D R A G O N 1

PublisherMike Cook

Editor-in-ChiefKim Mohan

Editorial staffPatrick Lucien Price

Roger Moore

Art director and graphicsRoger Raupp

SubscriptionsGeorgia Moore

Advertis ingMary Parkinson

Contributing editorsEd Greenwood

Katherine Kerr

This issue's contributing artistsRobin Wood

Roger RauppMarvel BullpenDavid Trampier

Ted GoffA. J . Toos

Joseph PillsburyRichard Tomasic

E.B. WagnerStephen Hearon

Larry Elmore

COVERPeople are still writing in to say how much they liked Robin Wood�s first cover paint-ing, back on issue #97. This piece depicts an entirely different scene, but we expect thepainting to be just as popular as its predecessor. Through the aid of a ring of flying,this magic-user is able to do battle with these giant bats on her own terms. That bigbat in the foreground is about to find out the hard way what a lightning bolt spell islike � and it�s not even grounded.

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SPECIAL ATTRACTION

BETRAYED! — Designed by Jim BengtsonA new challenge for AD&D® game player characters

OTHER FEATURES

Leomund�s Tiny Hut � Lenard LakofkaToning down the new demi-human PC races

Travel works both ways � Paul VernonPCs aren�t the only characters on the road

Seeing is believing � Geoffrey MeissnerIt isn�t easy, but here�s a look at invisibility

The rest of the PapersOdds and ends to add to our centaur coverage

The well-equipped victim � Ed GreenwoodDetailed �treasure types� for O-level encounters

A world of difference � Fraser ShermanUse parallel worlds to open up new gaming vistas

Spy�s advice � Merle M. RasmussenAnswers and suggestions for the TOP SECRET® game

On the Rocks at Slab�s -John Gregory BetancourtTavern patrons protect their happy haunting grounds

DEPARTMENTS

3 Letters4 World Gamers Guide6 The forum

6 0 TSR Previews

62 TSR Profiles69 The ARES� Section86 Convention calendar

90 Wormy92 Dragonmirth94 Snarfquest

2 JANUARY 1986

Here we go againDear Editor,

Page 11 of Unearthed Arcana says that �noinstances are known of half-elves descended fromgrugach stock.� However, in the article Arcanaupdate in issue #103, it says on page 12 that �Ahalf-elf of wild descent cannot become a cleric, aranger, or a magic-user.�

Based on this evidence, either (a) The rule onhalf-elves of wild descent from Unearthed Arcanais removed; (b) An error was made in issue #103;or (c) Wild elves can toss humans a long way.Which is it?

Nicholas LeahyBoise, Idaho

Thanks, Nicholas. I love multiple-choice tests,and I love making corrections to an article aboutcorrections. . . . The answer, of course, is (b). Iused the offending sentence in issue #103 as anexample to illustrate how certain classes wereprohibited to certain half-elves, and I didn't stopto think that no half-elves can be �of wild elfdescent� in the first place.

Technically, the statement is accurate — thereis no such thing as a half-grugach cleric, orranger, or magic-user. What it doesn't say is thatthere is also no such thing as a half-grugachfighter, or thief, or illusionist, or . . . . — KM

A special archer?Dear Dragon,

Should the archer NPC class (Best ofDRAGON Vol. III) be allowed to have the abilityof weapon specialization as described in Un-earthed Arcana?

Adam LidzBala Cynwyd, Pa.

If you�re using the unofficial archer NPCdesigned by Len Lakofka, the original bonuses tohit and damage given in that article should beretained, not replaced by the combat bonusesgiven in Arcana for specialization with a bow.Those original bonuses are part of what makes anarcher an archer; besides, from 4th level on,they�re better than the bonuses given to a bowspecialist. On top of that, the archer gets an extra+1 when using any magical bow or arrow. If youfind these advantages too powerful, you can treatthe archer more like a regular bow specialist. Butif these advantages haven't caused any game-balance problems in your campaign, then there�sno reason to replace them with the lower bonuses.

I can't think of a logical reason why archersshould be denied the benefit of the other aspectsof weapon specialization. If a bow specialist �whobegins the round with arrow nocked, shaftdrawn, and target in sight is entitled to loose thatarrow prior to any initiative check,� then anarcher should be able to do this, too. An archershould be able to do increased damage at point-blank range just as a bow specialist can, but don�tadd in the archer�s damage bonus before dou-

bling the amount. Determine �raw double dam-age� first; e.g., an arrow +1 does 2-7 points ofdamage, so �raw� double damage� would be 4-14 (2d6 + 2). A 14th-level archer also gets +7 ondamage and an extra +1 for using a magicarrow, for a total of 12-22. That�s enough dam-age, isn�t it? I�d make the archer live with hisgenerally lower number of attacks per round (henever gets better than 3/1), as some compensationfor his greater ability to hit and damage.

You'll need to solve other problems to make thetwo systems mesh smoothly; for instance, theydiffer in the definition of point-blank and shortrange. Maybe you�ll want to rule that an archerwho benefits from some of the aspects of weaponspecialization can never have proficiency withanything but a bow. You can use the two systemsside-by-side, or you can mesh one into the otherwithout making the archer too powerful. — KM

Back to the dogsDear Dragon,

Thanks for another great article by StephenInniss (�A dozen domestic dogs,� issue #103).One additional fact on water dogs is that thewebbing between their toes extends much farthertoward their nails than that of non-water dogs.This increases their swimming efficiency andspeed, and the length of time they can spend inthe water over what their brethren can do.

Also, in the �Costs� table on page 28, an entryfor �food dog� is listed. Is this the kind of dogused to hunt rabbits, or is it the kind that wouldbe served on a plate in Oriental Adventures?

Steve NullPalm Bay, Fla.

The description of very small normal dogsmentions that some of the canines in this category�are raised for the cooking pot.� This is what theentry on the costs table refers to. A dog for hunt-ing rabbits will probably be a small fighter or amedium runner (in Stephen�s system) and willcost 17 gp, as per the Players Handbook. � KM

A jump too farDear Dragon,

I found the article �Short hops and big drops�(#93) very useful. However, it does not mix withthe Unearthed Arcana version of jumping. Thebook says a thief-acrobat with 15 strength and 16dexterity can make a running broad jump of 9feet at sixth level, and any other character canbroad jump 8 feet. But in the article, a characterwith combined strength and dexterity of 31 wouldhave a basic jump number of 9, which would bedoubled to 18 feet for a running broad jump.Could you clarify this?

Peter ColucciAlta Loma, Calif.

You�ve clarified it very well, Peter. The twosystems are drastically different in most respects

For PaulIt�s easy to lose track of what�s really

important in life when you spend day afterday doing the same things. Anyone whohas a job, goes to school, or runs a house-hold knows what I mean.

Once in a while, though, somethinghappens during one of those monotonousdays � something that almost seemsdesigned to shake us out of our ruts andget us thinking about what counts. I hadone of those experiences on the day beforeThanksgiving, when I received a letterfrom a familiar address in San Diego.

It was Paul Crabaugh�s address, but itwas his mother who wrote the letter. Shewanted me to know, by means of what shecalled �the letter a mother should neverhave to write,� that Paul died of cancer onNov. 17, at the age of 29.

The news hit me right between the eyesand sunk into the part of my brain that�sIn Charge of Priorities. Paul had been aregular contributor to DRAGON® Maga-zine longer than I had been on the staff.Over the years he had become one of mymany long-distance friends. He sent inlots of articles, practically all of whichwere accepted and printed. He alwayswrote in a casual style that I enjoyed andenvied � a style that made it seem asthough he didn�t have a care in the world.

And maybe he didn�t. He knew he wassick, of course, and he did what he couldto fight the disease. But �he never oncegave in, or even admitted his pain anddiscomfort,� said his mother. �Right up tohis last hours he was looking ahead tovarious articles and projects.� In fact, heenjoyed a gaming session with some of hisfriends the day before he died.

Paul Montgomery Crabaugh�s namewill appear on only one more article inthis magazine � a piece we accepted afew months ago, and which will be printedwithin another issue or two. But his con-tribution to the magazine will go on for aslong as people keep buying back issuesand taking advantage of the knowledgeand insight in the pieces he wrote. And hiscontribution to me will last even longerthan that. Whenever I get bummed outabout the problems I have to solve in mylife, I�m going to try to remember Pauland what he had to tackle. From now on,I�m going to see problems such as makinga deadline and balancing my budget forwhat they are � small obstacles, easilyovercome.

I realize now that my problems are notbig ones, and I�m grateful for that. But ifI ever have to deal with a real problem, Ihope I�ll be as strong and courageousabout it as Paul was.

I�ll miss him.

D R A G O N 3

� so different that they can�t be used side-by-side 14 or higher could jump better than a 6th-level system and you think everyone else ought to havein a campaign without seriously weakening the thief-acrobat.) a chance of being able to jump, then you'll havethief-acrobat split class (Imagine a world where If thief-acrobats exist in your campaign but to do some extensive fiddling with the way aanyone with a combined strength and dexterity of you like the mechanics of the �Short hops� (Turn to page 89)

game; GW = GAMMA WORLD®game; SF = STAR FRONTIERS®game; ST = STAR TREK®: The Role-Playing Game; MSH = MARVELSUPER HEROES� game; TS = TOPSECRET® game; T = TRAVELLER®game; RQ= RUNEQUEST® game;VV = VILLAINS & VIGILANTES�.

The World Gamers Guide is intendedfor the benefit of gamers who live outsidethe continental United States and Can-ada, in areas where nearby gamers aresmall in number or nonexistent, as a

If you live outside the continentalUnited States and Canada, you can beincluded in the World Gamers Guide bysending your name and full address, plusyour gaming preferences, to WorldGamers Guide, DRAGON® Magazine,P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147USA.

Abbreviations in parentheses after aname indicate games in which that per-son is especially interested:AD = AD&D® game; DD = D&D®game; CC = CALL OF CTHULHU®

Stephen White (DD,AD SF)21 Nankeen StreetModbury Heights 5092South AustraliaAustral ia

Gavin Mountjoy (AD,T)21 Victory CrescentTawaWellington, New Zealand

William Vernon (AD,CC)Avenida SojoResidencias El EscorialUrbanization El RosalCaracas 1060Venezuela

Russel Davidoff (AD,TS)110 Greenlands CrescentSunningdaleJohannesburg 2192South Africa

Eric Cooper (DD,AD)Sq DU Solbosch 281050 BrusselsBelgium

Darin PilacinskiBartoklaan 62253CX VoorschotenThe Netherlands

Gianna Vacca5, clos des Avettes95800 CergyFrance

Tim Mort imer (AD,DD)10 Lindfield AvenueEdwardstown 5039South AustraliaAustral ia

Gavin Archer (AD,GW,T)Box #536University of AlaskaFairbanks AK 99775-1040

Guy Girardi (AD,ST,GW)Place des mines 46,L-4244 Esch/AlzetteLuxembourg

Peter S. Magnusson (AD)Ankarvagen 7181 43 Lidingo, StockholmSweden

John Maravi l la (VV,GW,DD) Nachi Ugarte (MSH,AD,GW)73 Bacolod St. 204 University Dr.Alabang Hills Vill. New Alabang Vill.Muntinlupa, Metro Mani la, Muntinlupa, Metro Mani laPhilippines Philippines

Frank J. Romeo III (AD)63 Oberon DriveBelmont, Vic.Australia 3216

Jason F. Wilcox (AD,TS,GW)1/121 McLeod Rd.Te Atatu 5th, Auckland 8New Zealand

Bryan Bernstein (AD,GW,DD)Aconcagua 5073Montevideo, Uruguay

Nigel Cherk (AD,RQT)8 Bengal Cres.Mt. Waverley,Victoria 3149Austral ia

Dr Bruce Ross (AD)7 Apollo PlaceRotornaBay of PlentyNew Zealand

Erebor RPG AssociationMosehusvej 22700 BroenshoejDenmark

Shane Huang IP.0. Box 36-158Taipei, TaiwanRepublic of China

Daniel Folatelli (DD,AD)Casilla de Correo 1816600 MercedesProvincia Buenos AiresArgentina

Cameron Lind (AD,DD,RQ)36 Hawthorne St.Woody Point, Queensland,Austral ia

Peter Kay (DD)Hebel str. 654056 BaselSwitzerland

Neil Schunke (CC,T)Diamond Heights Apt. 3011-108, OginoItami, Hyogo, Japan T664

Matthew Temple (AD)42 Seaview Ave.Northcote, Auckland 9New Zealand

Matthew Strickler (AD,TS,SF)Impasse de Mon Idee 31226 ThonexSwitzerland

Jonathan Cary (AD,DD)Carrera 1lA #113-14Apt. 501Bogota, Colombia

way for them to contact other game-players who would be interested in cor-responding about the activities that theyenjoy. Unfortunately, we cannot extendthis service to persons who live in remoteareas of the U.S. or Canada, or to U.S.military personnel with APO or FPOaddresses. Each eligible name and ad-dress that we receive will be published inthree consecutive issues of DRAGON®Magazine; to be listed for more thanthree issues, you must send in anotherpostcard or letter.

The World Gamers Guide

DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly by TSR, Inc. The mailing address for all material except subscription orders is DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 110, LakeGeneva WI 53147; the business telephone number is (414) 248-3625. DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby stores and bookstores throughout the United States and Canada, andthrough limited number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates via second-class mail are as follows: $30 in U.S. funds for 1 year (12 issues) sent to an address in the U.S. or Canada, $55 for12 issues sent by surface mail to any other address, and $95 for 12 issues sent airmail to any other address. Payment in full must accompany all subscription orders. Methods of paymentinclude checks or money orders made payable to TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA credit cards. Send subscription orders with payments to: TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 72089,Chicago IL 60678. A limited quantity of back issues are available from the TSR mail order department, P.O. Box 756,Lake Geneva WI 53147. For a copy of the current catalog listingavailable back issues, write to the mail order department at the above address. The issue of expiration of each subscription is printed on the mailing label for each subscriber’s copy of themagazine. Changes of address for the delivery of subscription copies must be received at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the change in order to assure uninterrupted delivery. Allmaterial published in DRAGON Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the publisher, unless special arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazinewelcomes unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork; however, no responsibility for such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any submission accompa-nied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published.

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4 JANUARY 1986

D R A G O N 5

I disagree with the letter from Craig Sheldon in#102, which said �it is very hard to role-play withone character and a DM.� I have played in bothsituations, with a big party and then just as asingle player with a DM. I�ve been playing thesecond way for five years, and I think it�s easierand more fun. The player is pushed to thinkmore on his own, and his character is limited tohis special abilities only.

I have been playing a monk character for overa year as a single player with my DM. Most largeparties will run from nothing short of a deity, andsome even then will not run. My character isforced to run all the time from pursuing monstersand even border patrols. This adds much flavorto the game. Sure, I could be a 20th-level fighterwith several other 20th-level characters, and wecould be a walking meat grinder. But runningnow and then can be fun.

With the right DM and player, this kind ofgaming can be even more fun than large partiesof PCs.

Cole LangstonRockport, Tex.

* * * *

This letter, confusingly enough, is in reply toRichard Silva�s reply (#103) to Frank Mentzer�sletter back in #101. As you will recall, Mr. Ment-zer�s letter stated that the dragons in the newD&D® game system were a challenge even to25th-level player characters, while Mr. Silva�sreply denied it. Both writers used the same meleeas an example, and I will do the same. Part ofthis reply is based on a letter from Dan Fejes(#102) which pointed out that magic items mustsave vs. attack forms like everything else.

The seven player characters with �+5 every-thing� are heading for a red dragon�s lair. But thedragon finds them first, swoops down in a sur-prise attack, and flies off with a fighter, the thief,and the magic-user. So far, so good. From thenon, here�s what happens.

In the first place, a magic-user caught in thejaws of a dragon will not be able to cast any kindof spell. Not only will he not have free move-ment, but the shock and pain will probably keephim from concentrating. This would last a shorttime after he is dropped (until it�s too late to savehimself). The magic-user and fighter are killedwhen the dragon drops its prey. The thief, withhis ring of feather falling, survives � but, fight-ing alone against a huge ancient red dragon,won�t last more than a round or two in melee(why waste your breath on one puny thief?).

Now the dragon flies over the ridge again, tofind the survivors on the ground, who will eitherbe retreating or walking around the ridge afterthe dragon. (If the dragon comes back while theyhave their hands full climbing the ridge, the fightwill end in a hurry!) Swooping down again, thedragon breathes on the entire party. Its memberstake half damage from the flames because of theirprotective rings, but the cost is high. All the softmetal rings fail their saving throws vs. magicalfire and melt. The +5 bows of the fighters areincinerated (making their +5 arrows useless), asis one cleric�s staff of withering. In addition, one

6 JANUARY 1986

poor fighter even sees his +5 plate mail meltaway, stripping him down to AC 10. (Since thefighters in the example were using two-handedswords, they couldn�t have used shields.)

On to the next round. As soon as the fieryassault is over, the fighters drink their potions ofstorm giant strength, expecting an imminentmelee. Alas, it is a fatal miscalculation on theirpart. This dragon, having spent part of his trea-sure on an issue of DRAGON® #98, has read thedragon articles in it, including the bit aboutsneaky tricks. So he flies a short distance away,picks up two boulders, comes back, and proceedsto play B-17 Over Berlin with the party. Theboulders strike as catapult missiles, and thedragon�s supply of them is practically limitless. Sothe characters suffer a steady bombardment for awhile. This tactic could finish off the party byitself, but the dragon eventually wearies of thesport and comes down again.

By this time the unarmored fighter is dead, andhis armored companion is down to 40 hp. Thetwo clerics are more or less intact, but only at thecost of expending all of their healing spells onthemselves. The dragon breathes again as itcomes down, killing the fighter and reducing theclerics to a handful of hit points apiece. He landson top of the cleric who is still armed and crushesher before she can use her mace +4 and gauntletsof ogre power. One good bite finishes off theother cleric, and the battle is over.

This scenario is rather unrealistic in one re-spect � an intelligent beast like the dragon wouldbe pickier in its initial selection of victims, assum-ing it had observed them for some time. Theexample also made no allowance for the possibil-ity that the dragon was a spell-user. So now, analternate scenario.

After having watched the party for some time,the dragon turns invisible before attacking to gaincomplete surprise (not even a 25th-level magic-user can keep detect invisibility going all thetime). Carefully selecting his initial victims, hepicks up the magic-user (again!) and the twoclerics, flying over the ridge before droppingthem. As before, being tightly held prevents spell-casting, and with their arms pinned to their sides,the clerics can�t even use their weapons. (Thegauntlets only affect the hands, so the femalecleric can�t use their power to help her break free� and where would she go if she did?) Everyonedies when dropped this time, and the dead clericscertainly can�t resurrect themselves.

The dragon returns, invisible again. Now hepops into sight as he breathes on the party. Asbefore, the bows and rings fail their saves, thistime including the thief's ring. Again the fightersdrink their potions anticipating melee, and againthe dragon stays out of reach and drops boulderson them. The party is badly battered; no onedies, but no one is healed, and soon everyone isdown to 40 hit points each.

Now for the final round. Still flying out ofreach of any attack the party can muster, thedragon belches forth his fire again. Three charac-ters die; the survivor is picked up in the dragon�sjaws by a swooping attack just as the fire diesdown, carried five hundred feet in the air, anddropped to his death.

These two scenarios show that the dragon is aninevitable victor against the party, given thecircumstances of the encounter and a show ofintelligence on the part of the dragon. He wouldknow all his advantages, and would pick out themost dangerous opponents for special treatment.(In the case of the clerics, their arsenal of all bluntweapons is a dead giveaway.) So the great wyrmis triumphant yet again, DMs can rejoice in thefact that the dragon is indeed a challenge to high-level characters, environmentalists can be gladthat a creature of Nature was not slaughtered,and everyone lives happily ever after � exceptthe thief, the magic-user, two clerics, and threefighters.

Gregory W. DetwilerWilliamsburg, Pa.

* * * *

The debate about character alignment of latehas driven me to give my thoughts on the subject.In the original edition of the D&D® game, allcharacters were told that �it is not only necessaryto select a role, but it is also necessary to deter-mine what stance the character will take.� To thenew hobby of fantasy role-playing, characteralignment was an important concept. Not onlydid it state what the imaginary player characterbelieved, but it also served to help the player tobetter take on the role of his or her persona.

In later supplements of the original rules set,alignment was taken a step farther. It was used asa means (along with ability scores) to determinewhether or not a PC was eligible for one of themore specialized (and often more powerful) sub-classes. In this way, alignment was a tool used byboth the players and the Dungeon Master torelate to the characters� beliefs, ways of acting,and to restrict entrance into certain sub-classes.

It has been eleven years since the original D&Dgame appeared. While many of the ideas found inthose little brown booklets and supplements wereexpanded and revised for inclusion in the AD&Dgame, alignment was not one of them. Eventhough the number of possible alignments hasbeen tripled and more detailed descriptions ofeach ethos given, they are used as little more thantools for the players and Dungeon Master, inmuch the same way as was done over a decadeago.

My belief is that alignment should be used torestrict entrance into certain character classes andto determine how a player character will act inmost circumstances. For example, an assassin, nomatter how evil or chaotic he or she may be,would not attack the first group of good and/orneutral adventurers sighted simply because oftheir conflicting alignments. The assassin charac-ter class as written is composed of very intelligentindividuals who make a living by killing thoseindividuals who are deemed �troublesome� bythe assassin�s employer. Being as intelligent as heis, an assassin would know when a particular jobwas over his head. Intelligence, not only align-ment, should dictate how a character reacts tocertain situations. Similarly, paladins do notcharge the first demon prince they see, eventhough such a creature is diametrically opposedin its beliefs and actions.

Thus, alignment has been around with fantasyrole-playing games too long simply to be forgot-ten. It is still an integral part of the game. Align-ment, like other aspects of the game, needs onlyto be restructured in order to once again take itsplace of importance among the minds of playersand their fantasy personae. Remember that allthat needs to be done is use your head!

James MaliszewskiBaltimore, Md.

The list of possible player-character races was expanded by sevenwith the publication of Unearthed Arcana. Three of the new choices� gray elf, wood elf, and valley elf � should present no problem forthe DM to incorporate into a campaign. However, the other fournew races all have abilities or characteristics that may make themtough to handle without upsetting the balance of the campaign.Here are some suggestions for avoiding those difficulties.

This character race is the easiest of the four to deal with. The wildelf's power of animal friendship could cause the DM possible strife ifthe player decides to have his character (like many a druid we allknow and love) strike up an encounter with every squirrel and blue-bird the party chances to meet. The DM can discourage this tacticby ruling that the ability is only usable once per day (just as the spellwould be), once every 6 hours, or whatever seems appropriate, andalso by sticking to the letter of the spell description. First of all, thetarget is given a saving throw. Second, remember that animalfriendship does not allow conversation with or communication fromthe animal, and can only be used to attract the pet and teach theanimal three simple tricks. The magic only works on non-magicalcreatures of neutral alignment and semi- or animal intelligence.

The wild elf

It takes a week to teach each trick, and the animal must be tendedto continuously (at least once every 3 days) or it will leave. It couldbe ruled that while one animal friendship training session is underway, a wild elf cannot attempt to use the innate power a second timewithout penalty; doing so, even if the target animal makes its save,would cause the first enchantment to be broken.

A wild elf can attract a second pet successfully only when the firstone has been fully trained (taught three tricks), and in this way canaccumulate a group of pets. A wild elf can control one or moreanimals totaling 1 HD per level of the elf. This is reduced from the 2HD per level given in the druid spell, because having a 5th-levelwild elf character with an elephant or a rhinoceros in tow couldunbalance things rather badly.

A wild elf player character of an alignment other than neutralwould have more difficulty in attracting animal pets; allow the ani-mal +1 or +2 on its saving throw if the wild elf's alignment is onestep removed (neutral good, neutral evil, etc.), and a +2 or +4bonus if two steps removed (lawful good, chaotic evil, etc.). Also,allow an extra saving throw if the elf tries to teach the animal a trickthat would be out of character for the animal, or which would showdisrespect for nature.

Duergar have a disadvantage that makes them very hard to playin some campaigns, and a few advantages that might be too power-ful for the game if they are interpreted literally.

The gray dwarf

The disadvantage (also shared by two other new PC sub-races) isthe adverse effect that daylight or bright light has on them. Even ina campaign that takes place mostly in the dungeons, a party has tomove above ground during the day to get from place to place. Un-earthed Arcana says that the gray dwarf �will not venture forth� onbright days. This inhibits the player character too strongly. Thedwarf may not like to do it, but there are going to be times whenhe�ll have to come out in the sunshine to keep from slowing theparty down or becoming separated from it. He will �venture forth,�

10 JANUARY 1986

but only when he has to � and the duergar must then operate withall the penalties given in the text.

Alas, there is no Create Foster Grants spell that would signifi-cantly aid the light-sensitive gray dwarf. Perhaps the dwarf couldtravel wearing a full helm with the visor down, so that marchingwould be a little easier. A lenient DM might want to allow a graydwarf attired in some sort of eye or head covering to ignore thedexterity penalty if a thieving ability is used in a noncombat situa-tion. However, all penalties given should apply during any hostileencounter or combat.

The duergar�s advantages, and the problems that arise from them,are the result of having immunities � to non-natural poisons, para-lyzation attacks, and illusion spells. If we tone these down to resis-tances instead of immunities, we can avoid possible game-balanceproblems.

An immunity to non-natural poisons may be too strong. Such arule allows a gray dwarf to enter a deadly situation without jeopardy.Instead of immunity, give the gray dwarf a saving throw of 2 versusnon-natural poisons (so that it can be failed on a roll of 1). Or, re-duce the experience-point award for the encounter in which theopponent was expecting an advantage from its use of non-naturalpoison.

Immunity to paralyzation is a greater advantage, and potentiallya greater problem. With this on their side, gray dwarves can strideinto a pack of ghouls or ghasts without fear or threat. The suggestedsolutions are the same as above: require a saving throw of 2, or cutdown the XP award by not counting the paralyzation power as anexceptional ability. This immunity/resistance only extends to paraly-zation caused by physical attack (such as the touch of a ghoul orghast) and not to paralyzation or a similar force of magical origin;thus, a gray dwarf is just as susceptible to a hold person spell or awand of paralyzation as any other dwarf is.

Now, the book says that gray dwarves are �unaffected by illusionspells.� This is really opening Pandora�s Box. This statement mustbe toned down, or entire types of play are going to crumble intonothingness.

Consider one of the most common types of illusion � the invisi-bility spell. Imagine a party of PCs being able to see everything theyencounter because their good buddy, the gray dwarf, is unaffectedby illusions. As extreme as this example is, it only represents the tipof the iceberg. The party will encounter many other common illu-sions, and having one member (or more) of the group never affectedby an illusion simply gives the party too big an advantage.

To tone down this immunity, let�s first stipulate that in order touse this characteristic, the gray dwarf must concentrate for oneround on seeing through, or looking for, an illusion. If any otheraction is taken in the same round, the dwarfs concentration is bro-ken and the effort is wasted.

Second, the chance to be unaffected should not be a 100% thingin very many cases. The distance between the dwarf and the illusionis a factor; it�s harder to detect illusions that are farther away. If youinterpret this resistance to illusions as an innate ability that cannotbe improved, then a dwarfs intelligence score will also help deter-mine how good he is at seeing through illusions. If you interpret theability as something that can be improved through practice andexperience, then use the dwarfs experience level as a factor in deter-mining his chance. In the following table, use either the head-

ings for �Level� or �Intelligence� over the columns, depending onwhat you think is the nature of this resistance ability.

Rangeto

illusion(feet)

1- 2930- 5960- 8990-119

120-149150-179180-209210-239240-269270-299300-329330-359360-389390-419

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

3-750%40%30%20%10%

5 %2 %

�

Level

or Intelligence8-7 10-11 12-13 14-15 16 17 1 8 +6 0 % 7 0 % 8 0 % 9 0 % 1 0 0 % 1 0 0 % 1 0 0 %5 0 % 6 0 % 7 0 % 8 0 % 9 0 % 1 0 0 % 1 0 0 %4 0 % 5 0 % 6 0 % 7 0 % 8 0 % 9 0 % 1 0 0 %30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

5% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%2 % 5% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

� 2 % 5% 10% 20% 30% 40%� � 2 % 5% 10% 20% 30%� � � 2 % 5 % 1 0 % 2 0 %� � � � 2 % 5 % 1 0 %� � � � � 2% 5%� � � � � � 2 %

It is impossible, even for a gray dwarf of utmost intelligence orlevel, to successfully see through an illusion at a distance of 420 feetor greater. Illusions that have real effects (such as shadow monsters)could still harm a gray dwarf, even though the character could seethe monsters for what they are. Concealed and hidden doors are notillusions in any case. Neither are things hidden in shadows, blendedagainst rock formations, or similarly camouflaged.

This is only one way to deal with this power of gray dwarves;certainly there are other ways of approaching the issue � but itshould be approached. Using the rule book literally where immunityto illusions is concerned has the potential to bring irrevocable harmto the campaign.

12 JANUARY 1986

Deep gnomesThese little people have a problem operating in bright light or

daylight, just as gray dwarves do, which can be handled as describedin the preceding section. They are also �immune to the effects ofillusions and phantasms�; take care of this with a table identical orsimilar to the one above. (Success figures for deep gnomes might behigher than for gray dwarves, since gnomes have an innate attune�ment to illusions.)

A non-illusionist svirfneblin (say this with a Swedish accent and itbecomes easy) of 6th level or higher can conjure an earth elementalonce a day! Good grief, what a power! Having a 90% chance tosummon a monster of at least 8 HD once a day will change many acampaign. This is especially true when one considers what an earthelemental can do in a dungeon. Imagine how long your oppositionmonsters will last when an earth elemental, immune to normal or+1 weapons, shows up. And 30% of the time the conjurer will get amonster of 16 HD or more!

There are two ways to tone down this power � make it usablewith less frequency (once a week, for instance) or impose anexperience-point penalty on player-character deep gnomes in returnfor their possession of this ability. I would suggest a 10% penalty onall earned experience through the end of 4th level, and a 50% pen-alty when going from 5th to 6th level. You may find that a combina-tion of these procedures (a slight XP penalty plus a reduction infrequency) will suit the purpose.

The svirfneblin�s spell-like abilities of blindness, blur, and changeself are not too radical � although a thief who can change self isgoing to be hard to find in a populated area!

Dark elvesDrow player characters also have a problem with bright light or

daylight; handle this as described above for gray dwarves.The drow have some very substantial spell-like powers usable once

per day. Dancing lights, faerie fire, and darkness 5� radius are nottoo severe and probably do not need a counter. Assume that theduration, range, etc., of these abilities are the same as for theirnamesake spells, with variable characteristics dependent upon thedark elf�s level.

Dark elves of 4th level or higher also get detect magic, know align-ment, and levitate abilities. The first two are not great problems,although they can obviously help a party very much. However, theability to levitate can be an unbalancing advantage for a drow ofhigh level, who might be able to get an entire party out of troublewith one usage of the ability. To compensate for this great advan-tage, I would make all classes of player-character drow take a 10%penalty to earned experience at all times after attaining 4th level.

Female dark elves get even more advantages at 4th level, andplayer characters should take a 20% penalty to earned experience ingoing from 3rd to 4th level, plus a 10% penalty for every level there-after. This penalty does not seem too severe, considering that femaledrow obtain clairvoyance, detect lie, and dispel magic abilities � avery handy group of powers for a player character to have on aonce-a-day basis.

Editor�s conclusionMuch of the difficulty in designing the new player-character races

arose from the fact that many of the races were previously describedas �monster� types in the rule books. Clearly, player charactersbelonging to these races could not be permitted to enjoy all thespecial abilities attributed to the �monsters.� For instance, graydwarves could not be automatically psionic; svirfnebli could nothave special skill with darts; drow could not retain many of themagical attributes given for that race of �monsters� in the FIENDFOLIO® Tome.

Counterbalancing this was our desire to be faithful to the way theraces were originally described; because of this, characteristics suchas the duergar�s immunity to illusions were retained, even though itwasn�t always easy to find a game-balance reason for doing so.

The changes suggested in this article are good ways of dealingwith problems � if the problems occur or threaten to crop up inyour campaign. If you find it necessary, you can use any method oftoning down these abilities that you think is appropriate. � KM

D R A G O N 1 3

Travel works both waysPCs on the road will meet many fellow wayfarersby Paul Vernon

The encounter tables in the DungeonMasters Guide and the FIEND FOLIO®Tome are very limited where fellow travelersare concerned. The dozen types of menlisted lack variety and soon become predict-able. This isn�t so important when the onlytraveling is between unrelated dungeons �every encounter at least generates someinterest or danger to overcome � but whenthey are used in campaign play, the tablessoon prove inadequate.

One of the best things about playing in awell-run campaign is that you can almostbelieve that the place actually exists. Unfor-tunately, when the only travelers you meetare patrols, robbers, merchant caravans,rootless tribesmen, and bands of pilgrims ontheir way to unknown shrines, the illusion issoon shattered. What happened to the otherpeople? This is a question that you mustanswer for yourself in accordance with thetype of campaign you run.

My own campaign is loosely based onmedieval England, and its roads are usedmainly by the types of traveler which wouldhave been found there. A selection of thosewhom adventurers might meet is repre-sented on the accompanying tables, anddetailed descriptions of the types are givenbelow. Most of the material was gleanedfrom various history books, especially En-glish Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages, byJ. J. Jusserand.

CommonersIn settled areas especially, a large number

of encounters are with common peoplegoing about their everyday affairs. Al-though rarely posing a threat to adventur-ers, they are useful sources of generalinform&ion about the area, gossip aboutpolitical situation, and news of past,present, and future local events. Many ofthe following are also good disguises forthose not wishing to draw attention to them-selves, perhaps for nefarious purposes.

Villagers (level 0, AC 9 to 10, 1-6 hp): Ifencountered near their village, these peopleare involved in agricultural tasks (herding,tending crops, gathering wild nuts or ber-ries, searching for straying animals, etc.) orother everyday affairs. If encountered onroads they might be taking agriculturalproduce to a local market, returning frommarket with their purchases, on the way toor from visiting relatives, and so on. Vil-lagers possess arms which could be easilymanufactured or cheaply purchased by theusers, or they use agricultural implementsemployed as weapons. These �peasant

weapons� include clubs, staves, bill hooks,scythes, axes, sickles, and short bows.

Carters (level 0, AC 8 to 10, 2-5 hp,armed with daggers or peasant weapons):Carters are found only on roads or tracks,carting a large variety of loads. In agricul-tural areas, they carry agricultural produceand implements of all kinds (from dung tograin and ploughs to millstones, either inservice to their lords or on their own ac-count). Alternatively, they could be con-nected to some local �industrial�enterprise, such as a mine, quarry, or clay-pit, and carry appropriate materials. In lesspeaceful areas they could be accompaniedby men-at-arms.

Wandering laborers: Wandering laborerscan either be poor townspeople who supple-ment their meager incomes by taking agri-cultural work at certain times of the year(especially during harvest) or peasants outof bond who have deserted their formermasters or fled from famine, war, flood,disease, banditry, inroads by monsters, orsome other catastrophe that has destroyedtheir villages. Some lords see them as un-welcome troublemakers, as they oftenspread discontent with the status quo. Theirstatistics are the same as those for villagersabove.

Beggars (level 0, AC 10, 2-5 hp, armedwith staff, club, or perhaps dagger): Beg-gars can be wandering laborers who havebeen unable to find work, or professionalbeggars (most of whom have some real orfeigned disability). Solitary hermits beggingalms from passersby were fairly common inmedieval England and can also be includedin this class. Often they lived near bridgesor small shrines and begged alms ostensiblyfor their upkeep. They can be a good sourceof local legends � for a price. Finally, wan-dering holy men can be found preaching bythe road side, or anywhere else they canfind a congregation. A favorite place forthese (usually good or chaotic) zealots topreach is in the grounds of lawful templeson holy days after services so that they canharangue templegoers as they leave. Natu-rally, they are also seen as troublemakers bythe authorities.

Common hunters (fighter level 1 to 4,AC 7 to 10, armed with peasant weapons orspears): These people hunt for a livelihood,rather than for pleasure as nobles do. Insettled areas, common hunters have thestatistics given above in parentheses. Theyhunt deer, boar, wolves, or fur-bearinganimals, some of which may be reserved bynobles for their own sport. The more expe-

rienced or successful hunters might alsohave swords and longbows, for use againstmore formidable quarry. Crossbows wouldnot usually be employed due to their lowrate of fire and the difficulty of maintainingthem in rural areas.

In wilderness areas, hunters pursue moreexotic species, possibly for capture and saleto menageries, nobles, or other characters.In this case, they should be treated as ban-dits as per the Monster Manual, insofar aslevels, capabilities, and equipment areconcerned.

Outlaws: Outlaws are usually runawayserfs, common hunters who have beencaught with illegal game, or other malefac-tors fleeing from local justice. Their statis-tics should conform to the above types.They might be seen as freedom fighters bythe local populace, but should not posemuch of a threat to most parties of playercharacters.

Medieval villages would not normally bebig enough to support many craftsmen, andwould depend upon itinerant tradesmen tofulfill many of their needs. Even smiths andwheelwrights (who doubled as housebuild-ers, carpenters, coffin-makers, and evenundertakers) would be itinerant workers, ifthe local villages were too small to havetheir own. Villagers would also have totrade for necessities (such as salt, metal, andpitch) and other useful items (tools, potsand pans), while the richer ones wouldattract traders in luxury items such as oil,wine, and finely woven fabrics.

As professional travelers, these tradesmenhave a fund of knowledge about roads andinns, useful short-cuts, the state of localtrade (with associated dangers), and thelike, in addition to being among the first tohear about current local news. Typicaltradesmen who could be encountered in-clude: cobblers and cloggers selling andrepairing leather goods and shoes or cloggs;tailors selling, repairing, and making vari-ous garments to order; joiners repairingwooden structures and selling wooden im-plements such as bowls, cooking utensils,buckets, tubs, and tuns; thatchers con-structing and repairing thatched roofs on alltypes of buildings; tinkers or itinerantmetal-workers with portable forges sellingand repairing metal implements, sharpen-ing knives and other cutting tools; and,quack doctors selling universal panaceasand �holy relics� to cure all known ills.

All of the above are level 0, AC 8 to 10,

Tradesmen

14 JANUARY 1986

2-5 hp, and are armed with daggers, tools,or peasant weapons. They usually travel inwagons or carts in the company of one ormore helpers, who could be relatives.

Other professionals who may be encoun-tered include:

Pedlars (level 0, AC 10, 2-5 hp, armedwith daggers and peasant weapons): Theytravel on foot, selling a wide range of goodsincluding pins, musical instruments, purses,ribbons, points, laces, gloves, knives,glasses, rabbit skins, vests, caps, hats, gir-dles, pewterware, and pots. In lawful areas,they would need licenses and have to keepto the circuits allotted to them.

Herbalists: They travel on foot betweenvillages, offering herbal remedies for mostcomplaints. Statistics are as for pedlersabove.

Local merchants: These are similar to themerchant described in the Monster Man-ual, but they trade throughout a morerestricted area with a base at a nearby town.As with pedlars, they trade in a variety ofgoods. Towns want surplus agricultural

products such as corn, meat, hides, wooland other animal products, wood bark fortanning, and so on, while villages wantnecessities like salt, manufactured goods,metals, and luxury goods for the richerinhabitants. Alternatively, they could tradein locally extracted raw materials or be localentrepreneurs taking raw materials to andcollecting finished articles from their out-workers. Whatever their specialty, theyusually travel in smaller numbers (and areless well guarded) than merchants travelingfarther afield. Each local merchant areaccompanied by a scribe and 1-3 carts andcarters (or pack animals and handlers). Ifmen-at-arms are called for, due to localunrest or dangers, 1-10 will be in the em-ploy of each merchant.

Masons, carpenters and diggers (level 0,AC 8 to 10, 2-7 hp, armed with tools andpeasant weapons): Workers at these tradeswould travel vast distances to take employ-ment on large-scale construction projectssuch as castles, town walls, and temples.When Edward I built his castles and forti-

TABLE 1: TEMPERATE CONDITIONS, INHABITED/PATROLLED/LAWFUL AREAS

VillagersCartersWandering laborersBeggarsBeggarsCommon huntersOutlawsCobbler/cloggerTinker �Tailor —Joiner —Thatcher —QuackPedlarHerbalistLocal merchant*Masons, diggers, and

carpentersScribesBanditsNobles *Church dignitariesNoble huntersKnights on expeditionRobbersSheriff* —Bailiffs* 79Steward* 80-81Purveyors*MessengerPatrolEntertainers (minor troupe)Entertainers (major troupe)Entertainers (players

or menagerie)MerchantsCharactersPilgrims

No. in

group3-181-42-12

12-83-123-18

11111111

1-2

4-161-23-30

11

2-20l-2* *

11-2

11-3

1* *

1-42-12

* * *

50-300* * * *

10-100

Road/Plain01-1213-2021-24

2526-2728-3031-3233-3536-3839-4142-4445-4647-4849-5657-6061-65

66-6869-71

7273-74

7576777879

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* � These persons will have suitable retinues and escorts. *** � See listing in article.** � See p. 182, DMG. **** � See p. 175, DMG.

fied towns in Wales, for example, masons,carpenters, and diggers were drafted from28 shires of England, and some specialiststraveled all the way from Savoy in France.Cranes and scaffolding would be con-structed on-site; tools were often providedby the employer. Journeymen were pre-sented with their own tools on completingtheir apprenticeship, and they would preferto use these. The 70 men from NewportPagnell, summoned to the king�s works inWales in 1282, brought all their own tools ina handcart.

Scribes (level 0, AC 10, 1-4 hp, armedwith staves or daggers): Such wayfarers areoften in search of permanent employment.Traveling scribes often take to occasionalscrivening for illiterate folk to offset thecosts of their journeying. Traveling betweentowns in the main, they might also head forone of the construction projects mentionedabove in hopes of finding work in keepingaccounts, etc. They make reliable sources ofinformation.

Bandits: Practicing the robbing of trav-

D R A G O N 1 5

elers as a profession (rather than from ne-cessity as do outlaws), bandits can be playedas detailed in the Monster Manual or in theBest of DRAGON® Magazine, Vol. 4. Mostbandit gangs are made up of ex-mercenaries, deserters from military com-panies, successful outlaws, landless knights,and other sorts of dangerous malcontents.

DignitariesWayfaring adventurers might also meet

up with people of considerable importance,traveling in a style befitting their rank.Although these important personages areunlikely to have much time for commonsoldiers-of-fortune and riffraff adventurers,these encounters give the opportunity tomake influential friends (or powerful ene-mies), and can result in some interestingcommissions for a party.

Nobles and retinues: In medieval En-gland, important lords (those with the rankof baron or above) often had many estatesscattered over the country. This aspect ofroyal policy made the nobles easier to con-trol, as it deprived them of compact individ-ual power bases, lessening the chances ofrebellion. In France, on the other hand,where individual nobles controlled vastblocks of land, they could defy royal author-ity with impunity (and often did so). Theonly exceptions to this rule were the Lordsof the Marches, who controlled counties onthe borders with Scotland and Wales. Theselords needed their resources to counterforeign attacks. With the ever-present threatof raids on their domains by the Welsh and

lords would notScots, it was felt that thesebe free to rebel anyway.

Instead of having all their dues sent to acentral collection point, it was commonpractice for lords and their followers tospend much time traveling between estates,literally eating their dues when they stayedat an estate for a few days before moving onto the next one. This custom applied evento kings. In the year 1299-1300, for exam-ple, King Edward I changed his abode 75times without leaving the kingdom, movingon the average three times a fortnight.Purveyors (see below) would go on ahead ofthe main party, requisitioning carts (oftenfor no payment) and demanding corn, hay,oats, beer, and meat from unfortunatepeasants.

Nobles and their ladies traveled in finecarriages (costing up to 24,000 gp inAD&D® game terms) as well as on horse-back. Their accompanying retinues couldbe very large indeed. The king, for exam-ple, was preceded by two dozen archers andaccompanied by his foreign marshall (hismilitary commander in the field), innermarshall (responsible for royal palaces andcastles, whose duties included keeping themfree of courtesans), chamberlain (chiefaccountant), marshall of the hall (to ejectdogs and unworthy persons from the royalpresence), steward (the organizer of thetrip, who informed sheriffs and other nota-bles who were expected to entertain theking�s party of his forthcoming arrival), andchancellor (chief dispenser of justice), all ofwhom would have servants of their own. Inaddition, there would be a host of knights,squires, clerks, valets, grooms, carters,porters, falconers, huntsmen, messengers,bakers, and kitchen servants.

TABLE 2: TEMPERATE CONDITIONS, WILDERNESS/CHAOTIC AREAS

Carters*BeggarsCommon huntersQuackLocal merchant*Masons, carpenters,

and diggersBanditsNobles*Church dignitaries*Noble huntersKnights on expeditionRobbersMessengersNomadsMerchantsCharactersPilgrimsTribesmenBerserkersEntertainers (minor troupe)Entertainers (major troupe)Entertainers (players

or menagerie)

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2-5

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01-0304-10

1112-17

6-3620-200

1-31-34-401-4* *

2-530-30050-300

* * * *

18-20 1821-25 19-2526-31 26-2732-35 2836-40 29-3641-45 37-4246-50 43-5051-55 51-5556-69 56-6570-85 66-7986-87 80-84

88 85-8689 87-8990 90

91-92 91-9293-94 93-98

1718-2526-27

2829-3637-4041-5051-55

10-10010-10010-100

1-42-12

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90 9091-92 91-9293-98 93-98

*** 95-00 99-00 — 99-00

* � These persons will have suitable retinues and escorts. *** � See listing in article.** � See p. 182, DMG. **** � See p. 175, DMG.

Scrub Forest Hills Mountains Marsh� �

01-03 01-0204-10 03-10

11 1112-14 12-16

�

01-0203-10

1112-18

17 1918-25 20-2526-27 26-27

28 2829-36 29-3937-40 40-4541-50 46-5051-55 51-55

� �56-62 56-6263-67 63-6768-73 68-7374-88 74-9089-90 �91-96 91-9697-00 97-00

99-00 � �

16 JANUARY 1986

The retinue proper would be followed byparties with lawsuits, out-of-favor noblesseeking to reinstate themselves with theking, and other types of petitioners andsolicitors. This latter group spent muchtime quarreling, robbing, murdering, andgenerally making themselves (and the king)unwelcome. King Edward II, in the ordi-nances of his household, ordered that these�men without a character� should be put inirons for 40 days and be fed only bread andwater. He also forbade those who traveledwith him, his knights, and servants to bringa wife with them, unless she had a post oremployment at court. Nobles might also betraveling to important functions, such asweddings and tournaments; to attend par-liament; or, to visit other nobles or impor-tant personages.

Lesser nobles, including church digni-taries (who would also be important land-owners), would travel in similar style,though on a smaller scale. The Bishop ofHereford, for example, had 40 servants,most of whom accompanied him on histravels. They included the bishop�s cham-pion, who fought for him in judicial duels.

Noble Hunters: These are either localdignitaries (with their relatives, friends, orguests) or members of a noble�s retinuewhich is traveling nearby. In either case,they are hunting for sport and accompaniedby various grooms, huntsmen, falconers,and other necessary personnel.

Knights on expeditions: Knights could beseeking adventure for its own sake or bequesting for their lords, for their ladies, orin fulfillment of a vow. In the former case,mounted adventurers in knightly armor

Officials

could be challenged to an impromptu joustin the Arthurian tradition. Quests couldrange from running down monsters orbrigands, to rescuing abductees; from seek-ing revenge upon individuals who havewronged the knights themselves or theirlords in some way, to seeking knowledgefrom elusive wisemen. Alternatively, theknights could be on their way to a majorconflict, perhaps a crusade or tournament.Knights are usually accompanied by asquire, and might also have a number ofmen-at-arms if their task warrants them.

Robbers: In less well-governed areas,travelers were often robbed (and worse) byquasi-seigneurial bands under knights ornobles who acted as a law unto themselves.The bands of these robber barons should betreated as hostile patrols as per the DMG.

A number of officials involved in thegovernment of the local area may be en-countered. They are a good source of infor-mation regarding local rulers, but can be agreat deal of trouble to adventurers if af-fronted, insulted, or annoyed. These officialtypes include:

Sheriffs: They are responsible for taxcollection and judging offenses against theking (robbery, rape, murder, sorcery, apos-tasy, destruction of bridges and roads, etc.).Usually powerful nobles in their own right,they often travel to hold Hundred Courts (acounty being split into several hundreds) inaddition to sitting at the county court.Sheriffs are fighters of level 7-10, accompa-nied by 1-3 bailiffs (fighters of levels 2-3; seebelow), 2-4 scribes, 2-5 servants and 3d4+3men-at-arms.

Bailiff�s: They work under sheriffs, appre-hending lawbreakers and collecting taxes.Bailiffs are fighters of level 2-3, and each isaccompanied by 1 scribe and 2-5 men-at-arms.

Stewards: They are appointed by impor-tant nobles having too many estates tomanage personally. They visit their lord�smanors to formulate and implement agri-cultural policy, convene the manor court inthe lord�s absence, ensure that services dueare being rendered and that the lord gets(and keeps) his due, and hear the accountsof the village reeves. They are fighters oflevel 3-6 and are accompanied by 1-2scribes, 2-5 servants, and 2-8 men-at-arms.

Magistrates: They also travel to dispensejustice, and are often installed by the kingto curb the power of influential sheriffs.Their statistics are as for stewards above.

Purveyors: They precede noble retinues,having writs to requisition carts and provi-sions. They are thieves of level 3-6. Oppos-ing a bona fide purveyor carries a stiffpenalty, but there is a 30% chance that anysuch character encountered is a charlatan.

Messengers (level 0, AC 8, 2-5 hp, armedwith daggers and swords): They are em-ployed by nobles, officials, or church digni-taries, and carry tokens designating theirstatus. They are always mounted in wilder-ness areas, though in settled areas there is a

18 JANUARY 1986

Entertainers

15% chance they are on foot. Hinderingthem in their tasks carries stiff penalties, butcould provide useful information. Mer-chants and important tradesmen also usemessengers on occasion, but they usuallydon�t enjoy the same protection under thelaw.

Patrols: These are as described in theDMG, p.182.

Many different types of entertainers canbe found traveling between markets, fairs,towns, festivals, and banquets at wealthyhouses. They have much interesting infor-mation concerning local towns, and theypossess a wealth of juicy gossip. Details ofrich residences (including layouts) whichthey have visited are of special interest tothieves. Entertainers are likely to travel inbands, increasingly so as the following listprogresses:

Minstrels and bards: They sing and recitethe deeds of heroes. Bards had their ownguild in England until the sixteenth century,complete with a guild marshall and twowardens. Famous practitioners are in greatdemand among cities and noble houses.They are bards, fighters, or thieves of levels1-8.

Conjurors: They could be charlatans, orthey could be magic-users or illusionists oflevels 1-2.

Bearwards: They display performingbears or other animals. They are level 0,AC 8, 4-7 hp, typically armed with staves,daggers, or whips.

Jugglers: Depending on their ability, theymay handle anything from apples to deadlysharp knives.

Fire-eaters: Performers who are able tobreathe flames from 2� to 8� in length.

Tumblers and acrobats: A group of thesewould make a good cover for members ofthe thief-acrobat split class.

Jugglers, fire-eaters, tumblers, and acro-bats are all either level 0 characters (2-5 hp)or thieves of levels 1-3, AC 10 (thoughdexterity will lower this), typically armedwith daggers.

Traveling players: They perform playsbased on legends or important historicalfigures. They could also be commissioned toperform plays lampooning certain charac-ters by their political opponents. Theytravel in bands of 10-30 and have wagons totransport scenery, costumes and props.Players are level 0, AC 8-10, 2-5 hp, andare typically armed with daggers or peasantweapons. The leading actors could be fight-ers or thieves of up to 5th level; variousweapons, and armor as good as AC 4, couldbe found among the props.

Traveling menageries: These are theforerunners of zoos and circuses. The ani-mals would be transported in wheeledcages, accompanied by 1-2 owners (level 0,AC 10, 2-5 hp, armed with swords or dag-gers), 3-10 carters, 3-10 animal handlers(statistics as bearwards), and 3-8 men-at-arms. Large menageries could be accompa-nied by 2-12 conjurors, jugglers, fire-eaters,

tumblers, and acrobats, so as to make up acircus.

All of the above wayfarers are included inthe accompanying tables, which can be usedwhenever an encounter with men (includingpatrols and characters) is called for by theDMG or FIEND FOLIO® Tome encountertables. Those groups not mentioned in thearticle should be played as outlined in theMonster Manual.

In a well-structured campaign, the com-ings and goings of important personageswho are integral to an adventure plot arepreordained to a large extent. When anencounter with an important personage iscalled for by the encounter tables given withthis article, this could be an opportunity tocall into play an existing noble who isn�tdoing very much at the time. Alternatively,the personage encountered could be �justpassing through,� visiting an existing noble,or the dice roll could be ignored. When theencounter tables are used in areas that arenot carefully structured by the DungeonMaster, as in a campaign based upondungeon-delving, the details and goals ofencountered dignitaries can be tailored tothe situation in hand.

The tables here are by no means exhaus-tive, and refer only to a campaign based onmedieval northern Europe. Various othertypes of wayfarers could be added, andconsiderable changes must be made if theyare to be used in campaigns with otherbackgrounds. In a middle-eastern cam-paign, for example, grand viziers, slavetraders, and troops of exotic dancing girlscould be substituted for some of the abovetypes.

These tables show how the standardencounter tables can be expanded to help aparticular campaign come alive. If this isdone, the background of the campaignbecomes much more real and believable.Chance encounters with many of thesewayfarers can provide entertaining sub-plots to the main adventure, informationmay be gained to help the main adventurealong. Traveling, especially in settled re-gions, becomes a much more interestingoccupation, rather than just a necessaryinterlude between dungeoneering and cityintrigue.

Got a question about an article? Asubject you�d like us to coyer � ornot cover? What do you think of themagazine you�re reading? Drop us aline at �Letters,� P.O. Box 110, LakeGeneva WI 53147. We�ll read everyletter we get, and we�ll select certainletters of general interest for publica-t i o n � m a y b e e v e n y o u r s !

Seeing is believingExamining the three varieties of invisibilityby Geoffrey Meissner

Invisibility is a wonderful thing. It is usedin many adventures and is a basic powerthat many characters depend upon. How-ever, despite how often it is used, it is one ofthe most misunderstood spells in theAD&D® game. This article explores invisi-bility powers in depth.

A look at the invisibility spell as describedin the Players Handbook shows that thespell is an �illusion/phantasm.� This iscontrary to the way it�s understood to work.In most game play, the spell is not treated asan illusion, but rather as something thataffects the physical world. Many referencesin the AD&D game books imply that thespell somehow bends light waves around therecipient, thus rendering him invisible. Thisraises many questions. What causes us tothink of invisibility this way? What is thecorrect way to deal with invisibility? Whatwas originally intended? What implicationsdoes this have for AD&D gaming?

The Players Handbook and the DungeonMasters Guide contain descriptions of manyspells and objects that confer invisibility.They can be divided into three categories.

Physical invisibility is that bestowed byan item or power which causes light wavesto be actually bent around the invisibleobject. In this class we find only dust ofdisappearance.

Mind-control invisibility is a directmind-affecting power. It includes the minorpsionic discipline called invisibility as wellas the druid�s invisibility to animals spell.The cleric spell sanctuary is assumed not toconfer any sort of invisibility as such; ene-mies are assumed to be able to see the clericusing such a spell, but the cleric�s deity (oragent thereof) causes the enemies to believethat the cleric is unimportant or harmless,thus sparing the cleric any attack or atten-tion that might otherwise be directed to-ward him.

Illusionary invisibility is the sort be-stowed by several spells used by magic-usersand illusionists, such as invisibility invisi-bility 10� radius, mass invisibility andimproved invisibility The effects of mostmagical items that confer invisibility, suchas a potion of invisibility or a ring of invisi-bility are also in this category.

Some spells or magical items confer apower similar in some ways to invisibility,such as a cloak of elvenkind or robe ofblending. These powers are closer to achameleon�s powers than to real invisibility,and they will not be considered here. Athief's hiding in shadows skill also falls intothis category, and will not be discussed.

20 JANUARY 1986

Physical invisibilityAs mentioned earlier, there is only one

known example of an item that bestows thispower: dust of disappearance. This magicdust has the power to bend the rays of lightas they pass near it. This causes light not tostrike the object the dust is sprinkled over,rendering it invisible because no light re-flected from it reaches the eyes of the view-ers. This is the only �real� invisibility inthe game, and is also the only power thatcan turn something non-living invisible.The other spells only affect a single livingthing and any possessions being carried.

The Dungeon Masters Guide, p. 143,says that the dust�s effects are not negatedby a normal detect invisibility, but arenegated by dust of appearance. The dusthas an undependable and limited duration(2-20 turns), but while it is in effect, invisi-bility from it is not negated if its subjectmakes an attack.

Apparently, detect invisibility does notwork against dust of disappearance becausethe spell is potent against illusion-typeinvisibility only, acting as a limited detectillusion. The dust causes a physical changein the world, so it cannot be detected as anillusion.

Mind-control invisibilityPsionic invisibility is a power that affects

its victims through direct mind control; inthis sense, it is more of a charm than anillusion. It forces the victim�s mind to disre-gard what his senses tell him is going on,without altering the real environment.Illusions, on the other hand, change thesensory information and not the mind itself.Psionic invisibility is thus more powerfulthan the illusionary spell form, despite itslimitations.

The power is interesting in that invisibil-ity will be conferred only upon the casterhimself, and only be effective against thosepeople or creatures he specifies. Thus, thepower is neither infinite in duration nor all-inclusive in scope. If another enemy walksin the room, the caster may not have theability to extend his invisibility to affect thenewcomer (depending upon how manycreatures he�s already affecting).

This power is so strong that it completelyneutralizes all attempts to see through theinvisibility. Even if the victim decided to trya detection spell, his mind wouldn�t let himbelieve the results. Therefore, detect invisi-bility or dust of appearance will not show itfor what it is.

It must be possible to use a psionic disci-

pline while making physical attacks againstan opponent; otherwise, a power such asbody weaponry would be fairly useless.What the Players Handbook does not sayabout psionic invisibility is what happens ifthe invisible character physically attackssomeone who cannot see him: The victimwill not realize the attacker is present, thusgranting the attacker an enormous advan-tage in any combat situation, especially inthe first round.

An invisible attacker should be allowedone complete surprise attack. The armorclass of the defender should be adjusted todisregard any applicable bonuses for dexter-ity and shield, and in most cases any otherdirectional bonuses (such as for cover). Theattacker can take his time and line up a veryaccurate spell attack, weapon thrust, ormissile shot. The DM may want to grant anextra bonus �to hit� in this case as well (+1to +4, depending on circumstances), sincethe defender has no idea he is about to beattacked.

On all subsequent rounds, the defenderwill have been alerted. However, if themind-control invisibility is still affectinghim, he will not know what is attacking himor where it is. He will try to defend himself,moving his shield toward the direction ofthe last attack, and may possibly try toescape. For subsequent rounds, he stillcannot use his dexterity bonus to AC, buthis shield (if any) should be usable if thesituation-allows. Attacks against the invisi-ble character are made at -4 �to hit,� if theyare possible at all.

Invisibility to animals is classified as atype of alteration magic in the PlayersHandbook. The spell works like a selectivepsionic invisibility It reaches into the mindsof animals and makes the caster totallyunseen to them, just as the psionic powerdoes to characters. The effect is similar eventhough the cause is different (a spell insteadof a psionic discipline), but the spell is quitedifferent in some ways from the psionicpower. The effect of the spell is somewhatweaker than psionic invisibility, since it onlyworks on dumb animals. Like most spells, ithas a finite and fairly limited duration.And, as with all spell-induced forms ofinvisibility, the spell �does not allow attack�(DMG, p. 60); the magic is dispelled if thedruid makes an attack against a creaturethat cannot see him.

Illusionary invisibilityInvisibility spells classified as illusion/

phantasms in the Players Handbook affect

the visual senses of the victims. There is nosaving throw allowed and no chance todisbelieve. However, in something similarto a disbelief roll, there is a chance for high-level and intelligent creatures to overcomethe spell.

There are many inconsistencies sur-rounding illusionary invisibility spells. Onone hand, they are written as illusions; onthe other, they are referred to in ways thatimply that they actually alter the light wavesaround the caster. For example, check thedescription of psionic invisibility in thePlayers Handbook, p. 113. The text saysthat �. . . only a mind bar is able to preventthe power from operating with respect to[the recipient of the mind bar], for thispower affects minds, not light waves orsimilar physical manifestations.� Thisclearly implies that normal invisibility isphysically oriented.

The DMG (p. 59) explains the problemsa caster may have with invisibility. It pointsout that if others deduce that an invisibleperson is in the area, they will take actionsto thwart him. For example: �Think of adoor opening without any visible cause; thiswill cause suspicion in the mind of theviewer.� This is a very strange thing to sayabout an illusion-class spell, as most illu-sions are negated or at least compromisedwhen someone knows what�s going on. Thisalso implies that the power is somethingother than an illusion.

Take a look at the next page (p. 60). Itsays: �Dust of disappearance does notnegate sound or odor either, so it is basicallythe same as an invisibility spell.� This canbe interpreted in several different ways, butit seems to imply that dust of disappearance(a physical invisibility device) is the same asthe illusion-based invisibility spell.

While they do not affect the mind di-rectly, illusions certainly do not affect lightwaves, either. An illusion spell should betreated like a projection screen. The illusionflashes something up on this �screen,?hiding something behind it. The senses ofthe victim register what is seen on thescreen and can�t see what�s beyond it. Notethat invisibility is a visual screen only; noiseand odors are still detected.

If the spell were truly an illusion, then therealization that invisibility was afoot shouldbe enough to dispel the magic, or at leastgreatly reduce its effect on observers. Thisdoes not happen. In addition, illusionsusually do not affect the friends of thecaster. Again, the DMG seems to say theopposite. (See p. 59: �Furthermore, theassociates of the invisible party are not ableto see him or her any better than foes are,so this can cause problems, too.�)

But let�s not get carried away We shouldnot reverse the intent of the spell and call ita physical manifestation; this would justcreate other problems. The fact that thespell turns itself off after an attack is madesuggests that it�s an illusion, and as suchwould have no effect once the observer isunmistakably convinced (by the attack) thatan illusion was present. Changing the invis-

DR A G O N 21

ibility spell is certainly not the answer.Much has been written that seems to pointeither way. If we make any decision, wehave to contradict the written word, some-where. It�s a matter of deciding what makesthe most sense to the game, and trying tofigure out what definition was originallyintended.

Invisibility, as written, is an illusion/phantasm spell, and this is undoubtedlywhat was intended for it. What remains tobe done is to clean up the interpretationsmade with respect to this spell, involvingsome subtle changes in the way in whichmost people play it.

In the next section is a list of questionsabout the illusionary invisibility spell. Noneof these are official game answers; they aremerely suggestions for play of the spell.Following this, two suggestions for newspells are presented. The first is based onphysical invisibility, and the second onmind-control invisibility.

Questions and answerson illusionary invisibility

If my character is invisible, can he seehimself?

Yes. The spell is an illusion which therecipient automatically disbelieves � andso, for that matter, does the caster of thespell when the recipient is some other crea-ture. By the same token, neither the recipi-ent nor the caster will be immediately awareof the fact when the recipient becomesvisible to others. If some viewers have dis-believed and others haven�t, the recipientmight forget who can see him and whocan�t, which could cause problems.

Does all of my character�s personalequipment become invisible with him?

Yes. The illusion would be useless if a suitof clothing were seen walking around withno body inside it. The DM may want tomake a ruling on just how much stuff goesinvisible in this manner; it should not bemore than the character can bear or carry.The best way to handle this is to define howfar the invisibility �screen� extends out-ward from the recipient�s body. Anythingthat sticks out beyond that point is visible.About 2� of space would be a good (perhapsgenerous) ruling on this.

What happens if an invisible personpicks up an object or puts one down?

Since the area of effect of the spell isdefined as �one person,� it is reasonable toassume that the things picked up would bebehind the aura of the spell and wouldbecome invisible. This only works for thosethings that are small enough to fit entirelywithin the prescribed �screen� of invisibil-ity, and which the recipient of the spell isable to lift, assuming he intends to move theobject. If he puts something down, andmoves away from it, it becomes visible.Things don�t become partially invisible; ifan invisible character approaches or touchesa long table, the table remains fully in sight.

Why was no saving throw or chance todisbelieve the spell given in the rules?

The rules provide a chance for certaincharacters and creatures to detect invisiblebeings, which is equivalent to a disbeliefroll. The Detection of Invisibility Table(DMG, p. 60), as given, only applies tobeings of at least 7th level (or 7 hit dice) andat least 17 intelligence. But other factorsbesides level and intelligence could comeinto play; as stated in the note below thetable, �unintelligent creatures with keenhearing or sense of smell� can be granted achance to detect an invisible creature.Building on this, it would not be unreasona-ble to allow certain creatures or characterraces a chance for detection based on somespecial sensory characteristic. For instance,the same �sense� that gives an elf or half-elfan advantage in detecting secret doors couldalso contribute to that character�s ability todetect something invisible. If you agree withthis line of reasoning, you could grantchances to detect/disbelieve for charactersnot accounted for on the table.

Players should speak for their characterswhen they intend to try to detect invisibil-ity; for NPCs, the DM must use judgmentas to when and how often the characterwould intend to try. As demonstrated inexamples within some of the followinganswers, the DM may allow detection at-tempts to be made with varying frequencyand at different chances for success, de-pending on the circumstances.

If a party is absolutely sure that thereis an invisible person in a room, can allthe characters in the party receive achance to detect the invisibility?

A normal chance to detect the illusion ofinvisibility may be granted only to charac-ters who have evidence that an invisibleperson is in their immediate vicinity. If nosuch evidence exists, no roll can be allowed.If the evidence persists � for instance, ifthe breathing of an invisible creature can beheard continually � then the charactersensing the evidence can be granted succes-sive rolls (once per round would not be toooften) until he succeeds in seeing throughthe illusion. If one character detects aninvisible object or creature, he cannot causeothers to see it as well by simply conveyingthe information to them, but this informa-tion would allow a bonus to other charac-ters� attempts to detect it for themselves.

Are members of a PC�s party able to seehim if he goes invisible in front of them?

Technically, the other members of theparty who see the spell being cast are af-fected by the illusion � at least initially �in the same way that anyone else would beaffected. Each of them has to successfullydetect in order to actually be able to see hisinvisible cohort, but the roll for detectionshould be made with a hefty bonus and newrolls (for those who fail) should be awardedfrequently. The odds are that everyone willsee through the illusion fairly quickly. Alter-natively, to save some dice-handling, simply

rule that all other party members have a100% chance to detect because the evidence(they saw the spell take effect on the recipi-ent) is indisputable.

How does dust of appearance workwith respect to the spell invisibility?

According to the DMGuide, the dust willreveal invisibility of all forms except thepsionic version. The dust will insure that acorrect picture of the world is getting to theeyes of the user, and whether that picturewas distorted by illusion or physical bend-ing of light waves is immaterial. This powerof the dust does not affect the mind of theuser, so psionic invisibility is not dispelled.

When an invisible person attacks some-one it cancels his invisibility. However, ifhe is alone with his victim, kills him, andthe next victim doesn�t hear the scuffle,there is no reason that his invisibilityshould be cancelled � right?

Like all illusions, invisibility is dispelledwhen it (the illusion) comes into contactwith an opponent. The phantasmal forcedescription (PH, p. 75) says �The illusionlasts until struck by an opponent,� but thisworks both ways: When the recipient of aninvisibility spell causes damage or takesdamage in a combat situation, the illusion isinstantly negated for all those who actuallysee it dispelled (not just the victim). Obvi-ously, anyone who encounters the formerlyinvisible character later will see him �because he�s not invisible any more. Theduration of the spell is given as �special�not to imply that the magic is permanent inany way, but because the duration of theinvisibility depends on how long it is beforethe invisible character attacks or takes dam-age in combat.

How can the illusion of invisibility bedispelled if not through combat?

The spell will only be negated if the recip-ient or caster of the spell wishes it to be so,or if the recipient is the specific target of asuccessful dispel magic or dispel illusionspell or similar magic.

Are there other actions that reveal theinvisibility?

As pointed out above and mentionedseveral times in the rules, the spell onlyshields the recipient from detection by sight.Sound, odor, or any tracks he may make ashe moves could all give away the presenceof an invisible character to those who sensethis conflicting information and succeed inactually seeing the source of the sound,odor, or whatever. Simply being invisibleisn�t much good when it comes to beingdetected by certain creatures. A dog, or anyother animal with a good sense of smell, willlocate some invisible creatures by odormore easily than any human or demi-human could.

New spellsIf the DM allows new spells to be re-

searched or discovered, here are a couple of

22 JANUARY 1986

ways for magic-users to make use of theother two types of invisibility. Illusionistsshould not be allowed to research or usethese spells, simply because they have noth-ing to do with illusions.

Physical Invisibility (Alteration)

Level: 5Components: V, S, MRange: TouchCasting Time: 4 segmentsDuration: 5 rounds/levelSaving Throw: SpecialArea of Effect: Creature touched

Explanation/Description: This spellcauses the recipient to vanish from sightand not be detectable by normal vision orinfravision. The spell works similarly todust of disappearance, which is described inthe Dungeon Masters Guide. It bends thelight waves in the immediate vicinity of therecipient so that no light from his bodyescapes; therefore, he becomes invisible.The invisible creature is not magicallysilenced with respect to noise, nor are hissmells or tracks masked.

Dust of appearance or a successful casting Explanation/Description: This spell af-of dispel magic will negate this spell. Dispel fects the minds of one character or creatureillusion or detect invisibility will have no per level of the caster (all of which are cho-effect on this spell. True seeing or a similar sen by the caster) within a 4� radius of hispower will allow its caster to see the invisi- location. It causes the caster (and only him)ble person for as long as the true sight is in to become visually undetectable by theeffect. Any character may have a chance to victims. No matter what means are used todetect the invisible object or creature, but if locate him, the minds of the victims will not

All whom the caster intends to affect bythe spell are allowed a saving throw versusspell at -2 (plus any wisdom bonus or pen-alty) to escape the mind control attempt.Dispel magic will negate the spell if success-fully cast against the level of magic at whichthe mind-control invisibility was cast. De-tect charm will pick out those people underthis spell�s effects.

Level: 5Components: V, SRange: 0Casting Time: 4 segmentsDuration: 2 rounds/levelSaving Throw: Neg.Area of Effect: 4� radius of caster

ConclusionsInvisibility is not a single power, but is

rather a set of very different powers withsimilar effects. The distinctions between thethree types are very important for an accu-rate simulation of the magical effects thatoccur, and add depth to the playing of thegame.

Overall, everything is subservient to fun.This look at a very basic AD&D power wasnot meant to complicate the game, but wasan attempt to understand its foundations,and to inject an element of freshness intothe play. The new spells will, I hope,achieve this last goal.

the invisible object moves or is moved,successful detection attempts must be madein each end every round to keep from losingtrack of it again, because physical invisibil-ity is not permanently negated (for thatviewer) by a successful detection attempt.

The spell remains in effect until it ismagically broken or dispelled, or until theduration expires. The recipient of the spellmay cause damage or take damage withoutnegating the magic. As with other types ofinvisibility, attacks against the recipient areat -4 �to hit� in addition to any other bo-nuses or penalties that apply. The materialcomponents of the spell are a prism and asmall mirror.

believe the caster is there. Note that onlycreatures within 4� of the caster are soaffected; the mind control is broken ifmovement takes the caster and viewer morethan 4� away from each other. The castercan attack a character or creature affectedby the spell, and the defender can onlyattempt a futile defense; shield and dexter-ity adjustments are not counted on anyblow. Victims may believe some arcanespirit or other aberration is attacking them.

Mind-Control Invisibility(Enchantment/Charm)

The rest of the PapersCleaning up a few odds and ends about centaurs

Two months ago (DRAGON® issue #103) we presented an articlecalled �The Centaur Papers,� written by two very centaur-orientedpeople from the Great White North, Stephen Inniss and Kelly GreigAdams. As readers will recall, �The Centaur Papers� was a com-posite article, put together from the two individual articles thatStephen and Kelly had written on the topic. We claimed at the timethat �The Centaur Papers� had �virtually everything you couldever want to know about centaurs.�

Well, �virtually� should have been �almost.�Jeannie Whited of Rockville, Md., pointed out that the height of

a horse is measured in �hands,� which indicates the height of thehorse at the withers � at the top of its front shoulders, on the ridgeof its back. One �hand� is equivalent to four inches; there are threehands in a foot just as there are three feet in a yard. For instance, a17-hand-high centaur would be 5� 8� tall at the withers. A centaur�swithers correspond to the point on its back where the human half ofthe body meets the equine half.

The two authors also wrote to us with some additional material.Kelly Adams believes that a weight of one-quarter ton for a centauris rather low, since the average weight for a 14 hh pony is about 700lbs. Most riding horses are about 1000 lbs., and a horse larger than17 hh will weigh 1300 lbs., or more.

Stephen Inniss says that the tables for human heights and weightsmay also be used to generate centaur heights and weights. A centauris 1.2 times as tall from head to hoof as an equivalent human, and is

24 JANUARY 1986

about 6 times as heavy. The height of a centaur at the withers isabout .84 times the height of an equivalent human. To determine theheight and weight of a centaur, roll on the Dungeon Masters Guidetables for height and weight on p. 102 (or use the tables fromStephen�s own article in DRAGON issue #91, �Realistic vital statis-tics.�) For example, a height of 6� and a weight of 175 lbs. is ob-tained. Multiplying these figures by the �centaur factors� yields aheight of 7�2� (6� × 1.2) from hoof to head, or about 15 hands high(6� × .84 × 3) at the withers. The centaur�s weight is 1050 lbs.(175 × 6), which agrees very well with Kelly�s notes above.

Stephen had several other comments. The quantities of food givenin the table on p. 37 of �The Centaur Papers� are consumed on adaily basis. Centaurs would not often eat tough foodstuffs such ashay and straw. Unicorns, like pegasi, are on distant but good termswith centaurs. The starting age for a player-character centaur wouldbe the same as for a human character of the same class. The use of aspear or lance from a centaur�s back would be difficult, but we, theeditors, feel it is still possible (perhaps with penalties �to hit�).Stephen corrects an example given in the article on p. 44: An 8� tallcentaur requires about 12� vertical space for his front hoof attacks.

Stephen has also expanded the Racial Preference Table to includecentaurs. In the listings that follow, the letter before the slash indi-cates the given race�s attitude toward centaurs, and the letter afterthe slash is the centaur�s attitude/reaction toward the given race:Centaur, P/P; Dwarf (any), N/N; Dark elf, H/N; Gray elf, G/G;Valley elf, T/T, Wild elf, N/T; Wood elf, P/P; Gnome (any), N/T;Half-elf, T/T; Halfling (any), N/T, Half-arc, A/H; Human, N/N.

Last but not least, Stephen suggests a revision of the upper levellimits for centaur characters. He pointed out that all other characterclasses had at least one class in which they progressed without limit,and the various other bonuses and penalties of being a centaur tendto cancel out.

We (the editors) prefer the use of the limits given in the article inissue #103, since centaurs are not truly human or demi-human innature and there is no precedent, on that basis, for them being ableto rise to extremely high levels. Nevertheless, Stephen�s table ispresented below, for use by more liberal DMs and their players. It ispatterned after similar tables in Unearthed Arcana, pp. 8-9.

Highest level attainable as:Cler ic Druid* F ighter Ranger

3 5 U 64 61 U 64 72 U 65 93 U 76 114 U 8

U 96

U 106

U 117

8 135 U 158

10 135 U 158

* � Only possible for a centaur having an unmodified charismascore of at least 15 with respect to other centaurs.

In the following notes, �Cha� refers to the centaur�s charismascore with respect to other centaurs.

1: Cha 15 required. 6: Con 19 required.2: Cha 15 required; Cha 16 7: Int 14, Wis 15, and Con

allows 8th level. 19 required; Int 15 and Wis 163: Cha 16 required; Cha 17 allows 12th level; Int 16 + and

allows 10th level. Wis 17 + allows 14th level.4: Cha 17 required; Cha 18 8: Int 17, Wis 18, and Con

allows 12th level. 20 required.5: Cha 19 required.

Abilityscore141516171818/9018/9918/001920

The role of booksFantasy and SF literature of interest to gamersReviews by John C. BunnellDEEP WIZARDRY

Diane DuaneDelacorte 0-385-29373-9 $15.95

All of Diane Duane�s work to date hasdisplayed the twin virtues of unusuallybelievable characterization and fine-tunedbalancing of the plausible with the com-pletely unexpected. Deep Wizardry, how-ever, isn�t just excellent; it�s a truly magicalbook that may very well be the best fantasynovel published in 1985.

It begins as Nita and Kit, first encoun-tered in Duane�s earlier So You Want To BeA Wizard, are enjoying their families�decision to take a vacation on the Atlanticcoast.

Being junior wizards, however, they�reunexpectedly called on to save the life of afellow magic-worker who just happens to bea dolphin, and from there, they are rapidlydrawn into preparations for a crucial magi-cal ritual needed to preserve the ocean�svitality.

The complications that arise along theway are more than merely obstacles to beswept aside. Nita and Kit are both eventu-ally recruited to take part in the ceremony,but the role Nita assumes calls for an unex-pected commitment. The magic that allowsKit to function underwater is not without arisk. And, Nita�s parents are becomingworried about their daughter�s peculiarabsences at odd hours.

Duane handles all this with respect, sym-pathy, and gentle wit, giving the novel alight touch even as she stretches her charac-ters� strength of will to the breaking point.She also sets her tale against a fresh, origi-nal background of underwater culture, andgame masters interested in seagoing sce-narios will find a wealth of fascinating detailabout marine life. Dolphins, whales, and atruly nerve-bending shark are amongDuane�s characters, and each one is distinc-tive and memorable.

Bookstores and libraries will likely placeDeep Wizardry in the YOUNG ADULT sec-tion, and its predecessor may be found withthe children�s books. Both, of course, arewell written and enjoyable, regardless of thereader�s age. Deep Wizardry is, though,that rarest kind of sequel: a book that sur-passes the previous tale in both its level ofcraftsmanship and the sheer power of thestory itself.

It�s difficult to imagine how DianeDuane�s next novel could be better than thisone, but both she and her growing group ofreaders should have a wonderful time work-ing out possibilities.

26 JANUARY 1986

LIAVEKWill Shetterly and Emma Bull, eds.

Ace 0-441-48180-9 $2.95Yet another shared-world anthology has

reached the bookshelves. This one is set inthe �city of luck and wizardry� named inthe title. However, Liavek isn�t just a collec-tion of tales riding on the reputation ofThieves� World. Both the eleven tales andthe editing in Liavek are uniformly excel-lent � not unexpected, given the trackrecords of many of the people involved.

An appendix reveals that Liavek is thecreation of the Scribblies, a Minneapoliswriters� group that includes co-editors Shet-terly and Bull, successful fantasists PatriciaWrede and Steven Brust, and talentednewcomer Pamela Dean. All these havestories in the collection, and other contribu-tors include such authors as Gene Wolfe,Jane Yolen, and Barry Longyear.

Not surprisingly, such talent makes for adiverse group of stories. Yolen�s is a propertavern yarn, Bull�s concerns a multi-talented merchant, Wolfe�s involves sea-farers and religious fanatics, and Wrede�s isa tale of a chipmunk god and related magic.Megan Lindholm has contributed adevious-minded wizard�s story, and KaraDalkey provides a pleasantly convolutedmystery.

The real surprise is the beautifully intri-cate web that holds all eleven tales in aremarkably consistent framework. Liavek isan entirely credible, well-designed worldwhere political intrigue and complicatedmagic are thoroughly intertwined. Majorcharacters wander in and out of each other�sadventures almost as if the book were anovel, and events in the early stories some-times have effects on those in later adven-tures. All this is clearly the result of amonumental editing job from Shetterly andBull � or possibly an indication of just howwell the Scribblies and their colleagues worktogether. In either case, the end product islittle short of amazing.

As an additional plus, the system ofmagic that operates in Liavek is exception-ally well developed. Several stories turn onquirks of its application, and another ap-pendix provides a useful summary of theconcept. Though the idea of personalized�luck� is very different from the approachto magic found in the AD&D® game sys-tem, it�s a premise that seems very adapt-able to a gaming environment � despitethe limits the system places on magicaldevices.

According to the anthology�s final page,at least one more volume of stories willcontinue the saga of Liavek. If that booksustains the high quality so evident in thisfirst collection, the Thieves� World serieswill have a serious challenger on its handsin the shared-world category.

MUSTAPHA AND HIS WISE DOGEsther M. Friesner

Avon 0-380-89676-1 $2.95The novel begins with a familiar scene:

an old storyteller sits in a corner of a mag-nificent bazaar and regales his listeners witha tale of magic, adventure, and mysteriousquests. It�s not long, however, before Mus-tapha and His Wise Dog reveals itself as ahighly literate Arabian Nights yam toldwith subtlety and style.

The storyteller�s tale also is familiar atfirst. Mustapha is the fifteenth of fifteensons, but his wealthy merchant father stillloves him best. That insult isn�t the onlyone for his brothers, though, for upon hisfather�s death, Mustapha inherits more thana pittance and gains a chance to escape hisbrothers� intrigues. However, before long,Mustapha is alone in the world with neitherfriends nor money.

So it seems, at least, until a chance en-counter in a tavern finds Mustapha the new

of speech and shapechanging. After settlingfor a time into the lives of traveling per-formers, the two eventually go in search of asorcerer who can remove Elcoloq�s power totransform so that he won�t be tempted tosteal for his master�s sake. In turn, thesorcerer�s advice sends them into the dan-gerous lands of the Older Empire on a questto find the deathless Queen Nahrit, whoalone may be able to lift the spell.

All this is by no means as straightforwardas it appears, and secrets are layered withinsecrets throughout the tale. Friesner�s prosedeftly captures the easy lilt of the ArabianNights stories which it emulates, as well astheir aura of politely worded wit. Only thenovel�s chapter titles provide a contempo-rary touch, and even those are both amus-ing and somehow relevant.

There are occasional hints of a magicmore powerful in scope than even QueenNahrit knows, but whether they foreshadowa companion book or are merely examplesof Friesner�s thoroughness in shaping herworld is difficult to tell. Whichever is true,Mustapha and His Wise Dog is an exampleof an exceptionally well-created world. Thecharacters are lifelike and engaging, civili-zation and untracked wastes are neatlybalanced, and very little is certain exceptthat the expected will rarely occur. EvenScheherezade, Arabia�s original storyteller,could hardly have asked for much morethan that.

CHILDREN OF THE DRAGONRose Estes

Random House 0-394-86433-6 $2.95Why do novels that seem to be aimed

toward children keep popping up in this

28 JANUARY 1986

column? In general, there are two answers.One is unabashedly commercial: since itoften deserves the chance to reach a wideraudience, original paperback fantasywouldn�t sell well if it were marketed onlyto children. That wider audience is thesecond answer: like many so-called chil-dren�s novels, some fantasy works areworthwhile entertainment for readers of allages. Children of the Dragon is one suchnovel: not only will it please children, but itwill also be fascinating to those readers whoare role-players.Author Rose Estes has previously writtenumber of ENDLESS QUEST® books forTSR � a credential which implies moreskill at handling complicated plots than itdoes at weaving believable, three-dimensional characters. It�s therefore awelcome surprise to find that Estes�s firstfull-length novel is notable for its thoughtfulcharacterizations and its unassuming, yetdetailed, background. Daniel, Lydia, andMax � the three children of the man re-sponsible for taking care of Gallardia�sancient guardian dragon � are drawn witha light but sure-handed touch, as is thescheming smith Iestyn, who wants controlof the dragon�s soon-to-be-hatched off-spring. And the sleepy realm of Gallardiaitself has been developed with a startlingdegree of realism that adds immediacy tothe tale.

The plot, by contrast, is fairly straightfor-ward, following the children as they fleeIestyn�s efforts to seize power and they findthemselves lost in an underground laby-rinth. There are several dangerous andpuzzling encounters along the way, and thenovel closes with a not-quite-surprisingtwist and hints of possible sequels.

Two things, however, lift Children of theDragon above the merely average. One isthe generous sprinkling of dragonlore Esteshas provided � one idea is borrowed po-litely from Anne McCaffrey, but there isstill enough detail and insight to givegamers a better perspective on dragoncharacter. The other is the sympathetic,evenhanded treatment Estes gives Iestyn,which makes the smith a far more interest-ing villain than is usual in a book aimed atchildren.

The novel is also surprisingly well-packaged for its kind. Both the cover andpaper are of better than usual stock, andCarl Lundren�s illustrations are clear anddetailed, if a bit oddly flat. All in all, RoseEstes has given readers much more in thebook than might have been expected.

A GATHERING OF GARGOYLESMeredith Ann Pierce

Tor 0-812-54902-3 $2.95It�s both exciting and irritating to learn

that Meredith Ann Pierce�s A Gathering ofGargoyles is the second book in a trilogythat began with The Darkangel. Pierce isstill mistress of a fascinating style and amany-faceted tale rooted in old-folk tradi-tions, but catering these gifts to the service

of the overly abused technique of the three-book sequence is a trifle disappointing.

As The Darkangel ended, Aeriel ap-peared to have rescued the mortal princeIrrylath from the spells of the White Witchand solved the ancient riddle of Ravenna,last of the Ancients. Now, though, Aeriellearns that, though Irrylath is no longer avampyre, the White Witch still commandshis dreams. Furthermore, there is more toRavenna�s riddling prophecy than wasrevealed previously, and Aeriel must goquesting again in order to fulfill this secondpart of her destiny.

Pierce sets all this up with a very formalstructure which makes the first few chapters

rather slow going. Once the quest is prop-erly begun, however, her storytelling skillsreturn in full force, and the pace picks up.Aeriel quickly begins to accumulate gar-goyles (giving the book�s title a trace ofdouble meaning) and acquires human com-panions as well. This latter fact broadensthe focus of Pierce�s tale, giving it a slightlydifferent texture than its predecessor.

Although the gargoyles of this book arenot quite as distinctive as was TheDarkangel�s vampyre, they are still muchmore than standard-issue monsters. Physi-cally, they do resemble the grinning Gothicstatues for which the monsters are named,but their attitude toward Aeriel shows aloyalty and affection quite unlike any thatmight logically be expected from a gargoyle.Unfortunately, a catch in the novel�s plot islikely to make this quality difficult to trans-late into gaming situations: Dungeon Mas-ter�s have problems with Pierce�s approach,and others do not easily come to mind.

The preceding comments give a ratherdim vision of A Gathering of Gargoyles thatisn�t entirely justified. Pierce�s narrativevoice is as interesting as ever, and while her

riddles are far from insoluble, they leadAeriel into adventures that will generallyhold readers attentive. But while the novelis definitely well above average as far as thefantasy genre is concerned, its reliance onthe trilogy format seriously diminishes thequality of Pierce�s achievement. Somewriters work best with continuing charactersand settings, but Meredith Ann Piercewould do better to concentrate on creatingindividual wonders.

MASTERS OF GLASSM. Coleman Easton

Questar/Popular Library0-445-20064-2 $2.95

Typical fantasy novels often involvefantastic amounts of magic and oftenpresent situations in which vast kingdomsand entire worlds hang in the balance.Masters of Glass represents the oppositeextreme: two villages are confronted withseparate problems, and the futures of bothrest on the relatively minor powers ofcarefully-colored glass talismans.

M. Coleman Easton has postulated anintriguing form of magic in the glass amu-lets, which allow the possessor to control aspecific creature or type of creature. To beeffective, the tint of the glass must exactlymatch that of the intended subject�s eyes, soglassmasters (also called Vigens) are re-quired to have superb color sense as well asthe usual skills of glassmaking. They are

also miners of a sort, constantly seeking thenatural pigments needed to tint their talis-mans � which are normally used byhunters and warriors to aid in killing gameanimals and assorted predators.

Unfortunately, as Masters of Glass opens,Vigens seem to be in short supply. Worsestill, the vaguely demonic Lame Ones havebeen sighted in the wilds around the town ofDarst, and the Vigen of Darst is withoutboth an apprentice and the rare pigmentcalled astablak needed to create talismanseffective against Lame Ones.

Solving the former problem eventuallyrequires the Vigen to take on a femaleapprentice, going against age-old tradition.Then the search for astablak leads to anobscure mountain village where a renegadeVigen has used his talents to enslave hisfellow citizens, binding their wills withtalismans the color of human eyes.

Easton has given his characters reasona-bly good treatment in this tale, and the plotis logically crafted. But somehow the narra-tive has a perpetually awkward sound to it,as if Easton was not quite sure whether thisstory was worth telling. The result is a bookthat feels rather too much like the first draftof a novel; even so, it presents enough goodideas to make it unusually interesting.Gamers who are curious about Masters ofGlass will have to decide for themselveswhether the quality of the concept is worththe effort it would take to translate it intogame application.

Recurring Roles

Because there are both time and spacerestraints on this column, not all books canbe reviewed in depth. However, to keepreaders updated on new installments of abook series previously reviewed, a section ofcapsule comments seemed appropriate.

David Bischoff, regrettably, isn�t as suc-cessful with Wraith Board (Signet 0-451-13669-1 $2.95), the second book in theGaming Magi sequence. It�s even clearerthis time out that he�s saving the explana-tions for future books, but neither the hu-mor nor the rapidly disintegrating universe� which now includes, among other things,modern-day New York � seem as cleverlydesigned as they did in the previous book.One wonders if Bischoff has simply set hisword processor on automatic pilot.

For sheer inventiveness, especially in aseries format, the latest novel from Eliza-beth Scarborough gets far better marks.The Christening Quest (Bantam 0-553-25122-8 $2.95) starts in the familiar landsof Argonia, but quickly follows a stolenbaby to the less-traveled realms of Mirage-nia and Gorequartz. The plot twists fasterthan it ever has, and Scarborough�s livelyhumor is still fresh and enjoyable. Her trickof following successive generations of char-acters rather than using the same heroesover and over keeps the books from becom-ing repetitive, and this one includes a genu-ine surprise ending for good measure.

D R A G O N 2 9

The well-equipped victimA “treasure type” system for 0-level encountersby Ed Greenwood

In the perilous worlds in which mostAD&D® game campaigns are set, playercharacters often encounter intelligent oppo-nents who are (through the work of someother force) or soon become (at the hands ofthe party) helpless to defend themselves.When such victims are bestial monsters,treasure is expected when player charactersgo looking for plunder — but what if thevictims are 0-level humans, the countlessmerchants, craftsmen, beggars, farmers,and other innocent bystanders who fill citiesand villages in the fantasy world? What dothey have “in their pocketses”?

Here are tables to aid the harried DMwhen player characters insist on rifling thepockets of drunks in alleyways, casualties intavern brawls, innocent or not-so-innocenttargets of hold person spells, corpses onbattlefields, and the like.

First, decide which of these categoriesin question:describes the victim(s)

MerchantCraftsmanLaborerMercenaryWarriorFarmerErrand-runnerKnaveNobleBeggar

Each of these categories is briefly de-scribed hereafter, and for each the combina-tion of tables to roll on is given. Unlessspecific instructions are given to the con-trary, DMs should roll twice or more oneach table that applies, or choose specificitems from the tables (in which case thetables actually serve as lists).

Merchant: This category includes allindependent operators engaged in trade andcommerce, including moneylenders andmoneychangers, ferrymen, and tavernmas-ters. It does not include craftsmen (seebelow). Most merchants are literate. Rollon tables B, H, J, K, and I. If traveling,roll also on D and F.

Craftsman: Craftsmen and women arethose who earn a living by skilled handi-work of some sort, independently or in theservice of another. This-includes-smiths,coopers, harness-makers, tanners, potters,carpenters, masons, wood carvers, andwagon-makers. Most craftsmen are literateor semi-literate. Roll on tables A, E, G, J,and K. If traveling, roll also on D and F.

Laborer: This category takes in allpresently-employed individuals who earn aliving by the strength of their bodies, per-

30 JANUARY 1986

forming some unskilled or routine task notrequiring complex training. This includesminers, farmhands, dock men, and all otherloaders and unloaders of goods, and thosewho dig graves, pits, trenches, and the like.Most laborers are illiterate. Roll on tablesA, E, and I. If traveling, roll also on tablesD, G, and K.

Mercenary: This category includes allhireswords, those independents who fightfor the pay of any master rather than in thecontinuous service of only one. Mercenariesare generally better fighters than warriors(see below) but are almost always morepoorly equipped. Roll on tables A, C, D,G, and K. If traveling, roll also on tables Fand H. This category includes caravanguards; caravan masters are usually consid-ered as merchants (see above) for belong-ings and warriors (see below) for armor andweaponry.

Warrior: This category includes bothmen-at-arms and guards, sworn to theservice of an individual, family, or guild.The bodyguards of nobles and other impor-tant personages fall into this category. Rollon tables B, C, D, G, and K. If travelingroll also in F and I.

Farmer: This category includes all whoindependently (or, for a fee, working theland of another absent individual) earn theirliving by raising produce on the land.Farmhands are considered laborers (seeabove); their masters are farmers. Thiscategory includes independent drovers andherdsmen. Farmers tend to be middle-agedand in prime physical condition. Roll ontables A, D, and J, and as follows: if travel-ing to market, roll on tables F, G, and K. Ifat home, roll on tables E and I.

Errand-Runner: This category includesapprentices and assistants to all the abovecategories; they are generally younger andless well-trained than their masters/employers. Roll on tables A (or B if applica-ble), D, E, G, J, and K. If at home, roll ontables E and I.

Knave: This catch-all category includesjobless persons: hangers-on, roustabouts,street youths, and 0-level (NPC) thieves,the “rabble” of any settlement. Roll ontables A, D, K, and (if applicable) G. Forpilgrims, roll also on table H.

Noble: This category includes gentry,envoys and dignitaries of churches, guilds,and state, and visiting VIPs. The actualwealth, dress, or even presence of this cate-gory at all will vary according to your worldand the specific location; it is suggested thatthe DM make deliberate selections from

tables B, D, F, H, K, and perhaps I and J,rather than rolling randomly.

Beggar: This category includes diseased(e.g., with leprosy) and disabled persons,those forced to beg. (Able-bodied, shambeggars should be considered as knaves.)Roll on tables A, D, G, and K (also, per-haps, on table I).

Table A: Everyday garmentsRoll once on each subtable. For well-to-

do individuals, roll twice on subtables 1 and3. For beggars and knaves, roll on subtable2 and add +2 to all rolls (consider results of9 or 10 as 8).

Subtable A-11. Cloak w/hood2. Robe (or long skirt)3. Tunic & hose4. Tunic & breeches5. Surcoat or overtunic6. Smock

Subtable A-21. High, hard boots2. Low, hard shoes3. High, soft boots4. Low, soft shoes5. Slippers6. Clogs7 or 8. Cloth-wraps (strips of cloth tied

and twisted around calves and feet

Subtable A-31. Belt, leather2. Cap, felt3. Cap, leather4. Hat, woven straw5. Purse on straps6. Satchel, leather, w/drawstrings7. Pouch, leather, w/wooden toggle

fastening8. Girdle, broad (fitted cummerbund

belt)9. Apron

10. Headscarf

Table B: Fine garmentsRoll on all applicable subtables.

Subtable B-1: Male garb1. Doublet & hose (fitted)2. Cotehardie (w/short, flared sleeves),

worn over long-sleeved jupon,and hose

3. Short gown with voluminous bagpipesleeves, and hose

4. Tunic and breeches

5. Doublet and hose, with leggings6. Pantaloons7. Surcoat (sleeveless and long, with

matching shield-cover, if shieldis borne)

8. Gorget (throat-plate) of silver set withgems

9. Chaperon (hood with dangling end towrap around face or neck)

10. Roundlet (large, frilled cloth hat,worn over cap)

11. Coif (bonnet with chin strap)12. Hood (covers neck, shoulders, and

head; cutout for face)13. Hat (beaver hat, conical but rounded,

with turned-up brim)14. Cloak, dagged (ragged edges, cut in

repeating patterns) with tasselsor cords

15. Belt, jeweled, with three strands andfiligreed buckle; one strand is longand dangles down the front

16. Harness (shoulder to waist ornamen-tal strap with bells strung on it)

17. Houppelarde (male version; surcoatwith bell-shaped sleeves), worn overlong-sleeved doublet

18. Robes; two or three worn one overthe other, outermost with ornamen-tal sleeves (dangling empty)

19. Breeches, cross-gartered, with jerkin20. Sash and breeches, with bell-sleeved

shirt

Subtable B-2: Male footwear1. Walking boots (heavy leather, with

heels) or buskins2. Shoes, pointed and bejeweled3. Shoes with very long points, turned

up, with knee-to-point chains4. Bucket-topped boots, ornamented5. Riding boots, thigh-high and of soft

leather6. Slippers, embroidered

Subtable B-3: Female garb1. Cote/cotta/cottahardie (fitted tunic),

worn over skirts2. Two-tunic dress (of contrasting colors,

with embroidered necks, sleeves,and hems)

3. Houppelarde (large, trailing skirt),worn with kirtle (a silken under-gown)

4. Surcoat (overgown) with tippets(strips of fur or cloth hanging fromelbows), worn over chemise

5. Gown (stola), worn with fine linenunder-trousers, and mantle

6. Embroidered, close-cut mock versionof man�s clothing

Subtable B-3a: AccessoriesWhenever subtable 3 is used, roll or

select 2 or 3 items from following list:1. Shawl2. Gloves3. Scarf4. Hair-ribbon5. Frontlet; richly embroidered bodice6. Girdle, jeweled and studded with

gold

7. Walking-stick, with silver bird,flower, or heraldic device on top

8. Mantel (fitted cloak) with jeweledbreast clasp

9. Sleeves (separate from dress);bejeweled, puffed, and slashed

10. Purse (amoniere) with needlework,attached to girdle

11. Garter or anklet, bejeweled12. Bracelet; gold filigree with gems13. Earrings; gold with gems14. Necklace; gold chain with gems

and ornaments of precious metals15. Ring(s), gold and/or silver, set with

gems16. Tussoire (clasp and chain which

hangs from girdle to hold oneside of long gown up, for walkingwith ease)

17. Mask or face-veil18. Pendant; large gem on chain19. Pectoral; necklace with plates of

ivory, silver, polished abalone,or obsidian, joined with filigreewire, and trimmed with pendant-cut gems

20. Eyepatch, bejeweled and with trimof tiny teardrop rock crystal gems

Subtable B-4: Female footwear1. Sandals2. Slippers3. Pattens (ornamental wooden clogs,

worn with slippers or boots)4. Boots

Subtable B-5: Female headgear1. Circlet, gold2. Hennin (long, conical steeple hat with

lappets, dangling head ribbon, andveil, drapery hanging from pointof hennin)

3. Wimple and veil4. Gable headpiece (brocade, gem-

encrusted cap with gable-like, flaringside points)

5. Caul (hair net with diadem and silkdraperies)

6. Crispine (gold-thread circular hairnet)

7. Gorget (linen-wrapped around headand neck, to frame face)

8. Escoffion (two-horned headdresswith veil)

9. Diadem; jeweled head-band10. Hood (of parchment, stiffened and

painted, adorned with cloth or silk)11. Liripipe (later form: throat scarf

covering chin to shoulders, like anall-around stand-up collar)

12. Bonnet, linen, pleated and embroi-dered, with tassels

13. Fur cap14. Tiara, of wire filigree studded with

gems (e.g., rose quartz, emerald,or carbuncle)

15. Headscarf, of green, flame-orange,white, or red silk

16. Soft hat, trimmed with gems, fur, andfeathers

17. Cap-of-coins, strung on wire

DR A G O N 31

18. Bucket-hat of black velvet, with trail-ing ribbons

19. Cockscomb of wire filigree trimmedwith feathers

20. Hawk-head mask of felt painted andtrimmed with feathers, gems foreyes, etc., to resemble bird perchedon head of wearer (bill forming prowof brim), plumage shielding headand tail trailing out behind;various other birds possible

Subtable B-6: Possible fabrics forfine garments

Cloth of gold Used by royalty or titlednobles only

Sable fur Used by royalty or titlednobles only

Camlet Made from camel�s hair;heavy and expensive

Cloth of silverSilk, sheer Gauzy, fine, translucentSamite Thick silkMorey Stiff, water-marked silkSatin Sheen-finished, fine silkVelvet Silk cut so as to have pileBrocade Silk woven in contrasting

colors and texturesDamask Linen or cotton, with

pattern in weaveLinenTisshew Gauzy linen weaveWool Heavy-work; warm,

mainly used for out-ergarments

Keyrse Very fine wool, like a veilMusterdevelys Greyish, soft wool

Table C: Harness (body armor)Roll once on subtable 1 and twice on

subtable 2. Warriors roll three times onsubtable 2, and re-roll any results below 56on subtable 1.

Subtable C-101-20 Leather jerkin (only)21-35 Leather armor36-44 Padded armor45-55 Studded leather56-60 Ring mail61-70 Scale mail

71-83 Chain mail84-89 Splint mail90-94 Banded mail95-00 Plate mail

Subtable C-201-33 High, hard boots, with armored

insteps34-50 Skullcap or sallet (metal cap)51-58 Helm with visor59-65 Gauntlets66-89 Shield90-00 Buckler

Table D: Personal belongingsAlways a leather backpack, canvas

dunny-bag, muslin sack, leather pouch andsatchel, or the like, plus:

01-25 Skin of water, and food (use tableof Food & Drink in DMG,Appendix I: Dungeon Dressing)

26-35 Skin of wine and food (see above)36-40 Earthen jug of milk, wrapped in

skin, tied in leather thong41 Ink, vial42 Parchment, 1-6 scrips43-44 Quills (for pens)45-47 Pipe and pouch of tobacco48-50 Tapers, 1-651-53 Candlestick, traveler�s54-64 Candles, 1-3, tallow65-75 Tinder box or flint & steel76-78 Drinking jack (hollow-horn

drinking cup)79-81 Mirror (small metal hand-held

type) and comb82-87 Bowl, wooden88-92 Lamp93-96 Lamp oil in flask97 Symbol, holy, wooden (iron or

silver possible), or �luckykeepsake�

98 Lice, body; see DMG, �ParasiticInfestation,� p. 13

99 Disease-carrying germs (seeDMG, pp. 13-14)

00 Family treasure: valuable piece ofjewelry, minor magic item (suchas Quaal�s feather token),treasure map, or the like,well hidden

32 JANUARY 1986

Table E: ToolsPick deliberately for craftsmen. Other-

wise, roll three times on the table, re-rollingwhen the result is inappropriate.

01-1 1 Mallet, wooden1

12-18 Chisel(s), (1-4) with canvassatchel5

19-23 Sickle, draw-knife, or coracle5

24-27 Hammer1

28-33 Iron nails, bag of 20-5034-37 Spike(s), iron, large, 1-125

38-40 Wedges, iron, 1-341-45 Chain, 1-3, each 12� in length (in

leather pack)46-48 Tongs, iron2

49 Anvil iron50 Pincers, iron2

51 Saw (differing sizes, from jeweler�sto cross-cut 2-man wood-cutter�s)2

52-57 Bar, iron4

58-62 Shovel3

63-64 Whetstone65 Oil, non-flammable lubricant, in

glass or clay vial, wrapped inleather

66-70 Rags, 1-671-75 Sack, heavy canvas (1-2)76-77 Sack, muslin (1-4)78-82 Tarpaulin, canvas83 Twine, ball (50� -90�)84 Scissors, iron (rarely, of gold or

silver, or plated)85 Buckle(s) or clasp(s) (1-8)86-87 Leather thongs, 1-1288-89 Leather straps90 Awl or punch, iron, with wooden

head5

91 Ladder, wooden, 12�-20� in length92-95 Poles, 10� long96-99 Measuring cord (knotted at regu-

lar intervals), usually 12 �-20�in length

00 Chalk, 1-4 pieces

Many tools can be used as weapons.Tools in the above table marked with num-bers will do damage equivalent to standardweapon types, as follows: 1 = hammer;2 = club; 3 = quarter staff; 4 = morningstar; 5 = dart.

Table F: Traveling goods and gearFollow the four steps below in the order

given. Items considered cargo (materialscarried for trade) should be determineddeliberately by the DM, and are not givenhere; Table J gives a random selection.

1. Choose whether victim is afoot (orafloat) and alone, or using beasts of burden:mules, horses, oxen, camels, or others (e.g.,yaks, dogs, elephants, pack lizards).

2. Choose conveyance (or none): wagon,litter (covered cargo or passenger cubicle onpoles, borne on shoulders of 2 or 4 men orbeasts), travois (two poles with cargo lashedto them, and between them � poles andground form triangular shape � draggedbehind men or beasts of burden), sledges orsleighs (dragged behind teams of men orbeasts; best in snow).

D R A G O N 3 3

3. Tack if beasts used (select): saddles,saddle blankets, saddle bags, bridles, nose-bags (feedbags), leading reins, whips, hob-bles, harness, barding (beast armor). Ifbeasts of burden are not used, tack willinclude sacks, ropes, and tumplines (leatherstraps, circular, go around heavy load andforehead of carrier, load carried on back).

4. Accoutrements (select or roll):01-20 Tent(s)21-26 Stakes, wooden

46

27-35

Chopping block47-55 Torches, 1-20

Rope, 1-4, 50 50'-long

56-75 Water, in 2-12 costrels (small

coils

leather �barrels� with shoul-der straps and central neck),or 1-6 wooden barrels (inwagon)

36 Pennant(s)37-45 Bundle(s) of faggots (firewood)

76-80 Maps (trade routes, surround-ing lands); usually scratchedor burned on leather hides,rolled and stored in leatherbags

81-86 Poles (for tents, probing riversfor ford-footing, erectingfences and tripods)

87-89 Snares, wire, and spring-jaws(for game and againstintruders)

90-94 Stew cauldrons(s), iron (1-2)95-97 Lamp oil in small wooden

barrel(s), 1-2

98-99 Skillet(s), cast iron00 Spare wheel(s) for wagons;

spare poles for litters andtravois; spare runners forsledges; spare shoes forhorses, etc.

Table G: Carried coinageEveryday monies, carried in pouch,

money belt, or purse.

27-36 6 2cp, sp37-44

01-04

15 4 1

6 cp

cp, sp, ep45-51 2 3 2cp, sp, ep52-58 4 6 1

05-18

cp, sp, gp59-65

3 cp, 1 sp

1 3 5cp, sp, ep66-71 2 4 2cp, sp, gp

19-26

72-77

11 cp, 1 sp

1 4 1sp, ep, gp78-82 8cp, 2sp, 4ep, 3gp83-86 3 6 4 cp, sp, ep, 3 gp87-90 4 1 4sp, ep, gp91-93 3 5sp, gp94-96 3 3 6sp, ep, gp97-98 1 2 4cp, sp, ep, 9 ep99-00 3 11sp, gp

Table H: WealthChoose from list according to situation.

Roll randomly if large caravan, or familyhoard, or thieves� spoils/mercenaries� plun-der. Wealth can be the life savings of a

traveler or displaced person, cash carried bya person often engaged in commerce, oritems worn or carried by rich persons.

01-20 Bars, silver (3-60), each of 25 gpvalue

21-30 Bars, gold (4-48), each of 100 gpvalue

31-45 Chest (iron-bound) holding 250 gp46-55 Chest (iron) holding 500 gp56-65 Chest holding 500 sp66-70 Coffer holding 50 pp

(value 50 gp each) or at DM�soption, another gem type(bloodstones, zircons, etc.)

76-86 Ring, gold, worked (value 3 gp)87-90 Ring, gold, set with a ruby (value

1002 gp)

71-75

91 Ring, gold, set with a band of four.

Casket of delicately carved ivory

emeralds (value 4003 gp)92 Plates (2-12), gold, inlaid with

lapis lazuli, ivory, or turquoise(value 25-100 gp each)

93

(value 20 gp) holding 100 cabo-

Sack of 300 ep94 Coffer of mixed jewelry (all pieces

wrapped in velvet or silk), e.g.,necklace of strung pink pearls,value 8000 gp; silver gorget

chon-cut star rose quartz stones

inset with a spiral of rubies,value 12,000 gp; coronet of goldinlaid with diamonds, value50,000 gp; pectoral of silverw/moonstones, value 1000 gp.

34 JANUARY 1986

95-96 Religious statuettes, icons, and/or

97

98

99

00

censers, bowls, candelabra, holysymbols (usually of gold en-crusted with precious metalsand inlaid with precious stones;values vary, but usually 500 gpand up for each piece)

Furs and skins, 1-20, rare andexotic (e.g., bugbear, jaguar,lammasu, owlbear, black bear,giant lynx, dire wolf, etc.)

Chains, gold filigree, delicate(value 25-100 gp). Gold chainsvary in length, are usuallyjoined to form a circlet, belt,headband and veil, or mantle,but are too soft to constrict anybut the smallest of creatures,hold up any weight, or fastenagainst any force

Rare spices in gold, silver, andcarved jade vials, 1-8 in num-ber, value 1-20 gp each (a vialof saffron is worth 40 gp)

Perfumes and scarce substances(e.g., ambergris) in silver andglass vials, 1-20 in number,value 2 sp-5 gp each

Table I: MiscellaneousRoll once or twice per person, or (prefer-

ably) choose deliberately from list. Personalitems of value (preceded by asterisks) willtypically be hidden (in lockets, boot heels,sewn in belt, cloak-hem, or hat).

01-05 Splint and/or sling06-20 Rags/bandages/towels21 Harp22-24 Flute (�tin whistle�)25-28 Drum or tambourine29-36 Dice, pair (d6)37-43 *Pretty pebbles, 1-3, keepsakes (at

DM�s option, some may beornamental or semi-precious)

44-45 Ball (rubber or leather stuffed withdried seeds) and jacks (brass,3-14 in number)

46-55 Playing cards56 *Magic: spell scroll, information

(item�s command word, being�strue name, wizard�s name andlocation of abode, etc.), orminor magical item

Label your letterThe address of DRAGON® Magazineis P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI53147, and that�s all you need tomake sure your letter gets here. Butyou can help us serve you morequickly by adding a line at the top ofthe address to tell us what depart-ment should receive your letter orpackage. Call it a �manuscript sub-mission,� �cartoon submission,��query letter,� or any other shortphrase that tells us what�s inside, andit�ll get exactly where it�s supposedto go.

57 *Map showing way to treasurehoard, wizard�s keep, spritesettlement, hidden pass, magi-cal gates, and the like

58-60 Thread or wool, 1-6 balls61-68 Pets (chipmunks, songbirds,

snakes, ferrets, cats, dogs,monkeys, lizards, even beetlespossible)

69-70 Doll or toy (ball, carved woodensoldiers or horses, etc.)

71-77 Basket, straw or cane78-80 Walking stick/cane/crutch81-84 Soap (in clay or metal pot)85-86 Mask (ornamental, perhaps

adorned with gems or filigree,feathers, and fur; or, for con-cealment, made of black silkor tanned leather)

87-88 Toothpicks, wooden (for nobles,gold or electrum with jeweledheads)

89-91 Tea, coffee, cocoa, chicory, orequivalent brewing-drink, dryingredients, in earthen pot

92 *Book or ledger (perhaps magical)93-94 *Legal deed, proclamation, heral-

dic grant-of-arms, (royal) com-mission, writ, or pass

95 Corpse (in shroud, casket, or bag)or memorial stone (borne inwagon, sledge, travois, or litter)

96 Cage (iron, wrought) for pets,captured animals, or prisoners(various sizes possible)

97-98 Needles (and/or pins), 1-8 innumber, of bone, brass, iron,or wood

99-00 *Key(s), single one on girdle-thong or neck chain, or ringholding 1-20

Table J: Goods and merchandiseThese are items destined for delivery to

customers, recent purchases, etc.; in gen-eral, the sorts of things not actually de-signed to be used by the bearer at the timehe or she becomes indisposed. Monetaryamounts, where given, represent the marketvalue of one such item, portion, etc.;amounts in parentheses are approximations.

01-05 Glass jug(s), goblet(s), and/orbowl(s); 3 cp

06-15 Tobacco or snuff; 1 cp16-20 Pomander (ball) or perfume (vial)

or incense stick(s); 1 gp21-23 Brass censer or lamp; 5 sp24-25 Vellum, 1-4 hides stretched on

wood frames and scraped; 1 gp26-28 Inks (all colors possible), 1-8 glass

vials, stoppered with corks andsealed with wax; 6 sp for sepia,up to 2 gp/vial for gold, redis next most valuable

29-32 Clothing, fine (see table A)33-34 Birds, pets, or live food creatures,

in cages35-40 Copperware (bowls, trays, ewers,

and pots); (5 gp)41-43 Silver trays, cups, and pipkin

(small dipping cup); (15 gp)

44-45 Carved wooden stools; 2 cp46 Statuette(s), carved ivory, jade, or

obsidian; 20-200 gp47-53 Livestock (use table under

�Equipping the Character� inPlayers Handbook)

54-55 Parchment, 1 ream (of 50 pages,in canvas bag, bound betweentwo boards); 2 gp

56-62 Wine, 3 gills (or �noggins�), glassbottles each held in wickercarrier; 1 cp/gill to 2 gp/gill(varies with quality)

63-66 Knives, of iron with woodenhandles; 5 sp to 1 gp

67-73 Candles, in bundles of 12 (scentedand colored wax with un-trimmed wicks); 1 sp/candle

74-77 Harness (for horse, or other crea-ture at DM�s option); 12 sp

78-82 Skewers, tongs, and pokers,wrought iron; 1-6 sp

83-86 Herbs: parsley, sage, garlic, rose-mary, thyme, marjoram, mint,oregano, savory, etc. (sprigor leaves); 4 sp to 2 gp/sprig(rare spices ten to twentytimes as much; see Table H)

87-90 Lock, brass, with hasp (fist-sized);both larger and smaller sizesmore expensive; usually comeswith 2 keys); 5 gp

91-93 Hinges, wrought iron (large, doorsize); 1 gp each (2 needed formost doors)

94-95 Spectacles, magnifying-glass orpince-nez (ground glass in brasswire frame; gold or silverplated more expensive); 3 gp

96-98 Shears, brass; 1 gp99-00 Tiles, clay glazed and painted with

colored designs; 2 cp each,or 1 cp each for plain tiles

Table K: WeaponryMercenaries and warriors roll three times

on subtable 2; all others roll twice on subt-able 1. Re-roll if results are inappropriate(e.g., horseman�s weapons for individual onfoot, or duplications).

Subtable K-101-10 Bo stick11-24 Bow with quiver of 2-24 arrows25-38 Club39-53 Dagger54-66 Hand axe67-70 Javelin71-79 Sling w/pouch of 1-20 stones80-93 Staff, quarter94-00 Staff, short

Subtable K-201-40 Dagger41-46 Flail, horseman�s47-55 Glaive56-64 Lance (light horse) or hammer65-75 Mace (footman�s or horseman�s)76-84 Sword, long85-88 Sword, short89-91 Sword, bastard92-00 Spear

D R A G O N 3 5

A world of differenceThe �parallel� concept expands gaming horizonsby Fraser Sherman

The danger of player boredom is one toconcern every DM. No matter how goodyour dungeon is, there can come a pointwhen your players find it uncomfortablyfamiliar. In previous issues, DRAGON®Magazine has offered many answers to theproblem, from new treasures and monstersto tips for better refereeing. This articleoffers one more answer � the use inAD&D® gaming of parallel worlds. A shorthop to a strange land can do wonders inremoving campaign ennui.

The parallel-worlds concept is a classicidea in science-fiction and fantasy literature.It states that an infinite number of universesare in existence, independent of each other,separated by extradimensional barriers oftime and space. In fantasy, it has been thebasis for DeCamp and Pratt�s Harold Sheabooks, Randall Garrett�s Lord Darcy sto-ries, and various novels by Poul Andersonand Michael Moorcock. (This is by nomeans a complete list.) The official AD&Dmaterial has very little to say about theconcept (except for the superb use of paral-lel worlds in the Queen of the DemonwebPits module), but they can add a lot to thegame. By leaving the worlds of �normal�AD&D gaming behind, the DM�s optionsare expanded � new environments, newcreatures, new forms of spell-casting, andother surprises can be introduced to con-found and intrigue your players.

Types of parallel worldsTo begin with, where do these alternate

worlds tit in the orthodox AD&D universe?The answer, according to Legends & Lore,is that the Prime Material Plane encom-passes �the real world and all of its paral-lels.� I don�t think it violates the spirit ofthe game, however, to suggest that theremay be other worlds existing outside thePrime Material Plane on other, differentlevels � Alternate Material Planes, let�ssay. The difference could be that the powersof the gods and the laws of nature will bemore or less consistent from world to worldwithin a given Material Plane, but therecould be great differences between thatMaterial Plane and any of its Alternates.The might of the gods themselves couldchange (more on this later) and �reality�might be very different from ordinaryAD&D worlds. While this is not a licensefor completely overthrowing the game, itcan justify some of the variant world-concepts discussed further on.

Whichever plane your parallel worldinhabits, there still remains the task of

36 JANUARY 1986

building it and making it distinct and differ-ent from the one used in the current cam-paign. The world may be physically similarto your old one, with the difference lying inthe monsters or magic it contains, or it mayhave physical conditions unlike the onesyour characters are accustomed to seeing.

For example, instead of a round parallelworld, how about a flat one? I use a flatearth for my campaign, because of my owndesire to try something different. The mostobvious change, from the viewpoint ofsomeone from a round world, is that thehorizon extends to infinity; given an unob-structed view, it�s possible to see muchfurther than on our own planet. Becausethere is no earth-curvature, everything ismore or less the same distance from the sun(which, in this universe, goes around theearth). No polar or tropical regions exist,and there are no changes in seasons � aperpetual temperate spring reigns through-out the world. Bear in mind, however, thatspring in the American Midwest can in-clude anything from summer heat waves towinter blizzards; the weather isn�t boring.Differences in climate are caused entirely byfeatures of the land � the center section of my northern continent, for example, isbounded by mountains on both sides, shut-ting off the rain and creating a desert.

All this, in turn, creates changes in hu-man life. Consider farming: Instead ofhaving separate times of the year for grow-ing and harvesting, farmers can plant andreap year-round. Because of the erraticweather, however, it�s more important forthe plants to be tough and durable than big� in other words, they can grow moreplants, but smaller ones. Because there areno seasons, the only measure for the calen-dar is the moon, which waxes and waneslike our own (but in relation to the power ofthe moon goddess, not the angle of the sun�slight). The moon�s cycle of exactly twenty-eight days makes one four-week month;fourteen months make a lesser year and twosuch years � twenty-eight months � makea Great Year (all of which makes it a heck ofa lot easier to keep track of days and dates).The result is a distinctly different world,with the differences evolving logically fromthe basic decision to make it flat.

Some people may be bothered by the factthat a flat earth isn�t scientifically feasible(there seem to be a lot of arguments alongthose grounds in �Forum� sometimes).Personally, I don�t think feasibility mattersin the slightest. In fantasy, as Fritz Leiberonce put it, it�s not necessary to be reality-

consistent, only self-consistent. In otherwords, it doesn�t matter if your new worldis �impossible,� in the sense that it contra-dicts the laws of nature, provided that itsown laws don�t contradict each other.

Another possible shape for a new worldwould be an elliptical one. Because theatmosphere of any world, no matter whatshape, will take on spherical form, the endsof the ellipse, poking out of the sphere, willhave very little atmosphere � or possiblynone at all, if the ellipse is extreme enough.Either way, survival at the ends would bedifficult or impossible without magicalprotection. It�s also possible the worldwould wobble on its axis as it rotates, sothat the length of the days and seasonswould vary wildly � some years might haveno winter, while other years could havetriple-length ones.

What if a world had two suns? The planetcould orbit one of the pair or both of themat once, but physics dictates that it cannotorbit one and then the other. Then again, aflat earth doesn�t fit in with physics, either.In an AD&D campaign, it�s possible thatthe local deities provided some powerfulartifact to protect a sun-changing worldfrom harm as it went through its climaticalterations. If the local evil arch-mage werethreatening to destroy the artifact, thatwould certainly be a challenge for the playercharacters to deal with.

A world could be shaped like Burroughs�sPellucidar, located on the inside of theEarth, so that the horizon curves up in thedistance. One could pick an even strangershape, like Larry Niven�s sun-circlingRingworld, or the ziggurat-shaped planet inPhilip Jose Farmer�s The Maker of Uni-verses. Even on a spherical world, therecould be unexpected differences � every-thing could be a hundred times its normalsize, for example, so that the charactersappeared no bigger than rats. Suppose thesurface of the planet was airless, confiningall life to caverns and tunnels below theground, or it was unstable, with volcanoesand earthquakes a part of daily life. What ofa planet covered by an ocean and smallislands, like LeGuin�s Earthsea? I thinkyou�ve got the picture.

Populating a parallel worldOnce you�ve settled on the world you

want, the next step is to populate it. A newworld allows you to introduce an assortmentof variant monsters to surprise your players.One simple but effective step is to reversealignments, presenting players with evil

D R A G O N 3 7

unicorns and treants, and good fire giantsand werewolves. Monster powers should beadjusted accordingly � an evil unicorn�shorn being poisonous rather than a poisonantidote, for example. A second possibilitywould be to give more kinds of magicalpowers to creatures, creating gnoll illusion-ists and giant magic-users. One could goeven further and allow one or more of thedemi-human or humanoid races to have thesame range of classes and-lack of level re-strictions as humans � halfling arch-mageswould be pretty surprising, while a few half-orc assassin/magic-users could be bothsurprising and nasty.

For an even more alien world, this can betaken even further. What if the race domi-nating the new world � in the sense ofhaving no class or level restrictions � wereneither human, humanoid, or demi-human? What if evolution had turned outdifferently and the ruling race had evolvedfrom dogs, cats, birds, fish, insects, lizards,or spiders? What would their society belike? How would they react to humans?Would elves and dwarves exist, or wouldthey be replaced, too? For example, cat-people could fill the place of humanity,while bird-, lizard-, and dog-people fill theroles of races with limited classes and levels.The AD&D game already has intelligentforms of most kinds of animals, so it�s notthat great a jump for them to reach full�human� status.

A different physical world will also pro-duce different inhabitants. If your world isan Earthsea-style world, adapt land-goingmonsters for the ocean; the two MonsterManuals have already presented sea-goingforms of elves, ogres, gargoyles, and ghouls,and you can add to the list. Could there besea-dwarves or sea-gnomes to match sea-elves? How about aquatic sphinxes, mino-taurs, medusas, or puddings? Whateveryour new earth is like, see if there are waysold monsters could adapt to it.

Once your world is built and populated,you can civilize its inhabitants. Even if thepeople of your new realm are humans anddemi-humans, you can still give the worldspecial qualities through their cultures. Forexample, what if the world is in a moreadvanced era than the usual setting? Itwould be a novel experience for most play-ers to find their characters in societies likeElizabethan or Victorian England, orFrance during the revolution. Coping withnew customs and a different class structurewould be challenging. (The Victorian classsystem was, if anything, harsher than thatof medieval times, while the French Revolu-tion sought to dispense with the aristocracycompletely.)

Both technology and magic in these newworlds may have advanced beyond thelevels that player characters are used toseeing. (The Lord Darcy stories mentionedearlier give an excellent example of incorpo-rating magic into a quasi-Victorian setting.)Being on another world, one doesn�t haveto worry that these more advanced societieswill overrun or change the regular cam-

38 JANUARY 1986

paign � although an alternate world�sinvasion of the PCs� home dimension couldbe the source of many adventures.

A culture could be developed that has noconnection at all with Earth history. Sup-pose that the new world had once reached apeak in science and technology and thendeteriorated; its �magicians� now combinereal magic with advanced science. (TheThundarr TV cartoon series used this con-cept extensively.) This would allow use ofmany new forms of techno-magic, such asrobots, lasers, holograms, and so on.

Unique cultural developments are greatfun to tinker with. As an example from myown campaign, there�s the Dragonworld.This is a parallel world where dragonkindrealized from the moment of humanity�screation that men (and, to a lesser extent,demi-humans and humanoids) had thepotential to challenge or even destroy them.Rather than make attempts to destroy theseraces, the dragons opted to take the fledg-ling races under their wing (figurativelyspeaking), becoming not their foes but theirteachers and champions.

On Dragonworld, dragons taught witch-doctors and magic-users their spells andoffered to protect tribes and towns againstthe rest of the world � in return, of course,for food, shelter, and lots of treasure. Today,every village, town, and tribe has its owndragon, of variable age, power (the strongerthe city, the older and more powerful thedragon), and appropriate alignment (brassdragons with elves or chaotic good humans,black dragons with chaotic evil men orgnolls). The dragons receive food and trea-sure from their allies and, in return, protectthem in time of war. (If it looks like its mealticket is going to be wiped out, a dragonwill do whatever it takes to protect thegravy train.) Not everyone believes thisbenefits humans as much as it does dragons� but no one wants to be without a dragonprotector, nonetheless.

All this has made Dragonworld differentfrom my primary campaign world. Wheremy regular game world has only a fewvarieties of dragons (mostly those from theMonster Manual), Dragonworld has themall. All the official species and many of theunofficial ones (like the neutral crystallinedragons, the yellow, orange, and purpledragons, and the landragons fromDRAGON issues #37, #74, and #65, re-spectively) exist, for every species has agood chance to survive and breed. Simi-larly, while most of the humanoid specieshave been wiped out on my earth (onlygoblins and gnolls exist in large numbers),almost all races survive on Dragonworldunder their lizardly protectors. Where theregular campaign world has been domi-nated by a succession of empires, Dra-gonworld has become the province ofinnumerable independent city-states andtribes; conquest by the sword has, of neces-sity, been superseded by political and eco-nomic pressure and Byzantine intrigue.

In some ways, even the basic outlook isdifferent. A human from my main world

would be totally confounded by the affectionmost Dragonworlders have for dragons,while a Dragonworlder would be equallybewildered by the idea of subduing adragon, let alone selling one. It�s in theseways that parallel worlds can be built anddifferentiated.

Magical variationsEven after your world is built, populated,

and civilized, still more can be done tomake it unusual. One way to give yourplayers some new experiences is to intro-duce variations in the way magic works.

Suppose that boundaries between yournew world and the Positive and NegativeMaterial Planes are weaker or stronger thanin most worlds. This could affect theamount of energy drawn from the planes byspells and magic items, so that they wouldonly have one-half or one-third of theirnormal power (where the barriers werestronger) or be increased to double or tripleforce (if weaker barriers existed). Withlessened magic, PCs would find adventur-ing far more difficult (and more challeng-ing); enhanced magic could be a lot of funfor a short while, like giving players high-level characters to run for one adventure.Of course, if they were going to be in anenhanced-magic world for some time, gamebalance might dictate pitting them againstequally enhanced opponents � like double-strength ogre magi.

A second possibility is that power fromthe energy planes seeps constantly into thenew world (instead of being drawn thereonly by spells). As a side effect, the nativescould have built up �immunity� to themagical energy � in other words, even theweakest of creatures have developed somedegree of magic resistance.

It�s also possible that a different worldwill have new, different spells. In the�Earthsea� world described earlier, druidspell lists might be expanded to includepredict tide, summon current, and call sea-being. Magic-users and clerics would alsohave new spells, along the lines of createwhirlpool, tidal wave, or neutralize drown-ing, and might have spells such as waterwalking or water breathing at 1st or 2ndlevel. If the DM allows PCs to learn alower-level version of a regular spell likewater breathing, it might be wise to reducethe power and duration to make it fit a 1st-level listing.

Another possibility is that the magic-usersin your new world are not generalists, asthey are in regular AD&D gaming, butspecialists. In this case, fire magicians, icemagicians, healers, shapechangers, and soon make their appearance, perhaps groupedinto colleges or guilds like the spell-castersof the DRAGONQUEST� game. This canbe fixed by regrouping AD&D spells alongguild lines; thus, a fire magician wouldknow not only burning hands, fire shield,and fireball, but non-magic-user spells likeproduce flame, flame scimitar, fire strike,and fire resistance, with most of them avail-able at lower levels than a character would

get them (for example, getting a 1d6, small-area fireball at first level).

Consider the confusion when a wizardlike that meets an orthodox AD&D en-chanter. To the fire-wizard, the latter willseem like some super-spell-caster, capable ofusing spells from every college; a conven-tional magic-user, on the other hand, willassume someone who flings around walls offire and flame strikes is a much higher-levelcharacter than he actually is. This couldlead to some intriguing situations.

It�s also possible to make some simplealterations in the spells themselves. Underthe natural laws of the new universe, cast-ing time might be altered, different materialcomponents required, or spell durationprolonged or shortened. Perhaps there�s aparticular material component essential toall magic-user spells, the way druids aredependent on mistletoe. Changes like thesecould bewilder and surprise the spell-castersin your party, in some cases making themvirtually powerless until they learn how thenew rules work.

Suppose there is one kind of magic �enchantment/charm spells, illusions, poly-morph spells, or weather-control magic �that simply doesn�t work in the new world.Perhaps, at some time in the long-gonepast, a foolishly arrogant magic-user at-tempted to charm one of the gods; as aresult, the outraged deity declared the useof such spells forbidden for all time. If acharacter casts one, it might simply fail, thecaster might fall under the spell himself, orsome other penalty you deem appropriatemight take effect. Nor need the classifica-tion of taboo spells be as simple as �charmspells� or �illusions�; it can be based onany rationale you wish. For example, thegods could ban any spell of magic item thatdoes damage outside the range of hand-to-hand combat. In order to attack someone,you have to get close enough to him to riskbeing hurt yourself.

Finally, what about a world where every-one � not just clerics and magic-users �can cast spells. Perhaps everyone is capableof learning magic-user cantrips (which aresome of the most useful spells in non-combat situations) or casting at least oneparticular useful spell � cure light woundsor enchanted weapon being common knowl-edge, for instance. Alternatively, everyonemight possess one unique spell of his own,like the inhabitants of Piers Anthony�sXanth � one has magic missile, anothercan haste himself, while a third can purifyfood and drink. In either case, near-universal use of magic could make a fightwith even zero-level characters hazardous.It would not be advisable to let player char-acters learn these special spells. At the veryleast, the DM should have PCs forget themwhen they return to their own world.

Variant psionicsHaving touched on magic, let�s consider

a closely allied topic � psionics. Even ifyour regular game doesn�t use them, creat-ing parallel worlds that do could prove

40 JANUARY 1986

intriguing for your players. For example,some of the ideas given above for magiccould be reused for psionics � everyonenative to that world could have one randompsionic ability, or they could all share onecommon power, like ESP, teleportation, ortelepathy. Then again, perhaps only onebranch of humanity possesses specialpowers � a race possessing innate massdomination, for instance, could becomemaster of its world.

A new world might also affect the playercharacters, perhaps stimulating any latentpsionic talents they possessed. A characterwho is potentially psionic (having charisma,intelligence, or wisdom above 16) will be-come psionic while on this world; but with-out being in control or even aware of hispowers at first. Awareness might only comewhen some condition is fulfilled; after a setperiod of time, a developing talent mightstart to function but randomly so, or therecould be a percentile chance of activating atalent during moments of intense stress.The latter would make the PCs� first battlepretty bizarre � imagine trying to fightwhile talents like reduction, dimension door,or etherealness were activating randomly!Needless to say, game balance usually dic-tates that the PCs lose these powers on theirreturn home.

The social implications of psionics shouldalso be kept in mind. How would a societyof telepaths react to a party of nontelepathiccharacters? Would they mock them? Treatthem as little more than cattle? Subjectthem to �treatment� for repairing whatthey assume are damaged telepathic facul-ties? (What effects that could have would beanyone�s guess.) Legality might be anotherimportant factor; a world where psionics arecommonplace may have firm laws aboutwhat is and is not permissible (no readingminds without a warrant, no taking oversomeone else�s mind, etc.). Violating theserules would bring a great deal of trouble tothe PCs � and this would probably applyto spells like charm person and ESP, too.

Borrowed game worldsThese suggestions cover some of the

possibilities for creating an original parallelworld of your own. But there is another waybesides building your own to provide yourplayers with new and different earths, andthat is to �borrow� your new world fromsomebody else.

One means of doing this is to use anothergaming system as the basis for the alternateworld. The DMC discusses this on pp. 112-114, working out the possibilities and detailsfor sending AD&D characters into aGAMMA WORLD® or BOOT HILL®game. The appeal of this approach is natu-ral � the laws of nature and much of thebackground for the new world are alreadyworked out for you, yet your PCs will stillbe thrust into a-totally different settingoffering a variety of new adventures.

There�s no need to stop where the DMGdoes � you can use just about any gamingsystem if you�ve a mind to. How about

setting adventurers loose in the RoaringTwenties of the GANGBUSTERS� game?Why not have them join forces with theagents and spies of the TOP SECRET®game? The heroes and criminals of FGU�sVILLAINS & VIGILANTES� game?(Perhaps some super-criminal is recruitingevil magic-users for a sinister plan, drivingthe heroes to seek the assistance of theplayer characters.) One could also put theminto another magic-based game system, likethat of the DRAGONQUEST� game orthe RUNEQUEST® game.

Whichever system you pick, using it willrequire the same sort of work the DMG didfor the GAMMA WORLD and BOOTHILL games. If the new game uses a differ-ent set of character abilities, one will haveto generate the statistics that the charactersdon�t have. If the range of stats is different(5-25 for normal humans, for instance,instead of 3-18), the equivalent in theAD&D system has to be calculated. Inaddition, one has to answer a dozen otherquestions. How do you adapt characters toa different initiative system? How do specialrules covering fatigue or critical hits applyto the PCs? What are the effects of newweapons or powers, such as machine-gunsor the V&V absorption ability, on AD&Dcharacters? If characters from other gamesand worlds pass into an AD&D universe, allof the same questions must be asked inreverse.

Borrowed fiction worldsAn alternative to borrowing an estab-

lished gaming system is to borrow an estab-lished fictional system. Players who readfantasy are bound to have favorite charac-ters, be they Fafhrd, John Carter, orConan; think of the pleasure your playerscan find in visiting their favorite heroes intheir native worlds. For my taste, it�s bestthat they be in their native worlds. SeeingElric without Melnibone or the Mouserwithout Nehwon just wouldn�t seem right;their worlds are part of their charm. Ratherthan establishing these heroes in one�s ownworld, where they can never really fit in,one can use a parallel world system to let hisplayers meet whom they wish, going toCovenant�s Land or Amethyst�s Gemworldwith no trouble.

Even more than an ordinary game, how-ever, one using an established fantasy re-quires preparation. To begin with, do youknow the mythos you�re using? It might befun to take your players� characters to Mid-dle Earth, but it could be disastrous if theyall know Tolkien better than you; the oddsare they�ll catch every error you make inhandling their favorite work and screamindignantly at all of them, which is hardlyconducive to an enjoyable evening. Onemust also not only be familiar with thepersonalities and histories of the charactersfrom the book but must translate theirpowers and abilities into AD&D terms �what level magic-user is Glinda the Good,for instance? There are many resources tohelp out here � Legends & Lore and many

D R A G O N 4 1

articles in DRAGON Magazine have givenstats, powers, levels, and descriptions formany fictional and legendary heroes.

Then too, how much change are youwilling for the PCs to bring to the estab-lished course of events in the fiction-world�ssaga? If you have them enter Elric�s worldduring the events of Elric of Melnibone, forexample, suppose they revise the entireElric canon by killing Yrkoon? If you�re notready for that (and I can vouch from asimilar experience that it can be extremelyunsettling), it might be better to involvethem in a minor adventure that won�t affectthe major hero�s destiny.

[AD&D game adventures are availablefor Conan�s Hyboria (modules CB1 andCB2) and Fafnrd�s Nehwon (Lankhmar�:City of Adventure). Chaosium�s Thieves�World game setting described the famed cityof Sanctuary from the anthology series inAD&D terms as well. � Editor]

Character problemsWhether one uses an established alternate

world or an original one, and whateversurprises the world contains, the same PCswill visit it. Some player character classesare going to have problems no matter whichworld they go to. Of them all, clerics will bethe hardest hit, for they must deal with thefact that residents of other worlds and Alter-nate Planes may not worship the same gods.

This is entirely understandable (with aninfinite number of worlds, even the most

energetic deities can�t proselytize them all),but it still gives clerics a problem. Whenthey enter a parallel world, it�s entirelypossible that no one there has even heard oftheir gods. The native deities will probablywant to keep it that way; who needs thecompetition? If clerics of the Greek godswere to try preaching their creed on a worldruled by the Celtic deities, they wouldprobably be ridiculed (�Zeus? Hephaestus?Where�d you make up those names?�) andwould certainly run into heavy oppositionfrom the established churches. At best,they�d simply be forbidden to preach; atworst, they�d be outlawed, condemned asheretics, hunted by the church, and possiblythreatened with divine wrath as well.

It�s also unpleasantly feasible that onsome worlds the clerics will find theirpowers diminished. According to GaryGygax (in an article in DRAGON issue#97), the powers of the gods depend on thenumber of their worshipers on the PrimeMaterial Plane; a deity without such wor-shipers �is consigned to operations on someother plane of existence, without the meansto touch upon the Prime Material.� Logi-cally, this should also apply to AlternateMaterial Planes � if a god has no wor-shipers there, he has no powers. Thus, if acleric arrives on a world in such a plane, hisgod would be almost completely unable toaid him and � as happens on the planes ofHell or the Abyss, where clerics are simi-larly cut off � the cleric would be unable to

recover any spells above 2nd level, sinceanything higher draws upon the divinepower. Needless to say, this could prove adire situation.

Another possible problem (on a world inany plane) is that the ruling deities areactive enemies of the cleric�s god. Imaginethe position of a good priest, for instance,on a world where daemons and devils werethe greatest powers, or the danger to apriestess of Athena on a world where herarch-enemy Ares was the dominant deity.Clerics could wind up making some uncon-ventional alliances � a lawful neutral clericmight join forces with devils or rakshasa inorder to break the grip of demonkind on aworld where those chaotic beings held sway.A cleric�s life definitely won�t be easy, but itwon�t be dull, either.

The other classes with problems will bethose with limited membership at highlevels � assassins, druids, and monks.There is only one 10th-level monk in acampaign area, for example, so if a playertakes his own Master of the North Windinto another world, he may soon be taggedas an impostor or a fraud.

Maintaining the balanceNo matter what you have planned in

your new world, it�s important not to over-look game balance. With parallel worlds sofull of special surprises, there�s always therisk the PCs will come into possession of

(Turn to page 55)

42 JANUARY 1986

BETRAYED!Intrigue and adventure for 4-8 player characters

Designed by Jim Bengtson

This AD&D® adventure is designed for agroup of 4-8 characters of levels 3-5. Partieshaving lower-level members should havemore adventurers than upper-level parties.The group should include a ranger and atleast one cleric or druid.

Players� backgroundYou are in the city of Gurdikar, at the

southern tip of the Palim Mountains. Situ-ated on the trade road between the dwarvencity of Galantor and the gnome kingdom ofOparan, the free city of Gurdikar is gov-erned by the powerful Council of Mer-chants.

After a week of enjoying the city�s plea-sures (and emptying your money pouches),your party is approached by a man whointroduces himself as Eskan Colnet. He tellsyou that he needs the aid of a group ofbrave and honest adventurers, and youagree to hear his story.

�First, I must caution you to tell no onewhat I tell you now,� he says. �There arethose in Gurdikar who would kill to stopyou from aiding me. I am brother to KallanColnet, master of the House of Colnet. Weare a relatively small merchant house, en-gaged in the spice trade, but thanks to somegood business deals we are becoming quitesuccessful.

�Recently, though, our shipments ofspice have been stolen with alarming regu-larity. Our caravans are found, burned andshattered, with the guards slain and thespice gone. This brings me to my currentproblem, which concerns my nephew, Bran-nod Colnet.

�Three weeks ago, Brannod went on acamping trip up into the mountains tocelebrate a reunion, of sorts, with his friendVasil Volenta, of the House of Volenta. TheHouse of Colnet and the House of Volentahave had good relations for many years,though things have cooled between us forbusiness reasons. Brannod and Vasil havebeen friends since childhood, though they,too, have not been very close lately. WhenVasil contacted Brannod and asked him tospend a few days in his company, as in theold days, Brannod was pleased to accept.

�But Vasil Volenta returned alone a fewdays later, bruised and battered. He told usthat a rockslide had buried Brannod and hisescort, killing them all. He alone escaped,because he had been riding out ahead of thegroup. He led us to the spot and showed usthe remains of the escort, buried under tonsof rock. Looters had stripped the area of

44 JANUARY 1986

any useful or valuable items. Wild animalshad apparently been at the remains; thebodies that could be identified were allescorts from the camping group, but Bran-nod�s body was not found.

�We resigned ourselves to our loss andbegan mourning when, a week later, wereceived a note, by courier, from a memberof Brannod�s escort � still alive! He was ata small village to the north. He claimed thatthe group had been ambushed by orcs, andthat Vasil was responsible. The orcs seemedto know which among the group was Bran-nod, and captured him after a brief fight.This man escaped by feigning death whenhe was injured-and then crawling into somenearby bushes. After the surviving guards-men were herded away, boulders werehurled down upon the caravan to make itappear that the group was hit by a land-slide. The guardsman said he saw a manstanding at the top of the hill from whichthe boulders were thrown, but the man wasnot a giant. Perhaps he had the strength ofa giant.

�The orcs led their captives east throughthe valley. The guardsman�s wounds werenot serious, as it turned out; a broken anklewas the worst of his problems. He was ableto find a pack horse that escaped the land-slide, and he made his way southwest to thenearest village, where he received help.

�My brother and I are convinced of thisman�s -honesty, but we need more than theword of a simple mercenary before accusingthe House of Volenta of being connectedwith the raid on Brannod�s party. I wantyou to go into the mountains and find evi-dence of Vasil�s treachery, and to see ifBrannod yet lives. If you are successful, mybrother and I will richly reward you.�

Specifically, Eskan offers the party a maceof disruption, a rope of climbing, and a ringof warmth as rewards. However, these itemscannot be received before the mission iscompleted, under any circumstances. Bran-nod must be returned (or his remainsbrought back) along with his killers � alive,if at all possible � before the party canclaim the rewards. (If the PCs bring backextra prisoners, they may be entitled to anadditional reward.)

If the PCs accept Eskan�s offer, he givesthem a map of the Palim Mountains (thePlayers� Map; see page 53) marking thelocation of valleys, villages, and forts, andshowing where the ambush occurred. Theyalso receive a pouch containing 100 gp foroutfitting expenses.

Notes to the DMBrannod Colnet is still alive, the captive

of a firbolg giant in the pay of the House ofVolenta. This giant is also responsible forthe stolen spice shipments that have plaguedthe House of Colnet. The giant often main-tains his diminutive form to further theimpression that he is a normal human withabnormal strength. Though he is quitepowerful, a determined and clever party oflow-level characters should be able to takeon him and his allies and win � though thegoing will certainly be rough.

This adventure takes place in the PalimMountains, which may be located on theDM�s campaign maps (and renamed) ifused as part of an ongoing campaign. Thesemountains are thickly forested with mixeddeciduous and coniferous trees. Because ofthe very rough terrain, characters are onlyable to move 1½ miles (3 hexes on thelarge-scale map) per hour through themountains. This roughly corresponds to thefigures listed for �very rugged terrain� onthe outdoor movement tables in the DMG,p. 58. Occasionally, characters may find apath zigzagging across the face of a moun-tainside (such as near encounter area 1l),but travel on such a path does not makemovement easier: The only way to movefaster than 3 hexes per hour is to stay in thevalleys (see below). The party has 8 hoursof daylight by which to travel, plus an hourof partial darkness at dawn and anotherhour at dusk.

inBoth random and set encounters appearthis part of the Palim Mountains. Some

of the encounters are dangerous, while somemay be very helpful to the party. Some,such as the werewolf (encounter area 11)and the giant (encounter area 1), requirecareful handling.

Valley encountersTravel through the valleys is at the rate of

2 miles (4 hexes) per hour. Encounters inthe valleys differ from those in the moun-tains around them. Check for valley en-counters using the table below, rolling formorning, night, and pre-dawn times.

Dice Encounter01-30 No encounter31-40 5-10 wolves (HD 2 + 2, AC 7, MV

18�, #AT 1, DAM 2-5)41-60* 2-5 hunters from the nearest village;

1st-level fighters, AC 10, MV 12�,armed with spears and short bows

61-74* Patrol from the nearest fort; ten 1st-level fighters, AC 7 (leather andshield), MV 12�, armed with longswords and spears; and, one 3rd-level fighter as leader, AC 7 (leatherand shield), MV 9�, armed withlong sword and 2 daggers

75-90 1-2 poisonous snakes (HD 2 + 1, AC6, MV 15�, #AT 1, DAM 1 pluspoison for 3-12)

91-00 2-5 giant ticks (HD 3, AC 3, MV3�, #AT 1, DAM 1-4 plus blooddrain of 1-6 hp/round)

* � For night encounters, a die roll of41-74 indicates 3-6 orcs from Ga-dor�s Hall (see encounter area 1,room 16).

Mountain encountersIf the player characters leave the valleys,

the encounters they have will change,though most are non-aggressive. Check thefollowing table for mountain encounters atmorning, night, and pre-dawn times.

Dice Encounter01-10 1-2 eagles, flying over adjacent hex

(60%) or same hex (40%) (HD1+3, AC 6, MV 1�/30�, #ATT 3,DAM 1-2/1-2/1-2)

11-25 1-4 giant ants (workers), foraging5-20� away from party (HD 2, AC3, MV 18�, #ATT 1, DAM 1-6)

26-35 1-2 falcons, flying over adjacent hex(60%) or same hex (40%) (HD l-l,AC 5, MV 1�/36�, #ATT 3, DAM1/1/1)

36-45 1 ram, 4-16� away (HD 2, AC 6,MV 15�, #ATT 1, DAM 1-2 pluscharge damage, if any)

46-60 2-8 huge ravens, flying over adja-cent hex (60%) or same hex (40%)(HD 1-1, AC 6, MV 1�/27�, #ATT1, DAM 1-2 plus eye attack)

61-65 1 skunk, 2-8� away (HD ¼, AC 8,MV 12�, #ATT 1, DAM 1 plusmusk squirt)

66-00 No encounter

If a ranger searches for tracks, he willfind only signs of small game unless within2 hexes (1 mile) of a set encounter, in whichcase he may find signs of that encounter. Ifa speak with animals spell is used on localwildlife, the party will receive only veryvague information on nearby encounters.No animal knows of the basilisk (those thatdid are now stone statues), and most ani-mals know of a �nice man� (the hermit)who lives around here. All animals dislikethe brutal orcs.

Villages and fortsThe villages located around the perimeter

of the Palim Mountains are small, usuallyconsisting of no more than 10-30 peasantfamilies each. The residents know next tonothing of the mountains, other than that itis dangerous to go wandering about there.

The surviving guardsman is at the village

marked on the Players� Map. If the playercharacters seek him out, he will repeat whathe told Eskan in the note, with the followingadditional details.

�The man who buried the escort withboulders had a long black beard and carrieda two-handed sword. He dressed in brownclothing. Vasil Volenta seemed very friendlywith him, calling him something thatsounded like �Bator.� �

If questioned further, the guardsman willadmit that he did not see the man actuallythrow the boulders. The man walked intoview moments after the last boulder crasheddown upon the remains of the escort. Vasiland the man then shouted to each other andparted, the orcs and their captives leavingwith the strong man.

The guardsman�s broken ankle preventshim from accompanying the party. Besides,he wishes to return to Gurdikar after a fewmore days of rest and recuperation.

The forts are the bases for patrols ofprovincial troops, which go out regularlyinto the Palim Mountains. Log palisadesaround the forts provide protection fromwild animals, but they would quickly fallbefore siege equipment. The population ofeach keep consists of a 40-man garrison ofO-level fighters, who are commanded by a5th-level fighter assisted by two 3rd-levelfighters.

Both keeps have trading posts, where PCscan stock up on most common items foundin the Players Handbook (at a 10% higherprice). Each fort also has a small chapel,where a 5th-level cleric cares for the spiri-tual and physical well-being of the soldiersand nearby villagers.

None of the soldiers will agree to join theparty if approached, and the 0-level fighterswill not give information to strangers. How-ever, if the commander or one of his assis-tants is bribed, he will tell the party some orall of the following facts: The Palim Moun-tains are home to a basilisk and groups ofrock reptiles, bowlers, and cave fishers, butno one is sure where their lairs are located.The mountains also contain bands of orcs,of varying numbers, liable to pop up any-where, and somewhere among the peaks isthe home of a wealthy hermit who occasion-ally comes to the fort to buy supplies.

Encounter area 1: Gador�s HallRangers and elves have a 2-in-6 chance of

spotting Gador�s Hall from the valley floor,4-in-6 if they are actively looking for it.They will see a faint path on one side of thevalley leading up the mountainside. Thepath ends at a house built into the moun-tainside, with attached stables. Smoke driftsfrom the chimney. A pair of very largedouble doors are on the south end of thebuilding, with a large brass knocker on eachdoor.

The double doors are made of solid oak(a successful bend bars/lift gates roll isrequired to force them open). They are 10�tall and are locked. If characters attempt toforce the doors open, there is a 20% cumu-

lative chance per round that the noise willbe noticed, and Gador will meet the charac-ters in his human form (see scenario 2below). Hidden above the doorframe (easilyspotted if characters climb up to look) is akey that will open the door. Gador keeps itthere as a spare. If the door is opened qui-etly (by using a silence spell, a knock spell,or the key), then use scenario 1 below.

The floors of Gador�s Hall are cut fromstone. The ceiling in rooms 1-5 is 20� highand only 14� high elsewhere. All doubledoors are 12� tall, but single doors are ofnormal height (7�).

Room 1: Main HallScenario 1: This large room is lit by oil

lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A largetable dominates the room. It is surroundedby 15 chairs, the one at the head very muchlarger than the others. A haunch of meat isroasting over the coals in a fireplace off toone side. Paintings of mountain sceneryhang on the walls. The doors are locked anduntrapped. Twelve paintings, worth 10-40gp each, hang on the walls.

Check on the following random en-counter table once per turn that the PCsremain in this room.

Die roll Encounter1 Gador, in giant form,

from corridor 22-3 Brunnel, from corridor 13

(through secret door)4-6 1-4 orcs, from corridor 13

(through secret door)7-11 No encounter12 Double encounter � roll twice,

using d6 die

Scenario 2: The door is opened by a mandressed in servant�s robes, a sheathed long-sword at his side. Behind him, beside alarge table, stands a big bearded mandressed in leather, his hands on a sheathedtwo-handed sword. The man at the door isBrunnel (see room 15 for statistics), whileGador, in human form, waits by the table(see room 3 for statistics). Orcs are watch-ing through a peephole in the secret door,and they will rush to defend Gador if theparty attacks.

If the characters have spoken with theinjured guardsman at the village, they willnotice that Gador (because of his beard andclothing) resembles the man whom theguard saw appear after the landslide. Gadorwill try to use trickery to fool and capturethe party, hoping to make them think he is afriendly but eccentric hermit. If the partymembers are not hostile, Gador will greetthem in a friendly manner and, after find-ing out the party�s task, will offer to helpout. He claims to know where a band oforcs may be hiding, and he promises to leadthem there the following morning. In themeantime, he invites them to stay in hishome as his guests.

If the characters accept Gador�s hospital-ity, they will be served food and drink con-

D R A G O N 4 5

46 JANUARY 1986

taining delayed-action sleep poison. Whenthe PCs go to sleep for the night in the guestrooms (8, 9, and 10), they will drop intototal unconsciousness. While they are in thiscondition, Gador will strip the PCs of alltheir possessions except the clothes they arewearing and toss them into cells (rooms 17,18, and 20), where they will awaken in 2-5hours. (If possible, split the party up intocells in such a way that the �treasures�hidden in each cell can be put to the bestuse by the characters.) Gador will put thePCs� magical possessions (if any) in a chestin room 5 and their normal possessions inroom 22.

Room 2: CorridorThe corridor is dark, but a light can be

seen under the doors at the far end. Theceiling is 20� high.

Room 3: Gador�s living roomThis room is lit by oil lamps suspended

from the ceiling. Several bearskin rugscover the floor, and couches line the walls.A small fire burns in a fireplace, and paint-ings of mountain scenery hang on the walls.There is a bar in one corner of the room.

Gador, the renegade firbolg giant, will beencountered here (if not met elsewherealready) when the party enters this room.His statistics are as follows: HD 13 + 7, hp55, AC 2, MV 15�, #ATT 1, DAM byweapon type (+10). Gador has the follow-ing spell-like powers, which he can use oneper round when not in melee combat: detectmagic, diminution (as the potion, with double effect and double maximum dura-tion), fool�s gold, forget, and alter self. Hecan also bat away projectiles (such as ar-rows) with a free hand, twice per round, ona roll of 6 or better on a d20.

Gador is chaotic neutral and greatlydislikes humans. He enjoys the idea ofraiding caravans, even if he doesn�t use thetreasures he gets from them. Gador uses histwo-handed sword with both hands when inhuman form, but he needs to hold it withonly one hand when in giant form. Gadoronly possesses his +10 bonus to damage inhis giant form (10½� tall).

Gador also has a figurine of wondrouspower, a golden lion. If forced to fight, hefirst invokes the lion and has it attack anymagic-users while he takes on the fighters.If Gador is slain, the lion reverts to itsstatuette form. In animal form, the lion hasHD 5 + 2, AC 5/6, MV 12�, #ATT 3,DAM 1-4/1-4/1-10 plus rake for 2-7/2-7 ifforepaws hit, surprised only on a 1.

If encountered at night, Gador is 60%likely to be very drunk. In such a case, heattacks at -5 �to hit� and has 58 hitpoints, due to his greatly intoxicated state.If Gador is encountered while drunk, thereis a 10% chance that he will have passedout, but if any damage is inflicted uponhim, he will awaken and begin to fightdrunkenly.

Eight kegs of ale are stacked behind thebar. Hidden in a secret compartment in thebar are 30 bottles of a very good wine. In

the room may also be found six paintingsvalued at 10-40 gp each and five bearskinrugs worth 50 gp each. The bottles of winewould bring a price of 20 gp apiece from aconnoisseur. In his pocket Gador keeps a setof keys that open all the doors and cheststhroughout the Hall.

Room 4: Gador�s libraryThis room is obviously a library, with

bookshelves lining two walls and maps andpaintings covering the other two walls. Apair of large desks and a large table stand inthe center of the carpeted floor. The room isilluminated by two oil lamps hanging fromthe ceiling. The doors are unlocked and nottrapped.

Gador is very interested in maps andbooks on distant lands. Most of the 125books in the library deal with geographyand history. Of the five maps hanging onthe walls, only one is familiar to the charac-ters; it is essentially identical to the Players�Map. Reading the books may give thecharacters some hints about legends thatmay be expanded into later adventures.

The maps and books are worth 5-20 gpapiece to a collector, but the bulk and quan-tity of these books will probably not makethe effort of transporting them or shippingthem worth the while.

Room 5: Gador�s bedroomThis bedroom obviously belongs to a very

large person, judging by the size of the bed.It is 12� long and 8� wide, and it is coveredwith furs. In one corner of the room is acloset, while a desk and large chest arealong another wall. A very large painting ofmountain scenery hangs over the bed. Theroom is lit by a hanging oil lamp, and an-other oil lamp sits on the desk.

The doors are locked but untrapped. Thecloset contains spare cloaks, boots, andclothing for someone of about 11� in height.In a locked drawer of the desk is a contractsigned by Vasil Volenta, agreeing to payGador 750 gp for holding Brannod Colnetcaptive (so that he can be used for a surpriseransom demand later on). Another contractagrees to pay Gador 500 gp per mission forhijacking shipments bearing the mark of theHouse of Colnet. This is all the proof theparty needs of Volenta�s involvement in thecrimes. Also in the desk is a paper showingthe expected routes and dates of shipmentsfor the House of Colnet, which Kellan andEskan can use to identify the spy in theirmerchant house.

In the chest (which is locked) will be anymagic items and money previously takenfrom the party, as well as the following: apouch containing five 100 gp gems; a small,finely crafted wooden box (50 gp) contain-ing a silver stick-pin with a diamond head(1000 gp) and a gold necklace (1100 gp); agreen potion of fire resistance; a greenpotion of flying, a yellow potion of healing,4,840 electrum pieces; and 6,510 goldpieces. There are 15 furs on the bed, worth5 gp each, and the painting is worth 75 gpto a collector.

Room 6: CorridorThe corridor is lit by torches in holders

spaced 10 feet apart.

Room 7: KitchenThis room, obviously a kitchen, has a

large oven, several counters, and cupboardsover the counters. A blood-stained choppingblock in one corner has a large meat cleaverstuck into its top surface, and a solid oaktrap door is set into the floor in anothercorner of the room.

This room is lit by two oil lamps bolted tothe walls. This is where Brunnel (see room15 for statistics) prepares meals; he is here25% of the time. The cupboards hold theusual dried herbs and preparations. Thetrap door leads down into a freezer (largeblocks of ice line the walls) that holds thecarcasses of three deer and one human (oneof Brannod�s bodyguards, which Brunnelwas planning to prepare as a reward for theorcs). The ice is maintained by a small icetoad (HD 5, AC 4, MV 9�, #ATT 1, DAM3-1 2 plus cold damage), which is fed ondinner scraps and �useless� prisoners. Thetoad has been trained by Gador not toattack him or orcs, and they can enter andleave the freezer at will. Other creatures arenot so favored � even Brunnel dares notenter the freezer. Nothing else is of valuehere.

Room 8: Guest roomThis bedroom contains two large beds, a

table, and two chests. The floor is carpeted,and an unlit oil lamp hangs from the ceil-ing. The door is unlocked, and the chestsare unlocked and empty. Nothing of value ishere.

Rooms 9-12: Guest roomsUse the description for room 8, adding a

few minor items here and there from theDungeon Dressing Tables in the DMG, pp.217-219.

Room 13: CorridorThere is a peephole in the secret door.

The orc guard at point �x� is drowsy andbored, but will certainly notice anyonewalking down the corridor from eitherdirection, in which case he will yell analarm to the orcs in room 16 and attack.

If the party is imprisoned in rooms 17,18, and 20, the guard will notice any at-tempt to kick the doors down, but he willnot hear any whispered conversations or seea door being opened quietly. It is possiblefor a thief to sneak up on him from thecells, if a successful move silently roll ismade. The orc (HD 1, AC 6, MV 9�,#ATT 1, D battle axe) has the keys to rooms17-22.

Room 14: Storage ClosetShelves line the walls of this room, filled

with various miscellaneous items such asblankets, tablecloths, and other householdequipment. There are also three large bar-rels of oil. The room is dark, and nothing ofparticular value is here.

D R A G O N 4 7

Room 15: Brunnel�s roomThis room contains one bed, a desk, and

a chest. The floor is carpeted, and a pair ofcrossed longswords are hung above the bed.The room is lit by an oil lamp bolted to onewall.

If Brunnel has not been encounteredelsewhere, it is 70% likely that he�ll behere. He is a half-orc, though he easilypasses for human. A dwarf character has a10% chance per turn, cumulative, of realiz-ing that Brunnel is a half-orc. He is Gador�sbutler and cook, and he wears robes overhis splint mail +1 to keep up appearances.He carries a longsword +2 beneath hisrobes. In the chest (to which Brunnel hasthe key) are 430 silver pieces. He also wearsa silver ring worth 100 gp.

Brunnel is a 3rd-level fighter (25 hp, AC3, MV 9�, lawful evil, STR 18(89), INT13, WIS 13, DEX 14, CON 16, CHA 10).His combat adjustments are +3 to hit and+5 to damage from strength, or +5 to hitand +7 to damage with his sword�s bo-nuses. If the party was captured and hadany magical armor or weapons better thanhis longsword, Brunnel will be employingthem.

Room 16: BarracksThe walls of this room are lined with

bunk beds, and a chest is at the head ofeach set of bunks. At the far end of theroom is a fireplace and a table.

There are 20 beds, and the area by thefireplace is used as a kitchen. This is wherethe orcs relax when not on guard duty orout causing havoc. The orcs will hear andrespond to any alarm raised by the guard(see room 13), but they don�t like Brunneland will ignore any noise coming from hisroom. Because the door opens outward into the corridor, it is possible to block the doorshut, trapping the orcs inside room 16. Thechests are not locked and contain only spareclothing and miscellaneous items for theorcs (each HD 1, AC 6, MV 9�, #ATT 1,D battle axe), plus a total of 63 copperpieces and 24 silver pieces.

Room 17: CellThe stone floor here is covered with filthy

straw, and the stench in the room is incredi-ble. The door is solid oak, with a 1� squarewindow of iron bars set into it about 5� offthe ground. The room is lit only by the lightshining from the hall through the bars inthe door. A successful bend bars/lift gatesroll is required to kick the door open.

A fist-sized rock has fallen loose from thewall here and is lying under the straw inone corner. If thrown, its maximum rangeis 3�, and it does 1-3 hp damage plus achance of stunning its target equal to thethrower�s bend bars/lift gates figure.

Room 18: CellUse the general description for room 17.

A half-dressed human skeleton lies in onecorner; hidden in the heel of one of its bootsis a set of lockpicks which will allow a thiefthe chance to pick the locks on the doors.

48 JANUARY 1986

Room 19: CellUse the general description for room 17.

There are seven humans in this room. Onematches the description given of BrannodColnet. All are bruised, filthy, and half-starved, possessing nothing but the clothingon their backs.

Brannod Colnet is a 1st-level thief with 5hp, AC 10 (8 with DEX bonuses), MV 12�,neutral alignment, STR 11, INT 15, WIS13, DEX 16, CON 13, CHA 15. Hischances of success at thieving skills are: PP30%, OL 30%, F/RT 20%, MS 15%, H/S10%, HN 10%, CW 85%. (In a city as fullof intrigue and backstabbing as Gurdikar, itis only natural for members of the merchantfamilies to pick up thieving skills.)

The other six men in the cell are 0-levelfighters (each 2-7 hp, AC 10, MV 12�,neutral). They are loyal to Brannod alone.

Room 20: CellUse the general description for room 17.

Under the straw in one corner of the room,carefully wedged into a crack in the stonefloor, is a dagger of orcish manufacture. Itmay be found after two turns of searchingthe cell.

Room 21: CellUse the general description for room 17.

The body of a dwarf lies in one corner, aworn metal belt buckle in one hand. On thewall beside it, scratched into the stone, isthe following message in Common: �Over-heard guards � armor, weapons in nextroom � avenge me.�

This dwarf was captured a few days agowhile wandering in the mountains. BrannodColnet saw him being tossed into this cell,and he has seen orcs sneak into the cellevery so often to beat the dwarf up. Yester-day he saw several drunken orcs enter theroom and heard them kicking and beatingthe prisoner. After an hour, the orcs left,and no one has entered the room since.

Room 22: StoreroomThis unlit room is filled with crates and

boxes. In one corner is a pile of armor, andon the wall above are racks holding assortedweapons. If the party was captured byGador, their non-magical armor and weap-ons will be found here, except for any ex-ceptional items which may have beenclaimed by Brunnel or an orc. The otherweapons and armor were taken from Bran-nod Colnet, his group of escorts, and fromother wanderers in the mountains. Themajor contents of the room include:

8 longswords5 spears

23 daggers3 suits of plate mail (man-sized)8 suits of chain mail (man-sized)3 suits of banded mail (man-sized)1 suit of chain mail (dwarf-sized)

18 helmets (various sizes)12 shields (various sizes)

The 12 boxes and 23 crates display themark of the House of Colnet and containthe missing spice shipments. The party will

also find 5 barrels of ale, apparentlyfrom an earlier shipment.

stolen

Rooms 23-24: StablesRoom 23 holds Gador�s heavy war horse,

while room 24 holds Brunnel�s light warhorse. Gador can ride his horse only in hishuman-sized form. The horses will notattack unless attacked first. Chain barding,saddles, tack, and other gear are stored justinside the doors, while hay and oats arestored in the loft. (Heavy war horse: HD3 + 3, AC 7, MV 15�, #ATT 3, DAM 1-8/1-8/1-3; light war horse: HD 2, AC 7, MV24�, #ATT 2, DAM 1-4/1-4).

The rest of these encounters lie scatteredacross the mountains, waiting for adventur-ers to discover them.

Encounter area 2: Rock reptilesTwo rock reptiles (HD 5 + 5, AC 3, MV

6�, #ATT 1, DAM 1-4 + (5-12), chameleonpowers, surprises on 1-3) have their lairhere. They are very active at night but aredormant in daylight. Neither has any trea-sure yet.

Encounter area 3: Rock reptilesA solitary rock reptile of the largest size

(HD 5 + 12, 12� long, bites for 13-16 hpdamage) lairs here. This rock reptile man-aged to catch a couple of orcs a few weeksago, so it has acquired a little treasure (28cp, 44 sp, dagger +1) that it keeps in itslair under an overhanging rock.

Encounter area 4: Galeb duhrThis location is noteworthy because the

moderately steep slope here is covered withloose rock, unlike any of the area around it,and looks like a good place to climb if PCsare so inclined. At the top of the slope maybe seen several large boulders. Anyone whotries to climb the 30-foot slope up to thelarge boulders must make a roll of dexterityor less on d20 to avoid slipping and causinga small rockslide. A character who fails thisroll will slide back down the face of theslope, suffering 2-12 points of damage fromfalling debris.

One of the boulders at the top of the slopeis actually a galeb duhr (HD 8, AC -2,MV 6�, #ATT 2, DAM 2-16, various magicspells for attack and defense, various resist-ances vs. attacks). The galeb duhr knowsGador is a giant and the hermit is a spell-caster. If it likes the party (reaction roll,DMG, p. 63), or if the party gives it a gift,it will give them limited information oradvice. It will not engage in combat unlessthe PCs are foolish enough to attack it first.

Encounter area 5: CyclopskinThis remote valley is the home of a fam-

ily of cyclopskin. It is 65% likely that thethree largest cyclopskin (from room 4) willbe out hunting and will return in 1-6 hours.If so, the party has a 20% non-cumulativechance per hex (while within 2 hexes of thepath) of meeting them. Rangers and elveshave a 2-in-6 chance of spotting the cave,

4-in-6 if they are actively searching fornoteworthy features. The cyclopskin areimplacably hostile toward all humans.

Room 1: Entrance tunnelThe tunnel ends at a large wooden door,

which is unlocked.

Room 2: Main roomA small fire burns in the middle of this

cavern; a small iron kettle is suspended overit. A giant, one-eyed woman (7� tall) sitsnearby, stirring the contents of the kettle. Agiant child (5� tall) sits against the far wall,playing with some bones. (Female cy-clopskin: HD 5, AC 3, MV 12�, #ATT 1,D club, +2 on damage. Young cyclopskin:HD 2 + 2, AC 4, MV 12�, #ATT 1, D fistsfor 1-4.)

Room 3: Women�s caveRough hides hang on the walls here. A

torch burns on the far wall, providing somelight. In a pile of furs in one corner lies afemale cyclopskin, who awakens if PCs donot enter silently. (Female cyclopskin: HD5, AC 3, MV 12�, #ATT 1, D club, +2 ondamage. The hides are worth about 5 cpapiece.

Room 4: Men�s cave 6� + special). Each bowler has a base 10 gpA large pile of smelly furs lies in the gem in its center.

middle of the cavern. If the male cyclopskinare not out hunting, they will be in here. Encounter area 8: BowlersEach has HD 5, AC 3, MV 12�, #ATT 1, This encounter area is similar to area 7,D clublike morning star, +2 on damage. except that 5 bowlers inhabit this area.Under the furs are 6 gems worth 100 gpeach. Encounter area 9: Bowlers

This encounter area is similar to area 7,Room 5: Children�s cave except that 4 bowlers live here. The remains

A pile of ragged furs are piled in one of two orcs may also be found here; one ofcorner of the cave. Sitting on the furs are them clutches a pouch with 22 gp inside.two young cyclopskin. Each has HD 2 + 2,AC 4, MV 12�, #ATT 1, D fists for 1-4. Encounter area 10: Basilisk

If the PCs enter of the hexes at the edgesRoom 6: Storeroom of this area, each member of the party has a

Crude shelves have been cut out of the 25% chance of discovering a crude woodenstone walls here. Dried leaves and grasses sign in the bushes nearby. The sign is let-line the shelves, along with roots and other tered in Common and reads: DANGER! DOfood. Behind a pile of dried leaves is a glass NOT ENTER! DANGEROUS MONSTER! Patrolsvial containing a yellow potion of extra- from the forts try to keep these signs postedhealing, the cyclopskin know of its powers in plain sight, but occasionally the orcs fromand will use it in an emergency. Gador�s Hall (see encounter area 1) will

ride by and tear them down. If the PCsEncounter area 6: Cave fisher continue to travel through this area

Anything moving in this valley attracts (whether or not they see the sign) they willthe attention of a cave fisher, which lairs notice that the valley is unnaturally quiet.20� above a cliff, and has normal chances to Rock formations bearing uncanny resem-surprise. It has HD 3, AC 4, MV @1�, blances to living creatures � a rabbit, a#ATT 2, DAM 2-8/2-8 plus 60� adhesive deer, a bear � will appear in the foliage.filament. The cave fisher has no treasure as This area is the lair and surroundingsuch, though the bones of many animals territory of a basilisk (HD 6 + 1, AC 4, MV(and a few orcs) may be found within one- 6�, #ATT 1, DAM 1-10 plus petrification).half mile of it. There is a 60% chance that the basilisk is

out sunning itself on the hot rocks, andEncounter area 7: Bowlers characters will have a 30% chance per hex

This part of the slope is grassy, with few (cumulative) of encountering it. Its cave, intrees. At the top of the slope can be seen a the center of the valley, is behind somenumber of boulders. If any characters head rocks and vines, but can be easily spotted.up the slope, three of the boulders begin The tunnel leading to the basilisk�s lair isrolling down the slope toward them. These about 80� long and opens into a chamber ofare bowlers (each HD 1, hp 2-5, AC 4, MV roughly oval shape, 12� wide and 30� long.

At the end of a winding path leading upthis mountainside is a small, crudely builtlog cabin. The cabin is 10� × 15�, with adirt floor. The furniture consists of a table,a cot, and a locked chest containing 5 pelts(worth 3-6 gp each) and a pouch containing12 ep and 35 cp.

This is the home of Diren Belora, ahunter. He was recently infected with lycan-thropy, and came here so he wouldn�t harmanyone when the blood urge overpoweredhim; now he�s chaotic evil and dangerous.He will be friendly toward the party andwill try to get them to stay with him at hiscabin until nightfall, when he can attackunder darkness. He will not reveal hisaffliction to the party beforehand.

If the party is within 4 hexes of the cabinwhen night falls, the werewolf will trackthem down and attack. It has HD 4 + 3, AC

D R A G O N 4 9

The little rock formations that litter thetunnel entrance are petrified animals (foxes,rabbits, etc.).

At various places on the chamber floorare stone formations resembling men, orcs,and dwarves � many of them chipped orbroken. These are the petrified remains ofintruders who were surprised by the basiliskwhile investigating its lair. Most of thestatues have clothing or gear nearby; if allof the statues are searched thoroughly, thetotal treasure to be found in non-petrifiedpouches and backpacks includes 4,460 gp,170 pp, a green potion of invisibility, awhite potion of heroism, and a blue potionof healing. A cloak of protection +3 iswrapped around one statue�s shoulders. Inthe hand of another statue is a bone tubeholding a cleric spell scroll containing dispelmagic and protection from evil, 10� radius.

Encounter area 11: Werewolf

5, MV 15�, #ATT 1, DAM 2-8, +1 orbetter weapon needed to hit it (or silverweapon), surprises on 1-3.

There is a 70% chance in the daytimethat the werewolf (in human form) will beout hunting; if so, characters have a 20%non-cumulative chance per hex (whilewithin 4 hexes of the cabin) of encounteringhim. Rangers and elves have a 2-in-6chance of spotting the cabin from the valleyfloor, 4-in-6 if they are actively searchingthe mountainside for something noteworthy.

Encounter area 12: PedipalpsThis area is inhabited by a variety of

huge pedipalps, three in number (each HD2 + 2, AC 4, MV 9�, #ATT 3, DAM 1-6/1-6/1-8 plus gripping attack with automaticdamage). The pedipalps, if surprised, willbe seen waiting silently for animal prey tocome by.

Encounter area 13: PedipalpsSee area 12. One huge pedipalp lurks

here. An orc�s dagger is stuck in one of itspincers, rendering the extremity useless (2attacks only, for 1-6/1-8).

Encounter area 14: PedipalpsSee area 12. Four huge pedipalps roam

here.

Encounter area 15: PedipalpsSee area 12. Two huge pedipalps hunt for

prey in this area. In the recent past, one of

them killed an cyclopskin which now lies ina gully where the two monsters lurk. Thecyclopskin was carrying a sack containingthree human-sized helmets, a 250 gp gem-stone on a silver necklace, and a bone scrollcase with a sheaf of illegible papers inside.

Encounter area 16: HermitThese are several points at which the

party may encounter the hermit who livesin these mountains. As the PCs travel intoeach area marked 16, each character in thegroup has a 5% chance of seeing a one-armed old man sitting among the trees toone side of the path, watching the grouppass. The hermit will do nothing unless theparty reacts violently, in which case he willuse an entangle spell to slow the party downand then vanish among the trees by using atree spell. If the party is friendly and re-spectful, he will say �The caterpillar is intruth a butterfly. Everything may not be asit seems.� Then he will walk into the forestand vanish among the trees. See encounterarea 18 for more information on the hermit,who is a retired druid.

If he has already been encountered andhas delivered his warning, the hermit willremain hidden among the trees duringfurther encounters. If the characters arehaving difficulty finding Gador�s Hall, theDM may have the hermit direct them to thegaleb duhr by remarking that �the rockshave ears, too,� and giving them directionsto the galeb duhr�s location.

Encounter area 17: Rock pileThe valley ahead is almost blocked by a

large pile of boulders. Beneath some of theboulders can be seen pieces of bone, rippedcloth, and crushed armor. Orc and animaltracks are all around. This is where Gador�sforce ambushed Brannod Colnet and hisescort. The boulders are too large and tooheavy to move without a lot of effort.

Encounter area 18: Hermit�s groveThe crowded forest here opens up into a

well-kept grove. There is a 75% chancethat, unless he has been encountered else-where, the lone inhabitant of the grove ishome. He is a one-armed old man whowanders among the trees, singing softly tohimself in the tongue of the druids. The oldman is Edmar Kantorna, a retired druid.He lost his left arm while adventuring in hisyouth. Unable to continue adventuring, heretired to the mountains to be close to nat-ure. Practice has enabled him to cast spellswith only one hand. Edmar Kantorna is a5th-level druid (20 hp, AC 8, MV 12�, usesa staff of the serpent (python) for attacks).He wears a ring of protection + 2. The lossof his arm does not affect Edmar�s ability tocast spells; when encountered be will becarrying the spells detect magic (x2), detectsnares & pits (x2), entangle, speak withanimals, barkskin, charm person or mam-mal, cure light wounds (x2), obscurement,and tree (x2). Edmar has a friend who is alarge brown bear (HD 5 + 5, AC 6, MV12�, #ATT 3, DAM 1-6/1-6/1-8 plus hug).The bear will appear in 1 round wheneverEdmar calls for it, and he will do so imme-diately if he is threatened or attacked.

Edmar has complete and detailed knowl-edge of the entire region, including thelocations of all the set encounters. He knowsabout Gador and his activities. If the partyhas been respectful of nature and treats himwith respect, Edmar will share his knowl-edge with the party. He may, however,withhold some information to keep thingsinteresting.

Edmar lives comfortably in a cave, theentrance to which is hidden by a plantgrowth spell. The party will not be able tolocate the cave without Edmar�s assistanceor magical spells. Edmar keeps a smallhoard of 573 gp, 423 sp, and 32 cp buriedin the dirt floor of his cave. He would loveto share the company of a fellow druid, andlikes elves, half-elves, and rangers as well.

Ending the adventureIf the PCs rescue Brannod Colnet, the

House of Colnet will give them the prom-ised rewards. If the characters bring proofthat the House of Volenta was behind thethefts, they will get an additional 2000 gp(total). If they bring back the stolen ship-ments, they will receive a finder�s fee of 1 spper 1 gp value of the shipment (this worksout to 5000 sp, or 250 gp).

The city of Gurdikar will also award thePCs a bounty of 1 gp for each orc head theybring in and 50 gp for the giant�s head (500gp if he is brought in alive).

50 JANUARY 1986

D R A G O N 5 1

52 JANUARY 1986

D R A G O N 5 3

54 JANUARY 1986

A world of difference(From page 42)something a little too special; the thought ofa character returning to his homeworldbearing Stormbringer should be enough tomake any DM blanch.

The problem is hardly absurd; there wasthe article in DRAGON issue #82 citingcharacters who�d acquired everything frombattlestars (as in Galactica) to Thor�s ham-mer. One has to be as careful giving outtreasure on parallel worlds as he would bein his primary campaign. While a reason-able amount of caution should protect themightiest artifacts (it shouldn�t be very hardto keep your PCs from gettingStormbringer unless you actually want themto get it � in which case, you deserve theresults), it�s sometimes harder to makedecisions about low-powered ones.

This is particularly true on technologi-cally oriented worlds; since most items willnot be found in the DMG, it may be diffi-cult to decide what�s safe to give them. Ananti-matter bomb may be clearly too power-ful, but what about a light-sabre or a jet-pack? To decide such questions, translatethe items into the nearest AD&D equiva-lents. A gas mask might be equated to anecklace of adaptation, a jetpack to wings offlying, or a robot to an iron golem. Thendecide if the analogous magic item would beacceptable as treasure � if a necklace ofadaptation is line, so is the gas mask, but ifa cube of force seems unreasonable, a force-field device probably will be unreasonable,too.

Keep in mind charges � or the lack ofthem � while you�re evaluating the items,since this can make a big difference. Ananti-gravity belt with unlimited usage isclearly worth more than wings of flying,while a force-field projector with only twoor three charges remaining is a long wayfrom being as valuable as a cube of force (acloser equivalent might be a scroll withthree wall of force spells on it).

Once you know what is and isn�t accept-able, it will be relatively simple to set up theadventure with a suitable selection of trea-sure. If the PCs do manage to get theirhands on something you don�t want them tohave � or if you want to let them use anitem in the adventure but not keep it for-ever (they may actually need a force-fielddevice at some point, for instance), thereare other steps that can be taken. The sim-plest is to rule that technological itemsabove a certain level of complexity simplydon�t work on the PCs� native world (thelaws of nature don�t permit it to operatethere), or that passage through the dimen-sions has damaged them so that they�re nolonger functioning. The same principle canbe used to keep spell-casters from retainingany special spells they may have acquired inother worlds.

If PCs do bring something back in work-ing condition, they will still have problems.Knowledge, for instance: can they learn the

secrets of controlling an android or an anti-gravity platform? If it�s damaged, can theyrepair it? How will they recharge chargeditems? To keep their treasures working, itmay be necessary to return to the otherworld again. . . .

Of course, one can reward player charac-ters adventuring in parallel worlds withspecial treasures to fit the occasion, prizesthat are both unusual and game-balanced.Any item from a technological world willappear special in an ordinary AD&D world,even if it isn�t devastatingly powerful.Magic items can be distinctive, too; adven-turers might return from an Egyptian worldwith one of Isis� special charms, or from anAmerican Indian plane with a sacred medi-cine bundle. These items that would appearquite out-of-the-ordinary on worlds withoutthose mythologies. Carefully chosen, suchitems can give the players real satisfactionwithout overloading their characters withpower. This is not to say you should nevergive a group a spectacular magic treasure� but think it through carefully first. It�sfar better to give PCs too little and to makeit up later than to give them too much.

The parallel world ideas given here arenot � I repeat, not � intended as the basisfor anyone�s primary campaign. It�s onething to encounter illusionist kobolds orDRAGONQUEST air mages as a specialfeature of a parallel world and quite anotherto establish them as part of your regular,primary earth; you can�t rationalize a vari-ant game by saying it�s set on an AlternateMaterial Plane: Just passing through anunorthodox world shouldn�t wreak gamedamage if you�re careful, but making someof these ideas part of your regular gamecould lead to major imbalances and distor-tions. The same applies to starting an ordi-nary AD&D world and then shiftingpermanently to a variant one.

There is also one final warning thatshould be added: Always keep the players�satisfaction in mind. No matter how differ-ent or original your world is, don�t assumethe sheer novelty of the setting will make upfor any flaws in dungeon design; setting a dungeon beneath Lankhmar will certainlyenhance the game, but it won�t make yourplayers overlook any shoddiness in yourwork. This is true even if you�re using anoriginal fantasy world or an established onethey don�t know about � in those cases,you can�t count on your world holding theirinterest without a good adventure to go withit. If players dislike a world, don�t use it atall; the best DM on earth can�t make meenjoy a trip to a BOOT HILL campaign (Ido not like Westerns). Also, make sure thegame balance doesn�t tilt too far againstyour players. New worlds should be excitingchallenges, not killer dungeons on a grandscale,

Like any artistic performance, adungeon�s success depends on the judgmentof the audience. Don�t be content to haveyour players admire your artistry. Reachbut and invite them to become part of thescene.

D R A G O N 5 5

Spy�s adviceby Merle M. Rasmussen

Are the weights on the Table of WeaponWeights (page 23) for empty or loadedweapons?

The weights given are for unloaded weap-ons and usually don�t include an emptymagazine. (This table did not appear in thefirst edition of the TOP SECRET rules.)Assume that purchased guns come loadedor with one loaded magazine.

Why do .002 caliber differences be-tween weapons and ammo cause weaponsto jam?

The rule under Weapon Modificationsand Accessories (page 43) states that ammu-nition within .001 caliber of a weapon�sbore can be used in that weapon. A differ-ence of .002 larger or smaller will causejamming or non-firing of the weapon. Am-munition that is substantially larger thanthe weapons� firing chamber will jam theweapon. Ammunition that is smaller willcause the firing pin will miss its mark.

I chose .001 as the margin of error for allweapons so that simple game mechanicswould help explain ammunition compatibil-ity and the effect of off-caliber customized

gun design. This also creates a sneaky wayto sabotage a character�s weapons. If youallow the agent to find, steal, and load off-size ammunition, it will teach the agent toonly use ammo provided by the agency. Formore details, see the rule section on Mis-fires and Jams, page 25.

Why is high-explosive incendiaryammo more effective against vehiclesthan armor-piercing incendiary?

This is a good (and embarrassing) ques-tion. My original reasoning, given inDRAGON issue #49, was that if an incen-diary (I) bullet has a +10 modifier and ahigh-explosive (HE) bullet has a +20 modi-fier, it figures that a HEI bullet will have a+30. It now occurs to me that an armor-piercing (AP) bullet with a modifier of +10,or an API bullet with a modifier of +20, ismore likely to pass through a lightly ar-mored vehicle than to stop and explode orignite on impact.

What is the rate of fire for the .45-caliber M3 submachine gun?

The correct rate of fire for the M3 is amaximum of 4 shots fired per phase. The 5shots each phase mentioned under Auto-matic Weapons on page 20 is incorrect.

Agent A (Offense 65) has an Uzi sub-machine gun set on full automatic (PWV72). He is standing unwounded in broaddaylight, aiming with his correct hand atagent B, standing 100� away (mediumrange modifier -17). His Base Accuracywith all modifiers of hitting with the firstshot is 120 (Chance to hit 95%). Hissecond chance to hit with an automaticweapon is at a -11 penalty. Is this penaltydeducted from 95 or 120?

The -11 is deducted from 120. Themodified Base Accuracy for the five full-automatic weapon shots are: 120, 109, 98,87, and 74. The respective chances to hitare: 95%, 95%, 95%, 87%, and 74%.

How fully should an Administratordescribe an NPC holding a weapon to aplayer character viewing him? Shouldn�tthe viewer receive a bonus to notice moreabout the NPC depending on his skills orknowledge?

I would roll percentile dice and comparethe value rolled against the viewer�s Obser-vation, Perception, or general Knowledgescore. If the value rolled is less than theviewer�s value, the character with a pistolwill be much better described than if thevalue rolled is greater than the viewer�sscore. Specific Areas of Knowledge will helpto identify a character�s uniform, costume,weapon, or other outer appearances.

What is the air gun (pellet-type) men-tioned on the Special Weapons list onpage 9? What are its weapon statistics(PWV, Range Modifier, etc.)? Does theair gun do normal damage?

Air guns (like dart guns) are intended tobe used as non-lethal projectile weapons.All damage should be calculated as if theywere regular weapons, and then halved toreflect the non-lethal nature of the attack. Itis possible for a victim to receive ½ point ofdamage; persons with 1 point of Life Levelmay be unconscious, persons with ½ pointare always unconscious, and persons with aLife Level of zero or less are mortallywounded and usually die within 5 minutesif left unaided.

Weapon statistics for an air gun are thesame as those given for a dart gun on theWeapons Chart, page 23, except that am-munition varies from 1-100 (pellets only).

How many Areas of Knowledge (AOK)can one agent have? My characterdoesn�t know anything about MilitaryScience/Weaponry; is this possible? If myagent does not have Transportation Engi-neering as an AOK, can she still operateany vehicle?

Every agent has 37 different AOKs (42 ifthe Agent Dossier accessory rules are in-cluded). The number of superior AOKsthat an agent can have are determined bydividing the general Knowledge trait scoreby 10 and rounding up. This gives thenumber of AOKs in which the characterpossesses a subject familiarity beyond thatof his normal general knowledge. For in-stance, an agent with a Knowledge rating of81-90 would possess 9 superior AOKs. Youragent only has the superior AOK he or shestarts the game with. It is possible by apply-ing experience points to raise any AOKvalue to 150, whether it started out as asuperior AOK or not.

The other more numerous AOKs outsideof a character�s personal expertise will alsohave a rating score, and that AOK scorewill uniformly begin at a figure which isone-half (round up) of the character�s pri-mary Knowledge score. For instance, if acharacter has a Knowledge trait score of 89,he or she would possess 9 superior AOKs atthe start (with a roll made for each) and thescore for the remaining AOKs would be auniform 45.

In TS 003, Operation: Rapidstrike,characters have a tertiary personal traitcalled �Wrestling Value.� What is this?

Wrestling Value is an obsolete trait thatwas cut from the TOP SECRET rules inthe second edition. Its function is performedby the Hand-to-Hand Combat Value.

56 JANUARY 1986

D R A G O N 5 7

TITLES SHIPPING IN JANUARY

DRAGONLANCE� Legends TrilogyVol. 1, Time of the Twins

by Margaret Weis and Tracy HickmanThe Wars of the Lance have ended. Raist-

lin, now in the service of the Queen of Dark-ness, has vanished . . . but his evil magicnow threatens the freedom of Krynn. Cara-mon, Tasslehoff, and the Lady Crysaniamust stop him before it is too late!

Because you demanded it, the saga con-tinues, as the heroes start on a new adven-ture . . . one that will take them into newrealms of danger and romance!

Product No. 8307Suggested Retail Price: $3.95

DL11 DRAGONS OF GLORYAD&D® DRAGONLANCE®

Game Adventureby Douglas Niles and Tracy Hickman

This special DRAGONlANCE® modulecovers the entire War of the Lance, from thefirst raids of the Dragon Highlords to theireventual military domination of most of thecontinent of Ansalon, in a unique wargameformat.

New AD&D® game rules allow you to playa strategic wargame, using the armies,dragons, and special powers of both theDragon and Whitestone forces. A beautifulset of full-color battle maps covers all ter-rain involved in the war. Resolve the battlesusing the wargame system provided in themodule, or with the BATTLESYSTEM™ Fan-tasy Combat Supplement.

A new dimension in adventure . . . thearmies are yours to command!

Product No. 9144Suggested Retail Price: $10.00

MHSP2 SECRET WARS� IIMARVEL SUPER HEROES�

Game Adventureby Jeff Grubb

The Beyonder™ returns to the Earth,threatening all that lives!

The best-selling SECRET WARS™ II sagais now an exciting adventure for theMARVEL SUPER HEROES™ game. All your

favorite heroes and villains, all the cross-overs, all the plot twists, all the excitementis now yours. Face front, true believer! Thisis the most titanic, most incredible, moststupendous MARVEL SUPER HEROES™module in the entire history of the universe!And we’re not kidding, either!

Product No. 6869Suggested Retail Price: $10.00

MARVEL SUPER HEROES, THE BEYONDER, SECRET WARS II,and all character names and likenesses are trademarks of theMarvel Comics Group. ©1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division ofCadence Industries Corporation.

BARBAROSSA� Game of the Russo-German War 1941-1945

An SPI� Brand Wargameby David Ritchie

A major new Eastern Front wargame bynoted designer David Ritchie! This strate-gic-level wargame covers the entire courseof the war in the East, and contains uniquerules for land, sea, and aerial operations,political factors, and partisans. A new re-lease, original-design game.

Product No. 3012Suggested Retail Price: $30.00

TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD�Three Days of Gettysburg Game

An SPI� Brand Wargameby Richard Berg

A complete revision of the classic gameby famous designer Richard Berg! Usingthe GREAT BATTLES OF THE AMERICANCIVIL WAR™ game system, this incredible3-map, 2,000-counter wargame covers allthe action at the regimental level. A new or-der of battle and new scenarios bring it upto date with the very latest in Civil War re-search.

Product No. 3017Suggested Retail Price: $35.00

AC6 PLAYER CHARACTER RECORDSHEETS (Revised)

D&D® Game Accessoryby TSR Staff

We’ve completely redesigned the PlayerCharacter Record Sheets to cover all thenew rules, character classes, and options ofthe Companion, Masters, and (upcoming)Immortals sets . . . so this is it!!

Product No. 9037Suggested Retail Price: $7.50

MASTER OF RAVENLOFTAD&D® Adventure Gamebook #6

by Jean BlashfieldThe Master of Ravenloft is having guests

for dinner . . . and you are invited!Based on the classic adventure I6

Ravenloft, this AD&D® Adventure Game-book lets you play the role of the vampiremaster of Castle Ravenloft. For a pleasantevening’s entertainment . . . heh, heh, heh.

Product No. 8956Suggested Retail Price: $2.95

TITLES SHIPPING IN FEBRUARY

OA1 SWORDS OF THE DAIMYOAD&D® Oriental Adventures

Game Adventureby Zeb Cook

Set sail for the continent of Kara-Tur,where samurai rule in splendor, and thespirit folk haunt the forests. With OA1,Swords of the Daimyo, you can begin to livethe new adventures. This 64-page super-module includes full-color maps of the con-tinent, and provides everything you need toget a campaign started!

Product No. 9164Suggested Retail Price: $12.00

B10 NIGHT�S DARK TERRORD&D® Basic Game Adventure

by Graeme Morris and Jim BambraBridge the gap between the D&D® Basic

Set and the D&D® Expert Set with this 64-page super adventure. The wildernessbeckons with the promise of adventure, asyou travel by river and across mountains

60 JANUARY 1986

from the Duchy of Karameikos to the cha- a KGB agent at the party? Does Sir Ran- ABOUT OUR PRICE INCREASEotic lands beyond. dolph have a hidden past? Or Jacques? And

Product No. 9149 why is Coca saying all these terriible things On February 1, as Kim Mohan reported inSuggested Retail Price: $10.00 about everybody? DRAGON® issue #103, the prices on some

The KNAVE OF HEARTS Scenario starts TSR® items will be increasing. The $12.00as a soap opera... but ends in murder! An- hardcover books will be going to $15.00,

N3 DESTINY OF KINGS other PARTYZONE Entertainment Game — and the DMG will now cost $18.00. Most ofAD&De Game Adventure for a party they’ll talk about for weeks. our boxed games (except D&D® Basic and

by Steven Bourne Product No. 3523 Expert Sets) are going from $13.50 toIntrigue and mystery abound as you get Suggested Retail Price: $19.95 $15.00. Existing $6.00 modules will not in-

involved with a missing heir to the throne crease in price, but new ones will be $8.00of a small kingdom. Wits and creativity or higher.

count for more than swordplay in this excit- DRAGONSWORD OF JANKHMAR� We really do regret the need to raiseing novice-level adventure. ONE-ON-ONE� Gamebook #5 prices, but bills keep increasing, and our

Product No. 9163 by James M. Ward margin of profit on books, games, andSuggested Retail Price: $8.00 Join Fafhrd™ and the Gray Mouser™ on modules has been steadily shrinking.

their quest to locate and recover the myste- This is the first price increase ever in therious Dragonsword in this new, exciting history of TSR, Inc. We know that this is a

CM7 THE TREE OF LIFE ONE-ON-ONE™ Gamebook adventure. big jump for a lot of you, but we raised

D&D® Companion Game Adventure In a ONE-ON-ONE Gamebook, each prices enough so that we don’t expect to

by Bruce Heard player takes a different book. By turning raise prices again for many years to come

Form a party consisting entirely of elves, pages and reading aloud, they pursue each — never, if we can help it.

and explore the hidden lands of the Sylvan other through dark catacombs . . . and fi- On new modules, we will be increasing

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Suggested Retail Price: $8.00 FAFRHD and GRAY MOUSER are trademarks owned by FritzWe’re grateful for your support over the

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THE INHERITANCE� Scenario harder to give you the best games, mod-

PARTYZONE� Game #2 AMAZING� STORIES Books ules, and accessories in the field.

by Douglas NilesJ.J. Caldwell, patriarch of the Caldwell Strange, unexpected, and startling! The

clan, is dead. And he’s left a lot of money. AMAZING™ Stories books combine modern Unless otherwise noted:You are one of the heirs . . . but did you kill horror and weirdness into exciting novels ofthe old man? suspense and mystery.

® denotes registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.™ denotes other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

PARTYZONE™ Entertainment Games are In Book #5, Starskimmer by John Betan-a new type of party game. When your court, a starship pilot is hired by mysterious

©1986 TSR, Inc. All Rights Resewed.

guests arrive, each receives a new identity free traders to help them in a project to— and then the fun starts! By talking with “skim” rare jewels from the fringes ofeach other, trading information, and using stars.the little props that come with the game, In Book #6, Death of a Mayfly, by Lee En-the guests solve a unique murder mystery. derln, a young girl arrives in a small town

Give a party they’ll talk about for weeks where the residents are holding a very sinis-afterward . . . with a PARTYZONE Entertain- ter festival. . . .ment Game! Starskimmer Product No. 8080

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KNAVE OF HEARTS� ScenarioPARTYZONE� Game #3

by Miihael and Deborah DobsonMadeline Grant is getting engaged, but is

her husband who he says he is? Is any-body? And what about Simon Tombs? Is hethe jewel thief, or what? And is there really

DR A G O N 61

KIMMOHAN

“My principal purpose in grant-ing this interview,” said KimMohan, DRAGON® Magazine’smale Editor-In-Chief, “is to let peo-ple know what sex I am.”

“I’ve had fun at conventionswhen people see my name tag andthen do a double-take when they seemy beard, but now it's time to let theworld in on the truth.”

Kim was born in Chicago on May 4,1949, and moved to Williams Bay,Wis. (just a few miles west of Lake Ge-neva), when he was five. He grew upin Williams Bay as an avid sci-ence-fiction and fantasy reader and occasional wargamer, and graduated thirdin his high school class.

He enrolled in Beloit

(Wis.) College (right on the Wis-consin/Illinois border), where heswitched majors a lot — philosophy,mathematics, etc. Everything, in fact,except for English and Journalism.

“I decided that what I really wanted todo was write, so I sort of fell into a jobworking for the Lake Geneva RegionalNews as a reporter, and dropped out ofcollege. That lasted for a few months,then I joined the staff of the Beloit DailyNews, where I stayed for nine years."

During that time, Kim was a sportswriter, an editorial writer, the state edi-tor, the wire service editor, and justabout everything else. “I was a handy-man, doing a little bit of everything as itneeded to be done. Come to think of it,that’s what I’m still doing,” he said.

After nine years, he had grown tired ofthe newspaper business, but wasn’tsure what he wanted to do next. So hequit his job to become a freelance writerfor various newspapers. That wasn’t fi-nancially viable. “Besides, I discoveredthat I really needed someone to tell mewhen I had to be at work,” Kim said.

One day, in the summer of 1979, Kimdrove over to Lake Geneva, walked inthe door of what was then the TSR Peri-odicals headquarters, and invited him-self for an interview. They gave himsome freelance editing assignments asa test, and when he brought them backin, they hired him on the spot.

Kim started as the number-three manon a three-man staff. Not too long there-after, he was promoted to Assistant Edi-tor of the magazine, and then to

Editor-in-Chief with issue #49 (May1981).

“I suppose I shouldn’t say this, butI’m not much of a D&D® game player.This helps me keep my objectivity,which is all to the good. When I look at amanuscript, my judgment isn’t influ-enced by my experience as a player orDM. I see everything as an editor.

“I was very interested in playing theD&D game when I first heard of it, butby the time I found people to play with,the game was my job — and after work-ing with it all day, I didn’t want it to bemy hobby, too,” Kim said. “This helpskeep the game fresh for me.”

Kim describes himself as a “compu-terphile,” and enjoys writing programsand tinkering with his Commodore 64 inhis spare time. He also collects stamps.“Well, I accumulate stamps, actually.Sometime I’m going to take six weeksoff and put them all in albums.”

In addition to being Editor-in-Chief ofDRAGON® Magazine, Kim also per-forms some managerial duties forSTRATEGY & TACTICS® Magazine andAMAZING® Stories. His job involves eve-rything from planning to production,meaning that he does everything fromread manuscripts to set type when nec-essary. Putting out a monthly magazineis an unbelievably complicated process,and Kim is proud of the fact thatDRAGON® Magazine has never misseda printing deadline during his tenure aseditor.

In addition to his regular duties, Kimserved earlier this year as the editor andgeneral handyman for the Unearthed

“The extra projects are extrawork, naturally,” he said, “butthey were also very fulfilling.”

The magazine has grown tremen-dously since Kim took it over, and thathas resulted in a number of changes —some of them not good ones. “I’venever wanted to discourage amateurwriters from submitting, but we justdon’t have as much time for personalfeedback and nurturing of new talent aswe used to. We’ve become somewhatimpersonal, and that bothers me — butthere’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I like to get letters from our readers. Ialways read them, even if I can’t print oranswer all of them. What our readersthink is a very important factor in whatkind of magazine we make,” he said.

Arcana rule book, and heedited Saga of Old City,Gary Gygax’s first novel.

62 JANUARY 1986

PATPRICE

On the masthead of every issue ofDRAGON® Magazine, under “EditorialStaff,” is the name of Patrick Lucien Price.In every issue of STRATEGY & TACTICS®Magazine, here listed as Assistant Editor, isPatrick Lucien Price. And if you open an is-sue of AMAZING® Stories Magazine, therehe is again: Pat Price, Managing Editor. Al-though you may not know him by name,his work in each issue of TSR’s magazinesis very important indeed.

For DRAGON Magazine, Pat edits bookreviews, compiles the Convention Calendar,proofreads everything, occasionally sets

type, and handles a lot of the details of pro-duction. For STRATEGY & TACTICS Maga-zine, he does the same. His primaryresponsibility, though, is for AMAZING Sto-ries. Working with editor George Scithers(who is located in Philadelphia), Pat coordi-nates all business and production aspectsof the magazine. He handles contracts,typesetting, page design, relationshipswith the printer and purchasing agents,subscription labels, ad placement, storytracking, covers. . . . Whew! There’s hardlya single detail of magazine production,however small, that doesn’t pass acrossPat’s immaculately clean desk.

Pat is originally from Whiting, Ind. (asouthern suburb of Chicago), and has aB.A. in French and Spanish from MarianCollege in Indianapolis, Ind. He became ateacher and tutor in those languages forseveral years.

His brother, Mike Price, was at that time agame designer for TSR, Inc. (He did someGAMMA WORLD® modules and mini-

ing for editors . . . and Pat an-swered the call.

He began with TSR as a games editor in1980, working on the revisions of theD&D® Basic and Expert Sets. After a yearwith the company, he was promoted tomanager of the Pre-Press Department,which handles typesetting, keylining (theprocess by which type and art are pastedonto boards for the printer to photograph),photography, etc. This is one of the mostimportant jobs at TSR — the people in Pre-Press are greatly responsible for makingsure that the final product is done right and

on time. Pat managed the department fornearly three years.

But editing was in his blood, and so hetransferred to the magazine staff. “By thistime, I had the technical background to bea good editor, and I could be useful in allphases of the operation,” he said. “I’m aneditor both by training and temperament,and I really like the job I now have.

“I’m not a gaming fan, or a would-begame designer, or a would-be writer. I likethe editor’s role — the responsibility forhelping people come up with ideas andmake them work. I think I’ve got a goodcritical sense for identifying problem areasin manuscripts and advising writers on im-provements?

According to Pat, editing is much likewriting: it is about manipulating the writtenword. A writer or an editor needs to read alot - not only for ideas, but to learn syntax,improve vocabulary, and study characteri-zation. Pat also likes to read and analyzeother magazines to get ideas about how todo things differently.

Although there are few colleges offeringdegrees in editing, Pat recommends notonly English and Journalism, but also for-eign languages. “Foreign languages areparticularly helpful because you must learnthem formally. This makes you focus onsyntax, grammar, and word choice.”

Pat reviews all fiction submissions for

DRAGON Magazine. His ad-vice to would-be contributors is,“Read, write, read some more, and writesome more. That’s the best thing to do.And, before you send your work off to amagazine, read the magazine first. Seewhat’s being done; learn what formats areacceptable. Research your market. For ex-ample, DRAGON Magazine doesn’t publishpoetry or plays, but I receive both regularly.They are rejected automatically. Thatwastes my time and the author’s efforts. I’dmuch prefer people to write and ask if theywant to submit anything too unusual. It’sfar better to ask a stupid question than todo a stupid thing. And, if you really don’tknow the answer, then it’s not a stupidquestion, is it”

Pat’s pet dragon is named St. Cyril of Mil-waukee.

D R A G O N 6 3

64 JANUARY 1986

HE ORACLE RODE ALONE THROUGHthe gates of Zelloque: around himcrackled an almost-invisible aura ofpower and authority. The City Guardfell in behind him as he headed, intenton his mission, straight for the steps ofthe palace.

* * *

On theRocks atSlab�sby John Gregory Betancourt

I was watching two disembodied heads sing drunkensongs when the trouble started. A couple of City Guardssauntered in, glanced around with disdain, then headedtoward my private table. They looked splendid in fulluniform, with their red capes flapping boldly behindthem.

Quite a few of my tavern�s patrons made a hasty retreatthrough the back door. The heads vanished in puffs ofethereal gasses. I had nothing to hide � nothing much,anyway � so I waited.

�Ulander,� the guard on the right said, �I have a mes-sage for you.� Only then did I recognize him beneath hisred-plumed helm � Nim Bisnar, an old City Guardwho�d worked off and on for me during the last ten years.

�What is it?� I demanded. �You know you�re supposedto use the back entrance � you�ll give my place a badreputation!�

He ignored my protests. �Captain Yoonlag sent us. AnOracle from Ni Treshel � that�s right the Ni Treshel,where the bones of Shon Atasha are kept � came to theGreat Lord�s palace yesterday. He�s looking for moresplinters of his god�s bones. Somehow he�d heard talesabout Slab�s Tavern, and he persuaded the Great Lord tolet him search your place!�

I jolted to my feet, startled and alarmed. �What?When?�

�In an hour, maybe two.�Calling to Lur, my doorman and bodyguard, I dug a

handful of silver royals from my pouch and poured theminto Nim�s hands. �Half are Yoonlag�s. Split the other halfbetween you.�

�Thank you, sir!� they both said, then turned to go �through the back door, this time.

Lur lumbered over to my side. He was a large man �about seven feet tall, with broad shoulders and musclesenough to make him look twice as large. I�d always foundthose characteristics ideal for my purposes.

�Master?��Throw everybody out,� I said, �except the servants.��Sir?� he said, bewildered.�You heard me � do it!�The tavern was dark, its dim light concealing the crum-

bling plaster and foot-worn paving stones. There werenumerous secluded spots, and off at the curtained boothalong the edge of the room, illegal transactions were tak-ing place. I marked the pirates at their tables, with theirrich, colorful, jewel-encrusted clothes that mimicked butnever quite equaled the dress of wealthy noblemen, andnodded to the ones I knew � Rigelem Teq, Hilan Lam-miat, Kol Fesseda, a few others. In return for protectinghis city�s ships, the Great Lord of Zelloque had made hiscity an open port ten years earlier. In one dark corner acouple of black-robed slavers threw dice; in another, two Illustrations by George Barr

D R A G O N 6 5

dock hands threatened each other with knives. With littlepatience or gentleness, various barkeeps persuaded themto take their squabble to a nearby alley. But mostly thepeople drank and talked and sang too loudly, the roomringing with boisterous shouts as they swore, laughed, andargued.

Lur moved among them, bending now and then towhisper something in various ears. Usually the men wouldturn pale, then tremble, then bolt for the door. Even thepirates left without a fight � Lur�s imposing bulk was justtoo much for them, I guessed. Within minutes the placewas deserted.

For a long minute, I just stood there and pondered theGuard�s words. An Oracle, coming to search my tavernfor a splinter of a god�s bone. . . .

More than ghostly, disembodied heads that sangdrunken songs, my tavern had quite a reputation forstrange, magical happenings � it had helped keep awayall but the least bloodthirsty clientele. Slab�s was the sortof place where anything could happen: rumor said that,late at night, drunks sometimes inexplicably becamesober, the furniture rearranged itself (always when nobodywas looking), and people sometimes vanished, never to beseen again. Of course, that was only rumor, but I didknow that against the far wall stood a table where chilledwine tasted like warm blood, and there was a certain spot(which moved every night) where Slab Vethiq himself, theman who�d founded my noble drinking establishment,was known to appear from time to time � or at least, hisspirit was. And even if Slab didn�t come, chances weresomeone � or some thing � else would . . . if you steppedtoo close.

The two drunken, singing heads suddenly appearedover a table. One of the barmaids seized a broom andswatted at them until they disappeared.

If the Oracle saw them � or anything else magical �he�d tear the building down in search of his bone.

I barred the doors and shuttered the windows. At oncethe barmaids lit tallow candles and set them in variousniches. The place filled with a warm, somewhat hazylight. Everyone stared at me, wondering (I could tell) if Ihad gone completely mad. It was then that I told them, inshort, blunt, angry words, what Nim had told me andwhat I planned to do about it.

The Oracle moved through the streets of Zelloque like ahot knife cutting through fat. He wore gold-and-blue silkpantaloons, a gold silk shirt, and slippers of soft, whiteklindu fur, and he carried a golden wheel in his arms. Hiswheel glittered brightly, red and blue from rubies andsapphires, gold and silver from the dying sun�s light.Behind him, in perfect formation, marched twentymembers of the City Guard.

He held his divine purpose in mind: to gather all thebones of Shon Atasha the Creator together into one place,to use their magic to summon His spirit back to Earth.

The noise of a hundred tramping feet echoed loudlythrough the deserted streets.

Trying to reason with ghosts seldom succeeds. Like withSlab.

66 JANUARY 1986

�Bones!� he mocked. �Bones!� And then he trailed offin laughter.

I stepped back and he slowly disappeared,disintegrating in wisps of green fog.

�Well,� I told him, �at least I�m not going to die tryingto swallow fifty blue-backed crabs � alive!� But gloatingwouldn�t help; he didn�t have to worry about having hislivelihood demolished. He could always go hauntsomeplace else.

I should have known better than to try to persuade himand all the other ghosts not to appear during the Oracle�svisit. Now I had a terrible suspicion they�d be certain toshow up, if anyone stepped close to their special spot(which, fortunately, was off in one dark corner tonight).

I stood back and surveyed everyone else�s work, thengave the signal for the doors to be unbolted and theshutters thrown open. Afternoon sunlight flooded in.

Most of my employees now sat at various tables, withbottles and goblets of wine before them, looking like thetavern�s regulars. I�d stationed them in all the placeswhere I knew odd things occurred; they all had orders toprevent anything unusual from happening � at any cost.Only Lur and a couple of the barmaids kept to theirregular duties, moving from table to table as usual. Forthe thousandth time, I thanked my good fortune in havingthe most loyal servants money could buy. None wouldgive my secrets away.

�Master?� Lur said, looming over me. I took a quickstep back and he still loomed over me. �I hear themcoming.�

Straining, I heard them too � the tramp-tramp ofmany booted feet somewhere close at hand. Then theymarched outside and halted there. One of the Guards,silhouetted in the door, stood for a second and surveyedthe place before entering. Then I recognized him: TaynLastoq, the Captain of all the City Guard � one of thefew officials I�d never been able to bribe. Behind himcame another figure � the Oracle.

Like all the Rashendi, this one wore gaudy,brilliantly-colored silk clothing. He carried hisfuture-telling wheel in front of him like a holy relic,which, of course, it was.

�This is the place?� he asked, with obvious disdain. Hesniffed.

�Yes, Oracle,� Tayn said.�So be it. Find what I seek.�I stepped forward. �Wait a minute ���Be quiet, Ulander!� Tayn snapped. I could see the

Oracle had begun to annoy him � and he was taking itout on me. �I know you better than you think. You knowwhy we�re here! Now let us get on with our business.�

�I have friends in high places!�He whirled around, his sword suddenly in his hand. Its

point touched my chest just below my heart. �Narmon Rihimself ordered the search. You have no choice. Do youunderstand?�

Lur tensed beside me, growling softly, ready to attackTayn. I restrained him with a quick look, then turnedback to the Captain of the Guard. �I understand,� I toldhim. �But if anything�s broken, I�m sending Lord Ri thebill .�

He laughed, then, and resheathed his sword. �You havea quick wit, Ulander. I�ll tell the men to keep the damageto a minimum.�

He turned and sauntered out, leaving the Oracle therealone. I heard Tayn instructing his men through the opendoor.

�Who are you?� the Rashendi asked me.�Ulander Rasym, owner of this establishment.�He stared at me a moment, eyes strange and dark.�Perhaps if you told me more about this god�s bone, I�d

be able to help. What does it look like? Where should itbe?�

�It may take,� the Rashendi said softly, �any form � apiece of marble, a building stone. They try to remainhidden. For years I have located bones for the shrine in NiTreshel. Each splinter has been different � and yet thesame. They have an odd feel, an uncertain look as if theirshape is untrue. With my wheel I can perceive a splinter�strue nature, if it is put before me.� He nodded wisely. �Soit has always been. I will find one here, I feel.� Then heturned and wandered toward the curtained booths.

Off to one side, I saw wisps of fog beginning to gatherabove a table. I gestured wildly to one of the barmaids.With a gasp, she seized her broom and stepped forward,swinging madly at the two disembodied heads that hadbegun to appear. They�d started to sing �

Vimister Groll was a merry old soulWho loved his wine and women �

but dissipated just before the Oracle turned to look back.The barmaid pretended to chase cobwebs from the ceilingwith her broom while two of the barkeeps took turnscontinuing the song, mimicking the ghosts� high, drunkenvoices:

He picked a brew and drank up toThe point his nose fell brim -in -

It rapidly became obvious they�d never heard the tunebefore and were making it up as they went along.Fortunately, they soon became stumped at a rhyme forsausage and grew silent.

Tayn Lastoq and his men entered and spread throughthe tavern. For once, everything seemed to be going well� they found nothing but dust beneath the tables andunder the booths. I followed Tayn around, looking overhis shoulder, trying my best to bother him.

�You see,� I said again and again. �There�s nothinghere.�

Then I turned around and noticed Slab Vethiq sitting atone of the tables, as solid-looking as he�d ever been in life.He grinned at me, then turned back to his wine. As Istared, other people began appearing at the other tables,gradually filling the place. I recognized one � thenanother � then another. They were all patrons who�ddied! Fortunately, they�d brought their own wine.

Nobody else seemed to notice.The Oracle now stood in the middle of the room as the

men searched, ignoring the people seated at tables. Helooked mildly annoyed at not having found his bone

(though I had repeatedly said it wasn�t here in front ofhim). At last he shouted for Tayn. The Captain of theGuard hurried over.

�Yes, Oracle?��Tear out the counter, then have your men start on the

booths in the back. I want it found if it takes all night!�With a sigh, Tayn turned to obey. I threw myself in

front of him before he could speak. �There must beanother way!� I said. �You can�t just tear up my tavern!�

�I�m sorry, Ulander, but ��Just then, one of his men chose to step too close to that

certain spot in the corner. With a roaring sound, a gaintmouth appeared, filling the whole ten feet between floorand ceiling. Its lips were thick and bloodless white; itsteeth were sharp, jagged spikes; its tongue lolled out likesome immense gray carpet. Gazing down its gullet, I sawonly blackness.

This seemed to be what Slab was waiting for. With aninsane cry, he rose and seemed to flow rather than walk tothe Oracle. Seizing the Rashendi by the hair, he draggedhim forward and into the mouth, vanishing down itsthroat. The other ghosts of patrons long-dead grabbed allthe guards, Tayn included, and spirited them off as well.

The mouth closed with a snap, the tongue flicked overthe lips, and it vanished with a slight sucking sound.

Too stunned to do more than stare at the now-emptycorner, I just stood there. Then one of the barmaids beganto scream. I heard a slapping sound and she shut up.

I retreated to my booth and sat down heavily. I wasruined, I knew. The Great Lord would have me executedfor killing his favorite Captain and twenty of his guards.His assassins would track me down wherever I went. Well,I figured, at least I could get drunk, ease the pain of mydeath � that was the only advantage left of owning a

DRAGON 67

haunted tavern.Hearing singing, I looked up. The two disembodied

heads had appeared over my table. Slowly they driftedaway. Sounds from outside told me a number of pirateshad entered. Business went on as usual.

As the day wore on and I got progressively drunker, Ibegan to hear strange rumors: tales of how twenty-one ofLord Ri�s guards had been plucked from the harbor byslavers � and Lord Ri had declined to buy them back;tales of how their leader, Tayn Lastoq, had gone mad andled his men and an Oracle off to fight sea-monsters; talesof how the Oracle had disappeared, never to be seenagain.

That night, Slab�s haunted spot moved into my privatebooth. I first became aware of it when I looked up andfound Slab sitting in front of me, casually sipping a bottleof my best Coranian brandy. He raised it in salute, and

gave me a knowing wink, then slowly faded away.I shuddered a bit. That wink had always disturbed me

back in the days when Slab still lived and I�d been hisright-hand man, with only as much power as he let mehave. That wink had been a private sign, one lastreminder that he owned the place and I never would . . .or so he�d thought.

But I�d saved my money, made sure I knew all the rightpeople, and finally taken over when he�d died. But for allthe documents that said I owned the place, somethingdeep inside me called me a fool, and cursed, and somehowI knew the truth.

I drank more wine and tried not to think. My painseased: somehow everything no longer seemed quite sogrim. Slab, they�d said when he was alive, always takescare of his own.

Secure with that thought, I drifted toward sleep.

68 JANUARY 1986

LOGLOG

CONTENTS

ARES Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

RITES OF PASSAGEDanny Kretzer . . . . . . . . . 71Joining your local Cryptic Alliance

THE MARVEL®-PHILEJeff Grubb . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74�Why does it have to be snakes?�

VILLAINS & VARIANTSJohn J. Polojac . . . . . . . . . . 76Optional rules for VILLAINS &VIGILANTES� games

THE BIG GUNSWilliam Wilson Goodson, Jr. 78Marvelous ships, planes, tanks, and subs

EXPANDING THEFRONTIERWilliam Tracy . . . . . . . . . . . 82Planetary exploration for fun and profit

ON THE COVERFive of the newest foes of Captain

America� slither into this issue as mem-bers of the criminal union called the Ser-pent Society�. Read about them on p. 74.Art by the Marvel Bullpen; collage byRoger Raupp.

70 JANUARY 1986

Those of you who are comic-book hero fans might be inter-ested to know of a new book on the market which detailsmany of the greatest (and not-so-greatest) heroes ever toappear on the comics racks. The Encyclopedia of SuperHeroes, by Jeff Rovin, lists the appearances, origins, powers,and biographies of hundreds of super-powered heroes.Those featured range from the famed Marvel and DC Comicscharacters to more exotic and humorous ones like Under-dog, Ultraman, Super Pickle, Space Ghost, Isis, Judge Dredd,the Lone Ranger, the Masked Lizard, Megaton Man, Tarzan,Captain Nice, Wonder Wart-Hog, Super Chicken (and Fred),Zorro, Captain Klutz, Kid Psycho, The Shadow, Doc Savage,Mighty Mouse, Popeye, and (ahem) Roger Ramjet.

The few problem areas that this wonderful volume havelie in the realm of who or what is not included in the listings.For example, I cannot find Magnus, Robot-Fighter (of 4000A.D. fame), my absolute favorite hero of all time, dating frommy childhood; nor can I find Spain�s Trashman, the black-bearded, post-holocaust revolutionary from the under-ground comics of a few years back. Jeff Grubb, who is inlove with this book, was miffed that Danger Mouse was leftout, especially since Bananaman is listed. And, if G-8 isincluded, why not James Bond?

I also admit that I would have loved to see individual pic-tures for all the heroes and more details on each. A compan-ion volume covering super-powered villains would be nice,too. But I cannot fault the quality of this volume otherwise.The Encyclopedia of Super Heroes is a superb collection thatmakes an excellent resource book for all gamers involved inhero campaigns. As a gift book, it�s hard to beat.

The Encyclopedia of Super Heroes is published by Facts onFile, Inc., N.Y., N.Y.; it is hardbound (about 8½� x 11�, 443pp.), and it costs $29.95.

ARES� Section 105THE SCIENCE-FICTION GAMING SECTION

Editor: Roger E. MooreEditorial assistance: Eileen Lucas, Georgia Moore, Patrick Lucien Price

Graphics, design, and production: Betty Elmore, Kim Lindau,Roger Raupp

All materials published in the ARES Section become the exclusive propertyof the publisher upon publication, unless special arrangements to the con-trary are made prior to publication. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome,but the publisher assumes no responsibility for them, and they will not bereturned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope ofsufficient size and volume.

ARES is a trademark of TSR, Inc.'s science-fiction gaming section inDRAGON® Magazine. All rights on the contents of this section are reserved,and nothing may be reproduced from it without prior permission in writingfrom the publisher. Copyright ©1985 TSR, Inc. DRAGON, STAR FRONTIERS,and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc. Copyright©1985 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

All Marvel characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarksof the Marvel Comics Group. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPERVILLAINS are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. Copyright ©1985Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. AllRights Reserved.

VILLAINS & VIGILANTES is a trademark of Fantasy Games Unlimited.

by Danny Kretzer

Whitney was lead into a small room bythe hooded figure. A single shaft ofsunlight from a high window. In onecorner of the room sat a large metal boxwith a screen and buttons along oneside. A coiled length of wire sat by thedevice, one end attached to the back ofthe device and the other end lying onthe floor, tipping with an unusual pro-jection.

“You wish to join the ranks of theRestorationists,” the hooded one spoke."First, you must prove yourself worthy.That device” — the figure gestured tothe corner of the room — “was a com-munications system of the Ancients.Make this device functional, and youmay take your place with us. You haveuntil sunset.”

With that, the hooded one left theroom. Whitney stared at the alien con-traption. Over and over, the hoodedone’s words echoed in his mind.

“You have until sunset....”

In order to join a certain Cryptic Alli-ance in the GAMMA WORLD® game, alla player character has to do roll per-centile dice, as noted on p. 53 of theBasic Rules Booklet. What this dice rollsimulates is not specified, hut themethod seems very insufficient. When aperson joins a certain organization, theorganization wants to make sure thatthe new member is of the sort the orga-nization is looking for.

At one point in my campaign, severalPCs tried to join the Restorationists. OnePC who was a Pure Strain Human withvery low intelligence and mentalstrength scores rolled a 07, so he wasautomatically able to join. A humanoidPC who was not only highly intelligent

hut who also had mechanical geniusrolled an 86, thereby failing to join thatalliance. This didn�t seem right. Whyshould a Cryptic Alliance that needsintelligent people to figure out artifactsand piece together the culture of theAncients choose brawn over brains?

From that point, I put into effect the�initiation rule.� In order to join a Cryp-tic Alliance, a PC would have to pass aspecific test or initiation that replacedthe dice roll.

The first thing a PC has to do is tolocate an appropriate Cryptic Alliancebase, which could prove to he an adven-ture in itself. Just finding information oncertain bases runs the risk of beingbadly misled or stumbling across ene-mies of your chosen alliance.

Once the base is located and its per-sonnel contacted, a fee is usuallyrequired to take the initiation test.(Every alliance needs money.) Regardlessof the amount of money offered or thepersonality of the applicant, a charactercannot join an alliance that is opposed tohis or her (or its) racial type. For exam-ple, a Pure Strain Human could not getinto the Radioactivists.

The initiation itself could vary widely,depending on the nature of the CrypticAlliance performing it. Warlike alliancesare generally the more savage and barbaric sorts, and have goals centeringaround military activity, conquest,destruction, and warfare. The Ranks ofthe Fit and the Friends of Entropy aretwo good examples of this type of orga-nization. An initiation into these alli-ances would likely consist of a test ofcourage, endurance, or fighting prow-ess. Combat with large monsters, drivingor running through an obstacle course,or spending the night in a cold, wet, andpossibly inhabited cavern are three goodexamples of such initiations.

D R A G O N 7 1

Runo stood in the center of the warpit, the howls of the audience filling hisears. The desert sun was as hot as ablast furnace, but he wasn’t sweatingfrom the heat.

“Hey, mutant bait!” shrieked a facelessvoice among the watching horde.“‘Catch!” He leaped aside as a six-footspear slammed in to the ground besidehim. The roar of the audience redoubledand became a mindless thunder. Is join-ing the Red Death a good idea after all?he wondered. But he had little time tothink now. The cage door was beingopened. The Duel of Death had begun.Runo snatched at the spear in panicwhen he saw what was coming for himout of the darkness. . . .

Peaceful Cryptic Alliances are thosededicated to the protection and aid ofliving creatures. Initiations into thesegroups would consist of healing aninjured person or creature with severalmedical artifacts provided for this pur-pose, or performing some great andselfless deed using nonviolent methods.

“Attend, Torrel,” said the Healer. “Onthe table before you are five devices.You must choose one with which to healthe podog on the straw mat.”

Torrel blinked as he looked over thevarious artifacts. One was a white boxwith a scratched red cross on the side,containing several jet-spray tubes andcontainers of medicine. After a fewmoments, he chose the box. One of thejet-spray tubes appeared functional, andhe loaded an antibiotic into it. Then hewalked over to the whimpering, shaggymass of fur that looked up at him withhuge, brown eyes. Here goes, Torrelthought, and gave the creature the fullinjection. . . .

Some alliances are religious in nature,built around the worship of one or moredeities and serving them by actsdesigned to promote their worship.initiations would usually involve a for-mal service, prolonged questioning onreligious doctrine, and possibly a specialrite to see if the gods show favor in theinitiate. Archivists, Followers of theVoice, and Radioactivists are alliances ofthis sort. Successful operation of anartifact might get one into the Archi-vists; successful operation of a computerterminal or program might work for theFollowers (with a SYNTAX ERROR messageindicating divine disfavor).

Bereny approached the cave under the,watchful eyes of the two mutant priests.He stopped before the ancient opening

and examined the faded sign over theentrance. WARNING! REACTOR CHAMBER!AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!

�Here is where you must seek yourfate,� said the two priests in unison.�Inside a waits the shining Radiant DivineGlory. The Glory will either find favorwith you or blight you with a defect. Ifyou are unchanged, there is still theTrial of the Green Pit. Go now.�

The priests fell silent. Bereny steeledhimself, then started toward thec a v e r n s .

Cultural alliances vary greatly, more sothan any other sort, and their initiationpractices vary as well. Alliances of thisnature seek to bring into being a world-wide culture common to all beings.Restorationists, Seekers, and the Broth-erhood of Thought are of this sort.

Generally speaking, initiations intothese groups requires the PC to showthat he has the skills or powers neces-sary to be an asset to the organization.Whitney�s trial with the Restorationists(at the start of this article) was such aninitiation. If another alliance wanted topromote a world culture based uponpeaceful cooperation between human-oids and Pure Strain Humans, theymight set up a puzzle, trial, or problemthat requires the combined efforts ofone being of each sort to solve. Anattempt to find the fastest route througha maze (with some nasty traps scatteredthroughout its corridors) would be sucha test.

Finally, there are the genetic alliances,which are essentially racist in natureand seek to destroy all other intelligentbeings not of their own species ormutant type. Some have watered thisphilosophy down so that they seek onlyto enslave those not of their own spe-cies, but genocide is usually the rule. If aviolent end to other creatures is sought,an initiation usually consists of hand-to-hand combat with a captive creature ofthe unfavored sort. If the alliance per-mits mutations and the initiate possessesthem, they may be used in the combat.

Though theoretically anyone of theappropriate genotype could join agenetic alliance, their ranks are usuallyrestricted to those who are deemedsuperior to their fellows in skill, power,and dedication to the cause. The Cre-ated, Zoopremisists, Iron Society, andKnights of Genetic Purity may be consid-ered genetic alliances, with overtones ofwarlike alliances evident.

Arturo stood alone in the domedroom, feeling the slight chill from the airconditioners. Some arena this was, he

sneered. Big deal. So he was supposed toprove himself to the other Knights bykilling some wimp humanoid? Fine. Hehad his shotgun, commando knife, har-poon gun, strangling wire, and everything else. So why were the facespressed against the thick quartz win-dows around the room so worried look-ing? Hey, they�d never seen him inaction.

The door opposite him opened, With alightning move, he snatched at his har-poon gun and took aim.

And froze.She was easily the most beautiful

woman he had ever seen in his life, astunning platinum blonde with a heart-breaking face, crystal blue eyes, and �

Four arms, each whipping back tohurl a dagger at him. He raised the har-poon again, but he�d waited too long. . .

Any PC undergoing an initiation into aCryptic Alliance should use only the tooland weapons given to him by the alli-ance itself. Combat situations should bebalanced, though bias in favor of eitheropponent may be hard to avoid in com-plicated fights using weapons and vari-ous mutations.

If the referee has created his ownCryptic Alliances (as delineated in

DRAGON® issue #93), then it shouldn�tbe a difficult matter to design an initia-tion rite for them. The Friends of Justicemight admit those who prove them-selves by taking on a particular threatagainst their home town, for example.

Adventuring situations with initiationceremonies should also be considered.The PCs might be hired to infiltrate aparticular alliance, thus being requiredto undergo the initiation ceremony inorder to complete their mission. Once inthe organization, the PCs set about steal-ing a particular item, assassinating ahated leader, or the like. Perhaps theinitiation will be worse than the missionthe PCs were to carry out.

The PCs might also be forced to joinan alliance that is suffering from lowmembership. Once initiated, the PCs�next job will be to escape

Extraordinary initiations might alsooccur. If the PCs join an organization ata time when the alliance desperatelyneeds a particular mission accomplished,they might end up taking the missioninstead of a regular initiation. As onewould expect, the alliance is not likely tocharge the PCs for this assistance, and ifthe mission succeeds, the PCs may behailed as alliance heroes.

D R A G O N 7 3

completes our collection of the bad guys All Marvel Characters, their l ikenesses, and MAR

SUPER HEROES are trademarks of the Marvel Comicsof the Serpent Society.

Thanks, Mark. Nothing is better thangetting a full set of serpents.

Group. Copyright 1985 Marvel Comics Group, a divi-

sion of Cadence Industries Corporation. All Rights

Reserved .

by Jeff GrubbA few months ago, I gushed about theefforts of Mr. Peter Sanderson. In addi-tion to being the writer of the MarvelSaga� and co-writer of the OfficialHandbook of the Marvel Universe�, Petecame to GENCON® 18 to help out. Nowit�s Mark Gruenwald�s turn. MarkGruenwald is the other co-writer of theOfficial Handbook of the MarvelUniverse, as well as the writer of theSquadron Supreme� Limited Series andone of my favorite books, CaptainAmerica�.

In MHAC-7, Concrete Jungle, we laidout the existing members of the SerpentSquad�, which recently tripled in sizeand became the Serpent Society�,including some new, never-seen-beforemembers. Enter Mr. Gruenwald, whosent me the information on Rattler�;coupled with his entries onBushmaster�, Diamondback�, Asp�, andCottonmouth� from OHOTMU, this

BUSHMASTER�Real name unrevealed

Fighting: EXCELLENT (20)Agility: EXCELLENT (20)Strength: EXCELLENT (20)Endurance: GOOD (10)Reason: GOOD (10)Intuition: GOOD (10)Psyche: TYPICAL (6)

Health: 90Karma: 26Resources: GOODPopularity: -7

Known powers:

BIONIC LIMBS. Bushmaster is a quadri-plegic who has bionic arms attached to

ASP�Real name unrevealed

Fighting: GOOD (10)Agility: REMARKABLE (30)Strength: TYPICAL (6)Endurance: EXCELLENT (20)Reason: TYPICAL (6)Intuition: EXCELLENT (20)Psyche: TYPICAL (6)

Health: 66Karma: 32Resources: GOODPopularity: -5

Known powers:

VENOM BLASTS. Asp radiates anunknown form of paralytic energy thatinflicts Feeble damage on anyone who

74 JANUARY 1986

remains in the same area with her foran hour; prolonged contact with Asp isfatal. She may direct this energy into asingle bolt of bio-energy, striking a tar-get in the same area with her. This boltinflicts Remarkable damage to livingcreatures, and those hit must make anEndurance FEAT against the Remark-

COTTONMOUTH�Quincy McIver

Fighting: EXCELLENT (20)Agility: GOOD (10)Strength: TYPICAL (6)Endurance: GOOD (10)Reason: TYPICAL (6)Intuition: GOOD (10)

able-intensity bolt or be stunned for 1-10 Psyche: TYPICAL (6)rounds. Upon firing this bolt, Asp can-not fire another until recharged. This Health: 46

takes a half-hour, but if engaged inKarma: 22

strenuous activity (such as belly-dancing,Resources: GOOD

which she enjoys), she may rechargePopularity: -3

fully in 10 minutes. Known powers:

DANCER. Asp has excellent control of BIONIC JAWS. McIver�s mouth and jawsher arms, legs, and torso muscles, since have been bionically enhanced. His teethshe is an accomplished dancer. Her agil- were replaced with Incredible-strengthity is Incredible when dodging. steel, and his jaws were strengthened

his shoulders and a 14�-long snakeliketail instead of legs. These modificationsgive Bushmaster the stats listed above,as well as the abilities to move at 4 areasper round and to spring up to 1 areaaway (or 2 stories straight up). If usinghis tail in wrestling combat, Bushmastermay exert Remarkable constrictingstrength on his target.

CLAWS. Bushmaster�s bionic arms eachinclude two 6-inch �fangs.� These clawsare made of Remarkable-strength mate-rial, inflict Remarkable damage on theHack-&-Slash chart, and are tipped withExcellent-intensity snake poison. (Thosefailing an Endurance FEAT will beknocked unconscious and will loseEndurance ranks if a second EnduranceFEAT is failed.)

and hinged like a snake�s. Cottonmouthuses his jaws as a does a snake, inflictingRemarkable Hack-&-Slash damage to anopponent. (He hits on the Incrediblecolumn if in wrestling combat with hisvictim.) His jaws close with Remarkablestrength and are capable of surroundingand crushing a normal-sized cinderblock.

DIAMONDBACK�Rachel Leighton

Fighting: REMARKABLE (30)Agility: REMARKABLE (30)Strength: GOOD (10)Endurance: GOOD (10)Reason: GOOD (10)Intuition: GOOD (10)Psyche: EXCELLENT (20)

Health: 80Karma: 40Resources: GOODPopularity: -1

Known powers:

THROWING DIAMONDS: Diamondback�spreferred weapons are a set of throwingspikes constructed of carbon tool-steelwith collapsible hard rubber vanes. Shethrows these diamond-shaped spikeswith Incredible Agility for a range of 3areas. The effects of a spike depend onthe type of head used with it; the follow-ing are examples.

Needle � Inflicts Good Hack-&-Slashdamage.

Venom � Does damage as Needle, withExcellent-intensity poison.

Explosive � Explodes in a single areafor Remarkable damage to all withinthat area.

Acid � Contains Remarkable-strengthcorrosives that inflict Excellent damageto living targets.

Narcotic � Contains a Remarkable-intensity sleep-drug. If the target fails anEndurance FEAT, the target will beunconscious for 1-10 hours.

RATTLER�Gustav Krueger

Fighting: GOOD (10)Agility: GOOD (10)Strength: EXCELLENT (20)Endurance: EXCELLENT (20)Reason: GOOD (10)Intuition: TYPICAL (6)Psyche: TYPICAL (6)

Health: 60Karma: 22Popularity: -3Resources: GOOD

Known powers:

BIONIC TAIL: Rattler�s tail is an artificialbionic implant of unknown origin, and ithas several super-powered abilities. Thetail may lift with Remarkable strength. Ifused as a weapon, it strikes for Remark-able damage. In addition, it may gener-ate sonic vibration waves of up toRemarkable intensity. Used offensively,the vibrations strike with Remarkableforce, breaking down materials of lessermaterial strength. The vibrations maydisrupt mechanical devices and causenausea in living creatures. (Living tar-gets make an Endurance FEAT or arestunned from 1-10 rounds.) The tail mayalso set up a vibrational shockwave inthe air that will deflect bullets and otherphysical missile weapons, but it will notaffect energy beams. The range of thisomnidirectional force field is 2 areas.

The Serpent Society�s story: Notmuch is known of the lives of these newmembers of the Serpent Society beforethey joined that team. All that can besaid is that they were active as super-powered criminals before they wererecruited.

The Serpent Society is a descendant ofthe second Serpent Squad�. The originalSerpent Squad consisted of Viper�,Cobra�, Eel�, and Princess Python�; itwas broken up by Captain Americaduring its attempt to capturethe Serpent Crown�. The second Ser-pent Squad was funded by Roxxon�through its mutagenic division, theBrandCorporation�. This group consisted ofteam leader Sidewinder�, Anaconda�,Black Mamba�, and Death Adder�, andit succeeded in capturing the SerpentCrown for Roxxon. Sidewinder desertedhis teammates to make the delivery,then went underground while his ex-partners searched for him and theirshare of the reward.

They located Sidewinder in New YorkCity, where the super-criminal was liv-ing comfortably on his gains. Sidewinderescaped doom at the hands of hisformer comrades by giving them theirintended rewards, with additional inter-est. (Sidewinder had been a financialanalyst before becoming a costumedcriminal, and he had wisely invested themoney.) Sidewinder recruited the threeto form the bedrock of his new SerpentSociety. The group soon recruited Rat-tler,Diamondback, Cobra, Princess Python,Asp, Cottonmoth, andBushmaster into their ranks. Viper

refused their offer, as did Constrictor�(who then attempted to betray thegroup to the authorities).

The Serpent Society�s purpose is toform a union of serpent-named andsnakelike villains to serve as an orga-nized negotiating tool with such majorcriminal powers as A.I.M.�, Hydra�,The Secret Empire�, and Kingpin�. Inthe past, these larger groups would hiresuper-powered mercenaries, but usuallywith little trust, considering themexpendable in combat. The SerpentSociety is essentially a �villains� union�that negotiates for jobs with these orga-nizations, with set fees and guaranteedsatisfaction (or their money cheerfullyrefunded). The members of the societyretain a portion of the fee for any jobthey perform, but the majority of thefunds are invested into dummy corpora-tions and retirement funds for the mem-bers.

In addition, Sidewinder does notaccompany the group on their missions,remaining behind to serve as a rescueforce, if need be. If the members of thesociety are threatened with capture,they may surrender. He will then use histeleporting ability to break them out ofjail in quick fashion. (Sidewinder hasalso put some of their funds into retain-ing a good lawyer, just in case the cap-tured villains are put into an area intowhich he cannot teleport.)

Finally, as members of a tight criminalgroup, these villains may form a KarmaPool, just like organized hero groups.They will chiefly use this pool for escap-ing from heroes, but they significantlyimprove their chances of survival as ateam.

The Serpent Society�s most successfulmission to date has been the captureand neutralization of MODOK� on thebehalf of A.I.M. Their reputation as anorganized team has grown, despite theirlosing battles with Captain America.

Bullpen note: A long while back, Iintroduced the idea of an �advanced� setof rules for the MARVEL SUPERHEROES� game. The response was phe-nomenal, ranging from words of encour-agement to suggestions for new rulesand rule expansions. After wadingthrough the mail, I said that, as a resultof the large number of letters, theAdvanced Set was �under consideration.�

Well, it�s no longer just under consid-eration. It�s coming, and I�ll talk moreabout it next month, as we return to theGreat White North for Alpha andOmega.

D R A G O N 7 5

currently one of the major super-powered hero games, and does a goodjob of simulating the �reality� found inthe comic books. However, the V&Vsystem is not without its weaknesses.Some problems have arisen in the twoyears that my gaming group has beenplaying the game, and I�ve compiled thesolutions we developed. While theserevisions are not official, they shouldadd to game balance, repair minor rulesglitches, and improve the flow of play.Gamemasters and players should haveample experience with the systembefore attempting to integrate any ofthese rules into their prospective cam-paigns, as these rules add complexity tothe game.

The material below is organized in thesame order in which correspondingmaterial appears in the revised rule-book. Thus, each revision is headed by anumber and letter. In the case ofentirely new rules, each is numbered soas to fit into its proper section of therulebook.

2.6-E Final calculations: Basichand-to-hand damage. There is cur-rently no PR (power requirement) givenfor performing hand-to-hand (HTH)combat or lifting heavy objects. Thismakes the strength characteristic inordi-nately powerful, as characters do nothave to spend power for any of theirattacks. HTH combat should have a PRof one point per turn. Thus, a characteremploying two HTH attacks in a turnwould be charged three power points:one for using HTH combat and two fortaking an extra action phase. If a charac-ter employs his Carrying Capacity sim-ply to lift an object, rather than dodamage, he is only charged one point of

76 JANUARY 1986

character�s Carrying Capacity.

2.6-F Final calculations: Movementrate. As with HTH combat, there is alsono PR required for movement. A charac-ter moving more than one-half of hismovement rate allowance should becharged one point of power per turn.This would allow a normal man to moveat top speed for forty turns (ten min-utes) and cover a little more than a mile,which is about what a normal man cando in real life. If a character employs amovement power which already has aPR, the power�s PR is added to the PR ofone per turn, as noted above.

Presently, no rules are given forencumbered movement. I suggest that acharacter be allowed to move at normalspeed when carrying one-half of hisCarrying Capacity or less, three-fourthsnormal when carrying up to three-fourths of his Carrying Capacity, andone-half normal speed when encum-bered over three-fourths of his CarryingCapacity. An encumbered character ischarged a point of power if he movesmore than one-half of his adjusted move-ment score allowance.

A swimming character has hisstrength and endurance scores halvedfor the purpose of calculating move-ment, unless he has an appropriatewater-related power (Adaptation, Water-Breathing, etc.). A character climbing asurface like a mountain, tree, or wallhas his Agility and Endurance cut byhalf as well.

3.4-A Lethal attacks. One facet ofcomic book reality which is ignored inthe rules is the ability of villains (andsome heroes) to make potentially deadlyattacks. This leads to the introduction ofthe lethal attack form. In order to per-form a lethal attack, a character must

(or three times, in the case of a headattack) the normal power required forthe attack. The attack will have all of theeffects a normal special attack wouldhave, but with the following additionaleffects:

Head: A successful lethal attack to thehead yields a 3% chance per point ofdamage of causing double damage, and a1% chance per point of forcing the vic-tim to make a successful saving roll vs.Death Touch to avoid death.

Eyes: A hit on the victim�s eyes yields a2% chance per point of damage of caus-ing double damage, and a ½% chanceper point of causing permanent blind-ness. A normal special attack to the eyesshould not cause permanent blindness.

Throat: A successful hit here has a 2%chance per point of damage of stunningan opponent. A stunned opponent isunable to launch any attacks, moves atone-half his normal rate, and is +4 to behit by an attack. A stunned charactermust roll twice his Endurance or less ond100 between turns in order to recover.

Arm, hand, or leg: Hitting the oppo-nent�s arm yields a 4% chance per pointof damage of disabling that arm, and 2%chance of causing severe permanentdamage to the limb. A disabled arm willheal in (20 - Endurance) days, with aminimum healing time of one day. Aseverely injured arm will take five timesas long to heal. Regeneration will cut therecovery time down to one-fifth normal.Further attacks to the arm cause doubledamage. Attacks to hands and legs aresimilarly treated.

Device: A lethal attack from a deviceor weapon will do double damage. Inaddition, a character using an appropri-ate attack form (claws, bladed weapon,etc.) may make a lethal attack withoutdesignating a specific part of the

defender�s body as a target. In this case,the procedure is as above, but the attackwill have a 12% to 2% chance (GM�sjudgement) of forcing the defender tosave vs. Death Touch.

A character using an item or device tomake a lethal attack should be chargedthe extra power cost if the device has aPR. If the device uses a set number ofcharges (like a gun, bow, or crossbow),the attacker is given a penalty of -5 tohis initiative score per lethal attackmade, to reflect the fact that he mustcarefully steady and aim his weapon.

A character employing a bludgeoningattack (basic HTH damage is classified assuch) does not get to use the lethalattacks effect unless his Carrying Capac-ity is at least five times that of thedefender�s, If the defender makes asuccessful save vs. Strength or Endur-ance (whichever is greater), the effectsof the lethal attack (chance to injure,etc.) are halved. The GM may assign amodifier to the save according to howmuch greater the attacker�s CarryingCapacity is than his opponents. If he hasa ten-times-greater Carrying Capacity,the save is at -1; if twenty times greater,the save is at -2, and so forth. The modi-fier should never reduce the character-istic saved against by more than half. Acharacter employing a bludgeoning orimpact attack other than HTH (PowerBlast, Sonic Abilities, Vibratory Powers,etc.) may attempt a lethal attack inaccordance with circumstances (damagedone, toughness of defender, range, etc.)on a case-by-case basis.

A character employing a neck hold tochoke a victim, and whose CarryingCapacity is a least five times the victim�s,may attempt to break the victim�s neck.The attacker is charged three powerpoints per turn that he maintains thehold, and the victim must either escape(save vs. Agility) or be forced to roll vs.Endurance between turns to avoiddeath.

Restrictions are made on bludgeoningattacks because blunt force does notusually cause serious damage unless it isvery intense � unlike attack forms suchas chopping, impaling, stabbing, etc.,which do not require great force to domajor damage. The saving throw isgiven because comics characters areusually able to take a great deal of pun-ishment from more physically powerfulopponents without being seriouslyinjured. A character who is very accu-rate or powerful, or who otherwise hasthe capacity to make many attacks perturn, could easily get out of hand using

lethal or special attacks. The GM is freeto limit this by ruling, for example, thatlethal attacks cannot be combined withmultiple attacks, and that a charactermaking a lethal attack forfeits his nextaction phase, to recover from such anall-out effort.

3.4-B Threatening civilians In thecomics, villains often threaten innocentbystanders in order to coerce heroesinto surrendering, prevent heroes frompursuing them, or to serve as a distrac-tion. This situation does not come upvery often in the V&V game. An averageV&V civilian has a total of 4 hit pointsand 40 power points, meaning that avillain would have to deliver well over40 points of damage in one attack tohave a chance of killing a potential hos-tage. This, in turn, means that heroesgenerally don�t have to consider thepossibility of serious harm to innocents,even from villains with the ability to doenormous damage. This gives heroesplenty of time in which to act. This isoften compounded by the fact that vil-lains with highly damaging attacks areoften slow or inaccurate, meaning theymay never even score a hit on a civilian.

The solution to this problem is thecreation of the zero-level character. Thisis a typical bystander, someone who hasno experience in combat (unlike agents,policemen, and novice super-heroes, allof whom are assumed to have the mini-mum amount of combat training neededto bring them up to first level). Charac-ters who are combatants (above zerolevel) gain the following bonuses againstzero-level sorts.

1) A + 4 bonus to hit against suchcharacters is gained.

2) Special attacks require only a roll tohit without such a bonus to succeed,rather than two attack rolls as usual.The same is true for multiple attacks.

3) Civilians do not get to save vs.Power (see 7.2) when placed in deadlysituations, as super-beings do.

The above rules make civilians muchmore fragile, and make it easier forvillains and their henchmen to put pres-sure on heroes by endangering innocentlives.

Hopefully, the new material above willadd as much to your campaign as it didto ours, and make it a more challengingtask to protect the world from theforces of evil.

D R A G O N 7 7

If a gigantic reptile is chomping on the docks of Seattle or analien saucer is dropping stink bombs on Kansas City, costumedheroes won�t be the only ones going against the enemy. Aliens,giant reptiles, and Marvel Super Villains� are going to have totake on the regular Army, Navy, and Air Force � and they aretough!. This article gives a few suggestions on using some ofthe weapons of the U.S. military in your campaigns, anddescribes five military vehicles in MARVEL SUPER HEROESterms. First, a few definitions.

Crew � Most of the larger vehicles and weapons require aminimum crew to operate efficiently. Each soldier, sailor, orpilot may be considered a typical soldier as described in theCampaign Book. Each shifts his Agility one column to the rightwhen using the weapon or when piloting the vehicle withwhich he has been trained. Untrained persons trying to fire aheavy weapon must first make a Reason FEAT roll to be ableto get it to work. They must also shift their Agility one columnto the left to simulate the expected loss in accuracy.

Sensors � Radar uses radio waves to detect objects, bounc-ing them off a vehicle or object and measuring the time ittakes them to return in order to gauge distance. Some aircraftare able to fly and land without visibility, using radar alone.Radar waves can be controlled by certain individuals withmagnetic or electrical control (such as Magneto� or Electra�).With a successful FEAT roll, the radar waves may be redi-rected to make any one object the controlling person choosesinvisible.

For example, a villain with Monstrous electromagnetic con-trol approaches an air base protected by radar with a 200-milerange. The Judge decides that a Green FEAT will be sufficientto deflect the radar. When the villain enters the radar field,the judge rolls for him and gets a Yellow FEAT result. Thevillain is then invisible to the radar unless his power isreduced or his attention distracted. If he is attacked, the Judgemay require a second FEAT roll to make sure he has not beendistracted and allowed the radar to detect him.

Sonar uses sound waves to detect objects under water.Almost all naval craft are equipped with some form of sonar.

78 JANUARY 1986

Characters with sound control can make themselves invisibleto sonar with a successful FEAT roll.

Guided missiles and torpedoes � Guided missiles and torpe-does have either active or passive control systems. Activecontrol allows the missile to be guided by the person whofired it. With passive control, the missile has homing abilitiesusing heat, sound, or some other target-finding system. TheControl rank of a missile or torpedo represents the accuracyof the tracking system. With a passive system, the personfiring the missile rolls on the control system�s rank rather thanon the character�s Agility.

Each missile is designed for one attack mode: air-to-air, air-to-ground, ship-to-ship, etc. If a missile designed for one pur-pose is used for another, its Control rank moves one column tothe left (if it can be used at all). Only missiles designed to gounderwater will be able to penetrate the surface of an oceanor lake; all others will explode the instant they strike the sur-face of the water.

For example, a hypothetical villain named Buzzard Manzooms toward a military jet. The jet fires a passive heat-seek-ing air-to-air missile at him. The missile has Remarkable con-

The accuracy of bombing is deter-mined by rolling on the Shooting-&-Throwing column, using the Agility ofthe pilot who dropped the bomb. If the

have Excellent protection from energyattacks.

On the M-60 series, Bull�s Eye targetsinclude the radio antenna and headlights

pilot misses, count the number of (Typical material strength) and thecolumns by which he missed; that willbe the number of areas away from the

external machine guns (Good materialstrength). On a Kill shot, the Judge may

target where the bomb strikes the decide to jam one of the treads, freezingground, in a direct line from the the tank in place until it is repaired.approach of the aircraft. (There is an Performance � The M-60 has a 12-equal chance that the bomb will either cylinder diesel engine capable of 30 mphfall short or long.) Anyone in the blast in flat terrain. The tank can climb aarea must roll for damage. Large bombs slope of 60°, climb over vertical obsta-have broader areas of effect. cles 3� high, and ford water up to 3�

The accuracy of a napalm drop is deep without modifications.determined by the same method as a Armament � The M-60 carries ahigh-explosive bomb. However, everyone 105mm cannon (Incredible damage, 20-in the target area will be exposed to area range) and a 7.62mm machine gunflame and heat of Incredible power. This (Remarkable damage, 10-area range) onmay only be dodged by ultra-high speed its turret. These guns can only fire inor teleportation which allows one to the direction the turret is facing, but theleave the area almost instantly. The turret can turn 360°. On top of thejudge must decide if the surrounding turret is a 5� anti-aircraft machine gunbuildings, forest, etc., catch fire and, if (Remarkable damage, 15-area range)so, how long they burn.

Strafing occurs when a plane flieswhich can turn independently of theturret for 360°. One model of the M-60

over an area and fires at it with machine tank replaces the 105mm cannon with aguns and cannons. The accuracy of the flame thrower (Incredible damage, 2-attack is determined by rolling on the area range).Shooting-&-Throwing column with the The M-60 can ram for Remarkablepilot�s Agility. Some judges may choose damage. If it rams and rolls a Red resultto reduce the pilot�s rank one to the left on the Remarkable column, it will runwhen flying jets on strafing runs, since over the target and do Incredible dam-jets have such high minimum speeds. age, supposing the target is of the appro-

Bull's-Eye and Kill results � To simu- priate size.late the firing of precision weaponsagainst armored vehicles, I suggest cer- F-16 Fighter-Bombertam unarmored parts be available astargets for Bull�s-Eye slots. For example,

The General Dynamics F-16 multi-role jetfighter-bomber is used by the U.S. Air

someone shooting-at a tank may not beable to penetrate the armor, but he may

Force, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands,

try to shoot off the radio antenna, theand Norway. It has a Excellent body,

spotlight, or even the machine gun.Amazing speed, Remarkable control,and one crewman (the pilot).

trol and makes a Green FEAT roll, mean-With a Kill result, the vehicle should

receive some serious damage. On a tank,Body � The F-16�s body is considered

ing the missile has been able to follow Excellent, but the control and communi-the heat of Buzzard Man�s jet thrusters.

the attacker may have jammed the

The missile will clip his tail feathers,treads or damaged the engine, if he or

cations systems have only Good protec-

she can penetrate the tank�s armor.tion against magnetic and electrical

perhaps permanently. attacks. The pilot is protected against allSome characters will use fireballs, fog,

Similar results may be devised for other chemical and biological weapons whileor other things to distract a missile. The

vehicles. his cockpit is sealed. The plane weighsjudge must decide how difficult it will be 21 tons with a full load of weapons andfor the missile to find its true target fuel.under these circumstances. Dodging is

M-60 Main Battle Tank A Bulls-Eye result may damage therolled in the usual way, if a character This vehicle is used by the U.S. Army control surfaces of the plane. If thiswishes to avoid being struck by a projec- and Marine Corps, Israel, Iran, Italy, happens, the jet must land as soon astile or missile. Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey. possible. A Kill result damages the single

Bombing and strafing — We need It has a Remarkable Body, Poor Speed, engine and causes the plane to crash.consider only two types of bombs: explo- Excellent Control, and a crew of four. The pilot may only be struck by ansives and napalm. An explosive bomb is Body � The M-60 has .5� to 4.8� of attack that can penetrate the plane�streated like a large hand grenade. Every- cast armor and weighs 54 tons. The armor.one in the area where the bomb crew receives Excellent protection (due Performance � The F-16 has oneexplodes must roll on the Hack-&Slash to the tank�s air conditioning) from all 23,845-lb. thrust afterburner turbo-fancolumn of the Battle Effects Table to chemical weapons. The electrical sys- engine. Its maximum speed is 915 mphdetermine if they take damage. tems, including the ignition and radio, fully loaded, but its minimum speed is

D R A G O N 7 9

uncertain. It requires 25 areas to takeoff or land safely, requiring a perfectlysmooth, straight surface such as anairport runway.

Armament � The U.S. Air Forceusually equips the F-16 with one 20mmmulti-barrel cannon with 500 rounds(Excellent damage, 10-area range) andcarries two Sidewinder missiles, one oneach wing tip. Under the wings andbody of the plane are four more hardpoints which can carry cluster bombs,Sidewinder missiles, or Sparrow mis-siles. In the center of the body of theplane is a rack able to carry a 2,200-lb.bomb.

The Sidewinder is a heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile (Remarkable damage, 11-mile range, Typical body, Unearthlyspeed, Typical control). The Sparrow isa radar-guided missile which comes inthree types: air-to-air, air-to-ship (the SeaSparrow), and air-to-surface (the LandSparrow) (Remarkable damage, 28-milerange, Typical body, Unearthly speed,Good control). Cluster bombs (Incredibledamage) and the single large bomb(Amazing damage) may be used freefalling or laser-directed. If free-falling,their accuracy is dependent on thepilot�s Agility rank. Laser-directed bombsare guided toward targets (but not pro-pelled) by air-control surfaces. Thiscontrol system simply adds one rank tothe pilot�s Agility.

If the F-16 rams anything, it doesIncredible damage. However, if eitherthe plane�s body or control rank falls toFeeble, it blows up. It must also make an

80 JANUARY 1986

immediate control check (Yellow FEAT)in order to avoid going out of controlwhen it strikes something (or viceversa). The pilot may successfully eject ifhe makes a FEAT roll against his Agility.

AV-8 Harrier Jet Fighter

The Harrier VTOL jet fighter is used byU.S. Marine Corps, Spanish Navy, andBritish Air Force. It has an Excellentbody, Incredible speed, Remarkablecontrol, and a crew of one pilot.

Body � The plane�s body is consid-ered Excellent armor, but the controland communication systems have onlyGood protection against magnetic andelectrical attacks. The pilot is protectedfrom all chemical weapons when hiscockpit is sealed.

A Bull�s-Eye result may damage theplane�s control surfaces, requiring it toland immediately. A Kill result meansthat the engine is knocked out and theplane will crash.

Performance � The Harrier has one21,500 lb. thrust turbo-fan engine andtravels 740 mph maximum. It can go aminimum of 58 mph (Typical speed)using its VTOL powers. It is able to takeoff and land in a single area. Since itweighs 12.5 tons with weapons and fuel,it cannot land on rooftops or otherstructures not designed to hold suchweight (requiring Amazing strength orbetter).

Armament � The AV-8 normallycarries two 30mm machine guns

(Remarkable damage, 10-area range) andtwo Sidewinder air-to-air heat-seekingmissiles (Remarkable damage, 11-milerange, Typical body, Unearthly speed,Typical control). The AV-8 can carrythree 1000-lb. bombs, one under thebody and the other two in the wings(Incredible damage).

The Harrier can ram for Remarkabledamage, but if either its Body or ControlRank drop below Feeble, it blows up.Due to its VTOL features, it can blast thearea directly below it with flames ofExcellent power. This happens when-ever it lands or takes off. If the plane isdamaged, the pilot may eject to safety ifhe makes a Green FEAT Roll on hisAgility.

Ohio-Class Submarine

The Ohio-class ballistic-missile subma-rine is used only by the U.S. Navy. It hasa Remarkable Body, Good Speed, GoodControl, and a crew of 133.

Body � The submarine�s body con-sists of a very heavy, pressure-resistanthull. The hull is compartmentalized, soif one chamber is breached, it is sealedto protect the others. Each time a cham-ber is flooded, the submarine loses onerank in both speed and control. If eitherrank reaches Feeble, the submarinesinks helplessly to the ocean bottom.The electrical system has Remarkableshielding, and the crew is protectedfrom all chemical weapons when thehatches are sealed.

Bull�s-Eyes may be scored against theperiscope or the radar antenna disc.Destroying the disc (Good materialstrength) destroys the ship�s radar capa-bilities. Damaging the periscope (Typicalmaterial strength) renders the ship blind(except for its sonar) when submerged.A Kill roll allows the attacker to disablethe sub�s single propeller (Excellentmaterial strength).

Performance � The exact top speedof the Ohio-class submarine is secret,but may be assumed to be over 100 mph(Good speed). The sub�s depth limit is985 ft.; to go below this level requires aFEAT roll using the hull�s strength. Awhite or green result means it survives,a Yellow roll means the sub drops onerank in every class, and on a Red roll,the hull is crushed and the subdestroyed.

The submarine requires 36 ft. ofwater to manuever on the surface. Inshallower waters, the sub runs aground.Escape will require a Green FEAT roll onthe Typical column. The ship may onlytry and escape once every 10 turns.

Armament � The Ohio class isequipped with four 21-inch torpedotubes firing acoustic homing torpedoeswhich follow the sounds made by a ship(Incredible damage, Typical body, Excel-lent speed, Remarkable control).

It also has 24 tubes for Trident Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles (Class 1000damage, 4,400-mile range, Good body,Unearthly speed, Excellent control). AnICBM�s target must be a fixed position onthe earth�s surface. The missile may beequipped with explosives of any power,and it may also contain chemicalweapons.

As a final resort against intruders, thecrew may release radiation from thesub�s power plant. This will cause Mon-strous radiation damage to everythingalive in a 10-area radius around the sub.

Special equipment � Each ICBM-carrying submarine has ten differentcommunication systems on board, link-ing it to the world�s satellite system aswell as allowing direct transmissions. AllOhio-class subs are equipped with sonarand may use both air and surface radarwhen surfaced. The radar has a rangeof 200 miles and the sonar 25 miles.

Kidd-Class Destroyer

The Kidd-class destroyer is used only bythe U.S. Navy. It has a Remarkable body,Good speed, Good control, and a crew of200.

Body � The Kidd-class destroyer isdesigned for fleet ascort duty, and itcarries armor that will not reduce itsspeed. The hull of a destroyer will notprotect crew members from chemicalweapons, as it is not sealable. Destroyersare compartmentalized to protect themfrom flooding. When the outer hull isbreached, only one chamber floods; theentire ship loses one rank in both Bodyand Control whenever this occurs. If

either of these ranks reach Feeble, the ASROC anti-submarine missiles carriedship sinks. on the destroyer become acoustic hom-

Possible Bull�s-Eye targets are the ing torpedoes after they strike the waterradar discs, radio antenna, and any (Incredible damage, 6-mile range, Typi-crewmembers standing on the deck or cal body, Good speed, Remarkablebridge. The discs and antenna each have control).a material strength of Good. In addition, each destroyer has two 5�

A Kill result means one of the propel- MK-45 cannon, one each mounted onler shafts (Excellent material strength) the bow and stern (Excellent damage,has been damaged or fouled. This 30-area range). They also have six MK-32reduces the destroyer�s Control and torpedo tubes, firing MK-46 torpedoesSpeed by half. with acoustic homing (Incredible dam-

Performance � The best speed of age, 2-mile range, Typical body, Excel-the Kidd-class destroyer is over 100 lent speed, Remarkable control).mph. It uses four gas turbines with two The Kidd-class destroyer also carriespropeller shafts. two LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Pur-

The destroyer cannot move into water pose Systems) anti-submarine helicop-less than 60� deep, or it will run ters. These helicopters are equippedaground. Escape will require a Typical with radar, sonar buoys, and a magneticFEAT roll, and an escape attempt may be system for detecting submarines frommade once every 10 turns. the air (nicknamed MAD). They can

Armament � The ship carries front direct Harpoon missiles fired from theand rear MK-26 twin missile launchers, ship after the missiles have crossed theeach able to fire two missiles in the ship�s visual horizon. A LAMPS helicop-same round in 180(o) fields of fire. ter has a Good body, Good speed, GoodThree kinds of missiles may be used. control, and a crew of four.The MR anti-aircraft missiles have active Kidd-class destroyers are able to ramguidance (Incredible damage, 6-mile surface targets for Amazing damagerange, Typical body, Excellent speed). without harm to themselves, since theirThe Harpoon anti-ship missiles also have bows were designed for ramming. Thisactive guidance (Good damage, 60-mile attack only affects surface craft andrange, Typical body, Good speed). The beings.

DR A G O N 81

Expandingthe Frontier

Exploring new worlds in the STAR FRONTIERS® universe

by William Tracy

One of the most exciting challenges inthe STAR FRONTIERS® game comes withthe exploration of an uncharted planet,facing dozens of unexpected dangers.This can be a great source of adventure,and there is a chance that the characterswill make a pretty good profit � if theysurvive.

Of course, the characters will need a

82 JANUARY 1986

spaceship to get to the planet. If theydon�t own one, there are still some waysto get one legally. The PCs might buy orget a starship on loan, if they haveenough money. If they don�t, their finan-cial backers will purchase or rent a shipfor them. In any case, if a starship isrented, all characters concerned will berequired to accept a tracer implant(p. 41, Knight Hawks Campaign Book).The procedure for renting a spaceship

getting a financial backing is the same asthat for getting a loan (pp. 40-42, Cam-paign Book).

An expedition team to an unexploredplanet must contain at least one charac-ter who has Environmental skills. But ifthe characters are financially backed bysomeone else, the character with Envi-ronmental skills must have a skill levelof at least 4, or the backer will refuse tofinance the expedition. If this happens,

the characters will have to employ anNPC with the proper qualifications, whoshould then receive an equal share inthe profits.

Financial backing

It takes a relatively large amount ofmoney to finance such an expedition. Ifthe characters are not able to supportsuch an expedition themselves, they canbe financed by a corporation, govern-ment, or a group of private citizens. TheEleanor Moraes (from the �Beyond theFrontier� module series, SFKH 2 throughSFKH 4) was financed by the UnitedPlanetary Federation, with a little mega-corporation assistance.

If the characters have their own ship,they still might want to find a backerwho can pay for the special equipmentneeded to explore a planet. The backercan also pay for any special modifica-tions to the characters� ship that areneeded to explore planets. A backeralways requires that the charactersaccept a tracer implant.

Characters will often be granted fundsfor exploration work by a megacorpora-tion. Corporations are usually on thelookout for planets with valuable com-modities, such as mineral ores, newtypes of drugs or food delicacies, orhabitable land. Of all the corporations,the Cassidine Development Companybacks the largest number of expeditionsto unexplored planets, since this is thecompany�s specialty and main source ofincome. Pan-Galactic Corporation alsosponsors a number of trans-Frontierexpeditions to new worlds, and a gener-ally friendly rivalry has developedbetween agents of the two companies.

The UPF, as noted in module SFKH 2,has become more aggressive aboutexploring newly-discovered planets sincethe Sathar Wars. Worlds with coloniza-tion potential and those with potential(or existing) Sathar bases are of specialconcern. The Planetary Survey Adminis-tration was created to govern the explo-ration of such new worlds, but the PSAis rumored to have been infiltrated byagents of PGC and CDC, who funnel offselected information for use by theirmegacorporations.

Planetary governments, eager forcolonies which can supply them withnew resources (as was Pale in �TheVolturnus Connection,� in DRAGON®issue #98), also finance certain explora-tion missions. However, such missionsare almost always crewed by membersof that world�s space navy and armedforces, and are considered to be exten-

sions of the government�s space fleet.Sometimes a group of private citizens

might back an expedition. They aregenerally interested in establishing aspecial political, religious, or anti-estab-lishment colony with their pooledresources, and hire the characters tofind a suitable planet for them. Suchgroups are usually called �pilgrims.�

world. Pilot expertise may speed thingsalong; subtract the pilot�s skill ratingfrom the number of days needed tomake the map. It always takes a mini-mum of three days of checking andrechecking to map a world accurately.

The PSS package consists of a specialsensor attached to the outside of theship�s hull and a special computer pro-gram. The sensor itself is too small to

Joining an expeditionaffect a ship�s ADF or MR. The computerprogram is level 3 and takes up 25 func-

Sometimes characters are hired by a tion points. The whole package costs

ship captain who needs a crew for a 50,000 Cr., and it cannot be rented. Like

planetary expedition. They are promised the MR system, the PSS is used while the

an equal share in the profits. Unfortu- ship is in orbit.

nately, this does not happen often. The The sensor scans and photographs the

competition is tough to win a berth on planet, feeding the data into the com-

such an expedition, since such trips have puter. The special computer program

been known to enable a character to uses the data to forecast the planet�s

permanently retire on his earnings, A climate and general weather patterns,

character must have at least one skill and to pinpoint areas where one is likely

level of 4 before he or she can even be to find deposits of mineral ore. Coloniza-

considered for the position, tion sites may be located, and evidence

The type of ship used for such expedi- of existing civilizations may be found.

tions are called exploration ships (p. 8, Natural hazards, such as volcanoes, fault

Campaign Book). Occasionally different lines, geysers, swamps, waterfalls, land-

types of ships are used; the Eleanor slide zones, and so forth may also be

Moraes was a modified exploration ship detected. Energy sources such as natu-

that resembled an assault scout ship. ral radioactive ores and artificial power

Referees may invent new starships and stations may be found, too.

deck plans as they desire. To find out how many days of orbiting

A variety of special exploration equip- it takes to get a complete scan of the

ment can be found on pp. 21-22, in the planet, roll 2d10 + 8. This roll cannot

Campaign Book. Some of this equipment be reduced by the pilot�s skill level, as

can be rented, but some of it (like atmo- bad weather (obscuring details of the

probes) must be purchased outright, as ground) is beyond his control.

they are one-use-only devices. Any The Planetary and Star System Explo-

rental equipment that is destroyed must ration (PSSE) computer program is con-

be paid for by the characters, unless sidered to be level 3 and takes up 35

prior arrangements are made by the function points. This special program

persons backing the expedition. Anyone data-links the computer to all the equip-

renting equipment must accept a tracer ment used to explore and classify star

implant, if the equipment costs more systems and their planets. This includes

than 100,000 Cr. the geoscanners, vaporscanners, bios-

To explore a star system and its plan- canners, the RM and PSS components,

ets efficiently, three new pieces of equip- atmoprobes, laboratory equipment,

ment need to be introduced. These new landing drones, remote probes, energy

items are the Radar Mapper (RM), the sensors, and any special information

Planetary Scanning System (PSS), and a typed in by the characters. The program

special Planetary and Star System Explo- correlates all the data from these

ration (PSSE) computer program. sources and organizes it into a hard-

The RM package contains both a spe- copy Star System and Planetary File. The

cial attachment for a ship�s radar system characters must have this information

and a special computer program. The for ground exploration they perform.

whole package costs 15,000 Cr., and itcannot be rented. The computer pro-gram is considered to be level 2 and Exploration proceduretakes up 12 function points. The RMpackage produces an accurate relief

Upon entering a new system, an explo-

map of a planet�s surface, using theration team follows a general basic pro-

ship�s computer and special program. Itcedure. Each planet in the system is

takes 1dl0 + 5 GST days to produceorbited long enough for the Planetary

this map while the ship orbits a givenScanner System and the Radar Mapperto do a complete job. Atmoprobes are

D R A G O N 8 3

then launched at each planet, and otherstandard observations are made.

Meanwhile, the pilot and astrogatormake navigational observations and feedthem into the computer. This includesinformation such as the jump programto the system, descriptions of the astro-nomical bodies in the system, and thestellar type and nature of backgroundradiation (as it applies to communica-tions and radio interference) � in otherwords, all the astronomical informationthat an astrogator and pilot need totravel to and through this system.

Any planets indicated by scanning thatare capable of supporting life must beexplored further by a landing party.Remember that only ships with a hullsize of 3 or less can land on a planetwith an atmosphere. If an explorationship is not able to land on a planet, thecharacters must use a shuttle or lifeboatto descend, or they must use landingdrones or remote probes to explore theplanet�s surface.

The expedition�s environmentalistmust land on several different regions ofthe planet so that a total view of theplanet�s eco-system can be obtained. Tofind out the number of different regionsthe character must visit, roll 2d10 andsubtract the skill level of the chief envi-ronmentalist. At least two differentregions must be visited. To find out ifthe character has successfully analyzedthe ecosystem in each region, see pp. 15-16 of the STAR FRONTIERS ExpandedRules Book. Be sure to add all thebonuses due to mechanical aid, espe-cially if the character has a laboratory.

If the planet has a previously undis-covered intelligent species living on it,the PCs have their work cut out forthem. They are responsible for makingfirst contact (and making sure the con-tact is peaceful and positive), and theiractions could literally make or break allfuture contact with that culture. TheUPF emphasizes to its research crewsthat one thing the Frontier doesn�t needis another enemy race like the Sathar tofight. Megacorporations emphasize theloss in profits taken when a potentialcustomer and ally turns into a threat.

A character with a Psycho-Social skillof at least 4th level is required to studythe species adequately. The charactermust study the species for 10d10 days todevelop a first impression of the raceand to establish minimal contact withthem, if such is desired. At the end ofthe time period, the character must rollhis Logic score or less. If he succeeds,the character is able to give a complete

84 JANUARY 1986

description of the race, including allrelevant customs and superstitions. If hefails, he has the impression that hehasn�t missed anything important, but(of course) at least one thing of criticaland vital importance might have escapedhis notice (e.g., Dralasites are spittingimages of the local beings� most beloveddeity, and all Humans appear to be�demons� from ancient mythology, benton destroying the world).

After receiving all the data, the com-puter prints a complete System Brief,Alien Creature Update File, Alien Cul-ture Background Reports, and maps ofthe planet. An incomplete report resultsin a deduction in the character�s profits,as well as possibly causing terrible prob-lems later on for other research crews.

Planetary types

The variety of planetary types is endless,but very few planets are capable ofsupporting carbon-based life-forms. Ofcourse, planets unable to support car-bon-based life might support a new typeof life form, such as silicon- or fluorine-based life. On such strange planets, thecharacters may have to wear spacesuitsin order to survive. Even if a planet isn�thabitable, it might still have largedeposits of valuable ores which can bemined by enclosed colonies or by robots.

Planets that can support carbon-basedlife-forms possess many types of terrain.Occasionally, a planet is discovered thatis almost completely covered by onetype of terrain, such as water, desert,swamp, forest, or jungle, but this is veryrarely seen. Referees should map outthese new worlds before the PCs arrive,and should have detailed descriptions ofeach planet�s particular features. Globalmaps may be patterned after those usedfor Alcazzar in SF 4, Mission to Alcazzar.More detailed surface maps may begenerated of particular features that thereferee believes the PCs may want toinvestigate (such as alien ruins).

The peculiar nature of each planetdictates the sort of special equipmentneeded by exploratory crews. High-gravity worlds require the use of exo-skeleton suits; all-water worldsobviously require scuba gear or the like.Certain other pieces of equipment mayneed modification, as desired by thereferee.

Hazards of exploration

Many dangers face the explorers onstrange planets. Characters have to deal

with carnivorous or annoying animaland plant life, geophysical disasters(volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes,etc.), astrophysical disasters (solar flares,meteorite strikes, radiation increasesfrom various sources, etc.), and evennew alien races and cultures. The planetmight already be inhabited by Satharand their agents, or it might be used as abase by pirates, Mechanons, Zuraqqor,or other unfriendly forces. Crews canmutiny, equipment can break down, andships and vehicles can run out of fuel orspare parts.

Even after leaving the planet, thecharacters might still face unusualthreats. Their financial backer might tryto get rid of them after getting theirreport. A rival of the characters� backermight try to bribe or steal the reportfrom the characters. If the characterstry to hold an open auction, any of theparticipants might try to steal thereport. If the characters attempt tocheat their backer, a price may be puton their heads. (Remember the tracerimplant?)

Rewards and pay

The final payment for a System Report,including the coordinates and the calcu-lations for the jump route to the world,varies a great deal. There is no set for-mula for figuring out the price becauseof a variety of factors. On the average, acomplete System Report (noting thelocation of valuable ore deposits and ahabitable planet) goes for 250,000 Cr.

This sum can be modified according tothe situation, due to a variety of factors.The amount of valuable ores that can besafely mined, the presence of pirates,Sathar, or other hostile races in thesystem, the completeness of the report,and the presence of dangerous lifeforms (of the unintelligent sort, includ-ing bacteria and viruses) that wouldinhibit colonization are all taken intoconsideration.

If the characters hold an open auctionfor the report, they can usually get a1-10% increase in the price. If the char-acters work for the Cassidine Develop-ment Corporation, add 15% to thecharacter�s final profit. Future sourcesof income from the report might eveninclude being hired to transport equip-ment and people to the new planet. Andif the characters gain a monopoly ontransport to the world, they may be ableto set themselves up for life.

QWESTFIELD 1, Jan. 4This one-day gaming event will take place

at Eason Hall in Westfield, New York.Featured events will include AD&D®,GAMMA WORLD®, TRAVELLER®,STAR FRONTIERS® tournaments. Adealers� table will also be available. For moreinformation about this event, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Gamer�sConnection, P.O. Box 822, Jamestown NY14702-0822.

WINTER FANTASY, Jan. 4-5To be held at the Americana Resort in

Lake Geneva, Wis., this convention will of-fer a variety of role-playing tournaments,miniatures events, board games, an auction,and demonstrations. Guests of honor will in-clude game designers Jim Ward, TomWham, Frank Mentzer, and Carl Smith,and RPGA� Network coordinator PennyPetticord. Registration fees are $7 for theweekend, or $4 per day. For more details,send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:Winter Fantasy, P.O. Box 721, LakeGeneva WI 53147.

DRAMACON, Jan. 10-12This convention is sponsored by the Fort

Worth Country Day school branch of the In-ternational Thespian Society, and proceedswill benefit said organization. A variety oftournament events will be offered, and therewill be a team quiz for which the questionswill be based upon the literary words ofJ.R.R. Tolkien. For more information, senda self-addressed, stamped envelope to:Dramacon Gaming Convention, 3836 Glen-mont Drive, Fort Worth TX 76133, ortelephone (817) 292-8745.

RUSTYCON III, Jan. 17-19To be staged at the Executive Inn in Seat-

tle, Wash., this science-fiction conventionwill feature a number of activities. Guests ofhonor include author Vonda N. McIntyreand artist Ilene Meyer. Registration fees are$20. For more information, contact:Rustycon III, P.O. Box 47132, Seattle WA98146.

BRIDE OF PANDEMONIUM, Jan. 18This event will be staged at the Ryerson

Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Ontario.This third annual convention will include 17games, a figure and diorama contest, an auc-tion, and open gaming. Gift certificates willbe awarded. For more details about thisgaming convention, contact: Dungeon Par-ties, Inc., P.O. Box 67, Stn. F, Toronto,Ontario, Canada M4Y 1N1, or telephone(416) 924-1989.

86 JANUARY 1986

CHIMERACON III, Jan. 25-26This convention will be held at the

Carolina Union at the University of NorthCarolina in Chapel Hill, NC. Guests ofhonor include Orson Scott Card, ManlyWade Wellman, Allen Wold, M. A. Foster,and C. Bruce Hunter. Special events includean �Outer Limits� cantina, a writingworkshop, a trivia bowl, an art show, panels,and readings. Registration fees are $3 perday. For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:ChimeraCon III, 12-A University Gardens,Chapel Hill NC 27514, or telephone(919) 967-5347.

CACTUSCON I, Feb. 1This gaming convention will be staged at

the Knights of Columbus Hall in SierraVista, Ariz. Special guest of honor is RickLoomis of Flying Buffalo. Seminars, instruc-tion groups for beginning players, and avariety of role-playing and board game tour-naments are among the planned activities.Registration fees are $1, and each scheduledevent costs $1. For details, contact: Cac-tuscon I, P.O. Box 1103, Sierra Vista AZ85635, or telephone (602) 459-1073.

1986 FANTASY WORLD�S FESTIVAL,Feb. 7-9

This convention will be staged at theHyatt Regency Hotel at Oakland�s Interna-tional Airport. Guests of honor will includeDiane Duane, Marion Zimmer Bradley, andDiana L. Paxson. Registration fees are $25until February 1, and $30 thereafter. Formore details, send a self-addressed, stampedenvelope to: Friends of Darkover, P.O. Box72, Berkeley CA 94701.

WARCON �86, Feb. 7-9This convention will be held at the

Memorial Student Center at Texas A&MUniversity in College Station, Texas. Eventswill include tournaments for the AD&D®,Traveller, Squad Leader, Nuclear War, andStar Fleet Battles gaming systems.Preregistration fees are $7; registration feesare $10. For more information,� contact:MSC Nova, Box J-1, Memorial StudentCenter, Texas A&M University, CollegeStation TX 77844.

AUGCON �86, Feb. 8This gaming convention is sponsored by

the Algoma University Games Club, andwill be a part of the Ontario Winter Carnivalin Bon Soo. For more information, contact:Algoma University Games Club, 1520Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie,Ontario, Canada P6A 2G3.

DUN DRA CON, Feb. 14-17This gaming convention will take place at

the Airport Hyatt in Oakland, Cal.Seminars, a painting contest, and a fleamarket are among the scheduled events.Fore more information, contact: Dun DraCon, c/o T.O. Green, 386 Alcatraz Ave.,Oakland CA 94618

ORCCON, Feb. 15-17This gaming convention will take place at

the Los Angeles Airport Hyatt Hotel. Ac-tivities will include role-playing tour-naments, war games, seminars, and an auc-tion. For more information, contact: Orc-con, P.O. Box 8399, Long Beach CA 90808,or telephone (213) 420-3675.

WISCON 10, Feb. 21-23This science-fiction convention will be

staged at the Concourse Hotel in Madison,Wis. Guests of honor include Chelsea QuinnYarbro and Suzette Haden Elgin. Activitiesinclude films, a masquerade, and an artshow and auction. For more details, contact:WisCon 10, P.O. Box 1624, Madison WI53701, or telephone (608) 251-6226 (days) or(608) 233-0326 (evenings).

NOVAG 1, Feb. 22-23This convention will take place at the

West Park Hotel in Fairfax, Va. Events willinclude role-playing and war games. Con-tact: Northern Virginia Adventure gamers,101 East Holly Ave., Sterling VA 22170, ortelephone (703) 450-6738.

WAMCON �86, Feb 28 - Mar. 2This event will be held at the Sheraton Inn

Coliseum in Hampton, Va. Guests of honorwill include Judson Scott, A. C. Crispin,and Tracy Hickman. Two- and three-dayregistrations are available. For more details,send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:WamCon, P.O. Box 2223, Poquoson VA23662.

BASHCON �86, Mar. 1-2This gaming convention will be held at the

University of Toledo�s main campus inToledo, Ohio. More than 60 role-playingand board games and miniatures events willbe offered. Also, an RPGA� AD&D® tour-nament will be scheduled. For more details,send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:UT-BASH, BashCon �86, 2801 W. Ban-croft, Toledo OH 43606.

LUNACON �86, Mar. 7-9This science-fiction convention will be

held at the Westchester Marriott Hotel inTarrytown, New York. Guests of honor willinclude Marta Randall and MadeleineL�Engle. Multi-track programming ofpanels, workshops, and readings will beavailable. Also featured are an art show, adealers� room, films, a masquerade, and avariety of role-playing and computer games.Registration fees are $16 until February 26,and $20 thereafter. For details, contact:LunaCon, P.O. Box 6742, FDR Station,New York NY 10150.

TRI-CON IV, Mar. 14-16This gaming convention will be staged at

Poe Hall at the NC State University Cam-pus in Raleigh, N.C. Tournaments, films,and miniatures events will be scheduled.Registration fees are $5 for the weekend, or$3 per day. For more information, send aself-addressed, stamped envelope to: N.C.State Gaming Society, P.O. Box 50201,Raleigh NC 27650.

NEOCON V, Mar. 21-23To be staged at the Gardner Student

Center of the University of Akron in Akron,Ohio, this convention will offer role-playing,board, and miniatures games. For more in-formation, send a self-addressed, stampedenvelope to: Neocon V, P.O. Box 7411,Akron OH 44306.

SIMCON VIII, Feb. 21-23This gaming convention will be staged at

the University of Rochester�s River Campusin Rochester, N.Y. Role-playing events,board games, and historic miniatures will beamong the featured activities. A dealer�sroom will also be available. This conventionis free to the public. For more information,contact: Jevon Garrett, P.O. Box 29142,River Station, Rochester NY 14627.

MACON OPUS CON 1, Mar. 28-30This science-fiction convention will be

held at the Hilton Hotel in Macon, Ga.Guests of honor will include televisioncelebrities James Doohan, Jon Pertwee, andElvira. Activities will include gaming tour-naments, two costume contests, videos, andan art show. Registration fees are $15 untilJanuary 16, and $20 thereafter. For details,contact: Middle Georgia Society for Fantasyand Science Fiction, 4315 Pio Nono Ave.,Macon GA 31206, or telephone (912)781-6110.

AGGIECON 17, Apr. 3-6This convention will take place at the

Memorial Student Center of Texas A&MUniversity. Guests of honor include GeorgeR.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, and FrankKelly Freas. Howard Waldrop will be thetoastmaster. Scheduled events includepanels, readings, movies, a masquerade, anauction, and a banquet. Registration feesare $10 until March 15, and $13 therefater.For more details about this convention, con-tact: AggieCon 17, Box J-l, Memorial Stu-dent Center, College Station TX 77844, ortelephone (409) 845-1515.

VIKING CON 7, Apr. 18-20This science-fiction convention will be

staged at the SFFC V. U. Building atWestern Washington University. For moredetails about this event, contact: TimHoehner, Western Washington University,Bellingham WA 98225.

Convention Calendar PoliciesIn order to ensure that all convention listings con-

tain accurate and timely information, all materialshould be either typed double-spaced or printedlegibly on 8½” by 11” paper. The contents of eachlisting must not exceed 70 words in length.

The information given in the listing must beprepared in the following format:

1) title and date (not to exceed 2 lines of printedmatter),

2) site and location,3) guests of honor (if applicable),4) special events offered,5) registration fees or attendance requirements,6) address (telephone number optional) where

additional information can be obtained.

Sample listing:

EVERYCON, Jan 1-3This gaming event will take place in Nowhere,

Ind. Fred Smith and Jane Doe are guests of honor.Role-playing games and miniatures events will befeatured. Registration is free. For details, contact:EveryCon, P.O. Box 000, Nowhere IN 46000.

Convention flyers, brochures, newsletters, andother mass-mailed announcements will not be con-sidered for this column and will be discarded. Wereserve the right to edit listings, but we are notresponsible for updating them.

All listings must be accompanied by a cover letterwhich includes both an address and a telephone.

number. We are not, though, responsible forincorrect information provided to this office. If acover letter is not provided, the listing will not beprinted. No call-in listings will be accepted.

Foreign and domestic listings are welcome.Convention listings should be mailed by the copy

deadline date to Patrick Lucien Price, ConventionListings Coordinator, c/o DRAGON® Magazine,P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

Copy deadline dates are the last Monday of eachmonth, two months prior to the on-sale date of anissue. For example: The copy deadline for the April1986 issue is the last Monday of February 1986.

For any questions related to the ConventionCalendar, please contact Mr. Price at (414) 248-3625, ext. 376.

88 JANUARY 1986

Index to advertisersName of firm or product Page(s) Name of firm or product Page(s)Adventure Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Gamers� Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88-89AMAZING® Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 54 Games Workshop U.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,Armory, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-59 inside front coverBard Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,Chaosium, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 back coverColumbia Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 M.S. Kinney Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Companions, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Mayfair Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Compleat Strategist, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Milton Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Doubleday SF Book Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Palladium Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33, 57DRAGON® Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 R-Kiiv Miniatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Dunken Co., The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 RAFM Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Fantasy Games Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . 12, 24 Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

73, 77, 81 S&T� Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Fantasy-Wear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Steve Jackson Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23FASA Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Time-Life Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9Game Designers� Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 TSR, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 68, 85Game Systems Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 West End Games . . . . . . . . Inside back cover

(From page 4)character�s jump number is determined. I�d startby reducing the basic jump number to two-thirdsof its present value (and I�d make the �Combinedstrength and dexterity� column top out at 36-37;beyond that, you don�t get any better). Now anon-thief-acrobat with a combined strength anddexterity of 31 has an unadjusted jump numberof 6; under non-hazardous conditions, he canclear 12 feet in a running broad jump. But thischaracter is near the limit of his physical ability;he has only a 30% chance of being able to extendthe jump to 14 feet, and he�ll never get any better

at jumping than he is already. The thief-acrobat,on the other hand, has a 50% chance of extend-ing his jump to 13 feet � and he�s only at the lowend of the scale; as he gains experience, he�ll geteven better at jumping.

Reducing jump numbers by one-third meansthat a character with an average score (21) incombined strength and dexterity has a jumpnumber of 4, and can clear 8 feet in a runningbroad jump � the same distance given in Arcanafor a non-thief-acrobat character.

Although it seems inappropriate to use acharacter class that specializes in jumping plus aseparate jumping system for everyone else, youmay be able to find a way for them to worktogether. The answer lies in toning down theaverage guy�s ability to jump, not in improvingthe figures for the thief-acrobat. � KM

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