Snake (FF) 17 = Snake, constrictor8 = Hydra9 = Hydra, Lernaean

18 = Snake, poisonous19 = Snake, spitting

10 = Hydra, Pyro- 20 = Snow serpent (DDG)

D R A G O N 7 3

Salt Water/Seashore Encounter Subtable (roll d16)1 = Bunyip (FF) 9 = Lamprey, giant2 = Crab, giant 10 = Man-o-War, giant3 = Crocodile, giant 11 = Octopus, giant4 = Dolphin 12 = Shark, giant5 = Dragon Turtle 13 = Snake, sea6 = Eel, giant 14 = Squid, giant7 = Eel, weed 15 = Turtle, sea, giant8 = Lamprey 16 = Whale

Vermin Encounter Subtable (roll d8)1 = Carrion Crawler 5 = Stirge2 = Centipede, giant 6 = Throat Leech (FF)3 = Ear Seeker 7 = Tick, giant4 = Rot Grub 8 = Yellow Musk

Creeper (FF)

Climate and the calendarWeather in the Pleistocene environment presents many prob-

lems and challenges. Taking cold damage was (is) a real possi-bility in the days of the woolly rhinoceros. Given later in thisarticle are some tables adapted from records of the weatheraround Hudson Bay which will enable DMs to simulate thePleistocene climate.

The calendar is simple: four “seasons” of 91 days (13 seven-day weeks) each, plus “Naming Day” on the first day of spring.“Naming Day” would be the time for all babies to receive theirtotems (or however you decide that should be handled). I wouldalso advise that it be the official “birthday” of all clan members,like the “birthday” of all thoroughbred horses is January 1. Thatway, you advance the entire clan a year of age on each NamingDay. It is a day of ceremonies and holiday.

Every four years, add a “Gathering Day” here to even out the

calendar. This could be the time for all the clans of the race togather together for high and holy ceremonies. Or you couldgive it some other significance, but you’ve got to incorporate aleap year to keep the calendar straight (at least, by Earth reck-oning) — not that the Ice Agers would think of it, but it’s easyenough to do once you know how.

Pleistocene Campaign Calendarand Average Weekly Temperatures (°F.)

Week Spring Summer Fall Winter1 9 ¹ 50 35 -162 13 52 31 -193 17 54 27 -214 21 54 22 -205 24 53 16 -196 27 52 11 -187 30 52 6 -178 34 50 2 -149 37 47 -2 -10

10 40 44 -6 -611 44 ²12 46

42 ² -11 -240 -13 4

13 48 38 -15 7

(averages) (27) (48) (8) (-12)Average yearly temperature = 18°

1 — Includes Naming Day (and Gathering Day).2 — Frost definitely ends in week 11 of spring, could

start as soon as week 11 of summer, giving a growingseason of approximately 91 frost-free days.

Temperature changes and their effectsTo determine the day’s high temperature, roll a d20 on which

one set of digits (0-9) is distinguishable from the other. (For thisexample, we’ll say one set is colored red, the other black.) Readthe red numbers from 1-9 as that many degrees above the

74 DECEMBER 1982

average temperature for that week. Bead the black numbersfrom 0-9 in the same way, except that these results represent anumber of degrees below the average. (A result of black 0means an average day.) If the result is a red 0, roll again and add10 (if the second result is red) or subtract 10 (if the secondresult is black), to yield a result in the range of 19 degrees belowaverage to 19 degrees above average temperature.

Example: A red 0 is rolled during the third week of winter,when the average temperature is -21°. The die is rolled again,and a red 3 comes up, so the day is 13° (3 + 10) warmer thanusual, and the high temperature that day is 8 degrees belowzero. If a black 6 follows the red 0, the same day would be 16degrees colder than usual, for a high temperature that day of-37°. The hottest and coldest high readings obtainable usingthis system are 73° (summer) and -40° (winter).

In such a climate, cold damage (freezing to death) becomes areal possibility. No one in his right mind goes out in a Pleisto-cene winter if he can avoid it. Cold damage is figured as follows:One makes a saving throw (vs. constitution, on d20) every turnone is out in the cold. One begins making saving throws at theequivalent temperature (see definition below) of -20°. The saveis made at +2 at a temperature equivalent to -20°. This adjust-ment to the saving throw drops by 1 for every 10° drop inequivalent temperature. Thus, at -30° the save is only at +1; at-120° (and it does get that cold), the save is made at -8.

Wearing metal armor (possible only for characters from out-side the Pleistocene adventuring through the area) further re-duces the saving throw vs. cold by -2, and adds an extra point incold damage each time damage is assessed.

Every turn that a character fails a save vs. cold, he or shetakes 1 point of cold damage for every 10 degrees below zero ofequivalent temperature (3 points at -30°) 6 points at -60°, etc.).

In addition, when a character is exposed to the cold and failsa saving throw, there is a 5% chance of losing 1 or 2 points ofconstitution, permanently, at -10°. This chance of constitutionloss increases by an additional 5% for each additional 10 de-grees of cold, so that the chance is 20% at -40°. Any loss inconstitution requires a system shock check.

Cold also slows down movement, over and above the diffi-culty of wading through snowdrifts and blizzards. After onehour, movement in the intense cold is slowed to 75% of normalat -20°; 50% of normal at -50°; and 25% of normal at -80°.

Equivalent temperature is merely the actual temperaturemodified by the Wind Chill Factor: what the air outside feelslike. The thermometer might read 10°, but if the wind is whip-ping around at 25 mph, then the temperature feels like -29° toyour body, and your body will freeze accordingly. One form ofthe traditional Wind Chill Table is given below, to help estimateequivalent temperatures.

Temperature drops with altitude, up to a few miles above sealevel where it doesn’t matter any more. Deduct 1° of actualtemperature for every 300 feet of elevation above sea level at thelocation in question. Then consult the Wind Chill Table to findthe equivalent temperature.

The final weather consideration is precipitation. A wind table— not ideal for this purpose, but okay — is found on p. 54 of theDMG. Again using records from the Hudson Bay area, here isan outline of a Subpolar/Pleistocene precipitation schedule:

The chance of precipitation on a given day varies with theseason: 5% in winter, 7% in spring, 11% in summer, and 6% inautumn. If precipitation is indicated on that day, roll d6 todetermine the time of day when the precipitation starts: 1-2,morning; 3-4, evening; 5-6, nighttime.

To determine accumulation and duration of precipitationwhen it occurs, roll d% and use this table:

01-07 Storm: 1.9 to 2.4 inches over 1-3 hours08-20 Heavy: 1.3 to 1.8 inches over 1-6 hours21-40 Medium: .7 to 1.2 inches over 1-4 hours41-70 Light: .1 to .6 inches over 1-8 hours71-00 Drizzle: no appreciable accumulation over

1-10 hours

When it rains, it usually snows

To determine exact amount of precipitation, roll d6,each digit standing for .1 inch of accumulated precipi-tation; add .6,1.2, or 1.8, as necessary according to thetable above, to yield final numbers in the desiredrange. This number represents liquid accumulation;snowfall of the same intensity would result in threetimes the accumulation of the same amount of rain.

Precipitation varies in form depending on the temperature. At25° or below, it falls as snow; from 26° to 39° it is a variety ofsleet or freezing rain (30% chance of hail in Storm or Heavyconditions); above this (40°+) it is rain (15% chance of hail inStorm or Heavy conditions). Tornadoes, lightning strikes, flashfloods, and so forth are left to the whims of the individual DM. Ifconditions seem favorable for such an occurrence, assign apercentage chance and roll the dice. Or, if you decide a disasteris needed, whip one out of your bag of tricks.

This article has gone far afield, from considering the reasonsfor adventuring in the Ice Age, through what is involved inconverting races and classes to the Pleistocene cultural level,through clan survival mechanics, and finally the climate. I hopeyou begin to see some of the inherent possibilities in playing anAD&D adventure in the Ice Age — perhaps by now, visions ofcavehalflings are dancing in your head.

D R A G O N 7 5

Solo scenarios come of ageHigh Fantasy offers salvation for lone players

Random events usually involve one oftwo things: discovering something thatwas hidden, or the arrival of unexpected(usually hostile) guests.

Most solo adventures are the “shootand loot” type. Your character wandersaround a dungeon, hoping to murderand rob unwary creatures while avoidingbeing killed in turn. Besides the ethicalbankruptcy of such games, the fact that

76 DECEMBER 1982

64. Roll 2 dice: 1-30 go to 72.31-70 go to 196.71-100 go to 8.

8. After much searching, you findnothing at all of any sort of value. Youmay spend some time re-searching(go to 64), or you can head south (goto 30), or you can always head north(go to 83).Each occurrence in the adventure is

given a number. When a scene says “goto 64” it means that you should turn toscene #64 and read it. Paragraph 64 maygive more descriptions, give you moreoptions to choose from, set up a randomevent, or some combination of thesethings. In this case, a random event is setup:

All this makes solo adventures soundabout as desirable as the Black Plague.Actually, some of them are worse thanthat. This meant I was very surprisedwhen I discovered a really good sologame, Escape from Queztec’l, in the last70-odd pages of High Fantasy.

What are solo adventures? A solo ad-venture is a fantasy scenario played byone person. It contains descriptions ofthe creatures and scenery your charac-ter will encounter, and allows you tochoose a course of action. For instance,scene 8 from Escape from Queztec’lreads:

The supporters of solo adventuresgenerally concede all these points, butinsist that solo adventures are betterthan nothing; that if for some reason youcan’t set up a regular fantasy campaign,you can get still some enjoyment out ofsolo adventures.

Solo adventures have been a greatsource of argument ever since they firstappeared several years ago. Their de-tractors insist that any attempt to createa role-playing adventure with only oneplayer is a waste of time, because role-playing games are by their nature agroup activity, and because solo adven-tures are inherently shallow, simplistic,and boring.

Reviewed by Robert Plamondon

they all have the same plot makes it easyto lose interest in them. The “shoot andloot” scenario is a poor choice for anyadventure, and is at its very worst in asolo game.

What people really want in a solo ad-venture is not a freeze-dried dungeon,but something that takes advantage ofthe printed format and puts some lifeinto it. Why can’t a solo adventure be asgood as a good adventure novel? Insteadof reading about the exploits of the maincharacter, the reader plays the part ofthe main character — making the im-portant decisions instead of just readingabout them. The adventure would be anovel with multiple endings, dependingon the player’s choices. In fact, since theplayer has so many choices to make, itbecomes a novel with multiple middlesas well.

This is exactly what Jeff Dillow andCraig Fisher did with their High Fantasyadventures, and it works very well in-deed. The adventures are fast-paced andexciting. Each has an interesting plot,several ways to win, and many ways tolose. You are given a lot of significantchoices, so that the outcome of the ad-venture depends on how well you play.There are also a good many random oc-currences, which mean that circumstan-ces beyond your control also affect thegame. The random happenings alsomean there isn’t any way to “beat” thegame; any memorized pattern of actionsis sure to be fouled up by random eventssuch as the arrival of a guard or someonestealing your getaway boat. This meansthe adventure can be played many timeswithout exhausting all the possibilities.

An additional intriguing aspect of the

“interactive novel” approach used ingames of this sort is that the game/bookmay appeal to non-gamers, who wouldview it as a new kind of book rather thana new twist on fantasy gaming. The po-tential market for such books is huge.

The three solo adventures reviewedhere — Escape from Queztec’l and In theService of Saena Sephar, both by CraigFisher, and Murder in Irliss by Jeff Dillow— use the High Fantasy game system.You don’t need to be familiar with HighFantasy to play the adventures, althoughit helps.

The only aspect of the standard HighFantasy rules that really enters into thesolos is combat, and the adventures em-ploy a stripped-down version that is veryeasy to use and is explained in each ad-venture book. Similarly, the magic in theadventures is explained well enough thatsomeone who has never heard of HighFantasy should find it easy to use. Youneed percentile dice to play the game,and since your chance to hit is equal toyour fighting ability minus your oppo-nent’s defensive ability, a calculatormight be useful if you don’t like doingsubtraction in your head.

Escape from Queztec’l is the earliest ofthe three solos, and the shortest. It takesup the last 73 pages of the High Fantasyrule book, and has 360 numbered scenes.Your character, Xenon Swifsord, is at-tending the Holy Day celebrations inQueztec’l. Xenon’s noble status entitleshim (or her — the game lets you takeyour choice) to a room in the ImperialPalace. Unfortunately, the heinous Gen-era! Tezcaloz’l has chosen this day totake over the city, and is killing all theloyalists he can find. The object of the

game, simply stated but difficult to bringoff, is to get out of Queztec’l alive.

The High Fantasy rule book contain-ing this adventure costs $12.95 in paper-back, or $14.95 in hardback.

In the Service of Saena Sephar takesplace on the island of Andriana, which isruled by three hereditary chieftains, orWarhunes. Haerne Warhune has beenplotting with the Emperor of the Deep totake sole control of Andriana, and hasset a device in the castle of ZenobiaWarhune that can be made to explode,killing everyone inside. You are Aleste ofFlyes, an agent of Saena Sephar, a chief-tess on the mainland. You have beensent to investigate the disappearance ofan agent placed in Andriana, and youlearn of the explosive device. Your mis-sion is to prevent Haerne Warhune fromassuming power — not necessarily by

disarming the bomb, although that’s themost elegant way.

There are 603 numbered scenes in thisadventure, and an amazing number ofways to win or lose. It is tough but fair,and very re-playable. In the Service ofSaena Sephar costs $10.95 in paperback.

Murder in Irliss is a murder mystery.You are Faren, Captain of the lrlissGuards, and your mission is to discoverwho killed Prince Rand. The job is com-plicated by the fact that a number ofpeople are trying to kill you.

Since a lot of the fun of a mystery isfinding out “who done it,” this mystery isreally five mysteries in one. At the begin-ning of each game you choose one offive “fatestones” (sapphire, emerald,amber, ruby, or crystal) and put it in yourpocket. When you choose the sapphirefatestone, for instance, the murderer is a

different person than if you had chosenthe crystal fatestone. The clues are alldifferent as well. This means you havefive different mystery novels in one, andsolving the game corresponding to onefatestone does you absolutely no goodwhen trying it with another stone. Murderin lrliss has 605 scenes and costs $10.95in paperback.

Wizards & Warriors is a hardboundbook containing both Murder in Irlissand In the Service of Saena Sephar. At$14.95, it’s a real bargain.

I was impressed by all the High Fanta-sy solos, and have played each of themmore than once (with wildly different re-sults each time). They show that an “in-teractive novel” approach to solo adven-tures is more than workable — it’s thebest way to write them. With luck, thesewill be just the tip of the iceberg.

Borderlands sets high standardReviewed by Ken Rolston

BORDERLANDS, a supplement forRuneQuest published by Chaosium for$16.00, provides superb support for thereferee. The packaging and format is in-novative and ingeniously tailored to agamesmaster’s reference needs. Thepersonalities, encounters, scenarios, andsettings are more vividly detailed andimaginative than has been seen in pre-viously published modules or scenariopacks for any FRP system. Let’s followthe referee as he reviews the contents ofthis supplement in preparing the cam-paign for play.

The first part is called “The Referee’sHandbook,” a 48-page guide to thebackground of the campaign adventures.First, an overview is given: a duke re-ceives a land grant in a semi-wildernessfrontier along the River of Cradles, northof Corflu and far to the south of Pavis. Hemust begin taming this frontier to makeway for settlers soon to arrive in the re-gion. The player characters are merce-naries who have hired on to assist him inthis endeavor. Next, the referee readsabout the history, geography, and im-portant settlements in the region. Theduke and his household — a wife, daugh-ter, and priest — are described, alongwith the primary mouthpiece/persona ofthe referee: Daine, the duke’s chief ofmercenaries. The gamesmaster will oftenprovide the impetus and exposition forthe scenarios through Daine’s briefingsto his men, the player characters.

Then follows a copy of the standardmercenary’s contract and a discussionof the obligations and privileges assumedunder this contract. All too often, char-acter role-playing is limited to the idio-syncracies of the PC’s personality; here

we are given guidelines to permit theplayer to better understand the socialcontext of his character — the tensionbetween his personal desires and his so-cial obligations that provides such fruit-ful resources for role-playing.

Next, the gamesmaster is introducedto the peoples of the region; characteris-tic of RuneQuest supplements, the non-humans have complex and imaginativelyconceived cultures that may be slowlyrevealed to the characters’ investigation.Learning more about an alien culturebecomes a goal as tantalizing as acquir-ing treasure or slaying orcs. This pack-age describes the Agimori (a great raceof warriors reminiscent of the Watusi),Broos, Morokanth (who herd humansand trade human slaves on the Plains ofPrax, yet who are not as evil as they may

appear at first glance), Newtlings, andTusk Riders. There is also a section onexotic treasures that may be encoun-tered, and a bestiary of distinctive localcreatures and spirits, like dinosaurs,wraiths, and whirvishes. Finally, miscel-laneous notes are given on other detailsof the campaign — unfamiliar cults, rivertraffic descriptions, rules for the use ofnets as weapons, combat between airbreathers and water breathers — and aset of pre-rolled characters that may beused as PCs or as examples of appro-priately skilled and outfitted PCs for thiscampaign.

Next the gamesmaster will review theReferee’s Encounter Book. A large-scalewilderness campaign implies randomencounters as the PCs journey fromhome base to the locale of their assign-ments, and this book provides well-pre-pared confrontations that have manydramatic possibilities for impromptu ad-ventures outside the structure of theprepared scenarios. Each encountercontains:

(1) a general description of the crea-tures/tribe/phenomenon encountered;

(2) a more detailed description of themajor personality figures in the encoun-ter (as a guide for the GM’s role-playingof the important NPCs);

(3) the duke’s policy concerning thepeoples/creatures; and

(4) detailed stats for the main NPCs,their mounts and spirits, and for squadsof identical “extras.”

For example, consider the notes onthe Sable Riders encounter. The SableClan is currently riding high, since itbacked the Lunars in their successfulconquest and occupation of this area,and the clan has become “vaingloriousand overweening.” They are likely to be

D R A G O N 7 7

disrespectful and mischievous, severelytesting the patience of the party, but theduke’s policy is to never antagonize theSable Riders, who are at least nominalallies of the Lunar Occupation that theduke is participating in. This encounteris not a test of the party’s combat skill; itis a test of their tolerance and diplomacy,as well as their ability to follow the duke’sorders.

Also included in the package are sev-eral playing aids designed to lighten thereferee’s burden of preparation. There isa reference copy of the mercenary con-tract for the player; on the reverse side isprinted the common knowledge theplayers might have about the area —what they might have learned by check-ing around before signing on with theduke. There is also a lovely scenario map— crudely rendered, simulating char-coal on parchment, obviously made byan amateur, complete with smudges,fingerprints, and misleading inaccura-cies. The enclosed campaign map cov-ers the entire region, giving details ofelevations and local features.

The scenarios are linked by a narrativethread that may be ignored if the refereewishes to run each adventure into hisown campaign. Each scenario beginswith an overview for the GM and infor-mation which would be common know-ledge among characters. Then comesthe briefing from the duke or from Daine,

the chief of mercenaries. These briefingsare excellent models for gamesmasterscenario management. They are writtenin the form of monologues with stagedirections, to be delivered in character,and serve as a guide for the gamesmas-ter’s characterization of the NPC. Thisestablishes the role-playing atmosphereimmediately, and permits the gamesmas-ter to lay out the necessary expositionfor the task to be faced while encourag-ing the players to assume the personasof their characters from the very start.When the NPC asks for questions aboutthe assignment, the players should re-spond in character, seeking importantdetails that may have been overlooked,or asking for clarifications of the instruc-tions. The materials include notes toprepare the gamesmaster for the kindsof questions the players are likely to ask,and suggested responses. The rest ofthe scenario description is filled with thedetails of the assignment — maps, en-counters, personalities, defenses — allthe familiar materials of a prepared sce-nario pack.

Brief descriptions of the seven scenar-ios illustrate the flavor of the campaign:

(1) The players take a peaceful tour ofthe region. The important people, crea-tures, and topography are introduced,and characters have a chance to brushup on their diplomacy skills as theygather information about the locale.

78 DECEMBER 1982

(2) The characters are sent on an out-law hunt; there are some subtleties to theassignment, but in general it is a relative-ly easy task designed by the duke to testthe quality of his mercenaries in action.

(3) The characters must rescue theduke’s daughter from a group of TuskRiders. This is a much more serious testof the players’ tactics and judgement,with very high stakes — the life of theiremployer’s only daughter.

(4) A Broos hunt: The plague thattakes the life of the duke’s wife has itssource in the Curse of Muriah, a humanDisease Master of Mallia living amongBroos. The players are sent to rid thevalley of the source of the terribleplagues that are menacing the duke’sholdings.

(5) This is a major scenario, a cam-paign against the Seven-Eyes TempleNewtlings, whom the duke regards aspirates and raiders. The players mustscout, then assault the temple and un-derground complex,. where there aresome real surprises in store for them.

(6) Here the players must go to Con-dor Crags, scale 300-meter pinnacles,and bring back the eggs of the giantcondor. Special climbing rules are in-cluded for making a dangerous ascentunder the hostile attacks of giant birds.An unusual and perilous adventure.

(7) Finally, the players must mount anexpedition to the Rockwood Mountains

in search of Gonn Orta, a famous giant.They are to trade a condor’s egg for afabled magic sword in Orta’s posses-sion. This scenario brings the charactersinto the region described in GriffinMountain, another richly detailed sup-plement published by Chaosium, andthis adventure may be used as a transi-tion to permit the campaign to move intothe land of Balazar detailed in the GriffinMountain package.

In a word, Borderlands is beautiful.The aesthetics of game design is hardlyan established discipline, but a practicalmeasure of the increasing excellence ofFRP products is to be found in the mostimpressive current releases. In this sense,Borderlands is an important benchmarkin the development of the scenario pack.Chaosium’s RuneQuest packages, fromApple Lane through Snakepipe Hollow,Cults of Prax, and last summer’s GriffinMountain, have consistently set thestandard for FRP game supplements inboth design and execution. The empha-sis has always been on richness of char-acterization and background, and onmotivation and plausibility in the narra-tives, rather than on copious statisticsfor the combat abilities of the bad guys,fiendish dungeon traps, and adventuresprimarily motivated by the acquisitivetendencies of the player characters.RuneQuest materials stress campaignsin the larger context of an established worldcomplete with villages and cities, wil-dernesses and grazelands, peopled byhuman and non-human races who can-not be simply categorized into “goodguys” and “bad guys.” Detail and coher-ence in characterization, setting, andnarrative has given many of Chaosium’sreleases the finer virtues of the fantasyfiction which represents the roots of fan-tasy role-playing.

Quality in both fantasy literature andin fantasy gaming depends on the richand imaginative creation of a fabulousworld, peopled by marvelous but credi-ble beings, where endless possibilitiesfor adventure abound. Borderlands pro-vides the necessary background mate-rials to support the gamesmaster in hiscreation of that fabulous world, leavinghim the considerable task of bringingthat world to life through his own impro-visation, the addition of details, and theresponses and creativity of the players.

Borderlands is a well conceived andexecuted composition. The look andquality of the materials is top notch; theartwork is appealing, coherent in style,and effective in illustrating the contentmaterial. The cover art is of a particularlyhigh quality — simple, colorful, and ex-pressive. The decision to bind the scenar-ios separately was an excellent notion:The GM need not fumble with a thickvolume as he tries to conduct a cam-paign session; he simply takes out a sce-nario only several pages long which iswell laid out for his easy reference. The

two bound booklets, the referee hand-book and the encounter guide, are at-tractively printed and full of. referencematerial applicable to other Gloranthancampaigns. Each RuneQuest supple-ment adds a few important details to theworld of Glorantha, where most RQcampaigns are set, and this one is noexception. Overall, the package is themost impressive design for FRP supple-ments that I’ve seen; it is the kind of thing

package that may seduce the haughty“I-never-use-published-scenarios” typesinto trying a campaign with ready-made,detailed backgrounds and narratives thatleave the gamesmaster free to explorethe subtleties of NPC characterizationand freestyle improvisation, emancipat-ed from the nights of labors, cobblingtogether a credible situation with color-ful antagonists and challenging adven-tures. Borderlands stands as a model for

I like to leave on top of my stack of recentacquisitions, taking pleasure from the

all subsequent campaign packages, and

oohs and aahs of those who pick it upwill be a worthwhile purchase for any

and browse through it. This is the sort ofgamer in terms of its utility, design, anda e s t h e t i c a p p e a l .

New edition of Elric isbest left to die-hard fans

Reviewed by Tony Watson

Elric of Melnibone is one of the moreinteresting literary characters in the vastsword & sorcery genre. The brooding,albino sorcerer-king created by MichaelMoorcock is not just another Conanclone. The stories contained in the sixbooks of the cycle are similarly dark-visaged. They record the journeys andadventures of Elric, the sickly king of avanishing race who draws his strengthfrom — and is dominated by — the blackrunesword Stormbringer, the eater ofsouls. Elric is different from the usualhero of fantasy literature, often as cruelas he is heroic, and given to fits of rageand periods of indifference. His life isfated, and he is but a plaything of desti-ny. Moorcock’s books chronicle Elric’swanderings and adventures through aninteresting world populated with strangepeoples, odd creatures and demons fromother planes, and being battled over bythe forces of Law and Chaos.

ELRIC: Battle at the End of Time isChaosium’s representation of the Elricstory in game form. It is an update of thecompany’s previous 1977 release, titledsimply Elric. Some minor rule changeshave been made, the map has been re-done, and the game now comes in a boxinstead of a ziplock bag. The price of thenew edition is $20, up from $12.

One of the game’s main selling pointswould have to be the components; for$20, one has every right to expect a verynice game, and the playing pieces andmaps in ELRlC are well done. The one-inch-square, backprinted counters areparticularly impressive. Many of themrepresent important characters and theleaders, armies, and fleets of the variousnations of the Young Kingdoms, the set-ting of the game. Twenty-two nationali-ties, as well as independents, are repre-sented. About a third of the 320 gamecounters are spell/muster pieces, usedfor casting magic in battles or raising the

forces of newly acquired allied nations.The 22” x 34” map is also attractive. Itappears to be from a painted original,entailing some very interesting and styl-ized uses of color, which is enhanced bythe fact that no hexgrid is superimposed;the game uses area movement. The rulescome in a 12-page folder, nicely typesetand illustrated, with a four-page pulloutreference sheet that can be cut so that upto four players can each have one.

The game’s mechanics are relativelysimple, kept that way even though thereis an obvious effort to incorporate theevents and characters of the books. Al-though the game is on a strategic scale,the action centering around clashes be-tween the national coalitions of the play-ers, the counters representing the indi-viduals are very important. Personalitiesare needed to guide armies, and the per-sonalities’ combat abilities are often im-portant adjuncts to those of the armycounters. Some personalities can castspells to augment the strength of theirside’s forces. As one might expect, thecounter representing Elric has very highcombat and magic-use ratings.

The basic rules regarding movement,combat and replacements are straight-forward. Active nations gain replacementunits every turn if they hold their capital.Extra replacements are available if theplayer holds a muster counter for thatcountry. There are three kinds of move-ment: overland, four spaces per turn;sea, as per the movement factor of thecarrying fleet; and flying, an option openonly to magic-users and holders of spe-cial artifacts. The movement of armiesand fleets requires a personality to serveas commander.

Combat takes place when armies ofopposing players are in the same area.Instead of an odds table, the game uses acombat chart that takes into account thedifference between the armies, personal-ity combat values, and the strength ofany spells cast, plus the roll of one die,

D R A G O N 7 9

for each side. The side with the smallertotal, depending on the degree of dispar-ity, will have to retreat and possibly loseunits or personalities. Walled cities af-ford protection to occupying armies andnegate the necessity to retreat.

Magic plays an important part in thegame. Each of the spell counters hasboth a combat value, which is added tothe using force’s total, and an alignment,either Law, Neutral, or Chaos. Somespells are marked “Melnibonean only”and can be cast only by characters ofthat nationality. An important factor inthe use of magic is the Cosmic Balance,reflecting the fact that whatever the con-flict on the mapboard, the true contest isbetween the forces of Law and Chaos.Wizards and sorcerers, except for Elric,cannot carry spells of Law and spells ofChaos simultaneously. When spells arecast, they affect the cosmic balancetrack printed on the map. The value ofthe spell cast determines the number ofspaces the balance marker is moved inthe appropriate direction. If the balanceshould tip to one side a total of twelvespaces, that side is dominant: All of itscast spells remain on the board, andNeutral spells may not be cast. Further,this domination by one side triggers the“end of the world” (this is probably oneof the few games to have a rule with thistitle), causing the game to concludethree turns after the balance is tipped.

It’s interesting how the game mechan-ics deal with the special problem thatElric presents. In the scenarios, theplayers play the parts of nations and coa-litions of nations (as new countries aremustered); Elric is handled using a se-ries of rules intended to illustrate hisrandom nature. No player handles Elric;instead, he is controlled by the influenceof the leaders of the players’ forces. Theinfluence of a given leader is equal tohis/her combat value, though some per-sonalities, such as Elric’s cousin and be-loved, Cymoril, have parenthesized val-ues (usually high) that can be used onlyto influence Elric. The leader with thehighest influence value controls Elricand his considerable magic and combatpotential — but there is a chance thatElric, under the domination of Storm-bringer, will kill the controlling personal-ity. These rules do a fair job of coveringthe strange behavior of Moorcock’s he-ro, but it does seem to detract a littlefrom the game that the story’s lead char-acter is handled in so random a fashion.

The rules for control of Elric are a re-flection of the effort put forth by the de-signers to catch the atmosphere ofMoorcock’s literary setting. Similarly, theattention given to the map cartographyand counter illustrations add feeling andcolor to the game. Each of the spells isnamed for the demon, elemental or othersupernatural being that is summoned by

it, and an index in the rules gives a sen-tence or two explaining its nature. Sincethe only other information given for mostspells are their alignment and value, thisindex fleshes out and lends substance tothe game, and is certainly appreciated.

On the whole, however, ELRIC seemsto lack something. It is not in the chrome,or in the rules and graphics used to setthe scene; these elements are fine. Rath-er, the omission seems to lie in the basicframework of the game. In the final analy-sis, ELRIC: Battle at the End of Time isessentially a strategic game of armies,fleets, and leaders, with a little magicthrown in — and, unfortunately, the rulesfor conducting these campaigns aresimplistic and uninteresting. The gamemechanics certainly work, but I foundthe play of the game to be a bit meander-ing and lacking direction. This is not agame that seems to have much replayvalue — an important factor, I think, foran offering in this price range. If atmo-sphere were all that mattered, Chaosiumwould have a winner, but as it stands,ELRlC is basically a game that’s alldressed up with nowhere to go, recom-mended for die-hard Elric fans only.

ELRIC: Battle at the End of Time wasdesigned by Greg Stafford and CharlieKrank. It is available in game stores or bydirect mail ($20 plus $1 for mail sales)from Chaosium, PO Box 6302, AlbanyCA 94706.

80 DECEMBER 1982

You’ve always got a chanceUse ability scores to determine success or failure

by Katharine Kerr

As the orcs began to batter down thedoor, the thief climbed the wall to thesafety of a ledge. He wrapped one end ofa rope around a projection and threw theother to the fighter left below. The ropedangled, swaying a good four feet abovethe fighter’s head, as the door began tosplinter.

“Jump for it,” the thief yelled. “Thenclimb.”

Both players looked at the DungeonMaster.

“Do I make it?” the fighter said.Groaning inwardly, the DM reached

for a heap of books. Play ground to ahalt. . . .

On page 110 of the AD&D™ DungeonMasters Guide, it is written that the DMcan control any situation not specificallycovered in the rules by assigning “areasonable probability for the event” andletting the player roll dice in an attemptto meet it. There are times, however,when assigning this “reasonable proba-bility” leads to unreasonable results: ar-guments, delays, and doubts. Often theDM is baffled as to how to assign such aprobability. Players, quick as jackals topick up on signs of weakness of this sort,argue that the probability is much higherthan the DM’s guess. Outlined below aresome guidelines, for players and DMsalike, to help in setting such probabilitiesfor unforeseen events.

To begin with, even the most complexgame situation can be broken down intoits respective parts. At the root of all suchquestions like our example is a simplematter of success or failure, whose basicparts are the character and the situationin which the character finds him or her-self. The player character wishes to per-form an action successfully in a situationwhere his or her prospects for success(or degree of success) may be altered byvarying circumstances. To be success-ful, the character performing an actionmust use certain skills. If the DM keepsthese divisions of the game problem inmind, his or her job will be much easier.

First, the DM must consider the make-up of the player character. In decidingwhether or not the character can per-form an action, the DM should use thatbasic part of the AD&D game system, thecharacter ability scores. Since eachscore is a measure of aptitude for per-forming certain kinds of actions, thesescores are the tools for pinning downelusive probabilities for the success of

an action.For instance, the intelligence score

shows the character’s aptitude for think-ing correctly and clearly. From this pointof view, the DM may turn the score into apercentage chance for the character touse the skill in question. Multiplying theability score by 5 gives a number we maycall the basic skill percentage.

Applying this to the ability scores ofthe fighter in the earlier example, we get:

Strength of 18, times 5 = 90%chance of using strength

Intelligence of 8, times 5 = 40%chance of thinking correctly

Wisdom of 9, times 5 = 45%chance of wising up

Dexterity of 14, times 5 = 70%chance of manipulating objects

Constitution of 17, times 5 = 85%chance of withstanding stress

Charisma of 10, times 5 = 50%chance of persuading others

These basic skill percentages may beapplied to game situations in the follow-ing way:

First, break the disputed action intosteps, if more than one specific action isinvolved. In the example, the fightermust grab the swaying rope, then climbup it.

Second, determine which skill or skillswill be used in each step. Grabbing therope requires dexterity, and climbing re-quires strength. Thus, the fighter has abase chance of 70% to grab the ropewhen he jumps and a base chance of90% to climb up it (if the grab succeeds).

Often a situation arises where two ormore skills play a part in one action. Toget the base chance in these circum-stances, simply average the percentagesrequired, rounding up if necessary. Inthe example, the fighter will need bothstrength and dexterity to pull himselfonto the ledge once he’s made the climb;70 + 90 divided by 2 = an 80% basechance of scrambling over the ledgesuccessfully.

Once the DM has the base chance forsuccess, he or she must consider wheth-er the situation will modify that chance.Obviously, adverse conditions make suc-cess less likely, but it’s also possible thatcertain conditions will favor successbeyond the base chance. Again, the DMshould keep the character’s ability scoresfirmly in mind. If something in the situa-tion favors the use of that particular skill,then the character receives a bonus.Conversely, if something in the situationinterferes with the use of the skill, thenthe character receives a penalty. After

adding and subtracting the situationalmodifiers, the final percentage score willbe that to be met by the player’s roll ofdice.

Assigning these situational modifiers,the most difficult part of the task, raises apair of important questions: the size ofeach bonus or penalty, and how manymodifiers should be taken into account.At this point, it is important for both DMand players alike to remember that theAD&D system is only a game, having,like all games, arbitrary rules and limitsin order to remain playable. An impor-tant part of playability is the speed atwhich decisions may be reached. It ispossible to nit-pick over every tiny factorin the situation and to assign bonusesand penalties of widely varying percen-tages. In the example, the DM might de-cide that dust in the air makes the ropeharder to see, for a 2% penalty, but thatthe rope is so thick that it is 13% easier tograb. To do this sort of “adjusting” wouldbe not only tedious but pointless.

As far as the size of the bonus/penaltyincrements goes, the DM should pickone consistent with the rest of the gamesystem, then stick to it despite whee-dling from the players. Since many penal-ties and bonuses in the AD&D rulescome in increments of 05% or 10%, alogical choice would be to make normalfactors affect chances for success at the05% rate and exceptional ones at 10%. Ifour fighter were standing on slipperyground for his jump, he would be penal-ized -05%, but if he were up to his waist inwater, the penalty could justifiably beincreased to -10%.

When it comes to the question ofwhich factors to consider, a good rule isto choose only those which have a directbearing on the skill being used, and ofthose, only the most dramatic. In the ex-ample, the fighter may be distracted be-cause orcs are banging down the door,but such a distraction will have at bestonly a dubious effect on his dexterityand none at all on his strength. If, how-ever, he were trying to use his intelli-gence, such a distraction would requirethe assessment of a stiff penalty. The DMshould resist the temptation to considerevery possible liability in the situationand figure it into the final score. On theother hand, the player should resist thetemptation to find every possible detailin his or her favor and demand the DMinclude it. Consider: The fighter mightindeed have a slightly better chance ofgrabbing the rope if he removes hisgauntlets, but then how is he going to

D R A G O N 8 1

carry them up? The standard of judg-ment should always be playability. Tooclose attention to detail means a deci-sion that takes more time than it’s worthand a boring wait for the other players.

Another general rule which the DMshould set in advance for these situa-tions is whether the player character’scurrent hit-point total will have a modify-ing effect on the basic skill percentages,If the fighter has only one hit point leftout of 26, it might be that his effectivestrength is no longer a true 18, On theother hand, figuring hit points into thiskind of decision is somewhat contrary tothe spirit of the game. A fighter down toone hit point still has the same chance tohit on the combat tables. If the DM de-cides to penalize for low hit points, thejustification can only be as a measure ofexhaustion and should be explained assuch to the players. Rather than usingsome elaborate table or formula, the DMwho decides to include hit-point totalshould set up a simple rule. A good onemight be that any characters down toone-quarter or less of their maximum hit

points will suffer an automatic penalty of05%, effectively equivalent to a tempor-ary loss of one point of ability score.

This system of using basic skill per-centages to decide questions of successand failure can be used in other placesduring a game. By focusing on the char-acter’s own ability scores, it can helpplayers become aware of the individualstrengths and weaknesses of their char-acters and thus of how best to cooperateamong themselves. The DM, however,should always exercise common sensein the matter rather than trying to stick toan overly rigid rule.

Consider the following example. Apair of adventurers finds two vials ofidentical-seeming liquids. They havebeen warned, however, that one con-tains a potion of healing and the other adeadly poison. One adventurer is a high-level magic-user with an intelligence of17, the other a half-orc fighter with anintelligence of 4. Is it truly likely thateach has the same 50-50 chance ofguessing which vial has the poison? Themagic-user must have a thought or two

about poisons and potions to have risenso high in the study of the magical arts.Providing that the conditions are goodfor logical thought, it is appropriate toallow the magic-user an intelligence skillpercentage of 85% (as outlined above).On the other hand, using the fighter’sintelligence as an indicator of successwould only give him a 20% chance, ob-viously far lower than the 50% randomprobability of picking the potion, and un-fair for that reason. Unless the fighterwas under a curse spell or suchlike, thiswould be ridiculous as well as unjust.

Making fair decisions is, after all, thepoint of any system of deciding probabil-ities. While the DM should never coddleplayers, he or she should never be arro-gantly high-handed, either. By workingwithin a framework provided by theplayer character’s own ability scores, theDM has a chance to make a decisionwhich players can accept as fair andreasonable. If the players still balk, thenthe DM can override them with a clearconscience, knowing that at least Rea-son is on his or her side.

Convention scheduleWlNTER INVITATIONAL ’82, Dec. 29 — A one-day event spon-sored by the Gateway Association of Wargamers and the South-eastern Fantasy Conference, to be held at the Gateway Techni-cal Institute, 1001 Main St., Racine, Wis. Admission is $1 inadvance, $2 at the door. For more information, contact MichaelPrzytarski, president of the Gateway Association of Wargam-ers, 2322 Spring St., Racine WI 53405.

RIVER FOREST MlCROCON II, Jan. 7-9 —All types of gamingevents will be represented at this gathering, sponsored by theForest Gamers Club. The site is the River Forest CommunityCenter, 414 Jackson, River Forest IL 60305. For more informa-tion, send a SASE to the above address.

GAME FAIRE ’83, Feb. 28-27 — More than 1,000 gamers areexpected to attend this fourth annual convention, to be held atSpokane Falls (Wash.) Community College. Food and housingare available on the site. A full schedule of tournaments, con-tests, and other gaming activities is planned. Admission is $6for a two-day pass or $4 for one day, with all profits from theevent going to the Spokane Guild schools. More information isavailable from Shannon Ahern, Book and Game Company,West 621 Mallon, Spokane WA 99201, phone (509)325-3358.

WISCONSIN SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION, March 4-6 —The seventh annual staging of the event known as WisCon willtake place at the Inn on the Park in downtown Madison, Wis.Guests of Honor will include fantasy author Lee Killough andnoted editor and author Marta Randall, currently the presidentof the Science Fiction Writers’ Association. Membership feesare $10 until Feb. 25, 1983, or $15 thereafter and at the door.Information on the event can be obtained by writing to SF³, Box1624, Madison WI 53701-1624.

FANTASY WORLDS FESTIVAL, March 18-20 — A SF/fantasyconvention to be held at the Oakland Airport Hyatt Hotel. Thelist of special guests includes Marion Zimmer Bradley. Gaming,panel discussions, a dealer area, art show, and costume showwill be featured. For more information, send a self-addressed,

82 DECEMBER 1982

stamped envelope to Fantasy Worlds Festival, P.O. Box 72,Berkeley CA 94701.

AGGIECON XIV, March 24-27 — This is the 14th running ofwhat the organizers bill as “the Southwest’s largest annual SFconvention.” It will be held at the Memorial Student Center atTexas A&M University. Harry Harrison and Anne McCaffrey willbe Guests of Honor, Michael Whelan will be the Artist Guest ofHonor, and Stephen R. Donaldson will be the Special Guest.Memberships are available for $7.50 before March 1, or $10thereafter and at the door. For details, contact AggieCon XIV,P.O. Drawer J-l, College Station TX 77844-9081.

FANTASYLAIR ’83, March 25-27 — A fantasy/SF gaming con-vention to be held at Tonkawa High School in Tonkawa, Okla.Admission is free on Friday, and $3 per day for Saturday andSunday. Group-rate ticket prices available on request. For de-tails, contact the Northern Oklahoma Dungeoneers, P.O. Box241, Ponca City OK 74602; (405)762-0349 or (405)765-2382.

STELLARCON 8, March 25-27 — This SF convention will beheld at Elliot University Center on the campus of the Universityof North Carolina at Greensboro. For details, write to MikeBrown, SF³, Box 4, E.U.C., U.N.C.-G., Greensboro NC 27412.

NOVA 8, March 28-27 — Sponsored by the Order of Leibowitzat Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., this gathering isdescribed as “the longest-running free convention in the coun-try.” A wide range of gaming activities, including “traditional”games, is planned. More information is available from RobertaKennedy, publicity chairperson, c/o The Order of Leibowitz,Oakland University, Rochester Ml 48063.

NIAGARA GAMEFEST AND COMPUTER SHOW, April 29 -May 1 —This second annual gaming-oriented event, staged bythe Niagara Gamers’ Association, will be held at Brock Univer-sity in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. For details, write to theNiagara Gamers’ Association, 223 St. Paul St., St. Catharines,Ontario, Canada L2R 6V9, or call Keith Siren at (416)682-1438.

Off the Shelf

’Tis the season for literary giftsReviewed by C. J. Henderson

Those of you who follow columns ofthis sort may have been wondering whythe fantasy and SF shelves of your localbookstore aren’t as full of new releasesas they used to be. The answer is simple,and saddening: People just aren’t buyingas many books as they used to, and thetop talent in the field isn’t turning out asmany volumes as in the past.

Because demand has slipped, supplyhas gone down; perhaps demand is less-ened because the supply of really goodnew material has tapered off. At any rate,the end result is that some paperbackhouses have recently folded or beenbought up by other companies, and ingeneral the publishing industry is goingthrough some rough times right now.Not as much new work is being pub-lished these days, and a lot of what in

being published doesn’t measure up tothe standards of days gone by.

But things aren’t all that bleak, andthose of you who want to give new booksas Christmas gifts can still find enoughof a selection to fill even the largeststocking on your list. Described beloware a few of the newest fantasy and SFreleases, eminently fit to be wrapped andtied for the holidays.

VOYAGE FROM YESTERYEARJames P. HoganDel Rey 345-29472-6-295 $2.95

Technological extrapolation is J. P.Hogan’s claim to fame; it abounded inthe three novels which made up the Min-ervan Experiment Trilogy, and it aboundsin this work as well.

In VOYAGE, a doomed Earth colo-nizes Alpha Centauri’s system with chil-dren, hoping to ensure the continuationof the race. The colony takes hold, but theEarth does not perish as had been feared.More colonists are sent out, with an armyto protect them, to claim control of thecolony already in place. The originalcolonists don’t see things through Earth’seyes, however, and the battle begins — adeadly one, fought with super-modernweapons and a good dose of fanaticism.

This is another winner from Hogan —perfect for those who like his work orthat of other science-fact writers likeSheffield or Forward.

CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTISTPhilip K. DickTimescape 0-671-44213-9 $2.75

This one is for the true fans of Philip K.Dick. It has little to do with science fic-tion, and the only fantasy in it is the kindeveryone has hatching in his or her mind— and yet, it is in some ways one of thebest books he ever wrote. Amazing in itsfrankness, the novel deals with a small,select group of people and how theytreat each other.

Throughout the book, various maincharacters pass the reins of narrationback and forth, each telling his or herown side of the both amusing and heart-less storyline. It is a rough book; it pullsno punches and leaves none of the peo-ple in it unscarred. All the sacred cows insight are carted off to McDonald’s, andby the end of the book, every bit of in-formation the reader slyly stowed awayin the back of his or her mind from thefirst half of the tale has been proven

wrong. Confusing, harsh, very funny andvery bitter, it is a great and silly book, andone anyone would enjoy — especiallyanyone who’s ever felt that their friendsand family, and the world at large, aren’treally as bad as they seem.

LIGHT ON THE SOUNDSomtow SucharltkulTimescape 44028-4 $2.95

Sucharitkul is this year’s winner of theJohn W. Campbell Memorial Award forBest New Writer. To those who have readhis first novel, Starship and Haiku, or anyof his Mallworld stories, it becomes read-ily apparent that the award was welldeserved.

If his early work is not available,though, then LIGHT ON THE SOUND iscertainly a good introduction to Sucha-ritkul. It resembles many another “let’sstop this cruelty and start acting human”novel, but it is much more than that. It

D R A G O N 8 3

concerns a race of creatures whose songis so beautiful, and whose light emana-tions are so entrancing, that only a spe-cially bred race of blind, deaf, deformedhumans can kill them. The creatures arekilled for their brains, which are used bythe faster-than-light ship industry — aspecial interest group that will allow nohumanitarian interference in its plans.

It is a sad novel, filled with the author’s

THE DARKLINGDavid KestertonArkham House 0-87054-090-4 $12.95

If you’re looking for a quality gift thatwill outlast the average paperback, youcould do worse than turning to CanadianDave Kesterton and his new epic fantasyTHE DARKLING. It is a tale of questingadventure, complete with a strange fei-lowship, ancient civilizations in ruins, acrystalline forest, savage tribes, and ahidden, forbidden city peopled by un-natural agents bent on destroying theworld.

The book is interesting, because of thestyle in which traditional science-fantasyideas are handled. Kesterton has a knackfor adding new dimensions to old clicheswith the “mere” addition of honest hu-man emotions and insight. Maradek, hisyoung wandering tribesman, does notstand as tall as a Conan or a Brak, but hehas been cut from a crystal with morethan two sides.

THE DARKLING displays some veryhumanistic elements for a genre novel,something which is only to its credit. IfKesterton decides to do more fantasy, itwill be to everyone’s advantage.

THE WHITE PLAGUEFrank HerbertPutnam 0-399-12721-6 $14.95

The premise of this novel is a frighten-ing one: Anyone, anyone with access toa good university library who also un-derstands the rigors of timing, tempera-ture, and measurement (any good cook),and who has a bankroll of about $20,000can literally destroy life on earth.

The plague Herbert describes is po-tentially more devastating, and more ac-cessible, than the nuclear bomb. Anyonewho wants to can read all the pertinentliterature and buy everything they need— no questions asked — and then pro-ceed to destroy the world.

In the book, John Roe O’Neill is a mo-lecular biologist. The sight of his familybeing senselessly murdered drives himover the edge to insanity, prompting himto attempt revenge against on the entirehuman race. The scourge he unleashesis one which fatally zeroes in on females,and for which there is no antidote.

Primarily known for his Dune novels,Herbert has earned another winner’scrown with THE WHITE PLAGUE, socialscience fiction at its finest.

84 DECEMBER 1982

often harsh compassion for beauty andhis equally harsh observations on thethings which surround it to make it beau-tiful. A sad novel, but not at all a bad one.

CRYSTAL SINGERAnne McCaffreyDel Rey 345-28598-0-295 $2.95

Usually no one has to be sent after a

McCaffrey book. Most people seem tofind her brand of fantasy novel just whatthey want. But if you know someone whomight not snap up a non-Pernian novelat first sight, grab this one for them as agift. The story of Killashandra Ree, herhopes to become a crystal singer, herstruggles within the Heptite Guild, andthe quest for Black Crystal make forgood reading.

The book is a delight; thelarge cast of characters is asintricate as any the first lady offantasy has ever put together,and they combine to tell a talethat no McCaffrey fan shouldmiss.

SHADOWS OF SANCTUARYRobert Lynn Asprin, editorAce 0-441-76027-9 $2.50

This book was preceded bytwo other collections, Thieves’World and Tales from the Vul-gar Unicorn. The first was sopopular it merited a panel dis-cussion all its own at the WorldScience Fiction Convention.The second collection rodehigh on the Locus best-sellerlist for three months.

Now, SHADOWS takes to-day’s fantasy audience backto Sanctuary, with seven never-before-published stories fromsome of the top names in fan-tasy — Offutt, McIntyre, Mor-ris, and Cherryh, to name afew. The stories are all top-notch, as is the entire series.For members of the ScienceFiction Book Club, all threebooks are offered in one vol-ume at an amazingly low price;check with the club for details.

THE BATTLE OF FOREVERA. E. van VogtDAW 0-87997-758-2 $2.25

DAW Books has been doingreprints of the works of vanVogt for a while now, puttingout a lot of his hard-to-findbooks as well as the classics.This latest addition to the listof reprints is hard to find —and a classic to boot. Look forit post haste: It may be a longtime before it gets reprintedagain.

OUTPOST OF JUPITERLester Del ReyDel Rey 345-30505-1 $1.95

While I’m on the subject ofreprints, I would also sendthose who like good old shoot-‘em-up, adventure-filled sci-ence fiction out searching forall of the latest Lester Del Rey

releases. Books like Outpost, or TheMysterious Planet, or Attack from Atlan-tis are not of the highest quality or style,but they area great deal of fun, and eachof them promises an afternoon (at least)of lively reading. Five of Del Rey’s earlySF adventures are available from thepublisher, as well as five of his more re-cent and more polished works.

Lester Del Rey is a good, solid author,and his work, while never very metaphys-ical, can always be relied upon for ac-tion, amusement, and a crisp, pulpishsense of style that keeps the reader turn-ing pages quickly.

PSYCHO IIRobert BlochWarner Books 0-446-90804-5 $3.50

After he wrote Psycho, both the bookand the film, Robert Bloch found himselfat the top of the charts. Everything hewrote sold, and money poured in — butdespite his subsequent successes, read-ers have always remembered him firstand foremost for Psycho. Many timesBloch was offered a lot of money to write

a sequel, but he turned those offersdown, saying that he would write a se-quel about the life and times of NormanBates when he had something further— and new — to say. Finally, 20 yearslater, PSYCHO II is a reality.

Bloch has released Norman Bates fromthe mental hospital and set him free in aless trusting, more aware world than theone he left. Thanks to a confusion oflaws, liberalism that borders on insanity,and the just plain nervous attitude of thequietly mad world we all live in, NormanBates is no longer a unique character.We now read about “adventures” similarto his every day in the papers, and theexploits of murderers and criminals aredetailed for us on the nightly news.

Bloch’s statement about a world gonemad is certainly interesting, and at thesame time sad and frightening. Thisbook is an excellent continuation of thefirst volume, a cunning novel, in no wayjust another slash-‘em-up thriller to beread on the subway on the way to work.PSYCHO II is a chilling nightmare of abook, as bloody psychologically as it isphysically. No fan of horror storiesshould be without it.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTHAsimov, Greenberg & Waugh, editorsFawcett/Crest 2-4531-4 $2.95

Isaac Asimov has recently had a handin the compiling of several thematic an-thologies, the best of which is this one.The collection contains 17 stories, allwritten by well-known, top-quality au-thors. Asimov provides an introductionto the entire volume, as well as individualintroductions for the stories.

All the tales concern the problem, orthe terror, or the relief, or the whatever,of being the last living man, or being, onEarth. The stories, originally written overa 50-year span of time by their variousauthors, show a wide diversity in styleand specific subject matter, but all ofthem are finely honed, interesting (at theleast) and memorable. The best thingabout collections of this sort is that onerarely gets a clunker in the lot — and thisvolume is certainly no exception.

CLIQUENicholas YermakovBerkley 0-425-05500-0 $2.50

After a while, a person has to stop be-ing “the fastest rising star on the sciencefiction horizon” and start leveling off intosome sort of recognizable pattern. May-be this will hold true for Nick Yermakovat some point in the future, but not fornow. CLIQUE is as good as anything hehas written to date, and just as strikinglydifferent from his first three novels asthey were from one another.

This is the story of Ross Cleary and hisholographic cosmetic device, the Aura.The ultimate public costume and mask,

everyone just had to have one — and theworld became one where no one waswho or what they seemed to be, not evenCleary himself. Identity and illusion arejumbled constantly, unendingly, until theonly escape for all the dreamers whohave fallen asleep and forgotten how towake up is The Movement — the under-ground organization otherwise knownas the Clique.

Yermakov’s latest is an enjoyably bi-zarre adventure, neatly tangled and at-tention-holding from start to finish. This,or any of his other novels, would make afine gift.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTERBrian StablefordDAW Books 0-87997-756-6 $2.50

One of Stableford’s more interestingefforts, JOURNEY is about the planetAsgard. Fortune hunters, scientists, an-thropologists, gangsters, explorers, anda lot of other types find it advantageousto head there, for the simple, intriguingreason that Asgard might not be a planetat all. It is a place where artificial layerslie one beneath the other, going everdown until the temperature reaches ab-solute zero — and no man had ever gonefurther down than that. There are arti-facts to be found along the way —artifacts of an unknown race that manysuspect still lives at the center of the“world” of Asgard.

A finely wrought, tense little novel,JOURNEY TO THE CENTER keeps thereader guessing for quite a while. An-other good stocking stuffer.

THE BEST FROMFANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION

E. L. Ferman, editorScribners 0-684-17490-1 $14.95

This particular Best of title has beenwith us for more than 30 years, and thecurrent volume is the 24th in the series.Just as in the parent magazine, the pro-duct is more than the sum of its fiction.Besides a number of top-notch SF andfantasy tales, the collection features filmand television essays, scientific articles,and other non-fiction excerpts fromF&SF. Each piece is introduced by editorEd Ferman, giving the book a warm, in-timate flavor. A good buy, if you can af-ford it, for one of the favorites on yourgift list.

STRANGE EONSRobert BlochWhispers Press 0-918372-30-5 $12

This is the story of H. P. Lovecraft’sCthulhu let loose in the modern world,and being attacked by modern atomicweapons in return. It is a book that paystribute to Lovecraft and — just like H. P.used to do — scares the pants off thereader at the same time.

D R A G O N 8 5

86 DECEMBER 1982

The Dragon Publishing 1982Module Design Competition

Dragon Publishing is looking for a few good modules. If you are theproud creator of an adventure or scenario for any of TSR Hobbies’role-playing game systems, and you think your work compares favora-bly with modules previously published in DRAGON™ Magazine, weinvite you to enter your manuscript and maps in the Dragon Publishing1982 Module Design Competition.

This contest is much larger in scope than the design contests we’veheld in the past. Many of the rules are different, and some of them are

more strict, than for previous contests. If you intend to enter, be sureyour entry is composed and submitted in accordance with all theregulations spelled out in the following text. An author’s failure tocomply with all the rules will almost certainly result in the automaticdisqualification of that entry.

Contest entries will be accepted for any of the categories listedbelow. Each contestant may enter different modules in two categories,but not in three or more.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D-2: The same as category A-2, except the dungeon should be for 4-8D&D characters of levels 4-14, and should be designed in accordancewith the D&D Basic and Expert Rulebooks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Continued on next page)

D R A G O N 87

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

88 DECEMBER 1982

DRAGON 89

90 DECEMBER 1982

92 DECEMBER 1982

DR A G O N 93

9 4 D E C E M B E R 1 9 8 2

96 DECEMBER 1982